2000 pt First Tyranids List, lost game, looking for advice.

[skyhaussmann]

So this was my first list for Nids, lost 15-8 to my buddy's DE plaing the Coven supplement.

HQ: Hive tyrant, wings, electroshock grubs, lash whip and bone sword

Troops:

Tervigon, electroshock grubs

30x gants
26x gants
30x gaunts
4x rippers with DS and Spinefists

Elite:
2x Zoanthrope
Venomthrope
Venomthrope

Fast Attack:
Hive Crone
10x Gargoyles w/ Adrenal glands


Heavy Support:
Carnifex, 2x TLDWBLW
Exocrine
2x Biovores

Brood Lord's hunting Pack
3 groups of 5 genestealers, broodlord 

I realize my load out for the Hive tyrant was way bad, all over the place, should have stuck to TLDWBLW and kept him playing around popping boats.
Tervigon rolled doubles turn 1 , only made 10 gants, and they died to liquifier guns from grotesques. Gribblies killed the wracks that spilled out of two venoms, but otherwise could not hurt boats (S3, and had a hard time with anything else (T6 trots from formation, and T7 pain engines)
Genestealers were nice for infiltrating into ruins and grabbing tactical objectives, and exocrine did good works popping boats. Dakkafex killed a venom and a raider. Venomthropes were good for giving gangs cover, but I feel it was hard to hid the venoms properly, so they took some hurt. The DS rippers did well killing some wyches in the backfield, and grabbing an objective.

Also turn 5-6 I had no synapse left, and I think i needed more than Tyrant, Tervigon, and pair of zoeys.


thoughts please

also models wise i have lots of little dudes, 3 more carnifex, a harpy, more gargoyles, a mawloc, 3 ravagers, and like 10 more rippers.

[gigasnail]

lot of bodies here, too little in the way of offensive power. get a 2nd flyrant, egrubs, wings, X2 devourers is pretty much standard.

realize you have a whole buttload of points in troops that could go to offense. bring gargs for your gribbly choice. i'm not a fan of a troops tervigon, costs too much for too little but opinions vary.

i'd for sure ditch the stealers, and add a unit of warriors + one more biovore to make the Living artillery node formation. it's great.

get a malanthrope if you can, instead of the zoanthropes.

[rroach]

That is a buttload of troops. The non Tervigon-tax Terms can be dropped for a Flyrant.

[skyhaussmann]

Ok so less troops, I'll start by dropping the gene stealer formation and extra termagants squad. Are hormagaunts worth taking as a second troop blob, or better to switch them to some other gribblies?
Thoughts on the usefulness of Spinefist deep strike rippers?
would it be worth keeping any gene stealers around for regular infiltrate?

I'll take a look at that living artillery, may need to pick up some warriors as i don't have any at present.

How useful do you find Mawlocs to be?

[gigasnail]

mawlocks *can* be good, with a couple of things:

-opponents don't put vulnerable units on 2nd level of ruins (because of how the TftD rule is worded)
-best used in pairs, because of scatter issue (no, lictors aren't worth it to take for this)
-best when used with something like a coms relay (an addition to several fortifications) that lets you re-roll reserve rolls

they let you nuke invisible or untargetable units because TftD isn't a shooting attack.

problem is, folks learn real fast to just put units they must have protected (like Tau crisis suits) in ruins when the mawlocks are due to pop up. i've used them to good effect before but they're kind of iffy, i'm on the fence with them.

SF on rippers is 12 points on a minimum squad. i dunno that it's worth it; but i don't run my rippers at things i expect them to fight. i tend to try to kill w/e troops the opponent has, or block them with gargoyles, instead of relying on the rippers to do anything else but score.

as far as gribblies go, i use gargs. horms may get more attacks in CC, but gargs are faster/more manueverable, can deep strike if needed, and have blinding venom to take things like riptides pretty much out of the game w/o having to deal with killing a T6 2+ FNP unit.

i'm not a stealer fan; some folks had played with the formations to limited/varying success.

[skyhaussmann]

Ok here is a revised 1850 list, using the living artillery node and bioblast formations

HQ:
Hive Tyrant, wings, 2x TLDWBLW

Troops:
30 termagants
Tervigon, E-grubs, Crushing Claws

Elites:
Venomthrope
Venomthrope
Zoanthrope

Fast Attack:
Hive Crone

Living Artillery Node:
3x biovore
Exocrine
2xDeathspitter Warrior, 1x Venom Cannon Warrior

Bioblast:
Tyrannofex, Acid Spray
2x Carnifex w/ TLDWBLW
2x Deathspitter Warrior, 1x Venom Cannon Warrior

Thoughts? too few troops? should i find room for gargs? Bioblast worth it?

[Yautja]

That looks far more competitive.

[gigasnail]

bioblast is 3 units of carnifex, a tfex, and a warrior brood.

[skyhaussmann]

Lol right you are. ok, dropped Tervigon, and the warriors' Deathspitters, added in a ripper bunch as troops and put in a third carnifex

[macdaddyt]

Bio blast is a decent enough formation! Hope the VC treat you we'll on the warriors. I think a Strangler may be better for the ones on the Bio Blast since the VC won't get TL and Pinning like it does in the arty node and re-rolling ones will give it a better wound count. But that's just my humble opinion

[blucord]

You need a 2nd flyrant, but until you get one I like what you have so far. Looks like a fairly competitive list, and mawlocs are great, need 2 of them for sure.

[skyhaussmann]

macdaddyt: good point about the strangler.
blucord: yeah i'll be looking into getting another hive tyrant, but not just yet.

[blucord]

Good deal, it best to play around with different units anyways, keeps the game from being cut n dry armies.