new player w/ couple questions

[oldirty]

New to nids and on a budget. I'm thinking about buying 5 models split between zoanthropes, hive guards, and tyrant guards (I have none of these atm). If it makes a difference I'll be playing games in the 1500 - 1750 range.

So here's some questions:

1) What split would you recommend between the zoans, hive guards, and tyrant guards? I was thinking 2 hive guard, 2 tyrant guard, and a zoan to make into the Doom, but I wasn't sure if I really need 2 tyrant guards to protect my hive tyrant or if I should get 2 regular Zoans for the warp lances.

2) How exactly do the tyrant guards protect the tyrant? I read the codex and it says he can join the guards like an independant character, but can't he be targeted normally since he is a monstrous creature?

3) Is there a place to buy the deepstrike spores (can't think of the real name right now) or do I need to make them? If I need to make them what size base or how big do they need to be? I'm
assuming there's some kinda guideline so people don't make them super tiny or like 12" wide.


4) What gun do you prefer on the hive tyrant? I'm having trouble deciding between the devourers for the twin-linked assault6 or the heavy venom cannon for the range.

[fragile]

1. Depends on your build really and your playstyle.

2. IC cant be targeted during shooting, they must shoot the unit so his being a MC is negated for shooting.

3. Theres a couple links on these boards for custom stuff for spores, but typically I've seen most make their own. The spore is a MC and has to be big enough to carry a Carnifex if that gives you an idea of scale.

4. I personally think the devourers are better overall, but it all depends on your meta and playstyle.

[oldirty]

Thanks for the advice. From what I've read it seems like Tyranid's elite slots are where we get our anti-tank stuff so I figure I'll have some combination of hive guards and either zoanthropes or the doom.

Is 1 tyrant guard usually enough to protect the tyrant?

[infornography]

1 This depends entirely on what you already have and what strategy you are using. Zoans and hive guards are ranged anti tank. Do you need more ranged anti tank? Meanwhile the doom is mostly anti infantry. I like to run 3 tyrant guards with my swarmy personally.

2 The tyrant or swarmlord joins the tyrant guard as if he were an IC. After that point he is treated as just a part of the unit so the tyrant guard can be allocated wounds before him both ranged and in melee. Also since they are not MCs they can get cover easier and if at least half the unit have cover, the whole unit does so they can really help there.

3 Not really. Mycetic spores are not a model Games workshop provides yet. There are several knock offs but most of them look awful or cost an absurd amount. Also no guideline at this time. I personally assume they are about the size of Space marine Drop Pods.

Megabloks has a product called Dragons Universe. It is a toy dragon and a meteor egg. The eggs are the perfect size to be a drop pod and they already look like they just went through atmospheric entry. A lot of people use these for mycetic spores or mod them. They are relatively cheap and come with a free dragon toy.

4 I absolutely prefer the devourers on my tyrant. Much more versatile and reliable weapon.

[oldirty]

Cool I'll look up those megabloks. If they aren't cheap I might see what I can do to some pinecones in the yard (yeah I'm cheap).

Right now I don't have so much of a strategy/ build as I have a Hive Fleet - "what I could find cheap on ebay". Mainly a Hive Tyrant, 2 squads of genestealers, and some carnifex.

So yeah I'd be using the units for anti-tank shooters.

I'm thinking I'll buy 2 Hive guards, 2 Zoans, and 1 Tyrant guard.

[infornography]

The way I see it, if you have more than one carnifex then you have heavy vehicle duty taken care of. once they get into melee, whatever vehicle they face is dead.

I would recommend 2 tyrant guard and 3 hive guard. Hive guard are better for popping light vehicles and march the fexen up the field after the toughest vehicle on the field.

[WestRider]

I much prefer Hive Guard to Zoanthropes for Anti-Tank. They can't handle the really heavy stuff, but they're much more reliable at what they can handle. Zoanthropes have just failed for me, almost every time.

At 1500-1750, 2 Tyrant Guard is probably about right. Get a third if you start playing at 2K+.

I like Lash Whip, BoneSword, and a pair of Devourers on my Tyrants. The Lash Whip helps out when Assaulting into Cover and against a few fairly nasty threats (GK Halberds, some Eldar/Dark Eldar Units), and even one pair of Monstrous Devs is significant Firepower. I shell out for Lash Whips on my Tyrant Guard, too. Very worth the Points there, but you'll need to Convert them.

If you're up for some Conversion work, it's possible to make Hive Guard much more cheaply from Warriors. Just tossing that out there, any time your monetary budget is limited, there's usually a way to get at least partly around it with some time and energy instead.

[coredump]

You may want to think about a battleforce box instead.

[nurglitch]

1. Depends on what else you're planning to have in the army. I recommend playing with proxies until you decide on what you want to buy. As mentioned, most of these can be made out of plastic kits. I dislike the Hive Guard and Tyrant Guard kits, so I've made mine using Warrior and Ravener plastic kits, using Warrior legs, Heads, Scything Talons, and Ravener Torsos and Rending Claws for the Tyrant Guard, and then basically the same for the Hive Guard and Venom Cannons cut down with Flesh Hooks inserted into the drilled barrels. The Warrior Torsos and Ravener tails are used to make Shrikes.

2. The point of putting the Hive Tyrant in with the Tyrant Guard is to allocate wounds as if the Hive Tyrant were an independent character.

3. It's interesting that many people converted Tervigon and Tyrannofex models out of Carnifex kits before the much larger Tervigon/Tyrannofex were released. The T6 W6 models were even bigger than the T6 W6 Trygon/Mawloc models and mounted on the same sized base. Given that the Hive Tyrant and Carnifex are T6 W4 and mounted on a 60mm base, and that there seems to be some sort of vague correlation between the size of models and their Toughness and Wounds, I'd say it's a good bet to say that the T4 W3 Mycetic Spores will be mounted on 40mm bases, and roughly the size of a Warrior/Lictor/Zoanthrope.

[Hivefleet Oblivion]

Re the other Qs, people have given u as much info as poss without knowing about your army or your opponents, because the number of Hive Guard and Tyrant depends, for one thing, on what else you have in your army. If you don't know your opponents, Hive Guard are less risky than Zoanthropes, and can still shake or neutralise weapons on Landraiders, you need a minimum 3 at 1500.

Anyway, there's a thread with a summary of most of the Mycetic Spore options here.