Help for a beginner?

[Dylanj94]

Hi, I have recently come into the cash to start an army. I Specifically am going to field Tyranids as I find them the most fun to play. My starting ideas were simple.

1 Hive tyrant in swarmlord build as HQ
1 trygon prime
1 Tyranid battle force

as far as I could tell that would be around 1000 points. which is usually what my shop runs in their games. I was also told to consider a smaller 750 point army for the shops 2 man games.

what I wasnt sure on was if I should cut out the trygon prime, or the swarmlord? or if I could even field 750 with just the battleforce and trygon prime.

another thing. i know the 5th edition rules to a point, and I have the codex for tyranids, should I hold off buying until I get to read the new rules for this game?

thank you for reading this and taking the time to reply to it.

[Geneva]

If you're fielding Swarmlord you're probably best off investing in some Genestealers to make use of his boosts to reserves. Hive Guard are always a good choice for anti-tank but Zoantropes and Ymgarl Genestealers work well also. Ymgarls work especially well as Swarmlord can give them Furious Charge along with their own mutation ability for S6 on the charge.
Other than that, Gaunts and maybe Tervigons for objectives. Or Hormagaunts if you prefer a more offensive playstyle, you'll struggle with objectives though.

All that said, you're probably better off waiting for 6th Ed. It's only two weeks away and could change the essentials of a "good army" or "bad army".

[Dylanj94]

So putting new rules aside, would I even want the battleforce? or should I keep that and then instead of getting a trygon prime getting the genestealers? or just buy both?

[Davor]

I say get what you want, since they are beautiful minis, but WAIT any further since 6th is about 2 weeks away. So who knows how it is going to play so MAYBE the cheaper units that don't get used, might be viable for cheaper point games like 750 or 1000 points.

[Space is pretty big]

Buy ALL the tyranids!

But seriously, it's a matter of weeks before the new BRB comes out, wait until then as unit dynamics will change.

[Geneva]

The Battleforce is almost always a good idea. Gaunts are always good to have and Warriors can be converted into almost any kind of unit quite easily. Plus you get Genestealers.

The Trygon is a little iffy. I'd wait a bit before adding it to your army. Decide which way you're going before investing in one. They're good models but expensive and don't fit into every kind of list.

Genestealers and Swarmlord go together like bread and butter. If you're going to field Swarmy, Genestealers are almost a must. Even without Swarmlord, Stealers are one of the best units we've got as they have the potential to carve up just about anything in CC.

Of course that's all from the perspective of the current edition. My advice would be to get the battleforce first and work from there. It's hard to say what will be relevant with a new ruleset coming up soon.

[Davor]

Yes Genevaman is correct, can't go wrong with the battleforce box set. It will take a bit, and maybe you can get most of it done in 2 weeks. Remember to magnatize those Warriors since their build could change in 6th.

[gigasnail]

seconding, battleforce.

[blur]

If you want your army to be even better add these:
Tervigon
Raveners

It's roughly $100, but soo worth it. Raveners are just amazing, and Tervigon will spawn all your troops in.. Up to 18 rolling triples. And 15 without doubles. I've rolled 14 without doubles before

[Dylanj94]

So I spent a few hours looking over my funding and decided that I would get the following:

1 tervigon
1 battleforce
1 trygon prime
and all of the books associated with these things
I am thinking that the Tervigon/prime will lead the ranged group and the Warriors would lead the Melee part.

[TheContortionist]

battleforce is the best. SAVE YOUR WARRIORS. you will need them to make hive guard. I like getting a tervigon but the amount of gaunts you will need just to feild them can be troublesome. I would say Just get a Trygon before 6th comes out if you really can't wait. you can't really mess up modeling them. I don't think any rules changes are going to make them bad. and plus, the look freakin sweet. Test your color scheme on the bits you didn't model and wait for 6th to buy anything like the rest of us. welcome to the swarm.

[Jabberwocky]

Trygon Prime really wants to be in combat. 6+ S6 attacks, rerolling to hit and wounding on 2s, as well as being one of the few MCs in the game with fleet. He will most likely be leading your assault while soaking up every heavy weapon shot for the first turn or 2.

[Space is pretty big]

You can convert half a Tyranid army from Warriors alone, so agreed on the battleforce.

[Inquisitor Stingray]

A Battleforce seems like a safe purchase. I doubt any change of rules will make 'Gaunts more or less viable. They are the bread and butter of our army and will likely stay that way. Same thing goes for Genestealers. Heck, we may even be lucky and see a change of the Instant Death rule, making Warriors a more viable choice.

I wouldn't recommend buying a Trygon. It's definetely a great center-piece for your army, but it costs a lot and doesn't fit every list. A Tervigon seems like a much better choice.

[infornography]

I just want to point out, the battleforce went up significantly in cost but the individual components of it did not except for maybe warriors. I haven't done a reevaluation of the battleforce's value since that happened so I'm not sure it's still a no brainer.