Building a list for a campaign

[squash]

I've got a campaign starting on Saturday, the campaign starts at 750 points, but will increase from there. The only important detail here is you have the same warlord throughout the entire campaign. This will likely last several weeks.

How do I go about building a list like that? I've never played a game so small before, what should I expect? It seems like I can barely cover a HQ and two troops.

[killme304]

You have two options, you can start with an expensive Warlord that you will use later on to better effect (like a Flyrant), or you can just go with the prime and add in a Tyrant when the points go high enough.

Tervigons are your friend in all point totals, but the spawning ability is even more powerful in lower point games.

Say you spawn 15 gaunts in one turn, that is an extra 75 points you have over your opponent, equal to 10% more stuff than him. That's just one turn if your really lucky. If you spawn even twice, you will likely have a huge advantage over the opponent.

A Prime, troops tervigon and gaunts will still give you a bit of room to add more things, warriors might be too expensive, so you can add more gaunts or maybe some gargoyles. Keep your 750 list kinda swarmy, as MCs will suck up a ton of your points and you won't be able to do much at all if something dies to a few early wounds.

Be glad your not grey knights, they can put down about 7 models at 750 (slightly exaggerated).

[Rakuall]

I'd be tempted to run something like:
Flyrant....appx. 250
T-Guants...........50-100
Tervie......appx. 200
That's 500-550, leaving you a minimum of 200 points to play around with. Using that, you could run 2x10 guants, and 2 troop tervies.

Jul 19, 2012 12:46:12 GMT killme304 said:

Be glad your not grey knights, they can put down about 7 models at 750 (slightly exaggerated).

Not by much though. I think I saw a 5 or 6 model 500 point list one time.

[gloomfang]

Jul 19, 2012 14:25:59 GMT Rakuall said:

I'd be tempted to run something like:
Flyrant....appx. 250
T-Guants...........50-100
Tervie......appx. 200
That's 500-550, leaving you a minimum of 200 points to play around with. Using that, you could run 2x10 guants, and 2 troop tervies.

Decent list for 750. I would make those 10 guants devgaunts for 100pts. With the extra points I would take 2 units of 5 ripper swarms for 100pts. Then I would use 90pts for 15 Hormaguants. Still 10pts to play with for biomorphs.

[squash]

Sorry, I should of said, I have an irrational and unjustified hatred of Tervigons and Hive Guard. What do you think of this list?


Hive Tyrant, Wings
20 Devilgants
Spore Pod, Stinger Salvo
27 Hormagants, Adrenal Glands, Toxin Sacs

[tanagra]

For a campaign.... to be honest i'd be going for the swarmlord, just cause I'm weird like that. If I had to keep him as my warlord for the entire campaign knowing that the army would grow along the way, It'd just feel like the swarmlord is learning and adapting to the opponent at hand, always altering the swarm to fit the current needs.

Like I said, I'm weird like that.

[gloomfang]

Jul 19, 2012 19:54:15 GMT squash said:

Hive Tyrant, Wings
20 Devilgants
Spore Pod, Stinger Salvo
27 Hormagants, Adrenal Glands, Toxin Sacs

Not sure if it will work. You have only 2 scoring units and nothing to hold your backfield objective.
Break the Devgaunts and hormaguants into 2 squads each. that will give you 4 scoring units. I would also drop the Pod and fill in the Hormaguants a bit more.
This is of guessing you are paying on 4x4. If on a standard table keep the pod.

[coredump]

You have to keep the Warlord, can you swap out the rest of the list?

I don't like tervigons either, but... I am really in love with the 'NEW' tervigon, ie a Carnifex with ride-along termagants. Add CCLaws on that Terv and roll on Biomancy. then head into combat and Smash Attack them into oblivion. If you can accept the new 'vision', it will do you well.

I really like Hyvemynds idea of a Prime as warlord. Flyrants tend to be put into dangerous situations an are more likely to die during a game. Plop that Prime in a unit of 20 gaunts, or 2 fexes, or even 6 warriors... and it is a really tough model to kill.

A flyrant will likely do well at this level, but it is a lot of points at this level....

[tanagra]

Question: by using the same hq as your warlord, are you able to swap out biomorphs ore does it have to keep the exact same upgrades all the time?

If its the former, you can swap a flyrant out for a tyrant depending on the opponent

[squash]

Same warlord, same biomorphs, the rest of the army is variable.

[killme304]

Lashwhip + bonesword, deathspiter Prime (with your favorite biomorphs) is likely your best bet then, as you can change up the tyrant in higher points to suit the kinds of lists that are showing up.

EDIT:
I know you said you don't like tervigons, but you should seriously take another look at them in 6th. They went from fairly expensive, durable scoring unit with good buffs, to fairly expensive, durable scoring unit with good buffs THAT BRINGS THE BEATS HARDCORE. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is more satisfying that wiping out Nob Bikers with ID because they didn't know you could use smash on a non-vehicle unit.

[Xantige]

What happens if your Warlord dies in the campaign? is he gone forever? Is he penalized in some way? Or does he show up next game like nothing happened?

Also, what armies will you be facing?

I've played a lot of 1000point and under games, I find the Prime works as a really cool HQ at that level (to be fair, I've never tried the Tyrant). You might want to go with the Prime as your Warlord, even if you take a Tyrant or Swarmy later on. Just consider him the dark evil mastermind behind the army and the Tyrants are just decoys. But if you go that route, consider what you'll be facing in later games. Kit your Prime out for the future, not just for the now. Unless in the next game you'll be able to get your Tyrant in there and the Prime becomes a bit useless...

Honestly, I'm not a fan of the Tervigon (at least in 5th),but you might want to consider it for a game at 750 points. For one thing, you get a giant MC, for another, you get synapse (synapse is a game breaker at smaller games if you're not careful), and you also get bonus troops. At 750, you'll be hard to beat with that... unless that's what your opponents are expecting.

Just don't forget synapse. Nothing is worse than having to keep your whole army within a foot of your Prime and getting pie plated, and nothing is more frustrating than losing control of the precious few units you have...

[squash]

My dislike of Tervigons isn't that they're good, it's that every single army list I see online has them. I kind of feel like I'm being shoe-horned into something, and my fear of commitment manifests. Additionally, there's only one other Tyranid player in town, and she has a whole bunch of them, they're kinda her *thing*.

The prime is a good idea, but what would you think about Parasite joining hormagaunts?

[squash]

How's this?

Option 1:

Parasite of Mortrex
25 Hormagaunts, Toxin Sacs, Adrenal Glands
10 Termagants
10 Termagants
3 Zoanthropes, Spore Pod

Option 2:

Parasite of Mortrex
25 Gargoyles, Toxin Sacs, Adrenal Glands
10 Termagants
10 Devilgants
3 Zoanthropes, Spore Pod

Option 3:


Parasite of Mortrex
20 Gargoyles, Toxin Sacs, Adrenal Glands
17 Hormagaunts, Adrenal Glands, Toxin Sacs
10 Termagants
10 Termgants
2 Zoanthropes, Spore Pod

[killme304]

PoM is cute, but your only getting rippers when you get lucky. From my testing with the PoM, even in a bunch of gargs he really doesn't do much useful.

You don't want the PoM in with horms, as they both slow each other down (no bounding leap on PoM, and hormies aren't JI so PoM slows down).

Drop the pod on the zoans, you don't need the protection in lower point games. 3+ invuln with 2 wounds each makes them more durable than SM.

I'm also not a fan of any small broods of gaunts. Anything less than 15 is incapable of doing anything but sit on an objective or screen. Since your gargs will be ahead of them anyway, you won't be screening much.

All of you lists are really light on synapse, you might want to drop some points somewhere to fit in a small group of warriors. Give them a deathspitter + talons to keep them at 35 points a model and they can still do fairly well.