Budgeted 1000pt Army - New to the game! Nom nom

[digitalmagician]

Hey All!
I am a new 40k Tyranid enthusiast! I have no models or army, and have never purchased, assembled, or painted anything other than a couple Tie Fighters my pop and I put together when I was 5. Hehe.

I am so happy to have found this board - it's exactly the perfect resource I could have asked for and is amazing!

I've been trolling the forums for a couple weeks and doing my best to absorb of all the awesome Nid knowledge and assemble my own starting army list. I've been scouring through the tactics threads and read through the entire stickied "tactica" post for research.
However, I realize that I know pretty much next to nothing in the shadow of the vast wisdom of the Hive here on the forum, so I should just stop trying to do it all on my own, and ask!

I am not entirely unfamiliar with the 40k universe, and have had many friends throughout my childhood, and now more recently playing and talking about it on the sidelines. I played Dawn of War online a ton and even tried the failed Fantasy MMO that was released.
Not to say that I am comparing the table top game to the video games, just that I have some familiarity with the armies/universe/fluff.

I have been going to my local shop to sit in on their Ascension League games and watch the local players battle it out. Most of them seem to be playing Space Marines. I've seen a couple Ork players, one Tau, and one of the employees (who is pretty much my definition of a pretentious nerd) started up a Necron army and I think he has some GKs.

Anyway, I'm just letting you guys know I'm excited!

Ok, so here's the deal. My best friend used to play about a decade ago. He just recently (as of 3 or 4 months) after much encouraging, starting assembling a new army. He decided to go with Grey Knights since he read one of the 40k novels and he really liked their fluff.
He's gotten enough together to battle the locals and that's where I've been checking out the games. He's still new (especially to 6th edition) and is getting back on his feet. So naturally, I can't really ask him about what are solid troop choices, etc.
He's been getting bummed that he has no other friends to play with other than the kids at the shop, and he kept bugging me to start an army. Well, I'm an apprentice electrician, and don't make much money I can spare beyond rent, so I unfortunately had to just shrug off the idea.
However! My buddy happens to be quite a bit better off financially, and is so desperate for a friend to play with, that he has offered to pay for a starter army! And here we are!

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The Challenge:

Army : 1000pts

Budget : $200USD
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So far, judging from what I've looked into, the Battleforce box for about $100USD is a good choice.

I was told by the employee of the shop that getting a Hive Tyrant along with the Battleforce was a strong choice.
However from lurking these forums I have come to the conclusion that fielding a Tyranid Prime (for my HQ) with this size army seems to be a much better choice since the Tyrant is so costly on points.

I don't really know where to go with troops.
From what I can tell, Terms (x16-20?) with Devourers seems like a popular choice along with fielding a Tervigon as a troop.
But then also some people swear by Hermies and Gargoyles.. this is where I start getting a little confused. I believe Herms are more CC and Terms are a more ranged option?
A brood of Genestealers (with a Broodlord??) seems to be a must have if I'm not mistaken.

Eventually I would like to have a Hive Tyrant with a couple Hive Guards, as well as a Trygon and a brood of Zoanthropes since I think they're awesome. However, those options speak to me as the next step along, and I'm really just trying to make the best starter army I can.

So yeah, that's pretty much where I am at.
I am really looking forward to all of your comments and advice.
I will be taking all of your opinions seriously and will be making my purchases solely on what you all think is the best idea.

Thank you! And I'm sorry to ask for so much on my first post!

PS: I would really like to start a "Progress Thread" once I get my army together and keep you guys up to date with pictures and how my battles go. I really love how friendly and tight-knit this community is! WOOOT!

[depletor [H5ed]]

You should definitely go to look for used stuff. Maybe you can find some metal stuff like Tyrants that are now available in plastic.

A unit that is in my opinion fun to play and a good choice in 6th edition: The Tervigon. Downside: you need loads of gaunts. Again: used stuff.

Good luck! And welcome to the hive.

[digitalmagician]

Thanks for the reply! I'm glad I'm not going too far off in the wrong direction there!
I've been hounding ebay like you suggested there.
So far this seemed like a great pick!
The auction has a big ol' pile of gaunts and a tervigon to boot.

www.ebay.com/itm/150868317760?ssPageName=STRK

[wisdomseyes1]

Welcome to the hive

if you don't have a codex I'd suggest picking one up as you need it to play. Also a good idea to get a rulebook or know someone who has it and can bring it to games for references (40k recently added a lot of charts) 

Termagants are popular choices for the sole purpose of the tervigon, who is easily the strongest troops choice we have. It is a troops choice that is hard itself to kill an provides usefully buffs to the army, isn't bad in close combat (anymore with new psychic powers it got a fun little buff) and makes additional scoring units with next to no penalty. 

For those who hate the tervigon because it is a "fluff abomination" or because they are 40k hipsters who don't like mainstream and/or liked the clise comvat obky tactics presented in our last set of rules, hormagaunts are better ecause they have for 1 point vastly superior stats (extra initiative, an extra attack, scything talons) and often add TS/AG to make them close combat monsters. Obviously the more upgrades you put on them the less you can take. Termagants are often being used with devourers to increase their damage output point for point more than any other army can say they can in shooting. Again, points matter for them as well, try double their cost to triple their damage output, and I'd you don't need them for damage then you are using up valuable points you could use for something more effective.

It all depends on the person. Genestealers used to come in large units, outflank, and kill off the opponent. Broodlords used to be a joke (and still are in my opinion) because if a variety of reasons. People started taking them because of character rules and new psychic powers, but honestly there aren't really any it benefits from due to its BS0 (there is a bit of a debate on this but for now it's safer to just say they can't use psychic shooting that doesnt automatically hit than they can. Simpler and better for the purposes of competition we are still waiting for an FAQ on this)

Some people on this forum will say they agree with your store owner about the hive tyrant being a strong choice to start, and maybe they are right because the metagame has shifted to anti infantry, and so Tyranids are basically the only army that is fielding mass T6 right now, making most armies poorly equip to handle them in all comers. I don't know if this will eventually lead to people balancing their armies to once again deal with our big bugs, but right now it can be a good choice. I still prefer a tyranid prime in near all points levels, but the tyrant is one option that can more effectively deal with transports and fliers without concern (okay, fliers a bit of concern, but better than normal) 

That's all I have for now, take from it what you will, and good luck in your endeavors. 

[digitalmagician]

Well I definitely have no problem fielding a Tervigon. If it's effective, then it's effective. I like the fact that it's a troop choice and can spawn more troops in its right while still being a fairly large annoyance to the opposing army.
I'm thinking because my army is just starting out, that it makes sense for me to go with Terms/Devourers + Tervigon due to points and availability. What Biomorphs should I take with the Terms + Tervigon? It sounds like Devourer and TS are a great way to go for the little guys. Also, how many should I field if I'm only running a 1000pt army?

It sounds like I should still use genestealers, but yeah, just take out the Broodlord then.

If it were a situation where I could afford the Tyrant and just swap him in and out, I would be a little less hesitant to get him. Currently my thinking is that I try and get more Warriors instead and then purchase a Tyrant later on when I have a better feel for the game and have some more money saved up. But then again, if you guys think he would be valuable in a 1000pt setup, I might go for it.

Thanks guys! Your suggestions and knowledge are really helping.

[wisdomseyes1]

Ehhh, I forgot to mention why genestealers stopped doing the outflanking thing (I was going to but got sidetracked with the broodlord)

Outflank use to work exactly the same way as it does now, with one exception... You could assault the turn they came in. This means opponents within 18" of the board edge had to avoid being near the board edge else they get assaulted by the little buggers.

In this new edition, that doesn't work anymore. They can not assault on that turn, which means that tey will have a turn to get shot at before hand and then they get to assault. Now there are only really 2 ways to take them:

Broodlord commando- 5-6 man unit with a broodlord. The broodlord rolls on a table (most people go for telepathy because you can use the basic power, where I still have a hard time accepting for the reason you can only use 2 of the options (1 and 2, many people say invisibility but don't realize it's warp charge 2, which means it needs to be mastery 2 to use) the goal being use the genestealers as additional wounds then chare forward with your broodlord and his powers, trying to win via combat and buffs from new psychic powers

Or

Genestealers hoard- 20 man strong genestealers unit inflitrating and preferably with cover. Go first and run forward, blunt a round of shooting and then deal with overwatch. Go second and do similar with lesser effect.

I personally don't like genestealers this edition, but they are by no means bad. I am just spoiled by what they were, I think

At 1k? I started 1750 when this edition came out, so my 1000 point Experiance is limited.

I think I ran
Tyranid prime
Lw/bs
Rending claws
TS

Another tyranid prime same set up

Tervigon TS, AG, catalyst.

15 devilgants
15 devilgants

2 hive guard
2 hive guard
2 hive guard

Something along those lines. This edition I wouldn't be running adrenal glands on tervigons anymore I wouldn't run so many give guard (I seldom run that many at 1750 now) but yea.

For you, maybe something like...

Tyranid prime
Lw/bs
Deathspitter
Regen
TS
120

5 tyranid warrior
Bs
Deathspitter
TS
=250

15 devilgants 150
15 hormagaunt (TS/AG) 150

Tervigon TS, catalyst, onslaught, crushing claws
225

And there is still 105 points to work with. Which I would add another prime with lw/bs, and regen.

[wisdomseyes1]

Important note: if you have he funds, magnetize any monstrous creatures with their upgrades like crushing claws. It allows you to model them more interestingly, but more importantly change their upgrades for WYSIWYG purposes. You don't like crushing claws on your tervigon? Take them off. Much easier to do if you have magnets. Nothing is for certain, metagame and opinions constantly change.

[ziyousansz]

Welcome to the Hive, and to 40k in general!

A quick question: are you willing to do some conversion work? One of the ways I keep costs down is by turning cheaper models into more expensive units. Warriors are amazing for this - you can make hive guards, tyrant guards, broodlords, and lictors out of them for about $10 per model, rather than paying $25+ per. You'll need a few spare bits for this, of course, but Ebay is good for random parts. I've started a low-budget conversion thread and linked it to my sig, and there are plenty of great conversion tutorials to be found in the Converting / Terrain forum.

It sounds like you'll be facing a lot of heavily-armored foes and sometimes large hordes. I think Devilgaunts will be a good option for both - flood your opponent with sheer volume fire, and force them to roll a lot of die. Monstrous creatures and bonesword-equipped units are also great against armor, but they are also a bit costly in most cases. If you can get a battleforce on the cheap, go for it. If you can get a cheap Tervigon, go for it. The Terv makes a solid choice as a troop, and is especially hard to deal with in small games. You can also get warrior broods for about $20 on Ebay. They can be easily fit with bone swords and run as either Warriors or Shrikes. These are very good at taking out terminator squads, which you'll likely face a ton of.

You can get a lot second-hand. Most of these will be super-glued together. If you put them in the fridge, the glue will become brittle, and you can pull the models apart fairly easily. This won't work for everything, but it should work for most used models you buy. From there you can switch weapons around or strip paint more easily. I've gotten the bulk of my own stuff second-hand on the cheap and modified it to fit my needs.

Never feel sorry for asking advice. Happy hunting.

[lostminds]

Sadly I would go with cheap, cheapest place near me sells for 25% off. (Which means for me going outside local game store, which I would prefer everybody to support their local store...)So going with that price I would do the following.

Battleforce
Make 2 of the warriors into primes (With Magnets)
Use the Genestealers as Ymgarlls
Make the gaunts into devilgaunts (devourers)
Hormagaunts save them for later or use them for proxy termagants
Carnifex - Give him 2x twin linked devourers. Box only comes with one so just put one on till you get another (and magnets would do great here too)
Tervigon
Rest of the money in 3 of the 5 man Termagaunt boxes.

So you would have
HQ
Tyranid Prime : Deathspitter, Regen
Tyranid Prime : Deathspitter, Regen, Rending Claws

Elites
Ymgarll Brood x 8

Troops
Termagaunt x16 : Devourers
Tervigon : Adrenal Glands, Toxin Sacs, Catalyst
Termagaunt x15 : Fleshborers
Heavy
Carnifex : 2x Twinlinked Devourers

That would be around 999 points. Primes go with carnifex & Devilgaunts.

Total Price is around 199.88

[fleetofclaw]

Actually what I'm doing is using the fleshborer hive from the Tervigon kit and using it as devourers for my carnifex. And yes, magnets are your best friend.

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using proboards

[digitalmagician]

Thank you so much!
This is exactly the advice I was hoping for!
Since my friend who is playing GKs is magnetizing his units, I will definitely be doing the same to mine! He has the tools and will show me how! Mwhahaha.
So far I've purchased the Battleforce and am going to go from there.
Devilgaunts are a solid choice everyone agrees upon, as well as 2 Primes and a Tervigon, so these will obviously be my next move.
I'm not so sure about the Carnifex, but we'll see what eBay has in store for me.

Also, I have no qualms about converting models and buying used! I've started reading the conversion thread, and it's very inspiring!

I've heard mixed things about Ymgarls, and Genestealers in general for 6th edition, but I feel like they would be a solid choice to throw in instead of more Gaunts or another prime.

Anyway, thank you again for very specific troop choices and the lists and all the details! This has made things so much better for me and I can move along with my army with a lot more confidence!!!