Competitive 2000 pt. 'Nid list

[sionnach19]

Hey guys! Long time lurker, finally turned poster... can't find any good Tyranid resources online, so to get my fix I decided to join the site. Wanted to most up my go-to 6th Edition list.

I've had a lot of success with this army, and come from a rather competitive LGS. It's not entirely conventional, but I think the philosophy works really well and I've never been disappointed in the list's performance. Without further ado:

HQ
280 - Swarmlord
65 - Tyrant Guard, Lash Whip
Elite
100 - 2x Hive Guard
100 - 2x Hive Guard
161 - 7x Ymgarl Genestealers
Troop
220 - Tervigon, Crushing Claws, TS/AG, Catalyst
220 - Tervigon, Crushing Claws, TS/AG, Catalyst
50 - 10x Termagants
50 - 10x Termagants
Fast Attack
175 - 5x Raveners, Rending Claws
175 - 5x Raveners, Rending Claws
Heavy Support
200 - Trygon
200 - Trygon

Let me try to explain:

I've always been pretty critical of the Swarmlord since he's so many points... I used him in 5th Edition for flanking 'Stealers, so he kind of made it into my early 6th edition tests. His boosted Synapse range is really important for keeping a tight leash on my Raveners (Rage may not be a detriment anymore, but Ld6 sure is if they take casualties at range or lose melee!). The new psychic tables are great too... I usually roll on Biomancy, as I'm guaranteed to get one of the three powers I love (Endurance, Enfeeble, or Iron Arm). Biomancy pushes Swarmy from "One of the best combat characters in the game" to "THE best combat character in the game."

Only 4 Hive Guard is a bummer, but they're the only models I've had and rarely do I find myself wishing I had more to be honest. I'm not in love with the Ymgarls, but they provide a really important disruption function against gunlines and usually help make Turn 2 all the more hectic for my opponent. I plan on dropping them if I ever need to scale down, or get some kind of White Dwarf update.

Troops are bog standard, two Tervigons and their requisite tax... plenty of scoring potential, and fearless super buffed gaunts are absurdly good at tarpiting now. I rarely choose to drop their powers, as Catalyst is too important.

Raveners are a little controversial, but I've been very pleased with their performance. I dropped all of my outflanking Genestealers for these guys instead and haven't looked back... the Beast rules are fantastic, and Turn 2 charges are almost guaranteed. Ravs will ususally get FNP turn 1/2, as they're the faster and more immediate target. After that, I'll start cycling it onto the MC's. Vulnerability to >S7 weapons is definitely a concern for Raveners, but the general trend I've noticed is a quantity of cheaper S6-7 shooting. Besides, shots focused at them are shots not focused at the Monstrous Creatures. Speaking of MC, Trygons are straightforward... more T6 saturation and some combat badassery.

On the table, I generally try to centralize deployment with lots of flexibility for the SL, Raveners, Trygons, and dormant Ymgarls to engage on Turns 2/3. Hive Guard open up transports and try to pick on stragglers while staying out of LoS. Tervigons usually cover the rear/flanks until they get to midfield, and then look to hold objectives or keep engaging if necessary. Generally my assault units aren't in great shape by the end of the game, but that's fine... the two Tervigons and a horde of gaunts are monopolizing most of the field are the ones holding objectives and winning the game.

The army really functions around bad choices... there's no way to stop ALL of the threats from reaching melee, and once they get stuck in I'm always reminded of how good our combat units are. The list can stand toe to toe with other assault armies pretty comfortably (psychic support goes a long way in that sort of match up). It lacks shooting tools, especially any kind of anti-flyer... but quite frankly, the whole codex is full of lack luster choices for shooting down flyers.

Sorry for rambling a bit, but wanted to share my experiences/list with the awesome Tyranid community a bit. Curious to hear any thoughts you guys may have! I've given lots of thought to potential list changes, but honestly I've been so pleased with how this army works that I don't plan on changing it (at least until after the BFS GT).

[Jabberwocky]

I'd want rending claws on my ravs, otherwise armour 2+/3+ just doesn't break quick enough. You had a lot of bodies though so maybe thats fine for you.

If you wanted to rage/feed with them, take some telepathy with say a Broodlord. Mental fortitude is 24" fearless, so can reach units on flanks quite easily .Infiltrating them also gives you an early threat/disruption unit rather than waiting until turn 2 like Ymgarls. Might be worth testing the swap.

[sionnach19]

Thanks for the reply! Was worried the thread would get lost

Yeah, the Raveners do have Rending Claws. Paid the points for it but forgot to mark it down... I totally agree, I think it's really important to give them tools to tackle power armor, or tougher MC/vehicles. I so wish they could take Toxin Sacs! The Broodlord idea is interesting... definitely worth some consideration for the more aggressive scoring. I loved Broodlords last edition and they only got better in 6th, but I'm so down on standard 'Stealers. Definitely worth playtesting.

[labinnac]

if you don't like the ymgarls much but still want something to tie up your opponent you could try a DoM in a spore once and see how that works. He would be doing roughly the same thing you use your ymgarls for but you would be saving 20 points doing it. I use both I like both of their abilities to just annihilate my opponents troops thus giving them nothing to score with and my flyrant can pick up the pieces (remaining troops, tanks, their own warlord etc).