Vs. Eldar Wraithknight SPAM at 1500 points

[scrotatohead]

I'm running a 1250 point tournament as I write this. It's clear the winning player will be Eldar with:

Autarch, bike, fusion gun, chainsword (shard of anaris), Banshee mask, Mantle of Laughing God

5 Dire Aventer in wave serpent with holo fields, scatter lasers, shuriken cannon
5 Dire Aventer in wave serpent with holo fields, scatter lasers, shuriken cannon

Wraith Knight with sun cannon, scatter laser
Wraith Knight with sun cannon, scatter laser

I'm not playing in the tournament but I will be potentially facing this army at the 1500 point level. He's just decimated his first two opponents, both IG with the knights.

How do we stand up to this? Where is the weakness? I know toxin sacs and swarms are critical so I presume 2xTervigon as the core of the troops.

This is the list I had planned for that round without knowing who would most likely be involved:

== HQ ==
Hive Tyrant (1) - Twin-Linked Devourer - Brainleech Worms, Twin-Linked Devourer - Brainleech Worms, Wings, Paroxysm, Leech Essence, Old Adversary = 285 pts.
Hive Tyrant (1) - Twin-Linked Devourer - Brainleech Worms, Twin-Linked Devourer - Brainleech Worms, Wings, Paroxysm, Leech Essence = 260 pts.

== Elites ==
Hive Guard Brood (2) = 100 pts.
Zoanthrope Brood (160 pts.)
  Zoanthrope (2) = 120 pts.
  Mycetic Spore (1) = 40 pts.

== Troops ==
Tervigon (1) - Stinger Salvo, AG, Toxin Sacs, Acid Blood, Cat, Onslaught = 225 pts.
Termagant Brood (10) - Fleshborer = 50 pts.
Tyranid Warrior Brood (110 pts.)
  Tyranid Warrior (2) - Devourer, Rending Claws = 70 pts.
  Tyranid Warrior (1) - Barbed Strangler, Rending Claws = 40 pts.
Termagant Brood (14) - Devourer = 140 pts.

== Heavy Support ==
Biovore Brood (2) = 90 pts.

== Fortification ==
Landing Pad = 75 pts.

== Total ==
1495 pts.

Units in Bold can't be changed due to escalation tournament structure.

The pad is intended to provide protection for biovores and Guard against all the cover save ignoring fire. It can also do the same for a Flyrant or two if other terrain simply isn't favorable.  Warriors are to provide synapse while the Tervigon advances and Flyrants and Zoans get into the backfield to tear things up.

Other armies: Orks with three dakka jets, Necron with three croissant flyers, Necron with A Barge and other flying nasties, IG with lots of tanks, Black Templars, Dark Angels, Eldar with bombers and wave serpants, Chaos Daemons with winged Bloodthirster and winged deamon prince, and ultramarines.

EDIT: Just realized I was in the wrong category. Reposted in Tyranid Lists category.

[Squire]

That can't be his entire army...?

Apart from toxic gaunts I don't know how the competitive nid army is meant to deal with one or more wraithknights. How about just going hell for leather to kill his troops? Go all out for the secondary objectives, try to tarpit the wraithknights and pray. Honestly, I don't know and I'd like to know what people are doing about that thing. I like the idea of charging with a toxic trygon but I'm not sure what the WK's instant death attack does exactly, so I don't know if the trygon would survive long enough to bring it down

My own 1500 friendly list has (I believe) a nice little option to deal with the WK, but at the expense of the dakka flyrant, sadly. A flyrant with both pairs of scything talons, toxin sacs and implant attack. The talons maximise hits so the chance of ID'ing on the charge is 0.74, and then 0.59 in the next round of combat. Three quarters of the time it'll wipe a WK out on the charge. On the assumption that the flyrant survives long enough, the WK only has a 10% chance of surviving both rounds of combat. Nobody is going to be dropping their dakka flyrants of course

[scrotatohead]

That's actually an interesting strategy for the Flyrant, and not something opponents would expect. I presume the wings and snapfire is better than Armored shell and a guard or two?

I errored in the header though. It is only a 1250 point tournament level, not 1500. Not a lot of models, but everyone has to focus on the Wraithknights because he puts them right in your face. He then puts a serpent and the Autarch in the other table quarters to take that secondary, and expects to win the Objectives objective by either denying or scoring them. A pretty tight and steady approach.

[Squire]

I don't know if it's better than a shellrant, it's mostly included because I need mobile CC ability and the implant attack/scything talon combo is a reaction to the WK and riptide releases.

Well, you seem to have good options for popping transports and more ranged anti infantry than nids usually field, so I'd be tempted to just to concentrate on killing the enemy scoring units.

[oranos325]

I would drown him in gaunts. He only has a few troops and with enough gaunts you can tarpit both WK. If he plays them in your face as you say then a tervigon spawning the gaunts, them moving, then charging can catch him. Take out the warriors and change the Devil gaunts to normal and run a second Tervigon. Wait for him to get close enough that your gaunts can get him when spawned (6"+6"+2d6 charge) and then just pump out more and more of them. I think the Wk only has 4 attacks if I remember correctly so 15 gaunts could hold him for a couple of turns. Enough time for you to destroy his two transports and kill his minimal troops.

Now this has to be playable vs the other armies too and two tervs are generally the framework for every nid list so that shouldnt be an issue for you.

[killme304]

Same way we handle most MCs, fearless gaunts can hold basically anything in combat forever. Tervigons don't want to fight a WK unless its already wounded and locked by something else. I don't know all of its rules, but this is how I've always handled any MC (other than riptides, charge those things with everything in your list and you will probably wreck him). Killed 6 of my 5pt (or free) models each turn? There are only 150+ others in my list, no sweat.

Off-topic: Swarm lists are really good this edition. You want gants to take Tervigons as troops, so you might as well fill the units out. Whats our best way to kill something with a 2+ save? Drown it in wounds. 5+ save only? Drown it in wounds. The only reason I would worry about shots higher than S4 this edition is vehicles. Bonus points because even the humble 5pt gaunt can kill a termie on a lucky roll, and you can take 30 of them. Devourers are also 100% standard on my gaunts as of 6th ed. They charge me? 3 overwatch shot per living gaunt. I'm getting close the the enemy? Even g2g behind an ADL won't save you from 90 shots. Only bad dice can save them. And if they want to kill my gaunts? Tervigon charges them, preferably with IA, and they might not even be able to wound it. Proceed to ID everything in the unit, and only invulns can save them then.

tl;dr: Max your wound count (both dealt and owning) and you will go farther with bugs this edition.

[scrotatohead]

Thanks much for the advice. Bodies, bodies bodies. A good answer for most any Tyranid dilemna.