Advice for a noob

[gremlock]

I'm getting back into 40k for the first time in years and I would really appreciate some advice on the list I'm settling towards. I'm not a tournament player but I know my local meta contains a lot of tournament/competitive players so I'm trying to put together something that is fun for me to play and competitive enough not to get tabled every game. Here's what I have so far:

++ Battalion Detachment +5CP (Tyranids) [23 PL, 3CP, 393pts] ++

+ Configuration +

Battle-forged CP [3CP]

Gametype: Matched

Hive Fleet
. Other: Metamorphic Regrowth, Morphic Sinews

+ HQ +

Hive Tyrant [11 PL, 219pts]: Monstrous Scything Talons, Two Deathspitters with Slimer Maggots, Warlord, Wings

Tyranid Prime [6 PL, 75pts]: Deathspitter, Scything Talons

+ Troops +

Ripper Swarms [2 PL, 33pts]
. 3x Ripper Swarm: 3x Claws and Teeth

Ripper Swarms [2 PL, 33pts]
. 3x Ripper Swarm: 3x Claws and Teeth

Ripper Swarms [2 PL, 33pts]
. 3x Ripper Swarm: 3x Claws and Teeth

++ Vanguard Detachment +1CP (Tyranids) [33 PL, 668pts] ++

+ HQ +

Neurothrope [4 PL, 90pts]: Power: Onslaught, Power: Smite, Resonance Barb

+ Elites +

Hive Guard [13 PL, 258pts]
. 6x Hive Guard (Impaler): 6x Impaler Cannon

Zoanthropes [8 PL, 160pts]: Power: Psychic Scream, Power: Smite
. 4x Zoanthrope: 4x Claws and Teeth

Zoanthropes [8 PL, 160pts]: Power: Smite, Power: The Horror
. 4x Zoanthrope: 4x Claws and Teeth

++ Spearhead Detachment +1CP (Tyranids) [50 PL, 829pts] ++

+ HQ +

Old One Eye [10 PL, 200pts]

+ Heavy Support +

Carnifexes [18 PL, 319pts]
. Carnifex: 2x Monstrous Scything Talons, Bone Mace, Spore Cysts, Tusks
. Carnifex: 2x Monstrous Scything Talons, Bone Mace, Spore Cysts, Tusks
. Carnifex: Enhanced Senses, Spore Cysts, 2x Two Deathspitters with Slimer Maggots

Exocrine [11 PL, 155pts]

Exocrine [11 PL, 155pts]

++ Total: [106 PL, 3CP, 1,890pts] ++

Thanks in advance

[No One]

Straight off the bat, morphic sinews isn't great generally, and is pretty bad for the list in specifics. You have 4 models who benefit at all, only 1 of which benefits consistently. Exos don't want to move (or want to use strat) still anyway, to get +1 and double tap. Flyrant doesn't want to advance, because it wants to charge. Which leaves a single fex.

Regrowth has a lot of potential value, but enough to justify it over, say, Kronos hive guard and exo? No.

In specifics:
-Don't take prime without anything to buff unless you really need the points: neuro does something, broodlord is good.
-Scy tal on flyrant is...eh. It has it's uses over MRC, but that's mostly for multi-model stuff and/or monstrous size. And without Behemoth, I don't think it's worth the adapt. (Also adapt should be listed)
-Barb on neuro isn't great. It's effectively +1 on a single spell, vs +1 on multiples and an extra smite with the flyrant. Yes you get to protect it, but (especially not Kronos) what power do you really need +1 on, when you already have rr 1s?
-Screens: you have none and with 2 exos, a hive guard as well as OOE, you want some. Get some termagants.
-I'm not sold on the fexes/OOE in the context of the rest of the list. Very divergent play styles that I don't think gel, but...maybe?

[gremlock]

From your other advice I was thinking:

Spearhead
- Change fleet to Kronos
- drop 1 scythe fex
- switch other scythe fex to match the D/Spitter fex
- Drop OOE, Not sure of a replacement HQ

Vanguard
No change apart from moving RB to flyrant

Batallion
- drop prime, add brood Lord
- switch sinews to Bio-Metalic cysts
- Add in 15 stealers with scythe

Leaves 179pts for new HQ in spearhead

[No One]

gremlock said:

Spearhead
- Change fleet to Kronos
- drop 1 scythe fex
- switch other scythe fex to match the D/Spitter fex
- Drop OOE, Not sure of a replacement HQ


Vanguard
No change apart from moving RB to flyrant

You want the hive guard as Kronos, and you want a neuro to cast symbiostorm, because that's a large part of why Kronos is so strong, with either exo's +1 or hive guard's double tap and LoS ignoring target selection. Technically doesn't have to be a neuro, but you want Character protection and neuro gets rr 1s. With all of your other smite only psykers though, I think broodlord would be fine as well.

Also the vanguard still gets no benefit from morphic sinews: if you want metamorphic regrowth on the zoans, the best 2nd trait for them is either the reroll advance (to get in smite range easier) or rr failed casts (which isn't great with its once per army, but it's still a psyker buff in an all psyker detachment. Because don't put the hive guard there, it's not worth the 1 CP/50 pts for a lictor to lose Kronos buffs for nothing much).

Batallion
- drop prime, add brood Lord
- switch sinews to Bio-Metalic cysts
- Add in 15 stealers with scythe

Bio-metalic cysts doesn't work with anything other than normal scy tals. Which leaves it as just the stealers. Giving stealers AP-1 on scy tals is eh: it gives you a skerric of extra output against light targets, where you don't need it. Especially without Swarmlord or a reliable delivery mechanism. Reroll advance or extra AP if outnumber are better, or just take gaunts as dedicated screens with 6++: it depends on your plans for the stealers, and terrain for your meta as to how effective they'll be. Could be viable, but they won't make combat T1 without big errors from the opponent and die fairly easily: if you can't hide them either moving up or for a counter-charge...

Still don't like regrowth on basically a single flyrant here, but give it a shot I guess.