Apparently GSC is the least played Xenos faction (1.4%)

[kociamafia]

Nov 23, 2020 20:05:57 GMT grubblenmash said:

I love their models, in their current state it’s hard to play them by themselves since they don’t stay on the board very long but souping them into your nids army can be nice. I like using acolyte hybrids with rocksaws and/or hand flamers to steal an objective round 2 or 3. I kitbashed my version of clamavus nexos and primus to provide a nice cp farm since Nids are a cp hungry army and it helps increase the probability of getting the acolyte hybrids in to do business.

I remember when in 8th it used to be the other way around - Nids were the "Meh" faction, while mono GSC enjoyed much better performance (Both acolyte & abberant spam variants).

Nowadays...Dare I say it...Nids got slight edge in 9th over their GSC counterparts ? Perhaps Im dellusional...

[Hive Bahamut]

Nids were only a meh faction after the rules kneecapped the army. Rule of 3, no turn 1 DS etc. They were literally FAQ'd to death after a few GW folk got smashed by them at a tournie.

Nids are setup for 9th. Durable Zoans, pew pew Exocrines and Hive Guard and choppy FW gribblies.

GSC has.. About 8 games in and still no clue.

[brassangel]

GSC has placed more players into top 4's at tournaments than Tyranids, that's for sure, and currently have a higher overall win percentage. Those aren't propaganda pieces by GW; it's tournament data with their own "y'okay bloke?" commentary thrown in.

GSC's can play the objective game super well right now, and with multiple build variants. But they are NOT an easy army to play with, or as forgiving as, say, Space Marines.

For Tyranids, the Hive Guard are losing steam on the competitive scene because a 300 point unit with their d3 damage Impaler Cannon shots doesn't trade well against Storm Shield and/or Gravis Armor guys who cost 120 points or less per unit. There also aren't enough vehicles to pop, so Hive Guard a lot of times end up scraping to make their points back, and are useless for board control. The update to ForgeWorld has (likely) been a huge boost for the 'nid monsters, at least.

Space Marines are heavily represented everywhere, but they always have been. Even in editions when they sucked (which was a lot of them). They have always been popular, and that's why GW will forever make more of them. But they aren't winning everything. Of the 4 tournaments over the weekend I had friends attending, each with over 30 people, they placed 1 in the top 4 out of the 16 total armies. The weekend before, there was an odd Black Templars list that made it into top 4, and nothing else. Most tournaments are being won by Harlequins/Aeldari mix, Orks, AdMech, Demons, Custodes, and Sisters. All armies that haven't gotten an updated codex in 9th edition (thus disproving the idea of codex creep where newest is always best). Space Marines are good, and easy to play. They are also forgiving. But they are in that position Imperial Knights were in during the early portion of 2019 where they were a gatekeeper - you have to be able to hang with them to get through a tournament, but they aren't likely to win most of them.

[Hive Bahamut]

Space Marines are underrepresented

GSC is bad because new army

Sisters have no mention of underrepresented for being almost 20

No allied armies which many used as a crutch

Tournament setting skews many armies overall representation

I mean it keeps going.. I agree with you though Brass. It is a very good tool to use, and I think Hive Guard have always been bad, just double shooting put them into the "good tier" long enough to get priced out of function. Much like Aberrants.

We are living in a world of propaganda and false information and I feel right at home.

[kazetanade]

I'm not sure about GSC being better represented than Nids, although they have been winning these top 4s more than Nids.

Part of me wonders how much of that is very favourable terrain, the other part wonders if the players had played Nids instead would they be looking at similar if not better performance.

But for my part, I have issues in the begining stages of a game with GSC - inability to kill key targets on demand from shooting (swingy shooting) coupled with inability to project board threat to keep enemy expansion in place, and being blocked off objectives on T2+ for the drops, makes the games really hard. Rolling 1s for PA into rerollable charges feels bad too.

But it's evident people are making it work so... All the more power

[hiveoverall]

Nov 24, 2020 10:28:22 GMT kazetanade said:

I'm not sure about GSC being better represented than Nids, although they have been winning these top 4s more than Nids.

Part of me wonders how much of that is very favourable terrain, the other part wonders if the players had played Nids instead would they be looking at similar if not better performance.

But for my part, I have issues in the begining stages of a game with GSC - inability to kill key targets on demand from shooting (swingy shooting) coupled with inability to project board threat to keep enemy expansion in place, and being blocked off objectives on T2+ for the drops, makes the games really hard. Rolling 1s for PA into rerollable charges feels bad too.

But it's evident people are making it work so... All the more power

I think with 6 or 9 ridgerunners you can " kill key targets on demand from shooting", but the problem is acquiring the models, financially speaking. They are likely to go up in points next adjustment/codex aren't they ?

[kazetanade]

I actually have 6 and can assure you they do not kill anything on demand. D3 shots 4+ to hit can land you in 2 hits 1 wound situations per UNIT quite often, which after 3 units shooting may not even kill a min sized Eradicator, let alone anything else tougher.

Of course the opposite may occur, but that's where the problem is - its swingy and unpredictable, hence has a tough time being used as a part of a staple reliable strategy. If you have 3 or 4 turns to keep shooting, this is alright and variance over time is better, but you'd need something else to put pressure or buy time and score and do other stuff while the RRs try to make ROI.

[grubblenmash]

Nov 24, 2020 12:09:14 GMT kazetanade said:

I actually have 6 and can assure you they do not kill anything on demand. D3 shots 4+ to hit can land you in 2 hits 1 wound situations per UNIT quite often, which after 3 units shooting may not even kill a min sized Eradicator, let alone anything else tougher.

Of course the opposite may occur, but that's where the problem is - its swingy and unpredictable, hence has a tough time being used as a part of a staple reliable strategy. If you have 3 or 4 turns to keep shooting, this is alright and variance over time is better, but you'd need something else to put pressure or buy time and score and do other stuff while the RRs try to make ROI.

I agree they definitely are unreliable. You can try and use jackal alphus priority target to get them hitting on 3+ along with overcharged weaponry to get your full wounds through but even then you’re often struggling to earn back point value when an eradicator squad will just deep strike and earn back point value immediately.