Returning to the swarm - looking for direction

[cptcarnage]

Hello everyone,

in the last days I’ve dusted off my nid collection and tried out a few paint schemes. But I need something to work towards to stay motivated with painting. I’d aim at a 1k list first and then grow from there.

Having done some research it seems to me that one of the stronger ways to play nids atm means fielding at least one kronos detachment with at least one unit of hiveguard, an exocrine or two and have a psyker around for symbiostorm. The rest of the list is then tailored around that, mainly including lictors, cheap tyranid warriors and hormagaunts as chaff, screens and objective grabbers.

I can’t say that building a shooty castle is exactly my playstlye. Indeed, when you see the loadouts of my tyranid warrior and carnifexes you will see just how long my collection was collecting dust – that last time I fielded them deathspitters used templates and carnifexes with 4 devourers were the hotness.

My local meta consists of marines, deathguard, necrons and newly admech with most players enjoying a friendly game but you can clearly tell which armies have a 9th edition codex.
My main army until now was drukhari (thats why castleling up isn’t exactly for me), I last played nids as some kind of assault swarm/monster mash which I quite enjoyed.

Here is the first list idea I’ve come up with, more or less a take-all-comers approach.

++ Battalion Detachment 0CP (Tyranids) [53 PL, 5CP, 997pts] ++
Battle Size [6CP]: 2. Incursion (51-100 Total PL / 501-1000 Points)
Hive Fleet: Other: Bio-metallic Cysts, Cranial Channeling

+ Stratagems +
Progeny of the Hive [-1CP]

+ HQ +
Broodlord [7 PL, 125pts]: Power: Catalyst, Power: Smite, Resonance Barb, Warlord
Neurothrope [5 PL, 95pts]: Power: Onslaught, Power: Smite

+ Troops +
Hormagaunts [3 PL, 60pts]: 10x Hormagaunt: 10x Scything Talons
Hormagaunts [3 PL, 60pts]: 10x Hormagaunt: 10x Scything Talons
Hormagaunts [3 PL, 60pts]: 10x Hormagaunt: 10x Scything Talons

Ripper Swarms [4 PL, 60pts]: 5x Ripper Swarm: 5x Claws and Teeth

Tyranid Warriors [8 PL, 125pts]: Adaptive Physiology: Enhanced Resistance
5x Tyranid Warrior: Deathspitter, Rending Claws

+ Elites +
Hive Guard [6 PL, 135pts]: Adaptive Physiology: Enhanced Resistance; 3x Hive Guard (Impaler): 3x Impaler Cannon
Lictor [2 PL, 37pts]

+ Heavy Support +
Carnifexes [6 PL, 120pts]: Carnifex: Enhanced Senses, Heavy Venom Cannon, Monstrous Scything Talons
Carnifexes [6 PL, 120pts]: Carnifex: Enhanced Senses, Heavy Venom Cannon, Monstrous Scything Talons

++ Total: [53 PL, 5CP, 997pts] ++

Created with BattleScribe (https://battlescribe.net)

I would be really thankful for some feedback to the list and if you guys could push me in a promising direction (maybe point out what my collection is totally lacking)!


Here’s my collection for field-ability purposes:
Neurothrope
Broodlord
Swarmlord

39 hormagaunts (16 more on sprue)
8 termagaunts (8 more on sprue)
a few ripper swarms
8 genestealers (8 more on sprue)
3 tyranid warriors: boneswords/deathspitter
6 tyranid warriors: rending claws/deathspitter
3 tyranid warriors: rending claws/scything talons

deathleaper
3 hiveguard: impaler cannon
3 venomthropes

1 biovore (2 more unassembled)
2 carnifexes: heavy venom cannon/talons
2 carnifexes: 4 devourers
trygon/trygon prime

Thanks a lot in advance guys!

[piersonsmuppet]

Only suggestion I have is to take a look at your fleet traits again, they aren't doing much for you. Cysts are only giving Horms +1 AP, which still won't bump the S3 attacks to anything meaningful. Cysts is better for bumping Warriors, Genestealers, or Raveners ST's against elite infantry. Cranial channeling is fairly weak as well, 1 psychic test rr per turn isn't going to be used much between a Neuro and a Barb holder. Synaptic Augmentation could be a good choice, Broodlord/Warriors get a to-hit rr in melee, and your Impalers/HVC get a to-hit rr in shooting. Could probably knock off a ripper body for a VC on the Warriors to take advantage of the rr as well (though the VC war isn't in your collection now that I'm looking).

Thing about Nids right now is they are a poor assault army. You really need to go heavy into FW if you want to push hard into the enemy. Running Behemoth can help fix the issue, but it still doesn't feel great to have 1 viable melee unit a round (and only on your turn).

[cptcarnage]

Thank you for your feedback. I uncovered a few more models and ordered two new boxes. I reworked the list and will give it a try, see if I enjoy it nonetheless, but I have to keep the warriors, they are my favourite models and what got me into nids in the first place (sadly not magnetized them back then).
Thanks again!

++ Battalion Detachment 0CP (Tyranids) [54 PL, 5CP, 995pts] ++

+ Configuration +

Battle Size [6CP]: 2. Incursion (51-100 Total PL / 501-1000 Points)

Detachment Command Cost

Hive Fleet: Kronos

+ Stratagems +

Progeny of the Hive [-1CP]

+ HQ +

Broodlord [7 PL, 125pts]: Power: Catalyst, Power: Smite, Warlord

Neurothrope [5 PL, 95pts]: Power: Smite, Power: Symbiostorm, Resonance Barb

+ Troops +

Hormagaunts [3 PL, 60pts]
. 10x Hormagaunt: 10x Scything Talons

Hormagaunts [3 PL, 60pts]
. 10x Hormagaunt: 10x Scything Talons

Hormagaunts [3 PL, 60pts]
. 10x Hormagaunt: 10x Scything Talons

Ripper Swarms [2 PL, 36pts]
. 3x Ripper Swarm: 3x Claws and Teeth

Tyranid Warriors [8 PL, 127pts]
. Adaptive Physiology: Enhanced Resistance
. Tyranid Warrior: Boneswords, Deathspitter
. Tyranid Warrior: Boneswords, Deathspitter
. Tyranid Warrior: Deathspitter, Rending Claws
. Tyranid Warrior: Deathspitter, Rending Claws
. Tyranid Warrior: Deathspitter, Rending Claws

+ Elites +

Hive Guard [12 PL, 225pts]
. 5x Hive Guard (Impaler): 5x Impaler Cannon

Lictor [2 PL, 37pts]

+ Heavy Support +

Exocrine [9 PL, 170pts]
. Adaptive Physiology: Dermic Symbiosis

++ Total: [54 PL, 5CP, 995pts] ++

Created with BattleScribe (https://battlescribe.net)

[piersonsmuppet]

Barb is better used on the Brood lord. Gives all of your powers ~85% to go off, and you can utilize the additional cast fully.

[cptcarnage]

I thought on the neurothrope it would make symbiostorm more likely to go off?

[piersonsmuppet]

It does, but the Neurothrope experiences diminished returns as opposed to having the Barb on the Broodlord.

Barb on Neuro:
3 casts
Neuro Smite: 99% @wc5 | 93% @wc6
Neuro Symbio: 93%
BL Smite: 83% @wc5 | 72% @wc6 --OR-- BL Catalyst: 72%

Barb on BL:
4 casts
Neuro Smite: 94% @wc5 | 85% @wc6
Neuro Symbio: 85%
BL Smite: 91% @wc5 | 83% @wc6
BL Catalyst: 83%

In short, the BL with a Barb gets a larger boost to its powers being successful than the Neuro with the Barb. The extra cast is also pretty big, and you can now do two smites (which both have a higher chance of the d6 damage than normal) every turn. Just trying to point out that you give up a lot of benefits to improve Symbio from 8/10 success rate to 9/10 success rate. Barb is the best relic in the codex because it allows a Tyrant or BL to cast all powers known, and taking it on a Neuro is like taking Pathogenesis on a Tyrant (ok but nothing special).