Tyranids win a GT

[mattblowers]

Tyranids won The Crucible GT in Orlando this past weekend. It was run by John Lennon, he was the only undefeated player. My son was one of the TOs for the event. He had to go through a heap of his own team to win it out including: Quinton Johnson, Nick Nanavati, Richard Siegler, and other names you might now. 'nids had another player in the top 10. Codex seems solid.

[niiai]

Yeah. It was basickly a gunline with objective scoring support units. Looked solid enough! As usual we supper from bad PR where somebody try to make is out to be a horde or melee army. That is not true. We are a shooting army with fantastic objective play.

[piersonsmuppet]

Dunno if a GT win where the list has been tuned and practiced against the exact meta it won into is the best measuring stick for a “solid” codex (i.e. can this specific list survive even a minor pts hike), but I think most considered the codex solid before this. Vanguard, Nexus, and Invasion can all take you deep at a GT, it just won’t be easy like some factions.

[dkng]

There were two more well performing lists in recent GTs

List 1 (1st place):

**Tyranids – Vanguard Detachment**
**Characters**
[ 70] Deathleaper
[ 85] Winged Prime, Hunting Grounds (+20)
[ 95] Winged Prime, Neuronode (+30)
[140] Old One Eye
[225] Flyrant: Warlord, Chameleonic (+15)

**Other datasheets**

[ 75] 10 Gargoyles
[ 75] 10 Gargoyles
[ 75] 10 Gargoyles

[ 20] Ripper Swarm

[ 60] Lictor
[ 60] Lictor

[ 65] Neurolictor
[ 65] Neurolictor
[ 65] Neurolictor

[ 30] Pyrovore
[ 30] Pyrovore
[ 75] Biovore

[110] 3 Zoanthropes
[110] 3 Zoanthropes
[125] Carnifex: Crushing Claws, Deathspitters, Bio-plasma, Spine Banks

[170] 6 Warriors (Melee)
[170] 6 Warriors (Melee)

=1995

List 2 (2nd place):

Big Bugs are Best Bugs (1995 Points)

Tyranids
Invasion Fleet
Strike Force (2000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Deathleaper (70 Points)
• 1x Lictor claws and talons

Neurotyrant (105 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Neurotyrant claws and lashes
1x Psychic scream

Old One Eye (140 Points)
• 1x Old One Eye’s claws and talons

OTHER DATASHEETS

Barbed Hierodule (340 Points)
• 2x Bio-cannon
1x Hierodule scything talons

Biovores (75 Points)
• 1x Chitin-barbed limbs
1x Spore Mine launcher

Carnifexes (250 Points)
• 2x Carnifex
• 2x Bio-plasma
1x Carnifex scything talons
2x Chitinous claws and teeth
2x Devourers with brainleech worms
1x Devourers with brainleech worms
2x Spine banks

Exocrine (135 Points)
• 1x Bio-plasmic cannon
1x Powerful limbs

Exocrine (135 Points)
• 1x Bio-plasmic cannon
1x Powerful limbs

Haruspex (125 Points)
• 1x Grasping tongue
1x Ravenous maw
1x Shovelling claws

Norn Emissary (290 Points)
• 1x Monstrous rending claws
1x Monstrous scything talons
1x Psychic Tendril

Norn Emissary (290 Points)
• 1x Monstrous rending claws
1x Monstrous scything talons
1x Psychic Tendril

Ripper Swarms (20 Points)
• 1x Chitinous claws and teeth

Ripper Swarms (20 Points)
• 1x Chitinous claws and teeth

[Jbizzy]

Love the variance in list builds! No wonder I can't make up my mind what to field @ 1000pt fun games, everything is just okay as longs as you can capitalize on scoring.

[N.I.B.]

Oct 2, 2023 18:54:55 GMT dkng said:

There were two more well performing lists in recent GTs

List 1 (1st place):

**Tyranids – Vanguard Detachment**
**Characters**
[ 70] Deathleaper
[ 85] Winged Prime, Hunting Grounds (+20)
[ 95] Winged Prime, Neuronode (+30)
[140] Old One Eye
[225] Flyrant: Warlord, Chameleonic (+15)

**Other datasheets**

[ 75] 10 Gargoyles
[ 75] 10 Gargoyles
[ 75] 10 Gargoyles

[ 20] Ripper Swarm

[ 60] Lictor
[ 60] Lictor

[ 65] Neurolictor
[ 65] Neurolictor
[ 65] Neurolictor

[ 30] Pyrovore
[ 30] Pyrovore
[ 75] Biovore

[110] 3 Zoanthropes
[110] 3 Zoanthropes
[125] Carnifex: Crushing Claws, Deathspitters, Bio-plasma, Spine Banks

[170] 6 Warriors (Melee)
[170] 6 Warriors (Melee)

=1995

Yeah I ran this yesterday against Space Wolves. I was about to be tabled turn 4 with very few points to show for it after only have killed a unit of Thunderwolves. Can't see how it handles 'come at me bro' armies, other than 'get first turn'.

[garg]

I'm guessing the trick is to engage them on your terms using the gargoyles and battle shock to deny primary until you can strike. It seems to have secondaries well covered with the biovore and lictors.

[piersonsmuppet]

You use Suprise Assault and Neurolictors to help the Tyrant/Warriors punch up. Place the Lictors/Neurolictors at a favorable place on mid-board Objectives. The melee wall has to trade down to stop you from scoring, then you trade up.

[N.I.B.]

Sure, the nid list can dish out decently, but can't take it. I had both Thunderwolf blocks battleshocked when I pounced with Prime-led Warriors into each and OOE helped out. Managed to kill 6 Thunderwolves and only leave the Wolf lord of one, only killed 4-5 of the other block. Then his tanks/dreads and survivors would've cleaned up.

[piersonsmuppet]

I don’t think that list is supposed to take it. Looks like it uses Lone Operative and the LO strat from vanguard to protect your scoring from shooting while you Screen/Kill melee threats to your scoring. Doesn’t have the tools to sit there and brawl over objectives.

[dkng]

This kind of list also excells at taking over opponent’s home objective forcing them to back up thus slowing down their advance towards the midboard.

[mattblowers]

Oct 2, 2023 18:00:29 GMT niiai said:

Yeah. It was basickly a gunline with objective scoring support units. Looked solid enough! As usual we supper from bad PR where somebody try to make is out to be a horde or melee army. That is not true. We are a shooting army with fantastic objective play.

From what I have heard from friends who played the event, Lennon's list took a high level of skill to pull off. Thinking back to Nayden's "Lictor Shame" list from years ago, it likely is a list that others will seek to copy but fail to pull off if they don't have the same skill level as the originator.

[hivefleetkerrigan]

John Lennon running a high skill list and doing well with it as he has a high skill level? I'm shocked!

Definitely not a list I could pull off right now. Currently running assimilation swarm as it's "go to objective and sit"

[niiai]

Oct 5, 2023 13:09:09 GMT mattblowers said:

Oct 2, 2023 18:00:29 GMT niiai said:

Yeah. It was basickly a gunline with objective scoring support units. Looked solid enough! As usual we supper from bad PR where somebody try to make is out to be a horde or melee army. That is not true. We are a shooting army with fantastic objective play.

From what I have heard from friends who played the event, Lennon's list took a high level of skill to pull off. Thinking back to Nayden's "Lictor Shame" list from years ago, it likely is a list that others will seek to copy but fail to pull off if they don't have the same skill level as the originator.

He played some random dude turn one. And after that he only played people who ended up in the topp 10. This included almost every other member of the Art of War and other people with several accomplishments under their belt. Even if his list was easy to play that gauntlets is one of the most stacked fields I have ever seen.

I don't know how easy his list is. But it plays like this: Gargoyles are very good at either movement block or steal objectives. Four anoying lone operators with 4++ means gunlines have a hard time interacting with them. And they are enough you can walk on objective with one, loose it, shoot back with the rest of your army and repeat next turn. Neurolictors can also buff with their aura.

Neurolictors, gargoyles and neurotyrant are good at playing main objectives. They pluss the biovore are good at secondaries.

Hive tyrant gives CP buff with free stratagems, and can give guns assault.

The rest of the list is pure gunline. Works like a charm.

[mattblowers]

Oct 5, 2023 19:11:11 GMT niiai said:

And after that he only played people who ended up in the topp 10. This included almost every other member of the Art of War and other people with several accomplishments under their belt. Even if his list was easy to play that gauntlets is one of the most stacked fields I have ever seen.

It was a very stacked competition. There isn't a better pool of top players at any GT under 100 in the world. The last two years are the first I haven't played it since the second year of it's existence (the first year it was a Warmachine tournament). This year I had work commitments and last year it was right after a hurricane so I'm mandatory at work. I remember when Lennon was dropped off by his mom the first year of the Crucible, she wanted to meet who her son was going to be hanging out with for the weekend. Quinton Johnson was a regular at a FLGS my son and I played at every weekend years ago. Quinton was in middle school and his mom would come and drop him off. Nice to see them doing so well in the game today. It's a great event that highly encourage anyone to come to, send me note and I'll buy any Hiver a drink and welcome you to Orlando. If you don't like hard core GTs they always run a narrative event as well.