Monday 5 April 2010

Nid thoughts...

I was just on the Northern Wasters Forum, and read a Nid army list the guys are considering for the ETC.
It got me thinking - the only Nid army I've written thus far was a Peek-A-Boo, and I'm pretty sure I never posted it.  (It was shit anyway.  lol)

Anyway, so I just came up with this...



"Tyranid Prime - 100
Lash Whip, Bonesword, Deathspitter.

2x Hive Guard - 100

2x Hive Guard - 100

Zoanthrope - 60

10 Termagaunts - 60
Toxin Sacs

10 Termagaunts - 60
Toxin Sacs

Tervigon - 185
Toxin Sacs, Catalyst [TROOPS]

Tervigon - 185
Toxin Sacs, Catalyst [TROOPS]

Harpy - 180
TL Heavy Venom Cannon, Toxin Sacs

Harpy - 180
TL Heavy Venom Cannon, Toxin Sacs

Tyrannofex - 265
Rupture cannon, Dessicator Larvae

Tyrannofex - 265
Rupture cannon, Dessicator Larvae

The Zoanthrope was because 70 points were left...it'll soak some fire up and die, and could prove good against armies with no Psychic Defence. Otherwise I think the army offers a fair bit of ranged punch, between Tervigons, Hive Guard and Harpies - it's got some significant CC power in there too, and enough survivability to outlast most enemy armies' Troops. Target Priority for the foe will be hard, with the Tervigons advancing into midfield with the Termagaunts, and the HG, TFexes and Harpies providing some serious suppression fire. Even BA Drop armies would be hard pressed to get in amongst the Hive, because of the sheer amount of table it can take up.

As I said though, I've never played Nids, and don't know, there may be an obvious flaw I've missed..."







Any feedback from those of you with Nid experience is more than welcome! :)

13 comments:

Chumbalaya said...

Remember, Tervigons give their toxin sacs to gaunt units in range, so that's 20 points you can use elsewhere. 10 more and you can get 2 more Hive Guard. That could come from the Prime or the Toxin Sacs on the Herpes.

I think it looks plenty solid. The zoey doesn't fit for me, either grab more Hive Guard (roll 3x2) or some random spore mines or rippers for lulz. OR Onslaught for your Tervigons.

Atrotos said...

How do Tervigon lists deal with the kill points issue? Keeping the starting gaunts in reserve might help but if a Tervigon spawns 3-7 gaunts a couple of times you pretty much auto-lose don't you?

TheKing Elessar said...

Well, I haven't playtested, but I'd imagine the enemy won't be getting free shots at Tervigons for as long as he'd like, without risking a Tabling.

As regards the Toxin Sacs, no I missed that one, so since the list was 1740, I can just drop the Zoe and those Sacs for 90 points...hmmm.

Is Catalyst as good as I imagine? FnP bubbles are great - but it's only 1 unit.

I think I might model T Rexes with Rupture Cannons in the crotch. Too obvious?

Atrotos said...

You mean "free shots at [gaunts]?" You play Eldar (mech presumably) - there's only 2 models in this army that can hurt you at range (T-fex's). Once you alpha-strike those with Fire Dragons and Brightlances what's gonna keep you from dismantling the list from afar using your superior mobility to avoid the Guards' shooting?

Versus my airborne Inquisition: 1st turn (Scout move) Grand Master and Straken Command squad eat both T-fex's in CC, Vendettas nuke guards and Zoanthropes over one or two turns. Turns three and on simply target min sized gaunt squads to victory.

Not saying I could do better. The Nid codex just seems poorly suited to handling fast mech. It seems to ave trouble handling anything at less than 2000 points.

Chumbalaya said...

Dude, Hive Guard and Harpies fuck mechdar up.

Your theory-fu is mighty, but it falls apart if you just put a gaunt screen in front of the T-fexes to keep them from getting assaulted. Then you eat multiple S8 shots that don't need LoS, 4 S10 shots from 48" away, and 2 twin-linked S9 blasts. Lots of firepower going down range here.

KPs aren't a problem for Tervigons really, you don't *have* to spawn gaunts unless you need to.

Regen on the gaunt farms is an option too if you have points to burn.

TheKing Elessar said...

I get it - (My most recent list would be, roughly, 10 Dragons in 2 squads, 4 DAVU squads in 2 Serpents and 2 Falcons, and a Prism, and Eldrad. Roughly)

But like Chumby says, a gaunt screen is enough Bubblewrap for that situation. Really, in a KP game I'd be loathe to commit the Dragons early, because the Tervigon has 6W, and a single squad won't kill it unless it's down to 3.

I actually think the Hive Guard's Impalers would be the biggest threat to me, as I simply cannot hide. If I fly out to squash those bugs though, the Rupture Cannons blow the shit out of my Falcons, while the Spirit Stone-less Serpents get perma-stunned by Harpies. :(

It's not pretty, but I think my list, if I played against it with the Nids, would get RoflStomped at least 4/10 times, and probably lose closely in 2 more/10. About 2/10 would be draws, rounding up. Sad Panda.

Unknown said...

Chums early idea is good to get the 3x2 HG in there. Other than that you've got yourself a classic HG/T-Fex/Tervi army with filler :P.

Winterous said...

Most of what I could say has been said.
So um... *thumbs up*

I say that...

Yeah.

Anonymous said...

From my experiences with the nids, I'd suggest a couple of things.

First, dropping the lone 'thrope, along with a few biomorphs to fit 3x2 Hive Guard would be a great move.

I'd look first at the Toxin sacs on the Tervigons, followed by the Deathspitter/LW+BS on the prime.

I also prefer Fexes with HVCS to the Harpies, compared straight up. Especially with all the T6, and easy screening opportunities, an HVC fex will last way longer than a harpy. In my experience, harpies just get punished by S5-7 weapons before doing too much.

Obviously, playtest and come to your own conclusion, but consider swapping their points for:

1>an HVC fex, another minimum Tyranid Prime(to help absorb wounds for the hive guard), and some extra points

2>cutting 10 more points and taking a squad of 2 HVC fexes

3> upgrade the tyranid prime to a walking HVC Tyrant w/ 1 guard, take an HVC fex, and have some points to spare(I think. didn't do the math on this)

IME, any of these options, while dropping your firepower per turn at first, causes the army to be even more resilient, leading to higher firepower in the later rounds...which is how the nids win fire fights in 5e.

TheKing Elessar said...

Interesting, I may take your comment and do a new thread from scratch on it...firstly though, do you think I should then drop the T-Fexes? Because they're HS, just like regular Fexes...? Kinda leaves a big hole in the firepower. I get that the HVCs are to pick up the slack, but I assumed the extra range, S, shot, lack of Blast, and no -1 to damage made the Rupture Cannon MILES better.

Winterous said...

T-Fexes are MONSTERS.
There is simply nothing that can compare to them for ranged anti-vehicle in the Tyranid army.

Sure, they aren't very good in melee, but they don't need to be, they can blow the fuck out of a Monolith with a bit of lucky rolling.

TheKing Elessar said...

Well, that's nice to hear - that's what I thought when I first read them, in January. I thought - Fuck me - that's the only gun in the game with multiple shots over S8...Awesome.

Winterous said...

O_O
REALLY?

Awesome.

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