TYRANIDS! ! ! OH, MY! ! !

[Gore Fang]

With the advent of a new Tyranid codex coming around in the next few months, and the rumors being so. . .disturbing, I do believe that it's time to discuss new tactics with our new codex.

 

My initial thoughts on this subject lead me to believe that GW gave us some things to deal with this menace in advance. Jaws of the World Wolf, Saga of the Warrior Born, and counter-attack all come to mind. Other than massed templates, how do you handle the Nids'?

[the great beaver]

dude they're next on the list because their current shooting capabilities were never intended for the current version of AOE resolution...they never miss now and they have the best shooty list in the game because of it.

[Zemox]

We do miss sometimes, but only like 1 out of 12 times :P

 

Give me something more spesific and i might be able to help you :)

 

(Hmm guess i am just going to have to strap up for the bandwagoners joining nids aswell, i am about to go trough what you are still going trough :/)

[DV8]

Shoot the killy things and kill the shooty things.

 

 

DV8

[Redbaron997]

Shoot the killy things and kill the shooty things.

 

 

DV8

 

Brilliant.

[HERO]

Shoot the killy things and kill the shooty things.

 

 

DV8

 

Well, technically, your objective is to kill both.

 

But yes, shoot the assault ones and melee the shooty ones to death. Maybe we'll see TDA TH/SS Lone Wolves be useful against their new Raveners.

[Grey Mage]

Shoot the killy things and kill the shooty things.

 

 

DV8

 

Brilliant.

It is.

 

This advice should also be shored up with:

 

"Shoot the big ones first"

 

"Shoot the little ones, alot"

 

"Try to never let Genestealers into CC"

 

and of course:

 

Dead synapse creatures= win. They are the nerve cells, where pain is born. Everything else is just fingernails... thatll wander off and die easily when you remove their controling brains.

[Zemox]

Depends, the only creatures that cares about synapse are:

 

Gaunts/hormagaunts

Gargoyles

Raveners

Zoanthropes (unless given Synapse)

Tyrant Guards (should the tyrant die)

 

And all of them except the gaunts/hormagaunts are LD 10.

[Grey Mage]

Sorry, I suppose I should have quantified- that last was a fluffy statement.

[Jarl Kjaran Coldheart]

well i handle my nids one at a time.

 

i focus all firepower on the largest threat, then pound till it no longer represents a threat (1 last wound on a biggie, managable unit size of gaunts, dead-dead stealers).

 

i will assault nids, but that is usually a last option kinda thing. nids should be dealt with bolter rounds as long as possible.

 

WLK

[Redbaron997]

I find the best weapon vs nids is often Manerverability. Nids will often win in an attrition battle (stand and shoot and kill as many as you can before CC and see if you killed enough)

 

So I think fast units have a definite place.

 

I would worry more about the lil guys first as they are often faster, and keep a Thunder Hammer like unit hanging right behind your line to hit the MCs.

 

I have found that Lascannons are the bees knees vs Nids, as they get past that pesky 2+ save and let you hurt Zornthropes, fexs, and Tyrants with relative ease.

[Gore Fang]

Well. . .not quite what I was looking for. These are the obvious fixes to an older codex. What will you use from our new codex?

[Skirax]

I'd suggest going as far forward as possible as the first turn allows with infantry, apart from and Long Fangs, and once it looks like the 'nids are going to get close, fall back. Slow and steady, but keep them at a safe distance, rattling off any threats that come close. Stay mobile, then once the 'nids get close, hopefully you'll have wittled them down then our Counter Attack really comes into its own.

 

Also, take a leaf out of Lukas' book. Trap them, as in use a Grey Hunters pack to get them into a Blood Claw pack's charge range or a Long Fangs firing range. If you can get multiple units putting down the hurt on them, they will cripple and fall.

 

Don't get isolated. Sure, Counter Attack and two flamers maybe be enough to kill a decent sized unit, but when you get two charging you, you'll wish you had a unit of Wolf Guard close by.

 

That's all I can think of for now. If I remember any basic tactics, I'll post them :)

[Wispy]

I wonder if genestealers will still be out-flanking?

 

Now that we have fenrisian wolves, that helps. In my last tyranid game, I used two squads of them to protect both table edge. With saga of the wolfkin, I5 helped quite a bit in thinning them out and keeping them away from my costier units.

[Grimmwulf]

Landraiderspam is your friend. They don't like AV14 at all. I know because i play tyranids and have a regular BT opponent who fields 3 Raiders :/

[clanfield]

vindicators take 3 back up with grey hunters and speeders and mmmm canis squad muncher and a rune priest to dispell

[Custodian Athiair]

there is a white dwarf that has a very very very good article on how to beat tyranids, but i can't seem to find it at the moment (i do own it)

 

if i find it i will tell you any info i can from it. but hey it's been disgussed already, shoot the things that are going to cause you the most damage the quickets and shoot them till they are dead. but don't get caught out by their sneakiness.

but i laughed at 2 things that have been said hear:

1) Lone Wolves with thunder hammers and storm shields vs. ravenears and lictors, i can see it now they apar from under the snow screaming at the top of their alien lungs and leap at the lone wolf, who suddenly blocks the endless swarm of attacks, beofre saying "finished?" and promptly smashing the beast skull in with blow after blow, until it's lying on the floor, when he screams once more. before he smashes it's face in. stands there hammer ready waiting for any movment. beofre turning away :D

and

2) the fenrisian wolves defending the flanks, genestealers appear screaming (like above), before the wolves turn snarl and leap into them ripping them to shreds. ooooooh how i love the Space Wolves.

 

anyway i will try and find that WD to help you

 

Athiair ;)

[Brother Ariman]

I have played one game now against the nids with the new codex and I can say my optimal anti horde nid list includes a minimum of-

2- fenrisian wolf squads- ironically I have converted them out of genestealers.

at least 2- long fang squads with heavy bolters, plasma cannons, and rocket launchers

and a rune priest with murderous hurricane for when those gaunts get close.

[Grimmwulf]

wolves made from genestealers? i want pictures :rolleyes:

[Brother Ariman]

I'll try but truth is I have a really crap camera right now.

Though to give you an idea try crossing an arco-flagellant with a genestealer.

[ChapniK]

Don't focus on one squad, whittle them down, they need their big squad to kill stuff. If there down to small squad, they cant really achieve the volume of fie or attacks needed to take out marines. The only down point to this is that they could pull back so as to not get destroyed or to go score on an ojective.

[Skirax]

there is a white dwarf that has a very very very good article on how to beat tyranids, but i can't seem to find it at the moment (i do own it)

 

if i find it i will tell you any info i can from it. but hey it's been disgussed already, shoot the things that are going to cause you the most damage the quickets and shoot them till they are dead. but don't get caught out by their sneakiness.

but i laughed at 2 things that have been said hear:

1) Lone Wolves with thunder hammers and storm shields vs. ravenears and lictors, i can see it now they apar from under the snow screaming at the top of their alien lungs and leap at the lone wolf, who suddenly blocks the endless swarm of attacks, beofre saying "finished?" and promptly smashing the beast skull in with blow after blow, until it's lying on the floor, when he screams once more. before he smashes it's face in. stands there hammer ready waiting for any movment. beofre turning away :D

and

2) the fenrisian wolves defending the flanks, genestealers appear screaming (like above), before the wolves turn snarl and leap into them ripping them to shreds. ooooooh how i love the Space Wolves.

 

anyway i will try and find that WD to help you

 

Athiair <_<

Issue 309 - September 05. I have it here.

1: Exploit the 'nid army's weaknesses.

2: Never be a rabbit in the headlights

3: Pick your targets carefully and constantly till they die.

[Brother Captain Kezef]

"Try to never let Genestealers into CC"

 

I played my first wolf game last night against a mate who is a Nid' fan. He usualy has hordes of 'stealers with flying tyrants so I built for that. 1750 game, I had 2 Grey Hunter packs, blood claw pack, 4 man termie pack backing my wolf lord, a land raider, land raider redeemer and an AC + MM speeder.

 

He threw me a complete curve ball. 4 'stealer squads, 2 tyrants with devourers, 2 carni's with devourers and 3 carnis with barbed stranglers and venom cannons.

 

The damndest thing is my blood claws carved through the 'stealers like so much wheat before the scythe while his devourers tore through my hunters and wolf guard.

 

It was am objective game and I won by ONE marine. At the end I'd destroyed all his stealers but only had on grey hunter left who claimed an objective.

 

First time I've every out-fought nids in CC and been out-shot by them at range, damndest thing.

[Skirax]

Another example from our lovely Brother Captain Kezef, keep your list flexible. Don't plan for CC and end up getting ripped apart by guns. There was a brilliant, tactic-summing qoute that Games Workshop came up, I think it was something like:

 

He who relies soley on firepower will be outmanouvered. He who relies on manpower will be out gunned. He who relies entirely on armour will be overrun. Remember, always combine these elements for total victory.

 

Funnily enough, it came from a Guardsman general who relied on infantry spam.

[spacewolflars]

Keep in mind while planning against the rumored codex that we were supposed to have a Bjorn with AV14 all around (among other rumors).

 

I'm all for planning ahead, but I'm going to be using the same models against bugs that I do for everyone else. Wait 'til we get the codex in our hands. When we do lets not over-react like people did to JotWW.