Killing the tyranid synapse net

[Rogue]

Hello

 

One of my regular opponents is a tyranid player - he's tabled me the last couple of times we've played, and I'm currently pondering the wisdom of drop-podding a plasma-armed command squad right onto the toes of his hive tyrant. Math-hammer suggests that 5 rapid firing plasma guns are enough to drop the tyrant in one turn, which is good; but I will end up with a fairly expensive squad standing right in the middle of the tyranid lines, which is less good. Obviously, I'll try to use terrain and the drop pod to reduce potential return fire, but my big worry is his gaunt broods - usually 12-14 gaunts, who shoot with three dice each, hitting on 4s, wounding on 4s. Rolling well, one brood can cripple or even remove a five man squad.

 

Which bring me to the question: if I do whack the synapse net, what happens to the gaunts? Will they run away and hide, or, as the nearest target, is the command squad going to get shot/assaulted anyway?

 

(And yes, I know the synapse net isn't just the tyrant. At 750 points, he usually plays with three synapse guys - the tyrant in the middle, and a zoanthrope on either flank. If I can nail the tyrant with the plasma, and at least one zoanthrope with everything else, then at least one side of the army goes out of synapse for turn two...)

 

Thanks for your thoughts.  

[knife&fork]

Sternguard or grav in any form are better for killing monsters than plasma. As are predators, devastators or flyers who also have the benefit of staying outside of charge + shooting range for longer. 

 

Removing synapse isn't actually what I consider top priority when fighting nids. Not sure what he brings for those 750 matches but here's how I beat them:

 

Kill the Tervigon(s)

Kill the various flying monsters

By this point you will have taken away a lot of his firepower, his ability to generate scoring units and his synapse grid. Target priority is now decided by going for quick wipe if possible or to maximize your scoring for the last turns. 

[GreyCrow]

I agree with Knife & Fork there. Tyranids losing synapse is bad, but not a game ender for them. It'll usually slow them down by a turn while the reorganize their force to give synapse back.

 

Like K&F said, target their firepower first. It seems like Tyranids are mainly Assault oriented, but they have nasty shooting weapons.

[CoffeeGrunt]

Nailing the two Zoeys will force him to clump around the Tyrant to survive, and will slow the army down to its speed. Zoeys have a sturdy save, but a Krak Missile or the like still has a chance of getting through and finishing it in one.

[minigun762]

Not sure why Sternguard or Grav are better than Plasma.

 

Grav wounds T6 3+ units the exact same as Plasma does. For a non-Relentless squad, I'd take Plasma.

 

SG poisoned ammo may wound on a 2+ but it doesn't ignore the 3+ save.

[knife&fork]

Not sure why Sternguard or Grav are better than Plasma.

 

Grav wounds T6 3+ units the exact same as Plasma does. For a non-Relentless squad, I'd take Plasma.

 

SG poisoned ammo may wound on a 2+ but it doesn't ignore the 3+ save.

 

Same amount of shots, it's not difficult to get within 9" using a drop pod. Zero chance of killing yourself. Concussive which is great in case you get counter charged. 

 

SG is all around useful, not as much of a niche unit, and come 'free' with the different ammo types. With cover or invuls wounding on 2+ is still good considering the difference in cost. 

 

For the same cost as plasma the command squad can double up on flamers and meltas which is a lot more useful overall. 

[L30n1d4s]

Another alternative is Grav Cannon Centurions... with 24" range, they can engage Tyranid Synapse nodes without having to drop right into the middle of the nid army as a "suicide unit." Against most MCs, with a 3+ armor save, they will be wounding 88% of the time and will ignore armor... since Centurions have BS4 and almost all Tyranids lack Invul saves (besides Zoanthropes), this means that a 3 man Centurion Squad will easily kill a MC per turn (2/3 to hit, 8/9 to wound, no armor saves, 15 shots means an average of 8-9 unsaved wounds) at 30" (6" move plus 24" range), meaning that from turn 1, with proper positioning, you can be plinking down his Synapses nodes.

 

This still enables the rest of your army to maneuver and engage his forces, without the entire list be taylored around drop podding in to kill the Synapse sources.

[Rogue]

CoffeeGrunt, I wish I could - I have an amazing lack of aptitude against zoanthropes, particularly their invulnerable saves. They just seem to soak up incredible amounts of S8/9 firepower without a scratch. My only success came via heavy bolters and sheer weight of fire.

 

L30, centurions look interesting, and a lot more survivable against the gaunts with T5 and 2+. On the other hand, they're even more expensive than 5 veterans in a pod, all armed with plasma (215 vs 250), but put out almost twice as many wounds. Easier to hide from than a drop pod, though.

 

knife&fork, I take your point on grav's equivalence to plasma in terms of killing the tyrant. With both at the same cost, I'd suggest that plasma (should it survive) benefits from a longer range, and is more likely to splat lightly armoured gaunts than grav. Of course, an alternative would be to equip a drop pod command squad with flamers and send them after one of the big gaunt broods instead - 5 marines with 3 flamers and a pod is just 150, and with the right use of templates, could take out most of a brood in one go.

 

Lots to think about...

[knife&fork]

 

L30, centurions look interesting, and a lot more survivable against the gaunts with T5 and 2+. On the other hand, they're even more expensive than 5 veterans in a pod, all armed with plasma (215 vs 250), but put out almost twice as many wounds. Easier to hide from than a drop pod, though.

 

knife&fork, I take your point on grav's equivalence to plasma in terms of killing the tyrant. With both at the same cost, I'd suggest that plasma (should it survive) benefits from a longer range, and is more likely to splat lightly armoured gaunts than grav. Of course, an alternative would be to equip a drop pod command squad with flamers and send them after one of the big gaunt broods instead - 5 marines with 3 flamers and a pod is just 150, and with the right use of templates, could take out most of a brood in one go.

 

Lots to think about...

 

Care should be taken with using grav centurions in such an aggressive manner. While they hit hard they are vulnerable to being counter charged, no overwatch and very poor combat performance means that they can easily be tarpitted by gaunts or killed off by something scary. 

 

The neat things with the command squad is that you can take both a flamer and melta on every model. Need to kill gaunts? Use flamers. Need to kill Synapse? Use melta. You don't really need to worry about grav being inefficient vs gaunts, normal bolt round, frag grenades and assault kills them well enough.  

[Ishagu]

Last time I fought Tyranids I dropped a plasma command squad to take out a Hive Tyrant.

 

They were ripped appart the following turn but the damage was dealt and I won the game.

 

And I can personally vouch for Grav Centurions, they are a must. In a single turn they killed 3 carnifexes, followed by wiping away any MC that got in range and the Bolters were good for the weaker critters.