Solutions to Gaunt burnout

[Evil Eye]

I love my Tyranids. They were what got me into 40K, and I could never part with them, regardless of their strength in "the meta" or whatever. However, there is one rather big problem that's getting in the way of me actually finishing my army- the utter agony of painting large amounts of Gaunts.

 

As I'm sure every Tyranid collector knows, they're the least fun part of any Tyranid project. Scores of nigh-identical models which need to be painted almost exactly the same, with no real room for individuality or variation (because that would completely defeat the point of the Tyranids). To make matters even worse, the scheme for my Tyranids relies on a three-stage highlight on the carapaces that cannot be replicated with Contrast and can't really be skipped or simplified. I've managed to make painting everything else on the little guys much easier by simplifying the schemes without making them look obviously different (for the skin the lengthy Khorne Red > Biel-Tan green > Wazdakka Red > Evil Sunz Scarlet > Wild Rider Red of the bigger beasts has been majorly cut down to Blood Angels Red, a selective wash of Biel-Tan Green to just the recesses and the barest highlight of Wild Rider Red) but the carapace recipe (Black > edge highlight Caliban Green > edge highlight Warpstone Glow > edge highlight Moot Green) can't really be made any more simple without looking kinda crap- especially as I've gotten a few Gaunts finished and I really don't fancy them sticking out like a sore thumb, or worse going unused.

 

So with an over-complex scheme I can't change out of commitment, and the dread prospect of having to paint a veritable horde of Gaunts, I'm wondering how to actually get my butt into gear and get the army painted without going mad in the process. Obviously I need to write a new army list now 9th is upon us (I'm waiting for the IA compendium before I start writing, if not a new Codex) but given the current situation, and given I've never been a competitive player anyway I've got the following ideas:

 

1: Increase troop variety to avoid painting the exact same models over and over again. I was initially planning on a tide of 60 Hormagaunts but given how excruciatingly boring that would be, perhaps some Termagants and Genestealers are in order? For the Termagants I'm wondering about having a mix of different weapon options to further increase model variety; some with Devourers and some with either standard Fleshborers or maybe Spinefists (the latter simply as I like how they look and they're easier to paint; I don't know if Spinefists are "No good for competitive but not awful in a friendly environment" or "Avoid, even the fluffiest of games will chew them up").

2: Focus on low-count high-power troops like Devilgaunts (Termagants with Devourers), Genestealers etc. By simply having less models to paint, it would be far less agonizing to get a playable force. Genestealers IIRC have been consistently great thus far even if the rest of the army has issues, and Devilgaunts are perennially good with those guns.

3: As above but taken to the extreme and filling the Troops selection with Warriors. I love Tyranid Warriors, and an army focused mainly on them would certainly be cool. I'd have to decide on a loadout for them as having magnetized a trio of them for a Kill Team project I'm working on, getting all the magnets in and the right polarity is about as much fun as chewing bauxite, but it would certainly make for a striking army.

 

But has anyone else got any other ideas for making the process less painful whilst not totally gimping my chances? I'm no tournament player and my local scene is very friendly, but I'd rather my army didn't end up useless against a light breeze.

[The Pounder]

I think we can all sympathise with this!

 

My approach is to take a lot of “midrange” beasts (so plenty of Warriors, Zoanthropes and Hive Guard.

As you’ve said Genestealers can be useful too.

 

I’m definitely not a competitive person but I’ve had good results with a smaller model count.

 

Sometimes you can catch an opponent off guard.

[WarriorFish]

I did ok as I blitzed through a load of gaunts as my first nids so they felt extra fresh. After that I have been swapping out to other models in between though, so at most eight gaunts at a time - it's the only way you can get them done without assembly lining them. Even that has limits though, depends what you feel you can get away with without risking burnout.

 

Nids do have a nice selection of Troop choices so you should be able to fill your boots elsewhere as you build the horde up. Warriors are iconic and very cool, very flexible too so you'll be able to get a variety of roles. I'm not sure magnetising will help with the getting the models on the table part however

 

While I've yet to play my nids I have fought against them more times than I can count, dropping the gaunts for other models would be unexpected as they're usually there. Troops filled with Warriors would be harder for small arms to handle and it'd make for a cool army too. I think stealers are worth a look too, I gather they're pretty good currently as they are quite different to do (though those arms take a while...).

 

For getting the gaunts done I think you need to pull out all the tricks to help - batch paint, put other models in as gaps and the old classic in a deadline!

[Evil Eye]

Thanks to both of you! Doing a predominantly "middleweight" army is seeming very appealing it has to be said. Would certainly be far more fun to paint than the traditional tide of Gaunts, and would both look cool and play interestingly. I might very well do that...

Re: magnetizing the Warriors, that's just for the Kill Team. I was originally planning on having all my Warriors magnetized, but given what an absolute nightmare it is to do, I think it'll be restricted to those three. I prefer permanent assemblies anyway, so not a big deal.

[thewarriorhunter]

Have you considered having them commissioned so you can focus on the models you'd rather paint? You've got the recipe so handing that off to a commission painter would get them done without you doing the work.

[Emicus]

I reckon there are two approaches to this:

1 - serial killer method. Paint them all at the same time. Got a hundred? Paint all 100. Each stage on each model before doing the next.

2 - sane but slow. Paint 5 at a time and do anything else I between.

 

Benefits of 1 is after a tremendous amount of pain(t) you are finished! Forever! No more gaunts! It might leave you mad, burned out and loathing gaunts with ptsd like symptoms every time you see one... But you'll be done. And quickly.

 

Benefits of 2. It won't drive you mad, but the little pain will continue for a long time. After every joy of painting a haruspex there are "the dreaded 5". But conversely after every 5 there is something good. Perhaps there is justice in the world?

 

Have fun :)

[WarriorFish]

I plan to magnetise my Warrior Prime only :P I think having a Warrior army will be very unique and cool, but might take a while to build the models up. I have plans for at least a variation of this, my problem is I can't seem to avoid filling up all six Troop slots...

[TheNewman]

I can't speak for Gaunts (although I do have 60 of them to paint...) but I know how I got through my 90 Daemonettes: 10 at a time, always with another unit in between.

 

I did deliberately picked a fairly simple scheme for my Slannesh since I knew I'd have such a huge pile of them to paint though. Ironically it's not the horde units that get me, it's the intricate mid-sized units that drive me up the wall. I'd much rather take on another 30 Daemonettes than paint three more Fiends.

Edited October 14, 2020 by TheNewman

[WarriorFish]

Yes, Fiends... my Blissbringer had over 30 gems I think it was? If nothing else a reminder it could always be worse? I've not painted any more since :P

 

I've just assembled eight more Hormagaunts, after the Genestealers with their arms and seemingly endless lines to clean they felt quite refreshing and simple. Variety is the spice of life

[Xenith]

Contrasts. Even at the expense of modifying your colour scheme. Gaunts are low down and wont be on the board long anyway. Contrasts shifted me from taking a month to do 10 gaunts to 3 evenings. 

 

Only do max 10 at a time, so you can see progress and get finished units faster, to keep up motivation. Paint something else in between as a palate cleanser. 

[Evil Eye]

I'm sure this probably belongs in the army lists section but I managed to put together a 1000 point army list with less than 20 models somehow. I may be slightly mad. I'm tempted to drop the Tyrannofex for either more Carnifexes or more mid-weight models though.

 

Hive Fleet Goliath

 

Adaptations: Metamorphic Regrowth, Senses of the Outer Dark.

 

Warlord trait: Adaptive Physiology.

 

Patrol Detachment

 

HQ:
 

“Lord Locust”- Hive Tyrant with wings, Adrenal Glands, Resonance Barb, Toxin Sacs, Monstrous Rending Claws and Heavy Venom Cannon: 230 points.

 

Troops:

 

5 Tyranid Warriors with Rending Claws, 4 Devourers and 1 Venom Cannon: 146 points.

 

5 Tyranid Warriors with Scything Talons, 4 Deathspitters and 1 Venom Cannon: 144 points.

 

Fast Attack:

 

“Sons of the Locust”- 5 Tyranid Shrikes with Boneswords, Scything Talons, Adrenal Glands and Toxin Sacs: 165 points.

 

Heavy Support:

 

Screamer-Killer: 120 points.

 

“Harvestman”- Tyrannofex with Acid Spray and Voracious Ammunition: 195 points.

[WarriorFish]

It is light on numbers as you'd expect which is the main weakness I think, but has good damage capabilities and with regrowth you can help keep them trucking a bit longer. I think you could do worse when avoiding gaunts :P I agree that the Tyrannofex while cool is probably a few too many eggs for such a list so more middle weight models would probably be better.

 

Shrikes are the winged Warriors if I remember right, did GW ever produce model bits for them?

[Xenith]

I'm sure this probably belongs in the army lists section but I managed to put together a 1000 point army list with less than 20 models somehow. I may be slightly mad. I'm tempted to drop the Tyrannofex for either more Carnifexes or more mid-weight models though.

 

Is the goal a middleweight or monster mash? Personally with that amount of warrior bodies I'd ditch the tyrant and carnifex (the obvious targets) and get a prime and something else. 

 

If you want a monster mash, you could easily drop some warriors and pick up a few tactical ripper swarms for objectives, and more points for big boys - If you're going to take multiple carnifexes, Old One Eye becomes very attractive. 

[Evil Eye]

It is light on numbers as you'd expect which is the main weakness I think, but has good damage capabilities and with regrowth you can help keep them trucking a bit longer. I think you could do worse when avoiding gaunts I agree that the Tyrannofex while cool is probably a few too many eggs for such a list so more middle weight models would probably be better.

 

Shrikes are the winged Warriors if I remember right, did GW ever produce model bits for them?

A long time ago Forge World made wings for them. They no longer make the wings but they're still AFAIK legal (they have points values in the 2020 Chapter Approved) and I'm going to be converting mine with Plague Drone wings.

 

 

I'm sure this probably belongs in the army lists section but I managed to put together a 1000 point army list with less than 20 models somehow. I may be slightly mad. I'm tempted to drop the Tyrannofex for either more Carnifexes or more mid-weight models though.

 

Is the goal a middleweight or monster mash? Personally with that amount of warrior bodies I'd ditch the tyrant and carnifex (the obvious targets) and get a prime and something else. 

 

If you want a monster mash, you could easily drop some warriors and pick up a few tactical ripper swarms for objectives, and more points for big boys - If you're going to take multiple carnifexes, Old One Eye becomes very attractive. 

 

Those are both good ideas. Rippers are cool, and you can never have too many Carnifexes. I was leaning towards Monster Mash if only because I have a few monsters on the workbench (including a nearly complete Flyrant and an actually complete Screamer-Killer) and I wanted to make use of as many models I already have as possible. That being said, I can see merits to both your suggestions; I do have a Prime I'm working on so I could always ditch the monsters for this list at least and pack in more middleweight bodies (Raveners are tempting).

[WarriorFish]

I thought so, curious that they're not in Legends maybe a new kit one day... Yeah it'd be good to go heavier on Warriors to get the most from it, but you'd need the models first :P Don't forget to show us pictures of the models!

[Evil Eye]

Made a more Carnifex centric list (like, a LOT more Carnifex-centric, there's 5 of the buggers!). Will be working on a middleweight alt list as well, but anyway- thoughts on this madness?

 

Patrol Detachment

HQ:

Old One Eye: 220 points.

Troops:

4 Tyranid Warriors with 3 Rending Claws, 1 Lash Whip and Bonesword, 3 Devourers and 1 Venom Cannon: 119 points.

4 Tyranid Warriors with 3 Rending Claws, 1 Lash Whip and Bonesword, 3 Deathspitters and 1 Venom Cannon: 125 points.


Heavy Support:

“Bruiser Brothers”- 2 Screamer-Killers with Spore Cysts: 260 points.

“Onibaba Sisters”- 2 Carnifexes with Monstrous Crushing Claws, 1 Heavy Venom Cannon, 1 Stranglethorn Cannon, Bio-Plasma, Chitin Thorns, Spore Cysts and Synaptic Enhancement-  270 points.

[WarriorFish]

The return of Nidzilla? :P With the Onibabas and friends stomping around the Warriors are going to be getting a lot of anti-personnel fire their way so it might be an idea to aim for boys before toys on them so they can at the least weather it a little better. Perhaps enough to squeeze in a third squad to further increase their odds?

[Evil Eye]

The return of Nidzilla? With the Onibabas and friends stomping around the Warriors are going to be getting a lot of anti-personnel fire their way so it might be an idea to aim for boys before toys on them so they can at the least weather it a little better. Perhaps enough to squeeze in a third squad to further increase their odds?

Yeah, you may have a point! This was more an experiment in "How many Carnifexes can I fit in a small list?" than anything else, but you're onto something on the lack of bodies. I won't lie that I did have the triumphant return of Nidzilla in mind! I might drop one of the 'fexes for more Warriors though.

[WarriorFish]

Fexes are basically nid Dreads, so how could anyone not like them? :P This also means they generally work best in the same way and I've found that's in support of other units for mutual benefit. They're not terribly tough if some serious AT gets aimed their way it normally means bad times, so some support goes a long way there - whether that's complementing units to help tackle the source or in saturation.

 

I'm still playing with Warriors of course but my thought process is that they're flexible and can gain a lot from this by being in squads. You can mix roles and allocate the red shirt duty on which will be more useful. I have spinefist and claw ones partly from necessity but also because they can take the hits if I need, or if I can get stuck in to combat where they will be more useful keep them.

 

So while I think that reducing some of the spend on the Warriors to try and afford more is worth a look, there's still options for having something. Especially as some supporting fire would be useful and it's nice to have a bit more of a threat presence (one of the reasons I always take a special weapon on Infantry Squads). If you drop a fex then it you'd be able to forge quite a different approach, worth having a good poke to see what you can do :)

[The Pounder]

Currently I’m running my Warriors (a brood of 6) half with scything talons and half with boneswords.

The reason being I can take a few casualties before my melee gets ruined.

 

I also put in a couple of Venom Cannons for some ranged bite.

 

If you are running a few broods of Warriors maybe e Prime might be a good force multiplier.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[Xenith]

Made a more Carnifex centric list (like, a LOT more Carnifex-centric, there's 5 of the buggers!). Will be working on a middleweight alt list as well, but anyway- thoughts on this madness?

 

Patrol Detachment

 

HQ:

 

Old One Eye: 220 points.

 

Troops:

 

4 Tyranid Warriors with 3 Rending Claws, 1 Lash Whip and Bonesword, 3 Devourers and 1 Venom Cannon: 119 points.

 

4 Tyranid Warriors with 3 Rending Claws, 1 Lash Whip and Bonesword, 3 Deathspitters and 1 Venom Cannon: 125 points.

 

 

Heavy Support:

 

“Bruiser Brothers”- 2 Screamer-Killers with Spore Cysts: 260 points.

 

“Onibaba Sisters”- 2 Carnifexes with Monstrous Crushing Claws, 1 Heavy Venom Cannon, 1 Stranglethorn Cannon, Bio-Plasma, Chitin Thorns, Spore Cysts and Synaptic Enhancement-  270 points.

 

Just remember that all your carnifexen have blast weapons which cannot be fired into combat - including the bio plasma from the screamer - I'd be tempted to run the Brothers as just normal carnifexes with 4x scytals, bone mace, spore cysts. Same with the sisters, they have melee weapons but cannot shoot into combat - maybe consider pure ranged loadout?

 

Otherwise, 5 fexes at 1000pts will be fun!

[Emicus]

How about removing the warriors for another few fexes? Heavy detachment ftw!

[TheNewman]

It feels wrong for Tyranids to have a lot of blast weapons when they have the fluff of a Zerg-rush melee army, but the more I list-build the more I realize that Tyranid melee just isn't that good overall.