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Tyranid Army Lists in 5th Edition
Traditional Tyranids 182 Tyrant: Wings, WS6, S6, 2xST Basically, wave theory is planning what parts of your army will hit at different times, and what you want to accomplish with each wave. In this list, the Hormagaunts, Gargoyles and Flyrant will be the first wave. They will rush in to tie up the lead elements of the enemy army for a turn or two and wreak havoc in the lines, most likely hitting combat on turn 2. The second wave will be the Termagants and the Genestealers. The Termagants are to support the Hormagaunts, plugging in any gaps and then expanding the combat front to further limit enemy shooting and movement. The Genestealers are there to start killing off squads. Wave Three will be the Warriors and the Carnifex, if it is needed in Combat. Since they are walking, they probably won't see combat until turn 4. The idea is to have the gaunts of either stripe last just long enough to get the killers into combat. While they move forward, the Carnifex and the Zoanthropes will fire on enemy vehicles. Their goal is to help suppress enemy shooting, then to remove transport vehicles to prevent reinforcements from arriving intact. Tactics I've left off the 2+ Save on the Carnifex, because I believe that it isn't really a big targets. In fact, I'd rather they shot at it as opposed to the more killy members of the swarm. With the Warriors providing Synapse, the enemy can't simply cut off the head of this swarm by killing the Tyrant. For more protection, the Warriors and the Zoanthropes will be protected by Synapse, meaning they cannot be instakilled, which should further confuse the enemy's targeting priorities. I left Extended Carapace off of the Genestealers, because they should be getting cover saves from the Hormagaunts and Termagants until they get into combat, at which point they shouldn't need as much in the way of armor. The original version of this list used a walking Tyrant, but it works very well with a Flyrant adding to the Wave 1 punch, putting more pressure on the enemy army early on. In addition, once you get something that nasty into the enemy lines, it really messes up their plans as they try to get rid of it. Some people will suggest that this list is no longer viable due to the Gaunt species taking wounds due to the No Retreat rule. While that is true, the Gaunts don't need to hold forever, they just need to last a few turns while the killers go about their business. Tweaks
The Wall At the time I had little money and I really wasn't interested in painting that many models. After I looked at it a bit, I decided to stand the army on it's head. Normally, you'd put the little ones in front, the medium ones in the middle and the big ones in back. I figured that Carnifexes were better at absorbing most fire than any gaunt species would be. With Carnifexes in front and Tyrants next to them (protected from enemy shooting until very close range due to Independent Character rules) I could block a lot of line of sight to the Genestealers I put behind them. Usually the enemy would cut down 1-2 Carnifexes by the time I got to their lines, but that would leave me with a Tyrant or two and a bunch of Genestealers running amok in their lines. The 3rd Edition Codex put this tactic to rest with Shoot the Big Ones, however, since it ironically would let enemies shoot past my big ones at my Genestealers. Shoot the Big Ones is no more, and Monstrous Creatures don't completely block LOS anymore, but they do a pretty good job. Note that True Line of Sight will allow the Genestealers to be fired on, but they should be getting 4+ cover saves, which is still pretty significant. In addition, if they are shooting (less effectively due to the cover saves) at the Genestealers, they aren't damaging your Monstrous Creatures, which do quite a bit of damage themselves. 337 Hive Tyrant: BS4, S6, EC, TL-VC Tactics This plays a little bit differently than the standard Godzilla list, since it has a payload of Genestealers. Most Godzilla lists don't have much assault capability, whereas 30 Genestealers gives this one a fairly potent one. In addition, most Godzilla lists spread out and try to stay away from the enemy, while this one stays in a tight wedge until it releases the Genestealers. *One of the interesting things about this list is how it changes depending on how you arm (quite literally!) the Elite Carnifi. If you equip them with BS3 and 2 sets of TL-Devourers (making them into Devilfexes), you have a potent shooting group. Each one will take down nearly 2 SM equivalents per turn at 24" range (including their 6" movement.) On the other hand, you can make them into Boomfexes by giving them each a Scything Talon and a Barbed Strangler. With a 5" template, the BS3 vs BS2 doesn't make much difference. 3 S8 pie-plates per turn at 30 inch range (again, including 6" movement) let's them start shooting and doing damage a little earlier and they don't have to close as much. If this gives you enough firepower to outshoot them, you can even stay back and make them come to you. The final variation is to use Ninjafexes. WS4, 2xST, Toxic Miasma, Flesh Hooks. This is brutal, smashmouth Carnifex style for you. 5 S9 MC attacks on the charge, hitting WS4 opponents on 3s.
Shock and Awe 182 Tyrant Wings, 2xST, WS6, S6 Tactics When the Hive Tyrant and the Raveners show up, put them where you can protect them from enemy fire on that fist turn (as Deep Strikers cannot assault on the turn they arrive.) In addition, make certain that they all go in the same area. If you separate them, they will likely die unsupported. If they are together, they can put out a whopping amount of damage. If there are any unengaged enemy, start by killing them, and remember that the Flyrant can do a great deal of damage to vehicles if necessary. Even if you feel that each separate unit doesn't need support to kill the enemy units (each Ravener brood and the Flyrant should deal 4 dead Space Marines on the charge,) keep them close together. Since we can no longer consolidate from one combat to the next, the way to keep safe is to engage as many nearby units at the same time as possible. If the opponent has 10 units and 4 of them are tied up with Spinegaunts and another 4 are charged by your Ravener broods or your Flyrant, there are only 2 units left that will be able to shoot at you when you get out of the combat. Tweaks Wrap Up If you enjoyed this, email me and let me know |
