Tyranid 1250 Point Force

[alshrive]

let me start by saying that while i have trawled the lounge for a while, i havent been a major contributor. i have decided however that now is the time for that to change.

So to fill you in, i recently decided to start a new Tyranid Army just to give myself something to do. i am not an overly competitive player and i have more designed the army based off of what i like the look of and will give me some modelling/painting joy. the list is as follows-

HQ
Hive Tyrant
2 Pairs Scything Talons
Shreddershard Beetles (Thorax)
Toxic Miasma
Paroxysm
Leech Essence

Troops
Tervigon
Scything Talons
Cluster Spines
Adrenal Glands
Toxin Sacs

3 Warriors
Devourer
Scything Talons

20 Termagants
Fleshborer

20 Termagants
Fleshborer

5 Ripper Swarms
Spine Fists

Fast Attack
3 Tyranid Shrikes
Scything Talons
Pair of Boneswords

15 Gargoyles
Fleshborer

Heavy Support
Tyrannofex
Rupture Cannon
Shreddershard Beetles (Thorax)



i just want some general feedback for friendly gaming and also any cool ideas you may have. just a quick note that above force comes to exactly 1250 points (the reason for the bizarre game size is purely because i was talking to a few player and we decided that it is between the standard 1k & 1.5k games they enjoy playing, it presents the challenge of writing a balanced list to a level we were unfamiliar with)

Cheers!

[alshrive]

in order to track the progress of this army as it goes on i have started a daily blog that i will be updating so please feel free to check it out and leave any feedback for improving the force or the blog (this weekend i will start by updating it with the first batch of pictures). link is as follows-

http://alshrive.blogspot.com/

Many Thanks Guys,

Alshrive

[Warmaster Primus]

If you havn't already modeled them yet, I think Shrikes with bone swords & lash whips are the way to go. I even throw toxin sacs on mine. It's expensive, but they're usually my MVPs. And without grenades, those whips will help a lot.

[alshrive]

brilliant idea, many thanks for that i hadnt actually considered the lash whip option so it is definitely something to think about. i am also worried about putting so many points in a fragile unit but i just love the concept of them which is why they made it into the list. and i havent started modelling them yet (for more information about where i am up to with it all feel free to have a look at my blog).
Cheers,
Alshrive

[Arleucs]

For the tyrant, I would suggest either giving it wings or a tyrant guard.

I would also trade an unit of 20 gaunts for 2 hive guards (more might be overkill for friendly games) or ymgarls.
You will spawn gaunts with the tervigon anyway so 20 is a good base.

Hive guards can pop tanks before your shrikes/gargoyles/tyrant charges, while ymgarls will put pressure on your opponent deployment (one of my favorite units; almost never play without them)

[alshrive]

just a quick message to say thankyou for the feedback, after looking through i have decided to drop 20 of the gaunts and replace them with 2 Hive Guard. one for the reasons given, and secondly because i am not sure i would want to paint 40 gaunts at the moment and painting 2 more T6 Gribblies will keep me happy. so many thanks to all who replied

[alshrive]

so below is the revised list i am now planning on working with i am trying to find the points to swap the twin boneswords on the shrikes for boneswords and lashwhips, anyone got any idea where to take the points from?

HQ
Hive Tyrant
2 Pairs Scything Talons
Shreddershard Beetles (Thorax)
Toxic Miasma
Paroxysm
Leech Essence

Elites
2 Hive Guard (either as a single brood or as 2 individual broods)

Troops
Tervigon
Scything Talons
Cluster Spines
Adrenal Glands
Toxin Sacs

3 Warriors
Devourer
Scything Talons

20 Termagants
Fleshborer

5 Ripper Swarms
Spine Fists

Fast Attack
3 Tyranid Shrikes
Scything Talons
Pair of Boneswords

15 Gargoyles
Fleshborer

Heavy Support
Tyrannofex
Rupture Cannon
Shreddershard Beetles (Thorax)


I could always drop a ripper swarm but my thinking was that when you start reducing it to too few bases it hardly is a swarm! any ideas friends?
Cheers
Alshrive

[Tynskel]

hmmm... I almost think taking the parasite would be a better choice than taking the hive tyrant. Frees up 50 points.

Another option would be drop miasma and shredder beetles on the Tyrant and take Old Adversary, Bonesword/Lash Whip, and Brain Leech Devourers. You'll maintain the same level of fire power (two guns), same CC close (re-rolls to hit), but now you can cause instant death and anyone in B2B is initiative 1. Additionally, your tyrant will enhance all other units nearby.

[alshrive]

i really like the suggestion of changing the tyrant (fortunately i am making mine modular so i can change between games without any problem) i like the idea of using him to be able to boost other nearby units though. i know once i increase the size of the army i am going to replace the Tyrant with a Swarmlord solely because the idea of a cross of a Alien/General Grievous just has enormous geek-appeal!
Cheers
Alshrive