Necrons or Tyranids?

[Learn2Eel]

Hey guys, was looking for some input on a difficult choice I am trying to make.

Ok, so a bit of background information - some of you may have noticed I've posted up an army list for Necrons in the Tactics section. Originally, they were the army I was looking to start post-Christmas. I like the models and the fluff, they are a well-written codex with lots of viable army builds, the vehicles are unique, etc. However, I've recently come back to an army I've wanted to ever since I started looking at alternatives for my original army. Tyranids. I've always wanted to do a bug army since before the close of 5th Edition; even more so than Necrons, I love the lack of vehicles and the bio-organic weaponry. The fleshy focus of the army has always been a great lure for me. As well, they are Tyranids. Though their codex isn't considered to be crash-hot, Tyranids still scare people just for the simple fact that they are Tyranids - they are meant to be scary! The only thing that has held me back was writing up a good, balanced army list that I feel would do well in general without being a spam or WAAC kind of army list.

Essentially; I am not looking to win games. I am looking to have a cool army that I like to play with that isn't going to feel too outdated. I also don't want one that is likely to be re-done in the next year, but two years is fair enough. I know that Necrons are the smarter choice in the sense that they won't have a codex for at least another four years, they are more competitive and essentially any unit in the codex can be made to work, etc. However, again, this is an army for local play that I might occasionally take to a tournament for a fun time. Tyranids are just one I would really like to do, but again, the army list always eludes me - at least, it has until now.

I even bought Vargard Obyron and a Zoanthrope to kind of look at which models I like more - cheap enough not to be an investment, but also of high quality. Honestly, I like the Zoanthrope more, and so do my parents. However, there's always cost, rules, etc. Though I've come up with the one army list I would do, I can't seem to come up with a wealth of ones I'd like to do with other armies I have.

So, long-story short, which do you think would be better for someone looking for a nice, fun army to play without worrying too much about high-end competitive play?

Thanks for all input, I promise I'll stop wasting your time soon :)

[Wolfshade]

I think you know the answer yourself..."Tyranids. I've always wanted to do a bug army since before the close of 5th Edition; even more so than Necrons"

My brother-in-law plays nids and eldar, I have only ever managed to beat the eldar once and that was owing to two very lucky assault results on the last turn!

His Nid lists are crazy, I never know what I am going to face, endless horde or gribblies, big bugs or even a nid gun line.

[Learn2Eel]

Hmm yeah I guess so. I think I'm mostly looking to see what people think, after all it is a big investment and some advice never hurts :D

I made the mistake of under-estimating Eldar the first time I played against them - this was when I was still relatively new to the hobby though. Boy, I got trounced. Between outflanking Striking Scorpions surrounding a Rhino, wrecking it and instantly-killing the Thousand Sons squad inside, a lone deep-striking Autarch with a Fusion Gun destroying my Defiler, Dark Reapers mowing down my normal Chaos Marines, and damn Guardians hitting me with D-cannons......yeah, it wasn't pretty. A good Eldar player is usually a very good player in general - hard army to use, but holy hell are they good if used correctly.

I was thinking of going full-on brood-mother Tyranids (3 Tervigons, 2 Hive Tyrants, loads of Termagants, etc) but the army list seemed to lack uniqueness and identity. Eventually, switched to one with a mix of Zoanthropes, Hive Guard, Termagants, Hormagaunts, Tervigons, Mawlocs and a Tyranid Prime and now I'm pretty happy. And as you say, the beauty is that you can really surprise your opponent with what you bring out.

[Mystery.Shadow]

Tyranids are my first and still favorite army to play. Even when they were considered to be 'not good' I still played my Tyranids.

A lot of great advice was obtained from the great guys at www.warpshadow.com ! It may not be the most active forum on the web, but the quality is top notch!!

The reason I started in 40k with Tyranids was the LOOK. And I still love the look of them. Face it, if you play an army just due to rules, you'll get bored. If you play because you like the look, you'll play them for life!

[Red Brigade]

Playing an army you love regardless of its rules and tourney performance is going to bring you infinitely more joy in the long run. Not that Tyranids don't have that tourney performance, just a popular misconception. In any case, the other fun thing about Nids is that it will be way more fun to win with them.
Case in point, buddy and I go to a mini-tourney run by some old friends. 8 players. I brought horde Nids mixed with some big bugs, he brought IG.
There were two guys there with Necrons, who ended up getting first and second. Response? "Yeah, that's Necrons for ya."
I got fourth. Response? "Holy crap! Nids beat out GK? That's insane!"
It's also fun to feel like a bit of an underdog against new players who haven't learned underestimating an army is a bad thing. I'm not a very good player, but I can usually pull out a draw or close win by using some unorthodox and bizarre tricks, of which Tyranids have no limit to.

[Learn2Eel]

Thanks guys!
Yeah I've settled on Tyranids now. I've always wanted to play them and I guess I kind of had the whole 'flavour of the month' thing going through my head regarding the Necrons.
In any case, another thing that sealed the deal was the reaction to the Zoanthrope and Obyron from family and friends - the universal reaction was 'Zoanthrope' lol.

[Emerald Rose Widow]

Thanks guys!
Yeah I've settled on Tyranids now. I've always wanted to play them and I guess I kind of had the whole 'flavour of the month' thing going through my head regarding the Necrons.
In any case, another thing that sealed the deal was the reaction to the Zoanthrope and Obyron from family and friends - the universal reaction was 'Zoanthrope' lol.


I play nids and I will tell you, when it comes down to tournaments, you will work your *** off for every victory you get. Though when you get those victories they feel so amazing, so much fun to do. Just keep variety going on in your list, don't just run the same list everyone else is running, do the fun units like the prime, or flyrants, or even harpies is one thing I know I wanna try for giggles.

Tyranids are my first army, necrons will be my second, but the bugs will always have a special place in my heart. My first army, first fully painted, they look gorgeous, and they kick butt. Nids have a bit of a steep learning curve, they arent a blunt instrument like people seem to think, you have to use synergy well, especially taking in mind things like synapse and instinctive behavior. Do it right though and you can pull off some stuff that will make people's jaws drop.

With bugs you get two reactions in most games vs people you don't know, they either are scared of bugs and way overestimate you because of stories, or they underestimate based on the forum idea that "nids arent competetive". That second thing is an idea that has been around for osme time now, and you seriously get some people who underestimate the crap out of you. They seriously think that bugs are a joke, and when you turn around and cleanse them of that silly notion, the looks on their faces are quite humourous. For the record, zoeys and hive guard are your best friend though, they can seriously mess someone's day up, hehe.