So, my friend finished magnetizing my Hive Tyrant and I have been diving back into my Nids. Here are some of my experiences so far.
First off, my buddy did a great job. The model can be a Flyrant, Hive Tyrant or big poppa: The Swarmlord.
I have loved playing bugs since I first dove into them in 5th edition. They are just a cool army, with great fluff, beautiful models and a really aggressive, enjoyable play style. They are also very versatile. The only reason I stopped playing them last edition was because of the prevalence or stupid Grey Knights! Haha, Purifiers and Force Weapons were murder on the six legged Nids.
Now that Grey Knights are less prevalent and thanks to the changes in Psychic Hoods, Grey Knights aren’t such a game killer. Mech Dark Eldar are still pretty brutal, definitely the toughest match-up for Bugs in my experience, and even worse now that they typically have a Farseer with Runes of Warding to slow down Nid Psychic powers. Wolves are the other bummer because of the prevalence of Krak Missiles, Runic Staves and JotWW. Ah, Jaws is ridiculous.
But, those match-ups aside, Nids are very, very good. The changes to the core rules gave them a tremendous boost. Even the bad match-ups aren’t a sure fire loss, just very tough to play through.
Here’s the core of the list I’ve been playing :
| Tyranids | 1750 Pts | ||
| Unit | Description | Size | Cost |
| HQ | |||
| Swarmlord | 1 | 280 | |
| Troops | |||
| Tervigon | A.Glands, Poison, Catalyst | 1 | 195 |
| Termagants | Devourers | 10 | 100 |
| Tervigon | A.Glands, Poison, Catalyst | 1 | 195 |
| Termagants | 10 | 50 | |
| Elites | |||
| Hive Guard | 3 | 150 | |
| Hive Guard | 3 | 150 | |
| Ymgarls | 8 | 184 | |
| Fast Attack | |||
| Heavy Support | |||
| Tyrgon | Poison, Prime | 1 | 250 |
| Totals | 38 | 1554 |
That gives you a solid core of scoring units which is great in 6th. The Trygon, Ymgarls and Swarmlord can fight with the best of them, and they all specialize against different types of targets. Swarmy is a one man army now, seriously a bad ass. If he gets Iron Arm, forget about it. He becomes a juggernaut. Endurance and Warp Speed are also good, and Invisibility can also make him just a complete boss.
The Trygon has speed, and he hits very hard. Certain units really aren’t suitable targets for him, but he is great against heavy vehicles and units of infantry where he will just plow through them. His ability to deeps trike safely, and decent shooting help a ton, too.
The Ymgarls are awesome. I will not write a list without them. They are just so damn good as a backfield disruption unit, and they hit very hard. I am considering buffing them up to a 10 man unit.
For the last 196 points, I am trying out some options. I am really liking deep striking Ripper Swarms. I think a good Nid list needs threats coming in from all angels to succeed. You need to apply a lot of pressure to get the most out of these guys. As long as you can keep a Synapse bubble over them when they arrive, they are really solid. The mindless rule really stinks (and is totally unnecessary) but coordinated well, these guys make excellent tarpits.
Gargoyles are the other unit that jumps out at me, as well as Hormagants. Both are fast, hit pretty well (particularly with poison and adrenal) and can combo with Swarmy to really pack a punch. Hormagants are more expensive which is a bummer, but they are another scoring unit. Gargoyles are definitely better, but lack scoring status. However, with 2 Tervigons and 2 units of Gants, that may not really be something to be concerned about.
I have also been considering a Tyrant Guard to make Swarmy even tougher, or some Biovores as Barrage weapons are incredibly good this edition.
The Doom in a pod is another consideration, particularly as we move more and more towards infantry heavy armies. The Doom can just go crazy against a lot of armies and if he gets Iron Arm, he can win the game by himself if your opponent doesn’t play it right.
In all, I have been having a blast playing my bugs and I plan on taking them to the next tournament we go to so long as I can get them painted. I am currently up to my rear end in Gants, but I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!
What combos with bugs have been working for you all?
