What are your favourite picks for nids?

[greysquigg]

Hello!

 

 

Going to start a force of nids later this year, and want to know what pieces you've found the most fun?

 

Or is the codex in a good place and I can take whatever I fancy? 

 

I've generally decided to have more big monster as opposed to a giant swarm, but I'm not against the idea of 30 or so infantry. I realise that's probably not very much for nids! 

 

 

[Marshlands]

The codex is pretty well balanced, in terms of monsters the swarmlord, tyrants, caenifexes, the tyrannofex, exocrine, mawloc and trygon all see their use in competitive play - so yeah pretty balanced. Most of the smaller stuff has a use too.

 

The trait that grants cover is pretty good for the monsters or the reroll 1s to Hit for shooty monsters.

 

My best picks would be 6 hive guard wih the shoot twice stratagem and/or 20 kraken Genestealers with the double run (decent chance for a 20" move and then still charge)

[Redtoof]

For the purpose of building a list, Neurothropes and Ripper Swarms are very useful for building up detachments and getting command points, as well as being annoying in game. I struggle to build a list without them.

 

For fun, I do like Trygons, they cause panic when they pop up and they can make a mess of stuff if the enemy doesn't divert their attention to them. Also like big blobs of Genestealers for the terror factor, but I've not had much luck with the two combined! 9 inch charge, even with a reroll, is a tricky one!

 

Overall the codex is pretty balanced, there are some choices that are a bit overcosted but only a very few that are genuinely poor. Though with GW's willingness to adjust points costs it probably won't be too long until the bad choices become cheap choices instead.

[infornography]

Overall, nearly anything is good enough to use.  Here is a list of units to avoid.

 

Toxicrene, Maleceptor, Haruspex, Hive Crone, Lictor, Deathleaper.

 

Here are the cream of the crop.

 

Tyrants with wings (probable nerf incoming soon), Genestealers, Rippers (min sized units with no upgrades, great for snagging objectives), Biovores, Hive Guard, Neurothropes, Exocrines.

 

Your best bet if you are new to nids is to start by picking a hive fleet and building your strategy around that.

The best ones are

Kraken - Great for carnifexes and others that like to charge into melee

Kronos - Great for firebases and ranged shooting

Jormungandr - decent defensive buff and one of the best strategems for deployment shenanigans.

Leviathan - best defensive buff all around.

 

With Kraken your best bet is to focus on carnifexes and Old One Eye.  Give them all spore cysts for the defensive buff.  Mix of dakkafexen (2 pairs of devourers and enhanced senses) and meleefexen (2 pair of scything talons, tusks, and bone mace tail)  Add in some genestealers and ripper swarms to tear up the screening units and take objectives left behind respectively.  Maybe a broodlord to buff the stealers.

 

Kronos is good with things like Exocrine, Hive Guard, Tyrannofexen, and Biovores.  Defending them with venomthropes or a malanthrope is pretty common.  Neurothropes provide some synapse and psyker support.  Termagants with Devourers transported by a pod or trygon prime are a good way to go with this as well.

 

Jormungandr is great with termagant bombs (with devourers) transported by trygon prime, pod, or raveners, Genestealers with broodlord transported by trygon prime or raveners, midfield shooters like hive guard, and warrior squads with a prime transported by trygon or raveners.  Also of course, lots of rippers.

 

Leviathan is great with just about everything.  Hard to go wrong as long as you have adequate synapse coverage.

[Stercus]

So, in general, which is the preferable build out of venomthropes or zoanthropes?

[Xenith]

So, in general, which is the preferable build out of venomthropes or zoanthropes?

 

As in, which unit to make from the box?

 

Pick your favourite.

 

Zoans are seen as too low damage to be worth it, but are very tanky with 3W, 3++, and a nearby Neurothrope. More so with Leviathan trait.

 

Venoms protect your stuff, but are so expensive sometimes it's worthwhile just to buy more of the stuff you want to protect.

 

The 'best' use of the box would be to make 3 zoanthropes count as neurothropes to fill up force org slots. 

 

 

 

Hello!

 

 

Going to start a force of nids later this year, and want to know what pieces you've found the most fun?

 

Or is the codex in a good place and I can take whatever I fancy? 

 

I've generally decided to have more big monster as opposed to a giant swarm, but I'm not against the idea of 30 or so infantry. I realise that's probably not very much for nids! 

Tyrannofex with Acid, Trygons, mawloc, flyrants, back up with some warriors with spitters and hive guard.

[Stercus]

 

So, in general, which is the preferable build out of venomthropes or zoanthropes?

 

 

As in, which unit to make from the box?

 

Pick your favourite.

 

Zoans are seen as too low damage to be worth it, but are very tanky with 3W, 3++, and a nearby Neurothrope. More so with Leviathan trait.

 

Venoms protect your stuff, but are so expensive sometimes it's worthwhile just to buy more of the stuff you want to protect.

 

The 'best' use of the box would be to make 3 zoanthropes count as neurothropes to fill up force org slots. 

 

 

 

Hello!

 

 

Going to start a force of nids later this year, and want to know what pieces you've found the most fun?

 

Or is the codex in a good place and I can take whatever I fancy? 

 

I've generally decided to have more big monster as opposed to a giant swarm, but I'm not against the idea of 30 or so infantry. I realise that's probably not very much for nids!

 

Tyrannofex with Acid, Trygons, mawloc, flyrants, back up with some warriors with spitters and hive guard.

May build them as zoan/neutron then. I’d quite look to use one of the spare venom heads on my kitbashed lictor anyway.

[Xenith]

 

I’d quite look to use one of the spare venom heads on my kitbashed lictor anyway.

 

It works well. Check my tyranid painting log in this section  

 

1 box of zoans and 2 boxes of warriors is netting me 3 zoans, 3 venomthropes, 3 lictors and a neurothrope. 

[Stercus]

 

I’d quite look to use one of the spare venom heads on my kitbashed lictor anyway.

 

 

It works well. Check my tyranid painting log in this section  ;)

 

1 box of zoans and 2 boxes of warriors is netting me 3 zoans, 3 venomthropes, 3 lictors and a neurothrope.

Nice. I’m quite enjoying tyranids at the minute, so may have to give that a go.

[Xenith]

Worth it for the lictors which are £15+ each, but the saving on venoms is not so good. I'd probably convert the leftover venom bits from a zoanthrope build into mucolid spores.

[Seahawk]

How does the Barbed Hierodule stack up these days?

[Dont-Be-Haten]

I will say that I love my Exocrine and Hive Crone.

 

Had a match against necrons today.

 

My three MVPs weren't my Hive Tyrants, but my Dakkafex, Exocrine, and Hive Crone.

[Arson Fire]

How does the Barbed Hierodule stack up these days?

Its shooting is quite comparable to an Exocrine, which costs half as much.  However the Hierodule has nearly double the wounds, is a lot more mobile, and is decent in close combat.

So I wouldn't take it solely for fire support.  But it can work if you play it aggressively.

 

Personally I think the Scythed Hierodule is a little better at the moment.  That flamer is pretty powerful, and it has a good number of attacks.

[Xenith]

 

How does the Barbed Hierodule stack up these days?

Its shooting is quite comparable to an Exocrine, which costs half as much.  However the Hierodule has nearly double the wounds, is a lot more mobile, and is decent in close combat.

So I wouldn't take it solely for fire support.  But it can work if you play it aggressively.

 

 

 

So two exocines would have the same wounds as a hierodule, but twice the firepower?

 

the mobility is the real issue. Hieros can move with the army, while Exos need babysitting and become awful if they move. 

[Redtoof]

For what it’s worth my Scythed Hierodule has been loving 8th edition. Since the codex dropped he has always made a sizeable contribution.

[Arson Fire]

 

 

How does the Barbed Hierodule stack up these days?

Its shooting is quite comparable to an Exocrine, which costs half as much.  However the Hierodule has nearly double the wounds, is a lot more mobile, and is decent in close combat.

So I wouldn't take it solely for fire support.  But it can work if you play it aggressively.

 

 

 

So two exocines would have the same wounds as a hierodule, but twice the firepower?

 

the mobility is the real issue. Hieros can move with the army, while Exos need babysitting and become awful if they move. 

 

 

Pretty much yeah.  If you're going for an immobile firebase, you're much better off with those exocrines.  A more aggressive and mobile approach, and the hierodule is perhaps worth a look.

[Dont-Be-Haten]

 

 

 

 

How does the Barbed Hierodule stack up these days?

Its shooting is quite comparable to an Exocrine, which costs half as much. However the Hierodule has nearly double the wounds, is a lot more mobile, and is decent in close combat.

So I wouldn't take it solely for fire support. But it can work if you play it aggressively.

 

So two exocines would have the same wounds as a hierodule, but twice the firepower?

 

the mobility is the real issue. Hieros can move with the army, while Exos need babysitting and become awful if they move.

I treat my exocrine like a whirlwind/predator. Put it next to some biovores and a venom cannon warrior squad. 36" is good range and it almost always puts in the work for me. If I'm moving it, I'm advancing it with a potential onslaught followed closely behind.