Playing Dice with the Universe

FLEE CITIZENS OF THE IMPERIUM BEFORE THE TERRIFYING mediocrity of the hive mind… Between 6th Edition rules and the new Codex Tyranids have not fared well 7th Edition may have cleared up some of the issues but I am not sure it does not just create others problems for Tyranids.  I agree with the designers that synapse should be important for the army however there is no way I am going to play a unit that will kill 40% of itself just because it does not have a big bug telling it what to do! Where does that leave us?  It seems like there is almost only one pick in each section worth taking; it might be possible to make the Prime-carifex blob or the triple Trygon list work but for the most part it is just the same as 4th edition take as many monstrous creatures as you can and add a few support units. 1500 points - Tyranids (6th Edition Nidzilla remix) 250 Hive Tyrant w/ Wings, 2x Brainleech Devs, Hive Commander 230 Hive Tyrant w/ Wings, 2x Brainleech Devs 120 Termag...

Discussing Tyranids elsewhere I wanted to post a link to Jay Woodcock Adepticon list to show that you could do well with something other than Nidzilla. I then spent ten minutes trying to find it! Given that there were also a few other recent army ideas I wanted to be able to come back too I thought I would put them all in one place for reference. Tyranid armies fall into three flavours so I shall look at each in turn. Nidzilla - It is all about taking as many Monsters and Toughness 6 as you can fit in. Lists are build around 6-9 Hive Guard; 2 Tervigons and required Gaunts to make them score; Either a pair of Tyrannofex or 3 Trygons and some Venomthropes. It does not leave a lot of points for anything else. Swarm - The goal here is to have one hundred little bugs swarm the opponent and overwhelm them with more models than they can destroy. A couple of monsters are often included to give some support. Usually based around Genestealers but Gargoyles, Raveners and Hormagaunt...

I am sure this title has been over used since the Grey Knight codex hit the shelves but I really have not had much time for posting anything recently. I really like Terminators ( even if they are not the best value point for point ) so having a codex where they are troops without needing a special character is nice to see. Of course twenty terminators and a HQ sets you back about 1000 points so does not leave a lot of room for other units. This is where the Inquisitors help as they give you a cheap leader that still adds value to your force. Sadly the new breed of Inquisitor can not purchase a psychic hood so all these armies have to rely on the Knights natural aegis. If I can keep the Terminators within 12" of one of the Dreadnoughts then enemy psykers are down to Leadership 6 which is a good defence. Miles Militis Xenos @1500 64 Inquisitor; Psychic Communion, 3 Survo-Skulls 55 Inquisitor; Psychic Communion 36 Henchmen; 2 Multi-Melta Servitors, 4 Warriors 470 Termin...

Red Orc is still working on ideas for changing his Ultramarines into Space Wolves. We are relaunching the Ultras as the Uppsala Legion, from the planet Schveeden!  While reading MVBrants Reliability vs. Min/Max I noticed that will little more than adding a Grey Hunter squad each time the tournament list scaled quite well from 1500 to 2000 points.  While it lacks Assault Marines it suits Red Orc's style of just being marines in APC's. Space Wolves @1500 points Njal Stormcaller - 245 5 x Wolf Guard w/ 4 Combi-Melta, 5 Fists - 210 5 x Wolf Scouts w/ Meltagun - 85 8 x Grey Hunters w/ Meltagun, Wolf Standard, Rhino - 170 8 x Grey Hunters w/ Meltagun, Wolf Standard, Rhino - 170 5 x Grey Hunters w/ Flamer, Plasmaback - 150 5 x Grey Hunters w/ Flamer, Plasmaback - 150 5 x Long Fangs w/ 4 Missiles - 115 5 x Long Fangs w/ 4 Missiles - 115 4 x Long Fangs w/ 3 Missiles - 90 13 Kill Points: 51 Marines, 4 Tanks Now if you are not keen on the Standards you can replace them for...

Concept With the arrival of Mycetic spore pods in the Tyranid Codex it is now possible to field an all reserve army. Every unit has Deep Strike, outflanking or other non-standard methods so that nothing has to join the battlefield from your own table edge. Tactics Everything starts the game in reserves. The majority then arrived turn two with the aim of assaulting turn three. Therefore only giving the opponent a single turn of shooting before they are overwhelmed by all the threats. Core Units You need a Hive Tyrant with Wings, so he can Deep Strike, and Hive Commander for the bonus to reserves. Originally you wanted a pair however the official FAQ stopped Hive Commander stacking with itself so there is no point to a second Tyrant now. Our main anti-tank comes from Zoanthropes and the Spores they are travelling in. We also need some Gargoyles to act as a screening unit for the Tyrant. Two small units gives us some redundancy should one not arrive on time or die on impact...

My friends Ultramarine army is still very much a third edition gun-line. Sadly this is not that effective with the latest fifth edition game rules. Ultramarines still have a few nice options, mostly involving tanks, however Space Wolves and Blood Angels do foot armies better. So we are relaunching the marines as the Uppsala Legion, from the planet Schveeden! The Ultramarines @ 1750 Chaplain with Jump Pack leading Assault Marines with Fist & Flamers Terminators x10 with two heavy weapons Dreadnought 3 Tactical Squads with Flamer, Missiles & Fist in Rhinos Devastator Squad with 4 Missile Launchers 11+ Kill Points; 10 Terminators, 46 Marines, 4 Vehicles Two main problems have been hampering the army. First the Dreadnought, being the only armour, just dies too quickly. Secondly they just get raped by psychic powers. The answer to both these problems is to replace the Dreadnought with a Librarian in Terminator armour. We would have to drop an upgrade from one of th...

Building the Tyranid Swarm The Tyranid army I play is fairly static so I have been coming up with ideas for the other archetypes available in the codex. I am going to start by looking at the swarm. I do not have enough Hormagaunts to build this at the moment; I do however have a ton of Genestealers I can proxy them with. Concept Just like the Aliens or Starship Troopers films the idea is to have a seemingly endless horde of a hundred or more bugs swarming across the table toward the opponent. Hormagaunts, Gargoyles and Genestealers are all great for this. I wanted to avoid Monsters, however the Tervigon is just too good to pass up on. Raveners 12" charge helps get them into melee quicker and their claws can destroy tanks. Orinally I was going to use two broods of hormaguants; as I do not own those I instead went for Devilguants. Army List: The Swarm from LV-426 @ 2000 Points 050 Termagants x10 160 Hormagaunts x20 w/ Toxic Sacs 160 Termagants x16 w/ Devourers 250...