Warhammer 40k Tyranids

The Warhammer 40k Tyranids army is, without a doubt, the most alien race of all the armies in the 40k armies. They are an unstoppable army which cannot be destroyed. They have but one goal: to devour all the life in the galaxy. Sounds kind of sinister, eh?



All Tyranids are organic, and do not use plastic and metal to forge their ships, weapons, etc. It is all forged by bio-mass adopted from fallen enemies. Because of this, Tyranids have no use of vehicles. Instead, they rely on monstrous creatures to fill the role of heavy support.

Warhammer 40k Tyranids is my favorite army out of all of the armies, mainly because of their diversity. You can do so much with the army, ranging from a horde army with nothing but annoying little buggers, to the big bugs which can each single-handedly take out a battle tank or an infantry squad. Even more sinister, eh?

The Tyranid race specialize in close combat fighting, which in other-words, I always want to get up close and personal as fast as possible! Most races attempt to shoot your bugs to death before they even see the faces. It’s not funny… but the reality is most armies fear to fight the Tyranids in close combat.

Getting Started With Tyranids

Warhammer 40k Tyranids, whichever way you cut it, field many models. This will translate to your army being more expensive. So instead of looking at it in the sense of (if you are a teen and don’t work) “I’m going to write down my wish list for my birthday and Christmas, and I’ll get everything then”, look at it in the sense of: “I’m going to buy one box at a time, finish assembling it, painting it, and then move on to another box.” This is because I made the mistake of getting everything for my Birthday and Christmas, and I was overwhelmed by the amount of models I had to paint and assemble. This translated in the majority of my army being unpainted. (My main 1500 point army is fully painted, but my spares are generally not) Not only will this help you get your army together much more quickly, your army will actually be painted! (This is true to essentially all of the armies)

Getting It All Together:

In this section, I’ll be describing a decent way to start out with Tyranids. This is not a tactica; I will be writing a 5th Edition Tyranid Tactica in a separate page.So, building off of what I said above, don’t write your first list for 1500. This will make you super anxious to get your entire army. Start at writing a 1000 pt army, and build off of that.

Now on to the army specifics: Warhammer 40k Tyranids generally want one of two types of HQ: A tough one that supplements the army well, or a cheap one that supplements the army well. A tougher one that can supplement the army well is a Hive Tyrant (including the Swarmlord), or a Tervigon. They both can have very useful with both their abilities, and their survivability. A cheaper option is the Alpha Warrior, but the only reason you would take this guy is to have a cheap HQ choice to leave points for more things. The nice thing about the Alpha Warrior is that you can stick him in a brood of gaunts for increased survivability.

For Troop choices, look into the Battle Force. It gives you 8 Genestealers, 16 Termagaunts, 16 Hormagaunts, and 3 Warriors. This is a decent core selection to add to your army, and if you have the necessary units to accompany them, you are all set to go. To expand from here on, perhaps get a few more gaunt boxes, and maybe another Genestealer box. Alternatively, getting another Battleforce is a great idea as well.

But always keep in mind that Gaunts and Genestealers are the bread and butter of the Tyranid army. And now in 5th edition, this is only encouraged as only troop choices score.

Now when you have your core army assembled, consider adding some more exotic units, starting from the Zoanthrope. The zoanthrope is an exceptionally useful unit, as they provide Synapse to Tyranids, and as well can use its Warp Blast as a devastating tank buster, or marine killer. This unit is a MUST in a Tyranid army; I would HIGHLY recommend fielding three or more. The Doom of Malant’ai is also an incredible unit, for a relatively cheap price. In the right hands, it can be devastating. Hive Guard are also a solid choice, as they can provide much needed transport-busting capabilities to a Tyranid army. And finally, the dreaded Trygon. The Trygon is an excellent unit, and it is fairly easy for novice modelers to put together (as it is a plastic kit). Not only that, it’s also a large model, making for an impressive unit on the field. Getting one of these is a no-brainer.

I would suggest staying away from the Carnifex to start with; it is drastically less powerful this edition, and many units can do what the Carnifex did do much better. (Namely the Trygon) I’m not saying to never consider it, as I think it will have its uses in the new codex, but for the time being, you would be better off with a Trygon.

From then on, it’s all up to you. Depending on your army list, decide what to purchase from there. Don’t pick what you think you should pick; pick what feels right to you, and what you enjoy using! Happy Killing!

Striogi's Guide to Tyranids >>


Home
Warhammer 40000
Warhammer 40K Tyranids