Hi all, so: for my contribution to Tale of Tactical Wargamers i've decided to do a 3k nid army, the reasons for which will be discussed in the topic itself and not here (though briefly put i'd like it to be an example of how one can create a fairly priced army via ebay or other trades).

What i need is a hand developing a playable 3k army; i'd quite like to explore reasons behind choices and changes that we may make too as come January i would like to be able to link to this discussion so as any one who is new to creating epic armies can see the whole process involved.

In the next post you'll find  what i have available to me (don't worry; whatver list  end up with will be within the budget!) and after that the two lists that i've been toying with.

I've not played with nids yet and so any feedback would be great.

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I have the following BASES of Tyranids available

12xLictor
12xGenestealer
6x Aerial Spores
1x Hydraphant

3xHive Tyrant
12xWarriors
1xHarridan
1xDominatrix
1-2xHive Node

8xHormagaunt
12xGargoyles
24xTermagant

4xBiovore
3xCarnifex
3xZoanthrope
3xHaruspex
2xExocrine

As you can see i've split the above into independents, synapse, common and uncommon brood creatures for ease of use.

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The first list i came up with looks a little like this: i tried getting a decent amount of activations so no dominatrix this time :-(

List 1

-6 Lictors                  300pts
-5 Lictors                  250pts
-9 Stealers with Broodlord  275pts
-6 Mieotic Spores           150pts

-Attack Group (2 Tyrants)   200pts
-Harridan                   200pts
-Assault Group              150pts
-Assault Group              150pts
-Nexus Group                175pts
-Infestation Group          125pts


-1 Gargoyle FLock           100pts
-4 Termagant Clusters       300pts
-2 Hormagaunt CLusters      100pts
-Zoanthrope Cluster         100pts
-Biovore Cluster            125pts
-Carnifex Cluster           125pts
-Haruspex Cluster           175pts

THe independents would fulfil thier usual roles, gargoyles go with the harridan, carnifex and haruspex with the Attack Group (perhaps with some termagants in tow), both assault and the nexus group (who get the zoanthropes) have termagants and hormagaunts (if the spare termagants don't go with the attack group then they'll bolster one of those), the Infestation Node will garrison somewhere with the biovores so as to provide a cheap activation and to churn forth additional reinforcements towards the front lines.

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Next list is similar but i wanted to make use of the dominatrix: being stuck without a supreme commander worries me!

LIST TWO

-5 Lictors                  250pts
-4 Lictors                  200pts
-6 Stealers w/broodlord     200pts
-6 Stealers                 150pts
-6 Mieotic Spores           150pts

-Dominatrix                 475pts
-Attack Group (1 Tyrant)    100pts
-Attack Group (1 Tyrant)    100pts
-Assault Group              150pts
-Assault Group              150pts

-3 Hormagaunt Clusters      150pts
-5 Termagant CLusters       375pts
-Exocrine Cluster           150pts
-Carnifex Cluster           125pts
-Haruspex Cluster           175pts
-Zoanthrope Cluster         100pts

This time i've focused more on huge tooth and claw formations; the exocrines go with the dominatrix to soak up the hits, carnifex and hauraspex as before, zoanthropes exist to protec the other hive tyrant from AT fire and the silly amounts of gaunts join the zoanthrope attack group or the assualt groups as required.

Wish this list had something a little faster than the dominatrix though! Of course; this is how the nid's are meant to act i'm guessing.
I'd also like to try using both the dominatrix and hydraphant in a list though i'm not sure how that would work seeing as i've not much else available...

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Some food for thought.

My opponents hate Genestealers. I usually Garrison atleast one unit of them in cover with the expectation that they will be shot and and broken. In decent cover though this eats up two to three activations of units shooting at them. So that's 2-3 activations where my assault swarms can march up the table without harassment. On the other hand, if they aren't shot at and you same them towards the end of the turn they'll probably be in a position to assault something.

I've grouped my Gargoyle with Exocrine before and found it to be an excellent shooting unit for the 'nids. It can really pump out a lot of dcent AT and AP firepower. The only reason why I'd put Gargoyles with the Harridan would be to use it as an objective grabber.

Malefactors make excellent mobile cover for an assault swarm with Termagants. Coupled with the fact that they are good in support make then an excellent choice. You'd be opening up your brood to AT fire but with 4+RA they are pretty tough.

If you need E40k, Carnifex, Zoanthropes, Biovores, Exocrine or Tyrants let me know. I have a few extra of each (a lot extra in the case of the fex and tyrants).

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Dave

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Cheers for the advice dave :-)
That's why i'd inlcuded the genestealers actually; also like the harridan and exocrine idea...
I hadn't actually noticed that haruspex and malefactors had RA: that's great news! Alas though; all i have are haurspex and whilst i can see how much more useful the malefactors are this swarm also needed something capable of ripping up the odd that it comes across!
I'll be in contact if i ever need to fill anything but reckon i've enough for now!
R>

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Oops! Realised that i don't have enough Hormaguants to go around! The above lists have been changed to represent this. THough in list two i have had to change my mix of termagants and hormagaunts as otherwise the list was 25 pts over; i just hope the hormagaunts die quickly enough for me to bring those extra four back into play somewhere else!
What do people think about making space for 2 formations of stealers (as found in list 2) with or without a broodlord? The broodlord does seem an awafully good buy for 50pts...

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I'd also suggest basing 4 per stand. That'll stretch your infantry even more.

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Dave

Blog

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Squats 2019-10-17