# point of hormagaunts?



## Hive Fleet Hellion (Jan 3, 2011)

what is the point of hormagaunts i mean termagants are even more effective killy units if near a tervigon and are cheaper most ppl told me that if u r making a competitive list u should not use hormagaunts as they are not effective enough so what is the point of them i know they are good for tying up units in friendly games but in tourneys they are just too expensive for such a fragile unit so what is the point of them in tourneys they are a slot filled better with warriors, termagants or tervigons am i right?


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## Tim/Steve (Jan 25, 2009)

Not really...

I dont like hormies, but many people have used them to great effect. The basic hormy is always going to be 8pts each... however you build it it'll wound most things on a 4+, has a reliable 16-18" charge range, covers ground quickly otherwise and has 3A on charge. Sounds pretty good to me. Personally I prefer stealers, but hormies are still an excellent unit.


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## Vaz (Mar 19, 2008)

*Braces for Imperial Armour Horvagon*


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## DestroyerHive (Dec 22, 2009)

Please use propper punctuation; periods and capitals would make it easier to read :wink:.

Hormogaunts are amazing, when given toxin sacs. They wipe out entire mobs of Boyz in a single assault phase due to their very high In, and ability to reroll 1's in close combat. That, plus they're fast with their Leaping Bound rule.


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## Hive Fleet Hellion (Jan 3, 2011)

DestroyerHive said:


> Please use propper punctuation; periods and capitals would make it easier to read :wink:.
> 
> Hormogaunts are amazing, when given toxin sacs. They wipe out entire mobs of Boyz in a single assault phase due to their very high In, and ability to reroll 1's in close combat. That, plus they're fast with their Leaping Bound rule.


 
you say this but how come people tell me hormagaunts are'nt good enough for tourneys is this true or not?


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## jaws900 (May 26, 2010)

i love them but i have 3 main problems with them
1 - They are just as easy to kill as the Termagaunts
2 - They can get expensive which for Swarm armys is bad (upto 10pts per modal!!)
3 - The models will ALWAYS face plant the board and it is impossible to model them all correctly!

Other than that i do love them with the Bounding legs rules...it's jsut i love the Nidzilla play style more and as such i use Termagunts so i can get in more monsters to my army as well as some "cannon fodder"


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## Jackinator (Nov 18, 2008)

Hive Fleet Hellion said:


> you say this but how come people tell me hormagaunts are'nt good enough for tourneys is this true or not?


Because everything in this game is down to personal opinion, people tell me that 4th edition codexes are crap compared to 5th edition codexes. They soon change their mind when my orks table them by turn 4.


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## Stella Cadente (Dec 25, 2006)

Hive Fleet Hellion said:


> you say this but how come people tell me hormagaunts are'nt good enough for tourneys is this true or not?


thats what they all say about units that don't happen to be in a codex involving SPESS MAHREENS. I'd suggest never taking any of it seriously or listening to it at all.

Hormagaunts+toxin sacs=dead everything for cheap


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## Tim/Steve (Jan 25, 2009)

Hormies are arguably much better in this dex then the last one... and yet a while back the winner of 'ard boyz was a nid army based around a couple of big units of hormies.
Its not the type of gaunt you have... its how you use them.

Even at 10pts they are still amazing- at that point they're I6 hitting most things on 4+ with a reroll of 1s, wounding on 4+ with a reroll to wound... hell a unit of 20 should be taking down about 9 MEQ on charge or about 5 termies. Thats a 200pt hormy unit that should massacre a 200pt TH/SS unit in a single turn... and can charge well over 12" to do it.
I'm not saying that the 10pt build is better then the 8pt versions (I would just keep the toxin sacs), but its alll just personal preference.


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## SilverTabby (Jul 31, 2009)

I use lots of hormogaunts in my lists. Yes, they die just as easily as Termagants, but for 3 points more each (basic with Toxin Sacs), they can do a lot more damage because of the higher initiative and attacks, the rerolls of 1's and the auto-4+ wounding. 

Yes, you can make a Termagant nearly as good using a Tervigon (initiative and Attacks still don't match, even on the charge) but that costs you at least +180 points, and you lose the bonuses when the Tervigon either does its own thing or dies. 

So comparing two units of 20, one will cost you 120, 160 with Toxin sacs and be at base initiative 5 with 3 attacks on the charge. The other will cost you 100, +180 for the Tervigon or +40 for the upgrades themselves, and still not be as good. The termagants guns might do a bit of damage on the way in, but that means you're wasting time firing and getting into combat a turn later, when half the unit will be dead.


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## C'Tan Chimera (Aug 16, 2008)

Hormaguants exist to clog my Tau guns and that alone.


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## Hive Fleet Hellion (Jan 3, 2011)

well do u think the list i have could be competitive? now i dont want people to just say its good or bad i really need to know COULD IT BE COMPETITIVE??? here it is:

HQ
Tyranid prime dual boneswords and deathspitter - 95pts

Elite
Hive guard X 3 - 150pts

Troops
Warriors X 4 with barbed strangler and rest with deathspitters - 145pts
Tervigon with TS AD and catalyst - 195
Termagants X 15 - 75pts 
Termagants X 14 - 70pts
Termagants X 14 - 70pts

Heavy Support
Trygon - 200pts


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## The Sullen One (Nov 9, 2008)

Two things spring to mind when thinking of the humble hormagaunt. First off, they have I5 and three attacks, a deadly combination I wouldn't mind being able to take with Orks.

Second they're only T3, so they're going to die somewhat easier than other Nid units, but then again that's the point.

In many respects the hormagaunt/termagaunt debate is the same as the slugga boyz/shoota boyz debate with the Orks. Personally I'd go with a mixture of them as each as advantages over the other, which can be used to provide a potent combination.

With the advent of the Tervigon you can effectively take Termagaunt units for free, allowing you to take up more FOC slots with Hormagaunts.


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## Tim/Steve (Jan 25, 2009)

Hive Fleet Hellion said:


> well do u think the list i have could be competitive? now i dont want people to just say its good or bad i really need to know COULD IT BE COMPETITIVE??? here it is:
> 
> HQ
> Tyranid prime dual boneswords and deathspitter - 95pts
> ...


Its not the worlds most competetive list but it should do alright. I doubt it would win any tournies in almost anyone's hands... but a good player wouldn't emparess themselves. I really have no idea what your termies are doing here- they aren't going to do anything that the free gaunts can't do just as well. I would take a unit of 10 devigaunts (devourers) to keep the tervigon as troops, give adrenal glands to the alpha and then replace them with hormies with toxin. 

In this list hormies would give you a little extra impact... with termies alone you're really quite stagnant, and its going to be incredibly difficult to pull off any charges with the termies and keep the tervigon withint 6" (to keep the bonuses- you need to be withint 6" during the combat, not at the start of the assault).


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## Hive Fleet Hellion (Jan 3, 2011)

Tim/Steve said:


> Its not the worlds most competetive list but it should do alright. I doubt it would win any tournies in almost anyone's hands... but a good player wouldn't emparess themselves. I really have no idea what your termies are doing here- they aren't going to do anything that the free gaunts can't do just as well. I would take a unit of 10 devigaunts (devourers) to keep the tervigon as troops, give adrenal glands to the alpha and then replace them with hormies with toxin.
> 
> In this list hormies would give you a little extra impact... with termies alone you're really quite stagnant, and its going to be incredibly difficult to pull off any charges with the termies and keep the tervigon withint 6" (to keep the bonuses- you need to be withint 6" during the combat, not at the start of the assault).


 
so this list would be better?

HQ
Tyranid prime dual bonswords and deathspitter - 95pts

Elite
Hive guard x 3 - 150pts

Troops
Warriors X 4 with barbed strangler and rest with deathspitters - 145pts
Tervigon with catalyst TS and AG - 195pts
Termagants X 20 - 100pts
Hormagaunts X 12 with TS and AG - 120pts

Heavy support 
Trygon - 200pts

i fell like this list just doesnt have enough killy in it what i hate i when ppl say "i use gants/gaunts to give my stronger units cover saves" wtf? u mean warriors? thats all they give cover saves to, i usually just use my termagants to cover my hormagaunts but hormagaunts are to fast so the reason i like the list before the current one it is because it has much more models on the table i mean with 43 gants already starting out with a trygon and the warrs to worry about that can be quite difficult to handle and the reason for the gants is to kill things if will keep them within 6" so they can kill lots u cant depend on the tervigon to give u gants as is usually stops on turn 1-2the list i have above has too few models and will get killed quick but my other list each gant squad on average kill about 4 mech on the charge and thats before shooting so let me know which u think is better list 1 or lists 2?


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## Auretious Taak (May 27, 2010)

SilverTabby said:


> The termagants guns might do a bit of damage on the way in, but that means you're wasting time firing and getting into combat a turn later, when half the unit will be dead.


Assault weapons are assault weapons for a reason, and the tervigon in your example also has another 11 termagants on average to the fold so you are looking at a minimum of 21 termagants in two units plus the tervigon in the equation here for the raw points costs.


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## Aramoro (Oct 7, 2009)

Hive Fleet Hellion said:


> so this list would be better?
> 
> HQ
> Tyranid prime dual bonswords and deathspitter - 95pts
> ...


Needs more Cowbell...I mean Hive Guard. The Warriors are a weak link, make them Hive Guard and run 3 units of 2 or something.


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## SilverTabby (Jul 31, 2009)

Auretious Taak said:


> Assault weapons are assault weapons for a reason, and the tervigon in your example also has another 11 termagants on average to the fold so you are looking at a minimum of 21 termagants in two units plus the tervigon in the equation here for the raw points costs.


True, but I always feel better getting one squad of 15 hormogaunts (counting on losing at least 5 from a 20-strong unit) getting into combat in turn two, over two squads of 6 termagants getting in in turn three? Because their charge range is lower if they shoot (12" rather than good odds of 18") from experience they get shot to pieces in that extra vulnerable turn.

It's all down to personal preference though. This week I'm trying out a 1500 list with two Tervigons and lots of termagants, so I'll see how that goes.


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## jaws900 (May 26, 2010)

i prefure my list......terviogns and a million Gaunts!!!! Nidzilla AND Swarm!


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## Tim/Steve (Jan 25, 2009)

I use my termagaunts as moving cover- they aren't there to kill anything, just to get in the enemies way and to hide where the real blows are coming from (they see 30 gaunts on one flank and get blinded to the 4 warrios+alpha heading up the other). With that use in mind the hormogants wouldn't be a valid alternatives.

Personally I see homogaunts as lesser stealers, which still have some of the hordy goodness of gaunts.


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## ohiocat110 (Sep 15, 2010)

Hormagaunts are very competitive as long as you know how to use them. 

First, they shouldn't be your main troop choice as they're too fragile, CC only, and non-synapse. They're a poor choice to sit on an objective as they'll Feed and run away. One unit of around 15-20 either vanilla or with TS makes a nice unit for between 90-160 points. You're not going to want more than 1-2 though.

They're a great unit to outflank if you have a Tyrant with Hive Commander, as their speed puts a lot of pressure on the sides of the board. They also work fairly well with a Tervigon. Put them out in front with FNP to absorb the first round of shooting, then send them crashing into the enemy lines. 

I like to try and work 1 unit into my 1500+ armies. They're the most specialized Nid troop choice though, and have to be used carefully.


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## Doelago (Nov 29, 2009)

Gun fooder and target practice. Nothing else.


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## broran (Feb 1, 2011)

jaws900 said:


> 3 - The models will ALWAYS face plant the board and it is impossible to model them all correctly!


to options that might help 
1 weight the base i put a little weight in all my bases and rarely face plant
2 angle outstreached claws more down ward (makes the gaunt look like it just finished a swipe and ceatches the model if it falls forward


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## Azkaellon (Jun 23, 2009)

Doelago said:


> Gun fooder and target practice. Nothing else.


Say that next time 20 of them swarm one of your squads :grin:


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## gen.ahab (Dec 22, 2009)

Witch King of Angmar said:


> Say that next time 20 of them swarm one of your squads :grin:


At which point it becomes CQC practice.


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## Luisjoey (Dec 3, 2010)

Hormagaunts with poison sacs are really ugly to enemy monstrous creatures! 

i remember a tournament where a unit of 30 hormagaunts ATE a trygon of mine becase the poison sacks! many attacks wounding at 4+ a higher tougness creature? i think that would be a easy way to deal with a Wraithlord, Eldar avatar and even the necrons gods! by just poison.


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## SilverTabby (Jul 31, 2009)

Re. face-planting: 
I also found that the longest out-stretched talon arms also go on very nicely angling behind the Hormogaunt, and if you put the other arm as a bent one angled down, it looks like it's sprinting rather than about to attack. Puts the centre of balance further back, then add a tiny bit of cast-off metal on the underside of the base and it won't fall over at all.


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## Doelago (Nov 29, 2009)

Witch King of Angmar said:


> Say that next time 20 of them swarm one of your squads :grin:


You claim that 20 little buggers would provide a problem for my 300 point Grand Master along with his 500 point retinue, all in a nasty Land Rider? They wont even get close to the rest of my army.


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## Stella Cadente (Dec 25, 2006)

Doelago said:


> You claim that 20 little buggers would provide a problem for my 300 point Grand Master along with his 500 point retinue, all in a nasty Land Rider? They wont even get close to the rest of my army.


as long as they stay inside, soon as they get out, chomp, I've seen 20 of them run through terminators and chappies, tactical squads and assault squads in 3 turns


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## Zaden (Oct 21, 2008)

Faceplanting/center of gravity issues with Hormagaunts:

Simply carve out the two plastic lines on the underside of the base and glue a penny on. They will never fall forward again. Occasionally you will need to reglue a penny, but its works extremely well.


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## maomolin (May 4, 2008)

Hormogants are a little faster, hit a little harder (scything talons) do better in later rounds of combat than termagants (assuming the charge hasn't finished off one side or the other). A more Assault-oriented or an army that does not favor a heavy amount of MC's (especially the tervigon) tend to favor hormos over termas. 

I use the pennies trick, but it can still be frustrating at times.

Most tyranid units (most, not all) when played well are superb. 

I have felt since codex launch that tyranids will only get better with time as full-mech tones down a little bit (super rise in melta means vehicles will be less-effective, therefore the meta shifts to a mixed force, which is where tyranids start to shine).


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## SilverTabby (Jul 31, 2009)

Doelago said:


> You claim that 20 little buggers would provide a problem for my 300 point Grand Master along with his 500 point retinue, all in a nasty Land Rider? They wont even get close to the rest of my army.


20 of them (160 / 200pts) vs 1050pts worth? No. Match points though, and suddenly you're facing (with adrenaline and toxin sacs) 105 of them, or 131 (with just toxin sacs). Unless you sit in the land raider all game (wasting those 800 points), I'd say yes - they'd be a problem...


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## Stella Cadente (Dec 25, 2006)

SilverTabby said:


> Unless you sit in the land raider all game


come to think of it, what land raider? http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/army.php?do=viewarmy&army_id=67 :biggrin:


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## Tim/Steve (Jan 25, 2009)

maomolin said:


> Most tyranid units (most, not all) when played well are superb.


This is almost universally true- if you use the right tactics then almost every unit in every dex are great. The problem comes when that niche is incredibly small and the unit really doesn't adjust well to other roles: what comes to my mind in pariahs. Here is a unit that is 10 years old, doesn't have the necron rule, can't be given a transport and at 1A each doesn't have all that much effect... however, couple them with flayed ones, a nightmare shroud and/or gaze of flame or use their guns to shread through 4+ armour enemies and you're laughing: literally so if it involves a combat with a Ld6 SM chapter master :laugh:

Nids are a newer dex and so pretty much everything in there is good if you use it right... I have some reservations about the parasite of motrex and pyrovores but since I've had my ass handed to me by the first before now its not all bad.


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## SilverTabby (Jul 31, 2009)

Last night I played a 1500 point game with my nids. I took 2 15-strong Hormogaunt units with Toxin Sacs. They suffered a few casualties heading into combat (lessened by FNP from a tervigon), and were in combat in turn two. 
Between them they managed to munch their way through a Chaos Spawn, a summoned greater daemon, and 2 units of 5 Chaos marines by the end of turn 3 (we only got to turn three, they were still going strong at the end of it). That's not bad for 240 points worth of littl'uns.


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