# Tyranid shooting army...help?



## MadMaxx (Jun 17, 2010)

I'm trying to get a handle on tyranid synergy. I'm aiming for a bug brigade that is heavy on the ranged weaponry. Might not be the best army for it, but for some reason it appeals to me.


Anyway, from what I gather the genral synergy is:
Horm run blocker/fast attack (tie up) for the line of gants. Probably get nuked on first turn but such is life. The gants are there to shoot/harass and be fodder for the warriors. Warriors/hive guards provide fire support and crowd control, block for the line of zoanthropes. Zoas nuke armor and block for the MC's in the back - tyrants and cani. 

I guess hive guards allow the tyrants to move outside their biological meat shields and survive to tell the tale? 

Where exactly does the trygon come in? Seems to be a beat (ha?) and wants to get into the fight but being so big would probably draw a boatload of fire??


My end goal is to field a ton of gants and several MCs in the rear laying down ranged death...its all a mater of figuring out what to run  I have the current models on hand:

42 horm
32 term
20 stealers
3 warriors
1 lictor
1 trygon
1 tyrant (2nd ed...old school baby!)

Thinking about picking up 2 carnifexes and a slew of tyant/hive guards. Zoanthropes also for the AP lance in case I run across heavy mech forces (?)

Cheers!


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## Shag (Jul 12, 2009)

Don't think I've ever seen one like it. I'd love to hear a battle report.


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## Hurricane (Feb 27, 2010)

Well, if you are looking for an all ranged Tyranid list there are some "cookie-cutter" builds that, while not quite unique in anyway, are proven to be very difficult to crack. Just some general advice before getting into specific units first. Termagants serve as your meat shield just fine as they can be buffed by tervigons to be fairly troublesome in close combat (furious charge, 4+ poison, etc). Trygons also do not have to be in a ranged list as they are primarily close combat beasts. Ranged heavy support options can be found in dakkafexes (two TL devourers with brainleech worms), tyrranofexes with rupture cannons, or biovores which are not as terrible as most people claim. Here are some good options for a primarily ranged list.

Swarmlord: He may seem out of place in a ranged list but having a strong counter assault unit is always a good thing. What are you going to do if TH/SS termies make it to your frontline? You have this guy ready to batter them down with parox + lashwhip guard + rerolling invul saves. He is also a great force multiplier allowing you to cast abilities on friendly units.

Tyranid Prime: He's cheap and deadly if you equip him with LW/BS or double BS and attach him to a unit to provide synapse and act as another counter assault element.

Hive Guard: As you probably know, one of the best options in the codex. You need the suppression power and their ability to pop tanks. Auto-include in any ranged list imo.

Venomthrope: For me I like to include a unit of these and hide them behind my tervigons and such. This is because the way I believe a ranged nid list should be played is slowly advancing across the field with all your MC's and little swarms. These guys can deter enemies from assaulting you and give some cover to your big guys if needed.

Tervigons: Difficult to kill and amazing force multipliers. Taking two to three with decently sized broods of gants in the troop slot is always a great choice in this kind of list.

Gants: Extremely cheap and can put out lots of fire with their guns. Use these guys to tarpit opponents and to act as your meat shield.

Tyrranofex: This guy should definitely have the rupture cannon. While I've seen a lot of people poo-poo all over these guys for the hefty price tag, they've been invaluable in many games for me. Str10 shots are fantastic at cracking open vehicles and they're aren't many more sturdy chassis within the game to fire weapons from. Definitely give these a try. I will say that BS3 can be a let down but when this thing performs, your opponent will not be happy.

Hope that helps!


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