BloodNGuts - Well and Truly Swarmed!
BloodnGuts here. I've played a bunch of games (each with a different army) againt Chroma's Tyranids. You'd almost think there was a local tournament coming up and Chroma just wanted to sharpen his claws on a few armies in slavering anticipation...
I've been winning around half of the games. And no, that does not mean I've been winning turns 1 and 2 of each game like our usual scraps! I've won with my Wanderers (Chaos Marines) [I still think you should call these guys "Ravagers" or something, they're frigging Khornate! - Chroma] and Orks, and lost with Nomads (White Scars variant), Biel-Tan and Titan Legions. I will comment on the shiny goodness of the Titan Legion list soon, but I'll just concentrate on 'Nids here today. There are a few vitally important points for people to understand before they go against the endless swarms:
1. Numbers - Since Tyranids NEVER accumulate blast markers, you will start almost every engage down 2 on your combat resolution result. Add to that the large snappy claws of the 'Nids and you have a bit of a recipe for disaster. The answer to this is numbers! If you "vastly outnumber" the 'Nids when you are adding up modifiers, that will at least negate their BM advantage and leave you on an even footing for combat resolution. I know the idea of "having more guys than the enemy" may not be a revolutionary military concept, but you can forget it with some super units in Epic and get caught with your purity seal in a wringer if you're not careful. I would rarely hesitate to throw a unit of 4 Terminators into combat with anything, but if they have even one BM, and there are 12 'gaunts and a couple of 'Nid Warriors, those 4 superhumans WILL lose that engage. Which leads us to:
2. Engaging - 'Nids do not break. Period. Even when you beat them in an engage. For this reason, it is often better to sit and fire any and all weapons rather than engaging, unless you can bring a massive combined assault to bear. For example, if you engage a 'Nid formation and win, they do not break although they are pushed back from you. However, you likely lost at least one stand and now have BMs if you didn't before. That same 'Nid formation now has an action, unlike every other army out there; they just stop running, eat their dead and charge you back in the same turn. They never have BMs, and now you do, so you are basically refighting the same engage you just did, but at a huge disadvatage. It is often better to stand your ground, apply some sustained fire (or even marshal and fire at -1) and suffer the, let's face it, inevitable engage from the now smaller 'Nid formation. But, you ask, don't 'Nids have:
3. Shooting - There is no shooting to be worried about in the 'Nid army. Yes, they have some. They even use the flamer template with a couple of models! All in all, they expect no casualties from their shots. The 'Nid player will be happy enough to lay a BM for an upcoming engage. Staring into a formation made up entirely of Zoanthropes and whatever else the 'Nids consider shooty? Ignore it. I'm not saying that the BMs they lay are inconsequential, but I would say don't be as cautious about remaining in cover as you would against Eldar or Tau. So, what type of shooting is best aginst 'Nids? Anti-personnel or:
4. Anti-Tank - There are a large number of nasty bio-tanks in the 'Nid force. Most of us have played 40k, so we live in abject fear of Genestealers and Lictors. Not so! Lictors and 'Stealers are a quick firefight away from the casualty box and they, unlike many bio-tanks, can't come back after you kill them. In a 'Nid formation of squishy Inf and crunchy AV, take the AT shots and don't worry about the 'gaunts. Many of the "tanks" have RA and really hurty bits just like mechanical tanks of other armies. Try to think of them the same way. In a mechanized IG army, wouldn't you shoot the tanks first? Especially if the IG general could somehow pull more tanks out of his butt? [That's an ovipositor, thank you very much - Chroma] Tanks cost the 'Nid player more resources to bring back from the grave as well, so hit him where it hurts. To continue the theme, if a mixed Inf and AV 'Nid formation is coming at you, stand your ground and shoot the tanks. Not only will that make your engage go more easily, but some of the tanks are fearless and will not be wiped out in the combat resolution stage like the Inf. Wait a minute, which keyword was that:
5. Fearless - most of the 'Nid "synapse" creatures are fearless. So, even when you've maneuvered and arranged a massive combined assault and wiped out a huge formation in the combat resolution, the only 'Nids left standing are the only ones you actually needed to kill. You want to talk about Break the Spirit, nothing will demoralize you like wiping out 15 or 20 'Nids and watching a lone Tyranid Warrior respawn them all right back in the same spot. Again, I'm not coming up with anything new, but if you've won an engage against 'Nids, try to retain the initiative and shoot the survivors before they get to spawning. Your BTS objective is to kill more than half of the synapse creatures, and engages have a hard time doing that. Keep a fast unit or two around in reserve to mop up.
If you disagree with any of these tactics, let's see you fight some 'Nids for a change!
I've been winning around half of the games. And no, that does not mean I've been winning turns 1 and 2 of each game like our usual scraps! I've won with my Wanderers (Chaos Marines) [I still think you should call these guys "Ravagers" or something, they're frigging Khornate! - Chroma] and Orks, and lost with Nomads (White Scars variant), Biel-Tan and Titan Legions. I will comment on the shiny goodness of the Titan Legion list soon, but I'll just concentrate on 'Nids here today. There are a few vitally important points for people to understand before they go against the endless swarms:
1. Numbers - Since Tyranids NEVER accumulate blast markers, you will start almost every engage down 2 on your combat resolution result. Add to that the large snappy claws of the 'Nids and you have a bit of a recipe for disaster. The answer to this is numbers! If you "vastly outnumber" the 'Nids when you are adding up modifiers, that will at least negate their BM advantage and leave you on an even footing for combat resolution. I know the idea of "having more guys than the enemy" may not be a revolutionary military concept, but you can forget it with some super units in Epic and get caught with your purity seal in a wringer if you're not careful. I would rarely hesitate to throw a unit of 4 Terminators into combat with anything, but if they have even one BM, and there are 12 'gaunts and a couple of 'Nid Warriors, those 4 superhumans WILL lose that engage. Which leads us to:
2. Engaging - 'Nids do not break. Period. Even when you beat them in an engage. For this reason, it is often better to sit and fire any and all weapons rather than engaging, unless you can bring a massive combined assault to bear. For example, if you engage a 'Nid formation and win, they do not break although they are pushed back from you. However, you likely lost at least one stand and now have BMs if you didn't before. That same 'Nid formation now has an action, unlike every other army out there; they just stop running, eat their dead and charge you back in the same turn. They never have BMs, and now you do, so you are basically refighting the same engage you just did, but at a huge disadvatage. It is often better to stand your ground, apply some sustained fire (or even marshal and fire at -1) and suffer the, let's face it, inevitable engage from the now smaller 'Nid formation. But, you ask, don't 'Nids have:
3. Shooting - There is no shooting to be worried about in the 'Nid army. Yes, they have some. They even use the flamer template with a couple of models! All in all, they expect no casualties from their shots. The 'Nid player will be happy enough to lay a BM for an upcoming engage. Staring into a formation made up entirely of Zoanthropes and whatever else the 'Nids consider shooty? Ignore it. I'm not saying that the BMs they lay are inconsequential, but I would say don't be as cautious about remaining in cover as you would against Eldar or Tau. So, what type of shooting is best aginst 'Nids? Anti-personnel or:
4. Anti-Tank - There are a large number of nasty bio-tanks in the 'Nid force. Most of us have played 40k, so we live in abject fear of Genestealers and Lictors. Not so! Lictors and 'Stealers are a quick firefight away from the casualty box and they, unlike many bio-tanks, can't come back after you kill them. In a 'Nid formation of squishy Inf and crunchy AV, take the AT shots and don't worry about the 'gaunts. Many of the "tanks" have RA and really hurty bits just like mechanical tanks of other armies. Try to think of them the same way. In a mechanized IG army, wouldn't you shoot the tanks first? Especially if the IG general could somehow pull more tanks out of his butt? [That's an ovipositor, thank you very much - Chroma] Tanks cost the 'Nid player more resources to bring back from the grave as well, so hit him where it hurts. To continue the theme, if a mixed Inf and AV 'Nid formation is coming at you, stand your ground and shoot the tanks. Not only will that make your engage go more easily, but some of the tanks are fearless and will not be wiped out in the combat resolution stage like the Inf. Wait a minute, which keyword was that:
5. Fearless - most of the 'Nid "synapse" creatures are fearless. So, even when you've maneuvered and arranged a massive combined assault and wiped out a huge formation in the combat resolution, the only 'Nids left standing are the only ones you actually needed to kill. You want to talk about Break the Spirit, nothing will demoralize you like wiping out 15 or 20 'Nids and watching a lone Tyranid Warrior respawn them all right back in the same spot. Again, I'm not coming up with anything new, but if you've won an engage against 'Nids, try to retain the initiative and shoot the survivors before they get to spawning. Your BTS objective is to kill more than half of the synapse creatures, and engages have a hard time doing that. Keep a fast unit or two around in reserve to mop up.
If you disagree with any of these tactics, let's see you fight some 'Nids for a change!
posted by Kevin at 11/14/2005 02:12:00 p.m.
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