Hello AbusePuppy,
I have been following the blog since October last year and within its hallowed halls lay a non-bullshit review of Tau, how to run a list, blocking and proper use of Kroot etc. I have since purchased 2000 points of Tau and with the help of you guys I have had a much better understanding of how to use them. I may have only played 7 games but I have convincingly won 4 lost 1 and drew twice (Stupid sieze ground / table quaters vs guard Smile) - This in no small part due to 3++ (thankyou).
Why am I talking about Tau when the title is asking about Tyranids? Well I feel the general census among the internet is that the new(ish) book isn't very good (a'la Tau auto-suck etc) somthing I disagree with and after a bit of digging through 3++ it is also something you guys whole heartedly disagree with. Problem is I have never played with Nids (been on and off the hobby since 2ned) and I have never played against them in 5th so have little experiance in how to play them / build a proper list.
Glad you've found things to be so helpful- Tau are a tough army, but they can really win games if you know what to do (and if your dice don't fail you, as they're very vulnerable to bad luck.)
Obviously there are some Tyranid articles here, which you've presumably found- give Kirby's and my batreps a look if you want a decent idea how they tend to play.
Here are two lists I have put together using my rudementory understanding of redundency combat/shooty balance....
List 1.
2000pts
HQ -
Hive Tyrant - Hive Commander (25), Old Adversary (25), Heavy Venom Cannon (25), Lashwhip/Bonesword - 245
Tyrant Guard - 60
Troops -
Gants x10 - 50
Tervigon - Catalyst (15), Adrenal glands (10), Toxin sacs (10) - 195
Gants x10 - 50
Tervigon - Catalyst (15), Adrenal glands (10), Toxin sacs (10) - 195
Elites -
Hive Guard x3 - 150
Hive Guard x3 - 150
Heavy Support -
Trygon - Adrenal glands (10) - 210
Trygon - Adrenal glands (10) - 210
Carnifex brood - 2x Carnifex with - 2x TL-Brainleech Devourers (30) - 380
This leaves me with 105pts spare.... I'm just not really sure where to put the points 2 more Hive Guard, upgrade both Trygons to Primes, upgrade to two HVC on the Fex, Add a Prime?!?!
Not a bad list, all things considered, but it makes a couple of common mistakes. First, you have virtually no long-range shooting- if you face an IG or Tau army (as you obviously have), you will find yourself walking right into the teeth of their firepower to be able to affect them. Worse yet, you could face Eldar or DE, both of whom can comfortably sit 31" away from you and tear you to pieces, always backing up as you advance. The other half of this is that you are mixing in Trygons and, to a lesser degree, 'Fexes, and thus diluting your shooting strength. With only six Hive Guard you are going to struggle against any kind of heavily mechanized force; the Heavy Venom Cannon and Brainleech Devourers add a little to that, but I still don't think it will be enough.
So what you want to do is either get some more Hive Guard in there and take Onslaught for your Tervigons (which pushes out your effective range a decent bit) or add some Tyrannofexes, Harpies, or other long-range shooting. Swapping the Carnifexes + Trygons to 2x Tyrannofex + something would be one option; alternately, keep the Trygons and trade the Carnifexes for Harpies. You could also go for a more moderate approach and drop the Devilfexes for a single Tyrannofex, which leaves you with quite a number of points to spare.
I have also had very good luck with Tyranid Warriors in place of Trygons recently- consider that three Tyranid Warriors with Toxin + Boneswords cost 135 instead of the Trygon's 200 and will survive the same number of Missile/Lascannon hits on average (assume you keep them in cover) as well as having similar numbers against Bolters. Heavy Bolters/Autocannons work better against them, but are still far from ideal, and adding in a Tyranid Prime makes the squad a lot scarier; you also have the option of taking a Barbed Strangler, which is a very nice gun.
Oh, and you probably want two Tyrant Guard at 2000pts; one will die too quickly, leaving your Tyrant unprotected.
List 2.
2000pts
HQ -
Hive Tyrant - Hive Commander (25), Old Adversary (25), Heavy Venom Cannon (25), Lashwhip/Bonesword - 245
Tyrant Guard - 60
Troops -
Gants x10 - 50
Tervigon - Catalyst (15), Adrenal glands (10), Toxin sacs (10) - 195
Gants x10 - 50
Tervigon - Catalyst (15), Adrenal glands (10), Toxin sacs (10) - 195
Elites -
Hive Guard x3 - 150
Hive Guard x3 - 150
Trygon Prime - Adrenal glands (10) - 250
T-fex - Rupture cannon (15) - 265
T-fex - Rupture cannon (15) - 265
This leaves 125pts same issue as above... The "core" of both lists are the same perhaps this is where I am going wrong? I am not a huge fan of running T-fex's purely because I dont think I could be arsed to convert them but not totally against the idea.
Your core list is actually quite good, aside from lacking the second Tyrant Guard and possibly wanting a few more Hive Guard. I think the Prime upgrade to the Trygon is not really adding much, as you need backfield Synapse if anything. T-Fexes are, admittedly, unreliable, but I think they're very usable as mobile cover for your Tervigons and as stopgap long-range shooting. (If you're lazy, using any of your old "Sniperfexes" can work, if you can just add a bunch of extra carapaces to a Carnifex and make sure to glue some big guns together.) However, if you don't like them there's no reason to force yourself to use them- instead, look to some of the other options I mentioned above, although consider that you want to make up the difference in AT firepower you're losing.
I have played with a number of 2000pt lists recently for TSHFT, so you might also take a gander at some of those articles for additional ideas.
Apologies on this reply taking so long, things have been busy recently with TSHFT and moving into a new place.
