Tyranids

As some of you probably know I became a big fan of Tyranids in fifth edition. They were diagnosed as epic fail. All it would have required was a few things to fix the codex which I feel was very rushed and not well thought out. That said I saw a lot of potential and decided to play them. To me in many ways Tyranids seem like the most advanced race and they are completely organic in composition. They have one cycle that is endlessly repeated until the end of time - KILL EAT BREED. Tyranids are very efficient and don't waste any of their resources. Every creature ever created is imprinted in their racial memory and can be spawned again and even improved... The Swarmlord is a great example in my opinion in this regard.

With the advent of sixth edition Tyranids have been revitalized to the point now there is a standard meta Internet list. Most any list you see now deemed as competitive features the following units as its core:

2x Flyrant with dual devourers
2x Tervigon (troop)
2x Termagant brood
Doom /Spore
3x Hive Guard

There are some minor variants and often you will also see a Trygon or two. Gargoyles are also very popular and are very good for the points. Biovores close out which units we see the most now.

I am not knocking this meta list but I can't help but find it boring since it is so repetitive... That said it's competitive and popular.

Sixth edition revitalized other armies as well and that is one of the things I like about the new edition. The four most important attributes sixth edition has brought about for Tyranids are as follows:

• No more wounds due to No Retreat (very big boost to the horde element)
• Psychic Powers - Iron Arm grants Eternal Warrior and +d3 toughness... Most armies struggle to bring down T8-9 monstrous creatures with six base wounds
• Flying Monstrous Creature - the Tyrant is competitive again and is very effective versus enemy flyers... 12 twin linked S6 shots
• ZillaNidz - a high number of T6+ monstrous creatures

The changes to the vehicle damage chart and hull points also has been a boon to Tyranids plus kill points are not nearly as prevalent. This covers the majority of of the advantages Tyranids have gained.

One of the aspects I really liked about Tyranids in the last edition is their inherent resiliency and they are obviously even tougher now. I built my 5th edition army to beat the top tiered armies back then - Grey Knights, Imperial Guard and Space Wolves. These three armies are still quite good but with all the changes that have come about I no longer regard them as the top three.

A lot of the units I used in fifth edition are defunct now such as genestealers, Warriors and the once ubiquitous Tyrannofex... You never see any of these units anymore. Sixth edition has nerfed all of these units.

I played Tyranids straight for at least a year... After WarGamesCon I felt the need to take a break and try new things which just happened to occur around the same time that sixth edition was released. So I was looking at having to completely revamp my list but the desire to do so was and still not is there.

I started playing 40k in a relatively small community and composition was very important to the group of people I played. Spam was looked down upon and that has stuck with me to this very day for whatever reason. I look at a lot of the Internet meta lists that are prevalent and my first thought is always how can I exploit those lists. Some the 40k Internet gurus snub my lists... I don't think they understand my point of view nor do they seem willing to take the time and effort to learn. Any evidence given on their part is antidotal.

My primary goal here via this blog is to help you learn how to play more competively. I like to think outside the box and keep an open mind... Question everything, take nothing said as gospel. You can play spammy armies that don't require all that much thought or you can take it to the next level... That is always my goal and it works for me.

So in conclusion I have discussed why Tyranids are more competive now. Hopefully I'll develop the desire to eventually revamp the army and play Tyranids again.