Editing Warhammer 40,000/6th Edition Tactics/Tyranids (section)

==Building Your Army==
The new tyranid swarm is a great start with 10 Gargoyles; 40 Hormagaunts; 40 Termagants and 1 Carnifex (ignore the rippers since there is no parasite of motrex now) Get a hive tyrant/swarmlord and pick either the wings or some tyrant guard. Next get a tervigon, push 30 termaguants into one unit and keep the rest for spawning. You now have a good 750-1000pt army. Get some elites! They're not the ''best'' slot now but every army needs SOME, venomthropes zoanthropes and hive guard <s>AND PYROVORES!!!!</s> are all good and neatly fill 3 elite slots. Allowing for 150 points of upgrades this is about 1350 points.

The central power of Tyranids this edition is in swarms of units. Among the best performers for the army are Hormagaunts and the swarm-producing Tervigon, but Termagants armed with Devourers (termed Devilgaunts by many in the community) aren't half bad either with a bit of cover. Thanks to Warriors being troops, it is possible to build an army with an elite focus as well, but the Tyranids don't take to such list building strategies as well as certain other armies do. This is mainly because hidden powerfists will put an end to Warriors in an eyeblink, preventing them from making safe assaults into any Space Marine unit toting one.

Unfortunately, armies with a great deal of attention to monstrous creatures will often find themselves fragile and horrifically outnumbered. A bit of number crunching reveals that, per point spent, a carnifex is not all that much more durable than a bunch of hormagaunts in cover, meaning that small arms are no less effective against them and heavy weapons are an unnecessary Achilles heel. Some of the newer monstrous creatures with six wounds, such as the Trygon, keep it together better but just can't do everything the army needs thanks to their high cost and few numbers. The Nidzilla list is still pretty effective, but it takes careful planning.

*'''General List Building''' - On some part, Tyranids have very few options to choose from once they have selected the models they wish to use. For example, Hormagaunts have only two biomorph options: adrenal glands and toxin sacs, and the same is more or less the case for Termagants, Gargoyles, and several others (plus or minus one or two weapons and biomorphs). The strong point of the army is not in mutable units or myriad alterable roles this edition. Hence, the following is a list of the three most common biomorphs and their most prominent uses:
**'''Adrenal Glands''' - This biomorph grants Furious Charge and Fleet to the model it is equipped to. Its foremost use is increasing strength to better damage vehicles, <s>but it also proves helpful for getting the first strike in melees</s> new edition Furious Charge only boosts strength, though Genestealers and Hormagaunts will still usually go first against most targets; while marginally less useful against infantry than Toxin Sacs, when the two are used alongside each other, basic Tyranid infantry become among the deadliest anti-infantry in the game (for a price, that is: it is often better to choose one biomorph or the other). Unfortunately, in several cases, adrenal glands got a noticable price increase.
**'''Toxin Sacs''' - Toxin Sacs cause the model's close combat attacks to be inflicted with a 4+ Poison, which is quite potent against enemy infantry and monstrous creatures (I'm looking at you T 10 great unclean one). They are offered to all Tyranid monstrous creatures and change them from a 2+ wounding to a 2+ with a re-roll. However, they have the tendency to be very useful on infantry units, such as Hormagaunts, <s>and when taken on a Tervigon the 4+ poison bonus is granted to all Termagants within 6" of the beast.</s> nope.
**'''Regeneration''' - Typically expensive, this biomorph allows a model to roll one die <s>for each wound it has currently sustained</s> at the start of your movement phase, separately from any It Will Not Die it may have. On a 4+, a wound is recovered up to the model's maximum. Though available to Carnifexes, Hive Tyrants, and Harpies, it is a choice that is most useful to six-wound models like Trygons or Tervigons. When placed on a Tyrannofex, the model becomes pointless to shoot at; after all the work it takes to wound one, it's completely demoralizing to watch it just recover the damage. However, it is usually quite costly to be putting on any model without crucial importance to the army as a whole. It is rather cheap on Tyranid Primes, though, and not so bad on Harpies, either.

*'''Harpies''' - Harpies are flying Monstrous Creatures. At first glance, they're expensive and fragile since Strength 10 weapons can instant-kill them, and they only have a 4+ save. To make the Harpy worth the investment, a Tyranid player must provide it with cover and provide enough immediate threats to make targeting the Harpy itself a less demanding proposition. 
**'''Role:''' The Harpy shoots, providing ranged support to the Tyranid army. Armed with its choice of Stinger Salvo or Cluster Spines and Stranglethorn Cannon or Heavy Venom Cannon, it can be tailored against infantry or modest tank suppression, typically preventing enemy armour from firing by scoring stunned and shaken results and slowly chipping away at HP. Although they are not geared for close-combat, Harpies can provide secondary melee support if desired on account of having a special rule that reduces the initiative on the enemy unit by 5 when it charges. Although this secondary role is more situational (Tyranid models as a rule have some of the highest initiative-values in the game), against similarly high-initiative enemies like Eldar Harlequins, the results can be meaningful if properly pulled off.
**'''Purchasing Harpies:''' At lower-point levels, the Harpy isn't needed since the Elite anti-tank options are generally sufficient for dealing with enemy armour; at higher point-levels, more durable anti-tank firepower can be had in the Heavy Support slots. What Harpies do is allow Tyranids a degree of flexibility, allowing them to more freely choose alternative slots in the Heavy Support or Elite slots. 
**'''Pro tip:''' Harpies + Gargoyles = reducing most units to WS 1 before they get to strike. 

*'''Hive Guard and Zoanthropes''' - The two foremost solutions to armoured vehicles in the Tyranid codex, these models must appear in every Tyranid list that expects to encounter tanks or armoured transports - and let's face it, tanks and armoured transports are in almost every serious army list out there in 6th edition. One is better for busting transports while the other handles heavy armour as if it were blasting retarded, wingless goslings with a twelve gauge shotgun; one shooting phase, one kill tends to be the normal for a full unit of either model. Hive Guard and Zoanthropes are completely in their own league as far as anti-armour power is concerned, outclassing everything else in the codex by embarrassing miles (well... along with a carnifex with crushing claws). Zoanthropes do have some trouble dealing with Psychic Hoods, but that aside, it is usually wise to figure how many points are going to be spent on Hive Guard and Zoanthropes before adding any more units to the list.

*'''Tervigons and Termagants''' - The two models really must be addressed together when list building because one is as good as useless without the other in most cases. The Tervigon, which can spawn 3D6 Termagants at the end of each movement phase until it rolls doubles. All Termagaunts within 12" of the Tervigon always have Counter-attack as a half assed synergy. LD 6 makes using this rule a complete crap-shoot, getting it less than half the time you want it. The drawback is that, should the Tervigon die, nearby gaunts can take damage, but thanks to six wounds, a toughness of six, and a relatively non-threatening profile, Tervigons don't go down all that commonly if youre playing against someone who has never faced tyranids. Anyone competent in this game knows what these guys do and will make this their, at lowest, 3rd priority. Hide him well. Tervigons can, with luck, receive a psychic ability to give itself and an entire unit Feel No Pain, so in short summation, one Tervigon turns a unit of sniveling, weakling Termagants into a unit of half-decent meat shields. Furthermore, whenever Termagants are purchased, a Tervigon can be included as a Troops selection, so there's honestly very little reason to ever take one without the other. But it must be a full 30 man squad.
**'''Role:''' Both models are Troops first, meaning they are best used to jealously hold objectives. A Tervigon can often be difficult to shake from a position it takes up, especially if it can find cover somehow, and as long as the Tervigon can continue to pump Termagants out onto the battlefield, there's never a shortage of bodies to claim ground. Unfortunately, neither unit boasts much overt power in general. Tervigons have a shooting attack, but it's mild due to modest ballistic skill, and the same is true of Termagants. Also, despite potential boost from counter-attack, Termagants are still not really all that great at fighting. They can lash out opportunistically, but the buff merely make them meh, considering your enemy must hit them for this 'buff' to activate. And returns diminish sharply in turns following a charge.
**'''Equipping Gaunts:''' Gaunts may have numerous potential weapons: fleshborers and devourers. Spinefists, the third mainstay in the cold, are not more efficient at shooting than fleshborers, but they are still a free switch. One in every ten Termagants can also take a S2 flamer, but the cost of the gun is twice the base worth of a Termagant, so no luck there. Then there are also spike rifles, which are just spinefists with longer range, no AP, no twin-linking (still a free choice). Some may consider spinefists over fleshborers, as they perform the same against MEQ and marginally better against GEQ, although their drop in strength renders the gaunts useless against t5 and av10. The spikerifle <i>does</i> have a longer range, but that quality is harder to measure when it comes to gameplay. In all, it is likely that all three basic weapons are about as good as the others. In contrast, devourers boast Assault 3, S4, and an 18" range, all of which can be very potent at an expense of high fragility per point to the equipped models. Lastly, fleshborers are a cheap option that keeps Termagants expendable while still allowing them to pack a bit of punch against the rear armour of transports.

*'''Trygons'''
**'''Role:''' (The following calculations assume the purchase of Adrenal Glands; an upgrade which is highly recommended) It has lost killing abililty, since Furious Charge doesn't boost initiative now, but can still fuck shit up in CC. The Trygon is now king among Nids at busting vehicles: on the charge with 6 attacks as S7, <s>and with Smash has 4 attacks on the charge</s> Smash only makes one attack now Q~Q, but attacks at strength 10, re-rolls armour penetration rolls, and adds +1 on the vehicle damage chart.  Those Monoliths won't know what hit them. Be it for a Tyranid Reserve army, or a horde, the Trygon acts as a linebreaker for the rest of the army. If you're up against infantry, then adrenal glands are nice as it effectively turns your attacks into plasma shots.
**'''Drawbacks:''' In most games, it will be impossible to find cover for the Trygon on account of its height. Compounded with its lack of an Invulnerable save and huge threat potential, it will be a high-priority target; a single Trygon emerging unsupported will die. The rules for Trygon Tunnels are situational: Reserve-based armies generally wish to arrive at once rather than simply running into the slaughter piecemeal. Because Trygons are such an "in your face" choice, taking some target priority off of it will mean more punishment for backsitting enemies. This means that the Trygon works better with armies using Zoanthroapes as their primary anti-tank. As with other Tyranid Monstrous Creatures, the Trygon must be screened against assassin-type units, primary examples including Genestealer teams or the Librarian Furioso.
**'''Upgrades:''' Adrenal Glands are a <s>good</s> moderately decent choice for the Trygon. <s>Being Fleet allows the Trygon more opportunity to fully take advantage of Furious Charge</s> Trygons already have fleet, so you're spending more points for the department of redundancy department, but the extra point of Strength makes it more adept at taking out enemy vehicles. For the cost of nearly four Termagants, it's not something to go out of your way for, but helps against heavy vehicle or high toughness armies. For a fair increase in points, one can optionally upgrade the Trygon to a Prime. Aside from buffing its Leadership (useful mostly for surviving against Neural Shredders/similar threats), and upping the range and output of its Bio-electric Pulse to something formidable, it most importantly makes the Trygon count as a Synapse Creature. Depending on the build involved, having a Prime Deep Strike can make it a good "relay point" for armies relying on rapidly advancing into the enemy lines, or a way to deliver Shadow of the Warp into the enemy lines (Also, the prime upgrade means the Trygon can take relics, one of which is the Ymgarl factor, equipping this relic gives the Trygon Prime up to 8 attacks on the charge, <s>or a phenomenal 6 SMASH ATTACKS!!!</s>). Regeneration is good due to the Trygon's high wound count and good chance with 4+, but not an auto take.  With the 7th edition rules, toxin sacs are a solid take, as with most other MCs.