Hobby Article - My Next Army
Since April this year, I have been playing Tau Empire almost exclusively. I have tried a game or two with Chaos Space Marines during that time, and also had a brief stint with the Dark Eldar. Despite these diversions, I haven’t found a second army to play when my Tau become stagnant. As much as I love the fluff and style of my primary force, from time to time I just want to play something else. So I’ve decided I’m going to attempt to put together a second army.
I want to play an army that feels very different from my Tau in terms of play style and approach, so I’m going for something with a close combat feel. Initially I thought about going back to my Iron Warriors, since I love the paint scheme I’ve come up with and I already own most of the models. Unfortunately, the newest Codex is still too fresh of a wound for me to fully engage with the fluff, which is quintessential for me when it comes to committing to a force.
I finally decided I’m going to give the Tyranids another try. I played them once in 3rd edition and again in late 4th/very early 5th, and at one point I had three bio-titans in my arsenal. Regrettably I chose to trade the army away for a HUGE Blood Angels force. I never put this Space Marine force on the table, I just sold it on down the line. I always loved the Tyranids for their fluff. Something about a natural disaster that annihilates galaxies appeals to me (perhaps it says something psychologically about me as well, but I’ll leave that to all you Freudians and Jungians out there). I love the sense of impending doom as the swarm closes, and watching my opponents’ heroes live gloriously as they slaughter dozens of intergalactic cockroaches in their final moments.
Now, I’ve decided it is time to give the intergalactic raiders of Hive Fleet Nug another run. One of the biggest reasons I dropped away from the army was the newest Tyranid Codex. I hear heavy rumors that the Tyranids will be getting new rules soon, so that is a big plus to me. But in addition to this, I think the Tyranids have a lot of very interesting things they can bring to the table in this edition that I haven’t tried yet.
I suppose it serves as an appropriate disclaimer to say that I feel the current Codex is somewhat weak, and it relies on some crutches in the 6th edition rule set that I will be avoiding. If you see me using a Hive Tyrant with Iron Arm or the Doom of Malan’tai in a future battle report, I expect a good slap with a rolled up newspaper! I also feel Swarmlord is a huge points sponge, and I will rarely (if ever) be fielding him. I think the Codex suffers from over-priced Monstrous Creatures and over-priced medium bugs, and I hope this is remedied in the newest book. The swarm is my approach to the Tyranids, and these high prices mean my Synapse network may be very weak initially.
With all that said, it is important to note that one of my usual opponents is a Dark Eldar player, so the Monstrous Creatures have even less intrinsic value in my eyes. I know it probably isn’t the most effective Tyranid build, but I am going to attempt a wave of chitin, supported by small numbers of medium grade bugs and even smaller numbers of Monstrous Creatures. The idea is to drown my opponent in a sea of bodies and try to cause him to make mistakes in target allocation. Think big swarms of Hormagaunts and Gargoyles to draw fire while other stuff moves on objectives and knocks out his mobility. The goal is to have as few obvious targets as possible, while still retaining army synergy.
Fortunately I have a friend (my usual Space Marines opponent in battle reports) who has been a good sport and volunteered to let me take him to Proxy Hell; that’s right, tomorrow before I go into work I’m going to make a proxy list of over one hundred Tyranid models! I’m incredibly grateful that he is willing to do this, as it lets me get an idea of how the army is going to work before I start making purchases.
If the game goes on as intended I will post an abbreviated battle report tomorrow covering the highlights, as well as what worked and what didn’t. I’m excited to get back to the tooth-and-claw side of 40k. The Tau’s Pulse Rifle is fun, but nothing matches the encroaching doom of the Tyranids for cinematic gaming.
I want to play an army that feels very different from my Tau in terms of play style and approach, so I’m going for something with a close combat feel. Initially I thought about going back to my Iron Warriors, since I love the paint scheme I’ve come up with and I already own most of the models. Unfortunately, the newest Codex is still too fresh of a wound for me to fully engage with the fluff, which is quintessential for me when it comes to committing to a force.
Behold the Great Devourer is come, Destroyer of Worlds...
I finally decided I’m going to give the Tyranids another try. I played them once in 3rd edition and again in late 4th/very early 5th, and at one point I had three bio-titans in my arsenal. Regrettably I chose to trade the army away for a HUGE Blood Angels force. I never put this Space Marine force on the table, I just sold it on down the line. I always loved the Tyranids for their fluff. Something about a natural disaster that annihilates galaxies appeals to me (perhaps it says something psychologically about me as well, but I’ll leave that to all you Freudians and Jungians out there). I love the sense of impending doom as the swarm closes, and watching my opponents’ heroes live gloriously as they slaughter dozens of intergalactic cockroaches in their final moments.
Keep shooting, you silly Space Marines. You'll run out of bullets before we run out of bodies.
Now, I’ve decided it is time to give the intergalactic raiders of Hive Fleet Nug another run. One of the biggest reasons I dropped away from the army was the newest Tyranid Codex. I hear heavy rumors that the Tyranids will be getting new rules soon, so that is a big plus to me. But in addition to this, I think the Tyranids have a lot of very interesting things they can bring to the table in this edition that I haven’t tried yet.
I suppose it serves as an appropriate disclaimer to say that I feel the current Codex is somewhat weak, and it relies on some crutches in the 6th edition rule set that I will be avoiding. If you see me using a Hive Tyrant with Iron Arm or the Doom of Malan’tai in a future battle report, I expect a good slap with a rolled up newspaper! I also feel Swarmlord is a huge points sponge, and I will rarely (if ever) be fielding him. I think the Codex suffers from over-priced Monstrous Creatures and over-priced medium bugs, and I hope this is remedied in the newest book. The swarm is my approach to the Tyranids, and these high prices mean my Synapse network may be very weak initially.
With all that said, it is important to note that one of my usual opponents is a Dark Eldar player, so the Monstrous Creatures have even less intrinsic value in my eyes. I know it probably isn’t the most effective Tyranid build, but I am going to attempt a wave of chitin, supported by small numbers of medium grade bugs and even smaller numbers of Monstrous Creatures. The idea is to drown my opponent in a sea of bodies and try to cause him to make mistakes in target allocation. Think big swarms of Hormagaunts and Gargoyles to draw fire while other stuff moves on objectives and knocks out his mobility. The goal is to have as few obvious targets as possible, while still retaining army synergy.
Fortunately I have a friend (my usual Space Marines opponent in battle reports) who has been a good sport and volunteered to let me take him to Proxy Hell; that’s right, tomorrow before I go into work I’m going to make a proxy list of over one hundred Tyranid models! I’m incredibly grateful that he is willing to do this, as it lets me get an idea of how the army is going to work before I start making purchases.
If the game goes on as intended I will post an abbreviated battle report tomorrow covering the highlights, as well as what worked and what didn’t. I’m excited to get back to the tooth-and-claw side of 40k. The Tau’s Pulse Rifle is fun, but nothing matches the encroaching doom of the Tyranids for cinematic gaming.
Someone is about to have a very bad day.
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