Chainfist

I'm in the middle of building test lists using the new Tyranid codex. I thought it might be fun to share the process with you -- you guys have always been a great sounding board (and a font of great ideas). So here's another 2,000 point Tyranid list that I'm going to test out. I'm calling this one Creeping Death. As always, your feedback is most appreciated.

Here's the 2,000 point Creeping Death army list:

HQ
Alpha Warrior (pair of Boneswords, Scything Talons, Toxin Sacs)

Alpha Warrior (pair of Boneswords, Scything Talons, Toxin Sacs)

Note: These guys hide in the Termagant units to lend Synapse (and his LD10). It's really easy to build lists around these bargain priced HQ -- although I'm committing to making my next army a Tyrant-based list. The Boneswords really make meals out of most multi-wound units, regardless of the models Toughness (thanks to Toxin Sacs).


ELITE
2 Venomthropes

Note: I've included two Venomthropes to give the advancing units a 5+ cover save and defensive grenades. Once my Termagants get into close combat, these beasties will counter-attack to get the best use out of their Poisoned (2+) attacks and Toxic Miasma (causing wounds to models in base contact that fail Toughness tests).


2 Hive Guard

2 Hive Guard

Note: Hive Guard are armed with the Harpoon Gun, a 24" range S8 AP4 Assault 2 shooting attack (that doesn't need line of sight). This BS4 gun will do some nasty things to transports. The goal will be to hide these behind my Carnifexes so that they can use their no-line of sight shots at anything that gets close.


TROOPS
29 Termagants

29 Termagants

29 Termagants

Note: These three units (plus the additional 9D6 Termagants created by the Tervigon on their first Movement phase) are the meat of the army. They'll have Furious Charge, Poison (4+), Counter-attack, and Feel No Pain (most of the time). That's not bad for 5pts per model.

Tervigon (Catalyst, Adrenal Glands, Toxin Sacs, Regenerate)

Tervigon (Catalyst, Adrenal Glands, Toxin Sacs, Regenerate)

Tervigon (Catalyst)

Note: These three monstrous creatures are T6 W6 3+ save scoring units! How cool is that? 

Note: A Tervigon has the ability to Hatch Termagants. At the start of the Tyranid Movement phase, the Tervigon creates 3D6 new Termagants. If it rolls a double (this happens 44% of the time) then it loses the ability to create more Termagants. With three Tervigon, I should get a total of 5 units per game - with an average of  10.5 Termagants per brood, for a grand total of 53 extra Termagants per game. That's pretty awesome.


HEAVY SUPPORT
Carnifex (Devourer, Heavy Venom Cannon, Toxin Sacs)

Carnifex (Devourer, Heavy Venom Cannon, Toxin Sacs)

Note: These brutes are my long-range fire power. I've included Toxin Sacs to allow them to re-roll wounds in close combat.

SUMMARY: The army starts with a respectable 13 Kill Points (and these are pretty hard kill points to get), but can grow to around 18 Kill Points (assuming that newly hatched Termagants generate kill points). It's a little light on anti-tank (4 Harpoon Guns, 2 Heavy Venom Cannon, and 2 short range Devourers to help with nearby light tanks), but anti-tank isn't the real point of the list. The army really shines once I get into close range (thanks to the 87+ Fleshborers) and is a monster in close combat.

While I may not recommend this list for the most competitive tournaments (it's just not versatile enough to deal with tons of heavily mechanized armies), it will handle mission objectives like a real champion -- easily managing objectives and annihilation games.

DEPLOYMENT: This list is all about making sure that the Tervigons and Venomthropes are able to cover the Termagants with their area of effect. The Termagants, in return, screen the army. With 5 Synapse creatures, you should have enough Synapse to get you through all but the roughest games.

I would deploy the army to look something like this: