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Nids, wheres my DEET

681 views 12 replies 10 participants last post by  JMG 
#1 ·
Looks like I will be facing a Nids army on and off in the near future. I have only played a bug army once, and the kid had a bunch of random models and was trying to play with 4th edition rules. In the end it wasn't much of a learning experience aside from having two carnifex and a genestealer brood in my face turn two, swiftly ending any learning from that point on.

Question is how do you folks deal with Nids? It's easy enough to taylor your force to do this, with thunderfire cannons and thirty something flamers and blah blah blah. But what do you do when you encounter a Nid or other assault horde armies for that matter in a tournament, where you may have one build for the duration.

Is it really as simple as making a decision on what you are going to allow to reach you. For example, 'do I shoot that monstrous creature with everything I have or the brood that infiltrated into my deployment zone?' Is there any type of good target priority? Any suggestions would be welcome guys and once again thanks!
 
#2 ·
Since you probably outshoot the Nids very easily target priority is on anything that comes within range - the closer it is, the higher the threat, the more important to eliminate it.
But of course you'll all too soon be left with a lot of such threats and something _will_ manage to engage you in an assault. So it comes down to deciding what to shoot first. It's hard to say globally because there's such a lot of Nid-list variants and there's so many different Space Marine armies too.

Genestealers were definitely a highest priority target for me in 4th. They come in great quantity, are fast, and beat the blood out of your Marines in close combat. This has been somewhat mildered by the fact that rending isn't all that powerful anymore. (A 6 to hit won't do the trick, they will need a 6 to wound, at least reducing the likelihood by quite some amount.)
They are still very dangerous nonetheless, and they are independent of synapse.

Synapse links are a good target to aim at. If you manage to get some gaunt broods to fall out of synapse range you won't probably have to worry about them for a while.

Bolters are your best friend. They usually don't do all that well against MEQs, but against Nids they suddenly become a formidable weapon. Nonetheless rapid-firing is a short moment of glory as it means you'll probably be in close combat the turn thereafter.
Remember that sometimes it may be better to charge instead of being charged. So every time you face the situation try to ascertain if a second bolter shot will do enough damage or if the extra attack for the enemy will be all the more devastating. If the latter is true you can shoot your pistols and head right into it.

Mobile firepower is a great boon. In this case you don't want to get close quickly, instead you want to be able to flee while still laying waste to the enemy. With bikes or squads firing flamers or even only bolters from Rhinos you are able to choose where to strike and what to strike without running the risk of being engaged in combat right thereafter. Steer clear of monstrous creatures with your armour though.
Every defensive weapon is a blessing in this case! So if you can get your transports another storm bolter don't think twice.
You can block advance routes or force the enemy into corridors with your armour, by the way.

It's hard to give good advice without knowing your army.
1. Shoot that which is close and threatens to keep you from firing.
2. Shoot that which you couldn't kill in close combat. (If your squads lack power fists then those monstrous creatures must fall at all costs before they reach you!)
3. Shoot that which wrecks the most havoc.
Now that's very global and abstract, but as I said: hard to help without knowing what exactly we are talking about.
 
#3 ·
Like Red Archer said it's hard without knowing your list. If you're a Mech Shooting list, you'll probably be fine as Tyranids are weakish against armor at the moment. If you're an assaulty army, it'll be tougher cause it's a meatgrinder game. If you're Drop Pods.....well that's a game I'd like to see myself.
 
#4 ·
Really a couple Autocannons/heavy bolters will really mess with nids. Missile launchers aren't a bad call for killing their big stuff at range, but ACs/HBolters with their mass fire might be more reliable, and will positively chew up their elite units.

Gonna agree with the target priority stated before. Shoot anything that's getting into charge range first, all other targets are secondary. And since your force should have some anti-tank, just use that on the big guys. Bolter fire will get you by on most targets though, unless upgraded even genestealers and Warriors don't get a save against it (then it's time for the heavy bolters instead). But against gaunt swarms bolters absolutely decimate them.

Whirlwinds aren't a bad idea for a range attack either if you're facing hordes. Though balanced shooting and some close combat support won't be a bad route, if you have Assault marines, they can take care of gaunt squads, make sure they have a p.fist in case something big hits them though.
 
#5 ·
There's two ways i think of, although of course these are just basics and every game is different.
- Bomb, bolter, and burn all their scoring units.
- And deal with the snyapse if the battle goes in a direction that makes this easy (warriors out of cover?) leaving their low Ld units there to force tests on with tank shocks and casualty checks.

Of course if you have brought enough anti-infantry to deal with approx 100 gaunts, a couple dozen genestealers at most should be reasonable to deal with.

Devastator squads can work well if it fits with your force style. 4 missile launchers can kill off a carnifex with its 4 kraks on 2+ to wound, no saves. And the entire purpose of the frag missiles is for anti gaunt type units. Nice way to keep your distance too. Thunderfire sounds nice (never used it though) but it lacks the krak missiles if you need to take down that carnifex.

Termagaunts/Spineguants love cover, especially with lurk and go to ground = 2+ cover save, so consider whirlwinds for this - another way of staying out of reach! Not vindicators though, their high strength, low ap short range shot is irrelevant vs the swarm and it doesn't negate cover.

If your force is very close combat orientated then take advantage of the fact that the enemy are fearless within synapse.

When considering HQ choices, for me the Librarian stands out. Can prevent tyranid psychic powers (although not all), and has the chance to instant kill a carnifex in close combat before it strikes with its low I (if you're lucky enough to catch one out of synapse).

Those are my thoughts on spacemarine vs tyranid battles. i play both races. It is just the basics and as i said naturally each game will be different. But if you go in with some of these ideas in mind then you won't be fighting blind. Tyranids bite back.
 
#7 ·
Not everyone does that, especially at lower points. A 3+ with good toughness and cover is fine, 2+ is often a waste. Especially for Elite Fexes and such. Not saying Lascannons and such aren't the best, but MLs have a solid place.
 
#10 ·
'Nids tend to go down pretty easily to assault cannon, heavy bolter, bolter and template weapons. Unless it's got a template I usually target the heavy weapons at the MC's and synapse creatures. Whirlwinds and thunderfire cannons are terrific against 'nids. Basically, if it's in front of me I shoot it.
 
#12 ·
As said earlier 'nids have problems with heavy armour. Just be careful of 'fexes as those will ruin any tanks day. My friend plays one with up to 10 S20 something attacks. Anything that CCs it dies* so I never let it.

*(my SMs die in droves in CC, but my IG commander has charged it and killed it - thrice)
 
#13 ·
being a tyranid player myself i feel somewhat a traitor for sharing this advice but
AV14 is near impossible for us to crack at range. A Fex and to a lesser extent a Tyrant will tear any vehicle a new assault ramp in close combat but at range we lack the punch on AV 14 for anything but a glance.
one a fex Venom cannon is st10 but can glance only so although it cant destroy any of your precious armored boxes it can still stun. A stunned tank is a useless tank coz if its not firing its not killing.
VC's on fexs are usually accompanied by Barbed stranglers. St8 ap 5 large blast means that these are good at busting light armor (if they hit) so again a priority.
as far as killing the little things goes anything with a template or a lot of shots or an ap of 5 or better is your friend.

all other advice i could give you has been said. Happy hunting
 
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