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Spinegaunt horde list? (former DH player)

1K views 20 replies 9 participants last post by  daroc 
#1 ·
Ok, so first off, i am a daemonhunter player. i am used to avoiding attrition whenever possible, always putting objectives first, and being outnumbered at least 2-1 (6-1 in some cases).

for a change of pace, i've started thinking about a mass spinegaunt army. Pretty much, this will be a few warrior squads for synapse, a carni or 2 for tank hunting, then as many gaunts as humanly possible.

Just for fun (and to make things more convenient to move around), I'm probably going to put the gaunts on the 25 mm slottabases used for fantasy and sticking them on movement trays. sure, you can shoot them with bassies, russes, whatever, but all you're doing is taking about 30-40 points per shot, much less than what you could get out of meq's.

So, out of this, i've generated a few questions

(1) what is the most economically efficient way to get spine gaunts?

(2) do they all fit when put base-2-base on square bases, or do their tails get in the way?

(3) Would this idea also work in combination with rippers?

(4) if so, what would be the most cost effective way to get rippers?

AS always, all comments are appreciated.
 
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#2 ·
(1) what is the most economically efficient way to get spine gaunts?
Just buy a box of gaunts and with all extra spinefists you'll have just put spinefists onto hormaguant bodies.

do they all fit when put base-2-base on square bases, or do their tails get in the way?
Never seen this done, I just move the horde all at once, gently pushing them across the table, only when it comes to assault do I move the models individually.

(3) Would this idea also work in combination with rippers?
I find rippers work with everything. Mass amounts of wounds for very little amounts of points.

(4) if so, what would be the most cost effective way to get rippers?
You get rippers with your Warrior & Gaunt boxes as well, you can buy them from various websites.

In addition to your mass gaunts and warriors for synapse, lictors and raveners with rending claws for some anti meq capability and at least two Sniperfex's or a Sniperfex and 2-3 Zoanthropes for anti-tank.

I myself am converting all my hormagaunts to spine gaunts and running spinegaunts, termagants, rippers and a few units of genestealers. So far I've just been proxying the spinegaunts but so far I'm happy with it. Being able to fit 3 squads of 3 warriors, a lictor, sniperfex, 8 genestealers and a mass of gaunts into 1k.
 
#3 ·
Thanks skulls. *rep*

anyway, i just found a great deal on battlewagon-bits, 4 gaunts for 2.75 USD. thats about 5 pnts per dollar :yes:

about the bases, i just figured i could get the non-slot type, cut the rail off of the gaunts, and stagger their positioning, making them look more compact and keeping their tails out of the way.

I went to the UK GW site to check out the sprues, just to check on the bits. It seems GW has really pulled the shitsu on us this time. ALL of the rippers (from ANY box set) come on different sprue's, so there really is no true economical way to get a large amount of rippers. on top of that, just from looking at the sprue, there isn't enough spinefists (in fact, only 3) to equip all of the gaunts. look out battlewagon-bits, im coming in to order about 50 of those 4 spinegaunt sets :|

and about the rending, that will be a major no-no in this list. everything will take its target down through high strength or a seemingly infinite amount of attacks (48 gaunts on the charge).
 
#4 ·
and about the rending, that will be a major no-no in this list. everything will take its target down through high strength or a seemingly infinite amount of attacks (48 gaunts on the charge).
Max squad is 32 on gaunts(pg40 Nid dex). You'd better take three sniperfexes, and plenty of gun warriors.
 
#5 ·
:|

Yeah... the max squad size is 32... i knew that... by 48 i meant 2 squads of 24... yeah...

anyway thanks for the quick reply. I was thinking about getting multiple AT fexes anyway, just like i rely on my TLLC and missile launcher dreads for AT in my DH list.

this list is not meant to be competitive though. it's going to be just for fun, if i ever start it.
 
#7 ·
couple things to keep in mind.

1-mounting on square bases is against the rules as you are mounting on a smaller base then they came with, bgb p 8 IIRC (or 5).

2-yes, they will only be killing 50pts per large blast, but also taking it from being a scoring unit, as well as reducing it's effectiveness by over 50%. Something to consider.

3-if you can't be bothered to move them, why are you even wanting to play them? honestly?

4-if you are looking for smaller gaunts, go with the old edition of them, ebay should help you there. the models are much smaller and the tail will stay out of the way.

5-the gaunt spree's come with enough spinefists for 8 gaunts IIRC. An easy one armed conversion and you have enough for 16.

6- wishing you luck on your new army that you dont seem to really want to do.
 
#9 ·
Tarzen, about point 1, the gaunts would be on bases with a side length of 25mm. gaunts are put on circle bases with 25mm diameter standard, so the squares are slightly bigger.

on point 2, remember this list will only be for fun. effectiveness isn't really my goal here, i'm going for an army where i can laugh maniacally as i march my innumerable soldiers (meatbags) forwards.

(3) its not that i'm too lazy to move models, its just that 1. it would save time, and i usually don't stay at my friends (commander swiftwing) house for more than 2.5 hours, and moving guys on movement trays would just be more fun (IMO). I just see the enemy meticulously placing his models, and watching him gulp as just push my horde another 6 inches forward.

(4) I can cut off the rail on the gaunts feet and then stagger their positioning on the left and right of the bases. that should keep the tails out of the way.

(5) Really? i checked out the sprue on the british GW site and it only had 3.

(6) I want to start this army, but i don't have any money to do so :cry:
well, my birthday's in august, guess i'll just have to wait.

Again, thanks for all the replies.
 
#10 ·
(5) Really? i checked out the sprue on the british GW site and it only had 3.
A single sprue only comes with enough spinefists for three spinegaunts, but you get like three of those sprues in the box, I'm basing that off the number of those particular sprues that I have.
 
#12 ·
ok, ive just opened a box of gaunts and can confirm it contains : 9 pairs of spinefists.

Your best bet for getting more cheaply, is to go onto ebay and search for tyranid bits. I bought a bagload of weapons and stuff for £1.50 so you can really get a good deal.

The box also has 5 rippers. This is enough for 5 ripper swarms if you place 1 ripper per base. Then as you aquire more through other box's just keep adding them to the base's. Again ebay usually has lots of rippers.

Moving gaunts one at a time is time consuming and can grate on you, using a tray is a quick solution, but how are you going to squeeze past that terrain when its blocking your approach? Best off just going the slow route imo.

As for your tactics. Warriors are poorly defended. A single round of shooting from MeQ's is usually sufficient to take out a unit. When that happens your going to be left with weak critters who wont do as they are told! Id suggest taking some zoanthropes for a more survivable synapse web. You can add warp blast for a bit of anti tank, but 9 times out of 10 zoans miss! I dont know why, they just do!

Now the most important bit. Your fex's are great, but only get a few shots per turn. Gaunts wont really kill anything, so your not going to take out your enemy before he's wiped the floor with you. To make things more even Id suggest at least 2 units of 8 genestealers and perhaps a broodlord and his retinue. This will give your force a huge boost and make it dangerous as hell.

So Breifly. Drop the warriors, take zoanthropes. Add stealers for killing power. I use spine gaunts too, so its info you can trust ;)
 
#14 ·
...
The box also has 5 rippers. This is enough for 5 ripper swarms if you place 1 ripper per base. Then as you aquire more through other box's just keep adding them to the base's. Again ebay usually has lots of rippers.
...)
IIRC you have to place at least 3 Ripper models on a base to legally represent a Ripper-swarm base.
1 Model for each wound they have.
You can put more on it, but not less.

But as pointed out in the following link you can make your own rippers.
http://www.librarium-online.com/forums/tyranid/90018-collecting-tyranids.html#post882951
 
#13 ·
thanks for the replies everyone

Hunter killer, when i do the fleet rolls, i'm just going to move the whole tray forward. simple as that.

Macewind, i see where you're coming from about the rending and the stealers and stuff, but this list isn't meant to be competitive. This list is going to be a "wow thats a small army" "no thats just one squad" list, taking down everything through pure attrition. The thropes sound good though.

About moving the models, i'll just take them off the tray when needed.
 
#16 ·
To get more spinefists, just talk to anyone at your local store who also plays tyranids. Chances are, they went with deathspitters or the other one (cant remember) and probably have a handful of spinefists sitting there, and they would probably be willing to part with them for very little amount of money.

And as for anti-tank, cant you just do that thing where you outnumber the vehicle by a certain amount, causing glancing hits on it? (or is that only for dreadnoughts?) Because if it works the way I think it does 9probably doesn't, can't remember), you just need a swarm of gaunts and you can take out dreaddies and tanks! :shifty:

For synapse, I suggest getting the cheapest warriors you can build, and get a few squads of them.
 
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