[Head to Head] Waaagh! Nobrot vs Tyranids: Update

Since the original article was first posted, the codex has been released, I've watched the Tyranids in a few games and played a game against them myself, so I thought it's only fair to include some thoughts on the army and also some ways to react to this.

Termagaunts and Tervigons
One thing I really, really like about the new Tyranid codex is they've put the shift back on some of the lower rungs of the Tyranid Bio-Ladder. This is evident in the Gaunt / Tervigon combo that I came up against on Monday night.

Tervigons, with their ability to spawn more units (always a bad thing) and the fact they can give units within 6" certain special rules mean even a unit of lowly Gaunts can now give you grief. Then on top of that you deal with the Tervigon being a troop choice AND a Monstous Creature, stat line included.

These are nasty, I think in the next game they'll be a far higher priority target... Gaunts are still easy enough to kill, but they sure can pack a punch nowadays.

Zoanthropes
Zoanthropes are again vastly improved in the new codex and I really like that, more Psykers on the board to me is a good thing! Their Lance ability is extremely dangerous to the Trukks and Battlewagons, even more so if they show up in a Spore.

Doom of Malantai
This guy caused me so, so much grief on Monday night. Deepstriking in behind my Lootas, I attempted to counter him with a round of Grot shooting and assault. But his special ability soon took it's toll, ripping a few Lootas down per turn and my choice not to move them to retain their rate of fire was my inevitable downfall.

Trygon
He's big, he's bad and extremely scary. It's really easy to get Rabbit in the headlight syndrome with this guy. High toughness, lots of wounds and also regeneration. Also he packs a ton of shooting...

The best thing to do for this guy is focus on the rest of the force until he shows up, then either attempt to ignore him, or send a large chunk of your force towards him to finish him off - before he tears you apart.

Hive Tyrant
This guy is still super hard to deal with, but losing the old style Warp Scream helps Ork mobs like Burnas and Nobz, significantly.

The downside is, these guys are usually packing Bonesword / Lash Whip combos, meaning your Warboss getting on the wrong end of this chap can mean he goes Poof.

This guy is a good target for a tarpit mob of Ork Boyz, same way the Carnifexes were in the previous edition.

Conclusion
I'll try and keep this updated each time I play the Tyranids and facing some new units. I'm eager to face some of the other units, especially like the Harpy, Tyrannofex and Gargoyles - then dreading seeing the Swarmlord in action.

Next time I'll have to bring Warboss Nobrot onto the field of battle, as opposed to his Mek sidekicks!

[Head to Head] Waaagh! Nobrot VS New Tyranids

So, now the Tyranid Codex has landed it's time for everyone to start facing - as usual - that the sky is falling, this Codex is better than every codex before it and everything inside it is unbeatable.

So I figured what I'd do is take a look at what's actually showed up on the tabletop, as opposed to what's circling the rumour mills, and then assess how I can attack and defeat these threats with my Ork army.

Threat #1: Trygon / Mawloc
The Tyrgon, it's big, scary and can take a lot of firepower head on. I think the best way of dealing with these guys for me, is to attack them in the same way I dealt with Carnifexes in the previous edition - lots of Tar pit units of Ork Boyz led by a Power Klaw Nob.

The Trygon might be able to rip a few Ork Boyz heads off before they can attack, but the sheer weight of numbers with the remaining FEARLESS boyz and the Power Klaw should be able to dent it. Combined with the fact if they charge, they're looking at between 30 - 60 S4 shots (depending on if they're Sluggas or Shoota) before charging in.

Threat #2: Mycetic Spores
These guys can be a nightmare for Orks, having a unit walk out in your midst right in your Boyz faces, unleash a wave of firepower and then say "Come and deal with me". They're also Monstrous Creatures with Wounds, which means 1 lucky Big Shoota shot isn't going to destroy it... but on the bright side it's easier to rip into in Close Combat.

I think they key to these guys is to treat them similar to how you would expect a Marine Drop pod force to show up... right where it hurts in your army. And they'll come in two flavours... either dropping a squad of cheap Gaunts or Warriors or with a Monstrous creature inside it.

For Monstrous Creatures, I'd go for the Tarpit method, shoot - then hack it to death. Whereas for the cheaper Gaunts, I'd try and isolate their Synpatic link and maybe use a Vehicle to tank shock them off the board or finish them off with something relatively cheap that I don't want tied up in combat like a cheap Boyz unit. For this, I use a mob of 20 Shoota Boyz that can hover near where stuff is likely to show up and attack from.

Threat #3: Zoanthropes
Zoanthropes are now one of the new "Must-Have" units in the Nid list, after being sidelined for years in favour of the Carnifex spam.

There's 2 things the Zoanthropes are doing well at the minute and that's having the AP1 Lance Weapon, meaning that pretty much any vehicle it's hitting is looking at getting penetrated. Combine that with the fact it can also use a slightly lower Strength plasma cannon shot to attack multiple elite troops like Nobz or Nob Bikers.

Threat #4: The Horde
Nowadays, it seems GW want to focus on getting more smaller troops on the board and even bigger centrepiece models. So now, the idea is to get as many Gaunts on the board, even reducing the price of Hormagaunts almost in half.

However though, the Orks have a trick up in their green arsenal, the fact that they do the Horde better - in my personal opinion. For the same price as a Hormagaunt you get something that's tougher, hits harder and have access to special rules to buff them up (Fleet from the Waaagh!, Big Mek's Force Field etc.).

However, Orks are notoriously sparse on template weapons on anything but vehicles. So the next thing to start thinking about with thinning hordes is weight of fire from units like Shoota Boyz and Lootas, giving your Nobz and Characters Kombi-Skorchas, just to think the place out, and then if push comes to shove... take a unit of Burnas!

Threat #5: Tervigon
I think the Tervigon is THE must have item in the Tyranid codex. A Monstrous Creature that you can take as a Troop choice AND it spits out more troop choices? "Yes Please!" shout the Tyranid players.

My personal method of dispatching this chap would probably involve sheer weight of firepower from a Loota Mob, followed up by support fire from somewhere else. But the majority of Nid players will hedge their bets on a combination of 2 Tervigons, incase 1 of them decides to give up. I think this is a unit you would likely have to commit a turn to, in order to kill them off completely. Meaning the rest of the Tyranid beasties run rampant.

Personally I'd be inclined to send in a Burna Squad to deal with it... Flamers to clear away the Gaunts it spawns and the Power Weapons to deal with the Tervigon itself.

Conclusion - Where from here?
Well... where next for Waagh! Nobrot! with all these Tyranid invasions?

I think I'm likely to stick to the balanced list I have, which includes a Burna unit in a Wagon, maybe give my Warboss a Kombi-Skorcha to be able to thin any hordes he might face.

Orks are lucky in the fact it's more or less Mandatory to take a Power Klaw on any Nob you buy... with a lack of Power Weapons. So that helps to deal with the amount of Monstrous Creatures and also, thanks to the loss of Immune to Instant Death from the Synpase rules, you can now smack your opponent's Tyranid Warriors and smaller beasties to your hearts content.

Key things for your Orks to fight the Tyranids:
- Power Klaws... don't be cheap and take Big Choppas!
- Lootas
- Burnas
- Kustom Force Fields (to reduce the amount of Boyz deaths)

Thanks to all those who read and enjoy :)
SB.