[Arcticor]

Getting back into nids. This list seems pretty cookie-cutter but looking for advice before I start collecting. Lemme know what you think!
-Arcticor

CAD:
Hive Tyrant, wings, devs, hive commander 250
20x Hormagaunts 100
20x Hormagaunts 100
18x Devilgaunts 144
3x Hive Guard 165
1x Malanthrope 85
1x Malanthrope 85
1x Dakkafex 150
Mawloc 140
Mawloc 140

Living Artillery Node:
3x Biovores 120
Exocrine 170
3x Warriors, barbed strangler 100

 

[Squire]

It looks strong, a good balance on units.

A potential problem is superheavies and gargantuans. A single IK/WK will be practically unstoppable since there's nothing here that can really hurt that type of unit, which I realise is a major problem for any tyranid list that isn't tournament standard. Those hormagaunt units could hold one up quite effectively but if the opponent sees that tactic coming you don't really have enough bodies to stand up to enemy fire and still make it to combat with enough wounds to survive several rounds of stomp. A couple of big units of fleshborer termagants (or maybe more hormagaunts) would help out, and if you went down that route it would probably have to be the exocrine that goes to make space for them. It's a tough situation, and buying and painting all of those gaunts is going to be a big commitment.

In any case, it sounds like a new tyranid codex is on the way in the next few months so things could change a lot in that time. I'd be surprised if GW don't give nids a GMC in the new book, and if they create something half decent it will be a huge boost to a codex that struggles with the big toys most other factions get. If I were you I'd begin painting and assembling the models that you'll definitely want to take regardless of tabletop ability, and hopefully by the time you get through those the future of tyranids will be a bit more clear

 

[Arcticor]

Hey, thanks Squire. I've never actually ran into a IK/WK with the people I play, and I feel like tyranids won't really be able to take one down without a GMC of our own or very coordinated zoanthrope spam. Something I was considering is dropping the devilgaunts (and hive commander) and using the 165 points to bring ~70 hormagaunts and just bum rush the enemy. That way they have to focus on the gaunts while the heavy hitters do the damage. (I also think a carpet of bugs is much more tyranid than a few MCs). But if a new nids codex is in the making I might hold off.
-Arcticor

 

[Squire]

I don't think that would be a bad idea, but with lots of hormagaunts you are very vulnerable to synapse issues since they have the worst IB result. Also on a practical level hormagaunts are awful for staying upright! If you don't add some kind of weight to their bases they all end up lying on their front, which would be manageable with one or two units but with 100+ of them I think it would put me off playing altogether

Have you considered the sporefield formation? It's quite popular and looks fantastic on paper. A great way to put pressure on the opponent and either box them into their deployment zone or force them to waste time shooting spore mines and mucolids. You could field FW meiotic spores for mucolids since they're about the same dimensions and don't require buying expensive pods

Again, I'd urge you to buy units individually as you paint them rather than a lot in one go in case the next codex invalidates units you've only just invested in. Within about a year of starting my nids we got the 6th ed rulebook, the current codex and then the 7th rulebook, plus in that time GW started ramping up codex releases the meta was changing at an unprecedented rate. The result was having a lot of units I'd yet to even field that had undergone big changes in how they function :cray:

 

[morfangdakka]

well I don't see them totally invalidating hormagaunts since they are a troop choice. The sporefield formation might fall out of favor with them but the flood of hormagaunts could work if you are able to keep synapses with them.