Topic: Postcard theories from a NooB

["T"]

I've read the rules. (tried to keep them in my skull) Watched endless games. Modeled and played. Then ripped the arms off my precious monsters to remodel, since i modeled them in the first place with complete ignorance. 
So I've got a list 1000pt strong and the reasons I've chosen the particular items. Maybe someone can tell me what sucks and why.

HQ (215pts)
No wings due to cost. And the fact that he's mostly shooty, with a guard to keep him alive for a little while.
(1) Hive Tyrant   
Biomorphs:  enhanced senses, toxin sacs, Adrenal Glands (I)
Weapon-Symbiotes: ST/ VC
Psychic scream
(1)Tyrant Guard  45pts

HS (161pts)
I wanted him shooty but be able to do something when in CC. Once again a VC for range. Maybe not best approach? His speed will keep him away from CC for some time. so thus the reason for a ranged weapon.
(1) Carnifex 161
Biomorphs: enhanced senses, Extended carpace
Weapon-Symbiotes: ST/VC

Elites (100 pts)
I wanted ranged, but one at least good at CC.. since their not fast they will need to survive at least for enough time for the CC gaunts etc. to get in close. should all 3 be ranged? i would have liked to give the CC extended Carapace but then all 3 get it..
I had one with BS, and one with a VC, until i found out i could only have one in a unit.. once again, i pulled the clippers. and the CC had extended carapace, with fleshhooks... Clippers, but left the carapace just for looks. Note to self: "Read rules before buying & assembling models" live and learn.
(1) Warrior 38
Biomorphs: enhanced senses, Toxin sacs
Weapon-Symbiotes: ST/BS
(1) Warrior 33
Biomorphs: (2) enhanced senses, (3) Toxin sacs
Weapon-Symbiotes: ST/DS
(1) Warrior 29
Biomorphs: Toxin sacs, enhanced senses
Weapon-Symbiotes:ST/RC

Troops 520
I wanted termies for the living ammo, and cheap cost at same time. they look cool also. i had Devourers and Toxin sacs once, but looking at the costs when i actually began to play, and their crappy hit rate. i took the clippers to them.
Hormagants the extra WS and I was for making them just that bit better in CC. the Genestealers, well their good in CC, if they live that long. I may scrap them if they don't keep up with the Horma's. their ugly and in my opinion the worst ones to make look good with any paint job.

(16) Termagants  96pts
Biomorphs: none
Weapon-Symbiotes:  Fleshborers

(11) Hormagaunts 132pts
Biomorphs: Adrenal Glands(I), Adrenal Glands(WS),
Weapon-Symbiotes: scything Talons

(11) Hormagaunts 132pts
Biomorphs: Adrenal Glands(I), Adrenal Glands(WS),
Weapon-Symbiotes: scything Talons

(10) Genestealers 160pts
Biomorphs: none
Weapon-Symbiotes: Rending Claws

total: 996

I see the "get in fast approach" fail allot with the opponents tactics easily countering it. and it seems that putting wings on a Tyrant is the same as a billboard screaming Shoot me at all costs! If my ranged Tyrant don't work well, I'll drill a couple of holes in his back and magnet some silly wings on the pig. I'm not a fan of Lictors and Raveners but i have Zoanthropes that are small but pack punch. Anyone use them all the time?

After all that i have a nice collection of body parts for misc. massacre scenery.
comments? suggestions?

[Silveralex]

The main problem you have with that list is that you have nothing to worry your opponent with as you'll have no CC units in range of theirs for at least the first 2 turns, and if your opponent isn't stupid 3 turns, while without any deep striking units or big shooty broods there's no withering fire to make up for the cc loss.
With nothing to aid the speed of your HQ or warriors the gaunts will race ahead but have the problem of getting beyond synpase range if they live long enough to reach the enemy.

Going for a full on shooty nid army is a valid tactic but I'd suggest taking a VC/BS tyrant and carnifex with a biovore or 2 at the least. A nice cheap 4 devourer fex wouldn't hurt either.

["T"]

I can see the benifits of a VC/BS on the Fex, as several are discussing on the other thread. but on the Tyrant also?.. he hopefully be in CC. so the lack of CC ability would hinder him? or am i missing something. I guess the Guard would hlep keep that distance there to prevent a un needed CC. if a carnifex is to stay ranged, may as well tool him to do it right. I just put the ST on him cause it looked cool and would be nice in CC.

[Chuckles, The Space Marine Clown]

I can see the benifits of a VC/BS on the Fex, as several are discussing on the other thread. but on the Tyrant also?.. he hopefully be in CC. so the lack of CC ability would hinder him? or am i missing something. I guess the Guard would hlep keep that distance there to prevent a un needed CC. if a carnifex is to stay ranged, may as well tool him to do it right. I just put the ST on him cause it looked cool and would be nice in CC.

Tyrants rock in CC without a single biomorph. Biomorphing them just makes them even better. Tyrants are capable of being deadly both at shooting and combat. Which it ends up as is up to you.

HQ (215pts)
No wings due to cost. And the fact that he's mostly shooty, with a guard to keep him alive for a little while.
(1) Hive Tyrant   
Biomorphs:  enhanced senses, toxin sacs, Adrenal Glands (I)
Weapon-Symbiotes: ST/ VC
Psychic scream
(1)Tyrant Guard  45pts

The more Guards you have, the more alive he stays. Since he's not fast enough to end up in many combats except those your opponent wants him to get into, you might as well drop the Talons and give him a second gun, increasing his efficiency somewhat. It's up to you, but I'd go for a Barbed Strangler myself.

HS (161pts)
I wanted him shooty but be able to do something when in CC. Once again a VC for range. Maybe not best approach? His speed will keep him away from CC for some time. so thus the reason for a ranged weapon.
(1) Carnifex 161
Biomorphs: enhanced senses, Extended carpace
Weapon-Symbiotes: ST/VC

What speed? Even more so than on the Tyrant, give him a second ranged weapon. Again, a Barbed Strangler works nicely here.

Elites (100 pts)
I wanted ranged, but one at least good at CC.. since their not fast they will need to survive at least for enough time for the CC gaunts etc. to get in close. should all 3 be ranged? i would have liked to give the CC extended Carapace but then all 3 get it..
I had one with BS, and one with a VC, until i found out i could only have one in a unit.. once again, i pulled the clippers. and the CC had extended carapace, with fleshhooks... Clippers, but left the carapace just for looks. Note to self: "Read rules before buying & assembling models" live and learn.
(1) Warrior 38
Biomorphs: enhanced senses, Toxin sacs
Weapon-Symbiotes: ST/BS
(1) Warrior 33
Biomorphs: (2) enhanced senses, (3) Toxin sacs
Weapon-Symbiotes: ST/DS
(1) Warrior 29
Biomorphs: Toxin sacs, enhanced senses
Weapon-Symbiotes:ST/RC

Splitting biomorphs on warriors like this=big nono. Sadly, they're just not that good. Take more of them, as 3 warriors will die very quickly and deprive you of all important synapse. Then give them all the same biomorphs. It's up to you how you equip them, but don't generalise. Decide. Do you want them to fight or to shoot? Then equip them specifically for that role. I'd suggest giving them ranged weaponry to boost your fire support, but that's just my personal preference.

Troops 520
I wanted termies for the living ammo, and cheap cost at same time. they look cool also. i had Devourers and Toxin sacs once, but looking at the costs when i actually began to play, and their crappy hit rate. i took the clippers to them.
Hormagants the extra WS and I was for making them just that bit better in CC. the Genestealers, well their good in CC, if they live that long. I may scrap them if they don't keep up with the Horma's. their ugly and in my opinion the worst ones to make look good with any paint job.

(16) Termagants  96pts
Biomorphs: none
Weapon-Symbiotes:  Fleshborers

(11) Hormagaunts 132pts
Biomorphs: Adrenal Glands(I), Adrenal Glands(WS),
Weapon-Symbiotes: scything Talons

(11) Hormagaunts 132pts
Biomorphs: Adrenal Glands(I), Adrenal Glands(WS),
Weapon-Symbiotes: scything Talons

(10) Genestealers 160pts
Biomorphs: none
Weapon-Symbiotes: Rending Claws

total: 996

I see the "get in fast approach" fail allot with the opponents tactics easily countering it. and it seems that putting wings on a Tyrant is the same as a billboard screaming Shoot me at all costs! If my ranged Tyrant don't work well, I'll drill a couple of holes in his back and magnet some silly wings on the pig. I'm not a fan of Lictors and Raveners but i have Zoanthropes that are small but pack punch. Anyone use them all the time?

After all that i have a nice collection of body parts for misc. massacre scenery.
comments? suggestions?

Which edition stealers are you using, first of all? The new ones are lovely, and while I can't stop you dropping them (and they're certainly not always appropriate), as a rule they're worth the expenditure.

Moving on.

Decrease the size of the gaunt unit slightly and replace them with more hormagaunts. These guys rely on numbers far more than gaunts do, especially gaunts with the wonderful fleshborers.

Stealers are fine. My preference is for putting extended carapace on them. While it makes them more expensive it also makes them much more effective, since far more of them survive into combat.

You underestimate the speed of Tyranids. Shy of Eldar and Dark Eldar (and occasionally Kroot), they are one of the fastest armies out there. More to the point, you haven't spotted all the advantages they have. Most especially the move through cover rule. Most players don't realise it, but Tyranids are best when hiding for as long as possible. Fleet isn't affected by terrain and the MTC rule allows them to nip through most terrain with speed, and it dramatically increases their survival rate by cutting down the LOS your opponent has and providing you with lots of lovely cover saves. Use that. As for a Flyrant, give him Warp Field and be sure to pop him down somewhere hidden from the really nasty guns and you'll be amazed at what he can do. Sure he gets shot at a lot but T6 and a 2+/6++ save do wonders for his survival. And then he hits the line and starts doing serious damage. If you don't want one then fine, but walking CC tyrants are mostly a waste.

I always, always, ALWAYS use AT LEAST TWO Zoanthropes. They're phenomenal. Cheap, durable, fire-attracting, high powered floating death beasts with the option of bolstering your line with synapse. Bee, Ee, Ay Youtiful.

["T"]

S.alex, Chuckles, i see your point. if your going ranged, commit to it. don't go half cocked.
Regarding Guards. I'll use one for now and maybe add another later.
Regarding the Fex... yeah, the Barbed Strangler is a logical choice, in denial about my talons i guess. and the speed comment, i was referring to his lack of speed. "Chugalug" i already tore off his crushing claws in favor of the Venom Cannon. now I'll possibly go the rest of the way and tool him up with the BS to make him exclusively ranged.
The Warriors simply put, are frustrating. they provide synapse but they get shot up alot. going all guns is nice. but being able to fire only one sucks. may as well have an all shooty unit. and then get a pure CC unit if that fails. something to keep pace with the gaunts etc.
Stealers?. yeah first group is from 3rd ed. box. second set is better but still lacking in my opinion. Now if they looked more like the Broodlord, thats a different story.
My Genestealers so far are a hit or miss. making it into CC is trouble usually for the opponent. yeah the Cover/terrain is a issue i need a billboard or "post it" note on. i sometimes forget that.

I've only used the Thrope once.. and it was sick! funny actually. They look so puny, but the template comes out and oh POO!
i should maybe add 2 to the mix ... but being 1000 pts, I can't have it all.

So Chuckles what approach do you take to a Tyranid force? i'm Assuming you play nids since you have Zoanthropes.
Thanks for the input guys.
 

[Chuckles, The Space Marine Clown]

Why are you only able to fire one gun on the warriors? And the solution to the warriors dying a lot is to give them more warriors, thus making the enemy take longer to wipe out your synapse.

The new stealers are glorious. I love them and will always love them. They please my clowney heart.

I do indeed play Tyranids. Hence I hang out here more than any other Army board (despite being in the IG CoC warm ichor beats through my veins).

I mix and match my armies. I've been playing Nids long enough to have built up a sufficient collection to take different lists on a fairly regular basis. My typical list though, chosen for fun, effectiveness and the look on the enemy's face, is a combination of horde and standard force, although I'm working on a horde/godzilla combo.
I usually play 1500 pts, in which I take two tyrants, one flyrant CC master, one walking nasty with 2 pairs of twin linked devourers and a pair of tyrant guards. The 18" range on the Devs means I can usually do a fair bit of hurt by turn 2 or so (especially since whenever I lose roll for first turn the other guy goes first, and when I win I make them go first), and the tyrant guard and inherent toughness of the tyrant means he will usually survive long enoguh to put the hurt on. The flying Tyrant wombles ahead on his mighty pinions, usually plopping down behind some appropriate cover. I also take a squad of 6 warriors, all with deathspitters and rending claws except for one with a Barbed Strangler (with warriors, two ranged weapons is a waste since they can't fire both each turn, and rending claws are both the cheapest and most effective CC morph, little tip there). They, along with my two zoanthropes, who all have synapse creature, slowly proceed forward laying down fire. The thropes are usually in the open as a fire magnet, since they attract so much firepower that would otherwise hurt things I care about. With them are the bulk of my force, the 32 gaunts split into two units of termagants and one of devourergaunts, who advance as quickly as possible, attempting to draw fire or obtain any objectives we might be playing for. Meanwhile, skulking around on either flank are my two units of 10 genestealers, with Extended Carapace, to generally rip through whatever flanks I might find awaiting me. Finally, in the centre alongside the walking Tyrant is my only Carnifex, a walking fire platform I purposefully spent as little on as possible to get the rest of them to fit. The army has enough big fellers to attract and survive hardcore firepower and enough nimble little bugs to overrun faster things with big guns like Eldar and so on. That's what I tend to use right now, but in a few months it will probably change a lot.

["T"]

Yeah one ranged weapon. like you said in your post. Can't fire both in same turn (really sucks). AAh the glory of 1500 points.  with 1000 you really are limited in what you can take.
   Your army seems well thought out and i guess a work in progress/evolving to use the pun.
I guess Noobs like me should realize that even with no ST or RC a Tyranid can still fight CC though not at optimum efficiency. Regarding warriors, you find Rending CLaws better than the talons? and you put Extended carapace on the genestealers? I see why players have a love hate relationship with them. their awsome when they work, but boy, do they die fast. i've tried to keep them cheap as possible. in 1000pt, you gotta cut somewhere. Though i put some bios into my Hormagaunts to help make them more effective. I game in a fairly small group, mostly SM and Chaos, with a smattering of Tau and Eldar in that order. Once again, some real good advice there Chuckles. I may try out the CR/DS combo on the Warriors and see how it goes. Someday i hope to have an army of CC monsters so i can mix and match. but it's a ways to go. Our Terrain is simply awful, so im building some.  I'm admitedly am a better terrain builder than a Nid painter. maybe i'll put some tank traps in them to help my cause 

 

[Chuckles, The Space Marine Clown]

I try to play 1500 games minimum these days. The only exception is GW games, which I mostly just try to avoid completely, as the tables are too small to play 1500. Otherwise I always go for bigger games. Longer, more fun, they're just better really.

The thing you have to learn with Tyranids is that biomorphs are really, really cool and can make things quite a lot better, but you really have to resist the temptation to go mental with them. As I said in a different thread, with Tyranids always favour masses of bugs over ubernasty mutant creatures. More bodies is a pretty common theme in 40K army building, and in this case it is especially true cause of all the nice stuff you have to avoid giving to your creatures.

Rending Claws make your warrior attacks rending. That makes their points back in combat far faster than that extra attack can, and it's certainly worth the extra 2 points.
As for genestealers, it helps that I've been playing Nids so long. I remember back in 3rd Ed when they had a 6+ save basic and didn't have fleet of foot. You think they die quickly now you should have seen it back then. Anything with a gun pretty much nuked them before they got into combat. The fleet and 4+ optional save these days makes things much better. Put it this way: with carapace, you get saves against bolters, gauss flayers, shootas, and essentially nearly every standard infantry weapon in the game, most of which you didn't get saves against with a 5+ save. That's an infinitely better chance of surviving a round of shooting from what is, by definition, the most common unit of firepower in the armies you're facing. I realise that at 1000 pts it might well be the case that all those points saved make a difference, since you don't have that much space in your list, but in bigger games definitely consider it at least.
It's thw ambition of most Tyranid players to turn up to a game with the ultimate fighty list, and it's often possible. Go for it if you want by all means, it's great fun tearing everything apart up close. But before I finish, I will point out that in my last game playing Tyranids I played against a Grey Knights list, which I decimated by turn 3 using only my firepower. One squad of genestealers died before it got to fight anything, and the other was too far away to do anything but claim the objective. Meanwhile, my dakkatyrant (2 pairs of twin-linked devourers. Try it sometime), my 2 zoanthropes and my carnifex with VC/BS ripped his entire army to shreds in 3 turns. All that was left was a squad of ISTs hiding in a building next to his deployment zone that frankly weren't going to do anything. Tyranid shooting rawks

["T"]

I can certainly see 1500pts, though more choice, makes it easier to balance an army. Yeah Biomorphs... my first put together of a 1000pt army was shall i say "sad". biomorphed to death. a form before function affair. what they would look like was damn cool but simply lame game wise. Then came the SM rat pack to clean up. and others. But hey it's a Swarm. There's ALWAYS more where they come from 
Being an Axis & Allies fan (if your familiar with that board game across the pond) i see the benefits of numbers in rolling many dice.  In 1000 pt games the Extended carapace on the gene stealers pushes it. but I'll try both. A 50/50 sv is better than no save at all. I'm a fan of many, many models. Tryanids being the obvious choice, so i doubt I'd ever make a super MC army. now a critter army though somewhat lacking in AP is a cool looking one to field. A mess for the opponent to shoot at. I believe there's a possible optimal list for a given army vs a set opponent, but then that just takes the fun out of it. I like seeing Nids shoot, what can i say. the ones i see nearby are flying medium sized expensive armies. The wings are a double no for me personally, one is the cost to the army. the other is fitting them in the box/tray. 
IST's hiding in a building LOL... funny stuff.
I blissfully took on a necron army once. (having no idea what they were about etc.)
So survived to get into CC.. long story short, the buggers kept standing up EVERY round, with a nonchalant dice roll. What was that about i thought. Eyeing the big dude in the back I figured he had something to do with it. So the remaining Genestealers (i think) went around and pounced. the biggy died at terrible cost. but the troops fell much easier after that. i believe it ended in a draw. I think his remaining winked out.
leasons learned in the art of war. "know your enemy" 
I'll post a revised list, stripped and cleaned, polished etc. it will always be a Evolving list anyhow. let me know what you think. yes the warriors will be few, but hoping the Zoans will fill some synapse zones.

[Chuckles, The Space Marine Clown]

My next army is a combination of Godzilla and hordes. In 1500 pt games you can do both. The key is to realise that just because you don't have to keep them below 115 pts doesn't mean your Heavy Support Carnifex have to be expensive. Keep the points down as much as possible and you can jimmy in a lot of wonderfully cheap little beasties. Really freaks the opponent out having to take down lots of little things AND lots of big things. Most armies don't have the guns to handle it.

Against Necrons, genestealers. Genestealers genestealers and more of them. Also MCs. Cause they ignore armour saves, the bastards don't get back up again, unless there's a Res Orb there. And then it doesn't matter, because you'll knock them all down before they get a chance to attack back, so even if they don't die straight away you're safe.

I look forward to seeing your new creation. And remember, he who eats first, eats longest.

["T"]

h

HQ;       212 pts
(1)Hive Tyrant  167
Biomorphs:  enhanced senses,  toxin sacs
Weapon-Symbiotes: Barbed strangler, venom cannon
Hive Mind: Psychic scream
(1) Tyrant Guard Total points: 45

Heavy Support; 278 pts
(1) Carnifex 148
Biomorphs: enhanced senses
Weapon-Symbiotes: Barbed strangler, venom cannon

(1) Zoanthrope  65
Biomorphs: Toxic miasma (free)
Psychic Weapon-Symbiotes: Warp Blast, Synapse creature

(1) Zoanthrope  65
Biomorphs: Toxic miasma (free)
Psychic Weapon-Symbiotes: Warp Blast, Synapse creature

Elites; 110 pts
(1) Warrior  40
Biomorphs: enhanced senses, Toxin sacs
Weapon-Symbiotes: Rending Claws,  Barbed Strangler

(1) Warrior  35
Biomorphs: enhanced senses, Toxin sacs
Weapon-Symbiotes: Rending Claws, Deathspitter

(1) Warrior  35
Biomorphs: Toxin sacs, enhanced senses
Weapon-Symbiotes: Rending Clews, Deathspitter

Troops; 398 pts
( Termagants  48
Biomorphs: none
Weapon-Symbiotes: Fleshborers

(15) Hormagaunts  150
Biomorphs:
Weapon-Symbiotes: sything Talons

(10) Genestealers  200
Biomorphs: extended carapace
Weapon-Symbiotes: Rending Claws

Total:  998

Ah it's worth a go and see what happens. An option is to trade in the 2 Zoanthropes in favor of up to 4 CC warriors. or 3 CC warriors and a few gaunts or other troops.

[Chuckles, The Space Marine Clown]

The Hive Tyrant is fine, but Psychic Scream isn't that great a psychic power. Since in 40K nearly every unit is testing on Ld9 minimum, going down by 1 isn't that great. If you gave it to your thropes as well, bearing in mind that the effects are cumulative, it might be better. I can see why you'd want this; you face Eldar quite a lot apparently, as well as Chaos who can have access to psychic powers, so making it harder to pass those psychic tests makes sense. Since you've given warp blast and synapse creature to the thropes (an excellent choice I might add), might I suggest that for the same points you take Shadow In The Warp instead? Also retards psychic test passing ability, but doesn't rely on having backup.

Heavy Support section's fine. You could if you feel you are likely to face a lot of heavy weaponry slap reinforced chitin on the carnifex to help it survive a little longer, but on the other hand it's just fine without it.

Warriors are fine set up as they are, but my one suggestion would be to make the unit larger. 3 Warriors will bite it pretty swiftly, so you could stand adding at least one. Even numbered units are better than odd ones. I usually take 6 but you'll struggle to fit those in, so 4 should do you fine.

Guessing that you've got 8 gaunts, fine.

I'd say that's a good list. Your HT, Carnifex and Zoanthropes provide a good solid anti-tank/MC ranged core, while your gaunts and stealers should be able to deal with most infantry you bump into.

Give it a go, see how well it does. Good luck!

 

["T"]

Yes it's 8 gaunts (type-O)
The 3 warrior thing is a source of constant aggravation. maybe a bit more tuning i can get a 4th there somewhere. It's too bad i don't have more troops but, we can't have it all.
running some games will give me a feel for what needs tweeking (Elites no doubt)
Thanks for the help.
BTW, Lictors.. you ever use em? I have one for display purposes or a just in case, but they just seem expensive. And several would be even more so.

[Chuckles, The Space Marine Clown]

I appreciate your difficulties in fitting more of them in. You could perhaps lose 3 hormagaunts and the psychic power off the Tyrant? Just a thought.

Lictors, hmmmm...

Well the thing about Lictors is that one is not worth it. If you're going to take them, and it's not completely ridiculous for you to do so, you need a bare minimum of two, preferably all 3 allowed, working in tandem. They just don't work very well on their own as a rule. If you do have one, just about all it's good for is popping out and smacking a vehicle in the rear armour, hoping those rending claws get through.

They're pretty much exclusively useful in larger games where you can afford the 7% points investment they represent.

[Silveralex]

Lictors are worth it at lower point games if you're playing with Cities of Death.
But then all nids love Cities of Death 

[Chuckles, The Space Marine Clown]

Actually I find CoD really irritating. This may be simply because I don't know the rules, but the ability to hide in the basement of a building and not get hit by blast weapons is rather annoying, and most of the stratagems seem to favour other races who have, you know, vehicles and stuff. I don't have the book though so I could be arse-blasting right now

["T"]

Yeah i did drop the scream from the Tyrant and 3 hormagaunts. freed up enough pts to insert another warrior, and remainder back into a termegant. 998, 999 if I'm not mistaken. so thats at least 4 warriors anyhow. (off topic verbal diarrhea coming) Another episode of mods yesterday. ripped the Talons off the Tyrant to make room for the Barbed strangler, as luck would have it, in my overzealousness, i knocked the Venom cannon off as well. but where the VC is plastic it kept its form up to the shoulder.. SO i glues the BS similarly without gluing to the body. once dry i test fitted to see which went where better. then I'll fix em in place after. and the other Tyrant will be dedicated CC. If i change tactics etc.
(Back on topic) The list looks pretty good. i'll keep it like that and have a seperate that will be a CC based.  Lictors... yeah other than the look of the thing, i can't seem to bring myself to build a 3 pack into any list. I just personally don't like them. MAybe after a good butt woopin from another Nid player with them, may make me see the light. Gargoyles, another iffy fast attack choice i won't have for awhile, unless i make a winged Tyrant..    CoD.. yeah i hav'nt had the pleasure of playing that one. but seems like a Genestealers/hormagaunt picnic ground.  i have some partol games coming up soon. i'll use warriors for HQ in that one.

[Chuckles, The Space Marine Clown]

Genestealers don't like CoD cause they tend to find themselves charging into cover. You need to bring flesh hooks to every CoD game. Very frustrating.

I've had some bad experiences with Lictors myself (the ultimate horror was charging a squad of IG heavy weapons guys and losing in combat, then dying. Oh the shame), but they can prove handy. If you've got lots of stuff in Reserve they are a brilliant, albeit expensive, way of getting units onto the field. The key with Lictors is to pick your fights. On their own, you have to hunt down individuals. They're pretty good for dropping IG command squads which knocks their morale a bit, and things like that. If you have more than one, convene on a target. Overwhelm it horribly, then move on. Remember, there is no overkill, there is only "AAAARRGGGHH" and "I need to clean my talons".