Bug like, invading aliens are a common science fiction trope. We had swarms of Arachnids in Starship Troopers, the horrorific and lethal Xenomorph in Alien and in the Warhammer 40k universe we have the emotionless, terrifying and insatiable Tyranids.
The Tyranids are the only danger in the Warhammer 40k universe that has the ability to wipe out an entire planet with just the threat of it getting close. Even the best-defended worlds can be stripped bare by these hungry, never-ending tides of biting, snapping insectoid aliens in a matter of solar weeks. They are regarded as the Universe's supreme space-dwelling predators, and a ruthless enemy to all other factions and species in the galaxy.
Tyranids eat everything that comes in their path, including daemon-infested chaos planets and innocent backwater worlds. The Imperium of Man can only throw enough bodies against the tides of Tyranids to slow them down. Tyranids will still outnumber them 10:1, and even then, the Tyranids have massive bio-mechanical armadas that can block out the stars and cover an entire planet in darkness. For those are curious about, and may want to field and army of these ravenous space bugs, here is a brief look at their lore.
What is a Tyranid?
Tyranid is the collective name for a variety of nightmare-spawned monstrosities, including the lowest Hormagaunt, the shadowy Genestealers, and the towering behemoths known as Carnifex. Tyranids are the ideal synthesis of planned evolution and genetic engineering. They were given their name after Tyran Primus, the planet where the Imperium of Man first encountered them.
These chitin-covered, chittering critters are mostly just mindless eaters. However, a massive and evil intelligence, know as the "Hive Mind", joins all of these creatures throughout the galaxy and leads them with one goal: to feed. The Tyranids are as varied as they are deadly, with new subspecies and varieties continuously emerging since their species is very adaptable and can evolve as a whole to live in any environment or produce more deadly strains.
Tyranid Biology 101
Tyranid biology is really fascinating, and as their species is one that is continuously changing and evolving, there isn't one general description that applies to all of them. They take the DNA from the creatures they feed on, and utilize that DNA to change themselves through controlled evolution. They are a dynamic force that can outlive even the most unyielding Warhammer races and can adapt, advance, and outperform them.
A fascinating truth is that Tyranids are genetic clones of one another. The genetic information collected from hosts is transmitted to other Queens through their mental synaptic network, allowing other Hives to immediately start producing their own copies. It's a terrifying thought for any world facing a Tyranid invasion, since it implies that the invading horde could suddenly transform to become stronger at any point without prior notice.
The Matriarchy
Most Tyranids are descended from Norn Queens. These enormous, infrequently encountered matriarchs are incredibly dangerous and can easily dismantle an Astartes Death Squad in seconds. All of a Norn Queen's offspring are psychically attached to them, making it very hard to get close to a queen without suffering severe losses. Using specialized genetic shredder organs, Norn Queens are able to dissect and rearrange the genetic sequences of entire worlds, adding them to the Tyranids DNA collection, permitting the creation of bigger, more lethal warriors. When a planet is stripped of biomass during an invasion, the resulting nutrient-filled goop is fed to a Norn Queen.
Young deposited by a Norn Queen mature at an incredibly fast rate, with a newly formed Tyranid being more than capable of tearing someone limb from limb. A significant drawback to this radical change in reproduction is the enormous amount of biomass and organic material needed to produce and nourish all of these shrieking space monsters. The Hive will eventually starve to death if they aren't continuously tearing apart worlds and moving on.
In order to reduce the hive's population in preparation for a future purge, certain War Marshals have strategically bombed or cratered non-essential worlds that the hive would travel by, causing them to deviate from their route or starve them out.
Hive Mind
Tyranids lack all individuality and operate as part of a larger collective mind. They are a synaptic race that can only function in extremely large swarms and are governed as a whole. If a controlling Tyranid entity, like a Swarm Lord, a Zoanthrope, or a nearby Norn Queen were to die, the crucial control link between them would be broken, turning each individual creature into an uncontrollable, mindless monster. If the control link is broken, individual Tyranids would become easily targeted by other races for long-range assassination since they become hostile against everything, everyone, and each other.
Synapse Creatures are special Tyranid strains with highly developed minds that act as Psychic Hubs connecting whole invasion fleets. Each Synapse Creature directs its local cluster of Tyranids in a coordinated barrage of violence. These special Tyranids also increase a Norn Queen's influence and the general consciousness of the Hive Mind species.
Invasion
Stage One: Infection
Tyranid invasions are patient and surprisingly well organized; they are not abrupt. Before a world notices even a hint that it is being targeted for destruction, it frequently takes decades or several generations. It's interesting to note that Tyranids are not a sizable force that is roving aimlessly. The vast fleet tendrils' routes are meticulously planned and aimed at important targets that are rich in organic stuff and ready for capture.
When a Vanguard strain like a Lictor, Genestealer, or Drone Ship first appears on a planet, the world usually becomes infected. The fleet is then called to a world if it is appropriate for harvesting after they have constructed a form of a psychic beacon. In the case of Genestealer variants, they establish enormous planet-spanning Xeno-worshiping cults with the intention of exploiting these cults to produce a sufficiently massive Psychic Gestalt. And before reinforcements from the outside world can arrive to combat the cults, the Tyranids have already summoned the fleet while also subverting the planet's government and further weakening its defenses.
Stage Two: Shadow of the Warp
A Tyranid invasion is an especially vicious and ruthless event. They don't employ strategies or send out expert strike squads to destroy important military targets. Tyranids, due to their makeup, use quantity over quality. Tyranids are unconcerned about fatalities when they overwhelm an opponent using the sheer density of their numbers, because each creature in the Hive Mind is merely a single cell of a massive, emotionless organism.
Just before an invasion is about to start, every living thing in a Sector will be aware of their impending doom, and if they don't act quickly, it will be too late. This is due to a psychi phenomenon known as the Shadow in the Warp. As a Tyrnaid invasion approaches a world, a massive suffocating psychic energy signal is released that both hinders Warp transit and interferes with astropath communications. This eliminates their prey's opportunity to flee and, more crucially, stops them from signaling for assistance.
The inhabitants of a targeted planet experience sensations of discomfort, fear, and terror. For Psykers, these impacts are ten times more pronounced. Their powers are rendered useless as the sound of a billion alien minds trying to get inside blasts them, sending most of them into a state of mental instability, uttering alien words in a language no one can understand, or dying instantly if they dare to try to reach their minds out.
It's already too late when a planet is affected by the Shadow of the Warp. Those who are stuck must fend for themselves until assistance arrives because the Swarm is never far behind.
Stage Three: Planetfall
Those wretched individuals who haven't evacuated yet must now build their defenses against an endless tide making planetfall before the main Hive Fleet arrives. The sky turns pitch black as enormous Mycetic Spores drop and smash into the planet, releasing their payload of Tyranid drones poised for slaughter. Alien jungles begin to sprout almost immediately as parasitic particles cloud the sky, boosting the temperature and causing a hot-house effect. The world is swiftly engulfed in enormous Vox-disrupting storms with twisting lightning and slimy scum-laden rain that is loaded with tiny parasites that snake its way inside the skin, destroying victims from within.
Those who haven't been rotted by the rain or turned into heaps of boiling goo by languidly floating bulbous Spore Mines must battle an endless, ceaseless flow of tearing savage monsters who know no fear and want only to kill. Tyranid invasions are extremely terrifying, and the book Fall of Malvolian demonstrates that even the most robust Imperium fortifications can be overcome in a few of hours after an initial fleet arrival.
Stage Four: The Harvest
The big harvest starts once the cities are in ruins and the inhabitants have been reduced to masses of blood, bone, and meaty gristle. Small, spike-toothed devourers known as Ripper swarms cover the landscape, devouring all organic material and biomass in their path and regurgitating it into the vast digesting pools that have formed on the planet's surface. The nutrients from this gene-rich slurry are sucked up by colossal ribbed meaty pylons and taken onboard the orbiting hive ships, replenishing and nourishing the ever-expanding horde's numbers and DNA archives.
Finaly, the hive fleet departs from the once-rich and teeming planet and drifts on to the next one and the billions of helpless inhabitants inside, leaving behind nothing but a silent, lifeless shell.
Defeating the Tyranids
Quite simply, while you may win a battle against a swarm of Tyranids, you cannot defeat them. Tyranids are inevitable in the galaxy; their tendrils spread widely, and the animals that inhabit them are strongly armored, covered in spikes, and equipped with jaws, claws, and scythe arms that are so sharp they can sever a Space Marine's tough armor in half.
Conventional weapons can be used to defeat the lesser caste, but the larger variants, with their thick hides, can withstand the majority of weapons that aren't plasma-based, armor-piercing, or explosive-tipped. Even then, some of the more sophisticated battle forms of the Tyranids may almost instantly recover from the most severe of wounds because to their advanced evolution.
Start Playing the Tyranids
With a massive update to the Tyranid models, variants, rules and lore in 2023 as part of Warhammer 40k 10th edition, now is the perfect time to build and field a Tyranid swarm.
There are several ways to get started with a Tyranids force for new and veteran players:
Warhammer 40k Introductory Set set contains 16 models, paints and is the quickest way to begin your journey fielding a small battle of Space Marines vs Tyranids
Warhammer 40k Starter Set contains 38 models, data cards allowing you to deploy two complete and balanced forces of Spaces Marines and Tyranids
Warhammer 40k Ultimate Starter Set contains 44 models and terrain, to provide an epic battle experience for two players pitting Space Marines vs Tyranids
Warhammer 40k Leviathan boxed set contains 72 models, and the special Leviathan mission deck, to guide two players through epic battles of Space Marines fighting back the Tyranids swarms
Warhammer 40k Tyranid Combat Patrol contains the ability to customize over 42 models into a combat patrol army list (no list building required).
Comments