Editing Lictor (section)

===Fluff===
Lictors are a vanguard organism of the [[Tyranid]] Hive fleets, who roam ahead to seek out life bearing planets before inviting everyone else over for dinner. They specialize in espionage; the [[Tyranid_Bio-Weapons#Feeder Tendrils|feeder tendrils]] a Lictor has instead of a mouth allow it to suck the brain of an unfortunate victim out of their skull, before digesting the memories and using the information to sabotage infrastructure on the planet. In addition to this, they possess chameleonic skin, granting them the ability to match the colour and texture of any given surface like a cuttlefish, and a [[Tyranid_Bio-Weapons#Claws and Teeth|set of claws]]/[[Tyranid_Bio-Weapons#Grasping Talons|Grasping Talons]] and [[Tyranid_Bio-Weapons#Flesh Hooks|flesh hooks]] (harpoons, but mounted in the chest) for when stabbing becomes a greater priority than brain sucking. Interestingly, they are considered a highly specialized strain of [[Tyranid Warrior]].

Once the 'Nids are planetside, Lictors serve an additional purpose. A Lictor exudes a pheromone trail that other Tyranids are instinctively drawn to. The greater the concentration of prey around the Lictor, the stronger the pheromone emission. This helps to coordinate the swarm, drawing more of the invaders to the largest populations. Once battle begins, Lictors tend to break cover to assassinate enemy leaders, before slinking back into the shadows.

Lictors also spearhead assassination and terror campaigns ahead of a main swarm assault, targeting enemy leadership and sowing fear. Interestingly, this tactic is yielding diminishing returns as the galaxy has a higher general readiness of late, and has resulted in the use of a less subtle variation of the lictor: the [[Dimachaeron]].

The last thing to mention about Lictors is they have an exceptionally weird name for what they are. "Lictor" is not a random word but is the name the Romans used for the body guards to consul and praetors. Again: A lictor is the name of a body guard, not a stealthy assassin. Why game workshop and the Imperium decided to dub these creatures 'lictor' is unexplained outside of the ironic factor. (As an alternative take, Lictors were only bodyguards in the symbolic sense, as occasions when they used their power to meet out capital punishment are non-existent in the sources. What is more relevant is that they always preceeded the magistrate (and occasional priest) they were supposed to be protecting, pushing aside the crowd and heralding to the Romans that a dignitary was on his way. This fits the description of a vanguard organism that paves the way for the arrival of the main Tyranid host rather nicely.)