Parasite of Mortrex
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"What's the matter, the food ain't that bad, ain't it?"
- – Guardsman of
AlienMortrex to a squad mate during eating hours, moments before disaster.
The Parasite of Mortrex is, like Old One-Eye and the Doom of Malan'tai, a "unique" Tyranid bio-form that exists as a monster of legend among the Imperium. The creature originally debuted during 5th edition as a model-less special character, where it was dropped immediately after, but made its return during 9th edition with the release of the Tyranid codex.
That Time Mortrex Threw a Baby Shower
Summarized succinctly, the Parasite of Mortrex is a more direct analogue to the Xenomorph than their genestealer cousins, perhaps not physically, but more in the spirit of function. By that, I mean that the Parasite of Mortrex has a barbed ovipositor that it uses to inject their prey with ripper eggs, where they then pop from the target from anywhere between a few minutes to a few hours. Literally picture the chest-burster scene from the first "Alien" movie.
Nevertheless, the lore of the Parasite is that, on the Imperial world of Mortrex, the Imperial Guard proved incredibly difficult to crack that day, as their lines were pretty much unbreakable. Hive Fleet Kraken, however, wouldn't be deterred, and on the tenth-day of the siege, the Norn Queens spit out the first Parasite, which was developed from mutated Tyranid Warrior genes, given wings and a whiplike tail instead of legs. This first Parasite, a trial run for the Hive Fleet, flew down and started sowing the seeds of the coming ripper swarms, using hit-and-run tactics to lay rippers all across their lines. By the time the eggs hatched, the lines crumpled from within, and Hive Fleet Kraken overran the planet. The only thing to escape the battle was a astropathic message that warned of the "Parasite of Mortrex", solidifying the creature's legend in the Imperium.
On the Tabletop
Makings its debut in 9th edition, and being the first new Tyranid model that broke the dry spell just before 10th edition, it seems that the Hive Mind decided that the Parasite of Mortrex passed its trial run as an experimental bio-form, and graduated it to a standard monster-of-the-line, as an army can include more than one of these creatures.
In terms of function, they function a lot like a Ravener, being just a bit faster and hardier, and having the unique ability to actually embed ripper swarm models into enemy units that its wounded with its barbed tail. This also robs them of ObSec. Coupled with its Deep Strike ability, the Parasite of Mortrex has an odd job of being a flanker that provides its own back-up, as its quick speed and ability to fly give it high mobility.