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Female Space Marines

2018-07-03T10:13:20Z

2001:8003:3895:3A00:E9EB:F8E8:BDEE:3556: /* A Slightly More Reasonable Answer */

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[[Image:beakiegal.jpg|thumb|right|Guaranteed to garner at least 100 replies. Also not enough pauldron.]]

There is no tactic more effective for [[RAGE|enraging]] a diehard [[Space Marines|SPESS MEHREENS]] fanboy than discussing/drawing their [[Rule 63]] companion, '''Female Space Marines'''. Not to be confused with [[Sisters of Battle]], the canonical equivalent to Space Marines and also armed with bolters and chainswords, but ''Space Marine'' Space Marines of the Adeptus Astartes, you know, the hypermuscular ones with [[Pauldrons]]. According to [[Games Workshop]] [[canon]], the procedures that are used to create a Space Marine only work properly on male subjects, rendering female Marines impossible; however, masturbators on the internet have not allowed this to deter them. Sometimes it is pointed out that back in the [[Rogue Trader]] days, Games Workshop did briefly produce two power-armoured female models, but they were changed to "Female Adventurers in Power Armour" and were never meant to represent female Marines. Moreover, White Dwarf ''did'' in fact publish a Rogue Trader scenario back in the day featuring real, honest-to-[[Matt Ward|Ward]] female Imperial Space Marines, albeit with the caveat that such chapters were exceedingly rare. Considering this is from Games Workshop, who [[Squats|routinely violates their own canon in subsequent editions]], fanbase be damned, take this as you will.

It's worth noting, though, that Games Workshop hasn't deterred /tg/ (or indeed, the [[Black Library]] writers) from coming up with ways to potentially allow for them, even with Space Marines being exclusively male being one of the rare things they've kept consistent. This is because, as was brought up in [[Daemonette|previous]] [[Monstergirls|articles]], little gets between a man and his fapbait.

=The Canon Part=
While for a time GW's official stance was that it was impossible to create Female Space Marines, leading to spammed complaints about gender equality and claims  that male-only Space Marines are sexist. Therefore, a minor concession was made. According to new [[fluff]] the Emperor of Mankind ''did'' see fit to attempt the creation of female Space Marines, whether in the spirit of equality, for the sake of a larger recruiting pool, or [[/d/|because he had an incest fetish to indulge.]] Emphasis on ''tried''; since he had based his Sons off of himself, and then Space Marines off of the resulting genes, it was impossible to twist that base around to reliably make a female Space Marine. The Emperor tried again and again, but could not find a way to reliably create a Female Space Marine in a reasonable time frame and soon found that if Male Space Marines were one in a million, then Female Space Marines were one in a trillion. There were many semi-successful female Space Marines that showed promise, but nearly all of them died shortly after implantation due to organ rejection and various hormonal imbalances causing their biology to shit itself. Quickly realizing that this shit was a waste of time and resources better spent conquering the galaxy, he decreed that Space Marines would be male-only, '''NO GIRLS ALLOWED.'''

TL;DR GW got tired of angry letters so they said that Female Space Marines were possible but stupidly impractical (even by 40k standards) so that's why there aren't any Female Space Marines so stop the angry letters please.

This all could have been avoided if the complainants had simply asked for (and GW gave) more focus on the [[Sisters of Battle|''real'', pre-existing Female Space Marines]] complete with a unique, empowering flavor all their own. [[Fail|Naturally, this seemingly obvious solution was lost on all parties involved.]]

On the Black Library front, it was mentioned in one of the [[Horus Heresy]] books that [[Malcador the Sigillite]] had suggested making one or two of the Primarchs female, half-jokingly saying that it might help to defuse competition between them. The Emperor was not amused by this at all and insisted that it simply couldn't be done, thinking Malcador was joking. And really, who wants to try to argue with him about it?

==[[Sindri|SSSSSIIIIIINNNNNNDDDDRRRRRRIIIII!!]]==

Unexpected salvation - there are indeed (99.46% possible) Female Space Marines!...in The [[Eye Of Terror]]. Well, they're possible out of it too - see, due to the nature of [[Chaos]], mutations are often a fact of life. Some desired, some not. What if one hulked out, burning, warped Chaos Space Marine [[Moot|secretly wishes he was the cute little girl who got flowers? Who smiled with joy? Who was so sweet?]]

What if his gods are listening? If the nature of Chaos is what it is to any extent, there is a chance his deity will bestow him with what he has always wanted. Though of course, he could just as easily get an extra tentacle arm, or get mutated into [[Chaos Spawn|that which must never be named]] - such is the nature of Chaos. [[Slaanesh]] especially grants this as a matter of routine, and its a safe bet to make that quite a lot of the [[Emperor's Children]] men are actually now women, or rather [[Dickgirl|futas.]] Such is the will of Slaanesh.

This was ''confirmed'' in one of the earlier Chapter Approved articles - one that re-introduced mounted [[Daemonette|Daemonettes]] - in which a Governor-Militant fighting a Slaanesh warband mused that there were (apparently female) creatures that [[Heresy|were once Space Marines, but no longer]]. Considering Chaos can cause [[Chaos Spawn|that which must never be named]], is anyone surprised by this?

==[[Honsou]], You Sick Fuck==

We know that you among the fans, despite all our attempts to dissuade you, want cute FEMALE SPHESS MAHREENS! And there is good news - technically, there ARE Female Space Marines IN OFFICIAL LORE. The catch? Yes there is a catch. And this one is the worst.

Your new waifu is a bloated, twisted, undying, insane, mutated pregnant mother-slave only alive because she's in the Eye of Terror.

You see, [[Honsou]] of the [[Iron Warriors]], in an effort to squeeze new MAHREENS into the ranks without having to pay that other sick fuck [[Fabius Bile]] for clones and because he was too lazy to do it the normal way, created a system of hideousness and sadness that pushes [[grimdark]] to a whole new level. He invented the [[Daemonculaba]], a system whereby a woman is chained and fed stuff which will morph her and her womb into something that was never meant to be. A boy is then (yes, a child), jammed, shoved or cut INTO the vagina and stays there for a while. When his time is ready, he, now XBAWKS HUEG and STRONG, will have to [[rip and tear|rip, tear]], or otherwise push his way out of his adoptive mother's womb/vagina. When he emerges, he will either be a skinless mutant abomination, or will emerge as a fully functional (albeit skinless) Chaos Space Marine in a fraction of the time, with all his growth stages and bionics and gene-seed already taken care of. How? [[Meme|It's fucking science]].

This goes back to our Female Space Marine - you see, while she was being morphed and changed, [[Dark Mechanicus]] Biologis hereteks worked on her body, implanting gene-seed and making her physically a Female Space Marine, even if the form is rather off. Thus, her womb can turn children as well into Space Marines by having her womb 'grow' the required organs and stages directly into their bodies in a fraction of the time - days and weeks instead of years. Thankfully for the entire universe, this horror was [[Uriel Ventris|destroyed]] before Honsou realized he could stick girls in there as well, and get double the recruits, and stumble upon the secret to true Female Space Marines.

==A Slightly More Reasonable Answer==

The problem really is one of terminology. Women can wear power armour, certainly; the Sororitas practically make it formal wear. Women can, through steroids, incessant bodybuilding, a high protein diet, and a little genetic modding to bring it all together, be as buff and rocking as a Space Marine. But what really makes a Space Marine a Space Marine is all of the [[Geneseed|extra genetically-engineered organs and DNA and whatnot]] cloned from the Primarchs and implanted in the right way, which is impossible for women for reasons the Emperor himself ran afoul of. The closest thing to an exception in the fluff is any experiment involving [[Fabius Bile]] (the crazy old fuck basically cloned himself but then decided to make the clone female and have a [[Warhammer High|'daughter']] just for the [[lulz]]. And the best/worst part, he still made a better job out of parenthood than Big.E.), unless the topic is [[Daemonculaba|Honsou of the Iron Warriors]] (not reincarnation) inside a bloated woman's uterus, and it should be noted that the said woman is effectively lobotomized (and even there, the potential Chaos Space Marine candidate must be male since even that sick thing requires gene-seed to 'work'). And even if he did make you a female space marine for reals, she still wouldn't be a space marine, just a weird, mutilated, chaos infused thing that approximates a space marine but [[Ultramarines|can never truly be one.]]

Worth noting, however, that given that Bile's experimented on damn-near everything (including the entire civilian populations of several planets) at some point or another for his attempts to duplicate the methods for creating new Space Marines, there's ample evidence to suggest that [[/d/|he's tried it at least once]], ''going as far as saying Big.E. was an idiot for making gene-seed only compatible with men and thus cutting off half the potential supply of warriors''. Fucking [[Slaanesh]].

You actually don't even need to be a sick fuck like Bile. Emps himself used a set of enhancements on [[Luther]] and [[Kor Phaeron]] that could turn adults into almost-Space Marines, certainly strong enough to have MEQ statlines. Get a reasonably stable and very eccentric [[Adeptus Mechanicus|Magos Biologis]] who is for some reason in charge of a Forge World that makes power armor, access to the aforementioned bio-enhancements used on Luther, and hey presto you have a Skitarii detachment that [[Counts As]] Space Marines and no reason they can't be all-female.

Another possible reason is that all of the Primarchs are men, with male genes, thus meaning that, [[Horo|unless there's secretly a girl Primarch out there somewhere,]] female Space Marines cannot be made in the traditional sense. Or like Bile, Cawl will find a way to covercome the issue and is in fact hoarding all the female marines for his own personal army, something GW recently hinted at during a Q&A.

Of note is the fact that despite the names and histories of the two missing Primarchs being utterly obliterated from Imperial records, they are still unambiguously referred to as '''sons''' of the Emperor. Maybe ol' Emps got tired of [[Twilight|worrying about dying girlfriends.]]

In addition, to create female space marines would be fucking over all the other humans in the setting. Think of it like the old species of humans that came before Homo Sapiens. For the next evolutionary step to come, the previous one dies, usually in a messy manner. The Emperor wanted man to inhabit the Imperium of Man, not Astartes. It's clearly not the Imperium of Astartes. And while an entire empire of Space Marines would sound incredibly cool, that means that you know, ''the entire human species dies in the process.''

==Dark Imperium and FemMarines==
[[Image:YouHaven'tMadeFemaleSpaceMarinesHaveYou.jpg|thumb|right|The Emperor's reaction to [[Primaris Marines]]]]
In the Dark Imperium novel, its revealed that the [[God-Emperor|Emperor]] never cared for the [[Space Marines]], and saw them as little more than tools to secure his [[Imperium of Man|empire]]. [[Ultramar|He never intended for them to rule over it]], as it was planned to be an empire [[High Lords of Terra|ruled by humans for humans]]. Given this revelation, its possible that the Emperor ''could've'' made female space marines, but chose not to because he wanted a reliable way to keep their population in check. Keep in mind that [[Belisarius Cawl|very few people outside of the Emperor himself]] were actually involved in the [[Primarch]] Project, so if he chose to lie about the gender thing, very few could call him out on it (and that's assuming any of them would want to). Also note that although he was adamant that FemMarines were impossible, no one actually tried to prove him wrong, they mostly just took him at his word.

Although Space Marines have their sex drive curbed or removed, we know that [[Space Wolves]] can still sleep around (especially true for [[Lukas the Trickster]]), to say nothing of the [[Emperor's Children]], who are explicitly described going on a [[RAPE|rape rampage]] during the [[Siege of Terra]], which means that the reproductive suppression isn't 100% effective or irreversible. It should also be considered that although Space Marines have a reduced or eliminated sex drive, it's never been suggested that they're sterile, meaning that [[Fall of the Eldar|accidents could still happen]].

Given all this, it's possible that the Emperor didn't want to take any chances and potentially have his living weapons start reproducing and becoming self-sufficient, replacing the humans they were designed to protect. Keeping Space Marines mono-gendered and reliant on [[geneseed]] would ensure that he maintained tight control over his tools and how many there were at any given time. Of course, this is all speculation, so take it with a grain of salt.

==On The To-Do List?==
There is a paragraph in "Ashes of Prospero" were Arjac Rockfist identifies him self as a "Son as Russ", and a woman with a spear asks "Only sons?" Arjac thinks on it, and realizes that the spirit of Fenris, and of the Space Wolves, is in all the people of Fenris, men, women and children. Then he considers that Guilliman had made an even more deadly and powerful version of a Space Marine, so it was possible. At the end he pointedly does not reject the possibility of women space marines, ending with a "Perhaps."

Whether or not this is a case of fandom baiting/trolling, lampshade hanging, or just leaving space for '[[Your Dudes|Your Dude(tte)'s]]' is debatable, the fact that this happened among the [[Viking]]-themed Space Wolves is interesting given the Valkyrie and Shield Maiden connotations that go along with that theme. Additionally the wolves took a beating from the Thousand Sons, so increasing the recruiting pool would be a boon to the beleaguered Wolves. If female marines were going to be suddenly created, it happening to the Space Wolves would not be thematically out of the question the way it would be for other more monk like space marine chapters. This being said, Fenrisian Shield Maidens were mentioned as having fought in Wrath of Magnus, so it's also possible that the Space Wolves will stop being a Marines-exclusive force and start incorporating the native warriors of Fenris, though that would be a blatant case of legion building that would draw the attention of the already inclined to look disagreeable on them Inquisition.

=What Would A Female Space Marine Look Like If They Could Exist?=
[[File:Silver Skull.jpg|right|thumb|Tina likes long walks on the beach and slaying the Emperor's foes.]]
Obviously, in the land of Rule 63 they are amazingly hot [[Rape|(and would totally do]] [[Mary Sue| you)]], but in dark and gritty fluff-land where they would be optimised for combat rather than jacking off, they would probably have very few notable female features left following surgery and genetic fuckery. Marines are made from pre-adolescent kids who still have very little in terms of sexual dimorphism, and the process of transforming includes total rewriting of the hormonal system (which is responsible for developing secondary sexual characteristics). Hypothetical femarine wouldn't have narrow shoulders, wide hips, breasts, delicate face structure, feminine voice or even traditional feminine character traits like higher capacity for empathy and increased aversion against danger. In essence neophyte does not mature into man or woman - it matures into '''marine'''. A female Space Marine would only differ from male Space Marine by having different genitalia, so no "Samus is a girl" moments would really occur if a female Space Marine had her helmet knocked off and shocked her comrades by revealing some beautiful feminine hair and facial features. Then again, space marines themselves break several biological laws just by existing so we could be wrong. Either way, Female Space Marines are not going to be conventionally attractive. Being recreated exclusively for war tends to do that. They would be bigger than an ordinary human, of course, but they would still be proportioned like a normal human. Or like some bikini model if the Emperor decided he wanted to make hot White Scar bikers or something.

They'd also be completely sterile. Like, more so than the males; no sex hormones means no ovulation, assuming they even let her keep those ovaries. This sadly means no periods, so no [[Meme|PMS rage or menstrual blood for the Blood God]]. Progenoid glands would still play a vital role in gene-seed replication.

And, assuming that Sister Generica can be considered attractive in any form, she's also wearing a ton or two of ceramite power armor, so you wouldn't tell until she speaks or removes her helmet.

Finally, God Emperor help you if you suggest they wear boob plate.

==In the RPGs==

[[Deathwatch (RPG)|With]] [[Black Crusade (RPG)|two]] ([[Wrath And Glory|soon to be three]]) gamelines dedicated to the big lugs (at least partially, in Black Crusade's case) and women becoming ever more interested in roleplaying games, the inevitable question of what to do when a real-life girl ([[Slaanesh|or your pervert friend]]) wants to play a Space Marine is asked.

Generally, this is left up to the GM. If they want to include Female Space Marines, it's up to them to change the lore in a variety of ways to make such a scenario possible. Your standard fare of 40k grognards will probably accept it, if you make certain to explain that you're not offering your setting as a replacement for their [[Codex Astartes|holy texts]], but be prepared for [[That Guy|That Guy]] to dig in his heels and insist that letting girls into the secret club will ''RUIN'' it.

Also, a good GM will know that this is an issue to be handled at his table, as it only affects the people playing there. Going to /tg/ and asking for advice is only going to start skubwars that, ultimately, won't change your initial view in any way. So just go with your gut feeling.

=RAGE=

RAGE is generated by this tactic in two distinct ways; either the neckbeards assume that the creator of the work in question is unaware of the Space Marine fluff, and rage about his or her ignorance; failing that, it becomes clear that they are well aware of the fluff regarding these matters and willingly chose to disregard it, sending the poor neckbeards into fits of spastic rage that anyone would dare deliberately defile the sacrosanct canon of Games Workshop's masterpiece.

[[Troll|Still, the aforementioned creator will just ignore him.]]

Hey, you really want to troll some of Those Guys? Build a force with female Imperial Guard conversions and say they're Imperial Navy armswomen; you know, female space marines?

=Writefaggery=

===A New Arrival===

* From the livelog of Inquisitor Perstringos, archive #32AA9-99
* Redacted copy dispatched to Magos Tzeel'Etil of Mars under code of practice 73-Greyfax-Cawl

The lifespan of an Inquisitorial liaison to the Angry Marines is a famously short one.

Take offence to their unorthodox methods, and you're likely to get your head exploded like an overripe melon. Partake too enthusiastically in their furious idiom and you're likely to get your head exploded like an overripe melon. Stand too near one when they're feeling a little more umbrage than usual and you're likely to... and so on.

I have lasted in the role for nearly seven Angermar months and so consider myself quite the survivor. Alas, my run of good luck may soon be at an end. The Angry Marines are not generally characterised by a cheerful acceptance of change...

especially changes imposed from without...

very particularly especially changes to their unit composition mandated by none other than the Ultramarines, whose very Codex Astartes (oh Guilliman Restored, forgive me!) I have been impelled to use as an item of intimate personal hygiene in the Angry Marines' commode.

And yet today the first company of Primaris Marrnes will be arriving on McRage to join their new battle brothers. The "Guillimarines", as I've heard them called around the barracks here from the day I arrived. The Ultra-Ultrasmurfs. The Fuck-knuckles. The Bitch-clone-fucking-sellout Poser Marines.

Such a momentous occasion will naturally require an Inquisitorial observer on site.

I am going to fucking die.

Which is why I am taking care to record this surreptitious livelog, tapped by my tongue against my molar-transcriptor as I take my place in the Rite of Welcome. My life is nothing, praise the Emperor. Direct observational feedback on the reception of our Imperium's newest super-Astartes into the Chapter deemed least likely to accept them will be invaluable to several parties.

They are docking now with our Battle Barge, the FUCKYOUNAMEITYOURSELF. Their vessel, officially the Undaunted but renamed in our local records "THE OFFICIOUS CUNT-BASKET", is busy initiating standard pre-docking handshake protocol, but I expect that...

yep, there it is. The Angry Marines have taken the simple expedient of ramming the FUCKYOU directly into the Undaunted's docking bay. It was a fair hit. Air is already cycling across both ships with only superficial loss to the void, it won't take long to clear the wreckage, and so the joining Rite is soon to begin.

A mere ten paces in front of me, well within explode-my-head-with-a-backslap range, stands Chapter Master Temperus Maximum himself. An AdMech representative, Magos Errant Gjarran 3FF stands some ways to my left. I am sure I sense fear in the writhing of its mechadendrites.

Two long lines of Angry Marines, each four long files of seven hundred ranks, stretch out behind us in a widening wedge, as though to flaunt the Codex Astartes prohibition on companies larger than a thousand. Aside from their numbers and their angry yellow banners, the most striking sight to one accustomed to other Astartes chapters is the conspicuous lack of bolt pistols in favour of a second chainsword or the heaviest of heavy weapons.

I also note that customary Space Marine practice is to greet newcomers with weapons RAISED, not brandished threateningly -- and thus also pointed directly at my back.

On either side of these lines there mills a mob of chapter serfs, aspirants, servitors and ordinary ship's crew. Banners burn with the emblematic angry face and raised yellow middle finger.

I now hear the stomp of boots but haven't caught sight of the 100 who will be the first in history to join the Angry Marines from outside their chapter. Having already written off my own life, I find myself idly wondering if anyone has warned them of what they will encounter. We went through sixteen liaisons in as many weeks before we started to get the hang of their red lines. How many of these "Primadonna Marines" will survive the year?

Ah, there they are. They march in a column five across, twenty files deep. I see the first file now...

I had heard that these new marines were taller but the effect is staggering. Every Space Marine inspires terrified awe with their size, their power, and above all their devotion to the Emperor. These new Primaris radiate the same majesty... perhaps it is as they humbly claim, that they are no better than their other battle brothers, but they are certainly... newer.

As my eyes take in the holy might of the Emperor's newest instruments, my trained Inquisitor's eye perceives what at first was a vague impression. The specifications of these marines' armor, while taller and sleeker than earlier models, are in fact even sleeker than the schematics of the Mark X Tacticus Armour I have memorised as a matter of course.

How strange. Thinner in the waist. Wider at the hips. Bulkier at the chest... at the bust!

Subtle as the difference is, certainly not detracting from their power and terror, their armour is unquestionably FEMALE.

How?

Before anyone speaks the center Primaris of their first file--surely their Lieutenant--is removing his helmet... HER helmet. By the Emperor! As strong and intimidating and, well, grizzled a face as any Space Marine's, and yet entirely feminine. Long luxurious red hair is cascading down her shoulders... by the Emperor, to live to see these days!

No word yet from the Angry Marines. I fear the worst. I'm enabling my audio pickup; it may well outlive me.

[Lieutenant Pedicaba]: WELL FUCK ME IT'S THE MUTE MARINES! HELLO THE FUCK TO YOU TOO, ASSHOLE!

[Assault Sergeant Dickface, interrupting]: OH NO NO FUCKING NO. NUH-UH. FUCK OFF. CHADMARINES ARE BAD ENOUGH BUT A STACY? GIRLYMAN AIN'T GONNA SHOEHORN SOME BOLTER BITCHES INTO OUR YEEEAAAARGH!!!

[Lieutenant Pedicaba]: WHOOPS DID I JUST "SHOEHORN" MY FOOT UP YOUR ASS? YOU CAN EAT YOUR OWN SHIT OFF MY BOOT LATER, SERGEANT. DO I LOOK TO LIKE I'M ARMED WITH SOME PUSSIFIED BOLTER?

[Chapter Master Tempestum]: WELL FUCKING ARSECHUNKS IF THIS ISN'T A CUNTY TURN OF EVENTS. I'VE SAID FOR MONTHS YOU NU-SMURFS HAVE NO BALLS AND WHADDYA KNOW.

[Lieutenant Pedicaba]: YEAH YOU CAN KISS MY TURGID OVARIES LATER FUCKLICK. LIEUTENANT PEDICABA REPORTING! BY THE EMPEROR'S SWEATY ASSCRACK WE HAVE ARRIVED THROUGH THE WARP INTACT, ONLY ONE LITTLE FUCKSLEAZE DAEMON INCURSION NEEDED ITS SHIT PUSHED IN. ONE HUNDRED NEW ANGRY MARINES ARE YOURS TO COMMAND, MY LORD CHAPTER MASTER!

(Oh Emperor protect us, they're all removing their helmets. Blonde hair, black hair, more redheads... if it weren't for their size you'd know they weren't Sisters of Battle by their color. And their language!)

[Chapter Master Tempestum]: HEY COGBITCH, YOU SURE THOSE FAGNUTS FROM MARS SENT THE RIGHT DELiVERY?

[Magos Gjarran]: All is in order, lord Chapter Master. These are indeed the Primaris Marines assigned by my masters to your most holy Chapter, uncorrupted by the Warp and in perfect genetic order. The Machine God smiles upon your union.

[Chapter Master Tempestum]: AND YOUR ARCH-ANUS FAGMASTERS DIDN'T SEE FIT TO MENTION THEY COME WITH A CUNT APIECE?

[Lieutenant Pedicaba]: YOU WANT "A PIECE" OF CUNT JUST FUCK YOUR OWN WHORE MOUTH, MY LORD.

[Chapter Serf Urguet Incelium, interrupting]: No!! Stop!! Please!! I can't bear it!

(Has this serf lost his mind! What is he doing?)

[Chapter Serf Urguet Incelium]: My lords, this cannot be! Kill me if you will, but we cannot have fucking WOMEN ruining EVERYTHING! It's all a trick by... by SLAANESH JUSTICE WARRIORS to force the evil of HEResy upon us. A trick! The holy gene-seed can't work on females! Blah!

(The Primaris nearest the serf has just spat on him. Looks like she got him right in the crotch.)

[Chapter Serf Urguet Incelium]: You stupid bitch! I'll fucking end you! I'll take a flamer to all the vapid whores in the Progenium! I'll...

[a distinct sizzling noise is audible]

[Interceptor Miserabila]: GUESS MY BETCHER'S GLAND WORKS AFTER ALL, HUH ASS-BADGER?

[Chapter Serf Urguet Incelium]: My DICK! Oh FUCK, OH EMPEROR! MY BALLS! MY BALLS ARE MELTING AWAY! AHHH!

[Lieutenant Pedicaba]: "BETCHER" WEREN'T USING THOSE ANYWAY, PANSY-ASS QUEEFSNIFF.

[Chapter Serf Urguet Incelium]: [voice dissolves into screams and groans]

[Chapter Master Tempestum]: HEH HEH, YOU'RE ALL RIGHT. MAYBE YOU REDRAGE WHORES WON'T EMBARRASS THE REAL SOLDIERS TOO MUCH AFTER ALL. TELL YOU WHAT, LET'S WIPE OUT THE ASSCHEESE HERETICS PLANETSIDE AND I'LL LET YOU FIX ME A SANDWICH.

[Lieutenant Pedicaba]: SAY THAT TO MY HAIRY PUSS, MY LORD CHAPTER MASTER PISS-BREATH. NOW ARE YOU GONNA FIND US SOME HERESY TO MURDER OR ARE YOU GOING TO STAND THERE ALL DAY LIKE YOU'RE SCARED OF A LADY?

[Chapter Master Tempestum]: WE MAKE PLANETFALL IN TWENTY MINUTES. WELCOME TO THE ANGRY MARINES... BATTLE BROTHER.

[Lieutenant Pedicaba]: YEAH, SLURP SHIT SISTER.

Audio pick-up disabled. I think that was the ceremony. The Angry Marines, Primaris and all, are exchanging soldierly embraces and head-butts and marching back to the barge, chanting as one, "ALWAYS ANGRY! ALL THE TIME! ALWAYS ANGRY! ALL THE TIME!"

I'm racing down the corridor with Magos Giarran as fast as my legs will take me. You just know they're going to perform an "expedited undocking" with fucking frag grenades. Again. Planetfall in seventeen minutes. If I'm somehow not rendered into inquisitor-flavoured jello... well, I'm already praising the Emperor's unlimited munificence that I'm alive at all.

Word must get back to Mars. If the Primera mix so well even with the Angry Marines, they'll be a valuable reinforcement to all our companies. In our darkest hour, the Imperium's new hopes redouble.

+++
Thought for the Day: The Emperor has fury enough for us all.
+++

=See Also=

*[[Golden Aquilas]]: /tg/ homebrew chapter, designed to cause as much RAEG and accusations of derp as possible.
*[[Space Marines]]: Rule 63 equivalent of female Space... wait.
*[[Sisters of Battle]]: The warrior nuns of the Imperium that wear power armor, often fight with bolters and chainswords, and are in a sense the "real female space marines" of Warhammer 40,000.
*[[Stormcast Eternals]], GW's [[Warhammer Fantasy|Fantasy]] Space Marines in [[Age of Sigmar]], which can be any species and gender thanks to their magical origins. At least one Stormcast group was announced to be comprised of men and women and SURPRISE WARHAMMER SHADESPIRE WAS ANNOUNCED AND FEATURES A FEMALE STORMCAST MINIATURE.
*[[Samus]]: How about a female Primarch?
*[[Daughters of Terra]] A not-quite Space Marines Female Space Marines chapter.

=Gallery=
<center><gallery>
Image:Sisters of anger2.png|And if you think this is bad, once a month they all gain Frenzy.
Image:1227373581722.gif|Lol. Why u mad tho?
Image:Nidsrape.jpg|Brother-sister Igpay Atinlay boldly distracts the Tyranid foe.
File:Love is a Battlefield by blazbaros.png|An almost perfect example of a female space marine, complete with the typical bulky space marine form.
Image:spessbitch.jpg|Not in fact [[Horo]].
File:Female_warhammer_40k_imperium_model_--_100D0212.jpg|She'd be even scarier if she took off that mask
File:Female_space_marine_warhammer_40k_model_--_Female_Warrior_Gabs.jpg|DYKE OUTTA FUCKING NOWHERE!
File:Female_space_marine_warhammer_40k_model_--_Female_Warrior_Jayne.jpg|Your eyes should start bleeding right about now.
File:Female_space_marine_warhammer_40k_--_Ingunna_Daughter_of_Russ_by_Greymark.jpg|PMS BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!
File:1k heresy.jpg|<s>Not</s> [[Just as planned]]. Now you know why Tzeentch doesn't invite Slaanesh to his birthday parties anymore.
File:Primarchs as teen girls.png| The Emperor made the Primarchs to be the greatest human warriors of all time, but [[Warhammer_High|even they were not immune]] to [[Rule 63]].
File:Femprah_by_Mr-Culexus.jpg|She was not amused by this development.
File:Saber ultra marine.jpg|Don't piss off Mama Smurf. Your genitals will not survive.
File:Chaos saber.jpg|Somehow still less of a failure than the real Abaddon. (Of course! Her arms haven't fallen off!)
File:Belldandy_blood_raveness_for_propertyoflamb_by_elvishprincess25-d9z451u.jpg|Belldandy of the Blood Ravens... Bloody Bell?
File:Propoflambcomm_urd_space_wolf_by_elvishprincess25-db1s3ab.jpg|Urd of the Space Wolves.
File:Skuld_amg_as_wh_iron_hand_by_elvishprincess25-daeba5v.jpg|Skuld of the Iron Hands.
File:The Little Sisters of Purification 1.png| Canon or not, the ideas's been around for a while.
File:The Little Sisters of Purification 2.png| Featuring Jokaero. Yes, there is a scenario.
File:Adepta Mechania Warpsmith (Pre Heresy) 01.png|Because metal tentacle rape That's Why.
File:Ariel Ventris 01.png
</gallery></center>

[[Category:Imperial]][[Category:Space Marines]][[Category:RAGE]]

Tyranid

2018-07-03T10:12:00Z

2001:8003:3895:3A00:E9EB:F8E8:BDEE:3556: /* Chaos and Tyranids */

[[File:Tyranids Logo.png|200px|center]]
[[Image:Nids3rdEdCover.jpg|400px|thumb|right|OM NOM NOM!!!]]
{{Topquote|This isn't a war," said the artilleryman. "It never was a war, any more than there's war between man and ants.|H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds}}
{{Topquote|We cannot live through this. Mankind cannot live through this. In a single day they have covered this planet with a flood of living blades and needle-fanged mouths. Kill one, and ten take its place. If they are truly without number, then our race is doomed to a violent death before every shred of our civilisation is scoured away by a force more voracious than the fires of hell themselves. Death! By the Machine God, Death is here!|The last words of Magos Varnak}}

The '''Tyranids''' (often shortened to simply '''nids''') are a race of extragalactic "alien locust" in [[Warhammer 40k]], that seemingly exist only to devour [[Human|biomass]], evolve into a more perfect species and grow in numbers. They are extremely adaptable, and frequently engineer and modify traits and characteristics in their genome, by devouring other unfortunate species into their own, in order to [[Gene-seed|improve their combat effectiveness and survival.]] As a result, they are constantly evolving and becoming more dangerous. The Tyranids are most commonly seen in the galaxy in the form of [[Hive Fleet]]s, large collections of space faring organisms that are capable of transporting and birthing the smaller strains of the species, as they travel from world to world, attack and consume all biomass on/in that planet, leaving it a lifeless rock. Even bacteria and archaea are consumed from the atmosphere. They are probably one of the oldest races when you think about it, and are, together with Orks and Necrons (if they don't nom the Orks and maybe destroy the Necrons), probably going to win this galactic war. For this reason pretty much every faction in the galaxy sees Tyranids as the ultimate threat and [[Blood Angels|would ally even]] [[Necrons|with their sworn enemies]] to fight them. Thus the race is called The Great Devourer. They're named after planet Tyran, where they were first officially sighted by the [[Imperium]].

==Overview==
{{Topquote|An alien threat has risen from beyond the abyss, a swarm so vast that it blots out the stars. This horror fights neither for power nor territory, but rather to feed a hunger so insatiable that it will eventually devour the entire galaxy.|[[Inquisitor]] [[Kryptman]]}}

Before they arrived to this galaxy, the Tyranids were probably lying dormant in intergalactic space because there was nothing there to consume (probably). Despite this, they had sentinel organisms, looking constantly for any sign of life in distant galaxies. We actually don't know how many galaxies they have already left bare - most of the facts behind their origin and backstory that we have on them are simply not more than speculation and conjectures. It could be that we have only seen a fraction of their numbers, or that said current numbers are all there is. We simply don't know.

The Tyranids have hibernated until they were triggered by, and attracted to, concentrated sources of psychic energy like moths to a lightbulb. One of them was the [[Astronomican]], the psychic signature of the [[Emperor of Mankind]] spanning throughout the entire galaxy. Also, In the 30k [[Horus Heresy]] era, an alien device known as the Pharos on the Ultramarine realm planet of Sotha sent up a huge psychic energy pulse, effectively giving the Milky Way a big neon sign that called it an all-you-can-eat buffet (note that this is only known to the reader--the multitude of characters in the 30k and 40k eras had no inkling of just what was coming nor who or what actually called them). Thus the Tyranids set off, taking roughly the next 10,000 years to do so, but just who would be insane or evil enough to summon such an apocalyptic force of alien nature to the Milky Way? [[Barabas Dantioch|A pretty cool guy who had no idea about what he would eventually call to dinner, actually]]. Still, the possibility that the Tyranids are retreating from [[Games Workshop|''something'' more terrifying than even them]] remains open as of now.

The Tyranid species is mentally connected and controlled by the extremely powerful and near godlike [[Hive Mind|HIVE MIND]]. The Hive Mind is the collective consciousness of the entire Tyranid race, a psychic embodiment of Tyranid instincts and racial imperatives: to devour and evolve. It is so powerful that its mere presence (the Shadow in the Warp) makes even psykers and [[Chaos]] [http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/0/07/Shadow_in_the_Warp_.jpeg/revision/latest?cb=20160531070506 shit their metaphysical brains out in terror.] The power of the Hive Mind is such that it casts a stifling influence over the Warp in the area, and therefore, warp travel becomes almost impossible. Hence it is that a world that finds itself a target of a Hive Fleet is unable to call for help or receive reinforcements by the time it detects the Hive Fleet's presence. This super consciousness allows their forces to move with a unity of purpose and cohesion that makes them extremely dangerous. The individual intelligence of different strains of the species is variable, however, and many of the smaller species lack the psychic power to communicate over long distances, and so the swarm relies on larger organisms, the so-called "Synapse Creatures", to act as relays and communication nodes in the psychic network (if the Hive Mind is the Internet (Internid), then synapse creatures are ISPs (ISynaPse) and routers (router-warriors)?). Outside of the range of a synapse creature, such as a Tyranid Warrior or a Hive Tyrant, smaller varieties such as those found within the Gaunt genus revert to animalistic behavior. However, certain strains, such as the [[Genestealer]] or the Lictor, are designed to be able to spend long periods of time beyond the reach of the Hive Mind, and are consequently considerably more intelligent and autonomous than other Tyranid organisms.
[[Image:KillEmAll.jpg|300px|thumb|left|DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA!]]
The normal Tyranid modus operandi is to locate a delicious looking planet, usually by following the psychic emanations of vanguard organisms like the Genestealers, who are sent ahead as scouts to infiltrate and form cults while obtaining genetic information about the local species (hence the name Gene-stealer), drawing the fleet towards a viable target. The Tyranids are capable of non-[[Warp]]-based FTL travel, which they achieve by using gravity to manipulate spacetime and travel extremely quickly towards large gravity wells such as stars, and once they are relatively close, they must rely on STL travel to close the gap with their target. Once they reach the world, infinite swarms of creatures flood down to the surface to overwhelm all resistance and consume the planet's population and resources in a manner reminiscent of a Korean StarCraft champion performing the devastating "Zerg Rush" (Note that the Zerg were supposedly based on Tyranids, which in turn were based on aliens in from movies like ''Starship Troopers'' and ''Alien''. All these organisms are based on eusocial Hive insects such as the order ''Hymenoptera'', which includes ants, bees etc.) In the later stages of the invasion, the Fleet manipulates the planet's biosphere and seeds it with aggressive plant life that grows extremely rapidly and assimilate all nutrition/life left on the planet, which is then consumed by the creatures of the swarm and massive feeding tentacles/tubes, dropped by Tyranid bio-ships in low orbit, and hence conveyed to the Hive Fleet as a whole. The fleet literally grows in size and mass, and moves on to the next planet.

This makes the Tyranids a very dangerous foe to fight. Even the Imperial Guard and Orks will find it difficult to beat them in a war of attrition, as individual losses are meaningless to the bugs. As long as they are able to recover the biomass of the dead, it is simply recycled into new warriors and ships. It's worth noting that going against technological species, results in fewer and fewer recycled biomass, so a Hive assaulting a high-tech heavily fortified fortress, loses some of its total biomass bit-by-bit, but there are only few cases where the Tyranids really bite off more than they can chew. Even a Hive Fleet that has taken terrible losses and is forced to retreat, may soon return to terrorize strong worlds, as capturing and consuming a few poorly defended backwater planets is all that is required for them to replenish their forces. Even Hive Fleets considered defeated by the Imperium, may still be dangerous, as the splinter elements that have survived, may continue to infest worlds in the region. It is worth noting that, in the rare event that two different Tyranid fleets encounter each other, they are apt to attack each other. This is generally believed to be some sort of Darwinian selection mechanism to compare the competitiveness of the traits the individual fleets have accumulated, with the victorious fleet consuming the other, absorbing their best traits, and culturing a deadly hybrid with the best of both worlds.

[[File:1389680259601.jpg|thumb|450px|right|Who doesn't love a scuttling swarm of space locusts?]]
So far, only fragments of Tyranid Hive Fleets have made it to this galaxy, and they were given monstrous names such as "Behemoth" and "Leviathan" and ate untold numbers of planets before finally being destroyed or stalled. It's also known that these are merely scouting fleets for the unimaginably large swarm that has yet to arrive, still currently in transit from another galaxy ([[Imperium|Imperial]] scholars suppose them to be either en route from a galaxy they successfully scoured of all life, or retreating from some force even nastier than they are). Noted Imperial scholars believe that the only possible plan that stands any chance against the arrival of this force involves giving a [[melta]] gun to everyone that has hands and praying to the God-Emperor for the best. They have been expected to arrive on Terra's doorstep any day now for years, being stalled by a force even more malicious then they are: [[Games Workshop|GW]]'s refusal to move the story forward.

And if they intend to retcon the above so that Leviathan is in fact the main force, they can easily write it off as ravings of a crazed Inquisitor.

Following in the footsteps of the Hive Fleets before it, Leviathan has been destroyed at Baal by the Blood Angels and the Ultramarines, apparently with a little help from [[Ka'bandha|Ka'Bandha]] the Bloodthirster. Admittedly, that campaign only involved the tendril not engaged in war with the Orks on Octarius, meaning that there may be significant elements of the fleet still roaming around the galaxy. However, since GW has been officially referring to this as the 'Fall of Leviathan', it's probably safe to say that Leviathan too is now splintered like Behemoth and Kraken. Of course, this still isn't good news for the rest of the galaxy, because there are four new Hive Fleets in the neighborhood, one of which has apparently dedicated itself to vacuuming up all the splinter fleets left behind by Kraken, Behemoth, and Leviathan, thus gaining all their tasty biomass and DNA.

This new hive fleet is known as [[Hive Fleet Kronos|Kronos]], after the Greek god of time, and with Warp Rifts and Chaos Daemons now running amok in the galaxy, the Hive Mind has turned it towards a previously untapped niche: fixing the mess left by Chaos. Its take on the Shadow in the Warp is one of a complete and total "HAHAHA FUCK YOU!" towards the Ruinous Powers, capable of smothering psychic abilities of any kind, causing Daemons to wither in its presence and closing Chaos portals and small Warp Rifts just by proximity. In other words: Chaos energy is arguably the malevolent, most corrupting, most powerful force in the galaxy... [[Awesome|and the Hive Mind has produced a Hive Fleet with the primary mandate of telling it to shut up and go to its room.]] Which sounds great except for the also recent revelation that the 'Nids can be mutated by the Warp if exposed to it for too long or in places where it's too strong, which begs the question of how long Kronos can continue to battle Chaos before they inevitably start going wonky too.

On a smaller note, thanks to the Devastation of Baal, it has been confirmed that Tyranid troops and monsters aren't even a singular organisms. Instead, they are a collection of symbiotic species working in tandem with one another to create a killing machine. Tyranid blood? [[Wat|a living parasite.]] Tyranid weapons? [[Tyranid Bio-Weapons|well, that's self explanatory.]] Tyranid organs? [[Derp|a separate critter that could survive just as easily outside of its hosts when it is needed to swap gibblets.]] This means that those giant Hive Fleets you see aren't just one massive creature but a multitude of smaller creatures working as one (this has some basis in real life biology; colonial organisms such as the Portuguese Man O' War are composed of multiple interdependent organisms). This realization kind of solves some of the bizarre-looking Tyranids that would be biologically impossible, but isn't actually much of a big deal, since most living things are technically made up of a collection of cells which are living things unto themselves. Tyranid creatures can then be thought of as multi-bodied organisms, the same way we are multi-cellular organisms, only our various organs, tissues, and limbs can't be freely transplanted with no rejection issues across similar <s>bioforms</s> individuals.

It remains to be seen whether this new backstory element will retcon some earlier reveals about the Tyranids, such as their observed tendency to throw themselves into digestion pools to recycle themselves into raw materials when they are too damaged to fight or no longer tactically useful. For one thing, why bother reducing Tyranids into liquid biomass that requires precious time and energy to be remade into new bioforms from the cells up, when the Hive Mind can skip a step and conserve its resources by simply tearing out reusable organs and bio-weapons from crippled or unneeded bioforms, and then install or graft those organic parts into new or less-damaged bioforms, while throwing only the bare skeletons and the too-damaged parts into the digestion pools for recycling? For another thing, if this becomes widespread knowledge among the Imperium, will it become the new standard procedure to either completely vapourize or thoroughly incinerate Tyranid corpses whenever possible, so as to keep the Hive Mind from reusing this grisly "salvage" should Tyranid forces take the field or advance their battle-lines far enough to retrieve those corpses? All we can say for certain is, '''prepare yourselves for another round of the evolutionary arms race''' . .

==Chaos and Tyranids==

Its an interesting fact to note that while the warp affects both flora and fauna, the Tyranids are notably highly resistant, if not outright immune, to it it's influences.

When the Hive Fleet invading Baal got sucked into the Warp by Ka'Bandha's entrance, the hive ships that emerged from this elsewhere were noted to have suffered little to no mutation when examined. Tyranids stuck in space hulks that spent centuries in the warp more-or-less got out unchanged, with no chaotic influences or mutations. Hell, even Genestealers, who are designed to operate independently from the Hive Mind, suffer no ill effects from warp exposure, still utterly devoted to the swarm after all that time.

Additionally, when pitted against daemons (like the Quadrifold Abominatum), the Tyranids are outright disruptive to them due to their warp-smothering powers, preventing daemons from mustering their full strength when under a large-enough fleet. Consuming tainted chaos flesh also does not seem to have any real negative effect on them.

Both sides have a mutual disdain for each other, though, and do their best to stay out of each other's way unless forced into a confrontation. The 'nids hate fighting Chaos due to their use of daemons, which has no biomass to harvest. Chaos hates the 'nids for having no emotions to feed upon, so their conflicts with them are ultimately about as productive as fighting non-sapient wildlife.

Whether this is due to their "Shadow in the Warp" that prevents warp entities from doing any real effect on them, or the specific design of [[Malal|another god-entity we've yet to meet]], is unclear.

==On the Table==
[[Image:No Retreat.jpg|300px|thumb|left|KABLOOIE!]]

===2nd Edition===
Printed in the ancient past of 1995, the first Tyranid codex brought the hive mind to the tabletop of 40k and instantly won over the hearts of a thousand vile xeno lovers. Or not. It's hard to tell as most of those original fans have since moved on to collect power armor armies or died from several decades of soul crushing disappointment. Either way, the codex was notable for including both Genestealer Cults and Tyranids in the same book. It was at this point in the Tyranids history that the army was at its most [[Cheese|butt fuckingly]] [[White Scars|ultra rapid]] [[Doom|rip and tearing]] form. Tyranids were '''THE''' fucking army that could go toe to toe with other cheese like the [[Eldar]] or [[Necron| March of metallic doom]] and tear them a new asshole. Naturally this made them '''THE''' army for players to [[Butthurt|sperg on about how they were completely overpowered]] and countered armies like the Space Marines and general Imperial factions with complete EASE. [[Robin Cruddace| And then one of those fuckos]] was given a job at GW and it all went downhill from there for the space bugs.

===3rd Edition===
8 years after the 2nd edition codex came out, a new one burst onto the scene in 2001. Again, not much is remembered from this time, aside from the fact the strong and fast Tyranids from the 2nd edition were turned into slow, clumsy beasts, a move that nerfed them into oblivion. It was also notable for introducing silly looking metal miniatures that vanished soon afterwards (like the ever popular grinfex) and cool new plastic ones that are still used to this day. This codex was extremely limited, but did feature some...interesting rules for customizing your models. None of these would last to 4th edition, but the nostalgia would linger for a long time after.

===4th Edition===
In 2005, a new Tyranid codex emerged along with an entire host of redesigned units and metal kits. It was at this point that the modern designs for the Lictor, Genestealers, Raveners, and Hive Tyrants were introduced. Also, the first plastic Carnifex kit was released, and GW capitalized by giving the unit a cubic metric shit ton of options. Indeed, this was the theme of fourth edition 'nids. The codex deliberately axed 3rd edition characters like Old One Eye or the Red Terror in favor of giving players a wealth of options for customizing their models. Want a hive tyrant with a 2+ save? Go ahead. Want a Carnifex with a better BS? there you go. None of this would last into 5th edition and the flaws were pretty glaring as time went by. 'Nids simply did not have the tools nor the depth of an army design to succeed against every opponent, and many of the options turned into expensive traps.

===5th Edition===
When the 5th edition Codex released, it was met with [[skub|split opinions]], as usual. Some were angry at how overpowered the army looked, citing the facts that the [[Tervigon]] could create more units out of thin air using "broken" special rules, that the anti-psyker powers were so broad, and that the [[Hive Guard]] and [[Zoanthrope]]s were so good at tank hunting at a time when tanks were kings.

However, after some time passed, people who decried the cheesy aspects of the army faded from view as people began to realize the army only seemed cheesy on paper, and that, in truth, any cheese the army had was drowned in the army's drawbacks. The Termagants the Tervigon could spawn? Stats like a [[Imperial Guard|Guardsmen]] in close combat, but with half their weapon range and weaker armor. And to get Tervigons to the Troops slot from the HQ slot (where they were practically useless), you had to pay Guardsman prices for a unit of them. In other words, you ''had'' to use the "cheesy" special rule or they were overpriced into uselessness.

Then there were the special powers that supposedly buffed the army. Again, at a first glance, they looked broken. Certain upgrades allowed any unit within 6" of certain models to gain rules like Feel No Pain, Furious Charge, Poison, cover saves, and so on. It sounded like a serious boon, but it had a funny effect. Aside from the fact that most Tyranid models are too expensive unless you capitalize on the bubble-buffs, it also does a horrible thing to your freedom to play the army. Mainly, it forces players to keep all their units bunched up within 6" of a few key models, requiring them to spend the entire game in a rigid formation that can spell disaster for the army when broken. Tyranids already suffered from this problem somewhat due to their synapse rules, but the 6" range on the mandatory buffs only shortened the leash. Not to mention it also made blasts even worse for an army already vulnerable to them.

Tyranids do seriously lack effective long range support as well. While they possess some weapons capable of mincing infantry units, most things with a range over 12" come at a premium. With an army so focused on close combat this shouldn't be such a problem, but synapse and buff leashes actually make it a valid concern. Mainly, the short buff leash pressures a player into a castle formation, but the lack of medium and long ranged weaponry pressures the player to advance the entire castle towards the enemy, which has a way of creating chinks in the formation. And you can't just move a few key units - when a unit moves forward, the model providing the buffs has to follow them, and then the other units relying on the buffs have to follow the model providing the buffs; it just makes the army obscenely inflexible.

Tyranid monstrous creatures, their heavy support, also got drastically [[Nerf|nerfed]] in the 5th edition update. The Tyrannofex, for example, has a 2+ save and six wounds at a toughness of six, the damn thing is almost indestructible, but the weapons are short-ranged, and if you buy it an expensive long-range cannon to shoot at tanks, you can't change any of its other short-ranged weapons which are designed to kill infantry. You just can't quite kit your heavy support to do the things you specifically want.

Which brings us to the final problem: on top of mountains of tactical inflexibility, the Tyranids also suffer from the drawback of design inflexibility. Unlike Guardsmen or Space Marines, the Tyranids don't get a lot of options to change the way the army works. When you buy Hormagaunts, you get them at face value - you can't equip them with frag grenades, give them pistols, add heavy weapons, or mess with their gear in any way. You can buy them the poison special rule if you want, or maybe the Furious Charge special rule, but those are your two choices. Almost the entire army is that way, which is vastly different than the way they worked in 4th edition. The Carnifex alone lost eighteen weapon and biomorph options between 4th and 5th edition and it doubled in points value. And with no upgrades taken! And for twenty points more, you can get a Trygon. Which is better than the Carnifex in almost every way. Cept looking good. It's possible that Tyranids are now the least adaptable army in the game.

The last kick in the teeth is that Tyranids are one of the more expensive armies to collect, requiring a larger number of models than most. Their HQ choices, short of the Tyranid Prime, are big monsters which run at prices edging nearer and nearer to $100 each. For the fact that most Tyranid armies will play exactly the same way, having all the same exploitable weaknesses and no unique wargear surprises, it's not a wonder that the army has seen a huge drop in sales since the release of their 5th edition codex. The shorter lesson to take from all this is, if you're thinking about beginning a 40k army, even with how expensive it's all gotten, Tyranids are not the best army to start with.

The one good legacy of the 5th edition codex was the radical expansion of the army list. The previous codex had featured the addition of a single new unit (the brood lord) and the removal of two special characters. Both were brought back for the 5th edition codex and the total units jumped from fifteen to thirty-four. While several of the characters (the doom of malan'tai and the parasite of mortrex) did not survive past this codex, many others did and eventually grew into popular options in their own right.

===6th Edition===
[[Image:GWstockfail2.jpg|300px|thumb|right|WEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!! THE FAIL TRAIN HAS NO BRAKES!]]
[[Image:Haruspex.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Is it me, or does the [[Haruspex]] look like it belongs in a [[/d/|bad hentai movie?]] ]]
This abortion of a codex was so bad that GW stock crashed by 23%. After several years of having only a few viable units, [http://imgur.com/a/8w57g virtually everything the Tyranids needed to stay competitive was either removed or nerfed to uselessness]. Tyranids no longer had Mycetic Spores, the Doom of Malan'tai, Ymgarl Genestealers or the Parasite of Mortrex (GW lost a court battle with Chapterhouse Studios and simply deleted all their models from the game). They even lost the ability to use psychic powers from the Biomancy table along with their Hive Mind powers being nerfed. Why GW thought that the most underpowered army needed even MORE nerfing will remain a mystery, but odds are that Cruddace had something to do with it. A perfect example of unnecessary nerfing is the Tyranid Prime; it was rarely fielded in 5th edition, and the 6th edition codex inexplicably increased its cost by over 56%. At any rate, it looks like the Tyranids will soon be joining the Sisters in GW Hell. GW stocks were already dropping due to the financial disasters that were 6th ed Apocalypse, Strong Hold Assault, and Escalation. Meanwhile in [[Warhammer Fantasy]] there's 3 armies which are at least one edition behind in updates. Along with the announcement was plans to close many GW stores, including their headquarters in Germany... yeah, this might be the beginning of the end. Looks like there were more Tyranid players than everyone thought, not everyone plays Space Marines.

To compensate for their failure, GeeDubs released some Dataslate formations which allow you to ignore the force organisation chart and spam flying monstrous creatures to overwhelm an opponents anti-air defenses because the flyer rules are an even bigger catastrofuck than the Tyranid codex. <span style="color:purple">'''**SSSS rippaaaahhhssss will be put in crudfacessss bedssss for what he hasssss done to ussssss**'''</span>

===7th Edition, DLC, and white dwarf updates===
Geedubs finally noticed how badly nerfed Tyranids have been during the last editions so they took opportunity to get your money by releasing new waves of Tyranid units supported by White Dwarf updates. Things started poorly with a pair of monstrous creatures who really didn't bring anything new to the table. The [[Toxicrene]] was fine on paper, bringing Poisoned 2+ Instant-Death-on-a-6 attacks, but as yet another floot-slogging MC it had trouble catching the things it WANTED to kill. The [[Maleceptor]] was just an overcosted, overcomplicated, and underpowered hunk of plastic that would be lucky to kill more than 20 points worth of models in a given turn.

But then things got interesting. The [[Mycetic Spore]]s came back, under the name of "Tyrannocytes", and they were well worth the wait! Alongside the new spores were a Tyranid "fortification" (that is, a Heavy Support that didn't take up a force org. slot) that could boost synapse range and drop spore mines around, and a new super-sized Muceloid Spore Mine that could assault fliers. Soon afterward came the Doom of Malan'tai in a new body: the [[Neurothrope]]! While slightly nerfed -- his signature "fuck you" bubble is now a psychic power rather than just free damage -- it's far from unusable and can even be put in a squadron to make Look Out Sir rolls!

The most unexpected announcements came from GW around Fall 2014, coinciding with the coming of [[The End Times]]: New models for the Tyranids. The first pack that was announced was a Dual Kit for the Maleceptor and Toxicrene. While the Maleceptor proved to be unpopular within ''minutes'' of having its rules announced in White Dwarf as it was an overpriced drain of warp charges, the Tocxicrene proved to fare a bit better, as the copious amount of poison and Instant Death on a 6 to-wound using said poison made it a menace against Monstrous Creatures (though its intended targets, the [[Riptide]] and [[Wraithknight]], merely scoffed at it because they're jumping monstrous creatures, and thus able to kite it like a toy). The second release proved to be the most popular by far: The return of Mycetic Spores (now [[Tyrannocyte]]s), the living fortifications known as [[Sporocyst]]s, and new [[Mucolid Spore]]s that not only assault flyers, but are also the cheapest troop choices, making starting an army of Tyranids a much simpler task. While the Tyrannocyte proved an incredible weapon that made several units (including the infamous [[Pyrovore]]) suck slightly less, that power came with a hefty price tag (for a Transport, not as a Monstrous Creature), and Sporocysts are completely immobile and are equally pricey in exchange for synapse bonuses and the ability to spam spore mines. Needless to say, people actually thanked GeeDubs for this rare show of intelligence.The third release gave new Sprues for the [[Zoanthrope]]/[[Venomthrope]] as a multi-part kit with a new set of rules for the Zoanthropes: The [[Neurothrope]], a sergeant that gave the brood a new power that could potentially give them more Warp Charges to spend on Warp Lance. Not bad, but the new sprue was still welcome. After these releases, it became clear as to why the 'Nids got new shit: promotions for a new Campaign called ''Shield of Baal'', which involves 'Nids chomping through a system near the territory of the [[Blood Angels]], meaning that [[Dante]] has to call all the successor chapters to stop the mob. He had to take help from [[Anrakyr]] to save even part of the system. This now concludes the awesome part of all things Tyranid. If you look at the gallery below the Cutenids, you will require a mind scrubbing and be lobotomized into a servitor. No exceptions. Of course you now have players mocking 'Nids as being a DLC faction.

===Return in 8th Edition===
[[Image:maketyranidsgreat.jpg|200px|thumb|right|The Trumplord Rises! (or Swarmtrump Rises depending on your point of view)]]
Tyranids have returned with a vengeance! Tyranids are one of the early-middle released codex of 8th and has become one very powerful army mostly due to how fast they are, like 'my Hormagaunts just moved 20" in one turn and my Stratagem can give them a second Movement Phase' fast. This speed has given them absolutely amazing board control combined with their easy access to deep striking units, good mix of swarms (which is very important in 8E) and big monsters for heavier damage and the absolute cheese that are Biovores. Carnifexes have also gotten a bunch of their biomorphs back! They are now excellent and cheap Swiss-army knives that you can insert into almost any role.

But for all their buffs, they still have their weak points. Tyranids, while being ostensibly a melee focused army, tend to suffer from relatively low strength melee attacks which compensate for their lowered wound chance by having higher damage. This means that while they deal a lot of damage when they wound a vehicle it's a toss-up as to whether or not they can actually wound it; ''Space Marines'' have easier access to Anti-Tank melee than us. Some of the big beasties are still overcosted and underpowered for their roles, and the flyers aren't too good either. While the little guys are at their worst meh and our big guys are either very good or just suck, the mid-sized ones are decent but tend to require some planning to make the most of them; Lictors are fragile but are useful as deep strike beacons, Warriors and Raveners are a bit overcosted but can stick around much longer than before now that Instant Death is gone, and Zoanthropes are stuck as the obligatory Smite spammers.

==See Also==
*[[Tyranid Bio-Weapons]]
*[[Genestealer]]
*[[Carnifex]]
*[[Hive Tyrant]]
*[[Lolifex]]
*[[Hive Fleet]]
*[[Unyuufex]]
*[[Harridan]]
*[[Tyranid RPG]]
*[[Hive Fleet Nidhoggr]]
*[[Hydraphant]], the biggest bio-titan the nids can field, which just got fan-made 8E rules. If you're playing apocalypse as the nids, and you need something to take out Warlords beyond fielding several billion Harridans and Hierophants, look no further (you will have to make the model yourself though).
*[[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Tyranids(8E)|Tactics/Tyranids]]
*[[Tyranid /tgbrew modifications|/tg/'s homebrew modifications that make 5E nids get awesome]]
*[[Codex - Tyranids: /tg/ edition|Another /tg/brew 'Nid modificaton, now based on 7E and made into fully blown codex]]
*[[Genestealer Cult]]
* Unlike other 40k factions there is not clear Warhammer Fantasy counter part for the Tyranids. They seem to combine the [[Skaven]] and [[Ogre Kingdoms]] for tactics and lean closer to the Ogres for motivation, namely 'eat it all'.
*[[Phyrexia]], a faction/category from [[Magic:_The_Gathering|Magic: the Gathering]] with some similar fluff
*[[Slivers]] a creature type from M:TG that bares some similarities with 'nids.

{{Tyranids-Creatures}}
{{WH40k-Factions}}
{{Template:Important Species in 40k}}

==Gallery==
{{Promotions}}
<center>
<gallery>
Image:Cuteid_(1).jpg
Image:Cuteid_(2).jpg
Image:Cutenids.gif
Image:Cuteid_(3).jpg
Image:Genestealer_purple.jpg
Image:Tyranid_(0).png
Image:Tyranid_(-1).jpg
Image:Tyranid_s_(0).png
Image:40k_Oh_My_Emperor_by_Sebbythefreak.jpg
Image:F5ASTER.jpg
Image:Tyranid_s_(1).png
Image:Tyranid_s_(2).png
Image:Tyranid_s_(3).png
Image:Tyranid_s_(4).jpg
Image:Tyran_dont_work_that_way_by_eccma417.jpg
Image:Tyranid_hugsies.jpg
Image:Jean_toys.png
Image:Tyranid_Kool.jpg
Image:Tyranid_more.jpg
Image:Tyranid_some_more.jpg
Image:Tyranid_Notions.png
Image:Rocking_Tyranids.jpg
Image:Tyranid_wrestler.jpg
Image:Gangstagaunt.jpg
Image:Hormogaunt_by_kriegsmachine14.jpg
Image:20141009 193455.jpg Their's always a bigger fish, And the tyranids are no exception [[cat]]
</gallery>
</center>

Thus far the Cutenids. From down here there be many [[promotions]]. Abandon all hope ye who enter here.

<center>
<gallery>
Image:Tyranid maid.jpg|I'd let her clean up my biomass, if you know what I mean.
Image:Beachnid.jpg|Fun in the sun.
Image:Hardworkingtyranidmaid_anonib.jpg
Image:1230051355300.gif
Image:Tyranid_f_(0).png
Image:Loligauntloot.png
Image:Tyranid_f_(1).jpg
Image:Tyranid_f_(2).jpg
Image:Tyranid_f_(3).jpg
Image:Tyrantxfire prism.JPG|[[Eldrad]] leaves no woman unsatisfied.
Image:Tyranid_f_(4).jpg
Image:Tyranid_f_(5).jpg
Image:Tyranid_f_(6).jpg
Image:Tyranid_f_(7).jpg
Image:Tyranid_f_(8).jpg
Image:Assnid.jpg
Image:Dat_tyranid.png
Image:Tyranid_Princess.jpg
Image:Taunid4.jpg
Image:Tyranid_f_(9).jpg
Image:Colorassnid.jpg
Image:Sexynid.jpg
</gallery>
</center>

[[Category:Xenos]]