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Tyranid Bio-Weapons

2021-12-07T03:51:58Z

2600:1700:D210:6580:3C8B:3BC9:11A4:4216: /* Small */

In the [[Grimdark|relentless cheerfulness]] of the [[40k|far future]], the weapons used by the [[Tyranids]] are, just like their armies, home-grown. Instead of using metal, the Tyranids use the growth of symbiotic organs, inseparable from their hosts and are counted together as a single bio-organism. Some of them fire a "dumb" projectile like a spike, whereas other use seeds or even acids and living creatures, because just plain ''bullets'' are for pussies. The downside to this is that these '''Tyranid bio-weapons''' are incapable of the explosive firepower that [[Template:40k-Imperial-Weapons|Imperial]], [[Eldar]] and [[Tau]] guns have. They all trade this disadvantage in for being Assault weapons, meaning they can be fired on the move. Also, the explosive firepower is instead exchanged for more... interesting and strategic effects. Another note is that due to their appearance, Tyranid weapons are some of the most badass and phallic looking in the entirety of 40k.

Many of these weapons can be used by creatures of different sizes, but for the sake of simplicity the weapons have been ordered by the smallest creature that can use them. Small creatures are the equivalent of [[Termagaunt|Gaunts]], Medium are those comparable to [[Tyranid Warrior]]s and [[Biovore]]s, and Large are those akin to [[Hive Tyrant|Tyrants]] and [[Carnifex|Carnifexes]]. Then there are two other categories: the Inbuilt weapons, often part of the upper bodies of the largest organisms, and the Melee weapons for the more [[Choppa|choppy]] inclined creatures.

==Small==
Small weapons are used by Termagants, the working class of any Tyranid army, and [[Gargoyle]]s.

===Devourer===
[[File:Dev6.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Devourer]]
The '''Devourer''' is simply a lump of flesh that launches a shower of tiny, short-lived and very hungry lifeforms (sometimes described as worms, others as small beetles) onto a target that immediately start to [[Grimdark|burrow into the target with their maw/mandibles and devour it alive from the inside out]]. Like all Tyranid weapons, the Devourer uses a bio-electric jolt (GeeDubs way of simply saying it fires via the nervous system) to promptly tell the lazy fuckers sleeping inside to get to work.

A much larger version called the Brainleech Devourer is mounted only on larger Tyranid organisms and uses specialize Brainleech worms that are far more aggressive and voracious, and go for the target's brain matter to make sure of the 'kill'.

This weapon has a nice range and acceptable firepower for a weapon of its size, albeit it doubles your Termagaunts in cost (while tripling their number of ranged attacks per round, a very economical way to increase dakka as long as you protect your Gaunts somehow. As of 6th edition, you can have mixed weapon options now so throw up a wall of spinegaunts or something). If you take this weapon in large broods, you will be aiming at your enemy's biggest units to just drown the suckers in dozens of shots.

===Fleshborer===
[[File:FB6.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Fleshborer]]
The '''Fleshborer''' is one of the most iconic Tyranid weapons, a simple design that fires a borer beetle that eats its way through anything it comes across during its flight. Like the Devourer and most Nid firearms, the Fleshborer can only be fired by its respective host, [[Heresy|unless some mad scientist from the Imperium decides its a good idea to attach some electrodes to the weapon like Frankenstein.]] Because the borer beetle is a ''particularly'' lazy fucker, more electro-shocks are required to jolt their asses into action.

[[Derp|For some....reason.]] Some Mago Xenobiologi speculate that the Fleshborer itself (The gun that is) [[Wat|is related to the borer beetle or is an evolutionary niche for the borer beetle.]] They state that the gun IS the mother that lays the eggs which means that [[What|each mature beetle somehow metamorphose into a gun.]] [[Herp|We usually know the GW is pretty bad at simple biology, but this is beyond ridiculous and ludicrous.]] Why the Hive Mind thought it was a good idea to make a creature mature into an immobile and helpless adult unless picked up specifically by a Tyranid is a [[Fail]] of epic proportions. It could be that mature female beetles simply merge themselves with regular tyranid organisms, similar to male anglerfish, just the opposite sex.

Being the basic weapon for Termagaunts, it has the same stats as an ordinary Bolt Pistol. It will still prove to be more than enough to kill anything with toughness of 7 or less and AV10, as long as you have a lot of them. Tyranids being what they are, you will almost always have a lot of them. Range 12, strength 4, AP-, and it is an assault 1 weapon.

===Spike Rifle===
[[File:Spike-Rifles-5-1024x768.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Spike Rifle]]
The '''Spike Rifle''' is a weapon exclusive to Termagaunts. It is, simply put, a harpoon launcher. That's about it.

More specifically its mechanics are like....exactly the same as a regular harpoon launcher just that the string and trigger are alive and swell. It is essentially a bony tube lined with cord muscles that is compressed like a coil. Once the Nid relaxes the muscles, the stored energy pushes the row of harpoon-like spikes into the adjacent target. The barbs are fucking sharp though; able to tear at a victim's arteries and cause them to bleed to death. To make it even more killy the barbs and the gun itself is laced with acidic veins and toxin sacs to make any scratch almost always fatal. Whilst it can puncture Jimmy's [[Flak Armor]], don't think it would do quite swell with [[Power Armor]].

Statwise it's less imposing than it's description: range 18", S3, AP-, Assault 1. Only use these if you do not want to pump a huge amount of points into Devourers but you do not want half your brood to not be able to fire when the Devilgaunts do. Otherwise avoid them...because they suck.

===Spinefists===
[[File:Spinefist6.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Spinefist]]
A lighter weapon, the '''Spinefists''' are used in pairs. They are the more [[Dakka]] version of the Bio-Weapons and are used more akin to a Uzi with shittier penetration and more poison.

They shower the target with a hail of poisoned spikes, the sheer amount of darts fired ensure that the target is hit. A tube runs from the air sac powering the weapon, through the user's arm to its lungs. This means that larger creatures get more mileage out of what is essentially the same weapon, proving that even something as simple as a blowgun can be [[Warp|horribly perverted]] by the grim darkness of the far future.

As of 8E, they act like pistols, which means Raveners (and Rippers, which get the similar Spinemaw) can shoot, get stuck in, and still fire off a few shots without having to disengage first.

===Strangleweb===
[[File:Strangleweb.PNG|200px|right|thumb|Strangleweb]]
With this weapon, your Tyranids too can learn [[Meme|how to shot web]]. Essentially a Tyranid [[Webber]].

The effects of the '''Strangleweb''' can be described best as a non-cutting variation of the Death Spinner used by the Warp Spiders: instead of slicing through their opponents, it constricts them, and maybe crushes them to death.

That's a pretty big maybe: wounding even basic Guardsmen at 5+ and rolling against Strength instead of Toughness to wound means that this weapon would be best if used against the likes of the [[Death Guard]]... if shooting them wasn't a stupid idea for a Tyranid player in the first place ''AND'' if you could take more than 1 of them per 10 Gaunts.

===Blinding Venom===
[[File:Blinding_Venom.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Blinding Venom]]

Imagine baby Drool Cannons, that's basically the Blinding Venom.

Unique to Gargoyles, they can spit acid in the eyes of their enemies to blind them and allow for an easy devouring of the target. The poison is quite weak (6+ what the hell?) <s>and it's best to just go with the regular poison attacks granted by Toxin Sacks.</s> but it has the blind special rule so it means for every attack the unit being attacked has to pass an initiative test now a unit of gargoyles has a minimum size of 10 models so...

As of 8th edition, if the Gargoyles put an unsaved wound onto an enemy unit, the blinding venom makes them suffer -1 to hit for the rest of the turn.

==Medium==
Medium weapons are used by Warriors and organisms based on the -[[Biovore|Vore]] and -[[Tyrant_Guard|Guard]] body archetypes.

===Barbed Strangler===
[[File:BarbedStrangler6.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Barbed Strangler]]
Remember that 70's cult classic Zardoz? [[James_Bond|Sean Connery]] dressed in [[Slaanesh|red gimp getup]] and killing dudes like he's [[Khârn]], at the behest of a giant floating head that claims that "The gun is good, the penis is evil." because the penis shoots seeds that create life? Well, the '''Barbed Strangler''' chooses to be both. The gun is very basic, [[Brundlepenis|a muscled tube that stores its seeds in a sack at the base, and shoots them with a powerful spasm along with a fair helping of a corrosive oil.]]

The seed upon impact has its nigh-unbreakable shell melted by the oil and sends tendrils to [[rip and tear]] through anything that gets in its way. Using the large blast template, you can cause a lot of damage to a [[Tarpit|blob]] in a single shot. It also pins but that comes into play very little given that most armies are either largely fearless, ignore pinning anyway, or have LD values good enough to reliably ignore it anyway. With 8e, it traded off the blast template and Pinning for Assault D6 and a bonus to hit when targeting large units, which is a fair trade given the lackluster BS of the average Tyranid.

===Deathspitter===
[[File:51-10I 81635.1399044187.500.750.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Deathspitter]]
The traditional weapon of the Warrior, the '''Deathspitter''' works by stripping a large maggot off of it's shell and hurling it at the enemy. Its [[Rip and tear|huge guts]] are highly corrosive and can splatter several enemies at once. The adaptive evolution of the [[Hive Fleet Hydra]]'s slimer maggots make their Deathspitters even more lethal; the maggots could burrow through the target's flesh and then [[FATAL| repeatedly fragment and regenerate themselves]]. [[Slaugth|The victims literally burst out with the ever increasing mass of wriggling grubs.]]

Serving as a decent weapon against [[MEQ]]s, the weapon relies on its rate of fire to deal damage.

===Flamespurt Cannon===
''See main article here: [[Tyranid Flamespurt Cannon]]''

===Impaler Cannon===
[[File:ImpalerCannon.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Impaler Cannon]]
The '''Impaler Cannon''' is your answer to anything up to AV 12.

This beautiful gun fires a bony spine, steered by a shard-beast at the base of the spine, [[Rip and tear|whose innards are ripped from its body when the spike is fired]]. The spines are launched with enough force to rip through man and machine alike.

Though its range is limited you do not have to actually see your target to be able to shoot it, without a significant downside. Oh, and it has a higher rate of fire than the Imperium-equivalent, the Missile Launcher. What's not to like? This is your go-to weapon for dealing with [[METAL BAWKSES]].

===Shock Cannon===
[[File:Niddex2014e.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Shock Cannon]]
Sometimes shortened to Shockcannon.

Used by Hive Guard, the '''Shock Cannon''' shoots out a claw over a considerable distance which latches on to its target and delivers a powerful bio-electric shock, disabling or even destroying a vehicle. Ostensibly, a big fucking meat taser.

On tabletop the Shock Cannon is the Hive Guard's primary anti-vehicle weapon. It's decent enough at S7 AP-1 d3 Damage, but if it rolls 4+ on Wound against a vehicle, it issues a Mortal Wound that coincidentally makes its low AP completely irrelevant. Roll a 6+, and that becomes d3 Mortal Wounds. Thanks to the change from small templates to D3 shots, this is now actually plenty scary against vehicles of any size.

===Spore Mine Launcher===
[[File:Spore_Mine_Launcher.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Spore Mine Launcher]]
The more explosive (and useful) Dakka to the Flamespurt's fiery Dakka.

Created as a result of fights against the Imperial Guard, the Biovore displays this by being the Tyranids' closest thing to an artillery piece and having a massive scrotum befitting a Guardsman's huge brazen balls. Armed with the '''Spore Mine Launcher''', it can lob Spore Mines a considerable range; living bombs that blanket victims in acid, poisonous gas, and shrapnel-sized chitin spines.

Though not as deadly as [[Basilisk|most other artillery weapons]], the Spore Mines are unique in the way that if they don't land too close to the enemy, you can deploy them onto the battlefield as living mines, serving as an obstacle for your enemy that must be either moved around or shot. Generally more useful in larger point games or [[Apocalypse]].

===Venom Cannon===
[[File:VC6.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Venom Cannon]]
Seen as the primary anti-tank weapon, the '''Venom Cannon''' launches a hail of corrosive crystals by way of a biological railgun. Though not as effective as you'd wish, the Venom Cannon can cause quite some hurt on [[Eldar|Aspect Warriors]] and the like.

It is ineffective against heavy tanks but okay against transports and open-topped vehicles, though its primary targets should always be medium infantry. Because you know, a single shot S6 AP4 small blast weapon with only 36 inches of range that you can only have one of per (heinously expensive and surprisingly fragile) warrior brood is clearly the bestest anti-vehicle gun ever. See Dawn of War II for how they should work and cry bitterly. You're best off giving this gun a pass.

Slightly buffed in 8th along with the blast weapon changes. It is now Assault d3 with S8, AP-2 and D3 damage. Bit better at least.

==Large==
These are extremely large bio-weapons that could level a playing field with enough [[Dakka]].

===Acid Spray===
[[File:Acid_Spray.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Acid Spray]]
Yo dawg, I heard you like [[Hellhound Tank|Hellhound]]s so I put a [[Flamer|discharge of digestive fluids]] that works just like a Hellhound's weapon on your Tyranid MC and upped its cost by 100+ points. That's pretty much the gist of the '''Acid Spray'''. The problem is that you have a lot of weapons with stats like that, so using an expensive MC (though well armored) that attracts fire like there's no tomorrow is a bad idea.

In terms of fluff, the Acid Spray is a Tyranid Biomorph found on larger creatures such as the [[Tyrannofex]]. This bioweapon stores huge amounts of highly acidic digestive fluids, then sprays it over a wide area. The acid melts through body armor with shocking ease and reduces its victims to shapeless goo.

===Bio-plasmic Cannon===
''See main article here: [[Plasma#Bio-Plasmic Cannon|Bio-Plasmic Cannon]]''

===Brainleech Devourer===
[[File:Brainleech_Devourer.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Brainleech Devourer]]
Get a regular Devourer and then force feed it growth horomones. You get the Brainleech variety.

The biggest of Tyranids have devourers loaded with '''Brainleech Worms''' instead, a species larger and even more aggressive and hungry than the regular devourer worms. These are used for when the [[Hive Mind]] ''really'' got sick of all these blobs and want to shower them in hungry insects.

Range: 18", S6, AP-, Assault 6. If you're not using two sets of Twin-Linked Brainleech Devourers on your Flying Hive Tyrant and any Carnifexes you're fielding, you're [[fail|doing it wrong]].

In 8th edition. It is a bigger devourer with +2 Strength and double the shots for the MONSTERS in the Tyranid force. Comes as a pair so it puts out 12 shots. Two sets of these gives 24 shots, pretty good overall, made even better with the Pathogenic Slime strategem.

===Drool Cannon===
[[File:DroolCannon.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Drool Cannon]]
The weapon with [[Derp|the funny name.]]

The Drool Cannon is a type of Tyranid Biomorph found on the [[Hive Crone]]. Protruding from the Crone's mouth, the Drool Cannon vomits a wave of digestive juices upon its foes. The acidic bile originates from sacs carried on the Crone's underbelly. Because of the way the Drool Cannon interferes with the Hive Crone's mouth, it is unknown why the Hive Mind thought it is still viable to waste resource on its sharp teeth (maybe it's retractable?).

So yeah, the Nids have literal super spit, like the [[Space Marines]], but they actually use it repeatedly rather than for [[Plot Armor|plot reasons.]] Although knowing how fast some factions fly their planes, it must be one heck of a spit for it to hit anything at all.

For crunch, it is the [[Hive Crone]]'s answer to the [[Heldrake]] Baleflamer, except lacking Torrent and a good AP value and pretty much anything good, including its icky name. Template S6 AP4.

===Fleshborer Hive===
[[File:Fleshborer_Hive.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Fleshborer Hive]]
Think the [[Leman_Russ_Battle_Tank|Leman Russ Punisher]], but replace the Punisher gun with a '''Fleshborer Hive'''. That's about it. Because sometimes you have just run out of Troops choices (how one runs out of termagants is another question), and you just need 20 Termagants worth of Fleshborer fire on a tough platform.

Consisting of a large colony of the same breed of borer beetles found in the simple fleshborer, the fanged creatures stored in the bloated sacs of the hive lay thousands of eggs that hatch and mature at a fast rate within the chambers of the brood nest.

Needless to say, this is shit. Also,the fluff states that it must periodically discharge beetles or it makes the [[Wat|Tyrannofex explode.]] [[FAIL|The Hive Mind proves its genius yet again.]] In 8th, the stats are still sucky, but it can fire twice if the Tyrannofex doesn't move. 40 shots a turn for a respectable amount of biological dakka.

In 8th edition it has recieved a much needed buff. [[Dakka|It's a Heavy 20 Fleshborer at S5.]] Because of the short range it's not as impressive as the Rupture Cannon, but the ability to bring a portable Fire Warrior squad's worth of firepower with you is nothing to scoff at, especially if it gets to shoot twice while standing still. The Scorch Bugs Stratagem makes it absolutely terrifying.

Also if you have trypophobia (fear of holes), this ''may'' not be the best weapon to use on tabletop. Chances of projectile vomiting. Too high.

[[Tl;dr]], its a weapon (that shoots bugs) that you can fire from you fucking forearm. Bioshock indeed.

===Heavy Venom Cannon===
[[File:Heavy_VC.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Heavy Venom Cannon]]
The '''Heavy Venom Cannon''' is just that: a bigger version of the Venom Cannon able to deal with bigger vehicles, and it would be a lot more reliable if it wasn't using a Blast template. Can be used against tanks up to [[Land Raider]]s, but lack the firepower to deal reliably with them and lacks the armor penetration to deal with [[MEQ]]s on a consistent basis.

It is slightly better on Carnifexes than it's littler brother is on Warriors primarily because you can actually field the things in bulk...sort of. It's still not particularly good; but it's passable on a bio-blast brood if you don't want more dakkafexes for some insane reason. In 8th, it is largely the same as the regular Venom Cannon with one more strength (S9) and 3 damage per shot making it excellent elite infantry killers and decent anti tank

===Rupture Cannon===
[[File:Rupture_Cannon.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Rupture Cannon]]
Think of it as a Tyranid Vanquisher Cannon.

If you want to stop a tank dead in its tracks, the '''Rupture Cannon''' (a fluff-wise bigger barbed strangler) is your friend. Firing two projectiles in a short succession, a tick that covers the enemy in a gooey substance, and a seed that upon impact with the goo dissolves at such speed which triggers a chemical implosion powerful enough to turn a [[Baneblade]] inside out.

That's what the fluff says, anyway - while it boasts a commanding s10, it strikes at AP 4, so MEQs don't even notice it.

In 8th however, it got horrifyingly good. It's now a 3 SHOT LASCANNON with an extra point of S, and the Tyrannofex can fire ''twice'' when it stays still. MEQs will definitely notice it now, but it's much better against vehicles; up to 6 S10 AP-3 D6 damage shots per shooting phase will ensure that even Knights and Land Raiders will feel the hurt.

===Stranglethorn Cannon===
[[File:Stranglethorn_Cannon.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Stranglethorn Cannon]]
An upscaled version of the Barbed Strangler (thus it fires much larger, stronger, and more aggressive seed-pods), the '''Stranglethorn Cannon''' has enough power to deal with even the toughest of foes, and serves as a borderline artillery weapon. The growing pod's mass of barbed tentacles can grasp onto the armor plating of vehicles and rip them to pieces.

It has the same AP as it's smaller brother, and the same blast size and pinning rule, but now it has S6 which means it can now pile on hurt better and harass light vehicles.

In 8th edition it is a bigger Barbed Strangler with +2 Strength for the MONSTERs in the Tyranid force. Keeps the above +1 to hit rule and also inflicts 1 more damage. Kills light Infantry more efficiently than the HVC. Combine with Enhanced Senses and laugh at the look on your opponent's face as a Carnifex hits on a 2+ (Only if units of 10 or more). Unfortunately still only hits on a 3+ on a carnifex with enhanced senses.

===Tentaclids===
[[File:Tentaclid2.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Tentaclid]]
Flying under the wings of Hive Crones, the '''Tentaclids''' are living seeker missiles who can chase after flying targets such as enemy aircraft and disable them with a powerful bio-electric pulse.

In terms of crunch they are the Crone's big surprise. These Babies only have S5 to their name and a re-roll to hit flying units, but if they wound a vehicle on a 4+ it deals a Mortal Wound with a 6+ dealing d3 Mortal Wounds.

Unlike before, these can actually be used again and again which kind of contradicts the fluff since Hive Crones only carry four of these things...unless of course a Tentaclid is spawned from the Hive Fleet itself and homes and attaches to the nearest Hive Crone. Or after disabling an enemy flier it just returns to its carrier crone.

==Titanic==
Here the most powerful and biggest weapons the Tyranids have are described, used by the biggest and baddest of nasties.

===Bio-Cannon===
[[File:Biocannon.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Bio-Cannon]]
The biggest motherfucking gun alive on land (Both figuratively and literally). The Bio-Cannon is a Tyranid Biomorph. Equipped on titan-sized creatures such as the [[Hierophant]] and [[Harridan]], the Bio-Cannon works like a giant Deathspitter; that is that it spews forth a hail of highly venomous and corrosive maggot organisms.

But these maggots are ECKS BAWKS HUEG to make it a threat to superheavies. These organisms like their smaller cousins, explode on impact, splattering a rain of bio-acid and poison that can melt through nearly any material in a matter of seconds. Of course how this affects esoteric shit like [[Void shield|Void Shields]] is unknown (Maybe it eats through Void Shields?).

On crunch, the Bio-Cannons comes in two since the Hierophant naturally twin-links these; they are S10 (which can double for the price of taking D3 mortal wounds, like tau units overcharging), AP-2, 2D6 damage (doubled against buildings and other TITANIC units). Its a shame it is the only Titan-grade Tyranid weapon though.

===Bio-Torpedo===
[[File:Nid_Torpedo.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Bio-Torpedo]]
Otherwise known as the Tyranid Torpedo. These things are living, breathing Torpedoes used by Bio-Ships to break open the hulls and shatter the shields of enemy vessels. Unlike most races torpedoes which has limited tracking and maneuvrability, Bio-Torpedoes could do twist and turns that no ordinary torpedoes could replicate. They are packed full of bio-plasma to fuck shit up.

It should be noted that Bio-Torpedoes look very similar to the [[Ether-Swimming Brood]].

On [[Battlefleet Gothic: Armada II]], these living weapons are just regular torpedoes, [[Derp|despite the fluff.]] Launch several of them at close range for a truly lethal torpedo-giant claw combo and [[Rape|watch the ensuing spectacle.]]
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Bio-Torpedo_launched.JPG
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===Seed Spore===
[[File:Nid_Seed_Spore.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Seed Spore]]
If the Bio-Torpedoes are the Nids answer to regular torpedoes than the Seed Spore is the Nids answer to Melta Torpedoes.

Seed Spores function the same as Bio-Torpedoes, however, the catch is that rather being filled to the brim with fuel that creates bio-plasma, the Seed Spore is packed with pyro-acid spores that blankets a large area in a toxic cloud.

On [[Battlefleet Gothic: Armada II]], these living weapons are your area-denial weapon. The clouds being spawned from a Seed Spore covers a good range and any ship within the cloud takes hull damage rather than shield damage.

===Bio-Plasma Battery===
''See main article here: [[Bio-Plasma Battery]]''

===Pyro-Acid Battery===
[[File:Pyro-Acid_Battery_2.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Pyro-Acid Battery]]
The [[Dick|giant phallic weapons]] found only on Bio-Ships.

Essentially the Tyranids version of a [[Exterminatus|Macro-Weapon mixed in with a Flamer/Chem-thrower.]] Pyro-acid Batteries are a kind of Weapons Battery used on Tyranid Bio-ships. Launching toxins and pyro-acids, these gigantic Biomorphs can cause considerable damage on impact to enemy ships. Moreover, after impact, they unleash hordes of smaller Tyranid creatures into the ship, and these often prove more deadly than the weapon itself.

On [[Battlefleet Gothic: Armada II]], these things can be found on either the mouth or portside of a Bio-Ship. Most often than not, these things are the most [[Dakka]] weapons of a Hive Fleet, able to dish out an enormous amount of acidic fire and criticals while also ignoring shields, in contrast to slower firing weapons like the Drool Cannon for example. [[Orks]] [[Shitstorm|shit themselves a new one]] when face against these things, [[Necrons]] however...not so much.

The weapon comes in two forms like the [[Bio-Plasma Battery]]. There is the much larger Discharge Artillery which is mounted on the front hull of the ship. That gives it longer range at the expanse of fire rate. Then these are the batteries which are mounted on the starboard and port of the vessel. They have greater firepower at the expanse of range.
<gallery>
Image:Pyro-Acid_Battery.JPG
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==Inbuilt==
Certain weapons used by the Tyranids are part of the creatures themselves, instead of being addition to the arms/back.

===Bio-Electric Pulse===
[[File:Bio-Electric_Pulse.jpg|150px|right|thumb|Bio-Electric Pulse]]
Built into the Trygon, a electrical charge is build up by the creature as it moves, allowing a powerful and [[Dakka|large]] discharge. The Trygon Prime increases the range of this blast, and doubles its rate of fire.

It is also great for tunneling which is a plus for the Trygon. They use their bio-static charge to assist with tunneling, as their tunnels have been found coated with a fused, glass-like silicate layer on the inside. This effect stabilizes the tunnel walls and prevents them from collapsing behind a burrowing Trygon. Which is stupid when given the weight and size of the Trygon. Unless it is smooth like a [[Adeptus Custodes|lubed bannana]], then there is no way such glass would withstand such violent digging. Furthermore, large vehicles and some animals could burrow efficiently without needing to turn their surroundings to glass. So this ability is quite redundant unless the Nids want to transport smaller grubs along its merry adventure.

If you don't know, the Bio-Electric Pulse IS the Trygon's carapace armor.

===Bio-Plasma===

''See main article here: [[Plasma#Bio-Plasma|Bio-Plasma]]''

===Cluster Spines===
[[File:Cluster_Spines.jpg|150px|right|thumb|Cluster Spines]]
Just imagine a porcupine that shoot out its spines or a [[Lizardmen]]'s Razordon.

The largest Tyranids have banks of spines build into their carapaces that they can fire when under stress. Consisting of rows of quills embedded into the carapaces of the equipped creature like a giant Porcupine. These spines are dense and hollow like a Frag Grenade and explode upon impact like one, dealing significant damage to anything in the area of impact over considerable distances. Of course, it is unknown whether these are single shot or multi-use.

Fired into densely packed groups of enemies, these spines can saturate large areas with needle-sized slivers, making them a potent anti-infantry weapon. Although given on where the Tyranid would like to grow its spines, [[Fail|it can also end up hitting nothing but air.]]

Its more anti-armor version is the Stinger Salvo.

===Flesh Hooks===
[[File:FleshHooks.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Flesh Hooks]]
Flesh Hooks are sharp barbs attached to long, sinewy tentacles, which are kept coiled close to the Lictor's rib cage, until they are fired by a powerful muscle spasm. They are the Tyranid's answer to Scorpion's sting from Mortal Kombat. So don't be too surprise if Nid players shout "Get Over Here!" every once in a while.

Until 5th Edition edition came out, nearly any species of Gaunt, Warrior and more could use these. They are long bony spines with barbed hooks on the end that serve as both harpoons and possible grapnel for climbing. The Lictor can use these hooks either to scale sheer obstacles, or to snag luckless prey and drag it into the Lictor's waiting claws. Now they're Lictor and Warrior/Shrike only (Carnifexes have access to Spine Banks, which are similar), count as Frag Grenades, and can be fired for a surprisingly deadly shot.

===Grasping Tongue===
[[File:Grasping_Tongue.jpg|150px|right|thumb|Grasping Tongue]]
The ultimate OM NOM NOM NOM NOM.

The Grasping Tongue is less of a tongue and more of a mound of tentacle claws attached to a giant mouth. This is a weapon you can see in every [[/d/|tentacle hentai]] ever and not be surprised at all.

Though technically part of an [[Haruspex]]'s body, it can use its long tongue to snag an enemy, pluck it out of its unit and devour it whole.

For 8th edition crunch, everyone's favorite [[Rape|tentacle rape]] got a pretty good buff; it's rather fierce at S6 AP-3 and d3 damage, it gains further use since it can be used within close range and regains a wound if it kills something, so it can add to survivability.

===Ripper Tentacles===
[[File:Ripper_Tentacle.jpg|110px|right|thumb|Ripper Tentacles]]
No. They are in no way related to the small, petite living stomachs called the [[Ripper|Rippers]].

However, they do bare resemblance to other tentacle-themed enemies in science fiction (cue hentai tentacle rape jokes). Possibly why this and the Mycetic Spore was canned cause they ain't copyrightable enough for GW.

Used by Mycetic Spores, the tentacles themselves consist of thick ropes of muscles and tendon. Drawn to movement, any moving foe within reach of the Tentacles will be thoroughly smashed like dough on a kitchen board.

On tabletop, these are long-ranged tentacles able to do significant damage to medium-sized blobs thanks to their high rate of fire (strange choice of words when the weapon in question is akin to beating someone over the head with a tentacle).

Of course with the fact that the [[Mycetic Spore]] has all but been <s>squatted</s> replaced by the far more modern and up-to-date [[Sporocyst]] the canon was ''almost'' all but up in the air with these Tentacles. Thankfully, the [[Venomthrope]] and [[Toxicrene]] kind of bought them back into reality.

===Spore Mine Cysts===
[[File:Spore_Mine_Cysts.jpg|150px|right|thumb|Spore Mine Cysts]]
Build into the underside of a Harpy, you can have it drop a Spore Mine onto something it flew over once per game as if it was making a bombing run. The same rules for the Spore Mines as stated above count here as well. Some players have gone their way to make the Harpies ''carry'' the Spore Mines. Of course, most modern equivalent of the Spore Cyst are the two stubby looking anuses behind a Harpy. So yes, the Tyranids can actually shit explosive submunitions on their enemies.

Unfortunately it is a pretty outdated weapon, dating back to 4th edition.

In 4th Edition, Spore Cysts are found on larger Tyranids and are excretion pits for the creation of Spore Mines. The symbiotic relationship between creature and spore cyst is such that they cannot be separated once formed.

===Stinger Salvo===
[[File:Stinger_Salvo.jpg|150px|right|thumb|Stinger Salvo]]
Think of it as a giant Spinefist.

Works comparable to the Cluster Spines, except this is more of a barrage of large solid spikes akin to the spinefists rather than a densely hollow spines. Powerful muscular contractions spray the spikes out to skewer enemy infantry and pierce the toughest of armor.

Think of this as the anti-armor variant of the Cluster Spine's anti-infantry. Although they can both harm either infantry or armored divisions when peppered sufficiently with spines/spikes. Just like the Cluster Spine, the Stinger Salvo is a weapon who practicality is only viable given on where the Tyranid would like to put it, turning into a living, breathing spike bomb into a fairly useless weapon that rains spikes cause the dumb idiot placed its Stinger Salvo a tad bit too high.

===Thorax Swarm===
[[File:Thorax_Swarm.jpg|150px|right|thumb|Thorax Swarm]]
Certain Tyranids can issue forth swarms of bugs living in their thoraxes to devour anything in short range. These creatures erupt from openings in their host's chest to drown the enemy in a deadly cloud that chews out eyes and crawls down throats. These swarms come in three flavors:

*'''Electroshock Grubs:''' These grubs are insects who electrocute anything they grab onto for a damaging attack, anything caught in between this energy is reduced to a charred ruin.
*'''Desiccator Larvae:''' These are grubs who drain the target's body of all of its moisture within seconds, leaving only a dry husk. This means that once fully bloated, they would be one huge grub seeing how the Human body is like what, 75% water.

*'''Shreddershard Beetles:''' Instinctively crawl into any nook and crevice on their victims such as those between armor joints. They are bugs who Rend their way through their targets, exploding in shards of needles.
<gallery>
Thorax_Swarm_D.JPG|Thorax Swarm from a [[Dimachaeron]].
</gallery>

==Melee==
Every Tyranid organism has at least rows of sharp teeth and deadly claws, but some go an extra mile.

===Claws and Teeth===
[[File:Claws and Teeth.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Claws and Teeth]]
Your most vanilla of close combat Tyranid weapons.

The Claws and Teeth are basic Tyranid Biomorphs equipped to even the most simplest of organisms, such as Rippers. These razor-sharp claws and maws of fangs allow them to rip apart enemies. There's nothing spectacular about them, and thus there is nothing interesting about them.

On tabletop, Claws and Teeth are the stock CCW for your Rippers and Termies. (And Zoanthropes as well, but really those guys don’t belong in combat in most cases). They do moderate damage against GEQs and fair pretty bad when it comes to MEQs and above, requiring sheer weight of numbers to be even remotely effective.

All in all, Claws and Teeth is only used when someone really wants to use up all their attacks or that they are '''''THAT''''' desperate.

===Acid Maw===
[[File:Acid_Maw.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Acid Maw]]
To aid them in the digestion of a world's biomass, Pyrovores drool a highly corrosive acid that can dissolve pretty much anything. The downside is that they need to focus all their energy on making a successful bite attack, diminishing their potential damage output.

Some creatures also have a powerful tongue dripping with corrosive acids that can be used to snare prey and bring them in for consumption and digestion while leaving other limbs free for other tasks.

In 8th edition, the Acid Maw is now the primary CCW of the former biggest joke of 40k, the Pyrovore, now with S5 and AP-3 on all (i.e. both) its attacks. Can also be taken by Genestealers. '''DO THIS''', [[Awesome|they're basically free power swords for every 4 models in a unit.]]

There's even an upgrade called the '''Monstrous Acid Maw'''. Which is an option for the Carnifex, with S6 AP-5 and d3 damage. Because you really want to make sure somebody won't get its armor save. Doesn't replace any other melee weapons either, so you can always use the talons if you want more reliable damage. Mutually exclusive with Enhanced Senses, Bio-Plasma, and Tusks.

===Lash Whip===
[[File:LashWhipBit.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Lash Whip]]
Tyranids have also learned to Whip it Good!

A classic and the source of many a [[rule 34]], they allow its user to strike much faster than they normally could, getting a blow in before the enemy can. More seriously though, a Lash Whip is a Tyranid Bio-weapon in the form of a living whip with three tentacles of muscle and sinew that writhe of their own accord and strike at their prey, independently of their wielder's actions.

A Lash Whip has a small body contained within a bony tube which forms the handle of the whip, and has three tentacles which form the rest of its body. The creature survives by slicing flesh from its victims and consuming them.

The weapon suffers from not being effective against armored enemies, though. Provided you're not a venomthrope this is paired with a bone-sword with AP 3 which makes this combo death-incarnate for MEQ

===Feeder Tendrils===
[[File:Feeder_Tendrils.JPG|150px|right|thumb|Feeder Tendrils]]

Basically the Brain Bug from Starship Troopers and the first part of the Cthulhu fan club's uniform.

Feeder Tendrils are a special organs of some Tyranid's organisms (Lictors, for example) that able them to drain the dead victim's brain matter, absorbing all of its memories and knowledge. This provide the Tyranids with the information about enemy's strong and weak spots and other reconnaissance data.

On 8th Edition tabletop, Feeder Tendrils are no longer considered weapons but as a form of Strategem for some reason. Feeder Tendrils lets you gamble on a 2/3 chance to make a CP profit. Or more specifically, when a Genestealer, Lictor, Venomthrope, or Toxicrene kills a Character in the Fight Phase, it gain D3 CP.

At the very least, this is effectively free since gaining 1 CP will still be enough to negate the cost of using the Stratagem in the first place. More often, it'll let you turn opposing characters into an opportunity for bonus CP.

===Rending Claws===
[[File:Rendingclaw.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Rending Claws]]

The iconic claws of Genestealers and the origin of the Rending rule, these claws are both incredibly sharp and hard; tipped in extremely dense diamond-hard chitin. Powered by the overdeveloped musculature and steel-like tendons of a Tyranid, rending claws become capable of ripping open Ceramite and thick armor with ease as well as fatally shredding flesh and bone; allowing you to pick apart even a [[Terminator]] with ease.

Crunchwise, Rending Claws are a cheap AP-1 weapon, with Rending being replaced with a 6+ on a wound roll giving the attack AP-4. There is also an upgrade called '''Monstrous Rending Claws''', which deal AP-3 D3 Damage, on a 6+ on a wound roll makes the attack AP-6 and a flat 3 damage. Also confers re-rolls to wound, which allow for more 'rending' 6s and is important as the Tyrant generally needs higher numbers to hurt things now than in previous editions. Considering that they are also FREE, the claws should be your go-to melee weapon of choice for the Hive Tyrant.

===Scything Talons===
[[File:ScythingTalon.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Scything Talons]]

The long, bladed weapons you see on Tyranids of all sizes. These weapons are long, razor-edged claws resembling fused talons made of Chitin and serrated bone-like substances. Each talon is powered by whipcord muscles to stab, slash, and eviscerate victims with lightning-fast swipes. They can pierce very light armor as found on [[Ork]]s and the like, but tougher armor will likely stop the blows. Overall, the basic Tyranid melee weapon.

In 5th Edition they were a lot better because they gave rerolls to failed To Hit rolls (only the ones with one pair, but all of them if you have two pairs), at the slight loss of not being able to penetrate even the lightest of armors.

In 8th Edition, Scything Talons now allow a model to re-roll to hit rolls of 1 when attacking with this weapon (something they used to do back in 5th). In addition, if the model has more than one pair, they can make 1 additional attack with this weapon. It is confirmed via FAQ that multiple sets of talons grant only +1 attack total, not +1 per set; this applies for all sizes of Scything Talons.

There is also the '''Monstrous Scything Talons''' (For the big bois), which are found on Tyrants and the Carnifex. Same rules as above but AP-3, 3 Damage. If that's not enough for you, than we have the even bigger '''Massive Scything Talons''' which is only found on Tervigons, Maleceptor, Trygon and Trygon Primes and are AP-3, D6 Damage.

===Bonesword===
[[File:BoneswordBit.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Bonesword]]

Psychic swords that feed off the life force of their target, they can inflict Instant Death and tear through Space Marines with ease.

A Bonesword is living organism, which has a small brain situated deep within its hilt and has a rudimentary sentience that allows it to gradually [[Dick|grow in length]] and repair any battle damage to itself and maintain a deadly monomolecular edge. However, it is completely slaved to the will of its wielder and is incapable of any independent thought.

The weapon is made of chitin and constantly crackles with powerful psychic energy that flows along embedded nerve tendrils to create a psychic field around the blade, effectively creating a biological version of a [[Force weapon|force weapon.]] This energy amplifies in potency when in close proximity to another Bonesword, such as when used in pairs. It is serrated on both edges and was originally a creature's massively elongated horn.

[[/d/|The Bonesword can generate a powerful surge of psychic energy when stimulated by its user.]]

===Bone Sabre===
[[File:Bonesabre.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Bonesabre]]

Badass Boneswords used by the [[Swarmlord]], it can use these weapons in a barrage of blades to ward off incoming melee attacks.

They differ from commonly seen Tyranid Boneswords in that each Sabre has a crystalline growth, not indigenous to the galaxy, at its core that partially protrudes through the blade's serrated surface. The Swarmlord can parry with these sabres at such speed that its foes find it all but impossible to inflict a hit on the creature.

Crunchwise, they are 4++ in CC only. Also INSTANT DEATH ON ANY SUCCESSFUL CUT. Not just on sixes. Swarmy may have a place still.

===Sickle Claws===
[[File:Sickle_Claws.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Sickle Claws]]
Imagine the Rending Claws from a [[Genestealer]], now extrapolate its size to fit on something the size of a [[Carnifex]]. What do you get? [[Rape|A whole load of pain that's what.]]

Sickle Claws are found exclusively only on the [[Dimachaeron]], an elusive Tyranid creature that is competing with the [[Ripper]], [[Mawloc]] and [[Haruspex]] on who is the biggest OMNOMNOM of them all. These giant rape machines could tear open vehicles as easily as Rending Claws could make [[Terminator]]s [[Anal circumference|bend over.]]

Crunchwise, on 8th Edition, these are the Dimachaeron's pride and joy, sporting [[Rape|S10 AP-2 and D3 Damage, but to hit roll of 6 pump it up to AP-4 and D6.]] Honestly, you would think that ''these'' things would be better suited for the [[Genestealer Patriarch]] and the [[Broodlord]] right?

===Grasping Talons===
[[File:Grasping_Talons_Lictor.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Grasping Talons]]
The Scything Talons' bigger brother.

Grasping Talons are overly enlarged talons found on either the [[Lictor]] or the [[Dimachaeron]] that looks more like a preying mantis claw than anything else. The enlarged talon and muscle mass allows them to puncture through thick flesh (Or multiples) much easier than regular Scything Talons. In the case of the Dimachaeron, it has two of these bad boys per hand, cause fuck you that's why.

In 8th Edition, the Grasping Talons are the Lictor's other weapon, these deal 2 Damage and AP-1. Don't go through armour as well, but against multi-wound low-armour models like [[Grotesque]] and [[Nob|Nobz]], they're fantastic. On the Dimachaeron however, since these guys basically have two of them per hand, are S+1 AP2 Talons that, when it rolls one or more 6 to-hit, gives an attack on an unwieldy S+4 AP1 ID claw that can [[Awesome|kill anything smaller than Extremely Bulky]].

<gallery>
Grasping_Talons.JPG|Dimachaeron's.
</gallery>

===Scything Tail===
[[File:Scything_Tail.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Scything Tail]]

A Scything Talon found on a tail.

Sometimes known as the '''Tail Scythe''' or '''Thresher Scythe'''. Scything Tails occurs on larger Tyranids, it is effectively the tail of the creature given a scythe edge, often used to sweep through large numbers of lightly armored enemies. They can also tear through armor like it's nothing, be able to morph into maces capable of punching holes in tanks or be equipped with stingers containing highly lethal toxins.

In 8th Edition, the Tail Scythe is now known as the Thresher Scythe and it is a S4, AP-1 D1 weapon. Its special ability is that it can make D3 hit rolls for each attack made with this weapon instead of a 1. This makes it complementary to the Wrecker Claws and Bio-Flail combo.

===Crushing Claws===
[[File:Crushing_Claws.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Crushing Claws]]

Crushing Claws AKA [[Meme|''CRAB PEOPLE! CRAB PEOPLE!'']] are a Tyranid Bio-weapon of huge crab-like claws found on the largest Tyranid organisms, the only creatures capable of hefting the enormous bulk of the claws, such as Carnifexes. The claws are obscenely strong and powerful enough to destroy multiple opponents in one swoop or easy cut through the toughest vehicle armor.

Used only by [[Carnifex]]es, [[Tervigon]]s and [[Tyrant Guard]], this massive pair of crab-like claws grants S+1, AP2, Armourbane and Unwieldy. Not very interesting for the Tervigon because its role is really nothing more than sitting on an objective, shitting out as many Gaunts as it can. Carnifexes on the other hand have pretty much lost their utility as linebreakers, you're better off running them as a dakkafex and letting Trygons do the heavy lifting. They are not very interesting on Tyrant Guard either, given their prohibitive cost and they make them swing very slow: it is best to use the Rending Claws and have them do the job.

===Wrecker Claws===
[[File:Wrecker_Claw.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Wrecker Claws]]
Crushing Claws on steroids.

Wrecker Claws are immense claws covered in diamond-hard chitin and ultra-dense bone to enable it crush the armor of vehicles with relative ease. These things are nothing more than living power shears and its nature of violently ripping apart even the most heavily armored of foes would strike fear in the hearts of feeble men.

In 7th Edition, Stone Crusher Carnifex comes automatic with two Wrecker Claws. They are allowed to re-roll all failed Armour Penetration rolls, as well as add one to the result if against immobile structures and fortifications (on top of the +2 granted by the Wrecker Claws AP1 value) when using their Wrecker Claws. Although the Stone Wrecker Carnifex has less attacks than the Carnifex (two compared to three) any attack that goes through is more than likely going to cause an Explodes!

You can swap out one of the Wrecker Claws with a Bio-Flail for maximum FUCK YOU!

===Bio-Flail===
[[File:WreckingBall.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Bio-Flail]]

Otherwise known as the '''Wrecking Ball''' or '''Stone Crusher'''. The Stone-Crusher is a Tyranid close combat Biomorph most commonly encountered on the Stone-Crusher Carnifex and is nothing more than a large mass of bone, chitin and flesh. Designed for urban battles, the Stone-Crusher is rammed through a wall using the Carnifex's immense strength then pulled backwards to wrench the entire structure down.

In 7th Edition, Stone Crushers turn a Carnifex into a living battering ram. Wrecker Claw and Bio-Flail replaces their ability to re-roll amour penetration on their regular attacks with the ability to cause Instant Death and gain a new rule, Sweep Attack. Sweep Attack allows a model to replace all their attacks with a number of attacks equal to the number of enemy models in base contact with them. This allows a Stone Crusher Carnifex with a Wrecker Claw and Bio-Flail to generate more attacks and stops it being tarpitted as easily, while the trade off is that they may find it harder to destroy vehicles.
{{clear}}

=== Feeder Tentacles ===

[[File:Feeder_Tentacles.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Feeder Tentacles]]
Basically a giant version of the Feeder Tendril.

Feeder Tentacles are enormous tentacles used by some Tyranid Bio-Ships to feed on planetary atmospheres. They can also be used as weapons against enemy vessels. The tentacles are strong enough to punch through a ship's hull and inject smaller Tyranid organisms into it to run amok, causing enormous damage to the ship's critical systems.

In [[Battlefleet Gothic: Armada II]]. These are your boarding crafts. However, unlike the other faction's boarding craft, the Feeder Tentacles is arguably the most powerful as once attached, it is very hard to let go. This allows a continuous stream of Nids to swarm an enemy ship, which would absolutely devastate opposing crew members; often leaving an empty hulk once it is done. This is offset by its shit range, however.

[[Tl;dr]], the ultimate OM NOM NOM machine.

=== Great Claws ===
[[File:Tyranid_Great_Claws.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Great Claws]]
Sometimes known as Massive Claws.

Great Claws is the Claws and Teeth of a regular Tyranid organism grown to voidship-sized proportions. The ''other'' ultimate OM NOM NOM machine. All bio-ships with a Great Claw upgrade is a designated battering ram and function similarly to the armoured prow of an [[Imperial Navy]] and [[Ork]] warship. Despite the similarities, the Tyranid Great Claws are definitely the best CQC space weapon in the entire game.

This is helped by the fact that it is an actual appendage, meaning that once it latches on to something, it would continue to mulch and crush anything within its massive maw. In [[Battlefleet Gothic: Armada II]], this translates to a [[Awesome|continuous damage dealer]] in contrast to the one-off damage done by an armoured prow. Whilst it has less even ''less'' range, does not permanently latch on to its target and dump an unholy amount of bodies like the Feeder Tentacles, Great Claws do not have a cooldown and it is always 'on'. Moreover, Great Claws deals a metric shit ton of damage to a target's health, completely ignoring any shields present and just chews on it until it goes boom, whereas a ship-turned-drifting hulk done-in by a Feeder Tentacle could always be reoccupied by the enemy if not careful.

[[Category: Warhammer 40,000]]

[[Category: Xenos]]

[[Category: Tyranid]]

{{40k-Tyranid-Weapons}}

{{40k-GenestealerCults-Weapons}}

{{Tyranids-Creatures}}

Tyranid

2021-12-07T02:50:32Z

2600:1700:D210:6580:3C8B:3BC9:11A4:4216: /* 'Masters of Evolution'? */

{{Heresy}}
[[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|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]]}}
{{Topquote|The only good bug is a dead bug.|[[Starship Troopers]] (1997)}}

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==

[[File:Nidhoggr Hive Tyrant.jpeg|400px|thumb|left|Your cooperation is not necessary but is appreciated.]]

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 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 (actually gribbles, according to Warhammer 40k' official Facebook page). 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 less and less recycled biomass, so a Hive assaulting a high-tech heavily fortified fortress loses some of its total biomass bit-by-bit, but there are few cases where the Tyranids really bite off more than they can chew (well... as per the backstories of the codices, tyranids are good only for one thing: to be beaten by literally everything. And as per the rules.... well, same here). 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 titan who fathered the gods, 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 most 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.]]

On a smaller note, thanks to the Devastation of Baal, it has been confirmed that Tyranid troops and monsters aren't even singular organisms. Instead, each is 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? [[Squig|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.

But even worse than all of this is the fact that perhaps it is not the Tyranids the galaxy should be fearing, ''but what they're running from''.

==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 its influences. Though it should be noted humans are the only playable 40k race that is vulnerable to chaos, besides those few orks that openly worship Khorne.

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. They did fight once, and it was [[Fall of Shadowbrink|hilarious]].

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 another god-entity we've yet to meet, is unclear. More info about their relations [[Malal#Malal_and_the_Tyranids|here]].
[[image:AdvancedSpaceCrusade.jpg|300px|thumb|Right|An image of the original appearance of Tyranids. Why yes, that thing has a dick. No, we don't know why.]]

=='Masters of Evolution'?==

In real life, evolution is not about being the strongest/fastest thing around. It means adapting to fill specific niches that aren't already full.

So, it should be noted that the Tyranids have been hit with the idiot ball a couple of times recently, which has led some to believe and fear that the Nids are quickly approaching [[Avatar of Khaine]] levels of [[Star Trek|Worf]] [[Nerf|nerfing]]. From an entire [[Hive Fleet]] being ''somehow'' tricked into an [[FAIL|evolutionary dead-end]] by the [[Bullshit|TAU]] of [[EPIC FAIL|ALL PEOPLE]] to the [[Swarmlord]] getting its shit kicked in just before attempting to use its killing blow on whatever random hero of the day. The status of the Great Devourer being a threatening force seems to be chipped in little by little. Indeed, when you hear statements that entire Hive Fleets could literally ''STARVE'' to death if they don't Nom constantly or that the [[Harridan]] [[EPIC FAIL|DIES by just simply landing on the ground,]] it kind of undermines the horrors that Black Library writers and GW themselves like to sell on the Nids. Furthermore, as [[Devastation of Baal]] showcased, the Nids may be adaptable, but they are not infallible if the Thirstwater from Baal Secundus was anything to go by. Thirstwater is one of those microorganisms so dangerous and abstract that even the [[Hive Mind]] shat bricks, as it literally could not find a solution to bypass its ridiculous moisture-sucking power.

This is made worse with the recent release of the Belisarius Cawl novel, in which it outright confirms that the Nids ONLY consume the surface of a planet, whilst leaving organisms living beneath the surface mostly unmolested because the Hive Mind [[Wat|physically could not penetrate deep enough onto the planet's crust,]] which is why Cawl was able to literally re-terraform Nommed worlds like Sotha and Baal Primus. Mix in the fact that the Nids consume a typical world for a lengthy 60-100 days on average and it turns out that the Great Devourer isn't even really that great at devouring shit if sub-surface life could literally weather a Nid invasion.

The crux of the problem (And a problem that GeeDubs is quickly realizing as a major fuckup, narratively speaking) lies in balancing. Despite contrary beliefs, the 40k universe is not an omnipotent, overpowered force that could crush everything in their way because BIGGATONS! No, if this was the case, Chaos would have won a long time ago. The reality is that WH40k lies on the foundations of the balance of power; no faction (Other than the Tau who are irrelevant) has absolute domination among the others, to do so would break the status quo. Hence why the Chaos Gods aren't omnipotent, neither is the Imperium, the Orks, Necrons, and most definitely Tyranids. If one breaks the status quo, the balance of power is broken and that would destroy 40k as we know it. This means that the power of the Tyranids needs to be capped or the balance would be broken. In the hands of a good or decent writer, one could still pull off why the Nids are a threat whilst gimping its ''potential'' power levels (See [[Devastation of Baal]]). But in the hands of a bad writer (See [[Robin Cruddace]]) it makes the Nids absolutely downright pathetic as they constantly self-sabotage themselves because the [[Hive Mind]] pulled a [[Derp]] and the opposing teams have a shit ton of [[Plot armour]]. So while GW has been trying to make the Nids threatening (Silent King returning to wake up his folks to deal with them, main Hive Fleets are merely scouting tendrils, Nids could out-adapt everything, etc), the actual given substance has been...[[Skub|a mixed bag at best.]]

All in all, it is ironic that the Hive Mind seems to be encountering all of the same problems that [[Failbaddon]] did before Gathering Storm: ie, the inability to show the Nids' true potential because it would upset the status quo and therefore, needs to be gimped by the writers so as to not overwhelm the other factions. Smaller factions like the Tau have their potential fully realized and some more due to [[Plot Armor]]; not giving a fuck about consistency as they are too small to upset the status quo and therefore, somehow [[Rage|excuse the Tau in pulling ridiculous feats]] [[Bullshit|as everyone around them got hit in the head with the]] [[Fail|Idiot Ball]], but since any major fight that resulted in the Tyranids winning would result in one or more factions being wiped out, they are forever denied those decisive victories. However, they have just won the [[Octarius War]], and are now more powerful than, but what will happen next has yet to be seen.
In other words, having a faction that simply eats everything and moves on to the next galaxy in an IP where they're a threat to the existence of every other faction tends to produce some narrative issues.

==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. One of the most notable differences is that they look almost completely different to their "modern" (aka [[4th edition]] ) iteration, resembling something out of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weird_fiction Weird fiction.] [[Tyranid Warrior]]s resemble giant turkeys, [[Carnifex| Carnifexes]] are bulky 4 scything armed screaming monstrosities, and instead of being a giant brain on a floating snake body, the [[Zoanthrope]] [[Wat|is a stubby humanoid bug person with a GIANT exposed brain forehead.]] This is likely a side effect of Tyranids initially being a faction that existed to merge several races from [[Rogue Trader]] into a single coherent faction (like the aforementioned [[Genestealer,]] ) as well as the setting in general finding its footing and identity.

Tyranids had a reputation back then of being not only rare and expensive due to most of their range being metal, but also of being one of the [[Cheese|STRONGEST]] armies in the game. In spite of their limited unit roster Tyrands had all manner of upgrades, such as one that allowed a [[Carnifex]] to [[List of 40K Cheese| '''regenerate to full wound count with lucky dice rolls if it was killed''']]. Another example was the "Jones is acting strangely" card (spoiler: one of your opponent's infantry models explodes with the same blast effect as if he'd been hit by a Barbed Strangler). Finally, there was a fun little card that created a tiny, but very, VERY angry Tyranid lurker INSIDE one of your opponent's vehicles. For context, keep in mind that in 2nd, each vehicle position actually had a crewman in it, and these crewmen could individually be killed. Therefore this critter would, in theory, wait for the right moment to pounce out of its dark corner to claw the vehicle crew's faces off. While the lurker would almost certainly be killed, in the meantime the crew would be ''very'' distracted, which was especially hilarious if it managed to kill the driver when the vehicle was moving.
Naturally this made Tyranids '''THE''' army for players to [[Butthurt|sperg on about how they were completely overpowered]] because they countered armies like the Space Marines and general Imperial factions with complete EASE. [[Robin Cruddace| And then one of them]] was given a job at GW and it all went downhill from there for the space bugs.

===3rd Edition===
6 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. Few of these 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 seriously lacked effective long range support as well. While they possessed 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 (this is still true in 2021). 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:Haruspex.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Is it me, or does the [[Haruspex]] look like it belongs in a [[/d/|bad hentai movie?]] ]]
----
Again, this one was a mix of good and bad. On the bad side, 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%.

On the good side, this one introduced the first piece of lore that showed Tyranids actually winning for a change (the [[Fall of Shadowbrink|Shadowbrink]] campaign, during which they own the Chaos Daemons) rather than coming close to winning but failing at the last minute due to the 'heroic' actions of some character who appears out of nowhere (looking at you Calgar and Yriel), and also gave us the Hive Crone, a killer anti-flyer unit that finally gave us a reliable option to beat Kelly's supercharged Dark Eldar (first by walking over their paper planes and then by liquefying infantry in and outside transports with the flame template). Carnifexes got to use crushing claws as power fists (as they have crap initiative Unwieldy doesn't matter, especially when you get to raise their Strength to 10) and the Exocrine was introduced to become the bane of Space Marines with its AP 2 cannon.

To compensate for Cruddace's additional nerfing, 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. '''**SSSS rippaaaahhhssss will be put in crudfacessss bedssss for what he hasssss done to ussssss**'''

===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.

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===
Tyranids were an early-middle codex release of 8th and at that time were a contextually powerful army mostly due to how fast they were, 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 and big monsters for heavier damage. Carnifexes received a less-nerfed range of biomorphs, and proved to be useful and cheap Swiss-army knives capable of fulfilling a variety of roles.

Nevertheless, despite ostensibly being a melee focused army, Tyranids continued to suffer from relatively low strength melee attacks which compensate for their lowered wound chance by having higher damage. This means that while they dealt a lot of damage when they wound a vehicle it's a toss-up as to whether or not they could 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 still died in droves and our big guys were either very good or just suck, the mid-sized bugs were decent but tended to require some planning to make the most of them. For example, Lictors were fragile but useful as deep strike beacons, Warriors and Raveners were a bit overcosted but could stick around much longer than before now that Instant Death is gone, and Zoanthropes were stuck as the obligatory Smite spammers.

As of 2020 Tyranids are once again severely hampered by ongoing codex creep and FAQs, with and have reverted to a reputation of being lacklustre. It was hoped that Blood of Baal would bring some updates, and indeed it did, but as usual everything else got more and stronger updates, and even new models in some cases.
It would have been good to put Genestealer Cults and 'nids in one book, like Eldar and DE, but nope, you can buy two, yay.

===9th Edition===
The changes made to the core rules were something of a mixed bag for the Tyranids. On the plus side, Monsters received two huge buffs; they can move and shoot heavy weaponry without penalty and can even fire these (non-blast) weapons ''while'' they're in melee. Getting into melee is also much safer than ever before, since Overwatch is now a once-per-phase stratagem (unless you're the [[Tau]]). However, the addition of blast weaponry and the changes to unit coherency have severely punished swarm builds while additional changes to melee combat hamper the damage they can deal when tarpitting other units. Other than that, the power creep left over from 8th edition is still very much in effect and much of what the Tyranids have access to simply pales in comparison to the slew of shiny toys and abilities being handed over to the Space Marines. However, with the release of the Imperial Armor Compendium, most of their [[Forge World]] units have gained some significant buffs that make some of the larger units to become more viable, with Dimachaerons being able to jump over terrain and enemy models, Harridans gaining the Aircraft keyword (yes, this is important), Hierodules becoming about 40% cheaper and being moved to Heavy Support (making them viable), and Hierophants that can now be fielded in non-Apocalypse games.

==See Also==
*[[Tyranid Bio-Weapons]]
*[[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).
*[[Tyranid Hive Fleet Creation Tables]]
*[[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Tyranids (9E)|Tactics on how to play them.]]
*[[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 no clear Warhammer Fantasy counterpart 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.
*[[Gland War Veteran]]

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

== Gallery ==

{{Promotions}}

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Image:20141009_193455.jpg There's always a bigger fish, And the tyranids are no exception [[cat]]
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Thus far the Cutenids. From down here there be many [[promotions]]. Abandon all hope ye who enter here.

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Image:Tyranid maid.jpg|I'd let her clean up my biomass, if you know what I mea-{{BLAM}}
Image:Beachnid.jpg|Fun in the sun.
Image:Hardworkingtyranidmaid_anonib.jpg
Image:1230051355300.gif
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| Some speculations on the nature of Norn Queens are more [[heresy|heretical]] than others.
Image:Colorassnid.jpg
Image:Sexynid.jpg
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[[Category: NSFW]]

[[Category: PROMOTIONS]]

[[Category: Warhammer 40,000]]

[[Category: Xenos]]

[[Category: Tyranid]]

[[Category: Monstergirls]]