Von Ryan's Leaper
Nobody knows who the fuck Von Ryan is/was, but he must be pretty damn important to have an entire Tyranid organism named after him. The Von Ryan's Leaper is a new species of Tyranid that first made its debut in 10th Edition. They sort of resemble a mixture of a Lictor, a Velociraptor and a Hormagaunt, so yeah...
Overview[edit | edit source]
Von Ryan's Leapers are Tyranid creatures whose swift, agile, and utterly lethal nature, makes them the ultimate ambush predators. Like their name implies, these guys like to jump, a lot. And given their close-quarters specialisation, they kind of fit the mode of the Tyranids' answer to Assault Marines and other forms of close-range assault squads.
Unlike the larger, normally solitary Lictors, Leapers are pack-hunters and they emerge in groups to eviscerate the Tyranids' enemies. Leapers take genetic elements from Hormagaunts and Lictors, combining their best qualities to create a deadly melee threat. They move exceedingly fast thanks to their balancing tails.
Leapers are all armed with two Grasping Talons and two smaller secondary Scything Talons. They do possess the Feeder Tendrils of a Lictor, but theirs are more grossly underdeveloped in comparison. Like most Tyranid organisms, Leapers are protected by a layer of Chitin.
Trivia[edit | edit source]
- It should come as a surprise that the Von Ryan's Leaper isn't a entirely new creature made for 10th Edition. The name is actually much older, as they were first mentioned in the 3rd Edition Tyranid Codex as well as in the Warhammer 40,000 Trading Card Game. It was just that nobody knew what they looked like until 10th Edition came rolling out.
- These wouldn't necessarily be the first case of such a thing, as the Parasite of Mortrex showed up last edition despite having had rules from 4th and 5th edition.