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* ItCanThink - The larger "synapse" Tyranid creatures certainly can. However, these creatures take more time and biomass to develop than the smaller ones, and thus there tend to be fewer of them, while the others must make do with more animalistic intelligence. However, as long as smaller creatures remain near the bigger ones, they can benefit from its intelligence thanks to their HiveMind.
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* SuspiciouslyStealthyPredator: Lictors, played very straight. They are "lone wolf" synapse creatures who can absorb the memories from [[BrainFood brains they consume]] and thus can avoid detection from even advanced tracking sources, coupled with their chameleon-like mimicry and ability to regulate its own body temperature, this makes them extremely hard to detect.
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* BigBad - That Hive Mind connection as a whole is the one causing all these problems with the Tyranids, who collectively comprise the Hive Mind as a whole. Major representatives are Synapse creatures like Hive Tyrants, but those are simply cells in the overall brain of the Hive Mind in general. The Imperium hopes to find ''something'' that directly controls the overall Hive Mind, so they can kill it and stop the Tyranids for good.
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* BigBad - That Hive Mind HiveMind connection as a whole is the one causing machine running all these problems with the Tyranids, who collectively comprise the Hive Mind as a whole. cogs. Major representatives are Synapse creatures like Hive Tyrants, but those are simply cells in the overall brain of the Hive Mind HiveMind in general. The Imperium hopes to find ''something'' that directly controls the overall Hive Mind, so they can kill it and stop the Tyranids for good.
* CompositeCharacter: Imagine a merge of the [[{{Aliens}} Xenomorphs]] and the [[StarshipTroopers Arachnids]]. [[OhCrap You may weep now]].
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* {{Expy}} - By and large the entire race is one of the Arachnids from Creator/RobertAHeinlein's novel ''Literature/StarshipTroopers''.
** And also of the Xenomorphs from ''Film/{{Alien}}'', with Genestealers even "reproducing" via a facehugger substitute.
** And also of the Xenomorphs from ''Film/{{Alien}}'', with Genestealers even "reproducing" via a facehugger substitute.
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** And also of the Xenomorphs from ''Film/{{Alien}}'', with Genestealers even "reproducing" via a facehugger substitute.
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Editing Bullet Seed
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** In one literal case, the Tyrannofex has the Rupture Cannon which fires two rounds - a bloated tick... and a seed case. Fluff says the two react in a catastrophic fashion when their chemical fluids are mixed upon impact.
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* PuppeteerParasite - The little-known ripper genus variant the Cortex Leech. It's a small, fast-moving creature which leaps up to a victim's face, then extends flexible antenna into the victim's [[OrificeInvasion mouth, nose, ears]], and {{eye| scream}}s. These feelers burrow into the brain, and turn the victim into a drooling puppet of the HiveMind.
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* PuppeteerParasite - The Cortex Leech, a little-known ripper genus variant the Cortex Leech.genus. It's a small, fast-moving creature which leaps up to a victim's face, then extends flexible antenna into the victim's [[OrificeInvasion mouth, nose, ears]], and {{eye| scream}}s. These feelers burrow into the brain, and turn the victim into a drooling puppet of the HiveMind.
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** The Swarmlord is a special character when compared to the other Hive Tyrants in the fact it is uniquely separate from the Hive Mind. Think of it as a very dangerous second opinion brought in only when the Hive Mind's usual tactics does not work on the foe it is currently fighting. What makes it unique is that while there are many Hive Tyrants, it's implied that there is only one Swarmlord at any given time, having it's consciousness beamed across star systems on an as-needed basis. It's the sole Hive Tyrant that is not bound to any one hive fleet or ship.
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** The Swarmlord is a special character when compared to the other Hive Tyrants in the fact it is uniquely separate from the Hive Mind. Think of it as a very dangerous second opinion brought in only when the Hive Mind's usual tactics does do not work on the foe it is currently fighting. What makes it unique is that while there are many Hive Tyrants, it's implied that there is only one Swarmlord at any given time, having it's its consciousness beamed across star systems on an as-needed basis. It's the sole Hive Tyrant that is not bound to any one hive fleet or ship.
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** The Swarmlord is a special character when compared to the other Hive Tyrants in the fact it is uniquely separate from the Hive Mind. Think of it as a very dangerous second opinion brought in only when the Hive Mind's usual tactics does not work on the foe it is currently fighting.
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** The Swarmlord is a special character when compared to the other Hive Tyrants in the fact it is uniquely separate from the Hive Mind. Think of it as a very dangerous second opinion brought in only when the Hive Mind's usual tactics does not work on the foe it is currently fighting. What makes it unique is that while there are many Hive Tyrants, it's implied that there is only one Swarmlord at any given time, having it's consciousness beamed across star systems on an as-needed basis. It's the sole Hive Tyrant that is not bound to any one hive fleet or ship.
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** As Tyranids do not rely on conventional Grav-Tech to gain flight or have powerful engines, they instead have to resort to good ol' hollow bones and wings for their fliers. Unsurprisingly Gargoyles, Harpies and flying Warriors tend to have weaker armor than their ground-based counterparts, representing how fragile they can be. Tyrants subvert this somewhat, as they are able to project a psychic field around them that's just as durable as armor, making them LightningBruisers as a result.
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** As Tyranids do not rely on conventional Grav-Tech to gain flight or have powerful engines, they instead have to resort to good ol' hollow bones and wings for their fliers. Unsurprisingly Gargoyles, Harpies and flying Warriors tend to have weaker armor than their ground-based counterparts, representing how fragile they can be. Tyrants subvert this somewhat, as they are able to project a psychic field around them that's just as durable as armor, making them LightningBruisers [[LightningBruiser Lightning Bruisers]] as a result.
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* FragileSpeedster - Hormagaunts are a Tyranid species meant to swamp the enemy in close combat, and to accomplish that they are bred to be very, very fast and agile. However, they are also quite frail, which is why the Tyranids [[ZergRush send them in great numbers at once]]...
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* FragileSpeedster - FragileSpeedster
** Hormagaunts are a Tyranid species meant to swamp the enemy in close combat, and to accomplish that they are bred to be very, very fast and agile. However, they are also quite frail, which is why the Tyranids [[ZergRush send them in great numbers atonce]]...once]]...
** As Tyranids do not rely on conventional Grav-Tech to gain flight or have powerful engines, they instead have to resort to good ol' hollow bones and wings for their fliers. Unsurprisingly Gargoyles, Harpies and flying Warriors tend to have weaker armor than their ground-based counterparts, representing how fragile they can be. Tyrants subvert this somewhat, as they are able to project a psychic field around them that's just as durable as armor, making them LightningBruisers as a result.
** Hormagaunts are a Tyranid species meant to swamp the enemy in close combat, and to accomplish that they are bred to be very, very fast and agile. However, they are also quite frail, which is why the Tyranids [[ZergRush send them in great numbers at
** As Tyranids do not rely on conventional Grav-Tech to gain flight or have powerful engines, they instead have to resort to good ol' hollow bones and wings for their fliers. Unsurprisingly Gargoyles, Harpies and flying Warriors tend to have weaker armor than their ground-based counterparts, representing how fragile they can be. Tyrants subvert this somewhat, as they are able to project a psychic field around them that's just as durable as armor, making them LightningBruisers as a result.
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* ArmorIsUseless - Or it might as well be, when a Genestealer gets into melee range. Their claws are [[AbsurdlySharpBlade absurdly sharp]], even by the standards of the setting, and the muscles on their limbs are much more powerful than they look. Stories abound about Genestealers able to rip open the armor of a Space Marine Terminator like it was a tin can (though in practice the Genestealer can only do that if it gets a really lucky grip on the victim.)
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* ArmorIsUseless - Or it might as well be, when a Genestealer gets into melee range. Their claws are
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* ArmorIsUseless - Or it might as well be, when a Genestealer gets into melee range. Their claws are [[AbsurdlySharpBlade absurdly sharp]], even by the standards of the setting, and the muscles on their limbs are much more powerful than they look. Stories abound about Genestealers able to rip open the armor of a Space Marine Terminator like it was a tin can (though in practice the Genestealer can only do that if it gets a really lucky grip on the victim.)
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* LivingGasbag - Tyranid spore mines are these, with jellyfish-like tentacles hanging below them and thin but rigid series of small overlapping chitinous plates surrounding its float-bladder. The Tyranids launch them from the biovore species to float over the battlefield and find targets. They tend to end up hovering just above the ground and have limited locomotion, but when a non-Tyranid draws near them [[ActionBomb they explode]], the sharp pieces of their shell scything out like shrapnel and spreading toxic spores and caustic fluid as they do so.
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* KrakenAndLeviathan - The bigger hive ships are this of the SpaceWhale variety. Also forms an [[AnimalThemeNaming Animal]] and [[ReligiousAndMythologicalThemeNaming Mythological]] ThemeNaming scheme for the hive fleets.
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* AcidPool - Digestion pools created and maintained by the Tyranids on invaded worlds. Tyranid organisms (especially ones which have been consuming the local environment) will throw themselves into the pools to be rendered down into biomass to be reabsorbed by the hive. Smaller digestion pools will eventually be drained by capillary tendrils through the ground to empty into a vast digestion ocean. This ocean will then have feeder tendrils dropped into it from hive ships from orbit, as a kind of temporary suction-based SpaceElevator to finally absorb the biomass back into the fleet.
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* ThePatriarch - The actual title of the first Genestealer to found a brood among a host species. As the brood of hybrids grow, the Patriarch will slowly grow progressively [[LargeAndInCharge larger and more physically powerful]]. By the time the forth generation of hybrids comes about and new Genestealers are being born, the Patriarch will be a massive beast. As every member of the brood is psychically connected with the Patriarch, the more the brood grows in number the more the Patriarch's psychic potential grows to accommodate them, eventually becoming a fantastically powerful psyker in its own right.
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* OrganicTechnology - They used much of it, though to a less animated extent than the Hive Fleets. For example, their ships were organic, but not {{Living Ship}}s, having their hull grown like a shell, then hollowed out and having more conventional technology built into it. Their ability to freely combine both organic technology and conventional technology allowed the Tyranid forces to employ things like bolters and missile launchers, in addition to their more usual fare.
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* ContinuityNod- Though they haven't been brought BackFromTheDead, many fans think that the design of the Tyranid Hive Guard was a bit of a nod to the Zoats.
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* HiveMind - Like the Hive Fleets, they Genestealers have a hive mind. This mind is generally independent of the Hive Fleet, and is specific to particular broods, which is necessary considering that they often operate far from any other Tyranid organism and thus need to better think for themselves. However, when the Hive Fleets are inevitably drawn to a location where Genestealers have been reproducing successfully, those Genestealers will begin to become affected by the Hive Mind of the fleet, and will be spurred into more overt and aggressive action against their host populations. By the time the Hive Fleet arrives, the Genestealer brood will have been mentally re-absorbed into the Hive Mind of the fleet and function as their elite shock troops when overcoming its defense.
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* HiveMind - Like the Hive Fleets, they the Genestealers have a hive mind. This mind is generally independent of the Hive Fleet, and is specific to particular broods, which is necessary considering that they often operate far from any other Tyranid organism and thus need to better think for themselves. However, when the Hive Fleets are inevitably drawn to a location where Genestealers have been reproducing successfully, those Genestealers will begin to become affected by the Hive Mind of the fleet, and will be spurred into more overt and aggressive action against their host populations. By the time the Hive Fleet arrives, the Genestealer brood will have been mentally re-absorbed into the Hive Mind of the fleet and function as their elite shock troops when overcoming its defense.
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Gah, up late, sleepy typos, auto-correct editing fail. >_<
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Vanguard organisms of the Hive Fleets, Genestealers are deployed well ahead of the fleet's advance to undermine potential prey worlds. Because of this mission, Genestealers are bred to be much more independence than the Hive Fleets, a Genestealer brood being almost a separate hive intelligence unto itself. Capable of hibernating in wait for centuries, Genestealers were likely by far the first Tyranid organisms in our galaxy, their numbers maintained and expanded via their parasitic preying on other species for reproduction. With great strength packed into a compact body and claws capable of rending through even the toughest armor, Genestealers are deadly whether they are acting subtle or overt.
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Vanguard organisms of the Hive Fleets, Genestealers are deployed well ahead of the fleet's advance to undermine potential prey worlds. Because of this mission, Genestealers are bred to be much more independence independent than the Hive Fleets, a Genestealer brood being almost a separate hive intelligence unto itself. Capable of hibernating in wait for centuries, Genestealers were likely by far the first Tyranid organisms in our galaxy, their numbers maintained and expanded via their parasitic preying on other species for reproduction. With great strength packed into a compact body and claws capable of rending through even the toughest armor, Genestealers are deadly whether they are acting subtle or overt.
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* GhostShip - The Hive Fleets are fond of leaving first generation Genestealer broods on Space Hulks, where they will go dominant and wait. Eventually the Space Hulk will arrive in a populated system, or it will be investigated by explorers, and there the brood will find their hosts...
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* GhostShip - The Hive Fleets are fond of leaving first generation Genestealer broods on Space Hulks, where they will go dominant dormant and wait. Eventually the Space Hulk will arrive in a populated system, or it will be investigated by explorers, and there the brood will find their hosts...
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* OurVampiresAreDifferent - The first recorded contact with Genestealers came from the moons of the planet Ymgarl. Originally though to be native to there, it was only later revealed that they were a specific mutation of the wider Genestealer secies and a vanguard of the Tyranids. Instead of the maw found on other Genestealers, they have lamprey-like feeder tendrils that they use to drain blood of victims. They are able to conceal themselves with limited [[VoluntaryShapeShifter shape-shifting]] abilities, but this requires them to feed often to maintain. Though their shape shifting is powerful, the Hive Fleets display no desire to re-absorb them, leading to speculation that the mutation might be unstable if assimilated back into the hive.
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* HalfHumanHybrid - Or half any-sentient-species hybrid. Genestealers have a curious reproductive cycle.
* HypnoticEyes - A characteristic of genestealers is an ability to pacify potential prey by maintaining eye contact and moving slowly, though how much use this gets is heavily [[DependingOnTheWriter Dependent On The Writer]].
* HypnoticEyes - A characteristic of genestealers is an ability to pacify potential prey by maintaining eye contact and moving slowly, though how much use this gets is heavily [[DependingOnTheWriter Dependent On The Writer]].
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* GhostShip - The Hive Fleets are fond of leaving first generation Genestealer broods on Space Hulks, where they will go dominant and wait. Eventually the Space Hulk will arrive in a populated system, or it will be investigated by explorers, and there the brood will find their hosts...
* HalfHumanHybrid - Or half any-sentient-species hybrid. Genestealers have a curious reproductivecycle.
cycle, where only a few early broods are birthed directly by the Hive Fleets, and all later members of the brood are born to host species that the Genestealers prey on. After infecting a host organism, that organism will be driven to reproduce, but any such offspring will be half the host species and half Genestealer. Naturally, such a creature is usually very misshapen as it [[MixAndMatchCritters combines traits of both species freely]]. However, later generations of hybrids will look progressively more like the host species, until by about the fifth or six generation they are completely indistinguishable from them. The children of ''that'' generation will then be more "pure" Genestealers and the cycle begins again.
* HiveMind - Like the Hive Fleets, they Genestealers have a hive mind. This mind is generally independent of the Hive Fleet, and is specific to particular broods, which is necessary considering that they often operate far from any other Tyranid organism and thus need to better think for themselves. However, when the Hive Fleets are inevitably drawn to a location where Genestealers have been reproducing successfully, those Genestealers will begin to become affected by the Hive Mind of the fleet, and will be spurred into more overt and aggressive action against their host populations. By the time the Hive Fleet arrives, the Genestealer brood will have been mentally re-absorbed into the Hive Mind of the fleet and function as their elite shock troops when overcoming its defense.
* HypnoticEyes - A characteristic ofgenestealers Genestealers is an ability to pacify potential prey by maintaining eye contact and moving slowly, though how much use this gets is heavily [[DependingOnTheWriter Dependent On The Writer]].
* HalfHumanHybrid - Or half any-sentient-species hybrid. Genestealers have a curious reproductive
* HiveMind - Like the Hive Fleets, they Genestealers have a hive mind. This mind is generally independent of the Hive Fleet, and is specific to particular broods, which is necessary considering that they often operate far from any other Tyranid organism and thus need to better think for themselves. However, when the Hive Fleets are inevitably drawn to a location where Genestealers have been reproducing successfully, those Genestealers will begin to become affected by the Hive Mind of the fleet, and will be spurred into more overt and aggressive action against their host populations. By the time the Hive Fleet arrives, the Genestealer brood will have been mentally re-absorbed into the Hive Mind of the fleet and function as their elite shock troops when overcoming its defense.
* HypnoticEyes - A characteristic of
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Added Genestealer section.
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[[folder:Tyraninds]]
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* {{Expy}} - Though by and large the entire race is one of the Arachnids from Creator/RobertAHeinlein's novel ''Literature/StarshipTroopers'', many have argued that the Genestealers are one of [[Film/{{Alien}} the Xenomorph]] designed by HRGiger.
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* {{Expy}} - Though by By and large the entire race is one of the Arachnids from Creator/RobertAHeinlein's novel ''Literature/StarshipTroopers'', many have argued that the Genestealers are one of [[Film/{{Alien}} the Xenomorph]] designed by HRGiger.''Literature/StarshipTroopers''.
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* FaceFullOfAlienWingWong - Genestealers reproduce via the "Genestealer's Kiss", an injection of their genetic material into a target via a long, diamond-hard "tongue." Depending on which bit of fluff you read, this is either via a literal, face-biting parody of a kiss, or a slightly less {{Squick}}y injection into the torso, under the ribcage. The CiaphasCain novels use the latter method.
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* HypnoticEyes - A characteristic of genestealers is an ability to pacify potential prey by maintaining eye contact and moving slowly, though how much use this gets is heavily [[DependingOnTheWriter Dependent On The Writer]].
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[[folder: Genestealers]]
Vanguard organisms of the Hive Fleets, Genestealers are deployed well ahead of the fleet's advance to undermine potential prey worlds. Because of this mission, Genestealers are bred to be much more independence than the Hive Fleets, a Genestealer brood being almost a separate hive intelligence unto itself. Capable of hibernating in wait for centuries, Genestealers were likely by far the first Tyranid organisms in our galaxy, their numbers maintained and expanded via their parasitic preying on other species for reproduction. With great strength packed into a compact body and claws capable of rending through even the toughest armor, Genestealers are deadly whether they are acting subtle or overt.
* {{Cult}} - When Genestealers infiltrate a population, they will go underground and look for isolated victims to "[[FaceFullOfAlienWingWong kiss]]". These individuals will reproduce [[HalfHumanHybrid Genestealer Hybrids]] and love them like their own. In order to maintain their "family" they will often find some kind of front or cover story to keep the nature of their children concealed. Such will usually adopt certain aspects of the host culture, twisting it around to center about the Genestealers, creating a secretive sect devoted to spreading their seed.
* {{Expy}} - Many have argued that the Genestealers are one of [[Film/{{Alien}} the Xenomorph]] designed by HRGiger. If so, they are [[SincerestFormOfFlattery practically a walking tribute to them]].
* FaceFullOfAlienWingWong - Genestealers reproduce via the "Genestealer's Kiss", an injection of their genetic material into a target via a long, diamond-hard "tongue." [[DependingOnTheWriter Depending on which bit of fluff you read]], this is either via a literal, face-biting parody of a kiss, or a slightly less {{Squick}}y injection into the torso, under the ribcage. The CiaphasCain novels use the latter method.
* HalfHumanHybrid - Or half any-sentient-species hybrid. Genestealers have a curious reproductive cycle.
* HypnoticEyes - A characteristic of genestealers is an ability to pacify potential prey by maintaining eye contact and moving slowly, though how much use this gets is heavily [[DependingOnTheWriter Dependent On The Writer]].
* PuppeteerParasite - The "[[FaceFullOfAlienWingWong Genestealer's Kiss]]" initially causes confusion and amnesia in the host organism, which renders them placid and can take several hours to resolve fully. However, after that time it brings the host under the thrall of the Genestealer brood, altering their hormones and perceptions so that they come to love the Genestealers and any children they have by them.
[[/folder]]
Vanguard organisms of the Hive Fleets, Genestealers are deployed well ahead of the fleet's advance to undermine potential prey worlds. Because of this mission, Genestealers are bred to be much more independence than the Hive Fleets, a Genestealer brood being almost a separate hive intelligence unto itself. Capable of hibernating in wait for centuries, Genestealers were likely by far the first Tyranid organisms in our galaxy, their numbers maintained and expanded via their parasitic preying on other species for reproduction. With great strength packed into a compact body and claws capable of rending through even the toughest armor, Genestealers are deadly whether they are acting subtle or overt.
* {{Cult}} - When Genestealers infiltrate a population, they will go underground and look for isolated victims to "[[FaceFullOfAlienWingWong kiss]]". These individuals will reproduce [[HalfHumanHybrid Genestealer Hybrids]] and love them like their own. In order to maintain their "family" they will often find some kind of front or cover story to keep the nature of their children concealed. Such will usually adopt certain aspects of the host culture, twisting it around to center about the Genestealers, creating a secretive sect devoted to spreading their seed.
* {{Expy}} - Many have argued that the Genestealers are one of [[Film/{{Alien}} the Xenomorph]] designed by HRGiger. If so, they are [[SincerestFormOfFlattery practically a walking tribute to them]].
* FaceFullOfAlienWingWong - Genestealers reproduce via the "Genestealer's Kiss", an injection of their genetic material into a target via a long, diamond-hard "tongue." [[DependingOnTheWriter Depending on which bit of fluff you read]], this is either via a literal, face-biting parody of a kiss, or a slightly less {{Squick}}y injection into the torso, under the ribcage. The CiaphasCain novels use the latter method.
* HalfHumanHybrid - Or half any-sentient-species hybrid. Genestealers have a curious reproductive cycle.
* HypnoticEyes - A characteristic of genestealers is an ability to pacify potential prey by maintaining eye contact and moving slowly, though how much use this gets is heavily [[DependingOnTheWriter Dependent On The Writer]].
* PuppeteerParasite - The "[[FaceFullOfAlienWingWong Genestealer's Kiss]]" initially causes confusion and amnesia in the host organism, which renders them placid and can take several hours to resolve fully. However, after that time it brings the host under the thrall of the Genestealer brood, altering their hormones and perceptions so that they come to love the Genestealers and any children they have by them.
[[/folder]]
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* GasMaskMooks - Zoats could only breath in very specific atmospheric conditions, and thus when not in a controlled environment like their ships they would each wear rebreathers.
* MouthOfSauron - The Zoats were to be harbingers of the Hive Fleet, letting others know that they Tyranids were coming for them, encouraging prey planets to surrender to the inevitable. [[CharacterizationMarchesOn This did not last long]].
* MouthOfSauron - The Zoats were to be harbingers of the Hive Fleet, letting others know that they Tyranids were coming for them, encouraging prey planets to surrender to the inevitable. [[CharacterizationMarchesOn This did not last long]].
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Added Zoats section because why not? We have enough page space to devote a few lines.
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Tyraninds]]
[[folder:Tyraninds]]
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[[/folder]]
[[folder: Zoats]]
A little known and largely forgotten piece of early Tyranid lore, the Zoats were a centaur-like slave race engineered by the Tyranids. In first edition days, nearly half a Tyranid force had to be made out of Zoats. They were never popular, and never made the transition to the next edition, only having a few references to them be dropped in the background of the third edition. Much like the Squats, they are something considered to have been dropped from the franchise.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome - Quietly dropped when the second edition was released. Details about their removal went unremarked until a footnote in the third edition explained their fate (see below.)
* [[DroppedABridgeOnHim Dropped A Hive Fleet On Them]] - The revamped lore indicated that the Tyranids created them as a semi-independent group to go ahead of the Hive Fleets as vanguards and disrupt targets for consumption. But being independent, they TurnedAgainstTheirMasters. However, finding themselves trapped between a rock and a Hive Fleet, they were quickly wiped out as the Hive Fleets caught up to them. The few who survived were spotted in Tyranid swarms, but their numbers dwindled as the Hive Fleets evolved to no longer need them.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness - They never made it past the first edition, the [[CharacterizationMarchesOn March of Characterization]] from the Tyranids made them incompatible.
* OurCentaursAreDifferent - They are lizard-like slaves to a HordeOfAlienLocusts.
* ServantRace - For the Tyranids.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness - The justification given for why the Hive Fleets phased them out.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Zoats]]
A little known and largely forgotten piece of early Tyranid lore, the Zoats were a centaur-like slave race engineered by the Tyranids. In first edition days, nearly half a Tyranid force had to be made out of Zoats. They were never popular, and never made the transition to the next edition, only having a few references to them be dropped in the background of the third edition. Much like the Squats, they are something considered to have been dropped from the franchise.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome - Quietly dropped when the second edition was released. Details about their removal went unremarked until a footnote in the third edition explained their fate (see below.)
* [[DroppedABridgeOnHim Dropped A Hive Fleet On Them]] - The revamped lore indicated that the Tyranids created them as a semi-independent group to go ahead of the Hive Fleets as vanguards and disrupt targets for consumption. But being independent, they TurnedAgainstTheirMasters. However, finding themselves trapped between a rock and a Hive Fleet, they were quickly wiped out as the Hive Fleets caught up to them. The few who survived were spotted in Tyranid swarms, but their numbers dwindled as the Hive Fleets evolved to no longer need them.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness - They never made it past the first edition, the [[CharacterizationMarchesOn March of Characterization]] from the Tyranids made them incompatible.
* OurCentaursAreDifferent - They are lizard-like slaves to a HordeOfAlienLocusts.
* ServantRace - For the Tyranids.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness - The justification given for why the Hive Fleets phased them out.
[[/folder]]
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* [[SwarmOfRats Swarm Of Rippers]]: The "ripper" genus is a family of many kinds of small Tyranid organisms which primarily exist to gather biomass for the swarm. They are weak and possess little offensive ability on their own, so they are typically only deployed after resistance has been cleared out to consume passive prey. Their quick-breeding allows them to multiply in numbers such that they form a rolling "wave" of living creatures that leave only desolation in their wake. A defender should hope that they were killed by one of the larger creatures as opposed to simply wounded [[EatenAlive by the time the rippers get to their body...]]
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* [[SwarmOfRats [[TheSwarm Swarm Of Rippers]]: The "ripper" genus is a family of many kinds of small Tyranid organisms which primarily exist to gather biomass for the swarm. They are weak and possess little offensive ability on their own, so they are typically only deployed after resistance has been cleared out to consume passive prey. Their quick-breeding allows them to multiply in numbers such that they form a rolling "wave" of living creatures that leave only desolation in their wake. A defender should hope that they were killed by one of the larger creatures as opposed to simply wounded [[EatenAlive by the time the rippers get to their body...]]
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* MeaningfulName[=/=]NamesToRunAwayReallyFastFrom[=/=]RedBaron: Not for nothing were the Tyranids nicknamed "the Great Devourer". Whole planets are left completely lifeless of any and all biomass and minerals that could be useful. Just giant rocks spinning in the void.
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* MeaningfulName[=/=]NamesToRunAwayReallyFastFrom[=/=]RedBaron: MeaningfulName[=/=]NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast[=/=]RedBaron: Not for nothing were the Tyranids nicknamed "the Great Devourer". Whole planets are left completely lifeless of any and all biomass and minerals that could be useful. Just giant rocks spinning in the void.
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* MeaningfulName[=/=]NamesToRunAwayReallyFastFrom[=/=]RedBaron: Not for nothing were the Tyranids nicknamed "the Great Devourer". Whole planets are left completely lifeless of any and all biomass and minerals that could be useful. Just giant rocks spinning in the void.
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**Taken to extremes with the Pyrovore; the weapon is sentient but the body is not.
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* EatingOptional: Most Tyranid organisms don't actually have a functioning digestive system, as they're bio-engineered killing machines and such a thing would tkae space and energy away from muscles, reinforced endo- and exoskeletons, weapon-biomorphs etc. If they aren't killed by the enemy first, they will eventually starve to death. Many of them still have instinctive behaviour to feed, though, as it makes them attack the enemy even when not under control of the synapse creatures. The Ripper swarms are the most obvious example, as their whole purpose is to eat any biomass they come across in order to transport it to the reclamation pools to be digested and fed to the Tyranid hive ships.
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* EatingOptional: Most Tyranid organisms don't actually have a functioning digestive system, as they're bio-engineered killing machines and such a thing would tkae take space and energy away from muscles, reinforced endo- and exoskeletons, weapon-biomorphs etc. If they aren't killed by the enemy first, they will eventually starve to death. Many of them still have instinctive behaviour to feed, though, as it makes them attack the enemy even when not under control of the synapse creatures. The Ripper swarms are the most obvious example, as their whole purpose is to eat any biomass they come across in order to transport it to the reclamation pools to be digested and fed to the Tyranid hive ships.
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The tabletop Tyranid army is a mix of swarms of highly-expendable critters able to swamp even Imperial Guard or Ork forces, backed-up by lumbering monstrous creatures capable of tossing tanks around with their tusks or blowing up heads with psychic powers. They also contain units of specialist creatures able to infiltrate or move quickly in order to keep the enemy occupied in close combat while the rest of the army closes in, and the biomorph system allows units to be upgraded to deal with specific targets rather effectively. The Tyranids' two main weaknesses are comparatively few ranged units, as well as the reliance on a few synapse creatures to keep the swarm together. The latter is offset by the fact that the presense of said creatures makes the rest of the army fearless, and the former rarely comes into play as the standard Tyranid strategy is to roll over the enemy like a tsunami.
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The tabletop Tyranid army is a mix of swarms of highly-expendable critters able to swamp even Imperial Guard or Ork forces, backed-up by lumbering monstrous creatures capable of tossing tanks around with their tusks or blowing up heads with psychic powers. They also contain units of specialist creatures able to infiltrate or move quickly in order to keep the enemy occupied in close combat while the rest of the army closes in, and the biomorph system allows units to be upgraded to deal with specific targets rather effectively. The Tyranids' two main weaknesses are comparatively few ranged units, as well as the reliance on a few synapse creatures to keep the swarm together. The latter is offset by the fact that the presense presence of said creatures makes the rest of the army fearless, and the former rarely comes into play as the standard Tyranid strategy is to roll over the enemy like a tsunami.
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* [[SwarmOfRats Swarm Of Rippers]]: The "ripper" genus is a family of many kinds of small Tyranid organisms which primarily exist to gather biomass for the swarm. They are weak and possess little offensive ability on their own, so they are typically only deployed after resistance has been cleared out to consume passive prey. Their quick-breeding allows them to multiply in numbers such that they form a rolling "wave" of living creatures that leave only desolation in their wake. A defender should hope that they were killed by one of the larger creatures as opposed to simply wounded [[EatenAlive by the time the rippers get to their body...]]
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* EatingOptional: Most Tyranid organisms don't actually have a functioning digestive system, as they're bio-engineered killing machines and such a thing would tkae space and energy away from muscles, reinforced endo- and exoskeletons, weapon-biomorphs etc. If they aren't killed by the enemy first, they will eventually starve to death. Many of them still have instinctive behaviour to feed, though, as it makes them attack the enemy even when not under control of the synapse creatures. The Ripper swarms are the most obvious example, as their whole purpose is to eat any biomass they come across in order to transport it to the reclamation pools to be digested and fed to the Tyranid hive ships.
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%% Images selected/replaced per Image Pickin' thread: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=r6ttx4k1fdsvupiteszws6iu
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[[quoteright:332:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Nidseverywhere.jpg]]
->''"We must scour them from the stars before they do the same to us."''
An extragalactic swarm of aliens that doesn't just overrun worlds, but [[HordeOfAlienLocusts consumes everything on them]] right down to the bedrock, including the oceans and air. Tyranids are more of a virus than a species, as they instinctively scan the DNA of what they eat and apply useful evolutionary upgrades to their swarms, ensuring that they only grow more deadly with each victory. Everything they use, from ranged weapons to spaceships, are [[OrganicTechnology symbiotic organisms]], to the extent that it can be hard to tell where a Tyranid "gun" ends and the creature carrying it begins.
Though the individual creatures in the Hive Fleets are little more than beasts, Tyranids are controlled via synapse creatures by the race's HiveMind, which is ''extremely'' intelligent. While the classic Tyranid strategy is to overwhelm their foes [[ZergRush with weight of numbers]], the swarms have also been seen to ambush armored columns in narrow passages that turned tanks into helpless sitting targets, employ burrowing organisms to launch surprise attacks behind enemy lines, or use winged creatures to sow discord and confusion. Of particular note are the specialized Tyranids known as Genestealers, who implant their DNA in victims that turns their children into [[HalfHumanHybrid Genestealer/Human hybrids]], who will eventually form a cult on their homeworld that undermines the planet's defenses while psychically summoning the swarm. Three Hive Fleets have been encountered thus far: Hive Fleet Behemoth nearly overran the Ultramarines' homeworld of Macragge and killed their entire 1st Company, Hive Fleet Kraken all but wiped out the Eldar of craftworld Iyanden, and Hive Fleet Leviathan is currently rampaging through an Ork empire... and these are likely just the vanguard of more Tyranid swarms still en route to the galaxy. The optimistic take on the Tyranids is that they are moving on our galaxy after cleansing one or more other galaxies of life. The pessimistic take is that they are running from something worse.
The tabletop Tyranid army is a mix of swarms of highly-expendable critters able to swamp even Imperial Guard or Ork forces, backed-up by lumbering monstrous creatures capable of tossing tanks around with their tusks or blowing up heads with psychic powers. They also contain units of specialist creatures able to infiltrate or move quickly in order to keep the enemy occupied in close combat while the rest of the army closes in, and the biomorph system allows units to be upgraded to deal with specific targets rather effectively. The Tyranids' two main weaknesses are comparatively few ranged units, as well as the reliance on a few synapse creatures to keep the swarm together. The latter is offset by the fact that the presense of said creatures makes the rest of the army fearless, and the former rarely comes into play as the standard Tyranid strategy is to roll over the enemy like a tsunami.
----
!!Notable Tyranid tropes include:
* TwoDSpace - Averted with Hive Fleet Leviathan. The Imperium was perplexed by Tyranid attacks taking place far behind the "front line" at the galactic "east," until they realized that the Hive Fleet had ''flanked'' the galaxy and was attacking "upward" from "underneath" it.
* AlienKudzu - As a Tyranid invasion of a world ramps up, self-replicating organisms are landed on a planet to begin initial biomass consumption, and to pump out both smaller scale creatures for scouting and undermining defenses, and to help [[{{Terraform}} render the rest of the world's biomass into a more easily edible form]].
* ApocalypseHow - Every planet they conquer gets a Class 4, and unless some way is found to break the Hive Mind, the same ''will'' happen to the entire Milky Way galaxy.
* ArtEvolution - Compared the Tyranid models from [[http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y163/schepphimself/TyranidWarriors.jpg 2nd Edition]] with the ones from [[http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m490607_99120106003_TyranidWarriorsMain_445x319.jpg later editions]]. Earlier Tyranids had more biological variety too, until their redesign gave the race a more unified look, such as adding boney ridged creasts on almost every head.
* BigBad - That Hive Mind connection as a whole is the one causing all these problems with the Tyranids, who collectively comprise the Hive Mind as a whole. Major representatives are Synapse creatures like Hive Tyrants, but those are simply cells in the overall brain of the Hive Mind in general. The Imperium hopes to find ''something'' that directly controls the overall Hive Mind, so they can kill it and stop the Tyranids for good.
* BladeBelowTheShoulder - Type 3 for some Tyranid melee units, which have their arms below the elbow replaced with long [[SinisterScythe scythe-like]] talons, tapering down to [[AbsurdlySharpBlade a monomolecular edge]] like most of the blades in this setting. Note that older editions also had some units in which a bone-like blade was simply gripped in hand in the manner of a sword (and the Swarmlord special character still does this) but ArtEvolution has merged most of these weapons into their wielder, putting them into this trope.
* BrainFood - Any Tyranid creature with lamprey-like feeder tendrils in place of a mouth will be likely to eat brains. Lictors in particular are known for doing this, as it allows them to sift though a consumed organism's memories for information. This is part of a Lictor's role as a vanguard organism, helping the Hive Fleet gain intelligence on what worlds would be good targets for consumption and what kind of defenses to expect.
* BreathWeapon - Some critters can make bio-plasma attacks, vomiting up a blast of white-hot energy accompanied by a piercing screech.
* BugWar - If your Tyranid problem has gotten beyond the Genestealer Cult stage, [[EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt you're pretty much screwed]].
* BulletSeed - A near-literal case with many of the more rapid-firing {{Living Weapon}}s wielded by some Tyranid organisms. Except that the "seeds" are things like tiny beetles which bore into flesh, or little worms which secrete acid and melt themselves into a target.
* ChestBlaster - An option for some offensive biomorphs. Tyranid models will occasionally mount flesh-hooks or devourers underneath some folds on their underside between their forelimbs.
* CombatTentacles - Ranging from lash whips and flesh hooks on the battlefield creatures to tentacles on ''spaceships'' for boarding actions.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything - Tyranid ranged weapons feature a lot of [[{{Squick}} sphincters and muscle spasms ejecting spurts of hot liquids]].
* EmpathicWeapon - In a quite literal way. The {{Living Weapon}}s employed by the smaller Tyranid genus types symbiotically bond with their wielder, melding their flesh together and growing spinal-like attachments to mesh their nervous systems together. In this way, the weapon itself acts as a sort of secondary "brain" for the creature, giving the limited intellect of its primary brain the knowledge and skill necessary to use the weapon.
* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs - The big ones are often described as dinosaurs.
* EvilEvolves - Characteristic of the Tyranids is that they evolve and [[AdaptiveAbility adapt to overcome stubborn resistance]]. Some of these adaptations are taken from [[PlanetEater consuming worlds]], where the Norn Queens in the fleet [[LegoGenetics sift through the collected genetic data looking for useful characteristics]] to incorporate into future generations. Others are adaptations that occur in the field, allowing the swarm to overcome specific difficulties by targeted mutation. Such evolution, though, inevitably tends to result in some NecessaryDrawback weakening them in one regard while it strengthens them in another. As the smaller creatures have a much shorter lifecycle and gestation time, a hive fleet that is heavily adapting will tend to be composed of a [[ZergRush greater proportion of smaller units]], leaving a shortage of [[HiveQueen synapse creatures]]. This can become a potential weak link in their force structure, which is why not all hive fleets take that approach.
* {{Expy}} - Though by and large the entire race is one of the Arachnids from Creator/RobertAHeinlein's novel ''Literature/StarshipTroopers'', many have argued that the Genestealers are one of [[Film/{{Alien}} the Xenomorph]] designed by HRGiger.
* ExtremeOmnivore - The Hive Fleets leave nothing but lifeless, airless rocks in their wake.
* FaceFullOfAlienWingWong - Genestealers reproduce via the "Genestealer's Kiss", an injection of their genetic material into a target via a long, diamond-hard "tongue." Depending on which bit of fluff you read, this is either via a literal, face-biting parody of a kiss, or a slightly less {{Squick}}y injection into the torso, under the ribcage. The CiaphasCain novels use the latter method.
* FragileSpeedster - Hormagaunts are a Tyranid species meant to swamp the enemy in close combat, and to accomplish that they are bred to be very, very fast and agile. However, they are also quite frail, which is why the Tyranids [[ZergRush send them in great numbers at once]]...
* GiantEqualsInvincible - Or they might as well, as far as Tyranid [[{{Kaiju}} bio-titans]] are concerned. With [[DeflectorShields warp fields]], [[HealingFactor rapid regeneration]], and [[DeadlyGas neuro-toxic spore emissions]], it generally takes something like a [[HumongousMecha Titan]] to fell one of these gargantuan beasts.
* HealingFactor - Rapid regeneration was introduced by the unique Carnifex named "Old One Eye," and is now a standard upgrade for most Tyranid organisms.
* HiveMind - Chief Librarian Tigurius of the Ultramarines has made psychic contact with it, and could only describe "an immortal hunger."
** And he's the lucky one, as every other psyker who tried to make contact either went insane or died. It's theorized you'd need a human psyker on the same level as the Emperor.
* HiveQueen - Synapse creatures, though only the rarely seen Norn Queens are female. Probably.
* HollywoodTactics - Averted.
* HordeOfAlienLocusts - After the invasion, they even "recycle" their own soldiers, living and dead.
* HypnoticEyes - A characteristic of genestealers is an ability to pacify potential prey by maintaining eye contact and moving slowly, though how much use this gets is heavily [[DependingOnTheWriter Dependent On The Writer]].
* ImprobableAimingSkills - The Hive Guard, a heavily armored feeder tendril guardian, wields an [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice Impaler Canon]], a weapon which fires long spikes with membranous fletching at extreme velocity. The Hive Guard in fact [[EyelessFace has no eyes]], but "sees" through other members of the swarm, allowing it far greater situational awareness than it would otherwise have. Further, the spikes themselves possess a rudimentary awareness, flexing their fletching membranes in flight to adjust their trajectory and further insure a target is hit, even from extreme range and in bad conditions.
* [[ItsRainingMen It's Raining Tyranids]] -
** Tyranids typically arrive on a planet's surface via "mycetic spores" dropped from space, especially the larger creatures which take more time to mature. Smaller ones are typically born "in the field" via the [[AlienKudzu consumption of the local environment]].
** Tyranid Gargoyles are variations on the gaunt genus with wings to carry them aloft. Their role is to [[DeathFromAbove swoop down on enemies from above]] and keep them occupied while larger creatures move into position. When Gargoyles have to move long distances, they will accompany a larger, [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragon-like]] flier called a Harridan, clinging to its underside to save on their own energy.
* TheJuggernaut - This is the function of the Carnifex unit. It acts as a line breaker, plodding forward implacably as attacks waste themselves against its exceptionally dense carapace, cutting down or bowling over anything that stands in its path like a living battering-ram.
* LargeAndInCharge - Larger Tyranid organisms are more likely to be the synapse creatures directing the swarm, leading to the Imperium's official policy on combating them: shoot the big ones.
* LivingShip - The Hive Fleets, complete with [[WombLevel disturbingly fleshy interiors]].
* LivingWeapon:
** The Tyranid units themselves are these, as they are explicitly bred as living combat tools.
** To a more specific degree, the weapons used by smaller Tyranid units symbiotically bond with their wielders into a single organism.
* MasterSwordsman: Hive Tyrants, of swords made out of razor-sharp-bone with a psychic brain at its base yes, but still [[MasterSwordsman swordsmen nevertheless]]. The Swarmlord cranks this up to absolutely ludicrous degrees, weilding FOUR such swords at the same-time, and so blindingly fast with them that a virtually impenetrable wall-of-blades is what your sword will clash into if you try to fight it hand-to-claw.
* MookMaker - Tyranid hive ships, for starters, making every smaller creature and even other hive ships themselves. Below that, Tyranids seed invaded worlds with brood nests, which consume the local resources brought to them and churn out smaller creatures on-site, allowing them to change their force composition in the field. And taking this one step further, some Tyranid creatures themselves are walking (or crawling or slithering) {{Mook Maker}}s themselves, such as the Tervigon, which spawns Termagaunts from various womb-pustules on its belly while on the battlefield.
* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily - Though some critters mix things up with feeder tendrils.
* MultiArmedAndDangerous - All the Tyranids are evolutions from a basic six-limbed shape, and most use all of them, except for some like the serpentine Raveners and the winged Gargoyle who have a pair of vestigial legs.
* MyBrainIsBig - Zoanthropes have always had huge heads, the better to channel psychic power. Models from earlier editions had torsos, arms, and legs, and would stand and walk on the ground. ArtEvolution has pushed later models into being little ''besides'' a brain, with a long, snake-like body to house its brainstem. It now uses [[PowerFloats its psychic power to levitate]] over the battlefield, rather than walk.
* OrganicTechnology - It's interesting looking back over the model range to see how what once were distinct weapons became fused to their wielders.
* PlanetEater - They consume entire biospheres, leaving only an airless, infertile sphere of bedrock behind.
* PowerFloats - Zoanthropes do not even have legs, they just hover along via psychic levitation.
* PsychicStatic - One of the most dangerous aspects of the Tyranids is how the Hive Mind casts a "shadow in the Warp" ahead of it, which is strong enough to [[YourHeadASplode overwhelm any psykers]] on a planet targeted by the Hive Fleets. This is very bad news, since psykers are required for astropathic communication and navigation, which means when the 'nids are on their way, there's no chance of sending a call for help, and no way for it to arrive.
* PuppeteerParasite - The little-known ripper genus variant the Cortex Leech. It's a small, fast-moving creature which leaps up to a victim's face, then extends flexible antenna into the victim's [[OrificeInvasion mouth, nose, ears]], and {{eye| scream}}s. These feelers burrow into the brain, and turn the victim into a drooling puppet of the HiveMind.
* {{Reincarnation}} - As of 5th edition, Hive Tyrants are unique in that they have distinct consciousnesses and personalities, which help them be more effective "generals." As part of the Hive Mind they can never be killed, meaning that if you destroy a Hive Tyrant in one battle, the next time you meet he'll remember your tricks, ''and'' he'll be pissed. The new special character The Swarmlord is believed to have involved in every major Tyranid conquest in their history in this way.
** The Swarmlord is a special character when compared to the other Hive Tyrants in the fact it is uniquely separate from the Hive Mind. Think of it as a very dangerous second opinion brought in only when the Hive Mind's usual tactics does not work on the foe it is currently fighting.
* SandWorm: The Tyranids have something close, in the form of the Mawloc, a worm-like Tyranid with six powerful burrowing limbs alongside a long, chitin-plated serpentine body ending in a wicked earwig-like tail. Much like the classic trope inspiration, they are almost entirely blind and rely on sensation of vibration through the ground. Even a person standing stock still can be detected by a Mawloc, if their terrified heart is beating loud enough...
* SpikesOfVillainy / TheSpiny - Tyranid creatures are almost universally covered in chitinous spikes and sharp edges. As one Games Workshop player once said in a battle report:
--> ''You can talk all you want about strategy and unit choice, but [[WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer when it comes down to it]], all Tyranid tactics end up as "spiky death".''
* SpikeShooter - Stinger Salvos, Cluster Spines, Impaler Canons; the Tyranids are not short of variations on these.
* TentacleRope - Tyranid flesh-hooks are a variation of these, except instead of lashing around a foe, they ''dig a boney meat-hook into them''. They also function as a [[GrapplingHookPistol Grappling Hook Launcher]] for scaling obstructions.
* TunnelKing - The Tyranid Ravenor is a slithering creature capable of tunneling under the surface to bypass static defenses and literally undermine entrenched positions. For high value and seriously hardened targets, groups of Ravenors will often be lead by a Trygon, their far-larger bio-titan cousin.
* [[{{Terraform}} Tyranoform]] - The effect [[AlienKudzu Tyranids have on planets they invade]], pre-consumption, involves some rather unpleasant alterations to the existing biosphere. This serves to "tenderize" the planet, making the biomass easier to process and consume when the hive fleet moves in after the defenses have been neutralized.
* TheVirus - Or more precisely, The Bacterial Microbe. Several of the initial Mycetic Spores launched during a Tyranid invasion release these microbes around their point of impact. The microbes potentially infect nearby lifeforms, causing mutation, death, and rapid decomposition. This in turn grows into colonies of brood nests to birth more Tyranids, and jutting spore chimneys which spout more of these microbes into the air to let the wind carry them elsewhere. Eventually, [[AlienKudzu all native life is choked out by this process]] and the world becomes a wasteland of digestive pools and vein-like bio-mass capillaries.
* WeHaveReserves - ... that outnumber the stars.
* ZergRush - They even [[TropeMakers inspired]] the trope namer!
----
%% Please do not change or replace without starting a new thread.
%%
[[quoteright:332:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Nidseverywhere.jpg]]
->''"We must scour them from the stars before they do the same to us."''
An extragalactic swarm of aliens that doesn't just overrun worlds, but [[HordeOfAlienLocusts consumes everything on them]] right down to the bedrock, including the oceans and air. Tyranids are more of a virus than a species, as they instinctively scan the DNA of what they eat and apply useful evolutionary upgrades to their swarms, ensuring that they only grow more deadly with each victory. Everything they use, from ranged weapons to spaceships, are [[OrganicTechnology symbiotic organisms]], to the extent that it can be hard to tell where a Tyranid "gun" ends and the creature carrying it begins.
Though the individual creatures in the Hive Fleets are little more than beasts, Tyranids are controlled via synapse creatures by the race's HiveMind, which is ''extremely'' intelligent. While the classic Tyranid strategy is to overwhelm their foes [[ZergRush with weight of numbers]], the swarms have also been seen to ambush armored columns in narrow passages that turned tanks into helpless sitting targets, employ burrowing organisms to launch surprise attacks behind enemy lines, or use winged creatures to sow discord and confusion. Of particular note are the specialized Tyranids known as Genestealers, who implant their DNA in victims that turns their children into [[HalfHumanHybrid Genestealer/Human hybrids]], who will eventually form a cult on their homeworld that undermines the planet's defenses while psychically summoning the swarm. Three Hive Fleets have been encountered thus far: Hive Fleet Behemoth nearly overran the Ultramarines' homeworld of Macragge and killed their entire 1st Company, Hive Fleet Kraken all but wiped out the Eldar of craftworld Iyanden, and Hive Fleet Leviathan is currently rampaging through an Ork empire... and these are likely just the vanguard of more Tyranid swarms still en route to the galaxy. The optimistic take on the Tyranids is that they are moving on our galaxy after cleansing one or more other galaxies of life. The pessimistic take is that they are running from something worse.
The tabletop Tyranid army is a mix of swarms of highly-expendable critters able to swamp even Imperial Guard or Ork forces, backed-up by lumbering monstrous creatures capable of tossing tanks around with their tusks or blowing up heads with psychic powers. They also contain units of specialist creatures able to infiltrate or move quickly in order to keep the enemy occupied in close combat while the rest of the army closes in, and the biomorph system allows units to be upgraded to deal with specific targets rather effectively. The Tyranids' two main weaknesses are comparatively few ranged units, as well as the reliance on a few synapse creatures to keep the swarm together. The latter is offset by the fact that the presense of said creatures makes the rest of the army fearless, and the former rarely comes into play as the standard Tyranid strategy is to roll over the enemy like a tsunami.
----
!!Notable Tyranid tropes include:
* TwoDSpace - Averted with Hive Fleet Leviathan. The Imperium was perplexed by Tyranid attacks taking place far behind the "front line" at the galactic "east," until they realized that the Hive Fleet had ''flanked'' the galaxy and was attacking "upward" from "underneath" it.
* AlienKudzu - As a Tyranid invasion of a world ramps up, self-replicating organisms are landed on a planet to begin initial biomass consumption, and to pump out both smaller scale creatures for scouting and undermining defenses, and to help [[{{Terraform}} render the rest of the world's biomass into a more easily edible form]].
* ApocalypseHow - Every planet they conquer gets a Class 4, and unless some way is found to break the Hive Mind, the same ''will'' happen to the entire Milky Way galaxy.
* ArtEvolution - Compared the Tyranid models from [[http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y163/schepphimself/TyranidWarriors.jpg 2nd Edition]] with the ones from [[http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m490607_99120106003_TyranidWarriorsMain_445x319.jpg later editions]]. Earlier Tyranids had more biological variety too, until their redesign gave the race a more unified look, such as adding boney ridged creasts on almost every head.
* BigBad - That Hive Mind connection as a whole is the one causing all these problems with the Tyranids, who collectively comprise the Hive Mind as a whole. Major representatives are Synapse creatures like Hive Tyrants, but those are simply cells in the overall brain of the Hive Mind in general. The Imperium hopes to find ''something'' that directly controls the overall Hive Mind, so they can kill it and stop the Tyranids for good.
* BladeBelowTheShoulder - Type 3 for some Tyranid melee units, which have their arms below the elbow replaced with long [[SinisterScythe scythe-like]] talons, tapering down to [[AbsurdlySharpBlade a monomolecular edge]] like most of the blades in this setting. Note that older editions also had some units in which a bone-like blade was simply gripped in hand in the manner of a sword (and the Swarmlord special character still does this) but ArtEvolution has merged most of these weapons into their wielder, putting them into this trope.
* BrainFood - Any Tyranid creature with lamprey-like feeder tendrils in place of a mouth will be likely to eat brains. Lictors in particular are known for doing this, as it allows them to sift though a consumed organism's memories for information. This is part of a Lictor's role as a vanguard organism, helping the Hive Fleet gain intelligence on what worlds would be good targets for consumption and what kind of defenses to expect.
* BreathWeapon - Some critters can make bio-plasma attacks, vomiting up a blast of white-hot energy accompanied by a piercing screech.
* BugWar - If your Tyranid problem has gotten beyond the Genestealer Cult stage, [[EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt you're pretty much screwed]].
* BulletSeed - A near-literal case with many of the more rapid-firing {{Living Weapon}}s wielded by some Tyranid organisms. Except that the "seeds" are things like tiny beetles which bore into flesh, or little worms which secrete acid and melt themselves into a target.
* ChestBlaster - An option for some offensive biomorphs. Tyranid models will occasionally mount flesh-hooks or devourers underneath some folds on their underside between their forelimbs.
* CombatTentacles - Ranging from lash whips and flesh hooks on the battlefield creatures to tentacles on ''spaceships'' for boarding actions.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything - Tyranid ranged weapons feature a lot of [[{{Squick}} sphincters and muscle spasms ejecting spurts of hot liquids]].
* EmpathicWeapon - In a quite literal way. The {{Living Weapon}}s employed by the smaller Tyranid genus types symbiotically bond with their wielder, melding their flesh together and growing spinal-like attachments to mesh their nervous systems together. In this way, the weapon itself acts as a sort of secondary "brain" for the creature, giving the limited intellect of its primary brain the knowledge and skill necessary to use the weapon.
* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs - The big ones are often described as dinosaurs.
* EvilEvolves - Characteristic of the Tyranids is that they evolve and [[AdaptiveAbility adapt to overcome stubborn resistance]]. Some of these adaptations are taken from [[PlanetEater consuming worlds]], where the Norn Queens in the fleet [[LegoGenetics sift through the collected genetic data looking for useful characteristics]] to incorporate into future generations. Others are adaptations that occur in the field, allowing the swarm to overcome specific difficulties by targeted mutation. Such evolution, though, inevitably tends to result in some NecessaryDrawback weakening them in one regard while it strengthens them in another. As the smaller creatures have a much shorter lifecycle and gestation time, a hive fleet that is heavily adapting will tend to be composed of a [[ZergRush greater proportion of smaller units]], leaving a shortage of [[HiveQueen synapse creatures]]. This can become a potential weak link in their force structure, which is why not all hive fleets take that approach.
* {{Expy}} - Though by and large the entire race is one of the Arachnids from Creator/RobertAHeinlein's novel ''Literature/StarshipTroopers'', many have argued that the Genestealers are one of [[Film/{{Alien}} the Xenomorph]] designed by HRGiger.
* ExtremeOmnivore - The Hive Fleets leave nothing but lifeless, airless rocks in their wake.
* FaceFullOfAlienWingWong - Genestealers reproduce via the "Genestealer's Kiss", an injection of their genetic material into a target via a long, diamond-hard "tongue." Depending on which bit of fluff you read, this is either via a literal, face-biting parody of a kiss, or a slightly less {{Squick}}y injection into the torso, under the ribcage. The CiaphasCain novels use the latter method.
* FragileSpeedster - Hormagaunts are a Tyranid species meant to swamp the enemy in close combat, and to accomplish that they are bred to be very, very fast and agile. However, they are also quite frail, which is why the Tyranids [[ZergRush send them in great numbers at once]]...
* GiantEqualsInvincible - Or they might as well, as far as Tyranid [[{{Kaiju}} bio-titans]] are concerned. With [[DeflectorShields warp fields]], [[HealingFactor rapid regeneration]], and [[DeadlyGas neuro-toxic spore emissions]], it generally takes something like a [[HumongousMecha Titan]] to fell one of these gargantuan beasts.
* HealingFactor - Rapid regeneration was introduced by the unique Carnifex named "Old One Eye," and is now a standard upgrade for most Tyranid organisms.
* HiveMind - Chief Librarian Tigurius of the Ultramarines has made psychic contact with it, and could only describe "an immortal hunger."
** And he's the lucky one, as every other psyker who tried to make contact either went insane or died. It's theorized you'd need a human psyker on the same level as the Emperor.
* HiveQueen - Synapse creatures, though only the rarely seen Norn Queens are female. Probably.
* HollywoodTactics - Averted.
* HordeOfAlienLocusts - After the invasion, they even "recycle" their own soldiers, living and dead.
* HypnoticEyes - A characteristic of genestealers is an ability to pacify potential prey by maintaining eye contact and moving slowly, though how much use this gets is heavily [[DependingOnTheWriter Dependent On The Writer]].
* ImprobableAimingSkills - The Hive Guard, a heavily armored feeder tendril guardian, wields an [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice Impaler Canon]], a weapon which fires long spikes with membranous fletching at extreme velocity. The Hive Guard in fact [[EyelessFace has no eyes]], but "sees" through other members of the swarm, allowing it far greater situational awareness than it would otherwise have. Further, the spikes themselves possess a rudimentary awareness, flexing their fletching membranes in flight to adjust their trajectory and further insure a target is hit, even from extreme range and in bad conditions.
* [[ItsRainingMen It's Raining Tyranids]] -
** Tyranids typically arrive on a planet's surface via "mycetic spores" dropped from space, especially the larger creatures which take more time to mature. Smaller ones are typically born "in the field" via the [[AlienKudzu consumption of the local environment]].
** Tyranid Gargoyles are variations on the gaunt genus with wings to carry them aloft. Their role is to [[DeathFromAbove swoop down on enemies from above]] and keep them occupied while larger creatures move into position. When Gargoyles have to move long distances, they will accompany a larger, [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragon-like]] flier called a Harridan, clinging to its underside to save on their own energy.
* TheJuggernaut - This is the function of the Carnifex unit. It acts as a line breaker, plodding forward implacably as attacks waste themselves against its exceptionally dense carapace, cutting down or bowling over anything that stands in its path like a living battering-ram.
* LargeAndInCharge - Larger Tyranid organisms are more likely to be the synapse creatures directing the swarm, leading to the Imperium's official policy on combating them: shoot the big ones.
* LivingShip - The Hive Fleets, complete with [[WombLevel disturbingly fleshy interiors]].
* LivingWeapon:
** The Tyranid units themselves are these, as they are explicitly bred as living combat tools.
** To a more specific degree, the weapons used by smaller Tyranid units symbiotically bond with their wielders into a single organism.
* MasterSwordsman: Hive Tyrants, of swords made out of razor-sharp-bone with a psychic brain at its base yes, but still [[MasterSwordsman swordsmen nevertheless]]. The Swarmlord cranks this up to absolutely ludicrous degrees, weilding FOUR such swords at the same-time, and so blindingly fast with them that a virtually impenetrable wall-of-blades is what your sword will clash into if you try to fight it hand-to-claw.
* MookMaker - Tyranid hive ships, for starters, making every smaller creature and even other hive ships themselves. Below that, Tyranids seed invaded worlds with brood nests, which consume the local resources brought to them and churn out smaller creatures on-site, allowing them to change their force composition in the field. And taking this one step further, some Tyranid creatures themselves are walking (or crawling or slithering) {{Mook Maker}}s themselves, such as the Tervigon, which spawns Termagaunts from various womb-pustules on its belly while on the battlefield.
* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily - Though some critters mix things up with feeder tendrils.
* MultiArmedAndDangerous - All the Tyranids are evolutions from a basic six-limbed shape, and most use all of them, except for some like the serpentine Raveners and the winged Gargoyle who have a pair of vestigial legs.
* MyBrainIsBig - Zoanthropes have always had huge heads, the better to channel psychic power. Models from earlier editions had torsos, arms, and legs, and would stand and walk on the ground. ArtEvolution has pushed later models into being little ''besides'' a brain, with a long, snake-like body to house its brainstem. It now uses [[PowerFloats its psychic power to levitate]] over the battlefield, rather than walk.
* OrganicTechnology - It's interesting looking back over the model range to see how what once were distinct weapons became fused to their wielders.
* PlanetEater - They consume entire biospheres, leaving only an airless, infertile sphere of bedrock behind.
* PowerFloats - Zoanthropes do not even have legs, they just hover along via psychic levitation.
* PsychicStatic - One of the most dangerous aspects of the Tyranids is how the Hive Mind casts a "shadow in the Warp" ahead of it, which is strong enough to [[YourHeadASplode overwhelm any psykers]] on a planet targeted by the Hive Fleets. This is very bad news, since psykers are required for astropathic communication and navigation, which means when the 'nids are on their way, there's no chance of sending a call for help, and no way for it to arrive.
* PuppeteerParasite - The little-known ripper genus variant the Cortex Leech. It's a small, fast-moving creature which leaps up to a victim's face, then extends flexible antenna into the victim's [[OrificeInvasion mouth, nose, ears]], and {{eye| scream}}s. These feelers burrow into the brain, and turn the victim into a drooling puppet of the HiveMind.
* {{Reincarnation}} - As of 5th edition, Hive Tyrants are unique in that they have distinct consciousnesses and personalities, which help them be more effective "generals." As part of the Hive Mind they can never be killed, meaning that if you destroy a Hive Tyrant in one battle, the next time you meet he'll remember your tricks, ''and'' he'll be pissed. The new special character The Swarmlord is believed to have involved in every major Tyranid conquest in their history in this way.
** The Swarmlord is a special character when compared to the other Hive Tyrants in the fact it is uniquely separate from the Hive Mind. Think of it as a very dangerous second opinion brought in only when the Hive Mind's usual tactics does not work on the foe it is currently fighting.
* SandWorm: The Tyranids have something close, in the form of the Mawloc, a worm-like Tyranid with six powerful burrowing limbs alongside a long, chitin-plated serpentine body ending in a wicked earwig-like tail. Much like the classic trope inspiration, they are almost entirely blind and rely on sensation of vibration through the ground. Even a person standing stock still can be detected by a Mawloc, if their terrified heart is beating loud enough...
* SpikesOfVillainy / TheSpiny - Tyranid creatures are almost universally covered in chitinous spikes and sharp edges. As one Games Workshop player once said in a battle report:
--> ''You can talk all you want about strategy and unit choice, but [[WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer when it comes down to it]], all Tyranid tactics end up as "spiky death".''
* SpikeShooter - Stinger Salvos, Cluster Spines, Impaler Canons; the Tyranids are not short of variations on these.
* TentacleRope - Tyranid flesh-hooks are a variation of these, except instead of lashing around a foe, they ''dig a boney meat-hook into them''. They also function as a [[GrapplingHookPistol Grappling Hook Launcher]] for scaling obstructions.
* TunnelKing - The Tyranid Ravenor is a slithering creature capable of tunneling under the surface to bypass static defenses and literally undermine entrenched positions. For high value and seriously hardened targets, groups of Ravenors will often be lead by a Trygon, their far-larger bio-titan cousin.
* [[{{Terraform}} Tyranoform]] - The effect [[AlienKudzu Tyranids have on planets they invade]], pre-consumption, involves some rather unpleasant alterations to the existing biosphere. This serves to "tenderize" the planet, making the biomass easier to process and consume when the hive fleet moves in after the defenses have been neutralized.
* TheVirus - Or more precisely, The Bacterial Microbe. Several of the initial Mycetic Spores launched during a Tyranid invasion release these microbes around their point of impact. The microbes potentially infect nearby lifeforms, causing mutation, death, and rapid decomposition. This in turn grows into colonies of brood nests to birth more Tyranids, and jutting spore chimneys which spout more of these microbes into the air to let the wind carry them elsewhere. Eventually, [[AlienKudzu all native life is choked out by this process]] and the world becomes a wasteland of digestive pools and vein-like bio-mass capillaries.
* WeHaveReserves - ... that outnumber the stars.
* ZergRush - They even [[TropeMakers inspired]] the trope namer!
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