Tyranid

This article has been marked as requiring cleanup.
This article needs images
See the ImperialWiki policies and ImperialWiki style guide for more information on the standards for acceptable articles.

Tyranids (often abbreviated Nids) are eusocial aliens invading the Milky Way in the Warhammer 40,000 setting.

Attributes

Tyranids are a strain of organisms that come in a wide variety of forms, from worm-like scavengers to multi-kilometer-long creatures capable of interstellar travel. Many ground combat vectors of Tyranids are bilaterally symmetrical with six appendages, but there is a lot of variety among the many Tyranid strains.

Most Tyranids are not sapient and don't make use of technology, although they have at their disposal various organs and organisms to serve as weaponry.

Tyranid Strains

• Tyranid warriors-Elite Soldiers/command and control
• Gaunts (Termagaunts, Hormagaunts, etc.)-Primary Tyranid Infantry with many subvarients
• Genestealers-Infantry/Biological Inflitration
• Carnifexes-Heavy assault
• Zoanthropes, Psionic Artillery

History

Besides being Extragalactic in origin, the Origins of the Tyranids is unknown. They might have been like the Orks and have been a biological weapons system gone wrong, or are actually being controlled by some alien power.

The first major incursion into the Milky Way Galaxy of Tyranids was Hive Fleet Behemoth. Behemoth hit hard, devouring systems one at a time and devoured a few Impeiral Worlds before it went towards a region of Imperial space controlled by the Ultramarine Chapter of Space Marines know as Ultramar, eventually decending upon their Capital of Macragge. There the Ultramarines managed to destroy the hive fleet, albiet with a massive loss of personnel and equipment.

The second major incursion of Tyranids was that by Hive Fleet Kraken. Unlike Behemoth, Kraken broke up into numerous smaller fleets to attack mutliple worlds at once, augmenting it's forces with Genestealer Cults, this allowed it to more quickly devestate large swaths of Imperial Space, although the smaller forces were easier to resist. This Ravaging stopped when the Majority of Kraken's forces descended upon the Eldar Craftworld of Iyanden, Much of the Craftworld was devistated while millions of Eldar were killed, but the attacking Tyranids were eventually repulsed. Most of the shattered remains of Hive Fleet Kraken are currently moving upon the fringes of the Tau Empire.

The most recent Tyranid Incursion is Hive Fleet is that of Hive Fleet Leviathan, which is far larger than the Previous two Hivefleets and is currently moving towards Holy Terra.

Organization

All Tyranids posses some level of psionic ability and follow the telepathic instructions of a collective consciousnes known as the "Hive Mind". Particularly advanced Tyranid forms --known as "synapse creatures" --serve as command hubs for less intelligent Tyranid variants. Destruction of synapse creatures in an area can cause lesser strains to loose coordination, go insane, and even turn on each other and rip themselves to pieces.

Threat Assessment

This section is a stub and needs to be completed. You can help by editing this article.