Chaos Tyranids

[musical-fool]

Soemthing about the brb that has always been, waait for it, bugging me (!), is the picture of Nids vs. Demons.

With the Nids' genetic sifting of biomass leading to new mutations, does any Warp infected/mutated biomass affect the Nid's next mutations?

It just got me thunking...but not towards new fan codex fap material.

Has anything ever come up in the fluff about this?

[JamesP]

IIRC, Ragnar's Claw has Ragnar Blackmane & co. meeting Chaos-tainted Nids on a space hulk.

I'm also fairly sure that the original Genestealer army list had the option of being tainted by Chaos, so you could have mutated Hybrids etc. This was an army list in White Dwarf that was then reprinted in the Warhammer 40,000 Compilation AKA "The Yellow Book". By second edition, the Genestealer Cult was an army list in the Tyranid Codex and it no longer had the option of being Chaos-tainted IIRC.

There may well be other examples in the fluff.

[Anggul]

Whilst they would never follow Chaos or enact it's desires, I suppose they could feasibly be physically tainted by it in some way, such as an infection of Nurgle or something.

[bfmusashi]

Infected by Nurgle was one of the reasons to have Daemonhunters fight 'nids, so kudos for nailing that one.
The hivemind does refuse the reclamation of dangerous biomass, so I imagine it doesn't add warp mutated critters to the pool. I mean, look at those poor genestealers from Ymgarl :(

[eldargal]

I can see diseased 'nids, but I can't see full blown corrupted 'nids. The shadow of the warp forms a warp-free bubble (shadow) around the tyranids so I can't see chaotic taint/energy getting through that to corrupt them. An actual disease, perhaps. So diseased nids, yes, chaos nids, no.

[gcsmith]

not true entirelly Eldargal. its possible to have nids without the shadow of the warp, maybe advanced genestealer force sent to infiltrate and take over a world. which by conincidence was being taken over by a chaos cult at the same time

[bfmusashi]

I thought Shadow just made the warp difficult for non-tyranids to use. Not so much warp free, but like a large foreign body covering the local area, like an eclipse.

[gcsmith]

No the shadow Creates a Void in the warp :)

[eldargal]

Well we don't even know if Genestealer cults are still employed by the Hive Fleets for scouting purposes, none of the recent incursions have been preceded by them that I can recall.

I still think it is more likely the tainted tyranids would just get sick/die rather than run around going 'rawrlge rawrgle rawgle'* and building little bio-altars to the gods.



*Trans: Blood for the Blood God.

[gcsmith]

I think the only reason they wouldnt, is either theyd be gaunts and rippers so TOOO STUPID too, or be genestealers so wouldnt due to Automated Intellegence breeded in them.

[Grailkeeper]

Nids can be infected with the obliterator virus according to storm of iron, but this may just they're Iron Warrior Slaves, rather than followers

[bfmusashi]

No the shadow Creates a Void in the warp :)

Where is this from? I've only ever seen the Shadow referred to as a smothering signature in the warp inflicting madness and despair. If it were a void nids couldn't use the warp, nor could anything on the field.

[gcsmith]

Nids dnt use the warp. and u realise the shadow makes it hard to use it. I think only the norn ships truelly create like a void tho

[bfmusashi]

'Nids use the warp. Shadow is them flooding it with their presence. The bit where human psykers end up babbling in alien tongues is fairly indicative of this. Then there's the sheer number of 'nid psychic powers utilized by synapse creatures and how they're drawn to the astronomican and genestealers. This is all in the most recent codex, and it has changed little from how it was described in Hive War (the epic supplement and their first army book). Shadow makes it hard for the enemy forces to use the warp, not your own.

[Hive Mind]

Well we don't even know if Genestealer cults are still employed by the Hive Fleets for scouting purposes


The White Dwarf campaign (Into The Kraken's Jaws or something like that) featuring Tyranids v IG, BA and Eldar suggests that they are.

[gcsmith]

Nids Pyschic powers draw on the hive mind not the warp.

[eldargal]

I don't recall that particular campaign (or only very vaguely), but unless it was stamped 'Chapter Approved' or gets referred to in the codex I'm not sure how canonical it would be.

Still doesn't change the fact that while I could see corrupted tyranids I can't see there being 'chaos tyranids' in the sense of nids actively trying to further the interests of the Chaos gods. Its an important distinction I feel. For there to be Chaos Tyranids there would need to be a Chaos Hive Mind, and as the hive mind pushed the warp back it doesn't seem particularly plausible.:)


The White Dwarf campaign (Into The Kraken's Jaws or something like that) featuring Tyranids v IG, BA and Eldar suggests that they are.

[Hive Mind]

Still doesn't change the fact that while I could see corrupted tyranids I can't see there being 'chaos tyranids' in the sense of nids actively trying to further the interests of the Chaos gods.

Nor was it meant to.

EDIT - p.17 of the Blood Angels Codex, under the title 'The Hives of Hollonan', details the same campaign though it doesn't use the phrase Genestealer Cult even if it's heavily implied.

[eldargal]

Oh I know you didn't mean to, I was just tryingto stop myself going off on a tangent about the neglect of genestealer cults in the official fluff. Which is real shame. One of my favourite issues of WD was one with the genestealer cults, issue 133 or something.

[Lemt]

Dammit, I'm sure I read something about this somewhere. Can't remember where, but I'd swear there was a story in an official publication with warp-tainted nids, and Space Marines fighting alongside Adeptus Sororitas against them.
Note I said warp-tainted, not Chaos-aligned. Small groups of Tyranids that have been cut off from their Hive Fleet for a long time (was it a space hulk? Damn you memory of mine!) can be affected by the warp. Or at least according to that story.