And the good guy prize goes to.... Tyranids!

[Mr Mystery]

Now now grandpa, don't get too excited, remember what happened last time?

That's right, you signed that 'too good to be true' deal with those C'tan *insert Necrontyr expletive here*...

:P

Then beat the snot out of them too. What's your point? We slew our Gods, and they actually existed in this plane!

Necrons. You're dead mate. We have all eternity to ensure it!

[Kevin48220]

Quiet you, it doesn't even make sense that such a low-population species could control the galaxy, there couldn't have been enough Necrontyr in existence. :P

They sure did control the galaxy, young man, and the Warp was uphill both ways back then.

[Mr Mystery]

Ppfffrtt.

Real men don't use the Warp.

We fold space.

[Wildeybeast]

The whole 'Tyranids are just hungry' idea falls down on the fact that they have sentience. Genestealers and Lictors operating beyond control of the Hive Mind make choices. They don't simply murder every living thing they come across and act purely on instinctive behaviour. Genestealer broods make plans. The Swarmlord has, for want of a better term, a personality. And the Hive Mind itself clearly makes choices for the good of the Hive. Whilst the wee beasties are just dumb animals acting on instinct or the commands of the swarm, Tyranids as a 'race' are not. As soon as you start making choices, you are held accountable for them. They are moral agents and so cannot be absolved of blame. Their desires and motivations are very simple (namely the propagation of their own existence at the expense of all other living things) but no more so than say Chaos (we want to destroy the Imperium) or Orks (we like punching things). The Tyranids are very much evil.

[Mr Mystery]

Nids could be said to be the ultimate expression of 'just following orders'

As for outright evil? Has to be Dark Eldar. Sure some of what they do is survival, but they take a perverse joy in their acts, seeking to ensure they are as cruel and malicious as possible. Not because some God demands it, but because they genuinely get off on it!

[Emerald Rose Widow]

The whole 'Tyranids are just hungry' idea falls down on the fact that they have sentience. Genestealers and Lictors operating beyond control of the Hive Mind make choices. They don't simply murder every living thing they come across and act purely on instinctive behaviour. Genestealer broods make plans. The Swarmlord has, for want of a better term, a personality. And the Hive Mind itself clearly makes choices for the good of the Hive. Whilst the wee beasties are just dumb animals acting on instinct or the commands of the swarm, Tyranids as a 'race' are not. As soon as you start making choices, you are held accountable for them. They are moral agents and so cannot be absolved of blame. Their desires and motivations are very simple (namely the propagation of their own existence at the expense of all other living things) but no more so than say Chaos (we want to destroy the Imperium) or Orks (we like punching things). The Tyranids are very much evil.

I think this pretty much covers it, the little guys are fine if you wanna talk good vs evil, because most of them just do what the hive mind says. There are many sentient creatures in the tyranid, the synapse creatures as a whole need to be able to think and direct the monsters under them as well. Any synapse creature has a very strong intelligence, the hive mind doesn't just control everything like micromanaging, the hive mind puts orders out there and the sentient beasties pass on the information, and firgure out how to do them. This is done through the Norn Queens, down to the Hive Tyrants, down to the other synapsers like tervigons and warriors, zoanthropes, and the like.

[BatMarine]

As for outright evil? Has to be Dark Eldar. Sure some of what they do is survival, but they take a perverse joy in their acts, seeking to ensure they are as cruel and malicious as possible. Not because some God demands it, but because they genuinely get off on it!

Well actually, the more cruel they are about it the more sustaining it is, so yeah they get off on it, just like anyone who gets an excellent meal! It's still a decision made for sustenance.

[Mr Mystery]

Well actually, the more cruel they are about it the more sustaining it is, so yeah they get off on it, just like anyone who gets an excellent meal! It's still a decision made for sustenance.

They can take the soul without the suffering....but they do prefer to add flavour. Goes beyond necessity!

[Learn2Eel]

The whole 'Tyranids are just hungry' idea falls down on the fact that they have sentience. Genestealers and Lictors operating beyond control of the Hive Mind make choices. They don't simply murder every living thing they come across and act purely on instinctive behaviour. Genestealer broods make plans. The Swarmlord has, for want of a better term, a personality. And the Hive Mind itself clearly makes choices for the good of the Hive. Whilst the wee beasties are just dumb animals acting on instinct or the commands of the swarm, Tyranids as a 'race' are not. As soon as you start making choices, you are held accountable for them. They are moral agents and so cannot be absolved of blame. Their desires and motivations are very simple (namely the propagation of their own existence at the expense of all other living things) but no more so than say Chaos (we want to destroy the Imperium) or Orks (we like punching things). The Tyranids are very much evil.

Tyranids consume because they are hyper-evolved predators. Lictors, Genestealers and other 'sentient' beings do what they do so that worlds can be consumed. They are merely following the will of the Hive Mind, and that is to feed and grow - the simplest and most basic innate desires of any creature. A lion has evolved to match its environment and survive. A Lictor is grown to disrupt enemy communications, supply lines and assassinate key targets. New Tyranids are spawned not of any 'will' but as a natural response so that they adapt to their environment - each Hive Fleet does this independently and at an alarming rate. An analogy; humans have evolved to prey on other species, though over the process of millions of years. As hunters, we follow a pack leader that directs and organizes the many different cogs of the pack. A Tyranid synapse creature is no different; it directs those around it with the stated goal of claiming the kill, and feeding. Tyranids merely evolve over the process of months, not millions of years.

Tyranids don't have the stated goal of killing everything. They want to feed and grow, just like humans do at their most fundamental level, even though it means they will wipe out all other life in the process. There is a major difference when discussing the very black and white concept of good or evil.

A Lictor or Genestealer makes choices because it was evolved to do so as to increase the chances of a successful 'hunt', not because it consciously decides the morally 'right' or 'wrong' course of action. Tyranids likely have no concept of 'morality'. Just because a being has intelligence does not mean it understands anything more than 'feeding'.
The only real possible exception is the Swarmlord. But even then, it is still dominated by the will to 'feed'.

Your example with Chaos Space Marines and Orks is also quite a stretch. Chaos Space Marines chose to commit their actions. A Tyranid has no choice, does not understand the concept of 'good' or 'evil', and is merely birthed so that the species can survive. As stated, 'sentient' Tyranids can only perceive the hunt - there is literally nothing else to them. A Warrior only knows to direct others of its kind and fight viciously. It literally knows nothing else. Orks aren't even really evil, when you think about it. They just want to fight. That isn't 'evil' in any sense of the word. Going off that logic, and this also applies to Tyranids, is a shark evil because it kills and eats others in horrifying attacks? Orks are naturally tough - that is either a result of their constant fighting or the cause. In either case, like Tyranids, they have merely evolved to match their environment.

That is just the way I see it anyway. I think you are assuming that just because Lictors/Genestealers/Synapse creatures can make the equivalent of "choices" that they understand the consequences and thus can be held accountable. A Hive Tyrant is evolved to direct other parts of the swarm and react to opposition tactics. It doesn't want to, it doesn't think about it. It just 'does', because it was created to do so. Tyranids have no free will outside of reacting and adapting to their prey. The Swarmlord is unique in that it can act independently of the will of the Hive Mind, but that is only so that it can develop its own means of consuming its prey.

[Diagnosis Ninja]

Well, Orks are fun guys... (technically, fungi.)

Just like us at our workplace: Kept in the dark (about everything) and fed ****.