It is a very good question, and one that has been asked across the Warhammer 40k spectrum. Certainly with their deadly ability to evolve to adapt to any enviroment and overcome any enemy they would be all the more deadly. we could even consider they may already have had access to the Warp on their long journey from their distant home galaxy. We could argue that the psychic communication used as their primary form of Command and Unity was developed by Warp contact untold gazillions of millenia ago.
To allow the Nids to adapt to the Warp would be to invite certainy doom for both Chaos and Imperium. The individual organisms would probably all develop psychic latency/abilities that would give them a huge advantage over conventional forces. I think if a thing ever become reality that all the Chaos Gods would squirm in their thrones a bit. Plus with that power they could easily accelerate and further develop their biomass collection system(imagine a psychic shock that could kill an entire planet in one go).
At any rate I think forces would act to prevent sucha catastrohpy from occuring. Evemn the Gods would step in to the fray. For all intent and purposes though it would most certainly make quite the interesting story.
The other consideration is biomass to consume and replenish the hive fleet. Tyranids would be in a hostile environment, where the laws of physics obey their enemies.
While there are certainly living mortal creatures in the eye, any of the daemons in the fray would be inflicting damage, would be swiftly resurrected, and if the Tyranids tried to eat the daemons they wouldn't get any nourishment.
Sounds like the eye/warp wouldn't be on the tyranids visiting list.
Not to mention that there is only Chaos God in particular that could ruin a lot of the Tyranid's plans. That being Nurgle -- his plagues would be nearly impossible to adapt to since the Tyranids do not instantly mutate, but rather do so in waves.
Tzeentch would be another problem since he is the God of Change.
The only hope the Tyranids would have is their Shadow in the Warp where they could possibly weaken the hold of the Warp on parts of the Eye of Terror, allowing "reality" to exert its influence over it just enough for the Tyranid's biomass-driven evolution to be relatively unaffected by the Gods. But then you'd just have the Hive Fleet driving endlessly into the Warp, ever pushing onwards. To the Hive Mind there is probably little point to this idea.
There have been a couple of throw-away examples in the lore of Tyranid Hive Fleets being infected by Nurgle's Rot or other warp plagues.
Moving into the Eye of Terror wouldn't end well for the Tyranids. Their ability to sustain themselves via biomass would be heavily impeded given that most worlds and inhabitants of the Eye are corrupted (I can't imagine trying to consume a Daemon World ending well).
Aside from that the daemonic legions can freely exist within the Eye so the Tyranids would potentially be up against infinite daemons.
I can't envisage any situation that would benefit the Tyranids from entering the Eye.
They would be beaten, biomass is simply all corrupted and therefore useless as food, the genetics/physics and chemistry makes no sense.
However, you could say (Given how they kill eldar using psychic tyranids) that they could conceivably adapt to even that unadaptable environment and actually turn it to their advantage.
whatever happens, im sure at the very least the imperium would eventually suffer no matter who won.
Oh completely. All living creatures have biomass; regardless of what race, ability, psychic latency, or enviroment they come from.I'm not sure if the Tyranid Hive Mind would be able to navigate the Webway but, if by some sheer chance of luck, they did Commorragh would be destroyed in a matetr of months.
Trapped inside their own world the Nids would easily surround and kill the Dark Eldar. To their advantage the Dark Eldar love close combat, something the Nids excel at, and would eat them piecemeal. It would be a sweet, ironic end to the Dark side of Eldar history.
I'm not sure if the Tyranid Hive Mind would be able to navigate the Webway but, if by some sheer chance of luck, they did Commorragh would be destroyed in a matetr of months.
Unlikely. The Dark City has endured gargantuan daemonic incursions and worse. Vect (seemingly) has the capability to isolate and remove sections of the City as it benefits him. Remember, Commorragh is not a linear City with physical dimensions it is effectively made up of nodes spread throughout the webway linked by gates. A genestealer infestation could be isolated and removed.
Unlikely. The Dark City has endured gargantuan daemonic incursions and worse. Vect (seemingly) has the capability to isolate and remove sections of the City as it benefits him. Remember, Commorragh is not a linear City with physical dimensions it is effectively made up of nodes spread throughout the webway linked by gates. A genestealer infestation could be isolated and removed.
Additionally assuming one ever even took hold. Eldar reproduction takes significantly longer than human, and would likely be detected immediately and removed/exploited by the haemonculi.
As for other races, I doubt the dark eldar would have any qualms about removing these the easy way.
I wonder the impact the Hive Mind would have in the Eye, considering the shadow on the warp thing. Would this interfere with the free-reign of daemons within the Warp to renew, or possibly be a strong enough mental presence that the Hive Mind would be effectively a minor Warp God?
The physical side of the struggle is one significant aspect, but the huge mental presence of the Hive Mind would be another dynamic that doesn't sound like has been explored yet.
There have been a couple of throw-away examples in the lore of Tyranid Hive Fleets being infected by Nurgle's Rot or other warp plagues.
Moving into the Eye of Terror wouldn't end well for the Tyranids. Their ability to sustain themselves via biomass would be heavily impeded given that most worlds and inhabitants of the Eye are corrupted (I can't imagine trying to consume a Daemon World ending well).
Aside from that the daemonic legions can freely exist within the Eye so the Tyranids would potentially be up against infinite daemons.
I can't envisage any situation that would benefit the Tyranids from entering the Eye.
The Fall of Shadowbrink was a battle waged by the Imperium on the Cathedral World of Shadowbrink during the Third Tyrannic War in 854998.M41.[1]
Overview
As Hive Fleet Leviathan drifted across Imperial territory, they soon reached the Cathedral World of Shadowbrink. The planetary government was reluctant to evacuate the world, for beneath Shadowbrink's capital of Rossov there was concealed a terrible secret. A ring of obscene archeotech from the Dark Age of Technology remained intact, dubbed the Maelstrom Cradle by Inquisition authorities.
Thus, a permanent garrison of Grey Knights had been assigned to stand sentry over it, performing daily rituals of warding while their Librarians worked to seal the potential Daemonic rift. However with the onset of Hive Fleet Leviathan, it appeared the Grey Knights had run out of time. Yet their leader, Brother-Librarian Cadulon, could not permit evacuation while the chance of Daemonic incursion remained. Employing his exclusive authority, Cadulon instructed Shadowbrink's Governor to refuse the order to evacuate his peoeple, instead commanding the defenses of his world.[1]
Due to Shadowbrink's importance, it did not stand defenseless. Alongside the world's Grey Knights, PDF, and Frateris Militia were two Cadian and one Vostroyan Regiments of the Imperial Guard. In orbit, Shadowbrink had three orbital defense platforms and six Cobra Class Destroyers for protection. However faced with an overwhelming assault, the orbital defenses of Shadowbrink were only able to hold out for three hours against the Tyranids. With the space above Shadowbrink clear, billions of Tyranids began to descend on the world, overrunning trenches and annihilating nearly every major settlement and city.
Soon enough, the Tyranids were approaching the Maelstrom Cradle itself.[1]
The Grey Knights deployed a pair of Dreadknights to meet the Tyranids, yet not even this was enough to stem the Tyranid tide. The Grey Knights, despite their efforts, were overwhelmed along with their Imperial Guard and PDF allies. At this point, the runes of the Maelstrom began to activate, gorged on the souls of the millions of humans dying around it.
A Warp Rift opened up, and from it spilled vile Daemonic hordes. The Daemons were led by the dreaded Quadrifold Abominatium, a team of four Greater Daemons: the Great Unclean One Shub'Luth'Gug, the Bloodthirster Hak'Vasha, the Lord of Change K'rix'xi'kra, and the Keeper of Secrets Lesh'Jae'Thi'Hah. However almost immediately, the Daemonic advance began to fail when they discovered few Imperials left alive on Shadowbrink, driving the Daemon Lords into frustration at the lack of victims and souls to corrupt. However the Quadrifold decided to instead drive the Tyranids from Shadowbrink before turning their attention to the greater Imperium.[1]
Up until this point the Hive Mind had utterly ignored the Daemonic forces due to their lack of consumable biomass. However this changed when a massive Impossible Fortress rose from beneath Rossov, holding millions of Daemons. The threat became too great for the Hive Mind to ignore, and combat between the Great Devourer and Ruinous Powers erupted. The Tyranids eventually controlled the plains around Rossov before launching an all-out offensive at the ruins of the city itself. However the Daemons unleashed a storm of bile and blood which turned the ground to muck, bogging down the Tyranids. Daemonic chariots swooped in on their trapped foes, as Furies and Plague Drones attacked from above.
However the Hive Mind quickly adapted, throwing everything they had to distract the Warpspawn while swarms of Rippers rapidly consumed biomass elsewhere on Shadowbrink. This biomass was used to create swarms of Exocrines and Biovores which were in turn used to unleash devastating volleys of artillery to contain the Daemonic advance. Tervigons and the Termagants they unleashed were then deployed to launch a counter-attack through sheer attrition. The Great Unclean One Shub'Luth'Gug attempted to break the deadlock and push through, but his psychic abilities were smothered by the Shadow in the Warp. Moments later, the huge Daemon was blown apart by Zoanthropes.[1]
With the defeat of one of their own, the Daemon Lords of the Abominatum realized the nature of the battle had changed. No blood was being spilled for Khorne, just putrid alien ichor. All of Nurgles diseases were ineffective in the face of Tyranid adaptation. The deadlock went on for days, and the Lord of Change K'rix'xi'kra blasted its way back to the Malestrom Cradle to abandon the effort. The two remaining Daemon Lords then led a final mad charge against the Tyranids. However the Hive Mind had by this point absorbed their opponents strategies, using Tyrannofexes and Trygons to meet them. The Daemonic lines soon collapsed, and as the Bloodthirster Hak'Vasha was dragged back into the Warp he was still wrestling with three Trygons. The last of the Daemons had been defeated, and the Hive Mind now turned its attention to the rest of Shadowbrink.[1]
Sources
1: Codex: Tyranids (6th Edition) (E-Book Edition) - The Fall of Shadowbrink
Numbers against numbers, the Tyranids won against even famous Daemons. Their Zoanthropes in addition to their Shadow in the Warp ability wrecked havoc amongst the daemonic forces apparently.
Source? This would be really interesting if I could lend it more than apocryphal weight...
As I recall, at the Fall of Medusa V event several years back (when Death Leaper was introduced), the Hive Mind abandoned its vessels in orbit around Medusa V while the warp storm enveloped the system. So we do have at least one instance of a Hive Fleet being trapped in the warp, but no word as to how it fared. Images of daemonically possessed hive ships dance like sugar-plum fairies through my head, certainly, but... no guarantees.
As a whole, though, I thought that hive fleets steer clear of warp storms in general, like they tend to Necron Tomb Worlds too.
Source? This would be really interesting if I could lend it more than apocryphal weight...
As I recall, at the Fall of Medusa V event several years back (when Death Leaper was introduced), the Hive Mind abandoned its vessels in orbit around Medusa V while the warp storm enveloped the system. So we do have at least one instance of a Hive Fleet being trapped in the warp, but no word as to how it fared. Images of daemonically possessed hive ships dance like sugar-plum fairies through my head, certainly, but... no guarantees.
As a whole, though, I thought that hive fleets steer clear of warp storms in general, like they tend to Necron Tomb Worlds too.
That is a really stupid story. No personal offense intended, Malus.
The hive "evolved" to defeat Nurgle's diseases? I call bullshit, even if it is in the codex. The whole point of Nurgle's diseases are that they aren't natural. Evolution doesn't help. No "natural" disease causes you to become massively hungry and explode into mounds of nurglings. No "natural" disease kills you and turns you into a warp animated zombie.
And suddenly Khorne doesn't want skulls and blood (ichor) because they're from tyranids? Again bullshit. Khorne cares not from whence the blood flows, only that it flows.
The other difference is that a single world 'out there in the galaxy' isn't the same as a world in the eye of terror. The entire fabric of reality is bathed in the empyrean in the eye of terror. I suspect the effect of the shadow in the warp would be much diminished by the ambient and really available power of chaos.
There's a log in the Chaos codex that literally has a Skull champion hunting nids for a new source of skulls.
In Demon World, they were using captured gaunts as slave miners alongside humans and a variety of other xenos.
Fall of Medusa V results showed that the Hive Mind cut its losses and left the Tyranid fleet adrift, while the Imperium captured the Lictor specimen it arrived to take.
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