Artwork Tyranid... What is it?

[rpricew]

Page 197 ofhe BGB has a picture with a Tyranid attack. In the middle it shows a giant Tyranid that's larger than a Storm Raven... It actually has Land Speeders flying through the legs.

Now I've seen Hierophants and this isn't one. It doesn't have vents or anything like normal Tyranid Monstrous creatues. What do you think it is?

My guess would be a Tervigon from its stance and lack of ranged weaponry, but the scale is way off.

[timdp]

Jul 2, 2012 0:37:20 GMT rpricew said:

... but the scale is way off.

Nothing new there...

[Doc Ruby]

Theres a lot of Tyranid artwork that has creatures that are just ridiculously out of scale. The codex has what appears to be a tyranid warrior the size of a bastion on page 4, and behind him is something so ridiculously large its unfathomable (Trygon?). Either that or the Termagaunts are supposed to be about as large as a small cat.

[Bot]

Tyranids adapt and produce the creatures it needs. If there's a job that the common types of Tyranids can't take care of, they just make a new Tyranid from scratch. The Doom of Malan'tai, the Deathleaper and the parasite of mortrex are all a testament of this.

So the Tyranid you see on the picture might as well be some unknown creature.

[Inquisitor Stingray]

It also seems reasonable to assume that Tyranids of the same species varies in size depending on what planet they are designed to fight on. Otherwise you'd see Carnifexes collapsing under their own weight, due to the square/cube law. Then again, trying to fit physichs into the world of Warhammer may be a hopeless cause.

[Jabberwocky]

It could just be with different atmosphere and gravity, different sizes can be safely reached by broods grown planetside rather than dropped in from space.

[rpricew]

That's all good theory and science... But what do you think it is?

- Unknown Tyranid (therefore time to make some new rules and model it up for Apocalypse)
- Tervigon (my guess)
- Your guess...(please insert here)
- you don't care (I just want to play 6th)

[Hive Carnithrope]

Pfft. GW scaling is bollocks. Can 10 Marines really fit inside a Rhino? Try it...

Now, unless you melt them to liquid and pour them inside, no.

Termagants should be the size of a human. You can get the scale of the others from there, but the models and artwork does not reflect that.

And who knows? Tyranid bones could be made of Titanium, so they don't collapse under their weight. Want a game that makes sense? Try Star Trek.

Though to GWs credit, it's an awesome piece of artwork.

[Xantige]

I think trying to define the creature as a Tyranid we've already seen is like trying to say all dogs are either Chihuahua's or Great Danes while also denying that when you mix one breed with another, you get something totally new. One could argue that that creature, and others like it, have been slumbering and their hive fleets have just now reached the 40k galaxy an awakened to ravage it. Or, maybe it's a new breed that has evolved from the Tervigon or some other unit.

However, if you're asking me to put the fluff aside and assume that the artist was trying to draw a specific creature, then I honestly couldn't tell you. 99% of the Tyranids in that picture aren't clearly any one kind of unit. But I LOVE that about this picture. It definitely gives us the feeling of being overwhelming and unidentifiable.

You want to try identifying a strange creature? Turn to page 194

[Inquisitor Stingray]

Jul 2, 2012 16:25:20 GMT Hive Carnithrope said:

Pfft. GW scaling is bollocks. Can 10 Marines really fit inside a Rhino? Try it...

Now, unless you melt them to liquid and pour them inside, no.

Duh, you've obviously never heard of the Psychic Power called 'Play-Dough-ify. Librarians use it all the time!

Try Star Trek.

It's only logical.

Though to GWs credit, it's an awesome piece of artwork.

This made me think of the pictures and descriptions of Tyranid Weapon-Symbiotes - do you think they made them for fluff reasons or to provide some 'Better late than never' WYSIWYG for Tyranids?

Good point, Xantige. It could easily be a mix and match hybrid or a prototype for a new strain of Tyranid. Surely different Hive Fleets must have different species at their disposal, this was what the 3rd Edition codex was all about. I've also been wonderinf whether things like the Tervigon and Tyrannofex are supposed to be recent discoveries. The fluff mentions that the Swarmlord is as old as the Tyranid race itself. Then again, I resent much of the fluff in the new codex.

[killme304]

The little guys in front getting blown away are clearly hormies, the larger one standing nearby with dual scytals is a warrior, my bet is tat the one bigger than a stormraven is a carnifex with dual scytals. As stated priviously, GW sucks at scaling.

[WestRider]

Jul 2, 2012 8:52:49 GMT Doc Ruby said:

Theres a lot of Tyranid artwork that has creatures that are just ridiculously out of scale. The codex has what appears to be a tyranid warrior the size of a bastion on page 4, and behind him is something so ridiculously large its unfathomable (Trygon?). Either that or the Termagaunts are supposed to be about as large as a small cat.

That's just a matter of perspective, both physical and psychological. Think about it, that's pretty much what a Tyrant/Warrior/Gaunt wave approach would look like to a Guardsman who's fallen down and is watching from way too low and way too close.

Based on the scale drawings in The Anphelion Project, Gaunts have their shoulders about waist-high to a human, so that pic is about right for someone who's fallen and propped themself up on one arm.

[Dro]

I think we need Hive Fleet Cthulhu on this one.

[bayne]

Jul 2, 2012 16:56:46 GMT Xantige said:

You want to try identifying a strange creature? Turn to page 194

Thats the Deborah Harry inspired Sororitas from the old sisters of battle codex, i particularly love the messenger-bat.

Of vastly VASTLY greater importance is the Tyranid on page 198...
The one not seen since 1st ed.....
The one from Hive Fleet Collossus which our codex mentions is rumoured to have returned.....

[WestRider]

Now that I've actually got the Rulebook, and have taken a good look at the pic in question, I'm guessing it's a Dominatrix, altho a re-design of the Hierophant isn't out of the question, and it could be something entirely new as well.