"It was like the shadows just came alive and took him, right from under our noses. One moment he was there, the next he was gone... and none of us saw an Emperor-damned thing."
- —Sergeant Morvik, 351st Castobel Rifle Brigade
A Tyranid Lictor holding an unfortunate Asuryani Ranger within its grasp. It will use its Feeder Tendrils to extract the Ranger's brain matter and cerebrospinal fluid so that it can analyze his memories for crucial intelligence data.
The Tyranid bioform known as the Lictor (Tyranicus chameleo) is a specialised evolutionary development of the Tyranid Warrior, highly adapted to a role as a scout in the vanguard of any Tyranid swarm's advance. Lictors move ahead of the swarm, seeking out pockets of resistance to be eradicated and native life forms to be absorbed.
Able to move swiftly and without sound through even the densest terrain, and concealed by a chameleonic carapace that renders it all but invisible to the naked eye, a Lictor can remain hidden until it chooses to strike. It can wait motionless for solar days, unnoticed by its victims, an unseen herald of approaching disaster.
A Lictor also serves as a prime source of intelligence for the Hive Mind, able to use its Feeder Tendrils to extract a victim's brain matter and cerebrospinal fluid so that it can sift through and analyze their memories for crucial strategic information it can pass on.
Quick Answers
What is the primary role of the Lictor in the Tyranid swarm?
How does the Lictor's abilities differ from that of a Tyranid Warrior?
What makes the Lictor a formidable scout in the Tyranid swarm?
How does the Lictor contribute to the Tyranid's advance?
What evolutionary adaptations does the Lictor possess compared to other Tyranid bioforms?
Role[]
A Tyranid Lictor prepares to kill a Catachan Jungle Fighter of the Astra Militarum.
Lictors are the lone hunters of the Tyranid swarm, roving ahead of the hive fleet, seeking out prey and leading the Hive Mind to concentrations of enemies.
As tall as a Tyranid Warrior, Lictors are distinct in appearance from other Tyranid species in a number of ways, such as a pair of long mantis-like claws extending over the creature's shoulders which it can use for climbing and impaling its prey; long, drooping feeder tendrils that hang from its maw and greatly increase its senses, and shimmering chameleonic scales which allow it to hide with ease.
A natural predator, the Lictor is patient and stealthy and can move past even the most alert foes, or spend days hiding immobile, waiting for a chance to strike once its prey's guard is down. This behaviour has given the Lictor an almost mythical reputation amongst its foes, as a ghost-like horror which can strike at any time and place, before vanishing into thin air just as easily.
A Lictor attacks a group of the Astra Militarum's Catachan Jungle Fighters.
A Lictor's primary purpose is to lead the Tyranid swarm on a target world to fresh prey and seek out large groups of foes that might be hiding or fleeing before the swarm. In this role, they move silently and almost completely invisibly across all kinds of terrain, using their enhanced senses to find their foes.
These opportunistic hunters tend to avoid confrontations where they would be outmatched, silently stalking their prey from the shadows. Stalking Lictors also serve another deadly purpose than simple slaughter; exuding a potent pheromone trail which draws other Tyranid bioforms to the slaughter. The larger the concentration of prey, the stronger the response and the more irresistible the lure. As scouts, Lictors are able to operate outside the Hive Mind's synaptic web, so they do not need to always remain close to a controlling Tyranid synapse creature.
When the time comes to strike, Lictors are brutally efficient, with a whole arsenal of bio-weaponry that includes mantis-like claws, talons that can pierce steel, barbed flesh hooks and feeder tendrils. The feeder tendrils are tipped with sharpened bony plates that can pierce a victim's skull as easily as they can poke through eyeballs and sockets. They are used to lobotomise a victim so that the Lictor can swiftly devour its brain and cerebrospinal fluid and thus absorb its memories in biochemical fashion.
Thus, in death, the enemy reveals more to a Lictor than it ever did in life, betraying the whereabouts of comrades and revealing any weaknesses that might be exploited. The Lictor also gathers information for the Hive Mind. Part of the creature's unique genus means that it is capable of literally devouring a victim's memories by eating their brain, learning more from them in a single bloody meal than solar hours of brutal interrogation might yield.
A deadly Tyranid Lictor in battle.
Fighting Lictors is very difficult, as first a soldier needs to find one. Even then, bringing one to battle can be difficult as they strike and kill a handful of troops before vanishing, sometimes right before the eyes of their enemies, and leave no trail to follow. Lictors are usually only brought down by quick-thinking heavy weapons teams or powerful Imperial heroes, such as well-armed Space Marines, who have the strength and nerve to slay the beast before it can melt away into the terrain.
Another less reliable method of destroying Lictors, and one favoured by many Astra Militarum commanders, is the reconnaissance by fire method. Once even the slightest evidence of a Lictor is detected, they will isolate the area they believe it to be lurking in (sometimes kilometres across) and carpet bomb it into ash and dust.
While this only rarely works (Lictors being cunning enough to either slip away or hide where least expected) it does raise morale among the local defenders, at least until the Lictor strikes again.
Neurolictor[]
A Neurolictor
A Neurolictor is an evolution of the standard Lictor strain created by the Hive Mind to make use of psychic abilities to enhance its utility as a terror weapon for the hive fleets.
Carefully orchestrated evolution by the Hive Mind has given Neurolictors highly developed neural organs that emit a wave of psychic dread. When struck by them, even the most iron-willed warriors experience an atavistic terror response to the Neurolictors' presence.
These bioforms also possess the psychic ability to confound their enemies' senses, which not only masks the Neurolictor's presence, but also renders their foes hapless when the main Tyranid force arrives.
See Also[]
Sources[]
- Codex Tyranids (5th Edition), pg. 41
- Codex Tyranids (9th Edition), pg. 102
- Dark Heresy: Creatures Anathema (RPG), pg. 93
- Deathwatch: Mark of the Xenos (RPG), pg. 37
- Warhammer Community - Warhammer Preview: Stealthy Lictors Leap Out of the Shadows
- Warhammer Community - Sunday Preview: The Hive Mind is Coming to Get You
Gallery[]
| Tyranid Forces | |
|---|---|
| Command | Norn-Queen • Hive Tyrant • Neurotyrant (Neuroloid) • Broodlord • Neurothrope • Dagon Overlord • Malanthrope • Maleceptor • Swarmlord • Tervigon • Tyranid Warrior Prime • Trygon Prime |
| Elites | Haruspex • Hive Guard • Lictor (Neurolictor) • Leaper • Biovore • Pyrovore • Venomthrope • Ymgarl Genestealers • Zoanthrope • Hive Guard • Tyrant Guard |
| Troops | Gaunt (Termagant • Hormagaunt • Barbgaunt• Neurogaunt) • Rippers (Sky-slasher) • Genestealer • Tyranid Warrior (Tyranid Shrike) |
| Fast Attack & Flying Bioforms | Gargoyle • Harpy • Ravener • Hive Crone • Harridan • Tyrannocyte |
| Heavy Support | Biovore • Carnifex (Thornback • Stone Crusher • Screamer-Killer) • Dimachaeron • Exocrine • Mawloc • Haruspex • Pyrovore • Trygon • Tyrannofex • Sporocyst • Maleceptor • Psychophage • Toxicrene |
| Spores | Meiotic Spore • Mycetic Spore • Mucolid Spore • Spore Mine |
| Others | Bio-Titan (Hierophant • Nautiloid • Vermis • Viciator • Dactylis • Dominatrix) • Cerebore • Hierodule • Malefactor • Norn Emissary • Norn Assimilator • Capillary Tower • Reclamation Pool • Spore Chimney |
| Unique Tyranids | Deathleaper • Old One Eye • Parasite of Mortrex • Doom of Malan'Tai • Red Terror • Mist Reaper • What Lies Beneath • Death's Shadow |