"We unleashed the fury of a Fenrisian blizzard upon those damned creatures, but no matter how true our axes struck, they would not fall. By the time Vjanr's plasma gun burned the last of them to slag there were but three of my pack still standing."
- — Fynar Firepelt, Blood Claw of the Space Wolves
A wrathful Tyranid Tyrant Guard turns its rage towards the foe.
The Tyrant Guard (Tyranicus scutatus) is a Tyranid bioform whose main purpose is to serve as a living shield for other, more important Tyranid organisms, particularly the Hive Tyrant. These creatures have an incredible resistance to injury and are only dimly aware of pain, shrugging off wounds that would blow a man apart. They are all but impervious to small arms fire, and should heavy weaponry be brought to bear, several salvoes are required to fell even one of these beasts.
Blind and ultimately controlled by the Tyranid synapse-creatures they protect, these half-sentient but ferocious bioforms appear to have been bio-engineered specifically to counter anti-Tyranid tactical doctrines. It is also believed that Space Marine DNA was incorporated into the creation of the first Tyrant Guards by the Hive Fleet Norn-Queens, explaining this bioform's extreme resilience in combat. This would also suggest that the Tyrant Guard possess a portion of the genetic material of the Emperor of Mankind.
Should their charge be slain, the Tyrant Guard will go berserk, lashing out and tearing at the enemy with brutal ferocity and savage abandon. A Tyrant Guard's rampage is not guided by grief, nor a sense of neglected duty, for such things are alien concepts to the Tyranids. Rather, a Tyrant Guard's reaction is pure instinct and part of the coldly calculated strategy of the Hive Mind. Hive Tyrants are vital to the Tyranid onslaught, and if the enemy finds a way to bring such a beast down, the Hive Mind does not want knowledge of how the feat was accomplished to survive the battle and be passed on to a future foe.
Role
A Tyranid Tyrant Guard protects its synapse-creature, a Hive Tyrant.
Warriors who attempt to slay a Tyranid leader-beast are confronted with a wall of chitin-armoured bodies that bristles with huge, scything blades and crushing claws. There is no way past this deadly obstacle, and those who approach are clubbed to death or hacked apart, their ruptured bodies joining the moat of gore that surrounds the xenos shield wall. Not a single one of these organisms moves to chase a fleeing enemy; they stand immovable, ignoring the storms of fire that ricochet from their thick hides.
Tyrant Guard are the ultimate bodyguards; it is the entire purpose of their creation. They are driven by a bestial consciousness that knows little save for a ferocious loyalty to the Hive Tyrant they protect. Bodyguards from other species defend a charge out of a feeling of duty, suppressing their own survival instincts to do so -- a fundamental conflict that slows reaction times.
Tyrant Guard suffer no such limitations, for they are near-mindless beasts engineered for but a single task. Their instincts tend not towards self-preservation, but to the defence of the Hive Tyrant to which they are bonded. Should the Hive Tyrant come under attack, its Tyrant Guard hurl themselves into the path of incoming fire without thought or concern, sheltering their master with their own bodies until the threat is ended or death takes them.
These organisms are blind, possessing no discernible means of seeing the enemy. However, eyes are not necessary for these bodyguards, for when they are guarding a Hive Tyrant they become extensions of their master's own body. The synaptic control of their ward provides the rudimentary direction these creatures need, alerting them to nearby threats and arranging them to best fend off any enemy assault. Furthermore, eyes would present a weak and vulnerable target for a canny foe to attack. Such a weakness would only expose a chink in the Tyrant Guard's otherwise impenetrable armour, compromising the role for which it was created.
Unit Composition
- 3-6 Tyrant Guards
Wargear
- Rending Claws
- Scything Talons
- Crushing Claws (As replacement for Scything Talons)
- Lash Whip and Bonesword (As replacement for Scything Talons)
Source
- Codex: Tyranids (8th Edition), pg. 64
- Codex: Tyranids (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), pg. 46
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