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Lesser Tyranid creatures are subject to Instinctive Behavior when not in range of Synapse creatures. So the topic of this Debate is:

What qualifies a breed of Tyranid as being a "Lesser" creature?

By process of elimination, we can come to a rudimentary conclusion:
--Hive Tyrants, Brood Lords, and Warriors are all Synapse creatures = Obviously superior creatures.
--Biovores and Genestealers have "Brood Telepathy" and do not even need a Synapse creature on the battle field = Superior creatures.
--Lictors and Carnifexes are "Fearless" and therefore the Instinctive Behavior becomes irrelevant; since the moral test needed to move forward would be automatically passed = Superior creatures.

But what about Rippers and Spore Mines that are "Mindless", and therefore "Fearless"... Does that make them superior? These are the most basic of Tyranid life forms. Rippers are rumored to just be larvae that go forward and eat...And Spore Mines do nothing but drift on the wind and explode when they accidentally bump into something...Are they really superior?

By the superior standards of Synapse, Brood Telepathy, and Fearless that leaves: Gaunts, Hormagaunts, Ravenors, Gargoyles, Tyrant Guards and Zoanthorps. But what about them makes them "Lesser" creatures?

Is it point value? A "Superior" Warrior is worth 14 points, “Lesser" Ravenors are worth 30 points....so that’s not it.

Any type of Gaunt, being about as smart as a dog, I can logically understand being "Lesser" and acting like animals when not around Synapse Creatures. Basically the Gargoyles are literally Gaunts with wings, so no issues there.

But what about Zoanthorpe? True, the Zoanthorpe can take the Synapse power, but if you choose not too...is it really a "Lesser" creature? With its big huge brain will it really turn into an animal when not in range of another big brain creature?

What about Tyrant Guards? Their soul purpose in life is to protect the Hive Tyrant. Their Instinctive Behavior is to jump in front of bullets for the Hive Tyrant. Born and Bread bullet catchers...So what if the Hive Tyrant dies before they do? Wouldn't they just run to the next Hive Tyrant and protect him? If there are not more Hive Tyrants then I can see some greatly demoralizing effects on the Guard. Or even go into some super blood rage perhaps, and must always run blindly toward the enemy that killed the Hive Tyrant. But if there is one on the board, with out wings, then the instinct would be to go protect the other one.

I just feel there should be more clarification on which ones are actually "lesser" breeds and fall victim to Instinctive Behavior. So I open to debate...What qualifies a breed of Tyranid as being a "Lesser" creature?

Psyker_9er wrote:

But what about Rippers and Spore Mines that are "Mindless", and therefore "Fearless"... Does that make them superior? These are the most basic of Tyranid life forms. Rippers are rumored to just be larvae that go forward and eat...And Spore Mines do nothing but drift on the wind and explode when they accidentally bump into something...Are they really superior?

These are taken in the rules for each entry, rippers say they do not obey the rules for instinctive behavior. Spore Mines follow the rules for spore mines, which overrides instinctive behavior.

at about Zoanthorpe? True, the Zoanthorpe can take the Synapse power, but if you choose not too...is it really a "Lesser" creature? With its big huge brain will it really turn into an animal when not in range of another big brain creature?

If it doesn't say under its listing that ignores instinctive behavior, guess what, it falls underneath instinctive behavior. there is not debate on what is a superior or lesser creature, if it is in synapse range its fine, if its not, follow the rules for instinctive behavior, unless it says otherwise.

so even the carnifex follows the rules for instinctive behavior, if it isn't in synapse range, but because he is fearless, you can move without making a roll, he passes the leadership test, which is a morale test.

What about Tyrant Guards? Their soul purpose in life is to protect the Hive Tyrant. Their Instinctive Behavior is to jump in front of bullets for the Hive Tyrant. Born and Bread bullet catchers...So what if the Hive Tyrant dies before they do? Wouldn't they just run to the next Hive Tyrant and protect him? If there are not more Hive Tyrants then I can see some greatly demoralizing effects on the Guard. Or even go into some super blood rage perhaps, and must always run blindly toward the enemy that killed the Hive Tyrant. But if there is one on the board, with out wings, then the instinct would be to go protect the other one.

I would be dumfounded if the guard didn't die before the hive tyrant, but it could happen theoretically....guess what, they follow the rules for instinctive behavior, because their rule set doesn't have a special rule for being out of synapse range.

I just feel there should be more clarification on which ones are actually "lesser" breeds and fall victim to Instinctive Behavior. So I open to debate...What qualifies a breed of Tyranid as being a "Lesser" creature?

The 'lesser' and 'superior' is just fluff, if it is out of synapse range, and doesn't have special rules to deal with it, follow the rules for instinctive behavior.

Lesser Tyranid creatures are those that are not Synapse creatures.

However some Lesser creatures have exceptions to the Synapse rule either in the form of Brood Telepathy or because they are Fearless (thanks to the FAQ).

Yakface is correct.