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I think that the nids are cool but i don't get why they came to this Galaxy?

They're hungry.

Basically that's it.

They're a race of extra-galactic insects that stripmine planets for food (which includes the oceans, soil, minerals, atmosphere and any animals or people or aliens unlucky enought to be on the planet).

They've eaten their way through a dozen galaxies already. It's our turn next.

Angels of Death789 wrote:I think that the nids are cool but i don't get why they came to this Galaxy?

Because they already ate everything in the next one over.

Angels of Death789 wrote:I think that the nids are cool but i don't get why they came to this Galaxy?

The Hive Mind picked up a broadcast of 'Epic Meal Time', and things just escalated from there.

apparantly it could be coz' they were driven off by something even bigger!!!!!!!

uh oh


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the tyrtyranids are coming! hahaha

That is a theory going around about the Nids fleeing from something bigger, but lets be serious... whatever makes Nids flee... will ruin the setting of 40k.

So thats never going to happen. The other theory is that Nids are attracted to the psykers on terra broadcasting all day.

Either way they are here and Nom'ing there way around.

I think its because they are headed for Terra, i.e. the emperors beacon, the belief is if the emperor dies, Nids may become unfocussed and not as interested in our universe.

Rick_1138 wrote:I think its because they are headed for Terra, i.e. the emperors beacon, the belief is if the emperor dies, Nids may become unfocussed and not as interested in our universe.

Actually it is the Golden Throne itself which is calling to them. As long the throne is on they are headed toward Terra and the imperium isn't likely to switch it off anytime soon.

They were trying to escape the Cruddace but unfortunately for them they failed...

Milisim wrote:That is a theory going around about the Nids fleeing from something bigger, but lets be serious... whatever makes Nids flee... will ruin the setting of 40k..

Unless it was Draigo or Calgar. =P

What Loki said.

However, since they are so stuffed from consuming all the biomass in those galaxies, the hordes of nids that attack our galaxy have absorbed/transfered/created the 'bloated' gene which explains why the army seems to be slower now.

Maybe it's just me, but everytime I hear the "they are running from something bigger" theory, I think of this:

Kris Knives wrote:

Rick_1138 wrote:I think its because they are headed for Terra, i.e. the emperors beacon, the belief is if the emperor dies, Nids may become unfocussed and not as interested in our universe.

Actually it is the Golden Throne itself which is calling to them. As long the throne is on they are headed toward Terra and the imperium isn't likely to switch it off anytime soon.

Well, they could turn it off...

And then watch our entire solar system get turned into a new Eye of Terror!

i also heard rumors that the nids came to this galaxy because they already ate everything in the one they came from

I was also under the impression that the astronomicon had something to do with it. Like a moth drawn to a lamp, so to speak. Could be wrong, though.

In any case, tyranid just got almost good enough to consider playable with what the 6th ed rulebook did to their fluff. If their fluff improves to merely "bad" then I might be willing to play them, as they do have some interesting conversion opportunities.

Ailaros wrote:I was also under the impression that the astronomicon had something to do with it. Like a moth drawn to a lamp, so to speak. Could be wrong, though.

Right and wrong. Once within the galaxy, sure, the astronomican is a giant psychic beacon. That's exactly how their vanguards attract a hive fleet to a prey world.

From outside the galaxy? No, the astronomican doesn't even reach the fringes of the galaxy, so it definitely didn't draw them to the Milky Way. We were just the next plate on the buffet.

Could be wrong, but should all these fluff questions be in the fluff section?

I've heard multiple theories as to why the Tyranids are here, and that is all that we have available, theories. Even within the 40k setting, there are only theories. The least plausible theory is that the Nids were attracted by the Golden Throne, but considering the overall weakness of the signal even at the edges of the galaxy, it is unlikely to be able to attract them from such a long distance. Another theory is that something drove them from their home Galaxy, possibly Orks (as the fluff indicates long range sensor probes have picked up Ork chatter outside of the galaxy), forcing them to spread out. However, when compared to the most plausible theory, that the hive fleets left merely because they had consumed all that they could in the galaxy they previously occupied, and came to ours because it is the next closest, it seems more probable than the hive fleet giving up an all you can eat Ork buffet. It was also once theorized that the Tyranids were actually a creation of the C'Tan the Outsider to destroy the galaxy, but this was only ever speculation, and since the redesign of the Necrons and their fluff largely nerfed the C'Tan after their defeat by the Necrons, as well as Szarehk (the last king of the Necrons) deciding to return after encountering the hive fleet in the intergalactic void in order to defeat the tyranids, this has been disproven.

An additional theory is that in addition to coming to this galaxy just to feed, the Tyranids may have been called by Tyranid ships already within the galaxy, either as a result of a forward scoutship, or more troubling, vanguards left behind after the hive fleet culled this galaxy hundreds of thousands of years ago.

RegalPhantom wrote:An additional theory is that in addition to coming to this galaxy just to feed, the Tyranids may have been called by Tyranid ships already within the galaxy, either as a result of a forward scoutship, or more troubling, vanguards left behind after the hive fleet culled this galaxy hundreds of thousands of years ago.

The Reaper theory doesn't work with Tyranids, because while Reapers cull the advanced civilisations in oder for new civilisations to rise, Tyranids eat everything. When they're done with a galaxy, there's nothing left to start new life.

RegalPhantom wrote:but considering the overall weakness of the signal even at the edges of the galaxy, it is unlikely to be able to attract them from such a long distance.

But maybe they're extra sensitive. A human psyker can only see the astronomicon from the edge of the galaxy, but perhaps the aggregate of the hive mind's senses are stronger.

I mean, a shark can smell a drop of blood from three miles away - a feat that a human can never be trained to accomplish. Perhaps it's the same for tyranid?

Ailaros wrote:

RegalPhantom wrote:but considering the overall weakness of the signal even at the edges of the galaxy, it is unlikely to be able to attract them from such a long distance.

But maybe they're extra sensitive. A human psyker can only see the astronomicon from the edge of the galaxy, but perhaps the aggregate of the hive mind's senses are stronger.

I mean, a shark can smell a drop of blood from three miles away - a feat that a human can never be trained to accomplish. Perhaps it's the same for tyranid?

The only fluff about it states that the astronomican doesn't reach the fringes of the galaxy, not that humans can't detect it that far. There's no reason to get into trying to explain how, since it doesn't need to be explained.

That the astronomican is attracting the Tyranids to Terra fits with established fluff (psychic beacons are how Tyranid vanguards attract a hive fleet). Note that the fluff never states it's what drew them to the galaxy.

It's perfectly reasonable that they simply stumbled on the Milky Way, which is old fluff, and once within, saw the astronomican, which to them would look like a massive Tyranid vanguard calling to them, which is new fluff. Neither bit of fluff contradicts the other.

I say it's Cypher. Why? Because both the Tyranids are following the same path as Cypher.

Cypher keeps making appearacnes randomly, BUT the one direction it does keep doing, is leading to Terra. So he is on his way to Terra, wich the Tyranids seem to be doing as well.

I don't think it's really Cypher is the reason why Tyranids are heading to earth, but reading some of the reasons why, was just adding a possibility.

I don't think it's the Goldon Throne is why the Tyranids are heading to Earth or Terra, but the Emperor himself. I guess it was in the year 30 000 when his powers came to be, so that is when the Tyranids got a "wiff" of his psychic ability, and so it took almost 10 000 years to get to the Milky Way galaxy.

I believe what ever the Emperor did, to awaken his powers, it got the attention of the Hive Mind.