Fluff* How do Tyranids fight themselves?

Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you:

No adverts like this in the forums anymore.
Times and dates in your local timezone.
Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance.
Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely.
Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net.

If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

**SaJeel**

Most races I can see the justification for them to turn on each other/think their brothers are traitors, but how do tyranids fight other tyranids what is the justification? arent they all linked by the hive mind? Or is HiveMind Leviathan potentially trying to absorb Kraken, or do all tyranids move toward the consumption of all even if its other nids? Any refrences to the current book/current fluff would be greatly appreciated

**Bottle**

Even within the Hive Mind, there is some room for the larger creatures to have independent thoughts (like Hive Tyrants). They can think of strategies and solutions to problems.

Perhaps the Tyranid's fleet was largely left destroyed in their taking of the last planet. The planet already stripped of its biomass, the only option is to absorb some of the planet side armies back, to create new ships from the biomass.

However, neither Tyrant is willing to volunteer...

**PrinceRaven**

2 Hive Fleets are too weakened to be a credible threat, the Hive mind pits them against each other. The victor will be the one with the best genes and absorb the loser to make a stronger fleet.

**Jimsolo**

From my old Why are We Fighting thread:

Tyranids vs Tyranids

1. Two different hive fleets have come together in conflict over the same world.
2. The Hive Mind is attempting to determine a matter of battle tactics. On a world which has already been devoured by the Hive, it is staging a battle to determine which set of
tactics work better.
3. An advanced weapon developed by the Tau has turned two portions of the Hive Mind against each other.
4. Nurgle is attempting to develop an anti-Tyranid weapon. A new virus of his devising turns its victims into Tyranid-like monsters. This battle is an attempt to determine their
actual usefulness in battle.
5. The world this fight takes place on has already succumbed to the Hive. This is just the orgy of destruction that follows, as the Hive turns upon itself.
6. One side is actually combat servitors designed and programmed to mimic Tyranids.

**Purifier**

PrinceRaven wrote:
2 Hive Fleets are too weakened to be a credible threat, the Hive mind pits them against each other. The victor will be the one with the best genes and absorb the loser to make a stronger fleet.

I like this one. It plays very well to the evolutionary fluff of the Tyranid.

**Kain**

Canonically when two hive fleets meet, the Hive Mind forces them to fight to see who is stronger, winner gets all the looser's assimilated genetics and biomass.

The Tyranids lose nothing from this and only make themselves stronger.

**PrinceRaven**

Well, they lose a little bit of total biomass, as they'll probably be expending a bit more energy than their autotrophic organisms can generate, but the amalgamation of genetics is worth it.

**Kain**

PrinceRaven wrote:
Well, they lose a little bit of total biomass, as they'll probably be expending a bit more energy than their autotrophic organisms can generate, but the amalgamation of genetics is worth it.

Assuming any sort of digestive system to have ever existed the Tyranids would lose more energy pumping the biomass up to their ships than they would by eating the planet's biosphere and all minerals useful for life.

I'm going to say they're magical creatures with magical nuclear powered digestive systems that fuel the body through inducing much more high energy nuclear and not chemical reactions.

**PrinceRaven**

They probably use the same magic that allows Terminators to use armour with arms beside their heads.

Also this: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ArtisticLicenseBiology

**Kain**

PrinceRaven wrote:
They probably use the same magic that allows Terminators to use armour with arms beside their heads.

Or the same magic that lets Godzilla's 55,000 ton body function.

**Gitsmasher**

Jimsolo wrote:
From my old Why are We Fighting thread:
.

Then why would Minotaurs fight the imperial fist, or Ultramarines?

**BoomWolf**

Imperial versus Imperial is the easiest, one thinks the other turned renegade. and when the IoM is involved, merer suspicion is enough to justify extermination.

**Flinty**

BoomWolf wrote:
Imperial versus Imperial is the easiest, one thinks the other turned renegade. and when the IoM is involved, merer suspicion is enough to justify extermination.

Or its a training exercise of some kind. In fact a lot of the tyranid vs tyranid ideas could also be used in addition to the idea that one side is in fact the Alpha Legion or other such scurrilous knaves who have, and get this, PAINTED THEIR ARMOUR A DIFFERENT COLOUR,!!!

**jhe90**

One hive fleet ate too many nurgle chaos planets and caused dangerous mutations in its genetic make up, corruption, pestilence etc, so the second fleet saw as hostile life form not own kind.

Eating chaos has to have some negative effects

**poppa G**

Kill off the weak links? One broken link can break the chain of a mighty dynasty!

**hotsauceman1**

Jimsolo wrote:
From my old Why are We Fighting thread:

Tyranids vs Tyranids

1. Two different hive fleets have come together in conflict over the same world.
2. The Hive Mind is attempting to determine a matter of battle tactics. On a world which has already been devoured by the Hive, it is staging a battle to determine which set of
tactics work better.
3. An advanced weapon developed by the Tau has turned two portions of the Hive Mind against each other.
4. Nurgle is attempting to develop an anti-Tyranid weapon. A new virus of his devising turns its victims into Tyranid-like monsters. This battle is an attempt to determine their
actual usefulness in battle.
5. The world this fight takes place on has already succumbed to the Hive. This is just the orgy of destruction that follows, as the Hive turns upon itself.
6. One side is actually combat servitors designed and programmed to mimic Tyranids.

Can I have a link to that thread?