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I was reading through the tyranid codex today, and saw the part about the Avatar being defeated by a dozen carnivores. This got me thinking, has the Avatar ever actually done anything good in the fluff? All I can remember is Marneus killing one and getting smashed by some tyranids...

They look cool!

does dying count? He's great at that.

Crushed a very big Tyranid's head with his bare hands.

Apart from that, they mostly just get killed by enemy characters.

In Vaeldor one survives on a world invaded by two tyranid hive fleets, alone, for days.

In the mechanicus trilogy one kills a black templar chaplain by cutting him in half. It described in detail about the chaplain looking up and seeing his legs standing across the room.

I believe one was a very tough boss fight in Dawn of War 2? ...That's all I've got, sorry.

Yeah, Avatars are basically what GW's writers use as a Worf to make their favourite character look badass. As Eldar go, the Phoenix Lords, Eldrad and Solitaires get far more things done in the fluff than Avatars ever do.

There was one that actually managed to stab Calgar in the shoulder, he punched it to death shortly afterwards though.

 n0t_u wrote:
There was one that actually managed to stab Calgar in the shoulder, he punched it to death shortly afterwards though.

Not even that, he just ripped off the terminator armour pauldron.

One blow sent Marneus to his knees, the second removed the pauldron, the third got caught by the Catchers Glove of Macragge and then the Avatar had a new fist shaped hole in his chest.

I wonder if the Ultramarines kept the sword and mounted it on a trophy rack.

 Crazyterran wrote:

 n0t_u wrote:
There was one that actually managed to stab Calgar in the shoulder, he punched it to death shortly afterwards though.

Not even that, he just ripped off the terminator armour pauldron.

One blow sent Marneus to his knees, the second removed the pauldron, the third got caught by the Catchers Glove of Macragge and then the Avatar had a new fist shaped hole in his chest.

I wonder if the Ultramarines kept the sword and mounted it on a trophy rack.

Oh I must have remembered it wrong, it was back in the 5th ed codex at least. Was kind of cooler to think of it as an actual stab into the shoulder then a punch.

Even though by then his limbs were all cybernetic lol.

One had the distinction of drowning in flaming poo.

Just wait until there is a named avatar. Or like the Avatar of Alaitoc or similar. Then you'll see it do something impressive. And you'll get a new, more expensive kit for it.

 Kojiro wrote:
Just wait until there is a named avatar. Or like the Avatar of Alaitoc or similar. Then you'll see it do something impressive. And you'll get a new, more expensive kit for it.

Avatar of Alaitoc? So you mean it'll get completely demolished by the Genesis Marines in CQC with their Chapter Master?

Well not specifically Alaitoc, just some sort of unique special character avatar. Made from an Eldar named hero or something. I always saw them as up there on the same level as greater demons but power creep has made 'greater' demons decidedly not the greatest things around.

I think the fight between that terminator chaplain and the avatar was a bit of a subversion of this trope; at some point he is under the impression that he will be able to cause some meaningful damage to the daemon, but 'nope, I am dead. Tturs out the damage is superficial and the avatar immediately healed. lol x_x'.

 arinnoor wrote:
In Vaeldor one survives on a world invaded by two tyranid hive fleets, alone, for days.

Yeah, that book does a great job of subverting the usual "Avatars suck" meme. The Biel Tan Avatar is unleashed upon the swarm of Kraken Tyranids and rampages through a load of Raveners and Trygons. It's not until the next day when Leviathan dispatches a vast skyswarm that the Eldar are forced off the planet and the Avatar is abandoned, last seen being buried under hundreds of Hormagaunts.

A few days later when the Eldar return, they are shocked (and relieved) to find the Avatar still smoldering under the pile of burnt corpses, and the presence of nearby Eldar warriors rouses it to battle once more.

Xyptc wrote:

 arinnoor wrote:
In Vaeldor one survives on a world invaded by two tyranid hive fleets, alone, for days.

Yeah, that book does a great job of subverting the usual "Avatars suck" meme. The Biel Tan Avatar is unleashed upon the swarm of Kraken Tyranids and rampages through a load of Raveners and Trygons. It's not until the next day when Leviathan dispatches a vast skyswarm that the Eldar are forced off the planet and the Avatar is abandoned, last seen being buried under hundreds of Hormagaunts.

A few days later when the Eldar return, they are shocked (and relieved) to find the Avatar still smoldering under the pile of burnt corpses, and the presence of nearby Eldar warriors rouses it to battle once more.

See, this is what an Avatar should be. That sounds absolutely epic, particularly as I collect biel tan. How many avatars does a Craftworld have? Was it not biel tans that got killed by Marneus?

NG77 wrote:

Xyptc wrote:

 arinnoor wrote:
In Vaeldor one survives on a world invaded by two tyranid hive fleets, alone, for days.

Yeah, that book does a great job of subverting the usual "Avatars suck" meme. The Biel Tan Avatar is unleashed upon the swarm of Kraken Tyranids and rampages through a load of Raveners and Trygons. It's not until the next day when Leviathan dispatches a vast skyswarm that the Eldar are forced off the planet and the Avatar is abandoned, last seen being buried under hundreds of Hormagaunts.

A few days later when the Eldar return, they are shocked (and relieved) to find the Avatar still smoldering under the pile of burnt corpses, and the presence of nearby Eldar warriors rouses it to battle once more.

See, this is what an Avatar should be. That sounds absolutely epic, particularly as I collect biel tan. How many avatars does a Craftworld have? Was it not biel tans that got killed by Marneus?

An Avatar is made by sacrificing a chosen Eldar called the young king. All those studs on him are the soulstones of the Eldar over the years who have given their lives to rouse it.

They are literally shards of a God. AFAIK there are no instances of a craft world having multiple Avatars, though it rebuilds itself if destroyed.

Should you ever find this rare jewel of ancient wisdom...


There's a great two page Eldar story of a craftworld's forces battling Slaaneshi forces and a Keeper of Secrets doing really horrible things to some Howling Banshees until the Avatar shows up and breaks it's back over his knee, Bane style.

NG77 wrote:


See, this is what an Avatar should be. That sounds absolutely epic, particularly as I collect biel tan. How many avatars does a Craftworld have? Was it not biel tans that got killed by Marneus?

A Craftworld has one Avatar. However, due to their daemonic nature, when an Avatar is killed it decorporates and returns to the heart of its Craftworld to rest until it is summoned once more.

The Avatar of Khaine is a trap!
The Eldar trick you into a phyrric victory if you go for it. This "Demon" just respawns but all of your stuff you lost in fighting it stays dead!