Tyranid Hive Fleets

In the fictional wargame Warhammer 40,000, the Tyranids are a nomadic alien race comprising many genetically engineered organisms that range greatly in size and purpose. They are many times referred to as "The Great Devourer", "The Shadow in the Warp", "The Doom of All Things", "Penance of the Elder Gods" and other equally dramatic names and are commonly said to be the "most alien race" in the galaxy where the game is set, since the Tyranid fleets started to pierce into the galaxy from the intergalactic void (which would suggest they traveled from another galaxy).

The Tyranids' goal for their invasion of the galaxy is not for power, nor is it for territory - the Tyranids only fight when necessary, and they do it to sate their ravenous hunger. This hunger can never be satisfied, and as a result the Tyranids must be feeding continuously on biomass, lest they go into hibernation or starve. They are the ultimate predator in the galaxy, and they strip all worlds in their path of their biomass. Each Hive Fleet needs to consume biomass to produce the organisms required for consuming and invading worlds, which are then consumed once again by their Hive Fleets via Capillary Towers and Digestion Pools. With this insatiable need for consumption, along with the fact that this menace is approaching the galaxy from all sides, the galaxy will eventually be consumed unless every other race unites against them. Even then, there is little hope.

Their "Hive Fleets", Which are made of a range of space-born organisms, transport the Tyranid invasion organisms between continents, planets, systems, and even galaxies. Not only do the "Hive Fleets" take a significant role in the background and fiction of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, but have been given their own models for use in the "Specialist Game" Battlefleet Gothic. This page details the status and aspects of the Tyranids' Hive Fleets. For information concerning the history of invasions, see the Tyranids page. For more information concerning how the Tyranids and their ships devour worlds and then reproduce, see the Tyranid Genetics page.

Background
In the Warhammer 40,000 miniature game and the supporting fiction, 3 major Tyranid hive fleets have invaded the Warhammer 40,000 galaxy. One such Fleet invasion is portrayed in the Warhammer 40,000: Starter Set for 4th edition called "The Battle for Macragge". Before their official introduction as part of the Tyranid army, the Imperium managed to destroy four smaller, supposedly "scouting" fleets.

Each Tyranid fleet is composed of four major types of ships, and each type of ship is responsible for a different aspect of an invasion. All ships work together under the Hive Mind to devour the resources of a planet or destroy enemy armies. After taking resources from a planet, some ships "calve" new ships or expand in size. The ships are also factories that produce the different races of Tyranids that are sent down to the planet to gather resources for further expansion of the Hive Fleets.

Each ship is named after the first hive fleet that the ship appeared in. The names "Tyranids," the designations of hive fleets, and other names of individual Tyranid creatures are named by scholars of the Imperium and not by the Tyranids themselves. The problem with labeling these ships comes from the fact that the ships are constantly changing. Thus, categories for the Tyranid fleets are based on size and purpose, not necessarily individual designs.

Unlike other fleets, the Tyranids do not use shields or weapons in the traditional sense. In their place are "spores," globs of acids and other chemicals that surround the Tyranid vessels for defense and are launched at any nearby enemies.

Battlefleet Gothic
There are five pieces of the Tyranid Fleet, created by Games Workshop, for the Battlefleet Gothic miniature game.

Leviathan Hive Ship
A Leviathan class hive ship is the largest Tyranid ship made by Games Workshop to date. According to Warhammer 40,000 mythos, they are the center of a hive fleet and function as the main producer of Tyranids. Each is capable of holding many thousands of invaders. They are also the ship that draws up the resources of a planet after a successful invasion and "devours" the material to form new creatures and ships.

Leviathan class ships are capable of having five major weapons, one on its prow, three on its sides, and one on its "thorax." They are slow and have problems meeting enemies. They are a "synapse" creature and thus operate as the mind of the fleet, and are often carriers as well, able to pump out astounding amounts of living creatures; since smaller Tyranid spacecraft do not need to rearm and refuel (they are essentially kamikaze troopers), the Hive Ships can send out a quite literally endless stream of craft.

Hive Ships are the biggest known ships in the Tyranid fleets, and are roughly the same size as Imperial battleships. However, some Hive Ships have evolved to grow inordinately big, growing to sizes so astounding that they dwarf even battleships.

Razorfiend Cruiser
A Razorfiend class cruiser is smaller but faster than the hive ships. They are found within fleets and on their own. The Battlefleet Gothic rulebook speaks of them being used as giant, living torpedoes, able to attack without concern for the safety of the individual ships.

Razorfiend class ships are capable of having four major weapons, one on its prow, two on its sides, and one on its "thorax." They are aggressive ships that will leave the main body of a hive fleet to directly attack or pursue nearby enemies, even smashing into enemies and attacking it in a kamikaze-like "melee" manner. For this purpose, some Razorfiend have even evolved massive claws and tentacles to attack enemy ships with, something that is quite unique for the Tyranids in the Battlefleet Gothic system.

Kraken
A Kraken is a giant escort creature that operates independently from the main hive fleet. They do not seek out planets like other ships nor do they carry troops. However, they do venture wherever they can, devouring ships in their path.

A Kraken is a massive creature with one weapon. They are also very fast and able to turn easily. They are also able to resist and regenerate damage, but are unable to produce spores for defense. Three species of Kraken have been recorded: the Ramsmitter (has a beaked prow), the Deathburner (releases acid at enemies), and the Smeltfeaster.

Prowler Vanguard Drone
A Prowler class vanguard drone is similar to the Kraken, as they operate far away from the fleets. However, the Vanguard seeks out new worlds for the hive fleet to devour and carries organisms, like Genestealers or Lictors, to infest the world with their cargo. Along with the Tyranid invaders, the Prowler releases spores and other catalysts onto the planet, which dramatically alters the environment in preparation for the oncoming invasion/harvest of the planets resources. Thus, Vanguard drones are often priority targets, as killing enough of them may halt the invasion slightly.

Prowler ships are a smaller ship with only one weapon. They are as fast as Kraken and are able to turn easily. They are attack ships and are able to lead the other ships of the hive fleet towards potential targets. They are rarely found with the main hive fleet, and when they are, they are only loading more cargo to begin further infestations.

Stalker Escort Drone
A Stalker class escort drone is similar to the Prowler drone but has extra armour and stays close to the Hive Fleet. They operate as escort ships and as a line of defense. They rarely are found outside of the main hive fleet.

Escorts have only one weapon. They are slow, bulky ships that have problems turning, but always stay nearby the hive ships. They are defense ships and will "instinctively" return to the fleet if ever stranded.

Famous Hive Fleets
There are three major Hive Fleets within the Warhammer 40,000 game. The first two, Behemoth and Kraken, were created for the Codex: Tyranids released for 2nd Edition. The third, Leviathan, was created for the Codex: Tyranids released for 3rd Edition and later expanded on in the 4th Edition Codex. Tiamat, Ouroboros, and Colossus were created for the 4th Edition codex. Colossus was created as mention for the Zoats species, a discontinued Tyranid species from the first edition of Warhammer 40,000, Rogue Trader.

Hive Fleet Behemoth
Hive Fleet Behemoth invaded in a giant swarm of close to 1000 ships, and reached as far into Imperial Space as Macragge, the homeworld of the Ultramarines.

The Tyranids attacked Macragge directly. The true power of the Hive fleet was shown as even though a warp vortex removed the hive fleets Synapse control, there was still a titanic struggle and great losses - including the heroic last stand of the Ultramarines veteran First Company, but eventually, the Ultramarines prevailed. The Tyranids threatening Macragge were slain and driven back. Reinforcements arrived before the hive fleet's second wave. The allies parted company and renewed their efforts to prevent the Tyranids regrouping.

The final action against Hive Fleet Behemoth occurred in orbit of the gas giant planet of Circe. At the height of the battle the flagship Dominus Astra charged straight into the heart of the Hive Fleet and triggered its warp drives, destroying it utterly.

Hive Fleet Kraken
Hive Fleet Kraken was a large number of sub-fleets, which were eventually halted at the Battle of Iyanden and the Battle of Ichar IV. Surviving vessels spread out throughout the galaxy, forming the Splinter Fleets.

Hive Fleet Kraken's arrival was heralded by genestealer rebellions and insurrections on the Eastern Fringe. With these rebellions, the Tyranids split themselves into smaller swarms and devoured whole systems before any response could be made. Although this made each individual assault weaker and made some warp travel and communication possible, Kraken was attacking across a far vaster front than Behemoth. A vast portion of Kraken's strength attacked the Eldar Craftworld of Iyanden. Although eventually defeated, the Invasion killed four-fifths of the Craftworld's population.

As the fleet faced more severe resistance, smaller sub-fleets combined to overcome it, narrowing the range of the Tyranid advance as it pushed further into the Imperium. After the Battle of Iyanden and the Ultramarines successful destruction of the Ichar IV rebellion, the Imperium's psykers were able to predict where the remainder of Kraken's strength was moving. Troops were rushed to Ichar IV ahead of the Tyranids, where Marneus Calgar, Chapter Master of the Ultramarines, led the Imperium to victory, albeit at massive casualties to the Imperials and the infrastructure of the planet.

Yet this was not the end of Kraken, for after the battle, the surviving vessels divided into a series of 'splinter fleets'. Although tiny by comparison, these continue to threaten isolated and poorly defended worlds, and increase their numbers with every consumed world.

Hive Fleet Leviathan
Hive Fleet Leviathan was a two pronged attack approaching from below the galactic plane, spreading the phenomenon known as the Shadow in the Warp, which resulted in loss of communication across many Imperial worlds (however, it should be noted that communications between worlds already between the pincer of Leviathan were unaffected).

The fleet appeared as a pair of closing jaws, cutting off huge stretches of space from warp travel and astropathy. Leviathan carved through the Imperium, devouring worlds until a galactic cordon was established by the Imperium, and each world within its confines to be evacuated and subjected to exterminatus. The decision condemned billions of Imperial citizens to extermination, which resulted in the slowing of the hive fleet.

Using a brood of captured Genestealers, the Imperium sent the Hive fleet into the Ork held Octavius system. The Orks of Octavius had been a thorn in the side of the Imperium for many generations, and defeating both the Orks and the Tyranids seemed to be the best course of action. The Genestealers impregnated so many orks that the entirety of Leviathan altered course for the system, to rendez-vous with their displaced kin. The Octavian Orks and Tyranids of Leviathan are still thoroughly involved with destroying each other; however, the Tyranids have acquired vast quantities of the highly modified Ork DNA, resulting in even larger assault organisms.

Others
While these are not traditional Hive Fleets, they are the first incarnations of invasion before the hive fleet was established in its format above.


 * Tiamet: Tiamet was named after a planet discovered in the 35th Millennium that was an unusual death world. It was determined by Xenologists working for the Adeptus Mechanicus that all life had a common genetic source. The explorers who were sent down onto the planet were trapped when their ship became contaminated and they were later overcome by the creatures inhabiting the planet. The planet was later lost to Hive Fleet Kraken.


 * Ouroboris: Cardinal Miriamulus the Elder, of the planet Thracian Primaris, recorded a Chaos-like invasion. Upon further examination of equipment used during the battle and trophies collected, it was determined that it was, indeed, a Tyranid invasion.


 * Colossus: In the 38th Millennium, a group of Zoats came into contact with the Imperium. Although they claimed to be escaping from slavery, their murderous actions caused them to be deemed Xenos Horribilis and for them to be exterminated.


 * Scarabus: Scarabus first made its name after it carved its way through an imperial fleet on the Eastern Fringe. Since then, it has been unable to be defeated, and even now continues to devour its way closer to the heart of the imperium like a vile cancer. Reports of Hive Fleet Scarabus are beginning to become more frequent, and so are the lifeless rocks the swarm leaves in its destructive wake. Hive Fleet Scarabus was once dubbed as 'Annihilated' at the wall of Fortress Carcasson by the Cadian 9th. Many thought this conflict was the end to the fleet of tyranids, they were all wrong. The Hive Fleet was rediscovered when it attacked the home world of a Chaos legion known as 'The Sons of Omehn.' The planet was devoured, and Scarabus even now continues to ravage the Inhabitants of the galaxy. These Tyranids are known to have green flesh, their carapaces black with a blue trim.

Also, in the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook on the Tyranid page, there is also a colour scheme for a Hive Fleet known as Harbinger, which bears generally dark red carapace and chitin, and turquoise blue flesh. Another of the less known Hive Fleets is Apophis, which has black carapace, red flesh, yellow lines on the carapace, green blood, eyes and tongues. Included online are many other possibilities for players.

Gaming
The Battlefleet Gothic game treats the Tyranids as natural space creatures, able to manage space where other races may fail. They also treat the Tyranids as vicious predators that a crew of an enemy ship would rather annihilate/die trying than to ever be captured by them. The following are aspects of the Tyranids that are unique to the game. Tyranid ships surround themselves with "spores" that absorb enemy attacks and other problems in the same way as traditional shields would.
 * Defense

The Tyranid ships are capable of using many weapons:
 * Offense
 * Bio-plasma: A slow-moving, short ranged attack that is capable of ignoring enemy shields
 * Feeder Tentacles: Large tentacles attached to ships that bash enemies, wrap around their ships, and even pierce their hulls
 * Massive Claws: Like Feeder Tentacles, massive claws can rip through armour but used to lock onto enemies for boarding
 * Pyro-acidic Batteries: These launch the "spores" used for offense.

Unlike other fleets, the Tyranids "refit" their ships via evolution; they devour their enemies, break them down into usable structures and compounds, and then create new ships that are able to adapt to the present situation.
 * Refitting