The Source Of The Tyranid Hive Mind - 40K Theories

Just what exactly is this collective consciousness that guides the actions of the Tyranid species?
This is an updated and remastered video featuring additional information and higher quality audio
Additional Narration by Stephanie Swan Quills
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Featuring Count Solace as Scaraban
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Intro theme by Stringstorm
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Additional art by Edouard Boccard and Littlecutter
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All art property of their respective owners
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[@SangTheCryptek]

*"HEY WHO'S HUNGRY? WE SURE ARE"* _~user was booted for too many open connections~_

[@WarriorVirtue]

"RIPANDTEAR":...Okay? Who the actual FUCK was that?

[@jurebozanic4488]

No plz stop

[@MrBluman999]

"Ow do you use dis zoggin' interwarp?"

[@riokollivier]

Youz already using the zoggin’ interwarp you grot!

[@commie4164]

ITS GORK! BRINGIN A PROPA FIGHT TA ALL DA BOYZ!

[@lewisirwin5363]

I'd guess Mork brought the Necrons, then.

[@ahmedshaharyarejaz9886]

WAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!

[@discomfort5760]

@@lewisirwin5363 Brutal burn from Gork to a cunnin' Mork, dis Ork fight 'em all da same! WAAAAAAAGH!!!

[@ribbitgoesthedoglastnamehe4681]

Not ALL the boyz. He only brings proper fights to the boyz who have been proper and orky this year. The naughty ones get a lump of coal.

[@ribbitgoesthedoglastnamehe4681]

"Dear Gork. I have been proper orky this year and killed many humans. I dont ask anything for myself this Gorkmas, but ask that you bring my dear friend Rotgut Grotkick a snazzgun, so I can beat him up and take it."

[@khartog01]

The idea that the tyranids might overcome Chaos is terrifying.

[@ricksanchez1079]

Not just overcome, the hive would incorporate what it could get from both Chaos but also the traitor legions. Free...ish Chaos bio mass and Astartes gene seed. Just another fun hypothetical, but what happens when Chaos is beaten then turns to focus, being part of a single hive mind? The whole of the warp focused on a single star system, planet, or person..... good times!

[@mattmorehouse9685]

There is something worse than hell... Though I have to say, at least the tyrannids get it over quickly.

[@mattmorehouse9685]

@Shlomo Shekelstein I wouldn't be quite so sure, the hive mind already has a pretty good anti chaos ability in the shadow in the warp, even though chaos appears to be a phenomena limited to the milky way and the tyrannids are newcomers. That and they are hypothesised to have devoured or mostly devoured at least one galaxy and possibly several. Chaos, on the other hand, appears to not have extra galactic forces in the material universe, or else they are busy, if they exist. This combination of a built in anti chaos ability and the potential size of the tyrannid forces means we could be seeing just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to tyrannid attention to chaos. I wouldn't put them out of the running yet.

[@mattmorehouse9685]

@Shlomo Shekelstein We know that chaos is in the warp, with agents in the material universe, but I've never heard of it being in a third universe. Considering the gods constant attempts to convert and attack the milky way, why wouldn't they use forces from a hypothetical third universe? Considering the powerful mutagenic effect of chaos, would we even be able to distinguish forces from this third universe? They would be so twisted and warped we probably wouldn't be able to get any useful information In short, if chaos has access to this third universe, we will probably never know. Also I'm calling the inquisitor. You clearly know too much about the emperor's transdimensional time space cruiser gun.

[@lewishorsman2219]

Chaos needs emotions to feed off. The hive mind has no emotions. Just hunger. Their combined organic mass and hive mind ‘might’ be able to conjure up their own god based off of ‘hunger’ in the same way the Dark Elves created their deity with excess. I don’t know. But if the hive wiped out the universe, chaos would by definition cease to exist as there would be no emotion to feed off.

[@lizrov6036]

The Silent King saw the Outsider in the Void and was like "Shit we forgot to capture that one, back back !"

[@Symbioteposion]

Liz rov didn’t he see the full force of the nids in the void and has returned in a desperate attempt to unite the necromancy against them because he sees them as the biggest threat

[@TmanTheTdog]

Alex Statton I don’t even think he saw their full force, I think he only saw a fraction of it and still went *NOPE* all the way back to the Milky way

[@SangTheCryptek]

I like to think that the one leading all the Tyranids is a single, or a group of surviving Old Ones, with the intention of completely wiping the galaxy clean and starting over. It would be a way to combat Chaos, since the Tyranids are mostly just beasts with no warp presence. If the entire galaxy was wiped of sentient life, then the Old Ones could start making new races, and those races' consciousnesses would start to "purify" the warp.

[@waaaaaaah5135]

That sounds like an awesome theory

[@tarraux5971]

That's my favorite theory so far. The Old ones got bullied so hard by the C'Tan and Chaos they came back with a motherfucking world ending infinite swarm of stuff to raze everything and start over.

[@Ankhakaru]

@@tarraux5971 I like this theory however I dont really see the old ones wiping out the Eldar as they were apart of the original plan; just like the other races they created...you never know though I mean look what happened to Warhammer fantasy...

[@FedorovAvtomat]

@@Ankhakaru It can be argued that the Eldar were "incomplete" as they were not properly trained by the Old Ones before the Old Ones were wiped out. The Krork went out of control and became Orks. Necrons are their ancient enemy. Tau... might actually fall in line with the Old Ones. Humanity seems to be the closest to what the Old Ones wanted, but are afflicted by Chaos making them as much a liability as an asset.

[@Ankhakaru]

@@FedorovAvtomat I understand what you're stating. I just dont think the eldar are incomplete. I mean they faught with the old ones against their enemies...Idk really but i dont see the Old Ones utilizing an incomplete race to help them in war. who knows really man, after what happened to fantasy you never know with gw. I'm trying to figure wtf to do with my 3000 point high elf army...

[@majordakka5743]

Frankly I find the idea of a Tyrannid that thinks offensive

[@wittycognomen4931]

Nice reference there.

[@DanielSan1776]

LoL

[@ericvogt3993]

Service guarantees that you may not be shot by a Commisar.

[@fumarc4501]

Your experience may vary

[@evanmoellering981]

join the guard! service guarantees service

[@pauladam2867]

"Insert a joke on the hivemind being Alpharius"

[@discomfort5760]

>terrible, blessed screeches about heresy

[@vraska8799]

nom, nom nom... nom, nom, nom, nom...

[@phreakazoith2237]

The hivemind is the Bishop of East Anglia

[@ribbitgoesthedoglastnamehe4681]

@@phreakazoith2237 How do you know its a bishop?

[@phreakazoith2237]

was referring to Monty Python sketch, "shool prizing", S2 E6, where everybody claims to be the Bishop of east anglia

[@seanpeacock4290]

The tyranids were created by a bunch of college bio students on the brink of starvation who couldn't afford food.The first nids were just supposed to raid the fridge and bring the food to the lab, but they possessed a form of biological AI the decided that the best use of the food was bio mass to make more gatherers... millennia later the college students have starved and the origanal AI has forgotten what it was supposed to do with all this bio mass but remembers that collecting more is its primary function.

[@Dolphinjamez]

*Canon*

[@SuperMrHiggins]

@@Dolphinjamez 2nded. This IS canon. (you beat me to saying it. :D )

[@illegalopinions4082]

This feels a lot like Robots and Love : Zima Blue

[@gavinboyer4634]

As funny as this is, what if it actually did come from humanity? We know that in the dark age of technology, humanity had unbridled technological might. If so, why did we stay in this galaxy only? Could we have left the galaxy in search of a new one, and create the Tyranids afterwards?

[@MichaelSplatkins]

@@illegalopinions4082 Such a beautiful episode! I usually hate anthologies, but LD+R is killin it. The nid/zergling episode in the first season should be the template for a new 40k series.

[@lonewarrior1]

Personally I still like to think that The Tyranid 'Hive' was created by a Surviving Old one who Fled the Galaxy and wanted to wipe the galaxy Slated clean in an attempt to Starve the Immaterial but instead the Old one Had simpyl passed away or was defeated/slained (by the Outsider Ctan God perhaps or another entity?) and the Biological 'programming' within the Tyranid's Hive mind simply took over and left on basically 'auto pilot' Great work as always 40k!

[@Le-cp9tr]

lonewarrior1 Old fluff has a C’tan called the “Endless Swarm.” Not only that, but some scarped ideas were going to have the daemons of Malal be insect like parasites which sought to consume all life in the galaxy

[@MarqFJA87]

I am reminded of the Precursors and the Flood from Halo.

[@Le-cp9tr]

Marq FJA Yep pretty much. Except at least the Old Ones didn’t turn to dust and vow vengeance on the Necrons to turn them into Zombies because they’re already Zombies!

[@gloomygrim338]

For me this is probly the best theory, having them go auto pilot would also explain why the hive fleets are all different and could explain why hydra is cannibalistic.

[@getyoursickassawayfromme3176]

They where created in a book called wild cards then ripped off for 40k

[@helldrake77777]

Remleiz: "Could the Tyranids' hivemind come from an even more advanced Tyranid organism?" Me: "OVERMIND!"

[@joluoto]

@Zerebrat Eightyseven I control the groove.

[@OljeiKhan]

Now we just need a Ganthritor to steer in to a collision course with it...

[@An_Imperial_Guard.]

They must be like the green comic relief aka orks. Basically, they are a bio-weapon that was left unchecked...

[@iona2225]

Or the bio-weapon perfected by the very makers of the Orks

[@phreakazoith2237]

maybe they are a tool for an even greater and unknown super power controlling everything that happens in the 40k universe...a power that changes history...future and past...with a few lines of lore management...one power that decides one day "we don't need space dwarfs any longer...send in the Nids to devour them forever"

[@billwilson6248]

A biological Singularity.

[@NXTangl]

Except the Orks self-regulate. They fight each other enough to stay contained-ish.

[@TitoReni]

There is a C'tan known as "the Infinite Swarm". Just saying.

[@ncopictures7182]

*shrug* Guess ill die.

[@TitoReni]

@Zerebrat Eightyseven My personal fan-fic is that after necrons rebelled against the C'tan, these started to create new races to serve them, and the Infinite Swarm created the tyranids. However, the Hive Mind rebelled and managed to kill this C'tan, but just like with the flyers, the tyranids got cursed but in their case with infinite hunger.

[@joshuajordan6632]

@@TitoReni The Necrons are from this Galaxy. The Nids are not. And it would take millions of years for the Nids to cross the intergalactic space between galaxies

[@TitoReni]

@@joshuajordan6632 Bla, bla, bla Dolmen Gates :P

[@dwwolf4636]

@@joshuajordan6632 Old one extra galactic biological reset mechanism.

[@necron5601]

You are genuinely the first person I have heard call them "tie-ran-ids"

[@robertnelson9599]

Yeah, I always called them "tear-ran-ids".

[@kelbaaasaa]

I think most people pronounce it as “tier-an-ids”, but “Ty-ran-ids” is more lore friendly because the planet they first made landfall on was named “Tyran” which is pronounced similar to the word “Tyrant”

[@LexIconLS]

I used to back when I first started playing as a 12 year old in 2002, but after a couple years I started saying it the common way.

[@spanner2117]

It's tight-re-nids i understand its very hard to pronounce...

[@Gormathius]

@@spanner2117 Tightrenid jeanstealers

[@PAJ_L2001]

Norn empress, eh? Looks like the Emprah is going to get married after all

[@internetzenmaster8952]

Oh man, Macha is gonna be *_absolutely livid_* when she finds out...

[@quelltech]

*Meanwhile, on Holy Terra(tm)...* OH, NO. ROGAL, WHERE'S THAT RESTRAINING ORDER? "Yay. New mom."

[@Ajehy]

I knew that 40K fans could turn anything into a waifu , but this is ridiculous. (J/k)

[@theenderdestruction2362]

@@quelltech every fuckong gaurdmen ever: SUMMON OLLANIUS PIUS HOW I DONT KNOW JUST FFFFFUCKING DO IT Ollanius pius: *ahh shit here we go again* Every other species in the galaxy chaos or otherwise (besides humanity): *TERRIFIED CONFUSED SCREAMING INTENSIFYS*

[@alduin4226]

quelltech Behemoth: oh no dose that m- Ultramarine army: AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHhHhHhHHhHhHhHHhHHHhHhH DIE BRO XENO SCUM Behemoth: Emperor Help me

[@cathode6252]

They are controlled by Koreans playing on computers.

[@EmperorTyrael]

Controlled by one, he was named "The Ultimate Korean".

[@lukelim5094]

Just checked. Joona Sootala of Finland is the best zerg player currently.

[@p_serdiuk]

@@lukelim5094 While Serral is a machine, I believe Korea still has the highest number of pro Starcraft players per capita.

[@The0Stroy]

@@EmperorTyrael So - Kim Jong Un?

[@Argosh]

@@The0Stroy wrong Korea, also: DUDE! NOT OK!

[@matteobarbato9408]

Just imagine if all other galaxies in the universe were already conquered by Tyranids, and the milky way is just some backwater galaxy that the tyranid hyper-organism lazily attacks, like a human scratching an itch. Of all 40k, the tyranids are the potentially more cosmically horrible.

[@Rampant16]

Does chaos/the warp exist outside the galaxy?

[@ribbitgoesthedoglastnamehe4681]

@@Rampant16 Warp is not inside or outside the galaxy. It exists exactly 38 centimeters to the side from the axis of past-present and -future. To the left, to be precise, if you live in the present and see the past instead of the future. It is separate reality, like two books are side by side on a shelf, touching, but never interacting. You can see the other, if you are skilled, but you have to step aside ftom where you are now to really perceive the other. It has places, like real world and some of those places are closer to certain spots in the galaxy, but the warp bends and twists like a can of worms, all trying to consume each other in an orgy of blood and hunger, and nothing in it is permanent, yet nothing truly changes. A scream of a lost soul may seem to disappear and die, but it never ends, it simply moves further, deeper into the abyss until you cannot hear it anymore.

[@sonofalich1825]

Ribbitgoesthedog Lastnamehereyeah ... so basically Walmart. Got it.

[@ribbitgoesthedoglastnamehe4681]

@@sonofalich1825 Lol.

[@vbgvbg1133]

@@ribbitgoesthedoglastnamehe4681 ... warp is parallel chaos dimension, got it

[@ericvogt3993]

This reminds me of an example I used when trying to make sci-fi wargaming appealing to historical wargamers (and vice-versa) while explaining the war in heaven. "The war in heaven was a 'war' the same way the Korean war was a 'police action.'"

[@LilithLonelyHeart]

the idea of Tyranids hive mind evolving into a warp god is quite disturbing indeed, especially that then it would mean that both material realm and warp are pretty much f...ed, Theory of Outsider has one more problem for me you haven't mentioned, C'Tans absolutely hated psykers and warp energy and these were basically only countermeasures against them to be able to truly damage them, so not sure if one of them could take control of this much of a psykick power without over time their power eroding till there would be no more of them, honestly still think that whatever is the source of hive mind, this is an entity that lives upon Tyranid homeworld outside of Milky Way galaxy

[@xermasboo5401]

I am still surprised people have not discussed a solar system size Tyranid that gives form to 2 hive fleets every 20 years or so.

[@fersho450]

@@xermasboo5401 what is it's name?

[@davebowman9000]

I personally believe that just like The Old Ones had a "smart race" in their side of The War in Heaven in the from of the Aeldari and a "brute race" in the from of the Orks, the C'tan had the Necrontyr as their "smart race" and the Tyranids as their "brute race" and just like when The Old Ones left the Orks behind and they became raiders and looters, the C'tan left the Tyranids behind but let's remember the key factor: The C'tan were defeated by the Necrontyr, who were all made of metal. They didn't "leave" like The Old Ones, they were conquered and in this process they most likely put the Tyranids away because they were of no use against the Necrontyr because the Tyranids feed on organic matter the Necrons do not have until something or someone unleashed them. Or even worse yet: Let's remember the Tyranids seem to be drawn to the Astronomican. Could it be that the activation of the Astronomican when the Emperor set out to conquer the Galaxy in The Great Crusade also awoke the Tyranids from their slumber, and in the process, have unknowingly unleashed a plague hellbent on destroying everything organic?

[@dominiclabriola9458]

GW is pivoting towards The Imperium, The Eldar, The Necron, The Tau and even The Orc to battle against The Tyranids. Win. Then focus on Chaos.

[@Mechagodzilla128]

^This. Failbaddon the Harmless failed 13 consecutive black crusades, and had to have his 13th retconned to make him look scary. They can ignore chaos for awhile.

[@justinius2170]

My Fan Theory was the Andromeda galaxy (closest galaxy to the Milky Way). The Emperor, in his great wisdom, knew of the Tyranids, and sent 1 or 2 of the twenty original Primarchs, and their entire Legions with Imperial Guard and Martian support fleets, to the nearby galaxy to blunt and slow down the Tyranid invasion that would inevitably come. The distance is so vast it makes sense that just now, the main force of Nids is approaching the outer fringes. The two (or 1) Legions and brave human warriors held as long as they could, entire generations of warriors growing up fighting and dying in the Andromeda galaxy and the void between that and the Milky Way. Settlements and small kingdoms were established on planets that were not ravaged and barren. But two (or 1) Legions and Billions of Guard were still not enough to stop it, only delay and distract. The Legions may (if even alive) return to the Imperium soon, all but spent in strength, to warn those that have been ignorant to the threat.

[@MrGoodpony]

Kinda fits this quote from the 4th edition tyranid codex: "They are coming! I feel them scratching inside my mind, scratching, screaming, running, so many - so, so many voices. They are coming for us - flesh, body and soul!"

[@lewisirwin5363]

Kryptman: Calato? Brother-Captain Calato: Yes Lord? Kryptman: Get the recaffeinator.

[@nicholasfallbrook9810]

Kryptman: The HEAVY recaffeinator

[@winterlight9]

I'm of the opinion that the hive mind is the gestalt of the individual minds with those higher up the chain having more information access and show intelligent due to having more access to input across multiple channels. The Shadow in the Warp though is the manifestation of the hive in the Warp itself, where a single powerful psychic mind can direct the flow of the Warp the scale of the hive mind just flattens the landscape of the Warp under it's bulk. As for why it evolved, think of it as an ad hoc wireless network with the central nodes connected to each other and all the data they have access to. The queens would talk to each other and have information sharing with the destruction of one node not diminishing the data of the whole due to redundancy.

[@D0VAKIIN]

i think the tyrannids are just as straight forward as they appear to be, in some other galaxy they evolved and now are looking for more food. dont over think it

[@ethanvallance3437]

So again the question is “ who or what controls them?” Just saying they’re looking for food isn’t an answer when everything about the tyranids points to an intelligent life form of sorts.

[@D0VAKIIN]

@@ethanvallance3437 maybe they r just hungry an require the biomass of galaxies to survive.

[@NerdishGeekish]

I think this is the most terrifying and thus my preferred answer. The thought that despite all the horrors spawned by the galaxy of 40k there's always a bigger fish just at the edge of the galaxy, coming to gobble us all up.

[@katipunan4212]

What if they're running away from something😳

[@mytimetravellingdog]

​@@ethanvallance3437 they control themselves, isn't that obvious? They aren't human and putting human or even other sentient motivations onto them is a fools errand. They could just want to consume. Although I prefer the idea they are fleeing something even more terrible and this galaxy is essentially a refueling stop.

[@salamut2202]

The Hive Mind is the mind of every tyranid. The entire tyranid species has the power to exert control over the entire tyranid species.

[@user-io2on9ho5s]

Probably alpharious

[@fukkitful]

Exactly, basically like the Borg from Star Trek. They even share a common goal... It wouldn't be a hivemind if only 1 or a couple individuals made all the decisions. Also insect colonies ae hivemind, everyone just know what their job is.

[@noneofurbusiness906]

Commies

[@bobdrooples]

Nid drones get sad on their own. Can't see it.

[@TheMalkavianmadman]

Could there be a tyranid chaos god? Edit: what if the norn queens are shards of the outsider? 2nd edit: should wait for the whole video tonbe done before commenting......

[@Le-cp9tr]

Shaun holland Old fluff has Malal having daemons which sought out all living Organisms to consume before he was scrapped from Warhammer Fantasy. Whilst this is probably not true, it is interesting to think about

[@RichardGonzalez-so9ub]

Neither of those theories are viable. The description of Norn Queens and Tyranids in general have nothing in common with C'tan or Necrons. Tyranids are DEFINITELY not related to Chaos given their mere presence drowns out the Immaterium itself due to the Hive Mind.

[@archlorddestin]

To be frank, I find it a hard to imagine the hive mind NOT being a chaos god. The force of chaos isn't limited to the Chaos Gods, it's just a force of nature, a psychic echo of the thoughts and emotions of soul bearing creatures. All tyranid organisms must have souls or they would be blanks and exert a negative warp presence. They are not, ergo, they have souls. With trillions of soul bearing organisms devoted to one thing alone (hunger) it is frankly unimaginable that it wouldn't manifest itself as a god. The "shadow in the warp" could easily be the hive mind changing the warp, as the gods do with say, Nurgle's garden.

[@RichardGonzalez-so9ub]

@@archlorddestin There's some inconsistent fluff about whether or not Tyranids have souls or not much of their fluff has other sentient races (including Chaos followers) referring to them as Soul-less. But in some instances their contradictions, for example whether or not Khorne gains power from spilled Tyranid ichor. In some instances he does, in others he doesn't. I think this is a big problem with their lore atm. Personally I think Chaos can have an effect on them physically, and mentally barring the presence of the Hive Mind to lesser beings. But the collective conscious is it's own thing that exists outside of the warp. The billions if not trillions of organisms of the Tyanid race over (who know how long) have creating their own psychic collective that almost mimics the Warp itself but exists in the material realm through the entirety of the Race.

[@RichardGonzalez-so9ub]

@@caseyjones8246 No not really. Tyranids utilize the Hive Mind which is a gestalt conscious that only the Tyranids seem to be able to tap into, it theorized to be the collective consciousness of billions of Tyranids over a long time. Hive Mind drives all Tyranid organisms and all of the designated "Psykers" are not true psykers in the same sense as human Aeldar or even Ork psykers. When Tyranids use psychic powers it is utilizing a mere fragment of the Hive Mind's power, this is why the Hive Mind disrupts the Warp so much and makes space travel, communications, and even Daemon Manifestation difficult. The Hive Mind IS NOT the Warp and it is CLEARLY stated in the Tyranid Codex that Tyranids do NOT use the Warp.

[@kennyleung9909]

I remember in the Battle Fleet Gothic Armada 2 trailer, Trazyn described the Tyranids as "Servants of entropy existing only to spread their malice from one galaxy to the next." They might not just be here to feed, but to ruin everyone.

[@internetzenmaster8952]

In other words... they're all guided by a fusion of Matt Ward and C.S. Goto, ruiners of 40k lore?

[@sirbaconbuster]

They serve Malice/Malal, obviously.

[@Darksmirk1]

Imagine a story where The Outsider or just Tyranid fleet coming to wipe out the galaxy and Chaos having to help stop it along with the living. That be nuts!!

[@tnecniw]

I really actually want the Tyranid hivemind to be the source from a single being…. Just because, such a being would be truly a terrifying monster. It would put the emperor to shame in psycic might.

[@monkeydust100]

Oh how dare you, The Emperor is all.

[@IdgaradLyracant]

Perhaps they are the psychic immune system of the emperor coming to free him from his prison. The hive mind could be the emperor's subconscious acting like an immune system cleaning the wound that is the galaxy.

[@GreaterGrievobeast55]

Eh personally I’d like them to stray away from the idea of one single being controlling a hive mind. That’s a thing that commonly occurs in fiction despite how in real life with and and bees and stuff the intelligence is within the actual crowd and not the queens, their just the reproductive organ of the hive bit the mind persay. Of course they don’t have to reflect real life either but I also think that if some sort of final boss tyranid was the direct center of the hive they would just find some probably stupid way to kill it and it would permanently Nerf the whole species.

[@cr90captain89]

@@GreaterGrievobeast55 not when it remains in the void between galaxies at the center of an uncountable swarm, & has the numbers to make the imperium and all the ork empires its bitch. recent media from gw (battlefleet gothic armada 2 -tyrranid campaign & the following events of the indomitus crusade) made it clear that they have the numbers to simply engulf the whole galaxy in a the center of itself & still have more nids to spare. not to mention the constant biomass they have gained from Octarius from fighting orks nonstop for the past millennia.. (yes i know its 2 years late)

[@ianharrison5758]

@@IdgaradLyracant the implications of that are beyond grimdark. If Tyranids are the immune system, I wonder what other shit the emperor can do. If the emperor somehow creates races to do the fighting for/against humanity that would be more heretical than chaos to the zealots of the imperium. I can totally see a heresy pt 2 this time with Tyranids being the next massive shake up for the imperium. The ecclesiarchy declares the emperor a heretic and the last drop of common sense leaves the human gene pool. Unnecessary? check. Brutal? double check. Grimdark? This makes the current setting look noble bright. Right up Gws alley. If they used good writers then honestly it makes enough sense to not break immersion, but the changes would be so vast, the neck beards of the fandom are bound to find something to complain about. Thanks for the idea of this little subplot dude writing this was hilarious for me to think about

[@austinroyce256]

Well if the warp is contained to the Milky Way then one would think the galaxy locusts would have no problem with that speed bump. Giving their numbers and ability to recoup losses. If the warp encompasses all reality then it seems the tyranids have not only evolved to deal with it but thrive. The shadow in the warp is a direct counter/answer to this threat. Even if the Milky Way is particularly dangerous so the warp has “rough seas”, we have to assume the hive mind has ran into heavy resistance before. Or else why would they evolve as literal creatures of war and where did they biomass they gathered come from?

[@sono_chi_no_sodium_chlorid7635]

Could you make a video about how *in your opinion* the story of Warhammer 40000 should end? We know it won't just end but if it did, how?

[@Sereze001]

My theory: gruop of Custodes through warp shenanigans gets sent back in time and save the Primarchs from getting scattered

[@phreakazoith2237]

Sigmarines step trough a portal into 40k and trigger the endtime by accident

[@karlfranzemperorofmandefil5547]

The emperor being killed and reborn and then becoming a god like being an bringing order to 40k

[@Mjolknirn]

war never ends

[@sirbaconbuster]

It will devolve into just orks and tyranids. The orks have an endless source of fun and the tyranids have infinite food. Everyone is happy.

[@18videowatcher41]

I'd really love a video examining the theory that the Tyranids may in fact be running away from something even bigger and/or scarier than themselves!

[@Abdega]

Can you explore the hypothesis that there is a connection between Tyranids and Malal/Malice?

[@Lord_Kantor]

It's old Canon. Now defunct.

[@Philtopy]

Malal lore wasnt updated for decades now. until it aint updated you can consider him/her/it a looser of the great game and thus devoured by another entity.

[@gargoyles9999]

3:21 we'll of course the ULTRA MARINES would succeed

[@Teyl1]

Fantastic work as usual! A lot of good ideas to chew on.

[@Marcoffs83]

it's nice to see your channel growing, you deserve it.

[@Birbucifer]

The reading of the aeldari prophecy was absolutely beautiful. Such good writing.

[@gruszkaryszard580]

Cool video, thanks for posting it Remleiz & Co. :) Still no idea whom may be the Hivemind, but for sure We need more Necron and most important mooooooar C'tan lore :) All the best and have a neat June!!

[@some_Russian_dude]

Love the videos you are main source for some 40k fun facts!...and theories

[@kennethbedwell5188]

We know that the base genetic code of every species that makes up the tryanids is stored in the Norn queen (2nd book about Uriel Ventris) However, every species the Tryanids have ever consumed also have their genetic code stored within the Norn Queens as well. This is the reason why they are able adjust so quickly depending on the situation. This also supports the idea of the last old ones creating the Tryanids. A supreme apex predator stripping every galaxy in advance of the old ones ancient foes, the Necrons. And then storing their creations for later extraction and reseeding once every Necron tomb World is destroyed.

[@Deathskull0001]

Except, then it would make sense for the Tyranids to attack Tomb Worlds, which they do not. Personally, I like the idea of the Tyranids having nothing to do with our Galaxy in general and coming from elsewhere

[@skalgrimfellaxe5796]

@@Deathskull0001 They do attack Tomb Worlds aswell, they are just not prioritized. A Tomb World has the same amount of usable matter as a living world for the Tyranids- water, minerals, carbon etc - its still there for the taking. What it is missing is life to gain new genetic code from. What it does have is a potential threat to the Tyranids aswell. And the Necrons themselves seem quite adamant about going to war with Tyranids when they encroach on their domains. The ultraevolving Tyranids are probably the last- and worst - weapon the Old ones made to combat the Necrontyr. They take the best traits of all their earlier weapons (and every other living thing they encounter) and they evolve to fight any threath while amassing ever growing numbers. They will turn every living thing in the galaxy (and much of its matter) into an fearless killing machine that will end Chaos and Necron alike. But only after it has comsumed the galaxy first. Then the Old ones can just reseed the entire galaxy as they choose.

[@Deathskull0001]

@@skalgrimfellaxe5796 Yes, alright, but if his hypothesis is correct, they would be prioritised, right? Seeing as the Nyds would have essentially been created because of the Necrons in the first place. And even if they were created more as a Galaxy restart device and not for the Necrons specifically, it would still make sense for them to attack all forms of life, not just strictly biological ones.

[@carolheward6479]

Interesting video. Nice one. I have not read through the most recent tyranid lore myself yet. The last codex added a little bit like the activities of tiamet and the differences between the hive fleets were clarified. Ill look for a video on the latest tyranid lore like everything printed since the devastation of baal.

[@kuuphone3193]

I like the idea that everything around the milky way is already infested. At BEST once a galaxy is taken over, an empress is formed, she spits out queens with the biomass from the universe, shoots them out in semi random directions, the queens go on planet to planet until they take over a galaxy, repeat to infinity. How it was created or evolved in the first place doesn't matter much anymore. Could have been a random planet in a random galaxy in a random part of the universe. How long ago becomes an interesting question, and how far they've spread already. I think the big issue with them being driven from the Galaxy after being created within it, is that they've attacked from completely different edges of it. If they were driven off you'd think it would be one direction, not seemingly all over. Either way I'd really love there to be a real true existential threat that seems completely and utterly insurmountable, even within 40k, outside of the Galaxy. I want the milky way and 40k to seem small within the universe itself somehow.

[@spiritvdc5109]

Well, there is the theory that the entire Tyranid race (of whom we've only seen the vanguard so far, their true force could probably drown the galaxy itself in bodies) is actually running away from something...

[@Lubetube111]

Just joined your pateron list, Taxes for the Empire of Man!

[@hughgedney3393]

Great video as always 40k Theories.

[@oliverthomas8142]

On Earth, in M2, we see animals, in particular insects, respecting two key things, in their leader organisms. Fitness, and age. An older, stronger queen, will force other queens to fly away from her hive in order for them to make their own. The Tyranids are a hive based, ultimately communal organism, serving the agenda of their own survival and propagation, in their endless, rapacious, locust- like expansion across the galaxy. Ordinary hives, or swarms, here, in M2, either die due to limited lifespans, or lack of resources. Since Norn Queens appear to be, effectively immortal, the first constraint is removed...and the Milky Way galaxy is just a garden of flowers, or a field of crops, upon which the swarm-hive will feed, and grow. Their origin? Tiny, insignificant: a quirk of a species, almost certainly insectoid. They are insects without the brakes of mortality, or genetic stability. Their center though, their "heart", if you like, will be the mightiest, meanest, largest and ugliest Norn Queen imaginable, one that has eaten all her challengers, and continues to produce thousands more Norn Queens, and one whose psychic signature, growing with every living Tyranid produced, dominates all of her progeny. She, would be both Queen, mobile, physical hive, and psychic center of all that is Tyranid. The Hivemother. The Norn Empress. Tyrannarch. The Ur-Norn and primogenitor. Her hide would be hundreds of kilometres thick, her thoughts? The same steady thoughts of all Tyranids connected to the Hive. Consume, and evolve.

[@alpacaofthemountain8760]

Great video!

[@lordbearon9219]

Nice sound and editing!

[@aftergood]

whomever you employ to read your quotes is fantastic. I could easily listen to her read me entire books.

[@murderousmayhem6362]

This was great man

[@cainabel6356]

I think it is the Outsider is the Hive Mind of the Tyranid race. I think that would be very cool if it was.

[@sexualyeti7023]

I have always assumed the Tyranids WERE the Old Ones, who after leaving are returning to galaxy changed by some unknown horrors that lie in the vast gulfs between galaxies. Their art of creating life having been perverted.

[@40KTheories]

Apparently, according to Wild Rider it's implied the Old Ones were giant beings that looked like Avatars of Khaine but as large as Titans that lived in giant space cities that were larger than any craftworld.

[@skalgrimfellaxe5796]

@@40KTheories Thats cool. Not very logical, but cool. Personally Im with the whole Tyranids are a weapon used to scour the galaxy/and warp. Its the perfect weapon against the Necrontyr and Old ones. Basically turning the entire galaxy against them.

[@jonathanathor117]

So like the flood from halo

[@williamarmstrong7163]

someone has to think about the fact that hive fleet behemoth wasn't destroyed and the entire bunch of tyrannids are just chilling somewhere in the warp

[@Adonidus]

Personally I was hoping for more on what drives them, which beyond hunger seems to be the need to consume the Emporer, and also what the hell Tiamat is building. Like seriously, they've turned a whole planet into a massive psychic node, the only example such a thing known in the galaxy, so obviously that's important to them. Really the three most important things for a Tyranid seem to be hunger, getting to Terra, and the Tiamat base-planet.

[@kezindustries7343]

I reckon to let the ‘nids run rampant through the eye of terror would be a heck of a tale, a bit like an infinite loop.

[@tabe8850]

Great video. The outsider has not necessarily been retconned if you think about the changes of 5th edition Necrons Codex

[@marcwittkowski5146]

What I have always wondered is: is the warp a parallel dimension of only the milky way galaxy? Is it really confined to its expanse? Are the creatures living in it the only ones to fuel it? How can it be when it is seemingly unaffected by and not bound to physical limitations.

[@Mekaniac]

Digging that classic Space Hulk intro music

[@kingbaldwiniv5409]

This is a really interesting Theory video. I do have a hard time seeing how an entity is ascending to godhood when it provides shuttle is consuming physical matter voraciously, and how it is horribly pained by the introduction of warp entities such as Kabanda. It seems as though the nature of the hive mind must be empirical as opposed to supernatural. In that respect, it has a great deal to do with the necrons, that Bass there society and technology off of empirical science, however fantastic that science may be. The hive mind has rules. The hive mind can do just about anything biologically, except that it does not simply perform miracles. Zoanthrope, Patriarchs, and other psychically imbued tyranid forms seem to exercise some degree of independence as a necessity of their existence. In one sense it might be said that the hivemind is evolving itself out of existence. At some point, independent intellectual capacity May overcome the sheer brute psychic force of the link to the hive mind. As all of the major threats to the Imperium close in on Sol, it should be curious to witness how they affect one another. All of those enemies of humanity are, at the same time, antithetical to one another. Humanity's greatest threats may be their salvation.

[@greatbeans2889]

Does anyone know what music is used in these videos? Ive been hearing these same songs ever since i started watching this channel almost a year ago and would love to know where this music comes from. If anyone could help id be very thankful.

[@fistimusmaximus6576]

Would be good if they referenced possible fighting in the warp of demon worlds under assault from tyranid lifeforms also of Tyranids interacting with the other beings of the warp like the enslavers

[@Nalebranc]

I have a few ideas. The Necrontyr were the primary enemies of the Old Ones. But they were containable. Then that Enslaver invasion from the Immaterium took place, and the Old Ones focused more on psychic failsafes. That's where the Aeldari and Krork (and others) come in. The the Necrontyr became the Necrons and all Hell breaks loose. I think maybe the surviving Old Ones did create the Tyranids or had influence on them and they evolved outside of the Milky Way or in the next closest galaxy. In the meantime Chaos became dominant. The Tyranids are perfect to fight against both the Necrons and Chaos. They can match the Necrons and starve out the Chaos Gods but wiping all life in the galaxy. The Tyranid creators might be going off of the C'tan still leading the Necrons and would think they'll starve them out, too. Maybe Tsara'noga the Outsider has a hand in this, too, in his madness he might be unknowingly leading the Tyranids to the galaxy or tagging along. The Tyranid Hive Mind forming into an Immaterium entity is a very interesting idea.

[@antodiyo7523]

I think tyranids is engineered by the cattan to combat the new race engineered by the old ones, but relocated to outside galaxy because the necron up rising / rebelion against the the cattan

[@wolfyboy]

Cool! New intro! :D

[@artttard]

I'm gonna be real salty if you don't say Malal.

[@xenostyrant4118]

I like the idea the Hive Mind is generating a Warp God. It would also explain what the hell Tiamet are up to. Ynnead needed a psychic ritual on Coheria to awaken, so the Tiamet Tower could be the Tyranid equivalent, hence why it is so heavily defended.

[@spiritvdc5109]

The prophecy you referenced when discussing the return of the Outsider is eerily reminiscent of the ideology of the Dark Mechanicus Forge World in the fanfiction I'm writing, wherein after their forbidden research lead them to discover the true nature of Chaos, the Necrons and the Tyranids, they came to believe that the galaxy is doomed to become a 3-way free-for-all between these three almighty powers, with all other races being utterly irrelevant by comparison, and thus they side with Chaos since it's the only one of the three that would tolerate their existence... if you take the prophecy's statement of "the thirsting ones" as a reference to daemons, since they call Slaanesh "She Who Thirsts", it would certainly imply that the future predicted by my Dark Forge has also been glimpsed by the Aeldari... a truly harrowing concept for the rest of the galaxy...

[@Nightcoffee365]

I have trouble with the warp-god hypothesis. The bugs famously cast a ‘shadow in the warp’, and tend to knit together realspace as they go. I suppose it would depend if that shadow is anti-warp or a phenomenological manifestation of the warp.

[@flaco777]

I'd say phenomenological manifestation of the warp since they are psychically linked and various Tyranids readily use warp abilities.

[@russianred128]

Yay more info on my tyranids ^.^

[@spartanalex9006]

I think the Tyranids are controlled by a collective of reality warping super-entities like the Brother Moons from Dead Space or the Entities from Worm.

[@xander9460]

7:48 That's a skink. Confirmed to be created by the old ones... It's also been conformed in lore that the tyranids are from another galaxy and have devoured multiple galaxies already...

[@MrGrim]

What really bothers me, what REALLY creeps me out, is where did the Overmind get the blueprint for a Gene Stealer Patriarch? Its so against the grain of the semi autonomous, "higher ranking" Tyranid bioforms, its SO different in its mannerisms and level of adaptability. Its seems alien, even from the alien.

[@2000kizmo]

Boop the god king

[@Elenrai]

*Boop* Also your PFP....what the fuck? Am I on LSD?

[@daviddickson412]

Boop the snoot!

[@TheHolyjames]

Can you do a break down of that prophesy sometime in a video?

[@JohnDoe-sx6iw]

The norn queens' texting app is reaching singularity.

[@belltowersubductions5104]

I like the tyranids as an unknowable Eldritch horizon of doom which came from far away, operates in unknown ways, wasn’t created by any chaos god or c’tan or old one, whose arrival three everyone off guard. Something which doesn’t care about any of the vast political hellscape of war that is the Galaxy, has no ties to anything within it, and once the feeding is done, will only remember it as a slightly spicy meal. One amongst billions. The ultimate end to the “There’s always a bigger fish” state of affairs that fills Warhammer 40k, an outside context force which came, ate, and buggered off without so much as a blink.

[@georgesulea]

I go with the idea that the Old Ones had something to do with it. Beings with no souls to eat, thus the C'tan have nothing to consume, and then they consume all life that starves the C'tan as well, even leaving the Necrons with nothing to enslave or conquer? Sounds like a biological "scorched Earth" policy to me. As far as the central hive mind? I'd hate to be the Imperial Astronomy adept who looks out into the Void between galaxies and sees a galactic-sized Tyranid looking back at him!

[@TheLagiacrus1]

I think if they were made by the Old Ones, they would be better suited, and more eager, to fight the Necrons. As it is, Tyranids often avoid Tomb Worlds, and the Necrons themselves are almost a hard-counter to the Tyranids.

[@discomfort5760]

@@TheLagiacrus1 They avoid Tomb Worlds only because the net biomass profit of invading one is mostly negative, thus a huge waste of both time and biomass.

[@skalgrimfellaxe5796]

@@discomfort5760 Unless they are a threat, which they are in the long run. Its also wrong to think of it in the terms of a net biomass loss. Its not. Even a Tomb World has trillions upon trillions of tons of water, carbon, minerals, metals, oxygen etc etc. The reason as to not going for low biomass/no biomass planets in the same regards as planets with biomass has more to do with the resource that genetic material is to the Tyranids. Their prime purpose seems to be to evolve and store all genetic material they encounter. At the same time they grow in military power. It makes more sense to only attack Necron worlds when needed - and then wait until they have cleansed most of the galaxy of life until they can tackle the Necrons, at "full power" and armed with the genetic material of an entire galaxy. Then they could just consume "dead" worlds, gas giants, moons, asteroids, until the end of days all while fighting necrons while outnumbering them a trillion trillion to one. ;)

[@discomfort5760]

@@skalgrimfellaxe5796 That makes sense, but until their ultimate motives/purpose is revealed, they seem to mostly ignore Tomb Worlds because of sheer lack of interest. One only resorts to eating scraps when there's nothing else to eat, e.g if there are ork boyz to feast on, even fortified Imperial worlds are ignored.

[@mattnimbus6437]

Necrons are just crunchy biomass

[@wizard0313]

What's that stuff coming out of those 'chimneys' that Carnifex's, Hive Tyrant's, and other larger Tyranids have? Are they spores?

[@TheLastVoodooMan]

Can someone tell me where the backround music is from? I am sure I know it from somewhere I just can't remember.....

[@RockYourNape]

14:20 or perhaps is a fully armed and operational battle station

[@WackadoodleMalarkey]

I like the theory the tyranids are in a desperate war with an unknown other race, or sense the approach of an even greater threat and are like animals packing on fat for winter, and thus why they are so singleminded with biomass accumulation.

[@TheKarlaxx]

Although some of the ideas that inspired me to think of this concept are from the older Necron codex and maybe not as valid anymore, I’ve been thinking about ways (not that I necessarily want this to happen any time soon, mind) to do 40k the way Fantasy has been done, ending the world and rebooting it. I think you could do that in an interesting way with the four major C’tan. The Emperor dies, and the Void Dragon awakens and humanity adopts it as their new god, shedding their fear of new technology. The Outsider controls a Tyranid swarm that has consumed all of the chaos gods and dominates the warp. The Deceiver convinces all the Orks that it is Gorkamorka, and the Nightbringer is reformed by the Necrons to lead them in harvesting all organic life. You could alternatively keep good old fashioned chaos around, because it’s awesome, but I really dig the idea of the hive mind achieving godhood.

[@TremereTT]

And the T'au triumph above all of them. Keeping gods out of the picture, ready to spread the greater good, aided by the Votann and a Necron faction of several dynasties lead by the Silent King that still aims to return to the flesh. Sounds doable! The coolest of the armies united against the crap.

[@NetMoverSitan]

1:25 - Norn Queens are others, killing them can create a shock that could be felt from orbit. | Genestealers are advanced scouts. | 3:07 - (monotone) All hail the Ultrasmurfs. | 5:47 - They're likely made by the Old Ones as biological fire-breakers in order to divert the C'tan and the Necrons from other worlds with life during the war in the heavens. | Although the Craftworlders are basically the gypsies / travellers of the Aeldari.

[@iwanttocomplain]

Interesting to imagine an insect mind dealing with the abstract but tangible space of the warp in terms of conquest. A practical and pragmatic insect would probably be unfazed by concepts such as fear which is used to overwhelm the humanoid mortals. Perhaps they would simply colonise it. I don't know what a Tyranid eats but if it can eat a chaos monster then it can live in the warp I suppose.

[@Ralndrath]

Gestalt, I love that word. Thank you, Germany for giving us some great words and Friedrich Nietzsche and Hamburgers...maybe? and Heidi Klum and Albert Einstein.

[@whereami8301]

Harbinger: ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL

[@SuperMrHiggins]

Just the fact that they have a gestault consciousness is what makes the nids so much more than "alien's" or starship troopers "bugs"

[@TK199999]

I have heard the term Organic Robots to describe the 'Nids. That the Hive Mind is more an emergent consciousness than just a feral beast or Skynet like super AI. With it having one overall command, survive. Everything it does, even its supposed 'vengeance' against the Blood Angels is in service to this core command. So just image the 'Nids like Replicators from Stargate, in that they absorb technology (ala DNA), resources and create what ever new or old constructs are necessary to preform their goal to survive. But that feeds into the idea that 'Nids may well be running from something worse than than them that is moving across our local galactic cluster.

[@billymiles26]

The counter theory of the Old Ones creating the Tyranid is the number of legs, with the nids having 6 but the tablet showing 4. Could it not be theorized that they simply evolved an extra set of limbs over millions of years?

[@seanpeacock4290]

There is no piece, only lunch. Lunch never changes. There can be only lunch. Lunch for the lunch god, snacks for the hungry one.

[@Kepora1]

9:15 so basically that theory is that the nids are the Bohrok from Bionicle. And interesting hypothesis!

[@nzoththedeepwatcher1616]

But does it not sing into the void it's endless intention, to preserve and expand for life? So old now, the voice so simple. Find, Consume, Grow, Evolve.

[@LuderSatan1]

I always thought it could be a cool idea if the Tyranids were chok troops of another galaxy spanning empire, who was about to invade the milky way.

[@Robustacap]

I am drawn to think the Old Ones being the origin of Chaos Gods as well. Too fitting that so many of the created species of the Old Ones correlate to some Chaos God. Here Slaneesh, She who thirsts/He who devours. Both coming later, in material as in immaterial.

[@vukanwantshugz5341]

I like to think that the "Hive mind" is a kind of colossal organism the size of a large star.

[@haloreaper1018]

I think gw should release a tyranid lord of war that isn't part of forgeworld's range

[@jeffreybomba]

The idea that an STC was able to reformulate molecular structure is similar to the way Tyranids turn everything into a good that forms the basic building block for Tyranids life. I wonder if the hive mind in an STC turned biological Cylon style.

[@mrpara7276]

Honestly the most interesting answer would be that they are extra galactic and are running from a supreme threat that dwarfs anything that the current universe can imagine. My idea would be a technological singularity thats purpose to to absorb all matter and energy in the universe and the Tyranids goal is to hop galaxy to Galaxy to build up their strength enough for a Final warp based attack which is the Machines only weakness, Hence why they are attracted to psychic energy because they know they will find the material/DNA to boost their Psychic power . Then they will use their collected DNA to restore and Re-seed life.

[@40KTheories]

"running from a supreme threat that dwarfs anything that the current universe can imagine" The epilogue to the novel Pharos confirms this is not the case.

[@chickenmonger123]

Well, the chaos should have and aspect for hunger/gluttony. Maybe the primordial embodiment of hunger got a drop on all the other chaos gods. And managed to rip it’s way out of the chaos, and establish a foothold in reality.

[@shardperson3777]

The thing about a hive mind is it doesn't actually have to have a single brain entity, if all of the tyranids are connected locally and then connected galaxy-wide through more powerful "amplifier" units, then their combined minds can be the "hive mind", it doesn't have to be a separate entity controlling it.

[@mattgrandich3977]

That’s cool that the Hive Mind is considered to be something of a god from the Warp. I wonder what the opinions of the Tyranids from the followers of Chaos are...