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The word god to me suggests that they are supernatural and control things that we cannot comprehend.

This then raises the question: would they have any sway over the Tyranids and their giant Hive fleets.

enter image description here

Looking at this image you can see just how vast the Tyranids empire is.

I'd love to know if the Gods could have any say over the Tyranid's rule or empire...

Exciting stuff this 40k universe.

4 Answers 4

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No. While the Chaos Deities are incredibly powerful in their own right, they have no means by which to infiltrate the Tyranid fleets to exert their powers. The Tyranids are so powerful mentally and work as such a complete collective being they cannot be affected by the Powers of Chaos.

The Chaos Gods are the supernatural rulers of the Immaterium (the Warp) and have a great impact upon the events occurring in the physical universe. Numbered amongst the most powerful of the Chaos Gods are Khorne, the God of Warfare, Violence and Murder, Nurgle, the God of Disease and Decay, Tzeentch, the God of Change and Sorcery and Slaanesh, the God of Pleasure and Pain. There is a fifth major Chaos God named Malal or Malice who embodies Chaos' tendency to turn in upon itself and who acts against the interests of the other Chaos Gods whenever he can, though he is certainly no ally of the Imperium either.

NOTE: There is no definitive answer (meaning one that has been sanctioned by the Warhammer canon, the Black Library, or the gaming materials associated with the game).

  • It is unlikely the Chaos deities and the Tyranid could ever come to an agreement for one simple reason...the Chaos deities have no bargaining leverage with the Tyranid fleets or Hive Minds.

  • The Tyranid appear to have no need for supernatural assistance, being as formidable a life form with such a highly regulated mind, probably has kept the Warp from creating any. And as such, this prevents infiltration by deities who use character weaknesses like doubt to infiltrate.

A fully mobilized Tyranid Hive Fleet strikes shock, awe, and terror into even the most stalwart of humanity's defenders. Even when the xenos threat is eliminated (at great cost), it will not be long before another Tyranid migration emerges to take advantage of the situation. This is what makes the Tyranid species such a threat: it is an evolved meta-predator capable of out-producing, out-consuming, and out-lasting all other species it encounters, having done so on a disquietingly unknowable number of prior occasions across a vast swathe of intergalactic space.

  • Most Chaos Gods feed upon an aspect of individualism, vanity, fear, obsession, hate, and other vices. The Chaos entities usually use subterfuge and guile to manipulate their way into a social circle, whether it be the council of leaders on a planet or a Space Marine Librarian experiencing doubt about the nature of their Crusade against Chaos.

  • There are no true individuals among the Tyranid entities and life forms. Every lifeform among the Tyranid are connected psychically through a process called the Synaptic Web.

All Tyranids possess a common psychic bond, known as the Synapse. This bond enables the Tyranid swarms to think, perceive, and act as a single great super-organism, providing nearly seamless co-ordination and control within a Tyranid invasion force so numerous and extensive as to be completely uncontrollable otherwise.

  • The Chaos Deities either lack the ability to overcome the Tyranid psychic forces or lack the desire to pit their psychic might against a creature(s) whose psychic ability is so great it can use that ability to reach faster-than-light speeds without interacting directly with the Warp. From the smallest feeder organisms, to the microbes that decompose new biomass; from the sessile and rooted flora-like forms, to the huge tendril-like shoals of the Hive Fleets, every Tyranid organism has a place within the will of the Hive Mind.

  • The Tyranid mental presence is so great it casts a Shadow upon the Warp itself, the very source of the Chaos deities power! With this shadow it is able to block psychic abilities and drive psykers insane.

The Hive Mind also has the ability to block interstellar communications and travel through the Warp due to the potent psychic presence it creates in the Immaterium that has become known as the "Shadow in the Warp"; it uses this ability when it unleashes a Hive Fleet, cutting off astropathic communications to the besieged part of the galaxy and thus making a call for reinforcements impossible.

  • In this particular instance the Chaos Deities are in exactly the same boat as everyone else who ISN'T a Tyranid in our galaxy, they don't have an effective way of infiltrating the Tyranid menace, and they simply can't out-fight them. So far, it appears no one can for very long.

  • Most species win battles only to lose longer engagements or to engage in Pyrrhic victories where the planet they fight over is rendered lifeless and useless to both sides. See: Exterminatus. Not a winning long term strategy. Judging from the number of different directions the Tyranid are entering our galaxy, it would seem they have been remarkably successful in absorbing other galaxies in our Local Group.

  • The only possible advantage for the Chaos Deities lies in their ability to retreat to the Eye of Terror and hiding within the Warp. It is unknown if the Tyranid Hive Mind can enter the Warp and operate successfully.

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  • So... if military might, sheer numbers and demonic powers aren't enough to defeat the Tyranids, at best merely allowing to win pyrrhic victories against them, are they the long term winners of the 40K universe? :)
    – Andres F.
    Jul 20, 2013 at 20:55
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    Unless all of the powers of our galaxy put aside their issues and work together, yes, the Tyranid WILL eventually conquer everything here. Communication and coordination with nearly perfect synchronization and nearly unlimited numbers drive this war in the favor of the Tyranid masses. Jul 20, 2013 at 23:38
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    @Thaddeus You're the reason I ask questions on this site man :) Jul 21, 2013 at 1:11
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    @Thaddeus You have recently been proven wrong, with the Necron working alongside the Blood Angels to fight against the Tyranid. :)
    – Theik
    Apr 21, 2015 at 13:34
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    Sorry to dig this up, but just came across it. There is some canon evidence to support the theory that Chaos has no effect on the Tyranids. The Tyranid Codex (6th Edition) mentions the Fall of Shadowbrink. In this conflict, both Hive Fleet Leviathan and the Quadrifold Abominatum (4 greater demons, one from each Chaos God) resulting in the daemons retreating. No blood was being spilled for Khorne, the Tyranids adapted to be resistant to Nurgle's diseases, and the lack of individualism meant the Tyranids crave neither knowledge nor pleasure. wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Fall_of_Shadowbrink Jun 26, 2016 at 8:34
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Tyrranids are affected by chaos - as can be evidenced by Genestealer cults being able to have mutations in Hybrids. Further, telepathy is a function of Chaos, and the 'nids use Telepathy.

Chaos seems to be an inherent part of the hyperdimensional physics of the Warhammer Universe. The 'Nids are a force of Chaos, even tho' they don't normally use Warp Travel.

Additionally, the games (at least the ones I've got) give 'Nids no particular resistance to Chaos armies' special attacks. So, while canon may be silent about the particular effects of Chaos Gods upon the 'Nids, the Nids are attacked by their agents just fine.

Note also: The Chaos Gods like worshipers, and the 'Nids won't be worshipers, but the Chaos Gods are able to affect all mortals.

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  • Can't sanctioned psykers or librarians also use telepathy? And I may be wrong but the Tyranids use the warp to communicate. Not all that goes around in the Immaterium ties with the dark gods. Marks of chaos are mutations, but not all mutations are caused by the dark powers.
    – svarog
    Dec 26, 2014 at 19:31
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    And even when a Genestealer hybrid becomes marked by Chaos, it does not taint the Hive it is connected to. More than likely, once the infiltration is done, if the Chaos taint isn't useful, the Tyrannid "recycle" those Genestealers and keep it moving. The Tyrannid believe in efficiency. If a Genestealer hybrid can use psycher ability or a mutation from a Chaos god, so be it. This won't change the nature of the equation once the Hive reaches that world. The planet becomes a resource center for the Hive. That which does not aid the cause is "reused." Apr 21, 2015 at 19:15
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    Chaos Gods have no power over them, chaos as a force do - they can be affected by spells, warp craft and those working for chaos, but they would never worship (directly or not) the chaos gods the way they want
    – Yasskier
    Oct 4, 2016 at 8:06
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The Tyranids have evolved the perfect defence against the corrupting powers of Chaos, if an individual Tyranid is tainted the others kill and eat it. The warp is a psychic force that affects the minds of those it corrupts even Nurgle's diseases are as much a neurosis as a physical contagion. So by killing the individual the collective can cleanse itself of any Chaos taint and it can keep doing this as long as it has sufficient energy/biomass to work with.

Which is not to say the Tyranids are completely immune to the forces of Chaos, if a hive fleet entered the Eye of Terror it could be corrupted so much so quickly that the hive mind would be unable to maintain control. But that would just be the loss of one hive fleet, if that fleet left the Eye of Terror other Tyranid fleets would intercept and consume it, doing exactly what they would do with a corrupted individual just on a larger scale.

Of course the Tyranids wouldn't enter the Eye of Terror or the warp in the first place because they're well aware of what would happen, it would be like sticking you arm in a septic tank why would you do that to yourself?

Suffice to say the Choas gods have no sway over the Tyranid hive mind although they may be able to communicate with it directly and it with them, but I can't imagine either would have much to say to the other. There's simply nothing the Choas gods have that the Tyranids want and any attempt to corrupt or deceive the hive mind is futile, it's probably as smart if not smarter than a Chaos god but only cares about eating and evolving.

Or I could be wrong and it has discussions about the nuanced details of tentacle hentai with Tzeentch and Slaanesh, that are beyond the comprehension of mere mortals.

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Yes they can. Nurgle converted large chunks of the Vampire Counts foot troops to fight for Chaos against their general, Vlad and his Empire "allies" due to being in his circle of "Death, Decay and Rebirth" even though Undead have no souls to control and are bound by magic to the Vampires and Nagash.

Tzeentch would probly be able to convert the Nids numerous troopers with ease due to them being in the "Change/Evolve" aspect of his sphere of influence big time and the Hive Mind being a simplistic creature of survival and adaptation itself. Although Id Imagine the Barriers between Real Space and the Warp would need to be much weaker than they are now, seeing as Nurgle did his trick during the final days of Warhammer World's Lifespan when Chaos was breaking through to the planet.

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  • This answer is about Warhammer Fantasy. While related to Warhammer 40,000, it is a different franchise and a different universe. I’m aware that there’s a popular fan theory that Warhammer Fantasy is set on a planet in the 40k universe isolated by Warp Storms, but is there any canon evidence of such (particularly more recently)? A relevant discussion.
    – Adamant
    Oct 4, 2016 at 3:37
  • Same Gods dude, different Dimension. their powers would remain the same. after all Tzeentch is still the god of change right? Khrone still the god of Violence and Blood and Nurgle of Decay? everything is pretty much the same aside from the setting as far as Chaos Gods are concerned. so Yes Tzeentch would indeed have influence over the Nids if his powers were waxing depending on the state of the galaxy
    – Dan
    Oct 4, 2016 at 20:46
  • Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.
    – Null
    Oct 10, 2017 at 15:23

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