This multi-part plastic set contains 59 components and is supplied with a Citadel 60mm Round base with which to build either a Tyranid Hive Tyrant or a Swarmlord.
Hive Tyrants are monstrous Tyranid creatures created to be commanders of the Tyranid swarm. They fully embody the Hive Mind and act as the primary synapse conduit through which it imposes its will on lesser Tyranid creatures. Hive Tyrants are extremely powerful, large, and strong monsters that are three times the size of a human and can tear through plasteel or ferrocrete as if they were glass. They excel at both close and ranged combat, and in fact every part of their body is perfectly designed to maim and kill. They are highly versatile, with individual Hive Tyrants exhibiting a variety of physical traits, biomorphs, and bioweapons.
Unlike most other Tyranid creatures, Swarm Tyrants are utterly confident, incredibly intelligent, and able to learn from their mistakes. Some possess an instinctive cunning that borders on tactical genius. Though ultimately still enslaved to the hivemind, their relationship with it is closer than that of any other Tyranid creature. This makes them frighteningly psychic and capable of manifesting deadly psychic powers in battle, including the ability to empower the Tyranid swarm, crush enemy morale, or shred the enemy's mind. Hive Tyrants come equipped with a number of Biomorphs, but the most common are the Bonesword, the Whip, the Heavy Venom Cannon, and the Stranglethorn Cannon.
Hive Tyrants are essentially immortal, as their experiences, character, and knowledge are stored in the collective consciousness of the Hive Mind. Should one be killed in battle, a replacement body can be grown and imbued with the same experiences as its predecessor.
Hive Tyrants appear to be either a more complex and sophisticated form of Tyranid Warrior, or they evolved from an entirely different and sophisticated species. Some Imperial Technomage believe that Hive Tyrants are the Norn-Queen's Consort-Minds that form the repository of the Hive Fleet's own collective consciousness, which would mean that they fully embody the Hive Mind, but their destruction would in no way do so diminish way