Gargouille

Flying at the head of the swarm, Gargoyles are often the first sign of the onrushing wave of Tyranids, as they blot out the sun and choke the sky with their leathery wings and infernal screeching. Not dissimilar in appearance to a Termagant, albeit with the addition of wings, a Gargoyle is individually weak, and relies as much on its speed and ranged weapons as it does tooth and claw. However, in great numbers (as Gargoyles are almost always encountered) they can make as fearsome a foe as any Tyranid. The primary goal of Gargoyles, in their role as part of the Tyranid vanguard, is, it seems, to sow confusion. They achieve this by peppering foes with their fleshborers and then darting away before retaliatory fire can find them, always staying out of arm’s reach and using their speed to move from target to target before they can be outmatched. This command of the air and their agility makes Gargoyles a particularly fearsome foe to fight, especially as they often descend on enemies from hundreds of metres, swooping down to strike lethal blows. This forces foes to constantly scan the skies and be alert for any shadow or flicking form that could be the first sign of a descending Gargoyle brood. Gargoyles are also a menace for aircraft and can make air travel across a Tyranid-contested world extremely dangerous, as they hunt ceaselessly for prey, often supported by other, more massive Tyranid bio-forms such as Harpies and Harridans. Fast and manoeuvrable, it is not unheard of for Gargoyles to ambush craft many times their own size, latching onto the hulls in large numbers and chewing through power cables, couplings and other vital components to bring them down in flames. Dangerous when beyond the range of Tyranid synapse creatures, they become even more so when driven forward by the implacable will of the Hive Mind, pouring down from the sky upon their foes like clawed rain, forcing their way through small openings and blanketing sensors and observation towers with their bat-like wings. Under the direction of the Hive Mind, Gargoyles will even throw themselves into vents, exhausts and exposed gears, fouling machinery and weapons with their bodies. In this way Gargoyles are very difficult to defend against or trap in a bottleneck, as their ability to fly allows them to come at their foes from all angles and exploit any opening they can find. A Gargoyle which becomes trapped in an enclosed space (as sometime happens when they force their way through openings) is deadly indeed as it goes into a frenzy to escape, fighting as only a cornered beast can.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Tyranides