# Why dont tyranids eat necrons?



## Tyranid Prime (May 1, 2011)

Im new to 40k and i have just finished building up the first part of my tyranid swarm and im getting ready to paint it. After studying the tyranid codex and absolutely loving it i dont understand why the tyranids dont seem to like necrons? They eat everything else such as buildings, other lifeforms, water, the atmosphere and vehicles. They just seem to bypass necrons. Cant they eat them for some reason? Surely they could if they wanted to!!
I dont know a lot about necrons other than they are robot guys and i learnt that from the 40k rulebook!!! Maybe the have some sort of way of interfering with tyranids like those pest alarms you can get that drive away pests!!!


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## Azkaellon (Jun 23, 2009)

They are made of living metal and controlled by star gods who imprisoned the whole Necrontyr Race inside machine models. Also being the most Advanced race in 40k (Eldar would be second) and being like i said made of metal that repairs its self when damaged would make it rather hard for the tyranids to devour them. Not to mention necrons can teleport where ever the hell they want......


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## Tyranid Prime (May 1, 2011)

Ok thanks for that. The eldar of iyanden were ravaged by the tyranids. Technology didnt help them there. I thought tau were the most technolgically advanced race?


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## Serpion5 (Mar 19, 2010)

This belongs in 40k fluff, not BL fiction. 

Necron are far more advanced than tau, or any race, by a longshot.


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## spanner94ezekiel (Jan 6, 2011)

Nids don't eat crons because the crons have no living matter to digest and reuse for new organisms.


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## Child-of-the-Emperor (Feb 22, 2009)

Tyranid Prime said:


> Ok thanks for that. The eldar of iyanden were ravaged by the tyranids. Technology didnt help them there. I thought tau were the most technolgically advanced race?


No, superior technology isn't an automatic _"I Win"_ button. 

Tau the most technologically advanced race? Not by a long shot. Even the Imperium trumps the Tau technologically as it stands. And beyond that the Necrons remain unparalleled in terms of technological achievement, whilst the Eldar are generally perceived to trail behind them (although with a very different _form_ of technology). There is also no telling what technological advancements other xenos empires and civilisations have achieved out in the void...

(Also this belongs in Fluff not BL fiction).


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## Iron Angel (Aug 2, 2009)

Tyranids have nothing to gain from necrons and a lot to lose. Any war with Necrons would be bloody and brutal and would be a downright slugout.

Necrons themselves are metal and are simply shells for the souls of enslaved Necrontyr, who serve the Star Gods. They are composed of no biological matter. They do not eat, breathe, or sleep (Well, there was that one time, fifty million years ago...). Thus, the normal tyranid tactic of dropping spres and agases intot he atmosphere to weaken and subdue the population will not work. The necrons would likely barely notice something was even amiss. Then theres the actual combat. A unit of necrons torn apart by tyranids, instantly reassembling and standing back up as though nothing had happened, the advanced technology, the pure stopping power a tomb world can put forth. And for what, exactly? Even if the world they inhabit has biomass, like a swamp or forest world, they would likely lose more biomass to the Necrons than they would gain by digesting the world, if they could even successfully take it. ANd lets not get into how badly a necron fleet would dunk a hiveship, rendering its ground-borne forces little mroe than mindless animals. The battle could go either way, it all depends on how large the tombworld is compared to how large the attacking arm of the hive fleet is, but either way, the Tyranids will experience a loss- Either a net loss or a total loss.

For those of you about to say Necrons ships could not defeat a portion of the hive fleet dedicated to planetary assault, I shall remind you of the Necron/Tau first contact where the Necrons totally wiped the Tyranids.


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## LukeValantine (Dec 2, 2008)

Got to say it is kinda dumb to ask why nids who are complex biological entities that require many organic molecules to build new organism, would not want to fight a race of robotic nightmares that would shrug off 75% of all their combat tactics/weapons, and would cause the tyranids to hemorrhage the all important material, which is the sole reason they came to the world in the first place (Accumulating biomass/new DNA).

I will draw your attention to a similar situation to demonstrate how stupid this would be for Tyranids. Say you where a professional boxer who was paid to fight, but every fight had a chance to seriously injure you hence ending you carrier. Now imagine you see a person 2 weight classes above you and you would not get paid to fight that person. 

Can you tell me that you would fight that individual simply for bragging rights even though he stands a good chance of crippling you?


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## Tyranid Prime (May 1, 2011)

The hive mind needs to think of some different organisms purely for combatting necrons.


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## LukeValantine (Dec 2, 2008)

Nids don't work that way, they work on a after conflict bases often having to take enemy biomass/minds (Lictors) into their hive fleets before such specific evolutions appear.

In other words such advanced adaptive behaviors would be all but impossible against nids, of course they would still have the standard evolution process where they adapt to counter enemy weapons, tactics, but without the directed evolution seen against other races this would be purely defensive in nature.

Also unlike biological weapons, and energy weapons I doubt there is much evolution that can help against being pulled apart at the molecular level.

Personally I feel you opinion has nothing to do with the fluff and is just another case of OMG look ats my mega army they are unstopablolzzz. Face it some things are designed to shit kick nids, just like my beloved chaos are shit kicked by GK's. 

Nids like CD/CSM are a rock paper scissors army they sound awesome, but some things just get through all their awesomeness, and handicap them like retarded children with broken legs.

For instance CD lose constantly to GK, but orcs/IG/Nids have virtually nothing they can do to stop them. Like wise nids will get shit kicked by CD/Necrons do to the fact nids by their nature are at a huge disadvantage fighting these forces, but are all but invincible to armies like orcs/IG.


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## NiceGuyEddy (Mar 6, 2010)

LukeValantine said:


> Got to say it is kinda dumb to ask why nids who are complex biological entities that require many organic molecules to build new organism, would not want to fight a race of robotic nightmares that would shrug off 75% of all their combat tactics/weapons, and would cause the tyranids to hemorrhage the all important material, which is the sole reason they came to the world in the first place (Accumulating biomass/new DNA).
> 
> I will draw your attention to a similar situation to demonstrate how stupid this would be for Tyranids. Say you where a professional boxer who was paid to fight, but every fight had a chance to seriously injure you hence ending you carrier. Now imagine you see a person 2 weight classes above you and you would not get paid to fight that person.
> 
> Can you tell me that you would fight that individual simply for bragging rights even though he stands a good chance of crippling you?


The Tyranids we see are rumored to be scouting fleets. The role of scout is to assess an enemies whereabouts, strengths and weaknesses therefore hive fleets (which are presumbly only a fraction of the Tyranids true strength) would engage Necrons for the above scouting reasons. Tyranids tend to avoid Necron tomb worlds but this is not always the case.


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## LukeValantine (Dec 2, 2008)

NiceGuyEddy said:


> The Tyranids we see are rumored to be scouting fleets. The role of scout is to assess an enemies whereabouts, strengths and weaknesses therefore hive fleets (which are presumbly only a fraction of the Tyranids true strength) would engage Necrons for the above scouting reasons. Tyranids tend to avoid Necron tomb worlds but this is not always the case.


? yah, but these scout fleets only send for more nids if they encounter something useful, and last time i checked being wiped to a man isn't useful. Matter of fact many of the methods used to draw in the bulk of the hive fleet don't even work against necrons, Genestealer infestation..how? Also the main point is the fact its (Romoured), for all we know the scouting fleets are actually the bulk of the force sent to the imperial galaxy and as such will not get more reinforcements.

I mean god damn did people fail biology or something? Face it nids have nothing I repeat nothing to gain from fighting necrons, nids aren't orcs and don't just go picking fights with potential threats (They don't think like humans). Hell with only a few rare exceptions they would rarely come to the dead worlds were most tomb worlds now reside.


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## NiceGuyEddy (Mar 6, 2010)

LukeValantine said:


> ? yah, but these scout fleets only send for more nids if they encounter something useful, and last time i checked being wiped to a man isn't useful. Matter of fact many of the methods used to draw in the bulk of the hive fleet don't even work against necrons, Genestealer infestation..how? Also the main point is the fact its (Romoured), for all we know the scouting fleets are actually the bulk of the force sent to the imperial galaxy and as such will not get more reinforcements.
> 
> I mean god damn did people fail biology or something? Face it nids have nothing I repeat nothing to gain from fighting necrons, nids aren't orcs and don't just go picking fights with potential threats (They don't think like humans). Hell with only a few rare exceptions they would rarely come to the dead worlds were most tomb worlds now reside.


Meh you asked why they might fight, I gave a reason.

If the Tyranids truly are as vast as I, for one, believe then they are going to inevitably come into repeated contact with all races in this galaxy at some stage including necrons.


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## LukeValantine (Dec 2, 2008)

Yah but that would end 40k as we know it so it will never happen, especially if GW has anything to say about it.


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## locustgate (Dec 6, 2009)

Child-of-the-Emperor said:


> No, superior technology isn't an automatic _"I Win"_ button.
> 
> Tau the most technologically advanced race? Not by a long shot. Even the Imperium trumps the Tau technologically as it stands. And beyond that the Necrons remain unparalleled in terms of technological achievement, whilst the Eldar are generally perceived to trail behind them (although with a very different _form_ of technology). There is also no telling what technological advancements other xenos empires and civilisations have achieved out in the void...
> 
> (Also this belongs in Fluff not BL fiction).


Your right the Imperium is more advanced than the tau that's why the tau have plasma weapons that blo-OH WAIT THATS THE IMPERIUM! And that's why the tau have had an A.I. reb-OH WAIT THATS ALSO THE IMPERIUM! The tau also don't have anti grav tan- WAIT ONCE AGAIN THATS THE IMPERIUM!
The tau have smart missles that can't hit the broadside of a tan- WAIT THATS THE IMPERIUM!

The Imperium doesn't trum the tau in tech it's the other way, yes the imperium has better tech that works with/uses psykers, that's cause the tau have no psykers.


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## C'Tan Chimera (Aug 16, 2008)

Here's why even if Tyranids ate Necrons it would get nowhere.

"I AM SO FULL OF METAL RIGHT N-*voip*"

Suddenly Mr. Nom's big meal has vanished entirely from his gut tract, chortling all the way back to the local tomb. Shame we can't utilize that kind of technology for an anti-fatass diet.


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## Iron Angel (Aug 2, 2009)

The thing is, even if these are just Tyranid scouts, guess what? According to the Eldar the Necrons we have seen so far are ALSO just scouting forces, and that the true Necron war machine has yet to begin turning its wheels. So if Tyranids want to escalate, they want to come puke on my lawn like I give a damn about their spores and their digesting the planet BS and I fire off a few warning shots, into their faces, and they want to go crying to mama and she sends their big bros, well shit, I'll just go get a Tomb Stalker out of the fridge and point it in the right direction. Then Tyranid big brother can meet Necron big brother and go write a myspace blog about how badly he got sand kicked in his face. That'll learn him up good.



C'Tan Chimera said:


> Here's why even if Tyranids ate Necrons it would get nowhere.
> 
> "I AM SO FULL OF METAL RIGHT N-*voip*"
> 
> Suddenly Mr. Nom's big meal has vanished entirely from his gut tract, chortling all the way back to the local tomb. Shame we can't utilize that kind of technology for an anti-fatass diet.


I lol'd.


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## Svartmetall (Jun 16, 2008)

Iron Angel said:


> The battle could go either way, it all depends on how large the tombworld is compared to how large the attacking arm of the hive fleet is, but either way, the Tyranids will experience a loss- Either a net loss or a total loss.


Perhaps Kryptmann would have been better directing the Hive Fleet towards a handy tombworld instead...


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## Karak The Unfaithful (Feb 13, 2011)

Question: why don't tyranids eat necrons?

Answer: heck, isn't it obvious?


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## spanner94ezekiel (Jan 6, 2011)

ever tried chewing on metal? It doesn't taste great, especially compared to human or eldar flesh


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## locustgate (Dec 6, 2009)

spanner94ezekiel said:


> ever tried chewing on metal? It doesn't taste great, especially compared to human or eldar flesh


Neither does chewing on rock and building materials but they still do that. That being said I think it's because the cost in fighting the necrons would far outweigh the gain.


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## JelloSea (Apr 12, 2011)

To Nids vs Necrons. The Nids actually could find themselves in conflict with the Necrons but only in a few ways that I can think of. If they both want the local resources of a planet... BODIES!!! Or the Milky Way really is the last galaxy and the Tyranids want all of the bio mass, the Necrons are taking some of it and they are some greedy buggys.

It is correct that a fight with Necrons would be devastating to the Hive. When Nids fight other things they can absorb biomass to replenish their ranks, they cannot do this with Necrons.


To Imperium tech vs Tau tech

Lets recap. The imperium has the ability to make AI killing machines that were so powerful they went out of control and devistated the galaxy.

The imperium has loads of anti gravity technology, Land Speeders and transports on more advanced transports come to mind. They use treads and wheels for ease of production.

The common Las Gun can shoot through 3 feet of concrete and can be recharged to never run out of ammo. If a Fire Warrior gets hit with it, he will be just as dead as the guardsmen that was melted by the Carbine.

Titans. Nuff said.

Warp Travel Nuff said.

Battle Barges Nuff said.

Power Armor Nuff said.

Space Marines are guess what... technology.

The bolter, Las Cannon, artificial limbs, artificial organs, terrabytes of storable memory just from a device attached to your head.

Teleportation, Power Weapons, Melta Weapons, Carapace armor, Flak Armor(ability to produce is its only quality, It does save lives) 

Mass Production of Leman Russ tanks, Chimera chasis tanks, super heavy tanks ala baneblades, sentinals etc. The IOM has a million worlds pumping out these things. THAT IS TECHNOLOGY.

Ill bet you $5 that the Tau cant even make a Pizza


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## Karak The Unfaithful (Feb 13, 2011)

> Ill bet you $5 that the Tau cant even make a Pizza


they don't need to, ever heard of a tau pizza-maker? 



> THAT IS TECHNOLOGY.


yes it is.


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## spanner94ezekiel (Jan 6, 2011)

Karak The Unfaithful said:


> they don't need to, ever heard of a tau pizza-maker? .


It's called a pulse carbine :laugh:


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## locustgate (Dec 6, 2009)

JelloSea said:


> To Imperium tech vs Tau tech
> 
> Lets recap. The imperium has the ability to make AI killing machines that were so powerful they went out of control and devistated the galaxy.
> and I said the tau have AI that DON'T REBEL and damn nere kill them off
> ...


Since when did anyone say the Imperium didn't have tech?


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## JelloSea (Apr 12, 2011)

Tau AI is young, in the beginning the IoM tech did not rebel either.

I never said the Tau could not produce anti grav tanks. Their main battle tanks are grav tanks, im just saying that the IoM has that tech also.

The lifetime of a Lasguns power pack is huge, and really only goes bad fast if you use fire to charge it.

Warp travel also allows you the ability to try to conquer the galaxy, something the Tau cannot do at the moment.

Bio Tech is still tech. The emperor is a resource, much like one country having bronze weapons where the other has steel.

Im not sure what you ment by your tau artificial tech comment, care to explain? Heavy bolters are not that rare in tank companys, granted normal bolters are in fact rare to normal guardsmen. Still, any infantry company has its massive stores of hot shot las guns. Even if storm troopers are "elite" they would most likely still have massive numbers due to the sheer numbers of a guard regiment. I suppose that comment was pointless since we are debating tech not numbers.

Point taken on teleportation but it is a tech the tau do not have.

But if they had heard of pizza im sure they would want it and pizza is much to good for xenos.


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## locustgate (Dec 6, 2009)

JelloSea said:


> Im not sure what you ment by your tau artificial tech comment, care to explain?


How is that hard to understand "I have never read anything about tau having artifical limbs outside of homebrew fluff." Which is the one reason I hate playing a xeno race is that almost every story is told from a humans point of view, give me something, yes I know _Fire Warrior_, from the point of view of a bloody tau commander or even a frigging AI!!! :ireful2:


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## JelloSea (Apr 12, 2011)

locustgate said:


> How is that hard to understand "I have never read anything about tau having artifical limbs outside of homebrew fluff." Which is the one reason I hate playing a xeno race is that almost every story is told from a humans point of view, give me something, yes I know _Fire Warrior_, from the point of view of a bloody tau commander or even a frigging AI!!! :ireful2:



It was hard to understand because your actual quote was "point outside of fan fluff i've never read the tau having artificial tech." Your requote of yourself was easier to understand, yet you misquoted yourself.


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## Iron Angel (Aug 2, 2009)

Guys guys, lets just agree that the Tau are fish that name their vehicles after fish and the IoM is basically if Georgia took over and spread Southern Baptist-ism across the galaxy. With guns. We all know it doesnt matter in the end, they're going to be tyranid food or C'tan food either way.


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## Serpion5 (Mar 19, 2010)

Iron Angel said:


> Guys guys, lets just agree that the Tau are fish that name their vehicles after fish and the IoM is basically if Georgia took over and spread Southern Baptist-ism across the galaxy. With guns. We all know it doesnt matter in the end, they're going to be tyranid food or C'tan food either way.


:goodpost: There we go. Problem solved.


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## Tyranid Prime (May 1, 2011)

If the tyranids really are numberless then sooner or later necrons will be eaten and besides with all that necron metal couldnt the tyranids find at least some raw material from that could be useful. how about cyborg tyranids?


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## JelloSea (Apr 12, 2011)

Tyranids cant consume anything that is not living iirc.... granted GW has made it widely known that the necrons are "living metal" :shok:


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## locustgate (Dec 6, 2009)

JelloSea said:


> Tyranids cant consume anything that is not living iirc.... granted GW has made it widely known that the necrons are "living metal" :shok:


In atleast last eddition nid codex it says they strip everything from a planet minerals, water, air, sometimes building, and so on.


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## forkmaster (Jan 2, 2010)

Read Desert Raiders and youll get a fair view upon the Tyranids. And sure, the Imperium is superior to the Tau, but the Tau has the potential to move ahead. The Imperium haven't moved a bit in development in over ten thousand years.


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## locustgate (Dec 6, 2009)

forkmaster said:


> Read Desert Raiders and youll get a fair view upon the Tyranids. And sure, the Imperium is superior to the Tau, but the Tau has the potential to move ahead. The Imperium haven't moved a bit in development in over ten thousand years.


The tau are more advanced in certain areas, NONrebelling AI, plasma tech, antigrav. And the imperium has made some advancements since the great crusade but for every step forward they take two back, and that step forward is locked in a vault with tech heresy across it for several hundred years before someone goes, "Hey this automatic pizza maker is awesome".


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## Luisjoey (Dec 3, 2010)

there are suspicion about Tyranids creation came from the necrons against other faction (i think enslavers) in ancient times.


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## CardShark (Dec 20, 2010)

nids cant get biomass from necrons. Although though the metal is "living metal" its not biomass therefore any attempt for a nid army to bring down a necron would only result in the nids getting their asses kicked which I find to be quite ironic considering in an actual game the nids would prolly win


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## Tyranid Prime (May 1, 2011)

The swarmlord was developed by the hive mind to employ new strategies against difficult foes maybe he could devise something to deal with the necrons?


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## Warlock in Training (Jun 10, 2008)

Iron Angel said:


> Guys guys, lets just agree that the Tau are fish that name their vehicles after fish and the IoM is basically if Georgia took over and spread Southern Baptist-ism across the galaxy. With guns. We all know it doesnt matter in the end, they're going to be tyranid food or C'tan food either way.


I for belive in the end your all going to be playthings for the Chaos Gods and their Champions, CSMs.

On the whole Tau tech vs Imperium tech. After reading the Last Chancers novels... Kill Team to be exact... I think... anywho the second book of the series is a pretty cool story on Imperium match up against Tau. 

The Tau were shown to be capable of VERY short jumps thru the warp. However they dont need Psykers to plot their course, instead they can predict it to a almost exact space and time of arrival. They can send probes thru the Warp to to other Tau planets for quick communications. However in the end its all very Short Travel. Imperium is capable of year long trips in the warp.

Tau weapons are damn powerful and tend to work better... cant argue that. But the Imperium has numbers. The Tau conversing about the numbers they possessed on a populated world was easily matched by a single Hive City population. Meaning We out gun them litteraly.

The Tau Have Very Advance Battle Suits that the Imperium can only dream of, but Power Armore Astartes by himself was more than a match for any badass super suit. So....

Its was interesting look on Imperium diplomatics sort of battling Tau diplomats in who had the bigger dick. In the end Tau are more advance in their tech, but we have better use and numbers of our tech.

Necrons *AND* Eldar tech blows everyone else out of the water. Necs in Material Universe Tech and Eldar in Warp Tech.




Tyranid Prime said:


> The swarmlord was developed by the hive mind to employ new strategies against difficult foes maybe he could devise something to deal with the necrons?


The Swarmlord maybe badass, but the Deceaver and Night Bringer will make this guy their pet guard dog. Seriously, a good Stasis Field and thats all she wrote for the Swarm Lord. Even Nec Lords who blast those silly nids with a good Gauss Blast and there will be nothing left of the Swarm Lord to go back to the Hive Mind. Very few races can go toe to toe with the Necs and have a good chance to win. Admech/SM team ups shown to work, Eldar been fighting them from day 1, and Chaos is the Necrons polar opposit. Orks, IG, Tau, and Nids are at a disadvantage kinda.


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## aboytervigon (Jul 6, 2010)

Necron tech was a match for the webway so I think its superior to eldar tech.


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## Warlock in Training (Jun 10, 2008)

aboytervigon said:


> Necron tech was a match for the webway so I think its superior to eldar tech.


We had this huge discussion in another thread. Whos the most advance race I belive.

Anyway the Necs cant destroy or even penetrate the Webway. Yeah they're so advance awsome. Also in the big old war that took place who ultimatly took over the Galaxy? Eldar I belive took charge thru that mess with the War in Heaven and the Enslaver Plague to follow. Its already been stated/source/argued how Eldar push the Necs back and vice versa. If anything they were even in Tech. Material Universe Tech vs Warp/Psy Tech.


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## Tyrannus (Sep 19, 2010)

locustgate said:


> The tau are more advanced in certain areas, *NONrebelling AI*, plasma tech, antigrav.


Sorry to go off topic, but how does non-rebelling AI mean it is more advanced than rebelling AI? Surely it's the opposite, seeing as the AI is so advanced it becomes self aware. 

It's like saying the IBM 5100 was more advanced than current pcs because it couldn't get viruses.

Back on topic: I see the problem akin to that funny adage "Can God create a burrito so hot even he couldn't eat it?"
Impossibly hot Burrito = Necrons
God who supposedly can do anything = Tyranids.


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## NightHowler (May 7, 2011)

I don't feel like anyone has really answered the question. "You can't eat metal" does not explain why the Tyranid actively avoid Necron worlds. IIRC, if you look at the maps showing the Tyranid invasion, they are actively keeping their distance from the tomb worlds. Unless there's some fluff im not aware of that says otherwise, the Tyranids dont even scout them. I would be more likely to believe an explanation that involved the shadow in the warp and a Tyranid understanding that there was "something wrong" with that planet. That somehow the Tyranid's psychic presence in the warp was "creeped out" by something on the tomb worlds.


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## SlamHammer (Mar 28, 2011)

NightHowler said:


> I don't feel like anyone has really answered the question. "You can't eat metal" does not explain why the Tyranid actively avoid Necron worlds. IIRC, if you look at the maps showing the Tyranid invasion, they are actively keeping their distance from the tomb worlds. Unless there's some fluff im not aware of that says otherwise, the Tyranids dont even scout them. I would be more likely to believe an explanation that involved the shadow in the warp and a Tyranid understanding that there was "something wrong" with that planet. That somehow the Tyranid's psychic presence in the warp was "creeped out" by something on the tomb worlds.


Just speculating here:

Maybe, outside the Imperium Galaxy, Tyranids fought Necrons and got their ass handed to them. This gave the Hive Mind a very "self perservation" attitude when it comes to Necrons, and thus avoid them now in this Galaxy.

Or, maybe the organism steering the fleet doesn't find it appealing enough (lack of potential bio-matter) to navigate to a Tomb World and instead goes for juicier targets.


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## Serpion5 (Mar 19, 2010)

A more speculative answer would be that the tyranids _know_ what the necrons are, and seek to increase their numbers and strength before forcing a direct confrontation. Eliminating the c`tan`s cattle and having a couple galaxy`s worth of warriors and fleet would probably be more favourable than the numbers they have now?

Simple fact is, there isn`t enough information to give a definite answer, but for the moment lack of strategic assimilation value is probably the best call.


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