Originally posted by ScreamPaste
There is a huge difference.For example the SiTW spans lightyears and cuts off astropathic communication, shuts down psykers completely, and is inherent to the entire swarm rather than just pariahs.
The Tyranids have no need or reason or want to do that. Also, it should be noted they don't feed the Chaos gods, so upon wiping out the other races they will weaken and atrophy anyway.
You're missing the point however, that this is a role they lifted from the Tyranids. Before the Necrons, Tyranids were the anti-warp race, it was their signiature thing.
Let's also not move the goalposts, I'm arguing that thematicly they are very similar to the Tyranids, not that they are exactly the same, operate the same ways or do the exact same things.
I figured since I was /only/ drawing similarities that were in your post already I could use that one. If you want me to list similarities you left out I can provide a much longer, more comprehensive list.
Gross oversimplification.
The Tyranids pose a lot of questions and to the other races are a very large unknown. Where do they come from? How did they come to be? Why are they here? Why are there feral creatures in the galaxy that already bare their genetics? Their true numbers are unknown to the imperium, as is the nature of their mind. In the earlier codices they were played up as psuedo-abominations and horrors... Kind of like the Necrons. They don't do random bullshit like only harvesting your spleens, sure, but that isn't required to be 'enigmatic'.
They are unknowable and inhuman, beyond the scope of our understanding, and are intentionally designed to play out like miniature cosmic horrors, complete with driving you insane. All that talk about chittering and scratching and millions of screeching alien voices inside of peoples heads ftw, right? And isolating worlds with the shadow before drowning them in tides of bodies so vast they can be seen from space is some pretty terrifying shit.
As of 5E. In 4th ed, mortally wounded Tyranids would continue to operate, animated by the hivemind's implacable will alone. Cruddace sort of took this from us, but I largely ignore the 5th ed codex. 😐 Now that you're getting one you can see why, haermm
Tyranids. 😐 Sure, the gaunts don't survive, but they expend trillions of the damn things just to waste your ammo without a second thought, and just like the Necrons, they lose [b]nothing
in doing so.My argument is not that the Necrons drive is only to kill everything. I am mentioning they are very alike the Tyranids. The Tyranids drive is not to kill everything, either, but both would do so if successful. What I am saying as the Necrons are not so unique.
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1. Kind of like what the Pylons that are containing the Eye of Terror are doing, huh? Difference being, this does not merely affect psykers, it is literally stopping the progress of the single largest Warp Rift in the galaxy. Oh, and Pariahs are just the most well-known anti-Warp thing the Necrons have at their disposal, they can construct Pylons that can do the same, as I said. And yes, it is the entire swarm, the entire swarm is necessary for the Shadow in the Warp. But a single Pariah/Blank with sufficient power can block a star system, IIRC.
No reason or want? You forgot to mention that they can't. That ability would have come in handy in Sondheim V, where M'kar opened a Warp Rift and started foiting the Tyranids, leading to both sides being Exterminatused. Only the Daemons can more easily replenish their numbers, being undying and all.
No, Tyranids were anti-psyker. They still perform that niche, perhaps even better than the Necrons. But the Necrons, and their masters, are anti-Chaos, both in practice, and thematically as well. No, seriously, show me the Shadow in the Warp killing a Bloodthirster.
In that both are looming, doomsday-ish threats? Like every villain faction that is not Dark Eldar? Sure, I guess.
2. Cool story bro.
3. No, it is not required, it just builds a stronger case for it. Seemingly random behavior that nontheless has a purpose behind it is a strong conveyer of the enigmatic. Also, much of what you just listed, describes many factions. The Orkz for example. Their origin is unknown to the Imperium, their numbers are unknown, well, they know they are massive, but that is it, and the Imperium has even found recordings of Orkz taken in other galaxies. I was mostly talking about their motive. Which is hunger.
I never denied that the Tyranids were not terrifying, every faction in 40k is, even the Tau.
4. Plasma would vaporise a gaunt, or even a warrior. Necrons in the fluff get back up. Shit, IIRC, Necrons have recovered from being partially rendered into puddles. Beyond that, Necrons also get teleported back to a Tomb for repairs, always... Even when vaporised. Well, the body gets reapaired, the consciousness gets put in a currently functioning body.
5. ONLY GUESS WHAT MAX THEY DO.
Only when shit goes completely swimmingly do the Tyranids lose nothing, but the Tyranids HAVE lost conflicts due to losing more biomass than they could replace.
Also, Necrons, the sentient ones, never stop coming back, they never give up their hatred of all other sentient life, their mission to retake their position as the dominant species in the galaxy, and they do this without a Hive Mind to guide them, sure, the C'tan direct and command them, but the sentient Necrons do this not only to serve, but because they chose to, Lords and Immortals in particular being more than happy to continue the harvest.
6. That was what Blax said, and what I responded to. Your arguing for the sake of arguing, and bringing up a point I was not really trying to make.
Funnily enough, that description also largely describes Chaos. I will admit that those similarities exist to an extent, but there are a lot of differences, unique qualities the Necrons have.
Their technology, for instance, which I somehow forgot to mention. Their technology is the best in the galaxy. Bar none. The Eldar and Dark Eldar are children playing with toys in comparison. For a comparison, the Necrontyr originally had superior technology to the Old Ones, who created an extensive Webway with their technological skeelz. Compared to the God Emperor of Mankind, who could only take baby-steps in doing the same. The current Webway is a piece of shit compared to what it once was.
Tyranid bio-tech also utterly pales compared to Necron technology. Necron space travel is the most efficient and fastest in the galaxy, compared to Tyranid technology that doesn't utilize the Warp, which is noted to be slower. The Necrons, using their technology, have access to limitless alternate dimensions... That they can use as shields. This helps their theme as well, an enigmatic, implacable, ancient race utilising technology that should not exist, making them even more alien.
Another thematic element I am surprised I did not mention, is that literally ANY planet could be a Tomb World, without anyone ever knowing. Necrons also have no warning in their attacks, Tyranids do, in that communications shut off, and Astropaths tend to die. Necrons just show up, out of nowhere, no warning. Five Necron ships were able to phase right next to Mars, right past Sol's extensive defense network, granted, only one ship landed, before being promptly destroyed, but still. And once more, Necrons doing a variety of random shit during their raids, wiping out the population, sparing certain individuals, taking some, taking all, dissections on the battlefield before leaving, etc, always for a purpose. THAT is something none of the races can claim have as a theme. Oh, and let us not forget the Time Abyss that is at work here, the Necrons themselves are unspeakably ancient on par with the Old Ones, each Necron predating every other race in the galaxy to a man, and the C'tan are the oldest beings in the universe, they were born at the start of existence.
The C'tan were also new and different in that they were gods, yes, and actual physical ones at that, not being formed from the traits/emotions of a race (Eldar gods, Gork and Mork), or emotion (Chaos), but actual, physical sufficiently advanced aliens whom have existed since time immemorial. They were unlike anything else in 40k before. But of course, the 40k neckbeard fanbase was scared, fearing horrifying concepts like "Innovative," or "different," and bitched about them, bawing about Chaos no longer being the first source of evil (Which, were they not idiots, would realise cannot be true, because Chaos is defined by sentient life).
Also on the C'tan, the Void Dragon. The most powerful being to ever grace the Materium, strongest of the C'tan... And is on the closest landmass to Terra. It represents a looming, cosmic threat, uncomfortably close to home, when it was weakened, it was imprisoned by the Emperor. But the foolish Emperor did not anticipate exactly how things would turn out. The Mechanicus feed him, with every implant, every piece of flesh replaced by machine, they lose part of their soul, and so while the Emperor is dying on the Golden Throne, the Void Dragon grows ever stronger.
Oh, and what their weaponry does is unlike anything else, their standard gun flaying the opponent molecular layer by layer, until nothing is left. This is actually kind of a theme with them, scarabs for instance tear their enemies apart with such precision that their claws are actually breaking them down molecule by molecule.