How do the Arachnids (Starship Troopers Cinematic Universe) compare to Tyranids (Warhammer40k)

[Scooby Doo]

As a fan of Hive Minds in general one of my two favorite swarm factions are the Tyranids and the Arachnids from Starship Troopers. I noticed from past internet searches the general consensus is that the Tyranids are far above Arachnids and that Arachnids are one of the weakest swarm factions in fiction.

But after reading the EU, rewatching the films and seeing the new content released I feel like the Arachnids are heavily undersold, I do believe the Tyranids can beat the Arachnids but I think it would take the upper end of their resources to do so.

For example the basic front line forces for both sides would be

Arachnid Warriors
Vs
Hormagaunts/Termagants

Arachnid Warriors just hands down with ease, they're better in every way stat wise and arguably just as numerous. From the latest 40k game (Spacemarine 2) we see the Hormagaunts are not so far beyond a human that they couldn't be dispatched with a combination of kick and single las rifle shot, on the other hand without targeting the nerve stalk of an Archie you basically need a rifle squad mag dumping focus fire to kill one.

So advantage goes to Arachnid Empire 1:0
Then we get to heavy units

King Tankers, Tankers, Plasma Bugs, Plasma Scorpions, Tigers vs Carnifex's, Hive Tyrants.

This one I'm conflicted with because the Tyranid forms are demonstrably more durable through feats but the AE bugs have some options.

Tankers have what is basically akin to a Acid Flamethrower and usually front line eating damage, unfortunately they seem to be rather fragile so they've only really seen success when they can alpha strike with their burrowing or a screen of warriors to eat heavy ordinance. The King Tanker in the EU is a noticeable upgrade being mentioned to no sell anything short of a nuke.

Then we have the Plasma Bugs which are just as fragile but recently shown that even their juveniles have impressive long ranged capabilities and the adults still have their low to high orbit artillery capacity that can level massive star ships, meaning that they could do some rather substantial damage thanks to the ludicrous ranges

Then we have the Scorpions from SST3 which is arguably the closest equivalent to a front line tank to match a Carnifex or Tyrant, sadly even then they're outmatched as all the Scorpion brings to the fight is a strong plasma gun arguably strong enough to do tremendous damage to a Carnfiex as they're dedicated Marauder Hunters the same ones that tank double digit gigs joules worth of thermal energy are hunted down by these Scorpions per the RTS

Then we have the Tigers & Super Tank Bugs, these are the best bests for melee combat against the Tyranids heavies. Tigers are just an upgraded version of the Warrior but to an unknown degree, the best option here might be the Super Tank Bug which is a Kaiju sized version of the Tyranid Warrior probably 4x times larger than the average one.

So advantage goes to Arachnid Empire 2:0
For their ranged heavies while the tally is 1:1 for Tyranid melee focused heavies



I think this where it stops becoming debatable as once you exceed the heavy Tyranid units and start touching Tyranid specialist units like their Gargoyles/Harpies/Neurothropes, ect the Arachnids have no real counter and would need a much larger force or significant amount of Plasma Artillery to achieve a victory the Bugs would also have no reliable counter to the Tyranid equivalent of Titans.


So in my opinion Arachnid Empire would find themselves capping up to the Mid tiers of the Tyranids and if they found themselves in a fight they could potentially win against a splinter fleet but anything larger would easily counter with specialized units. This wouldn't be a knock against the Archies though since Tyranid splinter fleets are still plenty dangerous and powerful, AE just lack the Naval ability to leverage their numbers and artillery effectively since their carrier bugs are just that.

 

[Husky_Khan]

I do find Gaunts to be below Arachnid Warriors in capability, though gaunts have an advantage of using ranged weaponry oftentimes which would counterbalance it to some degree. In melee, a Tyranid Warrior might be a better equivalent to an Arachnid so it'd be interesting to hear your thoughts on that.

This also shows that the Tyranids have more capability with low level troops since they have the Ripper Hordes, various form of Gaunts... then the Tyranid Warriors while the Arachnids have various flavors of Arachnid Warriors.

It could very well be that Tanker Bugs have different variants if some can be nuke resilient and others can have their top carapace penetrated by focused rifle fire. Or perhaps simply that the top of the carapace of Tanker Bugs isn't particularly well armored. I think a Carnifex or Hive Tyrant is resilient enough to withstand the plasma of a SST1 Tanker Bug and probably fast enough to eviscerate them in close combat.

I'll have to rewatch Starship Troopers 3 regarding the Scorpion. So I'd give the Tyranids an advantage if we're actually comparing Tanker Bugs to Carnifexes.

I also don't think that the Plasma Bugs are really comparable to Carnifex's or Hive Tyrants. Tyranids have their own bio-artillery of course, but I think the Plasma Bugs are a fair bit more long ranged and likely formidable when it comes to long range artillery bombardment. Biovores might be more versatile, able to fire acid or fragmentary or poison projectiles or mines, but the Plasma Bug is far more efficient with plasma blowing and burning up things regardless, longer ranged and can also be used as air defense as well.

So in a comparison between Plasma Bugs and Biovores I'd give the Arachnids an advantage.

There's also the comparison between Hopper Bugs and Tyranid Gargoyles, which are like flying Gaunts as well.

 

[Marduk]

They are "we have tyranids at home". While they may keep up in basic abilities in categories where they have decent representations, Tyranids have a lot more specialist options, flexibility, adaptability and much wider roster. They have smaller units than Arachnids that they spam relentlessly, they have a whole bunch of more specialist Carnifex sized creatures like Exocrine, Haruspex, Toxicrene and Tyrranofex, even bigger set of creatures more equivalent to superheavy tanks like Mawloc, Trygon and Hierodule, and THEN there are the biotitans, they have a whole infiltration focused branch of units based on Genestealers and their cults, they have tyrannoforming, and they have serious space combat capabilities.

Arachnid warriors are absolutely not a fair size comparison to gaunt variants. Gaunts are pretty much ripped and armored human sized spam units that are hunched so they are shorter than a man even, and often use a single ranged symbiote weapon. Warriors and Genestealers are closer but still smaller than an Arachnid, though weight wise it may be a match as Arachnids are mostly long thin limbs, i'd say Lictors and Raveners are a more appropriate comparison size wise, but exceed the Arachnid in weight and bulk.
Still Genestealers could probably make short work of a standard warrior bug, they are extremely nasty for their size, posing a deadly danger to even space marines in terminator armor.

 

[ATP]

Real Arachnids from books used lasers,not fought in melee.If heavier variant did the same,Arachnids should win.
Another thing - Arachnids take planet and turned it into factory.
Nids eats planet leaving bare rock and go for next meal.

Which mean,that Arachnids become stronger with each captured planet,when nids remain the same.If Arachnids could stop,or even only made nids slower,they would win.

 

[Scooby Doo]

I do find Gaunts to be below Arachnid Warriors in capability, though gaunts have an advantage of using ranged weaponry oftentimes which would counterbalance it to some degree. In melee, a Tyranid Warrior might be a better equivalent to an Arachnid so it'd be interesting to hear your thoughts on that.

This also shows that the Tyranids have more capability with low level troops since they have the Ripper Hordes, various form of Gaunts... then the Tyranid Warriors while the Arachnids have various flavors of Arachnid Warriors.

It could very well be that Tanker Bugs have different variants if some can be nuke resilient and others can have their top carapace penetrated by focused rifle fire. Or perhaps simply that the top of the carapace of Tanker Bugs isn't particularly well armored. I think a Carnifex or Hive Tyrant is resilient enough to withstand the plasma of a SST1 Tanker Bug and probably fast enough to eviscerate them in close combat.

I'll have to rewatch Starship Troopers 3 regarding the Scorpion. So I'd give the Tyranids an advantage if we're actually comparing Tanker Bugs to Carnifexes.

I also don't think that the Plasma Bugs are really comparable to Carnifex's or Hive Tyrants. Tyranids have their own bio-artillery of course, but I think the Plasma Bugs are a fair bit more long ranged and likely formidable when it comes to long range artillery bombardment. Biovores might be more versatile, able to fire acid or fragmentary or poison projectiles or mines, but the Plasma Bug is far more efficient with plasma blowing and burning up things regardless, longer ranged and can also be used as air defense as well.

So in a comparison between Plasma Bugs and Biovores I'd give the Arachnids an advantage.

There's also the comparison between Hopper Bugs and Tyranid Gargoyles, which are like flying Gaunts as well.

1. The way I did comparisons was not based on the size of the units between them but their role and weight.

A Tyranid Warrior is as large as an Arachnid Warrior but actually much heavier (1,200 kilograms vs 550 kilograms) with superior reflexes and strength due to being able to temporarily match a Primaris Marine, the Tyranid Warrior would definitely win a fight against a single Arachnid Warrior but we need to acknowledge that Tyranid Warrior forms are not really a "Core" unit they're the equivalent of an officer or elite unit, so there's consequences for a Tyranid strike force if the Tyranid Warrior is taken out (synapse backlash) where as the Arachnid's keep their officers as far as they can from the front line.

Meaning that a dozen Warriors to kill one Hive Warrior is a massive net positive on the tactical level.

2. The last two Starship Trooper games have introduced Gunner (Bone shards or Acid) and Spitter Bugs (Acid) as a common ranged units so with EU they're pretty matching the "grunts with ranged ability" option, also the last update for extermination introduced a bug that evolved on Volcano planet that can shoot streams of liquid "As hot as Magma".

3. Yeah a Carnifex should beat the default Tanker Bug pretty easily, a Carnifex is more like a walking tank where as a Tanker Bug contrary to its name is more like a mobile siege units that uses its flames to dig out entrenched units. Tankers Bugs are better at destroying fortifications or dissolving lines of charging melee infantry.

4. The only thing on that point I'd disagree with is the Carnifex's surviving Plasma Bug shots, Traitor of Mars show this massive space station being destroyed by a dozen or so shots

Plasma Bugs even the small ones are gonna to one-two shot most Nid forms until you reach the high tier ones like the psychic Nids or the Titan forms, and hilarious enough SST3 showed that Plasma Bugs can apparently aim accurate enough to shoot one of the Federation Ships traveling at sub relativistic speeds meaning either the plasma has an adjustable velocity or Brain Bug calculations are borderline precognitive.

They are "we have tyranids at home". While they may keep up in basic abilities in categories where they have decent representations, Tyranids have a lot more specialist options, flexibility, adaptability and much wider roster. They have smaller units than Arachnids that they spam relentlessly, they have a whole bunch of more specialist Carnifex sized creatures like Exocrine, Haruspex, Toxicrene and Tyrranofex, even bigger set of creatures more equivalent to superheavy tanks like Mawloc, Trygon and Hierodule, and THEN there are the biotitans, they have a whole infiltration focused branch of units based on Genestealers and their cults, they have tyrannoforming, and they have serious space combat capabilities.

Arachnid warriors are absolutely not a fair size comparison to gaunt variants. Gaunts are pretty much ripped and armored human sized spam units that are hunched so they are shorter than a man even, and often use a single ranged symbiote weapon. Warriors and Genestealers are closer but still smaller than an Arachnid, though weight wise it may be a match as Arachnids are mostly long thin limbs, i'd say Lictors and Raveners are a more appropriate comparison size wise, but exceed the Arachnid in weight and bulk.
Still Genestealers could probably make short work of a standard warrior bug, they are extremely nasty for their size, posing a deadly danger to even space marines in terminator armor.

Arachnids would actually be a fairer comparison to Gaunts, Gaunts are 200 kilograms vs 550 kilograms difference between the two while Warriors are in the 4 digit kilograms per Imperial Armor Volume 4: Anphelion Project.

We should too recognize that Gaunts and Arachnid Warriors are the "Core" units the same way that Gene Stealers and Infiltrator Bugs are the "Core Spies" of the group, basing it on size doesn't make much sense because Tyranids have a lot of large units that are no where near as common or resource efficient as there other units

A proper scale/comparison between the factions imo would be based on

1. The weight between each side (?? Kilograms, ??? Kilograms, ???? Kilograms)
2. The purpose of each unit (Heavy, Specialist, Infiltrator, Grunt)
3. The cost of investment (The Cost of a Brain Bug or Tyranid Titan would be a lot higher for the respective factions than it would be for a Arachnid Warrior or Tyranid Gaunt)

Real Arachnids from books used lasers,not fought in melee.If heavier variant did the same,Arachnids should win.
Another thing - Arachnids take planet and turned it into factory.
Nids eats planet leaving bare rock and go for next meal.

Which mean,that Arachnids become stronger with each captured planet,when nids remain the same.If Arachnids could stop,or even only made nids slower,they would win.

That's one of the advantages I think would be considered an advantage against the Nids in terms of Comparisons

Arachnids are far better at self sufficiently and can sustain larger numbers with existing territory. The problem is the Tyranids have a much faster growing process


Even the least complex units of the Arachnids (Warrior Bug) take about one week to reach full maturity while the more complex units can take a few weeks up to a month, this usually isn't too much of an issue because the Arachnids offset this by canonically keeping large reserves of eggs in stasis so while the main force is fighting the reserve of eggs are awakened from dormancy and the colony begins releasing new waves of reinforcements every week.


Tyranids tho can grow their replacements in as little as hours to days, this would mean that Arachnids are at a massive disadvantage against wars that deplete massive amounts of bugs in a very short period of time while Tyranids are better at eating losses in those short term wars


Ironically Arachnids are better suited for "Long Wars" where as Tyranids are better suited for "Short Wars"


With the Nids if you can hold them off long enough they get weaker due to the negative profit of biomass where as the Arachnids get stronger by having more time to mature their complex units and reinforce tunnel networks.

 

[Marduk]

Arachnids would actually be a fairer comparison to Gaunts, Gaunts are 200 kilograms vs 550 kilograms difference between the two while Warriors are in the 4 digit kilograms per Imperial Armor Volume 4: Anphelion Project.

No, there's no way Warriors weight as much as a tank, you must have gotten something wrong.
Gaunts, as i said, physically are a match to a very fit human soldier in armor weight wise, in terms of role they are also very close to that. So Like it or not, Arachnids are not a fair comparison to them. Being 275% the weight is unfair as fuck, that's close to the difference between a space marine and a guardsman.

We should too recognize that Gaunts and Arachnid Warriors are the "Core" units the same way that Gene Stealers and Infiltrator Bugs are the "Core Spies" of the group, basing it on size doesn't make much sense because Tyranids have a lot of large units that are no where near as common or resource efficient as there other units

No, we should not do that.
Tyranids unlike Arachnids have a whole bunch of "core" units who different hive fleets/strains use in different proportions, also depending on enemy or environment. Adaptability is a well known trait of the Tyranid hivemind, they can spam digging units when fighting on a planet with soft soil, flying units on a mountainous planet, artillery units when sieging, and ranged rather than melee optimized units when fighting someone really good in melee, while Arachnids are stuck with their Warriors as a core unit.

Gaunts and Rippers are not so much core units as semi-disposable bullet sponges at best or outright semi-smart munitions manufactured and sometimes even fired as ammo by weapons of larger creatures.

Tyranid Warrior

"Every one of the myriad of Tyranid warrior-creatures is a killing machine, perfectly adapted to slaughter its victims. They are the ultimate predators, and we are their prey." — From the reflections of an unknown Magos Biologis Tech-priest The Tyranid Warrior (Tyranicus gladius, alternatively...

warhammer40k.fandom.com

The Tyranid Warrior (Tyranicus gladius, alternatively Bellatori tyrannus) is one of the most common type of bioforms used by a Tyranid swarm. As Tyranids are constantly biologically adapting their forces to match their enemies' shifting strategies, Tyranid Warriors are often seen in combat in many different sub-species intended for different battlefield and tactical functions.

Tyranid Warriors are among the most important Tyranid bioforms deployed by a hive fleet in battle, as not only are they powerful and deadly creatures in their own right, but they also serve as Tyranid synapse creatures, the important bioforms intended to direct lesser Tyranid bioforms and forming the focal points of the Tyranid Hive Mind's system of telepathic command.

In fact deploying the lesser life forms without Warriors or equivalent creatures is simply something the Hive Mind doesn't do as they become uncoordinated wild beasts without supervision of such creatures, so it would be highly inefficient.

A proper scale/comparison between the factions imo would be based on

1. The weight between each side (?? Kilograms, ??? Kilograms, ???? Kilograms)
2. The purpose of each unit (Heavy, Specialist, Infiltrator, Grunt)
3. The cost of investment (The Cost of a Brain Bug or Tyranid Titan would be a lot higher for the respective factions than it would be for a Arachnid Warrior or Tyranid Gaunt)

Most of these lack clear information, especially given the versatility of units affecting weight and Tyranid biomass recycling and adaptability making their cost analysis completely different from Arachnids.

With the Nids if you can hold them off long enough they get weaker due to the negative profit of biomass where as the Arachnids get stronger by having more time to mature their complex units and reinforce tunnel networks.

That's just a terrible reinterpretation of the massive logistical advantage of Tyranids against them.
Bugs can slowly turn the resources of a planet into bugs and trickle them as reinforcements in a long war...
Compared to Tyranids being able to strip mine a planet in a short period and have all the forces they might get from it already, and then leave and no longer even need to defend the now worthless planet.
It's like saying a Von Neumann swarm is worse at long war than those with conventional industry because it can process resources insanely quickly.

If need be Tyranids are proven being able to hibernate with minimall loss of biomass for insane amounts of time by Arachnid standards.

 

[Scooby Doo]

No, there's no way Warriors weight as much as a tank, you must have gotten something wrong.
Gaunts, as i said, physically are a match to a very fit human soldier in armor weight wise, in terms of role they are also very close to that. So Like it or not, Arachnids are not a fair comparison to them. Being 275% the weight is unfair as fuck, that's close to the difference between a space marine and a guardsman.

It's not something wrong, the warrior version that can literally fly is even heavier than the average warrior's 1.2.

Whether you like it or not lol
It's a 97% difference between Arachnid and Tyranid Warrior vs 93% difference in weight between Gaunt and Arachnid.

No, we should not do that.
Tyranids unlike Arachnids have a whole bunch of "core" units who different hive fleets/strains use in different proportions, also depending on enemy or environment. Adaptability is a well known trait of the Tyranid hivemind, they can spam digging units when fighting on a planet with soft soil, flying units on a mountainous planet, artillery units when sieging, and ranged rather than melee optimized units when fighting someone really good in melee, while Arachnids are stuck with their Warriors as a core unit.

That doesn't contradict what I say though, a core unit is still going to be the most common unit you come across. Tyranid Warriors are needed not because they're a common unit but because Gaunts are incapable of coordinating with out one present and so the Warrior is an Officer equivalent which isn't fielded anywhere near the numbers Gaunts are.


We can tell this just by visuals of Spacemarine 2.

There's at least a 11 Gaunt to 1 Warrior ratio based on the trailer alone, in gameplay the ratios are much higher. If Warriors were as common as Gaunts they wouldn't even be used. Clearly there's a cost/investment involved.

Gaunts and Rippers are not so much core units as semi-disposable bullet sponges or outright semi-smart munitions manufactured and sometimes even fired as ammo by weapons of larger creatures.

Tyranid Warrior

"Every one of the myriad of Tyranid warrior-creatures is a killing machine, perfectly adapted to slaughter its victims. They are the ultimate predators, and we are their prey." — From the reflections of an unknown Magos Biologis Tech-priest The Tyranid Warrior (Tyranicus gladius, alternatively...

warhammer40k.fandom.com

Fodder is still a core unit. A core unit isn't a unit that is it's strongest but rather what is most used and we can determine what is most used by the ratios of types between units.

Harpy's, Gaunts, Ripplers are units used in mass then you have "Elite" units such as Tyranid Warriors which are fielded in less numbers than the Harpy's, Gaunts and Ripplers.

In fact deploying the lesser life forms without Warriors or equivalent creatures is simply something the Hive Mind doesn't do as they become uncoordinated wild beasts without supervision of such creatures, so it would be highly inefficient.

Synapse Creatures in setting serve as an officer role they're not like a Carnifex which would easily demolish a Tyranid Warrior.

Most of these lack clear information, especially given the versatility of units affecting weight and Tyranid biomass recycling and adaptability making their cost analysis completely different from Arachnids.

Not really.

Tyranid higher life forms and their strongest forms are often heavier than their weaker forms and take more biomass to make.

Arachnid units are generally lighter than Tyranid forms and their bigger or more complex units take more time to produced.

The best fair comparison to them would be their tiers of weight which several sources have been posted for both sides by their IP. Plus realistically speaking more often than not the common melee force faced by humans on both IP's would be a Gaunt and a Arachnid Warrior.

That's just a terrible reinterpretation of the massive logistical advantage of Tyranids against them.
Bugs can slowly turn the resources of a planet into bugs and trickle them as reinforcements in a long war...
Compared to Tyranids being able to strip mine a planet in a short period and have all the forces they might get from it already, and then leave and no longer even need to defend the now worthless planet.
It's like saying a Von Neumann swarm is worse at long war than those with conventional industry because it can process resources insanely quickly.

If need be Tyranids are proven being able to hibernate with minimall loss of biomass for insane amounts of time by Arachnid standards.

It's not a terrible reinterpretation it's a massive limitation of the Tyranids, why do you think Hive Fleet Kronos was made? Fighting Daemons and the forces of Chaos leave no Biomass for them to consume, they can't replenish their reserves so other Fleets have to prep planets for them.


Even Inquisitor Kirkman's strategy of destroying a hundred worlds to slow the Tyranid advance canonically worked which wouldn't make sense if Hibernation was a full proof method of countering their need for biomass. The Tyranid doctrine of consuming everything is offset by the fact that not being able to feed on a hundred planets will set them back a lot more than the Arachnids losing a hundred planets.

 

[IndyFront]

I guess a question I have now since I watched Invasion last night: can Tyranids hijack enemy ships and weapon systems? The Queen Bug was able to hijack the John A. Warden and utilize its weapons and other shipboard systems quite flawlessly.

 

[Marduk]

It's not something wrong, the warrior version that can literally fly is even heavier than the average warrior's 1.2.

Whether you like it or not lol
It's a 97% difference between Arachnid and Tyranid Warrior vs 93% difference in weight between Gaunt and Arachnid.

My point exactly. Weight wise difference is similar, but size wise Arachnid Warriors are fucking huge, bigger than a Tyranid one even, despite being lighter.
If you want an Arachnid equivalent to Gaunts, this is way closer than Warriors.

Drone Bug

Drone Bugs are the juvenile form of Warrior Bugs. Smaller with a weaker shell than their adult counterparts, these bugs stay close to Brood hives, attacking only when threatened. Drone Bugs are typically found near brood nests or within active bug tunnels. They will attack humans on sight but...

starshiptroopers.fandom.com

That doesn't contradict what I say though, a core unit is still going to be the most common unit you come across. Tyranid Warriors are needed not because they're a common unit but because Gaunts are incapable of coordinating with out one present and so the Warrior is an Officer equivalent which isn't fielded anywhere near the numbers Gaunts are.


We can tell this just by visuals of Spacemarine 2.

There's at least a 11 Gaunt to 1 Warrior ratio based on the trailer alone, in gameplay the ratios are much higher. If Warriors were as common as Gaunts they wouldn't even be used. Clearly there's a cost/investment involved.

SM2 is not a strategy game. In DoW games and in tabletop Warriors are fielded in teams of few, not as an officer unit, and they don't need to be fielded with the fodder units.
Meanwhile Gaunts and Rippers are more equivalent to Ork Grots and Squigs respectively.

Fodder is still a core unit. A core unit isn't a unit that is it's strongest but rather what is most used and we can determine what is most used by the ratios of types between units.

Tyranids have no rule saying they need to field a certain minimal ratio of trash units, it's part of their lore that they pick whatever ratio they find most suitable.

Harpy's, Gaunts, Ripplers are units used in mass then you have "Elite" units such as Tyranid Warriors which are fielded in less numbers than the Harpy's, Gaunts and Ripplers.

Warriors are not elites by any measure.
Even on Lexicanum they are in troop category with Rippers and Gaunts, not with elites like Lictor and Zoanthrope.

Synapse Creatures in setting serve as an officer role they're not like a Carnifex which would easily demolish a Tyranid Warrior.

Not really, they are not meant to be a 1:1 analogy to human organization, no one fields officers in teams.

Not really.

Tyranid higher life forms and their strongest forms are often heavier than their weaker forms and take more biomass to make.

You can optimize them for armor and firepower so they are heavier, or you can make fast melee ones that will be lighter because of not having huge carapace.

Arachnid units are generally lighter than Tyranid forms and their bigger or more complex units take more time to produced.

The best fair comparison to them would be their tiers of weight which several sources have been posted for both sides by their IP. Plus realistically speaking more often than not the common melee force faced by humans on both IP's would be a Gaunt and a Arachnid Warrior.

It's still a forced comparison, because an Arachnid warrior weights as much as 3 Gaunts or a whole unit of Rippers.

It's not a terrible reinterpretation it's a massive limitation of the Tyranids, why do you think Hive Fleet Kronos was made? Fighting Daemons and the forces of Chaos leave no Biomass for them to consume, they can't replenish their reserves so other Fleets have to prep planets for them.

Can Arachnids breed without resources? Don't think so either.

Even Inquisitor Kirkman's strategy of destroying a hundred worlds to slow the Tyranid advance canonically worked which wouldn't make sense if Hibernation was a full proof method of countering their need for biomass. The Tyranid doctrine of consuming everything is offset by the fact that not being able to feed on a hundred planets will set them back a lot more than the Arachnids losing a hundred planets.

It would work even better against Arachnids...
Meanwhile losing already eaten planets means jack shit to Tyranids. To make full use of a planet they only need to hold it for some limited time until the fleet eats the biomass and then they don't need to defend it anymore, while Arachnids need to hold it long term, obviously the former option is better.

I guess a question I have now since I watched Invasion last night: can Tyranids hijack enemy ships and weapon systems? The Queen Bug was able to hijack the John A. Warden and utilize its weapons and other shipboard systems quite flawlessly.

Genestealer cultists can.

 

[Scooby Doo]

My point exactly. Weight wise difference is similar, but size wise Arachnid Warriors are fucking huge, bigger than a Tyranid one even, despite being lighter.
If you want an Arachnid equivalent to Gaunts, this is way closer than Warriors.

Drone Bug

Drone Bugs are the juvenile form of Warrior Bugs. Smaller with a weaker shell than their adult counterparts, these bugs stay close to Brood hives, attacking only when threatened. Drone Bugs are typically found near brood nests or within active bug tunnels. They will attack humans on sight but...

starshiptroopers.fandom.com

I still don't think using Drones is a fair comparison since they're weaker than Warriors and the size difference remains the same, the wiki isn't even correct on the information it mentions. Drones are not juvenile warriors but worker Drones not dedicated to combat

Which still remain the same size as Warriors

Workers have less armor but if your issue is about the weight due note that Workers still weigh 475 kilograms so it wouldn't make a difference if you're trying to find something smaller.

SM2 is not a strategy game. In DoW games and in tabletop Warriors are fielded in teams of few, not as an officer unit, and they don't need to be fielded with the fodder units.
Meanwhile Gaunts and Rippers are more equivalent to Ork Grots and Squigs respectively.

Tyranids have no rule saying they need to field a certain minimal ratio of trash units, it's part of their lore that they pick whatever ratio they find most suitable.

Warriors are not elites by any measure.
Even on Lexicanum they are in troop category with Rippers and Gaunts, not with elites like Lictor and Zoanthrope.

Not really, they are not meant to be a 1:1 analogy to human organization, no one fields officers in teams.

I'll just concede on this point tbh

You can optimize them for armor and firepower so they are heavier, or you can make fast melee ones that will be lighter because of not having huge carapace.

That really doesn't help because the Tyranids have a lot more Frontline and specialist units than the Arachnids

The bulk of Arachnids pretty fall under Warriors, Plasma Bugs and Hoppers, anything else would be specialist bugs which have few of any feats and primarily rely on a paragraph for description.

Can Arachnids breed without resources? Don't think so either.

Arachnids can't breed without resources of course not but their ability to generate resources and sustain large populations far exceeds the ability of Tyranids to do the same

For example the Arachnids colonized a planet to the point it exploded

(Original population 2.8 Billion) And they're able to sustain themselves on the ruins of a planet no vegetation or other life aside from themselves. Even the Bug Larvae requires 150-250 pounds of organic material a day assuming that all the other much bigger Arachnids eat the same that's 210 million tons of organic material they eat a day.


Edit: Even the present 2.8 million population of Arachnids is eating 210,000 tons of organic material a day, a million tons a week on the equivalent of a resource stripped planet.

They manage to sustain this huge amount of resources consumption by blatant agriculture fungi magic

To put that into perspective they farm the equivalent biomass of a small Splinter Fleet daily. And can maintain that without consuming every morsel/mineral remaining on the planet.

Tyranids can't, Tyranids have a Momentum based economy where their huge numbers and production is based on how much they can consume a planet brings them up positive and leaves them with reserves but if they run out of planets as in the case Kirkman their production plateaus and they have to cannibalize their own.



Tyranids are limited by how much organic material and minerals they can get before they start starving. Arachnids are limited by amount of space to farm their fungi and time it takes to do so. Therefore Tyranids "Burn brighter but also burn quicker"

It would work even better against Arachnids...
Meanwhile losing already eaten planets means jack shit to Tyranids. To make full use of a planet they only need to hold it for some limited time until the fleet eats the biomass and then they don't need to defend it anymore, while Arachnids need to hold it long term, obviously the former option is better.

Give a single Planet to an Arachnid Colony and one Planet to a Hive Fleet, no other planet in thousands of light years.


The Hive Fleet without any additional planets will eventually regress to smaller numbers to sustain itself, the Arachnids will grow until there's no space left on their planet.

 

[Marduk]

I still don't think using Drones is a fair comparison since they're weaker than Warriors and the size difference remains the same, the wiki isn't even correct on the information it mentions. Drones are not juvenile warriors but worker Drones not dedicated to combat

Which still remain the same size as Warriors

Workers have less armor but if your issue is about the weight due note that Workers still weigh 475 kilograms so it wouldn't make a difference if you're trying to find something smaller.

That's still over 2 Gaunts worth of weight.

I'll just concede on this point tbh



That really doesn't help because the Tyranids have a lot more Frontline and specialist units than the Arachnids

The bulk of Arachnids pretty fall under Warriors, Plasma Bugs and Hoppers, anything else would be specialist bugs which have few of any feats and primarily rely on a paragraph for description.

And that flexibility is an advantage for Tyranids even if it makes comparisons harder.

Arachnids can't breed without resources of course not but their ability to generate resources and sustain large populations far exceeds the ability of Tyranids to do the same

For example the Arachnids colonized a planet to the point it exploded

(Original population 2.8 Billion) And they're able to sustain themselves on the ruins of a planet no vegetation or other life aside from themselves. Even the Bug Larvae requires 150-250 pounds of organic material a day assuming that all the other much bigger Arachnids eat the same that's 210 million tons of organic material they eat a day.


Edit: Even the present 2.8 million population of Arachnids is eating 210,000 tons of organic material a day, a million tons a week on the equivalent of a resource stripped planet.

They manage to sustain this huge amount of resources consumption by blatant agriculture fungi magic

To put that into perspective they farm the equivalent biomass of a small Splinter Fleet daily. And can maintain that without consuming every morsel/mineral remaining on the planet.

Tyranids sustain themselves by recycling biomass on their hiveships without that farming and logistical vulnerability it implies.
Also, 2.8 million population of Arachnids?
Imperial Guard: Can't we fight those bugs instead just to show them how it feels to be outnumbered?

Tyranids can't, Tyranids have a Momentum based economy where their huge numbers and production is based on how much they can consume a planet brings them up positive and leaves them with reserves but if they run out of planets as in the case Kirkman their production plateaus and they have to cannibalize their own.



Tyranids are limited by how much organic material and minerals they can get before they start starving. Arachnids are limited by amount of space to farm their fungi and time it takes to do so. Therefore Tyranids "Burn brighter but also burn quicker"


Give a single Planet to an Arachnid Colony and one Planet to a Hive Fleet, no other planet in thousands of light years.

Tyranids do not have to actively cannibalize much if anything at all to survive for longer than the whole timeline of Starship Troopers, see their intergalactic travel and hibernating hiveships, good fucking luck waiting for them to starve.
Also check out the hibernating genestealers and left-behind forces on planets they eat.
The only real loss of biomass that threatens Tyranids without planets to eat is losing biomass in combat without ability to recycle it for this or that reason - like being contaminated with Nurgle's plagues, destroyed by virus bombs, scattered across empty space, sucked into the warp or so on.

The trick Kryptman used with the exterminatus is that he would lure the hivefleets to invest biomass into invading some planets and *then* virus bombing the planet with Tyranid forces already on it, causing a net biomass loss for Tyranids.
And even that only slowed them down.

The Hive Fleet without any additional planets will eventually regress to smaller numbers to sustain itself, the Arachnids will grow until there's no space left on their planet.

They hibernate instead of regressing, checkmate. They are efficient enough in recycling biomass that they just do it with most of their land units on principle.

 

[Scooby Doo]

That's still over 2 Gaunts worth of weight.

My point your argument doesn't work because comparing even the worker Drones they still end up weighing more than a Gaunt and they're generally non combatants.

And that flexibility is an advantage for Tyranids even if it makes comparisons harder.

The flexibility is an advantage at the cost of over relying on Synapse creatures, Arachnids have less versatility but their chain of command is much more difficult to disrupt.

Tyranids sustain themselves by recycling biomass on their hiveships without that farming and logistical vulnerability it implies.

If they're recycling it means they can't grow meaning the Arachnids are still better at sustainability as even the best interpretation of the Tyranids has them at a neutral balance.

Also, 2.8 million population of Arachnids?
Imperial Guard: Can't we fight those bugs instead just to show them how it feels to be outnumbered?

That's on a dead world aka a toxic planet so most of the poorly equipped IG just die upon exiting their ships because a flak vest and helmet won't keep your lungs from melting.

And then the other 420,000 bugs that are living in the areas with no atmosphere meaning even if the main colony where the atmosphere is destroyed the Bugs just straight up build a new one where the Guard wouldn't be able to reach them.

While your average Imperium Cruisers is only carrying 10,000's of infantry, not really something the IG would be able to handle without devoting multiple cruisers for the equivalent of a Bug throwaway colony.

Tyranids do not have to actively cannibalize much if anything at all to survive for longer than the whole timeline of Starship Troopers, see their intergalactic travel and hibernating hiveships, good fucking luck waiting for them to starve.
Also check out the hibernating genestealers and left-behind forces on planets they eat.
The only real loss of biomass that threatens Tyranids without planets to eat is losing biomass in combat without ability to recycle it for this or that reason - like being contaminated with Nurgle's plagues, destroyed by virus bombs, scattered across empty space, sucked into the warp or so on.

The point stands with out planets the Tyranids can't just replenish their losses through their fleets.

An Arachnid Colony can, they don't starve if you blow up their invading forces.

The trick Kryptman used with the exterminatus is that he would lure the hivefleets to invest biomass into invading some planets and *then* virus bombing the planet with Tyranid forces already on it, causing a net biomass loss for Tyranids.
And even that only slowed them down.

They hibernate instead of regressing, checkmate. They are efficient enough in recycling biomass that they just do it with most of their land units on principle.

Arachnids recycle their own forces too but the difference is the Nids run with their tail between their legs when they face an enemy that leaves nothing left to recycle or are just kicking their but so much they have to abandon the biomass of their troops and flee.

 

[Marduk]

My point your argument doesn't work because comparing even the worker Drones they still end up weighing more than a Gaunt and they're generally non combatants.

Well then that means they don't have comparable combatants.

The flexibility is an advantage at the cost of over relying on Synapse creatures, Arachnids have less versatility but their chain of command is much more difficult to disrupt.

But it still can be disrupted.

If they're recycling it means they can't grow meaning the Arachnids are still better at sustainability as even the best interpretation of the Tyranids has them at a neutral balance.

Surely Greenpeace will side with the Arachnids then...
Tyranids proudly don't give a crap about "sustainability", just getting shit done and moving over.

That's on a dead world aka a toxic planet so most of the poorly equipped IG just die upon exiting their ships because a flak vest and helmet won't keep your lungs from melting.

As if IG never fights on toxic planets...
Send some Slavar Chemdogs, Kriegers or something.
No worse than the average planet *after* Tyranid invasion.

And then the other 420,000 bugs that are living in the areas with no atmosphere meaning even if the main colony where the atmosphere is destroyed the Bugs just straight up build a new one where the Guard wouldn't be able to reach them.

Surely IG never fights on moons with no atmosphere, or in space combat....

While your average Imperium Cruisers is only carrying 10,000's of infantry, not really something the IG would be able to handle without devoting multiple cruisers for the equivalent of a Bug throwaway colony.

That's why Imperium uses mass conveyors for large Guard deployments instead of cruisers.
That's the thing, it's such a small numbers of "sustainable bugs that IG can possibly outnumber it, while with Tyranids, IG outnumbering them is unthinkable.

The point stands with out planets the Tyranids can't just replenish their losses through their fleets.

Neither can Arachnids.
They can nibble on a planet slowly and grow their numbers, while Tyranids can exploit a planet to a level where it's no longer worth sucking for resources anymore in a short while, getting as much material out of it as Arachnids would get in centuries or more.
What's better in military sense, getting 1 army a year for 1000 years, or getting 1000 armies in first year already?
Wars are not fought on "sustainability", and no one cares about artificial restriction to one planet.

An Arachnid Colony can, they don't starve if you blow up their invading forces.

Tyranids also don't starve if you don't blow up their hiveships which Arachnids have no equivalent to. If they get repelled, they go find an easier planet to try eat, even if a shitty one, and come back. The nomadic nature in fact makes them much more dangerous in strategic warfare, as they don't need to save forces to defend their colonies with.

Arachnids recycle their own forces too but the difference is the Nids run with their tail between their legs when they face an enemy that leaves nothing left to recycle or are just kicking their but so much they have to abandon the biomass of their troops and flee.

Arachnids also could not recycle anything if they got virus bombed. They also have to defend their actual colonies or lose them, while Tyranid factories are spaceborne and can in fact flee and get new forces by grazing on random planets. That's a major strategic warfare advantage.

 

[Scooby Doo]

Well then that means they don't have comparable combatants.

Well we don't by your standards the size discrepancy is too variable between them, Tyranids start outweighing Arachnids pretty quick.

But it still can be disrupted.

Arguably not as easily, the Bugs have a Queen and Brain Bug weakness but those units don't have to be in the front lines like most Synaptic creatures.

The main advantage for SST I'd say is that Arachnids have sturdier ground warfare coordination, sturdier than the Tyranids.

While Tyranids have more easily replaceable relays they are also more prone to disruptions so their efficiency will be inconsistent if they're not winning a battle flawlessly.

The communication efficiency of the Arachnid Hive ground forces will remain 100% until the Brain Bug is defeated.

Surely Greenpeace will side with the Arachnids then...
Tyranids proudly don't give a crap about "sustainability", just getting shit done and moving over.

Sustainability is needed for Wars of Attrition, the Arachnid's are better long term than the Tyranids.

An Arachnid colony can sustain losses virtually indefinitely where as Tyranids WILL need to eventually score a big win to go from negative to neutral or positive.

As if IG never fights on toxic planets...
Send some Slavar Chemdogs, Kriegers or something.

Then the Bugs just move their colony elsewhere with their Space Transports? The IG communication is terrible by the time they realize they need a branch specialized in fighting toxic worlds the Bugs could either move elsewhere or launch an attack somewhere else to split IG forces.

The advantage that you're missing is that Arachnids are very multi purpose. Their ability to survive in all sorts of environments would ham string IG regiments that are only good in certain environments. One day you'll need to send the Krieg then another you'll need to send the Catachan, this causes delays for the IG

Not something that they'd be able to handle reliably without Spacemarine support imo.

For example Kleandathu is confirmed to have a standing population of 6 Billion, with likely billions more eggs in reserve.

If the Arachnids only have sixty million Breeder Bugs (1% of their population) they can produce and mature 5,040,000,000 Arachnid Warriors a week.

The Bugs could replenish their entire global population every week and produce even MORE Breeder Bugs, the IG would have to resort to Exterminatus because at a certain point Bugs simply can't be defeated in ground Warfare by conventional means.

Surely IG never fights on moons with no atmosphere, or in space combat....

Not without substantial prep time that can tank months to years which by then an Arachnid colony could have spread to a dozen planets

That's why Imperium uses mass conveyors for large Guard deployments instead of cruisers.
That's the thing, it's such a small numbers of "sustainable bugs that IG can possibly outnumber it, while with Tyranids, IG outnumbering them is unthinkable.

I think you're missing the point of the Bugs sustaining a multi million population on a planet that blew up and is devoid of life or liquid water.

Planets that are actually intact can field much larger amounts of Bugs and the thing with them is they keep their population at sustainable numbers, Eggs just like Nids can get put in stasis and remain dormant for years so their reserves can be several times their existing population.

IG could out number Bug colonies and that's how the Federation beats them getting to them before they grow above the hundred thousand mark because if they do they reach a stage where they can replace losses much easier than Tyranids can.

Neither can Arachnids.
They can nibble on a planet slowly and grow their numbers, while Tyranids can exploit a planet to a level where it's no longer worth sucking for resources anymore in a short while, getting as much material out of it as Arachnids would get in centuries or more.
What's better in military sense, getting 1 army a year for 1000 years, or getting 1000 armies in first year already?
Wars are not fought on "sustainability", and no one cares about artificial restriction to one planet.

Yes Nids can nibble on a planet but they can't sustain the numbers from nibbling on a planet the same way the Arachnids do. An Arachnid Colony over their life time can numerically match a Tyranid splinter fleet eating a world just not as fast. In terms of Warfare that sustainability is a positive for the Arachnids

A failed Arachnid invasion of a planet does not weaken them like it weakens a Tyranid fleet, the Tyranids invest a substantial amount of resources into an invasion then lose it and drop down into the negatives where they're unable to return to full strength without consuming another planet.

An Arachnid Colony just needs time

Tyranids also don't starve if you don't blow up their hiveships which Arachnids have no equivalent to. If they get repelled, they go find an easier planet to try eat, even if a shitty one, and come back. The nomadic nature in fact makes them much more dangerous in strategic warfare, as they don't need to save forces to defend their colonies with.

Arachnids do have a space ship equivalent they have actually three methods of transportation

The worse is by traveling through Asteroids
The second is by Plasma Bugs FTLing eggs into star systems by shooting them (This is shown in the comics)
The third is their Transport Bugs which also can travel at FTL speeds.

If anything the Arachnids ironically seem to be slightly faster in interstellar travel speed than the Tyranids.

Arachnids also could not recycle anything if they got virus bombed. They also have to defend their actual colonies or lose them, while Tyranid factories are spaceborne and can in fact flee and get new forces by grazing on random planets. That's a major strategic warfare advantage.

Tyranid Production being Spaceborn or Nomadic is one of the biggest advantages they have against the Arachnids BUT you're underestimating the Arachnids. Having to Defend a Colony isn't a point against the Arachnids because the only investment they put in are spores/eggs and time. The Arachnids have the ability to "Seed" several planets simultaneously and because they don't destroy these planets purposefully they each become factories and launch pads to spread to other planets.


Basically the Tyranids reward is short term, the Arachnid reward is long term.

Ex. a Hive Fleet can consume a planet and be trillions strong. So ratio is 1 Planet = 10,000,000,000,000

Let's see what it takes to match this and how long. So we know a fully developed Arachnid Colony Kleandathu style with 1% of it's population being breeder Bugs.


That's 5,040,000,000 a week, 57,072,000,000 in 80 days.

If we bump it up to 10% of its population that's 50,400,000,000 a week, 570,720,000,000 in 80 days.


So all we need is 10 fully developed Arachnid Planets at a 10% ratio to be producing 5,707,200,000,000 eggs per 80 days to match half a Tyranid consuming a world.


Twenty AE planets to numerically match the Tyranids eating a Planet and anything higher is over, the benefit is that these numbers don't drop as they don't destroy the planet instead they look for others to keep increasing. For the Tyranids it's 80 days to eat a planet plus 60 days to find a new one if it's not in system due to their slow in system travel speed.

 

[Marduk]

Well we don't by your standards the size discrepancy is too variable between them, Tyranids start outweighing Arachnids pretty quick.

If you focus only on weight.
Beyond that, Arachnids tend to be huge but relatively light creatures with long spindly legs, while most nid units are more compact and chonky.
Genestealers are also pretty common and basic ones are given 300 kg, but melee wise they are somewhat competitive despite being smaller.

Arguably not as easily, the Bugs have a Queen and Brain Bug weakness but those units don't have to be in the front lines like most Synaptic creatures.

OTOH synaptic creatures are many, highly replaceable, and some are insanely hard to kill.

The main advantage for SST I'd say is that Arachnids have sturdier ground warfare coordination, sturdier than the Tyranids.

While Tyranids have more easily replaceable relays they are also more prone to disruptions so their efficiency will be inconsistent if they're not winning a battle flawlessly.

The communication efficiency of the Arachnid Hive ground forces will remain 100% until the Brain Bug is defeated.

OTOH no single rather defenseless synaptic creature to kill with nids. There are many, and in larger deployments it can be something insanely tough and deadly.

Sustainability is needed for Wars of Attrition, the Arachnid's are better long term than the Tyranids.

An Arachnid colony can sustain losses virtually indefinitely where as Tyranids WILL need to eventually score a big win to go from negative to neutral or positive.

Sustainability is a fancy way to call slowness.
If Tyranids "trickled" their planet eating through thousands of years instead doing it quickly, they would be a lot less of a problem to the Imperium.

Then the Bugs just move their colony elsewhere with their Space Transports? The IG communication is terrible by the time they realize they need a branch specialized in fighting toxic worlds the Bugs could either move elsewhere or launch an attack somewhere else to split IG forces.

It's the Imperium, they have those by default. It's the Tyranids who move around like space locusts and eat everything, if the bugs are going to camp on planets for decades or longer, then even the slow logistics of the Imperium will catch them, while being much easier to fuck up by Astartes or Inquisition who can get shit done more quickly.

The advantage that you're missing is that Arachnids are very multi purpose. Their ability to survive in all sorts of environments would ham string IG regiments that are only good in certain environments. One day you'll need to send the Krieg then another you'll need to send the Catachan, this causes delays for the IG

Tyranids are no less survivable, and their biggest organisms live in friggin space. They even adapt forces to invade gas giants and ocean planets, something Arachnids can't do.

Not something that they'd be able to handle reliably without Spacemarine support imo.

For example Kleandathu is confirmed to have a standing population of 6 Billion, with likely billions more eggs in reserve.

If the Arachnids only have sixty million Breeder Bugs (1% of their population) they can produce and mature 5,040,000,000 Arachnid Warriors a week.

The Bugs could replenish their entire global population every week and produce even MORE Breeder Bugs, the IG would have to resort to Exterminatus because at a certain point Bugs simply can't be defeated in ground Warfare by conventional means.

Well, what do you think they do with Tyranids and why?

Not without substantial prep time that can tank months to years which by then an Arachnid colony could have spread to a dozen planets

Tyranids can strip a whole planetary system of resources over that time and turn it into more bugs.

I think you're missing the point of the Bugs sustaining a multi million population on a planet that blew up and is devoid of life or liquid water.

How is that different from leaving hibernating genestealers on a dead world? An annoyance, not a strategic threat.

Planets that are actually intact can field much larger amounts of Bugs and the thing with them is they keep their population at sustainable numbers, Eggs just like Nids can get put in stasis and remain dormant for years so their reserves can be several times their existing population.

And Tyranids can hibernate for millenia, even in the cold of space, while traveling...

IG could out number Bug colonies and that's how the Federation beats them getting to them before they grow above the hundred thousand mark because if they do they reach a stage where they can replace losses much easier than Tyranids can.

If the Tyranids reach that stage, their neighbors are doomed because they will fucking eat everything worthwhile on the planet while tyrannoforming it rather than worrying about replacing losses.

Yes Nids can nibble on a planet but they can't sustain the numbers from nibbling on a planet the same way the Arachnids do. An Arachnid Colony over their life time can numerically match a Tyranid splinter fleet eating a world just not as fast. In terms of Warfare that sustainability is a positive for the Arachnids

That's not a positive. Even in basic RTS terms, if one player can make 1000 tanks in a minute and run out of resources, while the other player can make 1000 tanks in 100 minutes and then run out of resources, it's the first player who will curbstomp long before the other will even make all his units.
Sustainability is irrelevant if it's just at the price of speed.

A failed Arachnid invasion of a planet does not weaken them like it weakens a Tyranid fleet, the Tyranids invest a substantial amount of resources into an invasion then lose it and drop down into the negatives where they're unable to return to full strength without consuming another planet.

Can Arachnids even invest as much resources into an invasion? What they do seems more like a skirmishing action by a minor tendril of a hive fleet rather than a full invasion.
Of course being able to mount bigger invasions is an advantage.
There's a reason why in 40k it's rare for Tyranids to lose an invasion they start, and most of the time those who got invaded still lose the planet by having to virus bomb it or something like that.

An Arachnid Colony just needs time

Exactly. And time is precious in warfare. Tyranids on the other hand don't need much time, that makes them much nastier.

Arachnids do have a space ship equivalent they have actually three methods of transportation

The worse is by traveling through Asteroids
The second is by Plasma Bugs FTLing eggs into star systems by shooting them (This is shown in the comics)
The third is their Transport Bugs which also can travel at FTL speeds.

So at best it's like lesser Tyranid ships...
Except Tyranids have also larger ships that are also mobile bug breeding hives, planetary invasion ships capable of orbital bombardment, and serious space warships in their own right, all at the same time, not to mention a fleet of them being capable of moving insane amounts of material between planets they are invading.

If anything the Arachnids ironically seem to be slightly faster in interstellar travel speed than the Tyranids.

Tyranid Production being Spaceborn or Nomadic is one of the biggest advantages they have against the Arachnids BUT you're underestimating the Arachnids. Having to Defend a Colony isn't a point against the Arachnids because the only investment they put in are spores/eggs and time. The Arachnids have the ability to "Seed" several planets simultaneously and because they don't destroy these planets purposefully they each become factories and launch pads to spread to other planets.

Slow factories. Tyranids have insanely fast factories, and they can turn any planet into a fleet expansion if not stopped.
Arachnids need to defend their slow factory and hold the yet unprocessed resources on the planet. Tyranids can put all the planet's resources they got into the fight in bug form after eating it, on any planet.

Meanwhile they also have a "seeding" equivalent in form of spreading a tiny amount of biomass in form of genestealers that infest other life, start cults, which in turn infiltrate further planets, start civil wars, and spread further, while ringing a psychic dinner bell for the fleet at the planets they weakened enough.

Basically the Tyranids reward is short term, the Arachnid reward is long term.

Ex. a Hive Fleet can consume a planet and be trillions strong. So ratio is 1 Planet = 10,000,000,000,000

Let's see what it takes to match this and how long. So we know a fully developed Arachnid Colony Kleandathu style with 1% of it's population being breeder Bugs.


That's 5,040,000,000 a week, 57,072,000,000 in 80 days.

If we bump it up to 10% of its population that's 50,400,000,000 a week, 570,720,000,000 in 80 days.


So all we need is 10 fully developed Arachnid Planets at a 10% ratio to be producing 5,707,200,000,000 eggs per 80 days to match half a Tyranid consuming a world.


Twenty AE planets to numerically match the Tyranids eating a Planet and anything higher is over, the benefit is that these numbers don't drop as they don't destroy the planet instead they look for others to keep increasing. For the Tyranids it's 80 days to eat a planet plus 60 days to find a new one if it's not in system due to their slow in system travel speed.

Arachnids cannot magically pull infinite materials out of a planet. They can't physically get infinite water, nitrogen, calcium, carbon etc to grow further bugs out of eggs indefinitely. Perhaps it would take them ages to get this far, but that's a point against the, - the nids did pretty much the same thing except long time ago.
If they do it "sustainably" over centuries it might seem like so, but then they are just doing the same thing except much slower.
Meanwhile Tryanids just fucking ate all of that much sooner and moved on, eating many other planets in the meantime.

 

[Lord Sovereign]

The Bugs simply do not have the numbers or even the biomass of the Nids. Tyranid Hive Fleets, some of the most vast and terrifying forces the 40k Universe has ever faced, are simply the tip of the spear that is the rest of the Hive.

Bugs (depending on the continuity) also tend to get around via meteor, or even some of their own starships, whilst the Tyranids have multi-kilometre long organic battleships in their millions.

 

[Jormungandr]

Ya gotta think of the Rule of Three.

Bugs get brutally murder-fucked by the Zerg. Hell, Hydralisks and Roaches would carve their way through swarms of Warrior Bugs, given Hydralisk spines can punch through several inch thick Terran plating and Roach acid works on bullshit space movie magic.

Now a scale is somewhat set? Tyranids fuck over both the Bugs and the Zerg for the reasons outlined above by other posters. This is a David versus Goliath situation, but David's slingshot does little to nothing against a Goliath in armour plating and with a shotgun the size of a tree trunk, who can swap it out for a rocket launcher, or a minigun, or anything else as needed.

Simple.

 

[Typhonis]

To give a sense of scale. Some have postulated that the swarms, swarms that have invaded the galaxy are merely the vanguard force for the hive fleet. Tyranids can strip a planet down to the point it's atmosphere and water are all ripped away and only an airless barren rock is left behind.

It has also shown rapid evolution in the face of threats such as the Zoanthrope possibly being something they evolved from Eldar that have been consumed and the Biovore mobile artillery could be evolved from Orks they have faced.

 

[Scooby Doo]

Ya gotta think of the Rule of Three.

Bugs get brutally murder-fucked by the Zerg. Hell, Hydralisks and Roaches would carve their way through swarms of Warrior Bugs, given Hydralisk spines can punch through several inch thick Terran plating and Roach acid works on bullshit space movie magic.

Now a scale is somewhat set? Tyranids fuck over both the Bugs and the Zerg for the reasons outlined above by other posters. This is a David versus Goliath situation, but David's slingshot does little to nothing against a Goliath in armour plating and with a shotgun the size of a tree trunk, who can swap it out for a rocket launcher, or a minigun, or anything else as needed.

Simple.

I'd actually contest that, the Zerglings are way weaker than an Arachnid Warriors with them getting killed by Pitch Forks.


Only something on the level of Kerrigan is doing anything to the Arachnids, SST3 had basketball sized bugs blowing up bunkers and Extermination has bugs shooting literal magma.

 

[Husky_Khan]

The Arachnids can take advantage of the current political climate as well. They've already illustrated the ability to communicate with the Terran Federation and peace is possible between the factions. Naturally it's assumed they'll be able to engage in a crude form of diplomacy with other 'Nativist' civilizations.

The Arachnids can illuminate how the Tyranids arent just an invasion of bugs, they are literally foreigners. Rapists and thieves and murderers, not even a few can be considered good bugs. By presenting the Tyranids as the loathsome migrant criminal threat they are, the Arachnids can form an ironclad alliance of nations to resist the encroachment of these criminal extragalactic foreign interlopers.

The only issue is if other native galactic civilizations are too cucked to work with the Arachnids.

Milky Way First.