Lately I've been mulling over the old tyranid list from White Dwarf 145. There are several entries in there I'd love to paint. Zoats, mindslaves, squigs and the old plastic tyranids. Seeing as I'm already doing a genestealer cult this list has caught me by the hobby. You know how it is.
I can run many of these units in modern 40k or Killteam. The first unit that piqued my interest was the mindslaves:
In its larval stage the parasitic Mind-Slaver feeds upon the Tyranid's captives. It burrows into the victim's skull and searches for the brain stem. Here it clasps in place with its legs and attaches itself to the base of the brain.
At first the immature creature is not powerful enough to influence its host but, as it feeds from the blood stream, it becomes stronger, allowing it to take over and direct all of the creature's higher brain functions. These victims are known as mind slaves. Although they are captives, their actions and thoughts are completely controlled by the Tyranids.
If the ship is attacked, the mind slaves will be amongst the first to move to its defense, especially if they belong to an armed warrior race whose fighting skills may be usefully employed by the Tyranids. Invaders will find themselves being attacked by sentient beings controlled by the Hive Mind including Space Marines, Chaos Space Marines, Imperial Guard, Orks and Eldar.
I guess this was originally a way to pad out the proto nid forces, but I love the idea of tyranid infested creatures. I wanted something a little more gribbly though. Happily, I had these boys:
From the Assimilation Alien Host Kickstarter from Trollforged Games, these fellas have been kicking their heels for a few years now in storage. Like a bolt of lightning the idea struck me as I flipped through the old list that they would make superlative mindslaves. The already look like something horrible is writhing inside them, and the missing heads are perfect for late-stage mind-slaver parasites. That said, I may go a different route with their origins.
The holy ones of the Wyrm-Forged spread the blessings of the Star Gods under the direction of the grandsire himself. There is one blessed one however, who is only unleashed under the most dire need. One whom even the faithful are wary of, for they sense its wrongness innately.
Known as the Chimera, this scion of the cult is unique. It is an anomaly, its asymmetric form at odds with the perfection of those of the 5th generation. Its body shifts and alters over time as the genetic legacy of the hivemind boils within. New claws grow even as old limbs wither and are re-absorbed. Eyes disappear under chitinous armour which sloughs away to reveal new flesh. In this way the Chimera is a constantly evolving microcosm of the hivemind itself. This is as naught, however, compared to the fate of those the Chimera bestows it's blessing upon.
The unfortunates so infected are reduced to roiling, pulsating sacks of flesh within days. It is as if the patient procession of the normal cycle is overtaken by a berserk haste to evolve. Flesh splits and organs burst as the hyper-active alien DNA rushes to proliferate. Those few whose bodies manage to endure are reduced to less than animals, oblivious to all except the erratic sparks of the broodmind's imperatives. They form a particular bond to the Chimera who can better compel them to serve the cult, albeit in the most rudimentary fashion. They are herded into battle ahead of the main force, their unnatural resilience and senseless fury making them brutally effective shock troops.
So, that's my take. Here's a mockup of the Chimera.
I might add some more bits, flesh-hooks or spines perhaps. Ultimately I plan on a unit of ten, nine slaves led by the Chimera. They'll count as purestrains in most games.
After that, well, adding some zoats, tyranid warriors or squigs would be the next choice. I still have a good few cult minis to paint, so I'll add a unit here and there, leading up to tackling the big lad, the screamer-killer.