Mycetic Spore

Mycetic Spores are a type of highly-specialised Tyranid bioconstruct which feature in Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 universe. Genetically designed as a delivery system for the more deadly forms of Tyranid war beast, they possess a very limited intelligence which extends only as far as getting their lethal cargo planetside.

Description
Little more than great sacs with a chitinous armour and a large amount of fleshy internal padding, Mycetic Spores are usually the first Tyranid creature that an unfortunate world becomes aware of when targeted by the Hive Mind. In the opening phases of a Tyranid assault on a planet, the Hive Fleet will launch countless thousands of these creatures, usually filled with vanguard organisms such as Lictors, Hormagaunts and Genestealers, which pepper the landscape and begin the invasion proper.

Once landed on a planet, what is left of the Spore will have nothing to do other than sit and wait for prey to come near, their biological construction allowing them no independent movement. However, any inquisitive natives that do draw too close to the Spore will find themselves under attack from a vicious array of organic weaponry as the beast makes safe its landing spot for the next phase of the invasion.

Once the planet is under attack from the first waves of Tyranid, the Hive Fleet will then launch a fresh wave comprised of the more powerful organisms, such as Warriors and Carnifexes, and the crashed Spores will set up something of a defensive bulwark against those who might seek to repel the attack. Whilst this has not been confirmed, it is suspected that the mass-landing sites of Mycetic Spores serve as the focal point upon which the Reclamation Pools and Capillary Towers necessary to strip a planet of its biomass are based.