Dreadnoughts of Renown: Old One Eye

 

Hi folks,

When the 3rd Edition Tyranids were released, the updated models were a real surprise. Many of the old favourites, such as the Lictor, Zoanthrope and Hive Tyrant, looked very different to their original forms (Zoanthropes in particular!). Being a huge fan of the movie Aliens, I started collecting them straight away. One new model, however, was a bit disappointing (to me, anyway); the Carnifex. The old Screamer Killer model is now considered to be a classic design that many old school gamers covet. Back in 2nd Edition, it was a "must have" for competing against enemy Dreadnoughts and tanks. It looked really gnarly too, and was great fun to paint.

The new model just didn't look angry or cool enough in many people's eyes, though the ability to take more ranged weapons was a welcome change that kept them on the battlefield. But then there was Old One Eye...

None of the new fancy ranged weapon options. Gigantic crushing claws. Broken tusk. Grievous wounds. Barnacles. With the ability to regenerate, pile on hideously powerful attacks and be a leader of sorts for smaller Tyranid bioforms, Old One Eye joined my swarm and stuck around for many editions.

Old One Eye was a Carnifex variant that fought at the forefront of Hive Fleet Behemoth during the invasion of Calth. It was brought low by a plasma pistol shot to the right eye that damaged its brain. With its ability to regenerate momentarily impaired and having suffered a horrible wound, it fell and was soon forgotten, buried in snow. Later, a group of smugglers found Old One Eye frozen in the ice and thawed it out. With its ability to regenerate restored, apart from the scars of that miraculous plasma shot, Old One Eye went on an instinctive rampage. Other Tyranids, drawn by his presence, joined the attacks. Calth's cries for help were answered by none other than Scout Sergeant Telion of the Ultramarines. He eventually managed to fire a shot that wounded the creature, knocking it into a deep ravine. Telion lead a search to recover the body, but it was never found...

Since then, multiple reports of Carnifexes (Carnifices?) that match the description of Old One Eye have been made, suggesting it was not quite the morphological dead-end the Imperium once surmised. 

Are you a fan of Old One Eye? Do Screamer Killers bring a tear of joy to your eye? Have you got a new-on-sprue Carnifex hiding in a box somewhere just waiting for the next DreadTober to come around? Feel free to share in the comments section!