Atonement (Frontier World)

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Atonement is a broken world, yet it still clings to life. It's an old human colony, predating the Empire by many millennia. It was brought into the Jericho Sector of old and prospered for a time. The Long Night was not kind to it. But the time of the Crusade, only sad remnants of its once great civilization remained. It was decided to start over; the remaining degenerates were to be terminated and new, healthy stock brought in. And so it was that Atonement became a shining example of a colony world.

Fast forward to Hive Fleet Dagon. A massive Tyranid drop was in progress when the Imperial Navy arrived to break the siege of the planet. They managed to drive off the Hive Fleet, but could not stem the invasion. In desperation, the fleet turned all its guns on the most heavily infested areas. They kept at it for days and weeks, unleashing the God-Emperor knows how many Macrotons of ordnance. 

Yet still, the Xenos pushed forward, and so the bombardment continued... and then the planet broke apart. About one-fifth of the planet's total mass became a broken jumble of spinning rocks and red-hot lava. The rest of the planet clings on to life, but it's probably doomed in the long run. On the positive side what few Tyranids survived were easily purged.

Credos (Devoured World)

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Credos was a Frontier World rich with promethium found within the Jericho Reach. For this reason, the Achilus Crusade established an outpost early on in the formation of the Orpheus Salient. 

Credos was the first Imperial world to fall to the Tyranids of Hive Fleet Dagon.

Phonos (Devoured World)

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Phonos was a Frontier World of massive mountains and vast forests, seemingly untouched by man, when the Achilus Crusade's scouts arrived here late M41. Untouched, until a single STC-compliant facility was found, Facility Phi-Omega-Nu-Omicron-Sigma, covered in impenetrable force fields. 

The Mechanicus erected a research base, Table Mountain, nearby, and proceeded to pour millions of Magi-hours into understanding the nature of the facility and how to unlock it. By the time the Tyranids devoured the world, the tech-priests had not succeeded.

Avalos (Devoured World)

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Avalos is a semi-Devoured World located within the Orpheus Salient. A major action against a Genestealr Cult was fought by the Deathwatch here, resulting in the death of the Broodlord and the exposure of a massive cult following. 

As the Inquisition was purging the unclean, a Hive fleet arrived, undoubtedly summoned by the Broodlord. The timely intervention of a small Imperial fleet, led by the battleship Emperor's Wrath, provided the Deathwatch with a means to lead a boarding action against the hive ship. To the honor of the Primarchs and the God-Emperor, the Deathwatch carried the day and managed to destroy the vessel's synapse chamber. This act threw the Tyranid invasion into disarray.

While the invasion was halted, countless Xenos did make landfall and caused considerable damage to the planet's biosphere. The clean-up will take generations to complete, but if enough resources are dedicated to the task, Avalos can once more be made into a prosperous human planet.

Zanatov's Harbour (Devoured World)

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Zanatov's Harbour is a former Frontier World that is now a Devoured World following its consumption by a Tyranid assault. It is found at the farthest tip of the Orpheus Salient in the Jericho Reach, being, after Herisor, the second Imperial world on record attacked by Hive Fleet Dagon.

Zanatov's Harbour was named for the legendary Rogue Trader Corsair-Captain Zanatov. This planet was one he frequented on his trade runs coming in from the Eastern Fringe of the galaxy. At one point, the world boasted excellent voidship repair facilities, and the lack of contact with the Imperium made an excellent place for smugglers and other members of the so-called "Cold Trade."

Early reports recovered after the Tyranid invasion state that many people saw what they believed to be a meteor shower in the night sky. No one thought much of it, as a meteor shower is often a good omen for ship's captains. Slowly the reports began to filter in that the object had been something very different.

These were no mere meteorites that had hit the ground, but instead housed a more sinister cargo of Tyranid bioforms. The merchants and crew on the surface put up a decent fight, but were utterly outmatched by the lethal killing machines.

Decades later Zanatov's Harbour was restored to working order by the Kingdom of Vanir-in-Exile and used as a voidship repair facility by Admiral Manteuffel. 

Unknown to the Admirals and the Kings of Vanir, Zanatov's Harbour held another secret: a company of Astartes from the Templars of Blood and their accompanying Inquisitor Adrielle Quist, Ordo Xenos. This warband had been trapped on the surface of Zanatov's Harbour for quite some time, without the means of getting off the dead planet or contacting help.

Devoured Worlds of the Jerioch Reach

The Xenos menace known to the Imperium as "Tyranids" seeks out and devours entire worlds. They are primarily seeking biomass to expand their hive fleets, so they tend to go after worlds rich in life, but they will sometimes devour even marginal worlds.

In addition to biomass, Tyranids will regularly siphon a planet's atmosphere and liquid water. They've also been known to strip worlds down to the bedrock. Unconfirmed reports claim they are even engaging in primitive mining operations. On Ocean World [REDACTED] they cracked open the world's vast promethium reservoirs, letting it mingle with seawater before sucking the planet dry.

Killing an entire world takes time, even for the Tyranid swarm, years, decades even. Possibly longer if the swarm is smaller or the planet rich. A few Devoured Worlds are completely drained. Sometimes the Tyranids will move on before time. In other cases, they have been driven off or destroyed by Imperial forces.

Except in the rarest of cases, the planet is too damaged to continue to sustain life. The ecosphere is too damaged for it to recover - it's an extinction event, and the world will need millions of years to recover. The Imperium will routinely order Exterminatus for such half-devoured planets.

Devoured worlds in the Jericho Reach:

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Castobel: Unlike Vanir, Castobel was fertile enough to make it a juicy target for the Nids. The human defenders used scorched earth tactics and were able to hold out in several fortress-hives. They would not have been able to hold out forever, but the Hive Mind called away the besieging fleet to take part in the Battle of Hethgard.

Eleusis: Escaped mostly intact, when the Adeptus Mechanicus locked away the planet's waters, turning it into a forbidding dust-ball covered with heavily fortified mountaintop shrine-cities. Unknown to Crusade Command, the planet was already infested with Genestealers, which may have been the true reason it was passed over - the Xenos planned to come back later...

Freya: The remote mining world of Freya had little to attract Tyranids in the first place. When the Hive Fleet arrived, it consumed all human life, but otherwise left the system more or less alone.

Scansion Beta: The hive tendril that had consumed Themiskon had moved to this system at the time of the Crusade. Uninhabitable by humans, the system nevertheless contained a lush world, prime cut for the Tyranids. Lord Commander Ebongrave again ordered bio-terminators to be deployed, wiping out all life (nearly depleting the Crusade's stores of such weapons).

Themiskon Point: Formerly an Imperial Frontier World in the Canis Salient, Themiskon was already overrun by Tyranid bioforms by the time the Crusade forces reached it. Lord Commander Ebongrave ordered bio-terminators to be deployed, wiping out all alien life.

Vanir: Vanir was a human-held hive world. Poisonous and almost life-less by the time the Tyranids arrived, it wasn't exactly prime real estate. The Xenos slaughtered the vast human population, devouring them all, but didn't bother with anything outside the hive walls.

Freya (Devoured/Mining World, Orpheus Salient)

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Freya was once an Imperial Mining World, rich in raw materials, that fed the lost Forge Worlds within the Reach. During the long millennia of the Age of Shadow, the world fell into anarchy as the entire planet became a battleground for gangs, techno-barbarians, cultists, and mutants. The remaining Imperial presence was a lone orbiting sensor array circling one of Freya's moons that served the Deathwatch in its secret vigil. 

The Crusade took little interest in the world, other than establishing a small garrison in preparation for cleansing the world should additional raw materials be needed. But soon tragedy befell Freya, as the Tyranids overran it. If the world can be purified, it can fill the role of mined-out Hethgard, as a prime mineral supplier for the Orpheus region.

The Jericho Sector forces have reclaimed Freya, and erected great seals over its deep mines. Protected by the rock, thousands upon thousands toil to bring forth the riches of Freya from the warm darkness. Much of its mineral wealth is lifted into orbit and transported by Mass Conveyor along the long road to Argoth.

Vanir (Hive/Devoured World, Orpheus Salient)

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Vanir of the Spired Cities is a star system of inhabited worlds that was the site of a frantic battle between the forces of the Achilus Crusade and rebels loyal to the self-proclaimed Monarchs of the Kingdom of Vanir (this was an interstellar kingdom comprising several systems).

Before achieving victory, Battlegroup Icarus became embroiled in a battle with the advancing Tyranids of Hive Fleet Dagon, taking massive casualties in the process. The final reports had the remnants of the Battlegroup enter an uneasy alliance with the rebel forces in a vain effort to stem the alien tide. Lord Admiral Manteuffel and all his command was declared Excommunicate Traitoris after this treasonous act.

Barotta investigated the system and found it barren and desolate, it's biomass consumed by the Nids, and its proud cities brought low first by Imperial-Rebel conflict, and then by Xenos invasion.

Sutter not the witch. Suffer not the alien. Suffer not the traitor!