  A new potential class of nanolaminated and structurally complex materials,
herein conceived as the Zigzag IntermetAllic (ZIA) phases, is proposed. A study
of the constituent phases of a specific Nb--Si--Ni intermetallic alloy revealed
that its ternary H-phase, \textit{i.e.}, the Nb$_3$SiNi$_2$ intermetallic
compound (IMC), is a crystalline solid with the close-packed \textit{fcc}
Bravais lattice, the 312 MAX phase stoichiometry and a layered atomic
arrangement that may define an entire class of nanolaminated IMCs analogous to
the nanolaminated ceramic compounds known today as the MAX phases. The electron
microscopy investigation of the Nb$_{3}$SiNi$_{2}$ compound -- the first
candidate ZIA phase -- revealed a remarkable structural complexity, as its
ordered unit cell is made of 96 atoms. The ZIA phases extend the concept of
nanolaminated crystalline solids well beyond the MAX phases family of early
transition metal carbides/nitrides, most likely broadening the spectrum of
achievable material properties into domains typically not covered by the MAX
phases. Furthermore, this work uncovers that both families of nanolaminated
crystalline solids, \textit{i.e.}, the herein introduced \textit{fcc} ZIA
phases and all known variants of the \textit{hcp} MAX phases, obey the same
overarching stoichiometric rule $P_{x+y}A_xN_y$, where $x$ and $y$ are integers
ranging from 1 to 6.
