Eternal carnage is all the Warhammer 40K universe truly understands. Fans of the universe will tell others of how brutal yet epic the setting can be. No other science-fiction IP can properly blend the overwhelming sense of despair and epic nature of war that 40K can, let alone present it so well in a tabletop setting or video game.
Humans kill any aliens on sight with loose rules, while some factions just pillage and slaughter anything they can to survive this grimdark setting. Very few races show a sense of morality or a good compass in their deeds. Almost every race wants to control the galaxy, but the means of achieving this vary from each faction. Here are the 10 most morally bankrupt factions you can find in Warhammer 40,000.
10 Chaos Space Marines
Unlike typical Space Marines, Chaos Space Marines have a clear avenue to judge their morality on. This faction focuses on pleasing their Chaos god to achieve ascension as a Greater Daemon.
Whether you are a slave to the Chaos Space Marine regiment or a Commander, your focus is to please your god by doing things they believe in. For Khorne, unparalleled levels of destruction and death must be achieved to get his favor. Nurgle favors plagues to kill everything, while Slaanesh and Tzeentch are more devious.
9 Space Marines
Space Marines are focused on serving the Emperor of mankind and nothing else. In terms of how to accomplish their objective, there are few things standing in their way.
Each Space Marine Chapter must follow a set of rules called the Codex Astartes, which should give them a sense of morality to go on. However, the Codex is both highly against the survival of other species and is interpreted differently among various Chapters. This loose guideline for the Marines causes certain Chapters to be more devious or aggressive than others, leading to a divided sense of morality among the overall faction.
8 Inquisition
It’s no secret that the Inquisition is filled with some of the most righteous and prejudiced people in the Imperium, and arguably in the entirety of Warhammer 40K.
Members of this secret organization are not only racist to every alien in the galaxy, but they take pleasure in burning any that oppose them. To make matters worse, any humans that go against the Emperor’s wishes are killed on demand. If you even see these secret soldiers they’ll either kill you or wipe your mind entirely. It’s hard to argue that they are morally justified with how aggressive their methods are.
7 Adeptus Milatarum
While Space Marines have the Codex Astartes to use as a reference for what to do—which most selectively ignore—the Adeptes Milatarum instead relies on staying alive.
The massive military of the Imperium extends across the galaxy with untold numbers. Literally, the Imperium has no idea how many soldiers are enlisted in their army. Despite this, the army does its best holding planets that interest humanity with overwhelming odds and an overwhelming arsenal of tanks and artillery. You simply need to survive, and how you do so does not matter to the Milatarum. As long as you complete your objective, you will be accepted. Else, you will be killed or executed for failing.
6 Tau
The Tau seems to have a great moral compass in helping others out for “The Greater Good” of the galaxy. This dogma is indoctrinating other species to become slaves for their army, however.
If they take over a planet filled with innocent alien species, it’s for The Greater Good. If they kill off an army of innocent soldiers, it’s for The Greater Good. This blanket term is the only thing holding their actions accountable, or so it should. No consequences occur for negative actions with the Tau. They simply want to take over the galaxy like every other faction, not to make friends with others. They just use forced unity over segregation to accomplish this task.
5 Dark Eldar
Unlike their Eldar brethren, the Dark Eldar care for nothing else but themselves. Torture and eternal torment are all these fallen Elves are interested in accomplishing.
They do not use Psykic powers to do so, however. Interestingly, their culture frowns upon such things to not gain the attention of Slaanesh, the Chaos god the Eldar accidentally created that helped make their race near-extinct. Instead, the Dark Eldar act more like pirates, stealing and torturing any species they can to stay alive and fulfill their dark desires. Their goal of causing eternal torment is their only compass to guide them.
4 Chaos Daemons
Torturing any organic you see and warping there mind can’t be considered a moral thing to do, right? The forces of Chaos, more specifically its gods and Daemons, do just that.
Chaos Daemons are attracted to those who are Psykically capable, meaning that they can influence those who are mages or mentally strong to their will. They did this to Horus, one of the Primarchs made from the Emperor himself in 30K. He was tempted by the forces of Chaos in visions that alluded to humanity’s demise. He became the thing he sought to destroy: a heretic. Horus killed millions of humans and caused genocide among the Space Marines, all for the Chaos Daemon’s amusement. If that isn’t pure evil, then nothing is.
3 Orks
Orks want nothing more than to kill everything that gets in their way, friend or foe alike. There only moral compass is that the strongest lead and the weak die.
All Orks share a Psykic link that tells each other who is the strongest and meanest of all of the Orks. The strongest lead the rest into battle, while the weaker ones fight to grow more powerful. In terms of what they fight or why there is no answer. Any creature can fall victim to their makeshift blades or weapons.
2 Necrons
Space Terminators are not to be trifled with in any universe, but Warhammer 40K takes this to a new level. These machines want to reclaim the galaxy as their own by reawakening their vast army.
The Necrontyr were an ancient race that existed long ago, as far back as the Eldar’s great claim of the galaxy. Living on a planet with a nuclear atmosphere, the Necrontyr lived in tombs that were eventually reconstructed into machines thanks to the C’tan gods. Now, their souls reside in the Necron husks and want nothing but the domination of the galaxy. Their culture and customs died when the race became machines, with no semblance of self left for any to see. Only the Eldar and those who’ve played Dawn of War know how much of a threat this faction is to the universe.
1 Tyranids
The only way you can top the rest of the factions in terms of morality is to simply not have any. The Tyranids don’t. At all. Their goal seems to be exterminating all life, but there are no other goals besides that.
Tyranids thrive off of sending Genestealers to planets as a sort of scout unit. Once the fleet is ready, an invasion begins that kills all organics on the planet. Their biomass is then consumed to create more Tyranids to expand the hive fleet. This cycle repeats until every planet is a miasma wasteland that can’t inhabit any form of life. It’s a true nightmare to imagine, and it’s even more frightening to know that they can’t be negotiated with or fully killed in any way.
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