Orks and the Tyranids
Published on: July 18, 2025
Orks and the Tyranids
The Orks, also known as Greenskins, constitute a savage and warlike
species of green-skinned, bestial, asexual humanoids found throughout the galaxy. Possessing physiological
features resembling both animals and fungi, they share commonalities with the Orcs of the dark fantasy
Warhammer universe, initially designated as "Space Orcs" for differentiation. Perceived by other galactic
species as primitive, barbaric, hyper-violent, and crude, the Orks are paradoxically the most successful and
widespread intelligent species across the galaxy, potentially outnumbering even Humanity, with the notable
exception of the Tyranids. Orks are infamous for their dangerous and relentless nature, posing a significant
threat to every intelligent species in the galaxy. Often regarded as the most warlike aliens in the 41st Millennium,
their numbers are beyond estimation. Amid perpetual tides of battle and bloodshed, Ork stellar empires rise
and fall, with many short-lived due to internal conflicts. However, the specter of a unified Ork force presents
a grave danger, capable of crushing all opposition.
A unique aspect of the Orks is their ability to generate a potent psychic gestalt field.
This field enables them to achieve seemingly impossible feats of technological engineering. The power of this
psychic field is directly tied to the number of Greenskins in a given location, as more Orks attract additional
members, amplifying their power and intelligence. The insatiable thirst for battle has historically been the
Orks' downfall. Tribes engage in relentless internal conflicts, with only the strongest surviving.
Occasionally, a formidable Ork leader emerges, uniting warring tribes and triggering a great WAAAGH!
This phenomenon, both migration and holy war, has the potential to exterminate entire star systems as other tribes
rally to the cause.In the Age of the Dark Imperium, there is a proliferation of WAAAGH!s, signifying a period with
more Ork uprisings than ever recorded. When the Orks go on the rampage, the galaxy trembles under the weight of
their destructive might.
The WAAAGH! is the term used by the Orks to describe the colossal military campaigns they
periodically unleash across the galaxy as part of their perpetual craving for combat and war. It also encapsulates
the fundamental concept of Ork "kultur" that forms the cornerstone of the entire Greenskin society. The Greenskins,
characterized by their barbaric and savage nature, spread like a viridian stain throughout the galaxy. They swarm
the battlefields of the 41st Millennium in vast numbers, overwhelming any opposition with a torrent of bloodshed
and often mindless violence. An Ork WAAAGH! represents war on an apocalyptic scale. Countless Orks surge from one
world to the next, obliterating entire civilizations and decimating defending armies as they advance relentlessly
in an unstoppable tide.
Orks have an inherent need for battle, akin to the way humans require food and drink. Their warlike
disposition leads to constant internal conflicts and piratical raids against nearby enemies, typically remaining
small-scale or localized. However, when Ork populations reach a critical mass, a full-scale planetary migration
known as a WAAAGH! ensues—a crusade marked by unbridled aggression that wreaks havoc across star systems.
The WAAAGH! is not only a physical event but also a gestalt psychic field generated by the Orks, influencing their
psyche and instinctively determining leadership based on who is perceived as "bigga" or more dominant. This psychic
field grows stronger as the Orks engage in enjoyable activities, especially combat, and as more of them gather in
one geographical area. This psychic field, also named the WAAAGH!, plays a crucial role in the momentum of Ork
planetary assault campaigns. Orks of various sizes are drawn to a single dominant figure, usually a Warboss or Warlord,
and together they embark on a quest to find and defeat enemies. Ork WAAAGHs! sweep through entire planetary systems,
leaving behind a trail of bloodlust, carnage, and destruction. Only when all available enemies have been eliminated
do the Orks revert to internal conflicts among themselves. The Imperium of Man's Tech-priests theorize that the gestalt
psychic field has telekinetic or quantum probabilistic effects, allowing seemingly ramshackle and poorly designed Ork
technology to function as expected. This theory arises from the Imperium's adoption of the Adeptus Mechanicus' belief
in a universal "Machine Spirit" that inhabits all technology, serving Mankind at the command of the Machine God.
Without this Machine Spirit, Ork machines might not function, necessitating a psychic cause to justify their often
devastating effects. The peculiar behavior of Ork-built weapons, which may not work unless wielded by an Orkoid,
lends some support to this hypothesis.
The Third War for Armageddon, initiated in 998.M41, marked a colossal conflict between the
Imperium of Man and the largest Ork WAAAGH! ever assembled, under the leadership of the formidable Greenskin
Warlord Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka. This war unfolded on the Hive World of Armageddon, the same planet where
Ghazghkull Thraka had previously launched his initial attempt to seize control precisely 57 standard years earlier.
The magnitude of the conflict drew in elements from over 25 Space Marine Chapters, dozens of Astra Militarum regiments,
and several Titan Legions. The devastation wrought upon Armageddon was immense before the war concluded with an
exceedingly narrow Imperial victory. However, neither the Imperial nor Ork forces could secure complete control over
the contested world, and fighting persisted across the planet. In the aftermath of the opening of the Great Rift in 999.M41,
Armageddon experienced isolation from all external contact throughout the Noctis Aeterna. Upon the reappearance of the
Astronomican's beacon in the Armageddon System, Imperial relief forces arrived, only to discover a new twist in the conflict.
A third faction had joined the war—the Daemonic legions of Khorne and Tzeentch. These Chaos forces exhibited a peculiar
inclination to fight amongst themselves, mirroring the internecine conflicts among the mortal inhabitants of the Hive World.
In some instances, the remaining Imperial and Ork forces formed temporary alliances to confront this unexpected threat
posed by the Daemonic legions of Khorne and Tzeentch. The war on Armageddon, already characterized by its complexity
and intensity, took an even more chaotic turn with the involvement of these supernatural forces.
The Tyranids are an extragalactic composite species, an entire space-faring ecosystem comprised
of countless bioforms that share variations on the same genetic theme. These insectoid xenos represent the ultimate predators,
viewing all living things, from the smallest insects to the most advanced starfaring civilizations, as mere prey.
The inhabitants of the galaxy are slowly realizing the scale of the threat posed by the Tyranids; if not stopped, it will
lead to the extinction of all life. Dedicated solely to their survival, propagation, and evolutionary advancement,
the Tyranids form a monstrous superorganism, traveling the universe in massive hive fleets of biomechanical Hive Ships.
They systematically consume all other biomatter, enabling their rapid evolution and reproduction. The Tyranids are akin
to a galactic swarm, devouring everything in their path, feeding on entire worlds and leaving only lifeless husks behind.
All Tyranid organisms are "synaptic," psychically reactive, contributing to a communal Hive Mind that
allows the trillions of beings comprising the Tyranid hive fleets to communicate and organize instantaneously on an
immense scale. Their approach to warfare is characterized by overwhelming their foes with sheer numbers, rapidly
reproducing virulent organisms from the biochemical soup derived from the biospheres of consumed worlds. The Tyranids travel
in large groups known as "swarms," each possessing specialized biomechanical creatures for destroying and consuming
diverse prey life forms. These swarms aim to acquire useful new biological traits from other lifeforms during invasions,
enhancing the Tyranids' effectiveness in consuming new worlds for further reproduction and directed evolution.
Genetic transfer across species boundaries is facilitated by sophisticated Tyranid methods. A crucial aspect of Tyranid
invasions is the acquisition of genetic traits to aid their survival. All Tyranids are reproduced by a single, highly
intelligent female bioform known as a Norn-Queen. These Norn-Queens are vital to the Tyranid hive fleet; if injured or killed,
the Tyranids cannot reproduce their numbers from captured biomass. Norn-Queens are typically found at the heart of the
largest and most well-defended Tyranid Hive Ships.
A hive fleet is a vast armada of living, biomechanical starships engineered by the Tyranids to
gather the raw materials and biomass necessary for their species' reproduction, evolution, and expansion. These fleets
are designed to attack and strip star systems of their biomass, employing a diverse range of Tyranid bioforms to achieve
their objectives. The Imperium of Man has directly encountered only three primary Tyranid hive fleets, along with
numerous smaller splinter fleets, all of which have caused significant damage and loss of life. Designated by the
Imperium's Segmentum Ultima Command, the primary hive fleets are Hive Fleet Behemoth, Hive Fleet Kraken, and Hive Fleet
Leviathan. Each of these fleets made first contact with Imperial space in the Eastern Fringes of the galaxy within
the Segmentum Ultima. Hive Fleet Behemoth entered the Milky Way Galaxy in 745.M41, followed by Hive Fleet Kraken in
993.M41 and Hive Fleet Leviathan in 997.M41. While each hive fleet is ultimately governed by the collective psychic
Hive Mind of the Tyranid species, the Norn-Queens at the heart of the fleets interpret the Hive Mind's will for other
Tyranid organisms. These Norn-Queens are responsible for birthing nearly every Tyranid bioform within the fleet,
except for its Hive Ships. The powerful psychic connection between every hive fleet and the Hive Mind generates the
"Shadow in the Warp," an effect that disrupts travel and communication through the Immaterium in the vicinity of the
fleet's location. This adds an additional layer of danger and difficulty for any attempts to resist or counteract
Tyranid invasions.
A Genestealer (Corporaptor hominis) is a specific bioform within the multispecies Tyranid race,
genetically designed by the Hive Mind for infiltrating the settled worlds of other intelligent species. The Tyranids
are a nomadic xenos species driven by a collective consciousness known as the Hive Mind, and they consist of various
genetically engineered bioforms, with the Genestealer being one such variant. Genestealers play a crucial role as
vanguard organisms for the hive fleets, often being the first Tyranids encountered by other species. They possess
a unique, parasitic reproductive cycle and psychic abilities that allow them to establish "Genestealer Cults" on
Imperial worlds. These cults serve as a means of infiltrating and undermining the society and military defenses of
Human worlds from within, supporting hive fleet assaults. Their true nature is obscured by various legends, and on
different Imperial worlds, they are known by names such as "Snatcher-devils," "Cave Nightmares," or "Clawed Changelings."
Genestealers are the harbingers of genetic doom, spreading a curse that multiplies in secrecy, akin to a virus.
Even a single Purestrain Genestealer, inadvertently transported to a fertile planet, can give rise to enough tainted
progeny to gradually take over the world from the bottom up. The opening of the Great Rift has intensified the spread
of Genestealer infestations, as countless refugee craft in desperate flight provide ideal transportation for these xenos creatures.
Aside from their role in subversion, Purestrain Genestealers also serve as primary shock assault units for Tyranid
swarms during both surface and void battles.