Warhammer 40K’s 10th edition still has political satire in its pages

In Warhammer 40,000, there is only war. Still, Games Workshop has always sprinkled a healthy dose of satire through the Imperium of Man. The Warhammer 40K setting is very British, balancing between absurd premises and dry presentation. Even now, with the urgent story of a new Tyranid war, characters don’t suddenly become sane in an attempt to survive. The new 10th edition rulebook sheds some light on how the common people of the Imperium are responding to the new wave of war.

[Ed. note: This story contains light spoilers for Warhammer 40,000: Leviathan’s core rulebook.]

A subplot in the fourth tyrannical war is the clash between church and state. More specifically, the Imperium of Man is a vast fascist empire based on the religion of the God-Emperor of Mankind – and that blind faith, built on the back of the corpse of a man who despised religious dogma, is causing trouble for everyone. In a section of the rulebook called “Into the Maw,” we learn more about how the Segmentum Pacificus sectors are responding to the invading threat.

Gallospire’s dissenting voices grew more vehement until High Friar Niyellus considered it heresy to even speak of the Grendyllus rank, let alone prepare for its attack. His directive conflicted with that of the system’s senior military officers to prepare for a full-scale xenos invasion. Torn between blind faith and the terrifying reality of the situation, the defenders of the Gallospire System formed factions and tensions quickly escalated. Soon after, the first shots of what would become known as the War of Closed Eyes were fired.

Surely the god-emperor of mankind would not allow an army of filthy xenos to kill mankind! Ergo, it can’t happen, and all the evidence saying this must be false. The Warhammer 40K setting is at its best when it plays with this kind of grim imagery. It’s fun to imagine all of humanity, despite destruction, breaking out of our self-destructive drive and working together to stop the Tyranids. Instead, a system degenerates into civil war over accusations of heresy, fake news, and not loving the Emperor enough.

The 10th edition book is full of other interesting stories, including skirmishes between the Tyranids and Dwarves, Leagues of Votann, Aeldari assault troops, and even some Orcs joining in on the fun.