Warhammer 40K: The 5 Greatest Ork Warbosses Of All-Time
There are Ork Warbosses and then there are the Five Greatest Ork Warbosses of All-Time!
There are LOTS of Warbosses to choose from. Many of them have caused death and destruction across the galaxy. Some of them have even succeeded in feats so ridiculous that it’s hard to believe than an Ork was both strong and cunning enough to pull it of (but this is fiction after all). Here at BoLS we put our ‘eads together and came up with our list of our Top 5 Ork Warbosses of All-Time!
5) Klawjaw
via Lexicanum
Klawjaw was once known simply as Kog, a primitive thug living on the Ork-held side of the planet, known to them as Bork. In time he grew in size and strength and many predicted him to become the leader of his tribe, however that was to become a serious underestimation. Once while hunting he ate a mutated Squig and passed out. When he awoke he was a very different Ork. When he came back to his tribe he was clad in rusted metal and towered over the biggest Orks in tribe. The first Ork to ask if this was Kog got his head smashed and his arms bitten off. The newcomer called himself Klawjaw. Before long he united the neighboring tribes and in time all Orks of Bork were bound together in awe for his brutality.
After his initial sucess Klawjaw began his Waaagh! against the Imperium. He was named a Mighty Mangler of Bork by Orks for his many victories on worlds that formed his new domain, Ork Empire of Bork. Opposing Imperial armies sent to intercept found out that the Mighty Mangler lives up to his name. At the head of a vast brigade of heavily armoured Battlewagons he conquered a large portion of the Ghoul Stars and claimed a great area of galactic fringe.
Klawjaw makes the list because he’s Big, Bad and in charge of his own empire – The Ork Empire of Bork. You gotta respect an Ork that can take over area in the Ghoul Stars and hold it!
4) Tuska The Daemon-Killa
Tuska made his mark in the Eye of Terror, by defeating the Daemon hordes on several Daemon Worlds, and seemed unstoppable until his Waaagh! crash-landed on a flesh planet. The planet belonged to a mighty Daemon Prince of Khorne known as the Blood Prince, who soon led his Daemonic hordes against the invading Orks. In the battle that followed, Tuska suffered many deep wounds and his Boyz took heavy losses. Just as the Blood Prince was about to finish Tuska, his Weirdboyz managed to distract the Daemon using their psychic powers, giving Tuska enough time to impale the creature between its legs with his Power Klaw before being killed himself. The Warboss’ vast horde was later eventually slain to an Ork by the wrathful Daemon Prince and his minions.
However, the story did not end there for Tuska. Khorne had such joy in watching the murderous spectacle, that he ensured that Tuska’s Waaagh! rose once more the very next dawn. Now, the Orks repeat the fight over and over again, for the Blood God was so impressed by their limitless battlelust that he took the Orks into his own domain. In the shadow of the Brass Citadel, his elite Bloodletter generals battle against Daemon-Killa’s undying horde on a daily basis. This suits the Warboss just fine: he has finally found a good fight that never ends.
So let’s just back it up really quick – Tuska bypassed the defenses around Cadia so that he could lead a WAAAGH! in an invasion into the Eye of Terror. Because he wanted to fight Daemons. And once there, not only did he kick a whole lot of daemon butt, He also caught the gaze of none other than Khorne. He made such an impact that when Tuska inevitability died in glorious combat that Khorne resurrects him daily – because Khorne also enjoys a good fight. #Respect
3) Snagrod, Arch-Arsonist
In 989.M41, Snagrod united the warring Ork factions bordering the Loki Sector and launched a Waaagh! Snagrod, attacking the isolated ImperialAgri-World of Badlanding in 989.M41.Imperial forces noted that although Snagrod was an Ork, the Warlord showed incredible tactical savvy by utilising Imperial tactics, such as elimination of his enemies’ ability to communicate outside their star system by killing the Astropaths who would send the telepathic call for help. It was this particular strategy that allowed Snagrod’s Waaagh! to go undetected until the invasion of the planet of Badlanding, when Imperial CommissarAlhaus Baldur was able to send a desperate plea for help to the Crimson FistsSpace Marines Chapter’s homeworld of Rynn’s World in the midst of a last stand.
Confident that he had the world in his grasp, Snagrod put out incessant, ranting Vox broadcasts, boasting that his next conquest would be Rynn’s World itself, which lay only a few weeks Warp travel from Badlanding. Chapter Master Pedro Kantor dispatched the 3rd Company of the Crimson Fists under Captain Ashor Drakken to Badlanding to stall the Ork Waaagh! and determine its strength. The endeavour turned sour when a brash Scout Marine sniper failed in an assassination attempt against one of Snagrod’s Warlords. The Ork forces were immediately alerted to the 3rd Company’s presence and in the ensuing battle, Captain Ashor was killed and only twenty-eight out of eighty-four Space Marines were able to to return to Rynn’s World. When the Waaagh! Snagrod hit Rynn’s World, it was with a force unparalleled by any other Ork invasion since the assaults on the Hive World of Armageddon.
To his advantage, a malfunctioning plasma missile from the Space Marines’ surface-to-space planetary defence system impacted the Crimson Fists’ fortress-monastery in the opening stages of the invasion. The conflict became drawn out and even more costly as province by province, the Orks maimed citizens and raped the beauty of the planet. At the climax of the conflict, Snagrod issued a challenge to Chapter Master Pedro Kantor at New Rynn Spaceport. Although the Chapter Master was able to destroy a shielding device that protected the Warlord and deliver an incredible amount of punishment, Snagrod escaped at the last moment. The Ork invasion proved costly. All of the planet’s cities were destroyed with the exception of New Rynn City, the capital and seat of the world’s government, before the planet was brought back under Imperial control by the Crimson Fists years later. Many of the worlds of the Loki Sector captured by Waaagh! Snagrod, including Badlanding, are still lost to the Emperor, remaining in Snagrod’s hands to this day.
Look – anyone who launches at attack on the home turf of a Space Marine Chapter and has any amount of success (dumb luck or not) deserves an award. Sure, The Crimson Fists had an issue with their own missile – but still, the fact that the Orks landed on Rynn’s World and the fact that the Orks are STILL in the Loki sector says to me that they aren’t just lucky. Plus, he’s got a sweet title.
2) Nazdreg Ug Urdgrub
In many ways Nazdreg is a typical Bad Moon Warlord – rich, ostentatious, over indulgent and overweight. However Nazdreg is remarkable for one reason – he is easily one of the most intelligent and cunning battlefield commanders to be found in all of Orkdom.
It is fortunate for the Imperium then, that Nazdreg is primarally concerned with wealth – for if he ever worked up the energy to lead a Waaagh! he would prove to be every bit as formidable a foe as his contempory Ghazghkull Thraka.
Nazdreg leads an extremely powerful warband which has laid waste to at least 11 Imperial Worlds so far. Additionally he has defeated or outwitted all the Imperial forces that have been sent against him. Nazdreg’s base of operations is a huge Space Hulk called Ognazdreg Gargdurslagulk, which has been designated “Scylla“‘ by Imperial forces. It is said that Nazdreg’s Mekboyz have managed to gain some form of control over the space hulk’s movement, and the ease with which he has outmanoeuvered his Imperial adversaries would certainly indicate that this is the case. According to Imperial reports, he speaks fluent Low Gothic and is seemingly more resourceful than other Warbosses, using both punishment and rewards as incentives to get more out of his slaves.
Nazdreg takes to the field clad in Mega Armour and he possesses a personal firearm known as “Kustom Blast-X” with which he can be considered an expert shot (by Ork standards).
Nazdreg is on this list because if an Ork can win the respect of Ghazghkull, outsmart Imperial Forces SEVERAL times and still manage to be a threat-at-large in the Galaxy then they get my vote. All orks are strong and brutal – it’s the ones that are smarter than others you have to watch out for.
1) Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka
Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka, the self-proclaimed Prophet of the Waaagh!, known in the Imperium as The Beast of Armageddon, is the Ork Warlord of Waaagh! Ghazghkull and currently the most notorious Warboss of the 41st Millenium. He is infamous for his actions during both the Second and Third[1] Armageddon Wars. Ghazghkull is a particularly megalomaniacal Ork, convinced he is blessed by the Ork gods Gork and Mork. He possesses a considerable measure of cunning, and in battle he tends to focus more on commanding his troops compared to other Warbosses, only engaging in combat himself at critical moments.
It wouldn’t be a top 5 Ork Warlord list if Ghazghkull isn’t on it. I don’t even think it’s necessary to list out our reasons for placing him on this list – it’s Ghazghkull. However, there is one more Ork that even Ghaz has to look up to. It’s one of the reason’s he’s got the title “The Beast of Armageddon” after-all…
Bonus: The Beast
The Beast was one of the most powerful Ork Warbosses to have ever lived. In 544.M32 he united much of the Ork race and nearly succeeded in conquering the Galaxy. His Waaagh! was the largest the Galaxy has ever seen and rampaged across the Imperium, eclipsing even the one Horus defeated during the Ullanor Crusade which earned him the title of Warmaster. The Beast was a highly intelligent Ork, capable of speaking flawless Gothic. Embittered by the humiliation of the Ork race during the Ullanor Crusade, he intended to cripple humanity and rule the galaxy. The Imperium only halted his advance at great cost and desperate measure, devastating the Adeptus Astartes.
“The Beast” and his WAAAGH! was the single most successful WAAAGH! against the Imperium. No one has come that close to invading Terra and cutting out the heart of the Imperium since Horus. Now, if you know the secret of the beast, you’ll understand why “he” isn’t on this list…
Thanks to our Sister-Site Lexicanum for all the background info – if you want to learn more go check it out!
What do you think of our Top 5 Ork Warboss list? Who’s your favorite Ork and why would you put him on this list?
