On Saturday, Games Workshop unexpectedly revealed Blood and Zeal, a new supplement for Warhammer 40k Kill Team, which pits the frenzied worshippers of the blood god Khorne against the equally unhinged adherents of the Ministorum priesthood. Both sets of models, but particularly the Ministorum, are a fantastic reminder of the grimdark nastiness that drew so many of us to Warhammer 40k in the first place.
Although the box set is designed for the skirmish game Kill Team, we’ve no doubt the models will receive rules for Warhammer 40k.
According to Games Workshop’s post on the Warhammer Community website, the set will feature 11 Sanctifiers, militarised clergymen and fanatical laity in the service of the Ministorum church (also called the Ecclesiarchy), as well as eight Goremongers, rabid Khorne worshippers who imitate the frenzied brutality of Bloodletter daemons. There’s also a reissue of an old (but very nice) piece of Warhammer terrain, a statue of an angelic saint.
It’s all a far cry from the Space Marine chapters who are the introduction to the setting and the Imperium for so many people (particularly if they leapt on board via Warhammer 40k games like Space Marine 2). Between their high tech Space Marine armor and assumptions people might carry over from similar fighters in franchises like Halo and Gears of War, they can obscure just how dark and weird the 40k setting is.
Part of the reason Marines don’t sell how crude, cruel, superstitious, and insane the Imperium of Man is, is that most of them don’t worship the Emperor as a god. When the introduction to Warhammer 40k’s first edition says we should “forget the promise of progress and understanding, for there is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter and the laughter of thirsting gods”, the church of the savior Emperor is a big reason why.
The new Sanctifier minis take their aesthetic cues from High Church Catholicism, plus some sci-fi accessories. But the chainsaws and flamethrowers aren’t just add-ons, they’re integral to the faith. It’s insanely violent.
1,000 human 40k psykers are sacrificed every day to sustain the Emperor (though you’ll have to read the Horus Heresy books to understand what’s actually happening in the Imperial throne room). The classic introduction to Rogue Trader says that “blood is drunk and flesh eaten” for the Emperor of Mankind, “human blood and human flesh”. Warhammer 40k’s version of Christmas culminates with blood sacrifices at a million temples around Terra. It’s more Aztec than Catholic.
It’s a cliché that there are no good Warhammer 40k factions, but the models, marketing, and Warhammer 40k books don’t always sell that story – I’ve written a whole separate article exploring that idea if you’re interested. But a warband containing a death cultist, a woman with parchments nailed into her hands, and weaponry out of a slasher movie, is a good reminder that the Imperium of Man is the “cruellest and most bloody regime imaginable”.
There’s a missionary with a plasma gun, a light anti-tank infantry support weapon, and one with a flamethrower – it’s a war crime to use those against civilians. But that’s the Imperial faith for you.
If you want to go even grimmer and darker, check out the recent indie hit Trench Crusade, and our feature on why it’s so successful at evoking grimdark atmosphere. The game’s creators have stated that conversions using other companies’ miniatures will always be welcome, and the new Sanctifier minis would fit in really well with the Trench Pilgrims – though you’d have to swap the Aquilas and Ecclesiarchal icons for crucifixes.