Place 2: A torpedo that destroys whole worlds
From here on, we now enter the realm of absurd weapons. So… even more absurd than invasion cathedrals and living void ships the size of continents. The war machines in this category can destroy planets or cause even worse devastation.
In Warhammer 40,000, there are several weapons capable of annihilating worlds, and nearly every species has at least one of them. The probably most famous is the Exterminatus of the Imperium, which is seldom employed even here.
With a torpedo that literally ignites the atmosphere, or a virus bomb that destroys the entire planet in seconds, planets can be rendered permanently uninhabitable – for anyone. Other world destroyers include:
- The Armageddon cannon, which is only deployed on Abaddon’s flagship, aptly named Planet Killer. The cannon vaporizes oceans with concentrated energy from the warp and penetrates the planet to destroy it.
- Black fortresses of unknown origin, which can not only destroy planets with weapons but are also so large that they have a devastating effect merely by their size. This is how Cadia was destroyed.
- Capillary towers of the voracious Tyranids do not “destroy” planets; however, they deplete any biomass from them, thus rendering them a dead rock in space. The goal of the Tyranids is ultimately to devour the entire galaxy.
- The warlike and slightly crazy Orks, on the other hand, simply attach engines to asteroids or moons and let them crash into planets. WAAAGH!
Even though an Exterminatus and the complete annihilation of a world may sound like it couldn’t get worse, Warhammer certainly still has a bigger number up its sleeve. In this case, the strongest weapon in the world doesn’t even look particularly impressive on the outside.
