“You are what you eat,” the old saying goes, and it’s an adage that the Kroot are a lot more committed to than most. Among the crowd of iconic Warhammer 40,000 armies—your space marines, orks, tyranids, and more—these bird-like aliens are often overlooked. But I think they’re secretly the coolest faction in the game.

They’ve always been unfairly overshadowed. Starting life as a little one-off piece of art in the 1998 Warhammer 40,000 rulebook, their real introduction was in 2001, as a subfaction of the then brand-new T’au Empire. The anime-inspired T’au grabbed attention with their mech suits, drones, and giant railguns, but even back then I was enchanted by the humble Kroot.

(Image credit: Games Workshop)

Unlike most factions in Warhammer 40,000, the technologically-advanced T’au would rather absorb than destroy—they’ll take over your world, but then they’ll invite you to join their empire rather than wipe you out. The Kroot are their greatest success story—a seemingly crude and aggressive species that happily joined up and has been reaping the benefits of jolly cooperation ever since. Except… that’s not quite what’s happening.

What motivates the Kroot most of all is food. Not because they’re hungry (though they often are), but because it literally drives the evolution of their species. They’re able to process the DNA of any creature they eat and pass elements of it down to their offspring, creating and reinforcing genetic mutations and improvements.

In this way, different Kroot packs have gained traits like chameleonic skin, hulking musculature, and even wings. Their leaders are literally called ‘Shapers’ because they oversee this process of controlled evolution. The problem is it forces them to always be seeking new sources of genetic diversity, lest they become trapped in evolutionary dead-ends—like the dog-like Kroot Hounds and lumbering Krootox.

(Image credit: Games Workshop)

So, how do you go about gaining access to as much varied DNA as possible? You head out into the galaxy and get into a lot of fights—and then eat all the people you kill!

It’s that that led them to join up with the T’au, rather than any belief in the empire’s grand philosophy of the Greater Good. But the T’au’s wars also aren’t enough for them. In secret, though it is forbidden, they continue to send out hunting packs into the galaxy to work as mercenaries for all and sundry—sometimes even in conflict against the T’au—to get as wide a buffet as they can.

(Image credit: Games Workshop)

That’s what I think is so fun about the Kroot. Rapidly evolving cannibal bird men are cool to start with, but it’s their pragmatism that makes them so unique. In a setting all about extremist ideologies going to war with each other, the Kroot just want to get some meat and get out. They don’t hate, they don’t hold grudges, they don’t want to rule the galaxy—they’re just getting on with their own thing.

They’re the salt-of-the-earth blue collar workers of Warhammer, earning a living, staying under the radar, and taking advantage where they can while all around them more powerful people are screaming about heresy and the apocalypse. Given half a chance, they’ll get along with anyone, easily adapting to different alien languages and technologies as they ply their trade.

Warhammer 40,000 is all about pushing things to their most absurd extremes, but in the midst of all that, the Kroot are refreshingly… relatable. It certainly says something that the most normal dudes in this setting are a bunch of birds that want to eat you and steal your DNA, but it’s that contrast that makes them so likable.

(Image credit: Games Workshop)

And they’re a great vehicle for hinting at a wider galaxy. Even just the idea that there’s a market for alien mercenaries out there is tantalising—it suggests rather more cooperation and communication out on the fringes than the Imperium would like to think. More recently, the Kroot’s magpie approach to tech has become a part of the miniatures and rules. Seeing one wielding an alien weapon called a “Dvorgite skinner” just gets the mind racing. Who are the Dvorgites? Why are they so into skinning people? Wait… or is it a gun that skins Dvorgites?!

Tidbits like that were introduced as part of a major refresh of the Kroot miniatures range last year—their first in the 20 years since they were originally released. Expanding on both their visual identity and their presence in the rules, it was a very welcome set of kits. But the Kroot remain in the T’au’s shadow—bigger than ever, but still just a subfaction in the empire’s codex rather than their own dedicated army.

(Image credit: Games Workshop)

It’s an injustice! Personally, I think they’ve always deserved to lead a Codex: Mercenaries book. It could detail an army with Kroot at its core, but also pulling in appropriate models from other factions, and some new alien units drawing from all the wild edges of Warhammer 40,000 lore. Give me ork Blood Axes, eldar corsairs, and renegade squats fighting alongside jokaero weapon-smiths, exodite dinosaur-riders, and rogue Men of Iron, all in one army of deadly freelancers!

Alas, my dream shows no signs of coming true any time soon—but there is one thing on the horizon for Kroot fans to look forward to. It looks like they’ll be playing a major role in Owlcat’s upcoming Warhammer 40,000 RPG Dark Heresy, with not only a Kroot party member, but what seems to be a whole zone themed around them. Perhaps this’ll finally give them the wider recognition they’ve always truly deserved.

Ok, I’m done—now you can head to the comments and tell me why space marines are actually way cooler.

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