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Warhammer 40K: The Grimdark’s Super Powered Psykers

5 Minute Read
Apr 25 2023
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These Psychic Powerhouses crush their enemies with mindbullets. Let’s meet some of the greatest Psykers in the Grimdark.

Psykers come in all shapes and sizes in Warhammer 40,000. But they are certainly not on equal footing. Today, we’re going to take a look at some of the most powerful psykers from 40k. These super-powered psykers can smash their foes with just a thought, so it might pay to stay on their good side.

Note: We’re going to skip on the everyday ho-hum warp daemons and the Hive Mind itself. Warp entities are psychic-stuff made manifest and the Hive Mind is a truly alien creature made of collective consciousness of all the Tyranids. They are super powerful psykers. But we’re not sure how to fit them on this list…so we’re we’re just going tip-toe right past them.

Doom of Malan’tai

The Doom of Malan’tai is a unique tyranid psychic mutant that feasted on the Craftworld of Malan’tai’s infinity circuit and grew in power to nigh invulnerable levels. That much condensed psychic energy is a scary thought which is why this creature is called the Doom. And it’s why it’s on this list!

Chief Librarian Tigurius

Prime Time Tiggy is one of the most powerful Psykers in the service of the Emperor. He’s so powerful, he is able to go mind-to-mind with the Hive Mind of the Tyrands.

“In recent years, Tigurius has turned his powers towards the Tyranid Hive Fleets menacing the Imperium. The sheer accuracy of his predictions about the movement and intents of the Great Devourer have led many to believe that Tigurius has managed to penetrate the Hive Mind itself, something only a psyker as powerful as the Emperor could withstand without going insane. If this is true, then Tigurius may well be the most powerful active psyker in the Imperium, second only to the Immortal God Emperor himself.”

And now that he’s a Primaris version of himself, I’m sure he’s even stronger. That’s one super powered psyker — just be glad he’s on the side of humanity.

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Malcador the Sigillite

“Malcador the Sigillite, also known as Malcador the Hero by decree of the Emperor was the First Lord of Terra as well as the Grand Master of Assassins during the Horus Heresy. He was a powerful psyker who could communicate over long distances and wield immense power. He was a close adviser to the Emperor during the Unification Wars, and the man credited with founding the Administratum of Terra.”

While Malcador might be dead, his legacy lives on. In fact, he’s the only other Psyker to have sat upon the Golden Throne, and while he might of died in the process, the fact that he held out as long as he did is a massive testament to his own skill and power. And speaking of “dead” psykers…

Eldrad Ulthran

“Eldrad Ulthran was the chief Farseer of the Ulthwé Craftworld. He was perhaps the most gifted psyker amongst the Eldar, his incredible foresight having saved many thousands of Eldar lives. He created and carried into battle the Staff of Ulthamar, and his resilience and power has been a rallying point for the declining Eldar race.”

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The Aeldari are all psychic and the fact that Eldrad is their most gifted psyker speaks volumes of his power. While he “died” upon a Blackstone Fortress, it has since been retconned that he’s still technically alive – only Crystallizing. If only the Aeldari had a way to bring the “dead” back to life… He might want a word with Yvraine.

Ahriman

Ahriman of the Thousand Sons is perhaps the greatest sorcerer the chapter has ever produced. Even rivaling the power of Magnus himself. He’s also one of the oldest living psykers in the Grimdark. Originally from Terra Ahriman is over 10,000 years old and has lifetimes to learn and master his craft. It’s not just his powerful sorcery that makes him so scary — it’s his psychic prowess, too. So may consider those two things one and the same, but however you slice it Ahriman is one psyker you don’t want to mess with!

Magnus the Red

If you combine the mental power of a psyker and the physical power of a Primarch you get … Magnus.

Also known as the Crimson King, the Sorcerer-King, Cyclopean Magnus or the Red Cyclops is the Primarch of the Thousand Sons Chaos Space Marine legion. A giant in both physical and mental terms whilst a mortal inhabitant of the materium, Magnus long tried to understand and control the warp, becoming a sorcerer of formidable power. Magnus would eventually fall from favour with his father, the Emperor, due to his zealous advocacy and use of such power. Indeed it would prove to be his mortal undoing, as, forewarned of Horus‘ fall to Chaos, his attempt to use his own warp-touched abilities to alert the Emperor to the situation brought about his own damnation and servitude to the Chaos God Tzeentch. “

These days Magnus is back in the material universe, having teleported the Planet of the Sorcers back into the Prospero system – right smack in the middle of the Segmentus Solar.  I’m sure that is keeping the Inquisition up at night.

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Emperor Of Mankind

Is this one cheating? Eh…we’re not sure. But we do know that the Emperor of Mankind is the most powerful psyker of humanity pretty much ever. Maybe it’s his diet of a 1000 psychically charged souls a day. Or maybe it’s that his Golden Throne doubles as a device to amplify his psychic prowess to such heights that it can be seen in the warp. However you want to view the power of the Emperor, you can’t ignore how powerful a psyker he was before the Horus Heresy — and still is!

There’s lots of powerful psykers in the Grimdark but which ones are your favorite?

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Author: Adam Harrison
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