Warhammer 40000 and Warhammer: Fantasy beat starcraft AND warcraft to each theme by about twenty years. Warhammer came in somewhere around 1970, starcraft was 1998. Warhammer was the original creator of the 'Green ork' (Not saying everything with snot green orks is a copy, just stating who first used the concept.) I know extensive lore about 40K and ready the lore about the starcraft factions made me gag.
Wow, I'm sorry but Warhammer was beaten to the Ork concept by J.R.R Tolkien by a considerable margin. Anyway, I don't really care about Warcraft much so I'll concede this section to you (Can't say that Rasq and Sparhawk won't give it a shot)
Let me give you some examples: Zerg-Tyrannids. At the time Zerg were thought up the Tyrannids where becoming popular in warhammer 40000 stories and games, Tyrannids absorb the biomass of their dead and dead enemies and adapt traits of their for if they so wish. They also serve onbe single hive mind, have a chititnous shell, and attack in large numbers in brutal melee. By your logic then the Tyrannids must be condemned for copying the Bugs from Starship Troopers.
Plus other lore. Also at the time blizzard released the Zerg Tyrannids could communicate with other aliens. Zerg are almost exactly Tyrannids at the time of their creation. Tyrannids where later changed to not being able to communicate.
The Zerg were created from a very weak insectal race who's only virtue was their genetic versatility. After the Xel'Naga worked on them trying to achieve Perfection of Mind, thus the creation of the Overmind, the Zerg learned to copy and then supercharge another species DNA. They do not make use of dead tissue as the DNA starts to break down. They need living flesh. The Zerg do not communicate with any species outside of the Zerg Swarm. the only exceptions to this are the Cerebrates who may occasionally taunt the enemy commander and Sarah Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades.
Protoss-Eldar: Both: An ancient and debased people focusing on speed and stealth, seeking to fix the galaxy and balance it. Mortally wounded protoss are put in an armoured mech to keep fighting (Combination of Wraithlord//guard Dreadnaught: Space marine concept switched around) Low numbers mean they have to be extremely wise.
Oh yes, completely blow off the rest of the Protoss lore and nitpick your favorite parts. First of all, the Protoss never came off as wise. Fenix was just an old warrior ready to kick some @ss and Tassadar had to be wise and intelligent to earn his place in command in the first place.The Protoss do not wish to balamce the galaxy, they only wish to destroy the threat of their evil step cousins twice removed, the Zerg, which were plowing through the galaxy in a blood thirsty rampage, intent on doing the same to the Protoss. Their very first action in encountering humanity was to slag the planet to a point where the Covenant would be envious. The Protoss are a bio-enhanced race furbished by the Xel'Naga. As for placing those incapable of fighting in armored suites that's a very common theme in Sci Fi.
Terran-Space marine: Do I even have to say anything? Just look at two pictures of them side by side. Warhammer 40000 has traitor pirates and illegal traders that resemble spce pirates. Even a renegade space marine chapter. The influence of chaos and the powers of the warp are ever pressing on the weak mind. And the only way to drive it out is with blind devotion, devotion to the one person responsible for human survival and prosperity: the emperor. Embellished in propeganda a a god The emperor acts as a symbol that keeps mankind together.
Ok, your argument just got retarded. Humanity if you haven't noticed yet, loves to break the very laws it creates. This is usually done by a minority compared to the rest of the populace and it isn't too far fetched that they'd do the same in space. We have pirates today. The only thing that changes are the ships and weapons they use.
As for Raynor's Raiders they split after Jim Raynor realized what a snake Arcturus Mengsk was and left, vowing to get back at him for leaving Sarah Kerrigan to die at the hands of the Zerg. Yeah that didn't go so well.
Arcturus Mengsk also known as Emperor Mengsk of the Terran Empire, is at first and foremost, a politician. A particularly ambitious and dangerous one who used the destruction of Korhal as a way of gathering forces. Most thought him as either a terrorist or freedom fighter at that point. It was only until he set the Zerg onto the Confederacy capital planet of Tarsonis and subsequent declaration of his new Regime did the mask come off.
Now I have to put something to back up my points, some other reasoning for my points other than inferrence. Did you know Games workshop (Creators of both Warhammer universes) were supposed to help make warcraft? My theory is that Games workshop wanted to use it as a way to introduce warhammer to a larger crowd (At that point it was only books and a tabletop game) but when Bluizzard told them they wouldn't include "Warhammer" in the name games workshop dropped out. Blizzard went on to finish the game (Stressed to create completely new ideas, they had to keep many of the themes from warhammer, but changes name and switch small things around in the races. And they went on to do the same with starcraft. Not all ideas are from Warhammer universes, but I do find that such a poorly covered collage of science fiction mostly from two universes a bit distasteful.
If you hate thinly covered collages of sci fi so much why do you like Warhammer?
Anywhoo let's not turn this into a flame war, other wise it'll be Locked.