Warhammer 40K: I’m a Little Worried About Leagues Of Votann
Leagues of Votann are the hot new kid of the block, but as I see more of them I’ve been starting to wonder how much they fit into the Grimdark.
Warhammer 40,000 is full of iconic and interesting races. Beyond the warring duality of Chaos and the Imperium you have a host of alien and intrigue factions. The Eldar, the T’au, the Necrons and so on. In the far past of 40K the Squats where counted among their number, but they vanished into the mists of time. Now they have returned in a new form, The Leagues of Votann. But are they what we really wanted?
The Return
After vanishing from the game for a few decades most people had given up on the Squats as a faction. This cross between Bikers/Space Dwarves, was an iconic of the early era of the game. But by 2022 it had long vanished. The possibility of their return had become a long standing gag in the community. Then this year, in a shocking twist, GW decided to bring them back. While a shock, it was on greeted by the community with a lot of excitement. People were very happy to see a classic faction return.
Are They Too Generic?
I too was pretty excited by Leagues at first. But as we’ve seen more and more of them I’ve started to get a bit worried. The core of my issue is that the Leagues of Votann, seem a little too… generic sci-fi? They aren’t really all that grimdark I guess. It’s not that their lore for instance is bad. It’s got a bit of twists. But they are kind of just a generic high tech sci-fi race. Yeah, their mix of AI and sorta-clones is a cool idea. And sure they likely have a dark secret, like that they are controlled by AIs, maybe even the Men of Iron.
Like, I dunno. This is a fallen race. But it’s not one plagued by the warp. It’s got high tech answers and, unlike the T’au, isn’t new. They have seemingly safe warp travel. The Leagues of Votann lore is interesting but it just doesn’t have that 40K/grimdark vibe to it. It’s too… almost hopeful? I dunno. Maybe it will get fleshed out more, but right now it just feels off. Still it’s not what worries me most.
Are These Really Squats? 
The Leagues of Votann are supposed to be the reimagined Squats. The emphasis is clearly on the reimagined part. We’ve seen a fair few of the models so far. They don’t really scream Squats to me either. Compare the ones we’ve seen such as:
Now look at some of the old Squat stuff:
I dunno, it doesn’t really feel the same. The new stuff has some nods to the old. The hover trike is a nod to old Squat models. The League Infantry have one head that is clearly a homage to the black and white picture above. But overall it just feels very generic high-tech sci-fi. These aren’t goofy biker Dwarves. The new ATV seems more like a near future US Luner Combat Rover than a Grimdark tank. The Exo-Armors seem more like something from StarCraft than Warhammer.
Leagues of Votann vs Kharadron Overlords
It’s extra odd to me because GW did an amazing job reinventing fantasy Dwarves as the Kharadron Overlords. This was an amazing new take on Dwarves that is super inventive! By contrast the Votann seem just kind of almost expected. I mean… where are the skulls? Their units and armor just look very plain and non-40K. I hope that I’m proven wrong, they could still turn out to be a great new addition. But at this early junction, I can’t help be a little concerned.
Let us know what you think about the Votann, down in the comments.
