Warhammer 40K: Leagues of Votann – The 5 Great Leagues
Games Workshop reveals the 5 largest of the Leagues of Votann and gives us some clues as to what their rules will be.
We’ve gotten some hints and tidbits about the Leagues within the Leagues of Votann. However, today is the first time Games Workshop is listing all 5 of the greatest Leagues. These are essentially the sub-factions or, to make a Space Marine comparison, the “chapters” of the Leagues. Each one will have their own sub-set of rules and GW is teasing those out today.
“Like the other species and empires of the 41st Millennium, the Kin are divided into many different subfactions – known as the Leagues. Each has its own take on Kin culture, but five in particular stand out as the largest and most influential.”
The Greater Thurian League
The Greater Thurian League has been the one that we’ve seen the most of. You could consider them the “default” option in a lot of ways as they are the largest of all the Leagues by far. Even Ûthar the Destined, their one named character so far, is from this League. As far as special rules we did get this tidbit earlier:
The Trans-Hyperian Alliance
This one is a newer League (to the rest of us). They are known as explorers and scouts. The Trans-Hyperian Alliance boasts the best Hernkyn Pioneers out of all the Leagues and they are also known to be the most “void-faring” among the major players.
Based on that, I’d expect them to field more Hernkyn Pioneers and probably have some extra speedy options for their rules. If you’re looking to create more of a “cavalry” style Leagues of Votann army I’d keep on eye on these bright orange explorers.
The Kronus Hegemony
I’m just going to post GW’s description and you can draw your own conclusions from it:
“Decked out in distinctive yellow-and-black regalia, it’s not only their stature that’s short, as these Kin are swift to anger and the most aggressive of the major Leagues. Any Hold or void-fleet that joins the Hegemony must swear a martial oath and guarantee that they will focus on training massive Kinhost forces. “
Expect lots of bodies and “massive Kinhost forces” from The Kronus Hegemony. It sounds like they are going to have the most infantry and play aggressively! I wonder if they favor ranged or melee combat…
The Ymyr Conglomerate
We’ve gotten a few pictures and hints about the Ymyr Conglomerate so far. They are the best artisans and crafters of the Leagues. And from the sounds of things they are going to pack the best equipment:
“Their phenomenal armoury contains so many beam weapons, suits of exo-armour, and Colossus-class war engines that they can equip an entire army with a quantity of elite wargear that other Leagues can only dream of fielding.”
I do find it funny that they are also red armored and share a love of crafting — not unlike the Blood Angels. I wonder if their Kin also have a bloodthirsty secret…
In anycase, they sound like they are going to have access to all the elite units in terms of army options. If you want to field a ton of Exo-armour and Beam weapons, get your red paint ready.
The Urani-Surtr Regulates
Described as stubborn and fiercely loyal this League has found itself in quite the predicament. They are essentially surrounded by hostile forces of Necrons, Orks, and Tyranids. Known as the URSR, they refuse to give up any ground to these threats and seem to be fighting an uphill battle.
This League feels like a nod to the previous incarnation of the Squats. And they also seem to have the most experience against Xenos armies. I wonder if that’s going to come into play for their list building. Also, it’s again noteworthy that the green faction is “stubborn” — sounds a little Dark Angel to me.
General Leagues
There are more Leagues out there. Games Workshop hinted at the possibility of getting to create your own:
“There are many more Leagues, and no centralised list exists. For the Kin, all that matters is that they fight as one for the betterment of their race.”
Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a set of custom League options for creating your own in the codex a la the custom Space Marine Chapters or custom Craftworlds or custom Hive Fleets or…you get the idea.
The Leagues of Votann are coming soon — are you going to enlist with one of the big 5?
