Millennia spent amid the wastes of Necromunda have forced the Ironhead Squats to make do and mend, using their knack for technology to create new solutions to that age-old 41st Millennium problem – dying horribly in dark tunnels. The hulking Vartijan Exo-driller is the most common of their spelunking innovations, and you’ll be able to pre-order one for your own prospecting endeavours this Friday.
But the Squats aren’t the only game in town these days – the recently recontacted Leagues of Votann have some pretty mighty tech of their own. So just how do the Squat mining clans stack up against the elite of their star-bound cousins?
Let’s start with the Einhyr Hearthguard, who also wear suits of powerful exo-armour, albeit of a more refined nature. Can the industrious Ironheads of Necromunda stand up to the ancient technology of the Leagues of Votann?
Weapons
Nothing deals with an upstart ganger quite like a power fist to the chin, and the Vartijan Exo-driller has a mean right hook for whatever the Ash Wastes can throw at it. Alas, without the wisdom of an Ancestor Core, the Squats must resort to regular Imperial weapons when fighting at range. At least the suit's prodigious size means it can fire its heavy bolter or heavy flamer on the move.
The Leagues of Votann pack their more compact exo-armour with some advanced punching tech of their own – the tooth-rattling power of concussion gauntlets. In the rare moments a mass-boosted fist isn’t enough to do the job, the Kin seal the deal with volkanite disintegrators and grenade launchers.
Result: Draw. Both suits easily handle a good old-fashioned punch-up or shootout.
Armour
The exo-armour of the Einhyr Hearthguard is made from ultra-dense materials attached to a complex servo-assisted frame, allowing the wearer to shrug off anti-tank weaponry while retaining full freedom of movement and even auto-stabilising their aim while they return fire.
The Exo-driller, meanwhile, throws subtlety to the wind and bolts thick slabs of plating onto its massive mechanical form. Its sheer bulk is enough to turn aside all but the most dangerous of weapons, leaving the Squat inside free to worry about more important things – like whether to crush, burn, or blow apart the foolish gangers in their way.
Result: Draw. When both suits render their wearer almost invulnerable to harm, can either really be described as the loser?
Speed
Look, nobody’s expecting either of these powerhouses to keep up with a Goliath Mauler or a rumbling battle tank over open ground. What’s important is that they’re fast enough – and you can ask the piles of ruined corpses left in their wake.*
Result: Draw. No sense over-achieving here – slow and steady wins the race.
Technology
Vartijan Exo-drillers have comprehensive suites of sensor equipment, able to detect valuable seams of ore and hostile gangs alike.
As for the Einhyr… well those fancy crests on the back of the squad leaders aren’t just for show. Do they incorporate more of that fantastic Kin technology? We’ll have to wait and see.
Result: Draw. To declare a winner, we’d have to break into the Leagues’ secret vaults, and that’s not happening… yet…
In conclusion, both suits of exo-armour are amazing at doing their jobs and allowing the wearer to excel on the battlefield of their choice. The Vartijan Exo-driller is coming to pre-orders this week – but you’ll have to wait a little longer to catch the Einhyr Hearthguard…
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*Well you can’t because they are, well corpses... but you get the idea.
