The 40 Years of Warhammer series has now covered decades of iconic miniatures, featuring some of the earliest Warhammer miniatures like Space Marines and Skeletons, as well as fabulous newer models – many of which draw aspects from past ideas, iterating on the very stuff that makes Warhammer what it is.
In 2022, an April Fool's joke promised the return of the Squats, the space-faring miners and engineers who had graced the pages of Warhammer 40,000’s first edition, Rogue Trader, many moons ago. The Squats were a faction who mysteriously disappeared from the game for some time after allegedly being eaten by Tyranids. But their return was no joke, these stout warriors were coming back with a new name – the Leagues of Votann.
Returning from their long sojourn, the Leagues of Votann brought with them a refined new aesthetic. This new look mixed elements of detailed metalworking and rune-etching with advanced technology built from (more or less) uncorrupted STCs*. Unlike the Imperium, the Leagues of Votann have a vast repository of knowledge including valuable Standard Template Constructs stored in their Ancestor Cores – the Votann themselves.These near-mythical thinking machines are ancient, inscrutable, and senescent, and are dutifully attended by the Grimnyr – known to many as Living Ancestors. These blessed individuals split their time between communing with the Votann in venerated Fanes deep in Kinholds, or channelling their gestalt intelligence and skeinwrought power on the battlefield to empower the Kin and eradicate foes.
Flanked by two airborne COGs, brandishing a staff tipped with a depiction of the Votann they serve, and wearing gear covered with runic symbols, the Grimnyr encapsulates the Leagues of Votann – their worship of the Ancestors, long-celebrated cultural traditions, and the use of intelligent machines in battle and day-to-day life.
The rest of the Leagues of Votann range completes the picture of this space-faring civilisation, with the Hearthkyn Warriors and Brôkhyr Thunderkyn reinforcing their role as resource-grabbing engineers. Many kits also hark back to some of the oldest Games Workshop miniatures – not least the Living Ancestors themselves, who had a very stately if somewhat less mystical former form…
Hernkyn Pioneers are reminiscent of old Squat Trikes but with advanced repulsors instead of wheels, the Einhyr Hearthguard wear tanky exo-armour in a callback to vintage Terminator armour (rather than the original egg-shaped exo-armour of the Rogue trader era). Even the Hekaton Land Fortress has its origins in the epic-scale Land Train.
With their return to the galaxy they bring a new angle to view Warhammer 40,000 from and provide an alternative to the Imperium, showing what might have been if the dark age of technology and the Horus Heresy hadn’t seen technical knowhow replaced with esoteric superstition.
This year’s Warhammer Day miniature is an Einhyr Champion, representing the way decades old Warhammer lore has been reinterpreted by this brand new range of miniatures. A fitting champion for a classic range reborn.
*An STC, or Standard Template Construct, is an ancient device able to create items and machinery from almost any available materials – most of these are lost to Humanity and those recovered are revered and jealously guarded.
