Everyone gets to be a part of Warhammer 40,000 history this weekend, as the Leagues of Votann make their triumphant return to the galaxy. Arriving on the battlefields of the 41st Millennium with a chunky army set featuring everything you need to get started with this formidable new range.
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.
Comprising over 200 allied Kindreds and several wealthy Guilds, the Greater Thurian League is clearly massive. One of the original founding Leagues, they are easy to recognise with their fetching teal-and-white livery.
Spread far and wide, the GTL consolidates on the home front while forging forward to claim new lands for Kin dispossessed by the forces of Chaos. Legendary heroes such as Ûthar the Destined hail from this League which exemplifies Kin values and acts as a guiding force for all.
Clad in bright orange and white void armour, the Trans-Hyperian Alliance is a League made up of explorers and adventurers who seek out new territories, and the mysteries held therein, with a fevered compulsion.
Their Hernkyn Pioneers are noted as genuinely exceptional, striking out to distant fringe planets to scout for valuable resources. Unlike other Leagues, their disparate fleets live a nomadic life with smaller ships acting as relays between their larger congregations. Even their three Votann have adopted this void-faring existence, nestled deep within highly fortified ships.
Founded less than a millennium ago when the Kôrynn’s Kindred’s Fane* achieved self-awareness and became a Votann, the Kronus Hegemony now aggressively pursue new knowledge and raw materials to defend their fledgling Ancestor better.
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.
All Kin understand the value of well-crafted engineering, but the Ymyr Conglomerate Holds and fleets contain many Kindred who specialise in creating finely wrought works of unparalleled technology. Clad in striking deep red armour, this League’s forges churn out peerless weapons of war and exquisite civilian finery.
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.
Beset on multiple fronts by mighty Necron, Ork, and Tyranid forces, the Urani-Surtr Regulates, known as the URSR to other Leagues, nevertheless refuse to give an inch of ground to these persistent threats, despite continued losses. Their only explanation is that their Ancestors would abandon them if they gave up their Hold worlds.
Some suggest that either reckless grudges, Holds of great importance or a sense of stubborn pride keep them defending their beleaguered territory, but the URSR remains impressively tight-lipped. Kitted out in rugged green gear, this League and the Kindreds that form it are fiercely loyal to their Kin.
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.
You’ll be able to explore the rules and in-depth lore behind all of the significant Leagues with Codex: Leagues of Votann, contained in the Leagues of Votann Army set, which is available for pre-order this Saturday – it even has a unique cover exclusive to the box.
* A Fane is the tangle of arcane technology through which a Votann communicates. Tales of them gaining sentience are not uncommon.