Deep in the galactic core, where most cannot stand the immense gravitational forces exerted by ancient clusters of stars, an advanced civilisation of miners and merchants endures. Guided by the failing wisdom of colossal computational intelligences known as the Votann, they strive to survive in the most inhospitable regions of the galaxy, navigating the void with the skill of expert starfarers on a neverending expedition for vital resources.

They are the Leagues of Votann, born pioneers and industrialists who strip worlds to the core and wield powerful technology on the battlefield at the direction of their enigmatic Ancestor Cores. Known for their obduracy and refusal to bow under pressure, they are a deeply communal people and will take on the deadliest of trials to uphold the honour of their kin – be they flesh and blood or mechanical.

Here’s everything you need to know if you’re thinking of starting an army of these resilient and determined acquisitors.

Leagues of Votann explained

The Leagues of Votann are a network of vast interstellar alliances and mercantile conglomerates comprising hundreds or thousands of autonomous, largely co-operative kindreds. Part military coalition, part trading compact, each league is held together by sworn oaths and bartered deals which are upheld with ironclad determination.

At the core of these leagues are the Votann themselves – the Ancestor Cores. Revered in much the same way gods are by more religious factions, the Votann are incredibly ancient, sentient supercogitators crafted by unknown hands in the distant past, bestowed with seemingly supernatural intelligence and boundless wisdom to aid the Leagues in their conquest of the galaxy’s harshest environments. Kindreds in possession of a Votann form the central node of their league, and the wisest of the kin are permitted to beseech its contact terminals – or Fanes – for advice.

Not all is well with the Votann, however, for it is unlikely that their creators designed them to operate for as long as they now have. As the Leagues reverentially offer up their experiences and resources to help the Ancestor Cores grow, the ceaseless deluge of data has begun to strain their capabilities and the limits of their data-stacks, causing each individual Votann to start developing its own quirks, inconsistencies, and faults – though no kin that administers them would countenance such an idea.

Most of the kin are part of a clone race of manufactured, biological specialists imbued with ancestral knowledge and familial bonds at the moment of their birth. They share in society equally with the Ironkin, sentient artificial intelligences created by the Votann and housed in robotic bodies. Unlike most of their galactic neighbours, the Ironkin are treated as equal on every level, and few distinctions are made between them in their society.

Kin physiology is made up of a wide sequence of stable genetic templates – known as cloneskeins. The Votann birth new kin designed according to the particular needs of society at large. Many are designed specifically to survive in extreme environmental conditions, though there are other more specialised mutations, including increased visual range, heightened reactions, or even limited psychic abilities, as embodied in the Grimnyr, whose role in society is to interface directly with the Votann. Legends hold that the kin were created to travel the stars and conquer their deepest reaches of the galaxy, and the adaptations that make them such proficient miners and pioneers also make them highly capable soldiers. Yet as with everything among the kindreds, as the Votann slowly fall into senescence, the cloning process is beginning to degrade – to growing concerns among the cloning guilds.

The original Votann were created to house a vast array of Standard Template Construct systems for advanced technological wonders that would aid the kin on their voyages, and many of these machines are still produced in their original specification – from weapons and armour to drilling tools and vehicles. Much of their wargear bears a superficial similarity to that wielded by human armies, including bolt and plasma weapons, but it’s built to a much higher standard.

All of this wondrous technology is crafted within a hold’s central forges, which are administered by the Brôkhyr – the master artisans and tinkerers. Though they adhere broadly to ancient schematics in deference to their honoured ancestors, they also view the slow refinement and perfection of a device as a sacred duty that honours the Votann.

On the battlefield, the Leagues of Votann exploit their natural resilience and powerful wargear to brawl with opposing armies at medium range, often muscling their way onto objectives before consolidating their gains and protecting their territory at all costs. Their shorter stature renders most of their infantry a touch slower than other factions, but they make up for it with teleporting elites, fast transport vehicles, and long-range firepower.

Oathbands are fully capable of matching other armies in close combat, with specialised units like Cthonian Beserks swinging massive weapons adapted from mining tools. Their versatility means they always have an answer for any trial – from towering Imperial Knights to teeming hordes of Tyranid bioforms – and they’ll weather whatever attacks come their way without complaint.

A Leagues of Votann army will appeal to players who like to play with lots of durable units who can take a beating and dish out the damage in return, including lots of special-purpose units excelling at one task rather than diluting themselves over multiple roles. They have a look and feel that’s entirely unique within the world of Warhammer 40,000, and reward hard work and focus on your goals – just like the kin themselves. Remember: Luck has. Need keeps. Toil earns.

Combat Patrol

Combat Patrol is a game mode perfect for beginners and veterans alike, in which smaller forces clash in fast-paced, balanced games. The Leagues of Votann bring a mixed force of durable infantry to the table with a balanced spread of ranged and close combat power, ready to tackle any trials their venture might throw up.

Bane-slayer’s Bulwark are led by an Einhyr Champion – a ferocious melee specialist with a hammer powerful enough to crumple vehicles – and his bodyguard of five Einhyr Hearthguard elites who can fight effectively at any range. With them march 10 Hearthkyn Warriors to handle day-to-day objective-capturing and close-range firefights, who may be split into two units of five when you need an extra unit to compete for board space.

Long-range support comes in the form of three Brôkhyr Thunderkyn, who use industrial exoframes to heft huge SP conversion beamers. These esoteric energy cannons get stronger the further they are away from the target, so you’ll need to keep them safely away from flanking forces and teleporting melee specialists.

Painting

There are a wide variety of colours to choose from when painting your Leagues of Votann army, as the many leagues, kindreds, and kinhosts exist all display their own livery when mustering for war. Individual squads may even mix up their kindred’s palette to mark veteran status or special assignments – veterans of the Trans-Hyperian Alliance paint one of their arms black for instance – though dedication to tradition and the honour of the league mean that few diverge too far from their core colours.

Some kin wear armour plates on top of flexible void-sealed suits, giving you a great variety of textures and material to play with. Basing your colour scheme around this two-toned approach will keep the whole army looking consistent even as you adapt it for vehicles, elites, and characters, while the abundance of smooth armour faces and sharp corners provides an excellent tapestry for decals and weathering.

To help ease your miniatures onto the battlefield with a simple, achievable colour scheme that works across a wide variety of units, the Warhammer 40,000 Painting Team have put together a list of paints for the Greater Thurian League, as featured on the Combat Patrol box. 

This is by no means an exhaustive primer, however, and you’re fully encouraged to modify the existing league colour schemes or come up with something brand new. The ancestors are watching, and they love to see some nice bright kin on the battlefield!

Next Steps

Once you have a few Combat Patrol games under your belt and you’re ready to hit the battlefield in the name of the Ancestor Cores, you might be wondering where to go next. 

Your first stop is Codex: Leagues of Votann – the essential companion to the faction, containing plenty of background lore and a showcase of gorgeously painted miniatures, as well as rules for 21 different units and plenty of different ways to play them. Together with a copy of the Warhammer 40,000 Core Book, you’ll have all the rules you need to start playing full-size games of Warhammer 40,000.

The Combat Patrol is an excellent starting point for your army as it gives you a powerful character, durable infantry for holding objectives, a unit of elite warriors, and lethal long-range firepower. This covers all of your basics for a core infantry force, and anything you add from here will be building on a rock-solid foundation.

To complement the impressive firepower of this starting army, you may want to turn to the melee specialists of the Cthonian mining guilds, whose Cthonian Beserks hit very hard. Though lightly armoured, they make up for it with extreme natural resilience and a network of augmetics that flood their bodies with cyberstimms should they be injured in combat.

Ironkin Steeljacks are equally hardy, reveling in the larger frames granted by the Votann. Their strength and stature mark them out as blessed companions among their oathband, and they can be equipped either for long-range combat or close combat as your army requires.

You have a wide selection of capable leaders to helm your oathband, but few carry as fearsome a reputation as Buri Aegnirssen, the Thrice-devoured. This legendary warrior carries an eternal grudge against the Tyranids for consuming his League, and packs a monstrous amount of killing power into a diminutive frame.

The kin’s mastery of technology extends to the motor pool, where their exploration and excavation equipment double up as fully combat-capable vehicles equal to many factions’ dedicated tanks. Hernkyn Pioneers ride into battle on nippy magna-coil bikes, which complement the grinding core of your army with a quick flanking force for picking off stragglers and isolated targets.

The versatile Sagitaur is a tough and reliable vehicle that specialises in carrying troops across the battlefield at double-quick speeds, and then sticking around to support them in combat. They can even split a squad of Hearthkyn Warriors between two transports and take them in opposite directions, getting more out of your basic units.

In the deadliest battles and most hostile environments, Hekaton Land Fortresses are the final word in protection and destruction. They can carry a sizable payload of heavy infantry – including Hearthguard and Steeljacks – and pack some of the strongest weapons available to the oathband, such as the heavy magna-rail cannon.

Fiction

As a relatively new faction in the world of Warhammer 40,000, the Leagues of Votann have a wealth of background lore available in their Codex, and their Black Library debut came in The High Kâhl’s Oath by Gav Thorpe.

This groundbreaking novel explores the relationships between an isolated kindred and the rest of their league, as Myrtun Dammergot and her comrades must give up their life of excitement and high adventure when a message reaches their hold ship with dire news. It’s the perfect starting point to learn more about how the Leagues of Votann live and fight, from the perspective of those at the front lines of their conflicts as the galactic core is riven by warp storms and encroaching foes.

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