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Hi people ! I know this is mostly improbable and whishful thinking, but I've always found the Zoats to be appealing and enigmatic. And now that we see them making a comeback (albait a minor one), I feel that I'd like to see them as a standalone army on the tabletop.

Do you think that would be something cool or not ?

The only problem with making them an army, is even in the classic era the Zoats were just a few models. We've no real united vision for their design ethos beyond their warrior units. So a single warrior or even a squad being released can tickle that nostalgic interest; but moving that to a full army could have varying reactions since we've not even got any art to unify the public desire for an aesthetic.


Squads on the other hand we had models, full armies and art. We've an idea what GW could do for them and what to "expect" to help generate initial interest.



I'm not sure how I'd feel about Zoats as a full army - I guess there's other full army ideas (Exodites, Squats, Coursairs, etc...) that just feel as if they've got more development and interest beyond pure nostalgia. Blackstone is an ideal home for a single unique character model that tickles that nostalgic interest without bursting the bubble.

I'd rather GW finish making the factions they've already made rather than release new ones.

Same sentiment as anomander.

I'd rather see more for the existing factions or models for factions that are much better established as part of the lore than for another random xenos race.

I'd quite like to see them as an ally unit, maybe being able to appear alongside, the Eldar or Tau.
Or even as vanguard for the gradual appearance of the old ones race. Starting as a singular psychic, enigmatic ally laying the groundwork for the re-emergence of old ones, stirred back to prominence by the growing Necton presence.
Be cool to see ancient space frogs and cyber saurons.

Love the harbinger idea. Kinda cool they talked about him having the unaligned trait, which they say allows it to ally with anyone; this could be an interesting way to deal with Rogue Traders and other odd stand alones...

Like others, I think there are far greater priorities- all existing Xeno factions need love. But I DO like the idea of Zoats as harbingers for the arrival of other factions- it's just such a cool story hook.

Khorne Demonkin & Bloodtithe, yes please.

In RT, they were mercs.

I had a few in my Eldar army back in RT. Good for distance throws with grenades or going choppy choppy (grenade throw distance was based of S characteristic).

Weren't they a branch of Tyranids?

 Blndmage wrote:
Weren't they a branch of Tyranids?

They were way back in the Rogue Trader days when the lore was even more sketchy. They were always shown more as the heralds of the Tyranids. Rather than being Tyranids they were more ruled/conquered by them and being used almost as a "local representative" of the Tyranids to the Galaxy. Then as things moved on they quietly vanished and it was assumed they were all eaten into the Swarm and that the Tyranids had no need for such agents.

Of course Tyranids do maintain Genestealer Cults and some cult leaders are kept alive and moved world to work to aid the spread even when the hive ships come to feed. So there's every chance that Zoats remained alive. Preserved for some greater purpose.

It could also be that the Zoats escaped and went into hiding.

I love that they are bringing back fun scupts and interesting things from the depths of the lore. But not everything needs to be a full blown army.

Stuff like this is great to have a one page rules sheet in WD/PDF format. Spice up your list, add flavor to your inquisitional warband. But there is enough army bloat. It looks like they are rolling back some of the worse of it from 6/7th, but still a bit out there.

IMHO if you don’t have a unit for every FoC slot, with an extra or two for what yuor focus is, don’t try to be an army. We have rules for allies; use them.

 Nevelon wrote:
I love that they are bringing back fun scupts and interesting things from the depths of the lore. But not everything needs to be a full blown army.

Stuff like this is great to have a one page rules sheet in WD/PDF format. Spice up your list, add flavor to your inquisitional warband. But there is enough army bloat. It looks like they are rolling back some of the worse of it from 6/7th, but still a bit out there.

IMHO if you don’t have a unit for every FoC slot, with an extra or two for what yuor focus is, don’t try to be an army. We have rules for allies; use them.

Yep, concur with this. It's GREAT that they're back, but they don't need to be a full army. Historically I'm not sure they ever were?

I think standalone merc units would be good for 40k, and a few more models to make up a squad would be nice.

But they don't need to be a full army. Most of them are supposed to be dead, there's not really an interesting enough concept here.

I'd like to see something like a multiracial alien faction, a bit like what Tau were meant to be early on before they became all about the battlesuits. Then you can have fun new sculpts like the Zoat or other weird one-off aliens and have a place for them to go in 40k without them needing to have weird allies rules or stretching a line very thin a la Harlequins.

I think standalone merc units would be good for 40k, and a few more models to make up a squad would be nice.

But they don't need to be a full army. Most of them are supposed to be dead, there's not really an interesting enough concept here.

This is a as close I would want to come to a new faction right now. Dark Eldar have had more units REMOVED form their codex in recent years than they've had added, so I would much prefer GW finish existing factions. That said, a Mercenary book could be cool.

The only other thing I might want to see is if they put Zoats back in their original form. "Emissaries of the Tyranids". I don't know how that would work exactly, but it made the 'nids more scary - it showed a greater capacity for the nids to "think" on some level (even if they were going to eat the planet regardless of how they responded to the Zoat Ambassador), and it made the Zoats fascinating because you had to wonder why, of all the races the Tyranids consumed - did they save this ONE race?

Tycho wrote:

I think standalone merc units would be good for 40k, and a few more models to make up a squad would be nice.

But they don't need to be a full army. Most of them are supposed to be dead, there's not really an interesting enough concept here.

This is a as close I would want to come to a new faction right now. Dark Eldar have had more units REMOVED form their codex in recent years than they've had added, so I would much prefer GW finish existing factions. That said, a Mercenary book could be cool.

The only other thing I might want to see is if they put Zoats back in their original form. "Emissaries of the Tyranids". I don't know how that would work exactly, but it made the 'nids more scary - it showed a greater capacity for the nids to "think" on some level (even if they were going to eat the planet regardless of how they responded to the Zoat Ambassador), and it made the Zoats fascinating because you had to wonder why, of all the races the Tyranids consumed - did they save this ONE race?

DE hasn't had a unit added to them sense 2010

Tycho wrote:

I think standalone merc units would be good for 40k, and a few more models to make up a squad would be nice.

But they don't need to be a full army. Most of them are supposed to be dead, there's not really an interesting enough concept here.

This is a as close I would want to come to a new faction right now. Dark Eldar have had more units REMOVED form their codex in recent years than they've had added, so I would much prefer GW finish existing factions. That said, a Mercenary book could be cool.

The only other thing I might want to see is if they put Zoats back in their original form. "Emissaries of the Tyranids". I don't know how that would work exactly, but it made the 'nids more scary - it showed a greater capacity for the nids to "think" on some level (even if they were going to eat the planet regardless of how they responded to the Zoat Ambassador), and it made the Zoats fascinating because you had to wonder why, of all the races the Tyranids consumed - did they save this ONE race?

I’d have to check the old books, and I’m not even sure I have the right ones. But I vaugly recall the nids not starting out as the all consuming hunger, set to devour worlds. But more of an alien race with a focus on bioweapons and sybmbiotic lifeforms. So more capable of reason and diplomacy.

Nids started out as a precursor to Zergs

Early Tyranids were slightly different; though back then a lot of the lore shifted around and varied or details were sparse. I think Genestealers even started our perhaps not being Tyranids and then got folded into them at some stage.


There's nothing to suggest that Tyranids can't do diplomacy or reasoning with other life forms. Genestealer Cults do it all the time, they are built on it and the upper ranks of them are Tyranid.

I think its more that Tyranids have chosen to remain aloft and might even blank their creatures from human-like thinking to better hide their intentions and plans. Perhaps realising that if their plans were known or even hinted at, the Imperium and other forces could rise against them.

I like the Zoat design and would love additional minis but not looking for an army of them.

On that note, weren't there fantasy Zoats as well? I would be up to see them done again in that setting

Crispy78 wrote:

 Nevelon wrote:
I love that they are bringing back fun scupts and interesting things from the depths of the lore. But not everything needs to be a full blown army.

Stuff like this is great to have a one page rules sheet in WD/PDF format. Spice up your list, add flavor to your inquisitional warband. But there is enough army bloat. It looks like they are rolling back some of the worse of it from 6/7th, but still a bit out there.

IMHO if you don’t have a unit for every FoC slot, with an extra or two for what yuor focus is, don’t try to be an army. We have rules for allies; use them.

Yep, concur with this. It's GREAT that they're back, but they don't need to be a full army. Historically I'm not sure they ever were?

No. RT didn't start with army lists, and by 2nd edition zoats were gone. There was a White Dwarf (145?) tyranid army list that included Zoats, but that list was weird enough that that it also included squig swarms and mind slaves- either guard, orks or chaos marines (or one squad from any army list costing no more than 300 points).

petrov27 wrote:
I like the Zoat design and would love additional minis but not looking for an army of them.

On that note, weren't there fantasy Zoats as well? I would be up to see them done again in that setting

Yes, actually in 3rd edition fantasy, where they were allied contingent, you could take a spellcaster and 0-20 Zoat warriors
Zoats were noted for being obsessed with magic and had no melee/mundane heroes. Just wizards.

No. RT didn't start with army lists, and by 2nd edition zoats were gone. There was a White Dwarf (145?) tyranid army list that included Zoats, but that list was weird enough that that it also included squig swarms and mind slaves- either guard, orks or chaos marines (or one squad from any army list costing no more than 300 points).

Zoats were present in the very early days of 2nd. There are actually one or two Zoat models pictured in one of the three books that came in the second ed box set, and I remember seeing rules for them in the very early days. They didn't "Officially" die until the nid dex was released and there were no Zoats to be found.

Also far as I recall Zoats were like Squats in that they never officially got killed off, they just stopped being mentioned ever. As a result the community made the logical conclusion that they were wiped out (in both cases tyranids were unfairly blamed!)

Happy to see more diverse range including more aliens

New Pet Theory

Zoats were the ones who were actually behind the rise of the Tau, the Eldar were simply pawns in the greater Zoat plan!

Given their background, I think Zoats generally work best as something more of an "add-on" type faction than a distinct stand-alone group themselves, something that can be used by a wide array of factions in limited ways. As mercenaries for the Eldar, as members of Inquisitorial or Rogue Trader cadres, Genestealer allies, etc. They really feel most appropriate to RPG portrayals or things like Kill-Team and Blackstone Fortress.

Just give them the neurtal keyword - forget its proper name - like Spindle drones and Ambuls

I am with Anomander on this one too, lets flesh out what we have already, a Sisters of Silence full release would be what I want personally as I like the style of armour they have over sisters of battle.

 Formosa wrote:
I am with Anomander on this one too, lets flesh out what we have already, a Sisters of Silence full release would be what I want personally as I like the style of armour they have over sisters of battle.

Love to see more Sisters of Silence AND Zoats

Do we even know what his rules are yet?