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2023/11/14 18:31:35
Subject: 10th Ed Leagues of Votann - Kyndred Spirits
The idea would be to split out the Warriors, putting half in the Sagitaurs to go do mission objectives, while the other half start on my board side and do the same, advancing towards the midfield as needed. I can also toss a squad into a Fortress. Pioneers do what they do - fast mission play and denial. Kahl and Champ lead the bricks - both of Deep Strike. I know the Volkanite doesn't synergize so hot with the Kahl's ability, so I am debating on going double Plasma. Though I hear so many good things about Volkanite. The 3-man Thunders go into one Fortress, to benefit from the Fire Support rule. The others go into Strat Reserve. Ironmaster can go with the 6-man Thunders, though that does drop their Toughness, but the +1 to-hit and repair could be solidly beneficial.
This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2023/12/15 22:28:08
Good to see a 10th edition thread for this faction, and with a better name than I would have come up with (I would have used either Rock and Stone or Diggy Diggy Hole, how original I know). Goonhammer's Competitive Innovations articles are a great way to find inspiration for lists, as they show off lists that are doing well for a given faction (I post links to those articles frequently in the Dark Angels thread).
As for my contribution, I'll go ahead and rate how good I think our units are in the form of a small tier list, with S being good tournament staples and D being terrible stuff nobody should take (nothing in Votann is that bad currently).
Uthar the Destined: B Tier: As a unit leader, he leaves a lot to be desired, but despite not having Lone Operative he can be surprisingly useful on his own, as he's not trivial to kill and a single model can hide from shooting reasonably well. If he does want to shoot something, his ability to lock in a 6 to wound can guarantee a Dev Wound on something. The reason he's down at B tier is he's a bit pricy for a mission monkey.
Kahl: B Tier: His unit buff is good, as is his ability to throw a Judgment token on something. The issue is, he can't lead anything that particularly wants his buff (it's not super worthwhile on Warriors and it's potentially counter-synergistic on Hearthguard with the volkanite guns, as Lethal Hits don't do dev wounds). Probably worth taking one with an enhancement of some kind, though.
Einhyr Champion: A Tier: He can only lead Hearthguard, but the buff he gives them makes them more reliable at getting into combat. With the Hammer, he hits very hard himself, or give him the axe to make him a blender. He also makes a decent solo beatstick/mission monkey if you give him Wayfarer's Grace.
Grimnyr: C Tier: He only joins Warriors, and only grants them +1 Toughness. T6 Warriors are decently durable, but you really don't care about making Warriors harder to kill. Worse, since the Grimnyr comes with his two robot friends, he can't even accompany 5 warriors in a Sagitaur (or a full 10-man in a Land Fortress either). The main use I've heard of them having is taking them by themselves to fill a Sagitaur in one of the Sagitaur spam lists (since every Sagitaur has to have something in it). Their psychic shooting is decent at least.
Brokhyr Iron-master: A Tier: Some players are sleeping on this little guy and his entourage, but I personally like the idea of attaching him to a unit of Thunderkyn because he not only can heal them if one gets injured, but he brings some ablative wounds for them and gives them a hit bonus if they are shooting something that doesn't have a Judgment token on it yet (or has a modifier that cancels out the +1 from the token). He's not terrible with Warriors either, but they aren't as valuable to give a shooting buff to.
Hearthkyn Warriors: B Tier: Their shooting is somewhat lackluster (basically like a Space Marine Tactical Squad, and you don't see many of those in competitive play), but they are cheap and cheerful. Their special rule (Luck Has, Need Keeps, Toil Earns) lets them sticky objectives, which is super helpful if you have fewer units and means that even if your opponent shoots your warriors off of an objective they still have to get a model over there to take it from you. Perhaps the most useful thing about them is the ability to split them up if you put half of them in a Sagitaur; this works well with their sticky objectives rule for grabbing stuff in the midboard, as well as generating more Judgment Tokens as each 5-man generates one for the unit that kills it.
Einhyr Hearthguard: S Tier: Probably the best unit in the Votann lineup right now. They have very solid shooting that gets absolutely monstrous with the Ancestral Sentence stratagem, and their melee is decent as well, if not as good as other armies' dedicated melee beaters (i.e. Deathwing Knights). Having only 2 wounds is definitely their biggest weakness.
Hernkyn Pioneers: S Tier: These guys provide mobility and better shooting than most expect, and are great for scoring positional secondaries like Engage on all Fronts. Their scout move coupled with their high movement speed lets them get in your opponent's face early in pressure builds, and they are tough enough to withstand most small arms, meaning your opponent will likely have to point real guns at them to remove them.
Cthonian Beserks: C Tier: They are a shadow of their 9th edition selves, but if they attack a target with 2 tokens they can still blend pretty good. They aren't terribly durable, but then they aren't meant to be. The mole launcher isn't as reliable as it could be, but it's nice when it works.
Brokhyr Thunderkyn: A Tier: I don't think I would take any weapon other than grav on these, and with grav they can do good work. Monsters are a bit of a problem for them potentially, but that's what judgment tokens are for.
Sagitaur: S Tier: It's a scout moving transport that also carries a good gun (not the MATR Autocannon though). There's a reason that Sagitaur Spam is becoming a common list archetype for the faction; they are very solid for the points.
Hekaton Land Fortress: A Tier: This is basically a Land Raider, Dwarf style. You can potentially put some scary units inside of one of these, and their firepower should not be underestimated either. Their Fire Support rule is great for Hearthguard or Thunderkyn that might be riding inside. As far as weapons go, I think you pretty much always take the Bolt Cannons, and the SP Heavy Conversion Beamer is probably the best of the main guns. The Heavy Magna-Rail Cannon is a 1-shot weapon (with all the drawbacks of those), and the Cyclic Ion Cannon just doesn't do that much damage (it is pretty good into Marines though).
My armies (re-counted and updated on 11/7/24, including modeled wargear options):
Dark Angels: ~16000 Astra Militarum: ~1200 | Imperial Knights: ~2300 | Leagues of Votann: ~1300 | Tyranids: ~3400 | Stormcast Eternals: ~5000 | Kruleboyz: ~3500 | Lumineth Realm-Lords: ~700
Check out my P&M Blogs: ZergSmasher's P&M Blog | Imperial Knights blog | Board Games blog | Total models painted in 2024: 40 | Total models painted in 2025: 25 | Current main painting project: Tomb Kings
Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote: You need your bumps felt. With a patented, Grotsnik Corp Bump Feelerer 9,000.
The Grotsnik Corp Bump Feelerer 9,000. It only looks like several bricks crudely gaffer taped to a cricket bat.
Grotsnik Corp. Sorry, No Refunds.
2023/11/17 18:27:30
Subject: Re:10th Ed Leagues of Votann - Kyndred Spirits
The Coventry Super-Major (3-Day) 144-player, 8-round Major in England, GB on November 10 2023
There were 3 more players on 7-1 records. They were:
5th – Danny Porter – Leagues of Votann: Lots of Sagitaurs and 20 Hearthguard with two big slabs of Pioneers- I think this may become more popular as Danny has a way of shaping the Votann approach almost singlehanded…
6th – Greg Chamberlain – Leagues of Votann: Lots of Hearthguard, Sagitaurs and a Land Fort. Up the dwarves!!
7th – Ranchen Li – Leagues of Votann: A Votann build that can go all-in on transports and board presence as required, with the Hearthguard running in fives for Land Fort compatibility. Excellent.
Whoa! Three Votann players rolling with solid showings. Hard to ignore the shift from big bricks of Hearthguard to Sagitaur spam. Wonder if we will pay for that come the balance update. Hope not! I am still planning on going with big bricks of Hearthguard anyhow!
Another top showing:
Game Centre Narellan First GT 2nd – William Wykoff – Leagues of Votann (Oathband): Hearthguard, Thunderkyn, and massed Sagitaurs.
Also!
Iron Man 1 day GT 29-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Farsley, England, GB on November 11 2023.
George Elton – Trans-Hyperian Alliance (Oathband) – 1st Place
Leagues of Votann
Strike Force (2000 points)
Oathband
95 – 56 Victory against Joe Senior – Aeldari (Battle Host).
This build is very similar to my own, which is reassuring. Also, look at that win! Over 30 point lead!
Between these solid showings and the rumor engine teaser for more love coming our way for sure, it is a good time to be playing Votann, seems like.
Unrelated to this, Zerg, I absolutely concur with your assessment based on what I have been seeing/reading. Looks like we are in a good position as far as internal balance, with only a couple units in the C tier and nothing obviously bad.
I just got my massive pile of Votann and am building models while getting ready for my first games with the new army. I'm hoping someone here can enlighten me as to the function of certain units, namely the Iron-Master.
He gives a unit +1 to hit when shooting... but the army is overflowing with +1's to hit... As such, when does he provide the most value? I feel like everything with a Judgement is already giving you +1, and with 10th Editions cap to buffs, any further +1 seems ultra situational?
11527pts Total (7400pts painted)
4980pts Total (4980pts painted)
3730 Total (210pts painted)
2023/12/01 01:51:37
Subject: Re:10th Ed Leagues of Votann - Kyndred Spirits
It can counter Stealth, for one thing. Also, sometimes you might want to shoot something that doesn't yet have any Judgment tokens (like stuff that comes out of reserves). And if you attach the Iron-master to some Thunderkyn, not only can he heal them if one gets wounded, but his little retinue can be ablative wounds (I think).
My armies (re-counted and updated on 11/7/24, including modeled wargear options):
Dark Angels: ~16000 Astra Militarum: ~1200 | Imperial Knights: ~2300 | Leagues of Votann: ~1300 | Tyranids: ~3400 | Stormcast Eternals: ~5000 | Kruleboyz: ~3500 | Lumineth Realm-Lords: ~700
Check out my P&M Blogs: ZergSmasher's P&M Blog | Imperial Knights blog | Board Games blog | Total models painted in 2024: 40 | Total models painted in 2025: 25 | Current main painting project: Tomb Kings
Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote: You need your bumps felt. With a patented, Grotsnik Corp Bump Feelerer 9,000.
The Grotsnik Corp Bump Feelerer 9,000. It only looks like several bricks crudely gaffer taped to a cricket bat.
Grotsnik Corp. Sorry, No Refunds.
2023/12/01 02:15:18
Subject: 10th Ed Leagues of Votann - Kyndred Spirits
NewTruthNeomaxim wrote: I just got my massive pile of Votann and am building models while getting ready for my first games with the new army. I'm hoping someone here can enlighten me as to the function of certain units, namely the Iron-Master.
He gives a unit +1 to hit when shooting... but the army is overflowing with +1's to hit... As such, when does he provide the most value? I feel like everything with a Judgement is already giving you +1, and with 10th Editions cap to buffs, any further +1 seems ultra situational?
Basically, he repair your vehicles and Thunderkyn, gives his unit +1 to hit and least but not least, adds 4 extra bodies to soak wounds to his units.
All in all, he's perfect in a unit of (preferably 6) Thunderkyn:
- The +1 to hit may or may not be redundant, but it's still nice to have, especially if you equip the TK with Grav and target a vehicle without tokens (where +1 to hit is welcome, but +1 to wound would be redundant.)
- If there are no Hekatons nearby to repair, he can still repair a wounded TK in his own squad
- Those 4 extra bodies can really mess with your opponents head when targeting the TK; they don't want to shoot stuff that would normally be dangerous to TK (D3+ attacks with decent AP) because you'll just allocate them to the fodder-models, essentially wasting the shots, and if they shoot small-arms fire and manage to penetrate that T6, you can allocate it to the TK and benefit from their 3+ save (+ potential cover) and if the TK is damaged but not killed, guess what - there's a character in the unit that will repair him on your next turn.
5500 pts 6500 pts 7000 pts 9000 pts 13.000 pts
2023/12/01 14:27:41
Subject: 10th Ed Leagues of Votann - Kyndred Spirits
So, broadly speaking, Khals with Hearthguard, Iron-Master with Thunderkyn, an E-Champs (if desired) as solos?
Also, Champ with Volkanite Hearthguard is an option, specifically if they are popping out of a Hekaton (for the re-rolls). The Champ doesn't really help them for shooting, but they do somewhat boost one another via Oathband Bodyguard and Exemplar of the Einhyr.
Khal would pair better with Plasma Hearthguard.
EDIT: Looks like we got top spots in a few tournaments! We're really having a moment right now and boy do I hope GW doesn't notice.
In this same tourney was another player: 3rd – Oliver Johnson – Leagues of Votann (Oathband): Nightmare mechanised Votann with 25 Berserks in Land Forts and Sagitaurs, plus a full Hearthguard brick.
Toys of Mass Destruction Hertfordshire Winter GT Lowest of Men (from Goonhammer)
Spoiler:
++ Army Roster (Xenos – Leagues of Votann) [2,000pts] ++
+ Configuration +
Battle Size: 2. Strike Force (2000 Point limit)
Detachment Choice: Oathband
Show/Hide Options: Legends are visible, Unaligned Forces are visible, Unaligned Fortifications are visible
+ Character +
Einhyr Champion [75pts]: A Long List, Mass hammer, Warlord, Weavefield crest
Einhyr Champion [80pts]: Grim Demeanour, Mass hammer, Weavefield crest
Well, we knew we wouldn't get away unscathed, but they came for us pretty hard on the new MFM. Thunderkyn, Hearthguard, and Sagitaurs all up in points, which feels a bit unnecessary. Sagitaurs absolutely, it was a larger hike than even I expected. Overall, this made my 2k list go up to 2095 - and I was already not running but two Sagitaurs.
Seems like we probably didn't need to get hit that hard, but maybe with rumors swirling about more models in the future, that'll offset it because right now we just don't have the diversity of units to take hits without it fundamentally shifting entire lists.
~16000 Astra Militarum: 
~1200 | Imperial Knights: 
~2300 | Leagues of Votann: 
~1300 | Tyranids: 
~3400 | Stormcast Eternals: 
~5000 | Kruleboyz: 
~3500 | Lumineth Realm-Lords: 
~700
11527pts Total (7400pts painted)
3730 Total (210pts painted) 
5500 pts 
6500 pts 
9000 pts 
13.000 pts