Jump to content

How might Squats return to the setting?


Skaorn

Recommended Posts

With GenCon behind us an several confirmed rumors on that deleted rumors list confirmed, I thought it might be fun to discus one of the more far out claims from that list (sorry, don't have the quote): the Squats are coming back.  We have nothing beyond that so we don't know if they'll be returning as a full army, a unit for AM, or a Kill Team.  What would you like to see?  How would you like them to play? Do you think this rumor still deserves a lot of salt?

 

I personally hope that Squat is shorthand for Demiurge.  A while ago it seemed like if GW was going to return to space dwarves, it would be as something new and the Demiurge were the likely prospect (sorry, don't have the quote).  This was before Squats showed up in Necromunda though.  Still I'd like another non-imperial army and would like the T'au auxiliaries to get some love.

Edited by Brother Tyler
Added the "Leagues of Votann" tag
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say they'll pop them into a box with something else for a minor system (Kill Team, Necromunda, etc.) or a new board game, and then decide whether or not to expand based on sales (like Genestealer Cults).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's a fair point. That said, anything after January 2022 was generally quite vague (with the exception of T'au and CSM) so it could still be that it's a small(-ish) release to test the waters (unless they're using data from the last survey and it shows that there is great interest in Squats/Deimurg).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought I heard it would be squats with men of iron. That has the potential to be interesting. I think GW has enough talented sculptors and designers to pull off interesting 'space dwarves' that will amount to being more than midget biker gangers.

 

I'd be cautiously optimistic to the idea. While I still, on the whole, prefer truly alien additions when it comes to factions, it's completely undeniable that 40k's roots is warhammer fantasy in space, and we have space orcs, space elves and space undead. Space dwarves have a place, especially if they do something interesting and uniuqe with them

Link to comment
Share on other sites

FWIW, over at War of Sigmar, Bob has mentioned a Thudd Gun for the Squats as well..

 

bob Mod  Stormfire • a month ago • edited

Squat could be limited to KT like a squat mercenary team...But a very very trusted source talked about a thud gun so ...

Edited by Old-Four-Arms
Link to comment
Share on other sites

‘men of iron’ you say? Wasn’t there a rumour engine image which looked sort of like squats but also mechanical leg. I know we like to joke “squats” at every rumour engine, but this could be the double bluff.

 

They may bring back the train (so big it stretches across the whole table) but surely squats will have left the Imperium after their betrayal? At best uneasy allies and in some semi-detached status? More interesting for the storyline and setting than just more Imperium?

Edited by LameBeard
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok Thudd Guns would make me think slightly more of a range...so at worst definitely Guard units like Ogryns

 

Looking at their Epic units a fair few seem like they would too big such as artillery or Colussus or Cyclops or Blimps. Maybe land train at a push

 

Other than thay their units are?

3 Infantry types, bikers, trikes, gyrocopters, thudd guns, mole mortars

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it would be interesting to have the squats return as a bitter enemy of the imperium. They felt abandoned and sacrificed when the imperium didn’t save them from having most of their race eaten by the Nids. In the time since they’ve been rebuilding and researching forbidden tech and have either found a way to create men of iron or have allied with a hidden faction of them.

 

They return, not as an imperium faction but a completely separate faction.

 

If it’s just going to be imperial dwarves in space then I’d rather they stay squatted to be honest. When they said they got rid of them in the first place because no one was particularly excited about writing them or could think of an interesting angle for them I really felt that was a good call.

Edited by MARK0SIAN
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kill Team seems absolutely perfect for testing the waters on the viability of ranges. I think it's no coincidence that Kroot have turned up as a separate faction in Kill Team; and they're another perennial 'always the bridesmaid, never the bride' faction. Couple that with the engineering for the Kill Team sprues we've seen so far, and I think there's a good sales model. 

 

The boxes are very versatile – the Death Korps are able to be built as a standard Infantry squad for 40k as well as the more specialist veterans; and likewise the Kommando sprues will serve double-duty in 40k. From GW's point of view, Kill Team coupled with the new WD and Warhammer apps allow them to make releases for one product (Kill Team) and get a second bite at the cherry by filling gaps in the faction.

 

Consider the kroot, for example: a release for Kill Team allows GW to tick off a number of very old SKU for 40k (Kroot, kroothounds and krootox) while adding more options (different weaponry/equipment/upgrades), too. A bit of clever planning puts the Krootox on the smaller 'half-sprue', allowing both it and the kroot warriors to later be reboxed for an 'official' 40k release.

 

The same would apply for squats. Quick low-risk one-shot that lets them see the reaction. If they flop, no 40k release, or fold them into Guard. If they're a big success, you need only release a couple of characters and a bigger kit (e.g. vehicle, thudd gun etc.) or two to make a mini faction like Custodes or Genestealer cult started out as. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I personally hope that Squat is shorthand for Demiurge. A while ago it seemed like if GW was going to return to space dwarves, it would be as something new and the Demiurge were the likely prospect (sorry, don't have the quote). This was before Squats showed up in Necromunda though. Still I'd like another non-imperial army and would like the T'au auxiliaries to get some love.

I'm in the "demiurg ARE squats" camp myself. Really love the idea of the Squats teaming up with the Tau because the Imperium didn't help out with whatever wiped them out, especially after ADB dropped a little reference to it being his headcanon in an AMA a couple years back.

Edited by Jings
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I personally hope that Squat is shorthand for Demiurge. A while ago it seemed like if GW was going to return to space dwarves, it would be as something new and the Demiurge were the likely prospect (sorry, don't have the quote). This was before Squats showed up in Necromunda though. Still I'd like another non-imperial army and would like the T'au auxiliaries to get some love.

I'm in the "demiurg ARE squats" camp myself. Really love the idea of the Squats teaming up with the Tau because the Imperium didn't help out with whatever wiped them out, especially after ADB dropped a little reference to it being his headcanon in an AMA a couple years back.

If they do bring them back then they are definitely not going to allow them to be called squats, they’ll need some copyrightable mouthful name so Demiurg would fit the bill nicely.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The problem is that from a sales perspective, Imperial armies are pretty much all decent sellers at worst. Compare that to Xenos armies who have the potential be flops - Harlequins and GSC don't exactly fly off the shelves. I could very easily see a marketing guy telling the design team to lean into Imperial-Squats over Xenos-Demiurg just because they'll obviously sell a lot better.

 

Since 8th GW have been 'compartmentalising' everything down Imperial/Chaos/Xenos lines as well. I don't see them suddenly having an Abhuman outlier. I think at best, it'll be stated that the WhateverTheTrademarkedSquatNameIs sometimes clash with Imperial forces, but that the chaos unleashed by the Great Rift has forced them to be absorbed/become closer to the Imperium. At worst, they'll just soft-retcon Squat planets as having been part of the Imperium since the Great Crusade and that any outliers/separatists are swiftly crushed.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'd much prefer non-Imperial and/or Demiurg to yet another Imperial army, but I wouldn't hold my breath after some of the Squat-like Rumour Engines.

Edited by Lord Marshal
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.