Starting out with the Leagues of Votann in 10th

Is the Leagues of Votann currently a good army to start with for a new 40k player, and how would you go about building a collection from scratch, whether its your 10th army or you're just getting into the hobby? Read on for my thoughts on these things.

Lets deal with new players first. If you've never played 40k before, or at least not with your own army, is the Leagues of Votann a good choice? Specifically at the start of the 10th edition? I actually think so, but I'll go through my reasoning:

Reason 1: The Leagues of Votann has a very limited range. This is good if you're a new player, as there is less to read up on and learn, and less chance you will feel that you bought the "wrong unit" with a changing meta.

Reason 2: As a new faction, all models in the range are new, high-quality plastic kits. You don't have to worry about dealing with resin, bad quality plastic, units going to legends or models being replaced by newer (differently sized) sculpts, etc.

Reason 3: The Leagues of Votann models are pretty easy to build, as long as you can follow instructions. The thunderkyn and particularily the beserks are a noteable exception, though they're not horrible. The models are also very easy to paint, with details being crisp and clear and easy to get to with a paintbrush. Almost every model can be modelled with a closed helmet, so you don't have to paint too many faces if you don't want to.

Reason 4: While they are fully playable, the Leagues of Votann are currently not a very powerful faction. This is a bit of a double-edged sword, but you should remember that when you get into a new game you most likely won't win very much at the start anyway. From my point of view, it's better to start with something that is slightly underpowered and learn how to do your best with that, and then likely get a boost later. (And for social games we are only slightly underpowered, if you play against tournament-minded players and lists as a total beginner you'll lose no matter what you do.) To start with a very strong faction I think would definitely be a mistake, as you'll get used to having that edge and might feel bad when it inevitably gets taken away.

Reason 5: Leagues of Votann can be a fairly elite army, meaning you don't have to build and paint hordes of models before you play your first games. This advantage is smaller than it used to be in 9th, however.

There are of course some negatives that might affect you:

Possible negatives 1: The Leagues of Votann has somewhat limited Lore at present. This may swing both ways for you:  Getting into 40k means reading up on a LOT of lore, and your own faction be managable in this regard can be a good thing. On the other hand, if you like reading and getting into deep lore, the Leagues of Votann won't do for you and you might want to look at other factions.

Possible negatives 2: As the Leagues of Votann haven't been out for very long, and has never been one of the factions in a two-faction box, the amount of models you can buy second hand is likely to be lower than many others. This may make it difficult to build an army for cheap. But on the other hand, people sell their armies all the time, and there currently isn't a huge demand for Votann due to their somewhat lower power-ranking, so you might get lucky.

I'm not entirely sure how the faction is priced compared to other factions. If money is an issue, you might want to look into that as well.

Where to start?

So, if you've decided to get into Leagues of Votann, how should you start? I would start with getting a Combat Patrol box. This has several advantages: It is all you need to play the combat patrol version of the game, which is great if this is your first foray into Warhammer 40000. Beyond that, it gets you some good units: 

• 1 Kahl - A character unit you will always want at least one of in any list
• 3 Hernkyn Pioneers - A great and well rounded unit currently
• 10 Hearthkyn Warriors - You want some basic infantry in your list, so getting these isn't bad.
• 5 Cthonian Beserks - Interresting unit, probably a bit overcosted at present, but you won't hate having them.

When playing normal games of 40k (not the combat patrol mode) this comes out at 465 points.

If you can find them, you can also start with one of the other boxed sets for the Kin, but these are "out of print" and so it might be difficult. Also note that unless you get both the other boxed sets you won't immediately have what you need to play a Combat Patrol game.

Other boxed sets

There have been two other boxed sets for the Leagues of Votann: The original Army Set and the Leagues of Votann Bording Patrol.

The original Army Set is probably sold out everywhere, but if you somehow find it, I would consider picking it up if it's at a good price - probably shouldn't cost much more than a Combat Patrol Box though. It has:

• The original 9th edition Codex. This is currently useless game-wise, but is the only real source of Lore for the faction. I enjoyed reading it, and if you're new it's a good source of diagrams showing what weapons look like what, color schemes and so on. Just ignore all the rules. If you don't get it from this box, see if you find it cheap somewhere.
• Tokens for Judgement Tokens. They come numbered 1, 2, 3 and "dwarf-face", I tend to use 1 and 2 for 10th edition judgement tokens, 3 to denote the Ruthless Efficiency target and the dwarf-face to mark my sticky objectives. If you don't get the tokens from here, you'll want to make your own.
• Datacards. These are worthless now, but they're there.
• 1 Kahl (can be built as Uthar)
• 1 Einhyr Champion
• 3 Hernkyn Pioneers
• 20 Hearthkyn Warriors

For a current total of 540 points.

The Boarding Patrol box is a bit more likely to be found, but not very. It had:

• 1 Einhyr Champion
• 5 Cthonian Beserks
• 5 Einhyr Hearthguard
• 10 Hearthkyn Warriors

Each box is 510 points. The Einhyr Hearthguard is a unit you will want, so if you can find one or two of these boxes, I'd be tempted to get them. Probably don't get a third, as you'll be getting waaaay too many warriors and beserks.

The overlap of beserks and hearthkyn warriors mean you should think very hard before you get more than two in total of any of these boxes, though you can if you want to.

Getting from Combat Patrol to 1000 points

As the other boxes are out of print and likely hard to find, lets assume you just got a single Combat Patrol box. You've painted it up, played a couple of small games, and now you want to move on. 

By the way, if you're a completely new player, I really recommend painting and gaming a bit with that first box before moving on. You will find that having a ton of minis to build and paint becomes quite daunting. It's best to get only a few units at a time. All players develop a "pile of shame" after a while, don't start with one. (Unless you get a really good deal or something.)

Okay, you currently own a combat patrol. To move on, I'd aim at 1000 points, where normal games of warhammer 40000 start getting interresting. To get the most out of your Beserks and Hearthkyn Warriors, you'll want transports for them. You'll also want some more speed and firepower. Luckily, the Leagues of Votann have two units that can fill this purpose: The Sagitaur and the Hekaton Land Fortress. Both are good.

Personally I'd go for two Sagitaurs to start out. One can carry the beserks into battle, the other half of your hearthkyn - splitting that unit into two for more tactical flexibility. But the Sagitaurs are currently sold out online (weirdly enough), so the Land Fortress might be easier to find. It is also a very good choice, slightly cheaper than two Sagitaurs and can carry either the beserks or the Hearthkyn into battle.

If you went with the sagitaurs, you're now at 705 points. At that point I would get another Combat Patrol. You'll get a second Kahl, which is good to have, and another 3-man squad of Hernkyn Pioneers, which is great. I'm not crazy about bringing more beserks and warriors at 1000 points, but you'll want a second squad of each of those eventually, so might as well go for value now. Adding the pioneers and second warrior (OR beserks) Squad to your force, you're at 945 points (or 950 if you got a Land Fortress), the closest you're likely to get to 1000 points for now (you can get closer by swapping the pioneers for infantry, but I don't think it's worth it) - but you have some options both with switching out units and taking enhancements. 

There's a lot of play here, a variety of unit types and you can and should change things around and get several games in at 1000 points (and paint, paint, paint) before buying anything else.

Beyond 1000

Once you've gotten some experience playing, you'll likely have some idea what you enjoy in the list - both for playing or painting - and this should guide how you move onwards towards 2000 points.

I would consider:

• A third unit of 3 Hernkyn Pioneers. I'm a big fan of the speed and utility these units get us, and their firepower and durability is also good. You could get this by getting a third combat patrol box, but be aware that tripling up on Kahl, Beserks or Hearthkyn is probably not anywhere near an optimal choice in the game - at present. If you enjoy painting or playing those units, by all means - but also do this if you're thinking about the long run: Rules and point values in warhammer 40k change all the time, and what's suboptimal today could be all the rage tomorrow.
• A unit of 5 Einhyr Hearthguard. Run with one of your Kahls, this is one of the best units we currently have. You could go for two such units (or a unit of 10) as well, but my policy is always to buy as few models at a time as possible to avoid that pile of shame building up. As always though, if you get a good deal for buying more, it is probably worth it.
• A Hekaton Land Fortress, and/or more Sagitaurs. Personally I'd say get the Land Fortress and see if you want a second Land Fortress or more Sagitaurs after that. Either way you definately want at least one more vehicle in your list by the time you get to 2000 points.
• An Einhyr Champion. I like having one in my lists, and it gives you a cheaper alternative to one of your Kahls if you should want it.
• A unit of Brokhyr Thunderkyn. Unlike some, I don't think these are essential, but they are a good unit for the points. I'd get one unit of these to test out. Don't worry too much about a transport for them, they're very good in strategic reserves.

I think this slow, organic way of building a collection is best. But there are other ways.

Quick 2000

If you don't like the slow and organic way outlined above, or just hate getting Combat Patrol boxes, and want to paint as few models as possible how do you get to 2000 playable points the quickest? Well, look at good things that have high point costs per model. In our case, maybe something like this:

• Kahl
• Kahl
• Einhyr Champion
• 10 Einhyr Hearthguard (led by a Kahl, deepstriking)
• 5 Einhyr Hearthguard (led by a Kahl, in land fortress)
• 5 Einhyr Hearthguard (led by a Champion, in land fortress)
• 1 Land Fortress
• 1 Land Fortress
• 1 Hearthkyn Warriors (split in 2 by Sagitaur)
• 1 Sagitaur
• 5 Hernkyn Pioneers
• 5 Hernkyn Pioneers
• 5 Hernkyn Pioneers

At 1975 points, that allows you one enhancement of your choice for a 2000 point game.

You could get away with even fewer models, but this list still has some play for secondary objectives with the pioneers and a split hearthkyn unit - switching these utility units out for more land fortresses and Hearthguard would let you paint less, but gives you a whole lot less probability of winning games. You're already at the point where you're not very likely to have high judgement token efficiency.