GW back in the 90's: "We've got to get some of this weird stuff out..." GW today: "Squats are back. Robots are back. Butlerian Jihad is back. Screw it, aprons for everybody!"
I’m intrigued by the “we don’t treat out AI kin like slaves & they haven’t risen up against us” vibe for the LoV. Definite Men of Iron echoes in their mechanical buddies & the one pictured wearing an apron with tool pouches is a fun touch - “They don’t want to scuff their paint while they’re working.” I’m surprised you didn’t mention the Land Fortress that came out of some recent leaks.
@@Retrosicotte There's no model currently, but there was mention of I a unit called I _believe_ the Hekaton fortress or something like that in the leaked Leagues of Votann data cards.
It's also interesting since in lore (pure) humans didn't create the Man of iron but the man of stone did who nearly all died in the war. So could that mean that the votann are these man of stone? They definaly have a lot of AI tech
The Tau name for Demiurge is actually Bentu'sin, as a refernce to the Bentusi from Homeworld, due to GW working with relic back then. The Demiurge giving the tau ion weapon tech is also a reference to the Bentusi giving hero faction ion weapons.
this is where the legion of the damned disappear to: this guy's spray/decal shop, along with a million flea market t-shirt vendors and that guy from da share z0ne
I hope that the Demiurg can stay (and get some models) as a sub-faction of both the Tau and the Votann, similar to the Eldar Harlequins, or maybe?? the Tau Farsight Enclaves (even as someone else commented, an upgrade sprue would be fun)
I don’t think they’re meant to be truly distinct. In Necromunda, they’re called “Squats” and GW has indicated that’s a local human/Imperial slang term for them. I’m guessing “demiurg” is simply the Tau term for them, rather than marking out a distinct subfaction.
If it was me, the Demiurg would wind up being a spinoff splinter faction that has a grudge with the Imperium or at the least for a time felt the Imperium needed a counter-balance.
Have to say Ian I have been watching your videos for ages now but I love your look at the old lore for squats and 30K more than most. Oh and your necromunda stuff. So basically what I’m trying to say is keep it up. Amazing work!
A lot of the lore for Votann reminds me heavily of the Culture books by Iain M. Banks (as some others have already mentioned) and I am very here for it. Everyone who loves sci-fi owes it to themselves to read those books. The titular Culture is almost a direct opposite to the Imperium: run by super-intelligent sentient AIs, xeno-friendly, highly advanced, post-scarcity, peaceful anarchists who live in enormous constructed Orbital habitats and spend all their time doing pretty much whatever they please... unless another civ tries to fuck with them, at which point everyone gets to find out that they aren't just space hippies, they're space hippies with extremely powerful weapons. Great stuff.
Another element to the Demiurg connection is that from some lore tidbits, T'au received the Ion weaponry specifically *from* the Demiurg. Meaning either there's a three-way trade, or Demiurg are definitely "just" Votannians. Or a subgroup of them. The Demiurg were also mentioned as trading with Squats around Necromunda, supposedly...
Robots that are actually smart is everything ive ever wanted from a 40K faction, I was drawn to the tau and admech because of their robots but finding out they were dumb as bricks auxiliary units always saddened me
Honestly as someone who got into tau when they first came out, and only came back to warhammer much later, i'm really kind of sad about what happened to tau. Almost everything they've gotten since has been battlesuits, battlesuits, and more battlesuits. They got vespids at one point, but honestly they're such a random addition and look like pre-2000 sculpts somehow. Kroot have technically lost units over time. The 'alien federation' flavour of the tau has been completely squandered in favor of more mecha. I like mecha, don't get me wrong, but other aliens and the taus stated acceptance of AI was also a big part of the faction's lore.
I miss the old Rogue Trader robot rules, where you had to set up the robot programming before the start of the game. You didn't play robots so much as have them wander around doing unexpected things.
Great video (as usual)! A couple of notes from myself: -It's pretty clear Squats, Leagues of Votann and Demiurgs are meant to be the same abhuman race that diverged through time and possibly political lines and it's a really neat concept that ties things together in an unusually concise way. Well done GW. -The vibe I get from the LoV is that they and AdMech are going to be bitter enemies. As a matter of fact we have already seen something of this rivalry, in Psychic awakening one AdMech vessel travelling near the galaxy's core was attacked and destroyed by another ship belonging to the "squats". I think the Leagues are perfectly aware of what would happen if the AdMech would discover they have functioning STCs and live with AIs, so when they try to make sure Mechanicum interlopers never get near that dangerous knowledge (or live to tell the tale...)
I am not all that interested in the Leagues of Votann, but your excitement and your deep dives into the far reaches of early GW are pretty cool to watch.
I find it funny that Ian likens the Ironkin to the T'au's drones or Star Wars' droids - what an artificial being designed to be helpful-, that's considered an equal member of society (which definitely does not apply to drones or droids)-, and that has a (possible) distinction between mind and body- makes me think of are the Drones and Minds of Iain M. Banks' Culture…
Yes! I was about to say exactly this. A society where organic and AI are equal citizens, run by massive, hyper-intelligent AIs with idiosyncratic personalities? Totally taking design cues from The Culture. Now we just need to see if their ship names suffer from a lack of gravitas... (although Culture drones are less "designed to be helpful" and more "will deign to help you out but only if they get to sarcastically roast you about how ineffectual humans are the whole time")
I'd recommend _Use of Weapons_ as a good entry point into the Culture - it's a taste of more-or-less everything that appears in Banks' other books: philosophy, action, hope, horror… and one of the protagonists is an alien to the Culture, so it explains a lot of the Culture's -culture- _society_ , for the benefit of that character, and thereby the reader
If the Demiurg are a space faring subset of the Votann, perhaps explorers/traders, perhaps renegades, perhaps survivors of worlds consumed by the Tyranids, then maybe the rocky skin is an adaptation to protect them from radiation? That would be useful if they spend a lot of time in space.
Thinking about how they operate - small numbers of ships roaming the galaxy, making contact with non-hostile aliens, strip-mining asteroids and so on - I could imagine the Demiurge as being a Votann analogue to Rogue Traders.
I always hoped for the Demiurg. I really liked the idea of basically rock dwarf xenos that felt more in line with the style of 40k especially of the time (2010) of trying to be all in on grim dark and cut out the goofy or overly fantasy connections and trying to make races not just fantasy-thing in space. It also was different enough from the squat derivatives or throw backs that started popping up at the time like Mantic forge fathers. If we get some alternate heads with ridges and rocky features, I'll be all in.
Why no one talks about the markings on the shoulder guards of all the Votann models we've been shown so far? It clearly says "TAU" while being spelled in the viking runes.
Judging by a leak that's more like a abbreviation of one of the subfactions the army will have (leak spoilers bellow) The Great Thurian League, so it's actually more like a shortening of Thurian more then Tau.
On the Demiurg-Squat topic. Battlefleet Gothic stated that the Tau got their Ion tech from the Demiurg. New lore states that Tau got their Ion technology from the leagues. Thats for me atleast confirming that they're one and the same.
Yes, I have heard that the Kin consider the Squats as "kin", or their family. So, it looks like they were colonies from the same humans who evolved into the Squats/Kin.
The Duardin in AoS has their Vulkite Berzerkers, the Imperium has their volkite weaponry and now the space dwarves has their volkanite technology that is supposed to be something compleeetely different from what the Imperium has. And don't get me started on the ten or so units that has been named reaver/reiver over the years. A lot of times I wish GW would run their naming ideas one extra time with the creative team. Has this name or a similar one been used before? Have we really found the best name for this unit or weapon? /rant
Love all your videos Ian. Can't wait for the next episodes for the Heresy Legions. I think you are comparing the Ironkin to Kastelan Robots rather than the Kataphron?
I've been thinking about some of the details that have been released about the Votann and the Squats and an idea occurred to me. We know that the League of Votann are the main body of the faction and we know that the Squats are those who left the League to live in Imperial society. What if the Demiurg are those who left the League to live in a xenos society? What if their situation was untenable, perhaps Orks or Tyranids or even the Imperium itself? They joined the Tau for protection and to help develop the Tau's AI? And if that's the case, it also potentially opens up the return of Chaos Squats, perhaps one of their ships or worlds was caught when the Eye of Terror opened or the Great Rift formed. It might be interesting to see Ironkin/Daemon fusions.
I'd say it's close to confirmed that Ironkin of the Leagues of Votann are indeed Men of Iron. Considering the common history of the Imperium of Man and the Leagues of Votann it really makes totally sense. (Just look at the model of UR-25 and compare it to the Ironkin on the picture on WarCom). The Leagues of Votann were most likely some of the first humans departing from earth into the deeper space during the DAoT with aid of the Men of Iron. It seems that they somehow managed to get the AI under control (how they did it will most likely be revealed in the future) and settled in far away fringes of the galaxy (most likely on heavy gravitational asteriods, considering the body shape). Due to the cut-off from the Imperium they had to get along by themselves and also advance their technology by themselves and, which is importantly, without any influence of the mechanicum. This would be a great in-universe reason to have them such advanced technology. I assume the Votann's themselves are also some kind of (further developed / improved) Archaeotech / STC - either improved by themselves due to their far developed AI or maybe some early iteration of Techpriest(s) traveled with the Men of Iron and further developed them, not being restricted by the mechanicum. One thing I'm worried about is what I call the balance of technology and power of races. We already have races which should be / are far more technologically advanced than the Imperium of Men (especially Necrons coming to my mind, also Eldar) - but we really often don't see those fractions / races perfoming as they should. (by that I mean actually winning fights against the IoM due to technology or maybe even mayor conflicts). I really hope there will be at least one conflict in the lore, where I really feel the more advanced stuff other races have and the Imperium of Men getting a bit hit due to that - even if that means LoV vs. IoM.
Regarding squats and the Tau, I'm gonna share this excerpt from one of the 40k RPG systems. HIGHLOCK FREEMEN Even among the Gue’vesa, there are elite formations of men, skilled human warriors dedicated to the service of the Tau. Once such regiment is the Highlock Freemen-hardy men and women from the world Highlock IV, another abandoned Imperial colony resting on the edge of the Stygian Break which joined the Tau when their empire expanded into the Reach. Coming from a high gravity world of ice and snow, the Freemen are short and stocky, covered in hair and incredibly tough. Sounds a lot like squats to me.
Although I fell in love with Squats from reading the 2e Codex Imperialis, I was really happy with the Demiurg as a potential reimagining. I think additional xenos are cooler than abhumans, it's the outlook and character of squats that I love. I have a bunch of mantic steel warriors that I plan on building with closed helmets to use as Demiurg. I imagine them as coming from high gravity worlds with super high atmospheric pressure. The suits are what they wear on lower pressure worlds, like void suits for humans. Inside I imagine something a bit like a blobfish with chin tendrils. But I know the abhuman squats are more popular so I am happy for people to have them.
Maybe the Demiurg came into contract with the Votann first and had their colture heavily influenced by them (thuss explaining the many similarities in their technology and terminology) and later on they also made contract with the Tau and some of them joined the Empire and also shared Votann technology with them. I also love how everyone was always saying that it was a matter of time before the Tau drones revolted just like the Men of Iron once they got smarter. Meanwhile the Votann have even more advanced A.I. and had them before the Imperium was a thing and they are doing just fine. It's as if it's not the A.I. itself that's the problem but humanity/imperium being A holes to everyone that's not human and then playing the victim card when they fight back
Hey dude, maybe that's just a skull cap or hat or plate to cover augmetic brain surgeries. Geez, maybe the whole thing is a helmet with fake ears and nose plate/goggles. It's a line drawing, hard to tell. Maybe we all just assumed that's some space dwarfs skin. Maybe it's another robot that got a sick custom dwarf head paint job from that painter bot dude.
I wonder if the LoV range will give you the opportunity to create a "definately not men of iron" army? I'm more interested in a sentient AI killer robot army akin to the Skynet from terminator haha!
My guess is that the main difference between these guys and the T'au/AdMech is that it's implied that they will have robot characters. Mechanically it might not be a major thing, besides maybe having a relatively hefty HQ unit as an option to lead your army, but lore-wise they'll be the only faction in which organic and AI units of equivalent intelligence will be shown fighting side by side on the battlefield, which calls into question the belief that making use of AI technology would inevitably lead to a repeat of the age of strife.
I like the theory that there's a link between the demiurg and the Voltan squats. But unfortunately, in Battlefleet Gothic: Armada, a game from 2016, you can play with demiurg ships if you get the Tau dlc and in it, they call themselves the demiurg navy. You can also hear that line in the Tau trailer. So unless the Voltan deliberately call themselves the "demiurg" to please their Tau employees, it's more likely the Voltan and the Demiurg are two different races with one that is part of the human species and the other a xeno race. They just are both short and stout miners with shares similarities like... iono... how the gnoblars and the goblins look kinda similar and share similar roles with their taller masters if you squint a bit but in the end are two different species.
@@trevorsmith9985 and like i said, they are calling *themselves* the demiurg in that game. Seems silly they would do that if they were squats all along
not sure I'm sold on the new squat robot. I think it because I feel the "head" is too pointed and small. I think it would have been better if the head was slightly bigger, but rounder not pointed, with some type of optic intended in it or at the varry least a difrent paint job.
2 роки тому+3
Every VBlog/Cast needs a catchy way to end. Maybe you could say something like "See you shortly"?
If Demiurg is the Tau name for them, why do the ALpha Legion speak of the Demiurg in "The Serpent Beneath"? Those absolutely awful acronyms remind me of Marvel comics. Or Donald Duck comics.
Not sure I really like the idea of advanced AI in warhammer. I mean the ancestor-core thingies were one thing, but having robots that are advanced enough that they are essentially seen as people? One of the things that makes warhammer unique is the whole "don't screw around with AI" angle. Tau AI is dumb, and when humans make AI it's either dumb (and based on human parts, which is so grimdark that it wanders into grimderp territory) OR it's smart AI and it goes bonkers. If this is yet another "oh, you can do it, the Imperium are just backwards a-holes let's laugh at them haha" that would be pretty tiresome. Is there really not enough ammunition in the "laugh at the Imperium for being backwards" gun already?
But that's always been there theme, being technologically regressed because they're religiously fanatic xenophobes is the defined theme of the Imperium since the rogue trader days.
@@ArbitorIan I feel GW did a much better job rebooting Genestealer cults. Too much about the lore & not enough about the miniatures for me. They'll be teaching 40k lore in universities at this rate.
I think Squats are the regular reproduction children of the coned ones. Maybe from crashed ships or lost colonys. Like they are the shorter lived less perfect unengineered race. And a living ancestor is like the last clones left in a Colony.
Honestly the most exciting thing about each LoV reveal is looking forward to Arbiter Ian talking about it
True!
Also, I'll keep your secret.
True
he is not arbitor ian, hes squatcaster
This!
GW back in the 90's: "We've got to get some of this weird stuff out..."
GW today: "Squats are back. Robots are back. Butlerian Jihad is back. Screw it, aprons for everybody!"
I’m intrigued by the “we don’t treat out AI kin like slaves & they haven’t risen up against us” vibe for the LoV.
Definite Men of Iron echoes in their mechanical buddies & the one pictured wearing an apron with tool pouches is a fun touch - “They don’t want to scuff their paint while they’re working.”
I’m surprised you didn’t mention the Land Fortress that came out of some recent leaks.
The. What. Dude, clue me in here.
@@Retrosicotte the land trains return
@@Retrosicotte
There's no model currently, but there was mention of I a unit called I _believe_ the Hekaton fortress or something like that in the leaked Leagues of Votann data cards.
It's also interesting since in lore (pure) humans didn't create the Man of iron but the man of stone did who nearly all died in the war. So could that mean that the votann are these man of stone? They definaly have a lot of AI tech
The Tau name for Demiurge is actually Bentu'sin, as a refernce to the Bentusi from Homeworld, due to GW working with relic back then. The Demiurge giving the tau ion weapon tech is also a reference to the Bentusi giving hero faction ion weapons.
To me I think the phrasing suggests COGs are less intelligent, more like automatons than AI
Yeah, it literally says "less complex COG robots"
Oh so he's the one who's been spray painting flames on literally every army? That explains everything.
this is where the legion of the damned disappear to: this guy's spray/decal shop, along with a million flea market t-shirt vendors and that guy from da share z0ne
I hope that the Demiurg can stay (and get some models) as a sub-faction of both the Tau and the Votann, similar to the Eldar Harlequins, or maybe?? the Tau Farsight Enclaves (even as someone else commented, an upgrade sprue would be fun)
I don’t think they’re meant to be truly distinct. In Necromunda, they’re called “Squats” and GW has indicated that’s a local human/Imperial slang term for them. I’m guessing “demiurg” is simply the Tau term for them, rather than marking out a distinct subfaction.
I would rate the likelihood of that happening to be very low.
@@MasterShake9000makes sense.
If it was me, the Demiurg would wind up being a spinoff splinter faction that has a grudge with the Imperium or at the least for a time felt the Imperium needed a counter-balance.
Have to say Ian I have been watching your videos for ages now but I love your look at the old lore for squats and 30K more than most. Oh and your necromunda stuff. So basically what I’m trying to say is keep it up. Amazing work!
A lot of the lore for Votann reminds me heavily of the Culture books by Iain M. Banks (as some others have already mentioned) and I am very here for it. Everyone who loves sci-fi owes it to themselves to read those books. The titular Culture is almost a direct opposite to the Imperium: run by super-intelligent sentient AIs, xeno-friendly, highly advanced, post-scarcity, peaceful anarchists who live in enormous constructed Orbital habitats and spend all their time doing pretty much whatever they please... unless another civ tries to fuck with them, at which point everyone gets to find out that they aren't just space hippies, they're space hippies with extremely powerful weapons. Great stuff.
Another element to the Demiurg connection is that from some lore tidbits, T'au received the Ion weaponry specifically *from* the Demiurg.
Meaning either there's a three-way trade, or Demiurg are definitely "just" Votannians. Or a subgroup of them.
The Demiurg were also mentioned as trading with Squats around Necromunda, supposedly...
Robots that are actually smart is everything ive ever wanted from a 40K faction, I was drawn to the tau and admech because of their robots but finding out they were dumb as bricks auxiliary units always saddened me
Honestly as someone who got into tau when they first came out, and only came back to warhammer much later, i'm really kind of sad about what happened to tau. Almost everything they've gotten since has been battlesuits, battlesuits, and more battlesuits. They got vespids at one point, but honestly they're such a random addition and look like pre-2000 sculpts somehow. Kroot have technically lost units over time. The 'alien federation' flavour of the tau has been completely squandered in favor of more mecha.
I like mecha, don't get me wrong, but other aliens and the taus stated acceptance of AI was also a big part of the faction's lore.
T'au are currently being led by an AI and there are plenty of intelligent AI in the tau empire.
UR-025 meeting the Ironkin and going: Guys! We're the f*** have you been?!
glad i'm not alone in looking at the ironkin's gun and straight away thinking "airbrush"
I miss the old Rogue Trader robot rules, where you had to set up the robot programming before the start of the game. You didn't play robots so much as have them wander around doing unexpected things.
Maybe the Votan are the reason why the T'au evolved so freakishly fast.
The Ironkin also look a lot like the Man of Iron from Blackstone Fortress!
Nothing to see here...
Eh? That's a coincidence for sure... :P
They been around since prehistory?
And no one remembers where they came from?
Men of Iron been here the whole time
Great video (as usual)! A couple of notes from myself:
-It's pretty clear Squats, Leagues of Votann and Demiurgs are meant to be the same abhuman race that diverged through time and possibly political lines and it's a really neat concept that ties things together in an unusually concise way. Well done GW.
-The vibe I get from the LoV is that they and AdMech are going to be bitter enemies. As a matter of fact we have already seen something of this rivalry, in Psychic awakening one AdMech vessel travelling near the galaxy's core was attacked and destroyed by another ship belonging to the "squats". I think the Leagues are perfectly aware of what would happen if the AdMech would discover they have functioning STCs and live with AIs, so when they try to make sure Mechanicum interlopers never get near that dangerous knowledge (or live to tell the tale...)
This squatcast is great. I appreciate the summary of what is releasing and lore connections. Nice video. Keep up the good work.
Yes! The Squatcast! I am so hype for the LoV. They will be my first 40k army!
I am not all that interested in the Leagues of Votann, but your excitement and your deep dives into the far reaches of early GW are pretty cool to watch.
I find it funny that Ian likens the Ironkin to the T'au's drones or Star Wars' droids - what an artificial being designed to be helpful-, that's considered an equal member of society (which definitely does not apply to drones or droids)-, and that has a (possible) distinction between mind and body- makes me think of are the Drones and Minds of Iain M. Banks' Culture…
Yes! I was about to say exactly this. A society where organic and AI are equal citizens, run by massive, hyper-intelligent AIs with idiosyncratic personalities? Totally taking design cues from The Culture. Now we just need to see if their ship names suffer from a lack of gravitas...
(although Culture drones are less "designed to be helpful" and more "will deign to help you out but only if they get to sarcastically roast you about how ineffectual humans are the whole time")
Is the Culture a good series?
One of my favourites!
I'd recommend _Use of Weapons_ as a good entry point into the Culture - it's a taste of more-or-less everything that appears in Banks' other books: philosophy, action, hope, horror… and one of the protagonists is an alien to the Culture, so it explains a lot of the Culture's -culture- _society_ , for the benefit of that character, and thereby the reader
And then, after this, we can get models for the Niscassar.
As others have said, the Votann are giving some great Ian Banks Culture vibes, which I am all on board for.
I freaking love the robot! It's work apron is the best!
If the Demiurg are a space faring subset of the Votann, perhaps explorers/traders, perhaps renegades, perhaps survivors of worlds consumed by the Tyranids, then maybe the rocky skin is an adaptation to protect them from radiation? That would be useful if they spend a lot of time in space.
The Iron Kin are obviously the Men of Iron but from the perspective of the Kin.
I love this new lore honestly. It's just what we needed to counterbalance the imperium
Thinking about how they operate - small numbers of ships roaming the galaxy, making contact with non-hostile aliens, strip-mining asteroids and so on - I could imagine the Demiurge as being a Votann analogue to Rogue Traders.
Oh crap! I painted those RT robots you showed!
They looks great!!
@@ArbitorIan thanks! That's the only time I've painted models for someone else and almost refused to hand them over 😂
I always hoped for the Demiurg. I really liked the idea of basically rock dwarf xenos that felt more in line with the style of 40k especially of the time (2010) of trying to be all in on grim dark and cut out the goofy or overly fantasy connections and trying to make races not just fantasy-thing in space. It also was different enough from the squat derivatives or throw backs that started popping up at the time like Mantic forge fathers.
If we get some alternate heads with ridges and rocky features, I'll be all in.
Why no one talks about the markings on the shoulder guards of all the Votann models we've been shown so far? It clearly says "TAU" while being spelled in the viking runes.
Judging by a leak that's more like a abbreviation of one of the subfactions the army will have (leak spoilers bellow)
The Great Thurian League, so it's actually more like a shortening of Thurian more then Tau.
@@Awoken_Remmuz Really??? I haven't seen this information.
I'd really love a variation of The Book of Grudges to make it's way into 40k from AOS.
Oh look at the Tau-like circular detail on the Iron Blaster image on that article.
Floaty droids... Sure Tau, but also the Imperium. Cherubs.
On the Demiurg-Squat topic. Battlefleet Gothic stated that the Tau got their Ion tech from the Demiurg. New lore states that Tau got their Ion technology from the leagues. Thats for me atleast confirming that they're one and the same.
Yes, I have heard that the Kin consider the Squats as "kin", or their family. So, it looks like they were colonies from the same humans who evolved into the Squats/Kin.
"As intelligent as a puppy with a gun" - Arbitor Ian, 2022
The only thing I'm upset about is that Ian doesn't have MORE deep lore to explore >:( I WANT MORE
The Duardin in AoS has their Vulkite Berzerkers, the Imperium has their volkite weaponry and now the space dwarves has their volkanite technology that is supposed to be something compleeetely different from what the Imperium has. And don't get me started on the ten or so units that has been named reaver/reiver over the years. A lot of times I wish GW would run their naming ideas one extra time with the creative team. Has this name or a similar one been used before? Have we really found the best name for this unit or weapon? /rant
It would be really interesting to have the Demiurge as a third culture alongside Kin and Imperial Squats.
Love all your videos Ian. Can't wait for the next episodes for the Heresy Legions. I think you are comparing the Ironkin to Kastelan Robots rather than the Kataphron?
You're absolutely right. I wrote the wrong thing in the notes and then said it with my face!!
I've been thinking about some of the details that have been released about the Votann and the Squats and an idea occurred to me.
We know that the League of Votann are the main body of the faction and we know that the Squats are those who left the League to live in Imperial society. What if the Demiurg are those who left the League to live in a xenos society? What if their situation was untenable, perhaps Orks or Tyranids or even the Imperium itself? They joined the Tau for protection and to help develop the Tau's AI?
And if that's the case, it also potentially opens up the return of Chaos Squats, perhaps one of their ships or worlds was caught when the Eye of Terror opened or the Great Rift formed. It might be interesting to see Ironkin/Daemon fusions.
I'd say it's close to confirmed that Ironkin of the Leagues of Votann are indeed Men of Iron. Considering the common history of the Imperium of Man and the Leagues of Votann it really makes totally sense. (Just look at the model of UR-25 and compare it to the Ironkin on the picture on WarCom).
The Leagues of Votann were most likely some of the first humans departing from earth into the deeper space during the DAoT with aid of the Men of Iron. It seems that they somehow managed to get the AI under control (how they did it will most likely be revealed in the future) and settled in far away fringes of the galaxy (most likely on heavy gravitational asteriods, considering the body shape). Due to the cut-off from the Imperium they had to get along by themselves and also advance their technology by themselves and, which is importantly, without any influence of the mechanicum. This would be a great in-universe reason to have them such advanced technology. I assume the Votann's themselves are also some kind of (further developed / improved) Archaeotech / STC - either improved by themselves due to their far developed AI or maybe some early iteration of Techpriest(s) traveled with the Men of Iron and further developed them, not being restricted by the mechanicum.
One thing I'm worried about is what I call the balance of technology and power of races. We already have races which should be / are far more technologically advanced than the Imperium of Men (especially Necrons coming to my mind, also Eldar) - but we really often don't see those fractions / races perfoming as they should. (by that I mean actually winning fights against the IoM due to technology or maybe even mayor conflicts).
I really hope there will be at least one conflict in the lore, where I really feel the more advanced stuff other races have and the Imperium of Men getting a bit hit due to that - even if that means LoV vs. IoM.
Maybe that Demiurg head is an "iron-head"?
Finally more squantent!
Absolutely Luvin the new LoV line so far 🍻 100% my next army.
Regarding squats and the Tau, I'm gonna share this excerpt from one of the 40k RPG systems.
HIGHLOCK FREEMEN
Even among the Gue’vesa, there are elite formations of men, skilled human warriors dedicated to the service of the Tau. Once such regiment is the Highlock Freemen-hardy men and women from the world Highlock IV, another abandoned Imperial colony resting on the edge of the Stygian Break which joined the Tau when their empire expanded into the Reach. Coming from a high gravity world of ice and snow, the Freemen are short and stocky, covered in hair and incredibly tough.
Sounds a lot like squats to me.
I'm not building a full army, but 8m definitely picking some of these up to paint.
In the communication profession we call those dodgy acronyms "backronyms", and I have a real love-hate relationship with them.
Although I fell in love with Squats from reading the 2e Codex Imperialis, I was really happy with the Demiurg as a potential reimagining. I think additional xenos are cooler than abhumans, it's the outlook and character of squats that I love.
I have a bunch of mantic steel warriors that I plan on building with closed helmets to use as Demiurg. I imagine them as coming from high gravity worlds with super high atmospheric pressure. The suits are what they wear on lower pressure worlds, like void suits for humans. Inside I imagine something a bit like a blobfish with chin tendrils. But I know the abhuman squats are more popular so I am happy for people to have them.
Maybe the Demiurg came into contract with the Votann first and had their colture heavily influenced by them (thuss explaining the many similarities in their technology and terminology) and later on they also made contract with the Tau and some of them joined the Empire and also shared Votann technology with them.
I also love how everyone was always saying that it was a matter of time before the Tau drones revolted just like the Men of Iron once they got smarter. Meanwhile the Votann have even more advanced A.I. and had them before the Imperium was a thing and they are doing just fine. It's as if it's not the A.I. itself that's the problem but humanity/imperium being A holes to everyone that's not human and then playing the victim card when they fight back
I will, without a doubt, be buying these good boys!
Definitely see the archeo side of my AdMech getting some converted reinforces after these drop.
My dad had 2 imperial robots! and I have the newer generation of that stuff
i wish the design was old skool, but squats not my cuppa tea but its nice to see them
Hey dude, maybe that's just a skull cap or hat or plate to cover augmetic brain surgeries. Geez, maybe the whole thing is a helmet with fake ears and nose plate/goggles. It's a line drawing, hard to tell. Maybe we all just assumed that's some space dwarfs skin. Maybe it's another robot that got a sick custom dwarf head paint job from that painter bot dude.
I wonder if the LoV range will give you the opportunity to create a "definately not men of iron" army? I'm more interested in a sentient AI killer robot army akin to the Skynet from terminator haha!
COG robots are probably what the Adeptus uses now adays :p
Squatcast!? I love it!
My guess is that the main difference between these guys and the T'au/AdMech is that it's implied that they will have robot characters.
Mechanically it might not be a major thing, besides maybe having a relatively hefty HQ unit as an option to lead your army, but lore-wise they'll be the only faction in which organic and AI units of equivalent intelligence will be shown fighting side by side on the battlefield, which calls into question the belief that making use of AI technology would inevitably lead to a repeat of the age of strife.
am I the only one remembering the man of iron from the Blackstone fortress?
I like the theory that there's a link between the demiurg and the Voltan squats. But unfortunately, in Battlefleet Gothic: Armada, a game from 2016, you can play with demiurg ships if you get the Tau dlc and in it, they call themselves the demiurg navy. You can also hear that line in the Tau trailer. So unless the Voltan deliberately call themselves the "demiurg" to please their Tau employees, it's more likely the Voltan and the Demiurg are two different races with one that is part of the human species and the other a xeno race. They just are both short and stout miners with shares similarities like... iono... how the gnoblars and the goblins look kinda similar and share similar roles with their taller masters if you squint a bit but in the end are two different species.
There is also the possibility that the traders of the Votann are the Demiurg League or Guild and the Tau just called the race that.
@@trevorsmith9985 and like i said, they are calling *themselves* the demiurg in that game. Seems silly they would do that if they were squats all along
One thing is that the Tau actually don’t call them the demiurg, that’s their gothic name. The name is completely different in Tau.
Researched it, the Tau call the Bentu’sin meaning wize gifted ones.
They are the men of stone.
Did you watch the trailer for the Rogue Trader video game being made by OwlCat?
not sure I'm sold on the new squat robot. I think it because I feel the "head" is too pointed and small. I think it would have been better if the head was slightly bigger, but rounder not pointed, with some type of optic intended in it or at the varry least a difrent paint job.
Every VBlog/Cast needs a catchy way to end. Maybe you could say something like "See you shortly"?
I hope you will cover the data cards leak, has a lot of fluff bits in their descriptions.
Robot in apron. Love it.
I just really want them. I'AM SOLD!
Its the Men of Iron
Squatcast is best cast
Very cool Ian!
Need need need!!
Really enjoying squatcast. Also don't stop saying COG robots.
You missed the leaked data card a lot of new info whit them
Stony skin... Man of Stone?
I don't like robots so I might be biased but doesn't work fuck with robots making them turn on their masters?
Thanks Ian, what do the Tau call humans?
Gue'la
Friendly humans are called gue'vesa
Good vid. Please have a decent shave, thank you.
Wow ✌️💚
I would appreciate some squat lore. The votann are nice but just not for me.
Same Squat Time; Same Squat Channel?
When are they comming
unknown
LoV are the legendary 'Men of Stone'". Just sayin'
Less complex cog robot means they are easier and less complex to design bra sorry I just had to
If Demiurg is the Tau name for them, why do the ALpha Legion speak of the Demiurg in "The Serpent Beneath"?
Those absolutely awful acronyms remind me of Marvel comics. Or Donald Duck comics.
Anyone else hate how GW is making everything tied to the Tau?
Not sure I really like the idea of advanced AI in warhammer. I mean the ancestor-core thingies were one thing, but having robots that are advanced enough that they are essentially seen as people? One of the things that makes warhammer unique is the whole "don't screw around with AI" angle. Tau AI is dumb, and when humans make AI it's either dumb (and based on human parts, which is so grimdark that it wanders into grimderp territory) OR it's smart AI and it goes bonkers. If this is yet another "oh, you can do it, the Imperium are just backwards a-holes let's laugh at them haha" that would be pretty tiresome. Is there really not enough ammunition in the "laugh at the Imperium for being backwards" gun already?
(psst, it's not unique to 40K, they took the idea directly from Dune - look up "Butlerian Jihad")
@@therealoball well 40k is about 60% percent just Dune, yeah
But that's always been there theme, being technologically regressed because they're religiously fanatic xenophobes is the defined theme of the Imperium since the rogue trader days.
New robot model bloody awful
It's a Kastelan robot with a tool belt....GW are taking the p*ss. It's only the lore allowing them to pump these terrible sculpts out.
It's AMAZING!
@@ArbitorIan I feel GW did a much better job rebooting Genestealer cults. Too much about the lore & not enough about the miniatures for me. They'll be teaching 40k lore in universities at this rate.
I think Squats are the regular reproduction children of the coned ones. Maybe from crashed ships or lost colonys. Like they are the shorter lived less perfect unengineered race. And a living ancestor is like the last clones left in a Colony.