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Squats - A new beginning, a new end

 Post subject: Squats - A new beginning, a new end
PostPosted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 9:22 pm 
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Squats -Movement of the Army List, Supplement, and more

One paragraph – that’s it. In one paragraph in the preface of Inquisitor Wars, Games-Workshop wrote off one of the core armies for Epic. Some elated in this, writing off the Squats as a bad mistake. Even Jervis Johnson wrote, “What were we thinking?” when he referred to the name Squats. Others were not very happy at all.

Over time, the Squats have had over a half dozen lists written for Epic Armageddon; each version varying greatly in terms of how they were represented, and much of this depended upon how you viewed the Squats. Were they devoured by the Tyranids? Are we to ignore GW’s write-off? Were the Demiurg new Squats? The supplement we are working on will answer those questions…

Epic: Xenos
The new fan supplement is something I’ve been poking at for 3+ years and I’m finally tired of putting it off. 2012 is the year of the Squat project. Xenos will include at a minimum the following lists:

• Squats – pre-Tyranid invasion, Thurgrimm’s List
• Squats – post-Tyranid invasion, Trade Consortium List
• Tyranids – Onachus Fleet List
• Inquisition – Ordo Xenos List

The supplement will detail the invasion and subsequent destruction of the Homeworlds. The Trade Consortium will be a group of Squats who broke from the Homeworlds before the invasion and have survived the destruction of the Homeworlds. As for the Inquisition, their role in all this will be as insidious as it always is. Epic is played with the understanding that the list you are playing occurred sometime in the 41st millennium, and sometimes even before that, so we’re going to be okay playing pre-digested Squat lists.

Demiurg a No-Go
ePilgrim, author of the Demiurg list, was one of the original Epic: Armageddon playtesters (see him credited as ‘Steve Rogers’). Many years ago he created the Demiurg list as an alternative to the Squats lists that many perceived as overpowered, as well as an answer to the Squats being eaten. But over time, Jaldon and ePilgrim unified their lists in a grand compromise in an attempt to get everyone on the same page. It was this effort that inspired me to make the Epic: Xenos supplement.

Then Jaldon left for work and ePilgrim lost interest. I don’t begrudge either of them; real life will create problems. Since then, I have been bound and determined to move the Epic: Xenos project forward to completion; I believe we can do it too. An unfortunate casualty in all this is the Demiurg list. Games-Workshop is developing them as an alien race and I see no need to continue with that list’s development. It was based on the premise that Demiurg are Squats and clearly calling them such is a mistake. Normally I don’t toe the line when it comes to GW fluff, but calling one race by the name of another is a violation of IP guidelines and I won’t screw with them in that area. Before the Demiurg were undeveloped and –as Jervis called them- “up for grabs”. It’s a new ball game now.

Back to Basics
The focus of many of us late is how do we reset the Squats? The Thurgrimm’s list is a far cry from where things stood in SM and SM2. There is a core group of us that have been working on the old stats from those game systems and trying to peg the unit stats from those old game systems. This will be the main focus for the Squat development for the next several weeks. I don’t believe it is possible to make it a perfect fit and –in some cases- we may not want a perfect fit. But, overall, I want the list to feel like an old Squat list.

Multiple Lists
The Thurgrimm Stronghold will remain the main list that we work at. In addition, we are working on a Trade Consortium List which will be a mobile, post-Tyranid, heavily automated Squat list. Some of the decisions I will be making will be based on balancing these two lists, with the added variable of having other Squat Strongholds developed as well. This would be akin to how the Eldar have various Craftworld army lists. How this affects existing lists like Dvergatel is unknown, but the goal is to get those list developers involved early so we can discuss basics. I don’t want us to end up with a bunch of units that are the average of all the lists. Unlike some armies, we have some very good history to fall back on and using those old references and numbers will certainly help us make decisions.

Other characteristics of the Squats will be fresh and new. However, I promise everything we put into the Squats will make them feel historical like the old game.

End Game
The final destination for the Squats will be a fitting book called Epic: Xenos in which we will take the dismissive end of the Squats from Games Workshop and turn it into a fitting struggle with epic battles. Think you know what happened to the Squats? Think again.

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 Post subject: Re: Squats - A new beginning, a new end
PostPosted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 9:46 pm 
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Nice history and plan!

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 Post subject: Re: Squats - A new beginning, a new end
PostPosted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 11:05 pm 
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Sounds good to me.


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 Post subject: Re: Squats - A new beginning, a new end
PostPosted: Tue Jan 10, 2012 4:04 am 
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Sounds good: let's do it. ;)

It should also be noted that the other E:A army I have and am currently expanding are Tyranids (pure coincidence!), so I'm looking forward to HF Onachus being Approved. :D


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 Post subject: Re: Squats - A new beginning, a new end
PostPosted: Tue Jan 10, 2012 10:10 pm 
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Make one army just to feed it to the other. It's a bit sadistic... But I like it!

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 Post subject: Re: Squats - A new beginning, a new end
PostPosted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 6:57 am 
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how much work has been done on the trade consortium?

I was invloved for a few years with the Varyngr project on warseer - basically documenting the new, post -nids society that might emerge.

It got as far as three competeing codexs if you're intrested?


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 Post subject: Re: Squats - A new beginning, a new end
PostPosted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 11:13 am 
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Looking forward to seeing how this progresses


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 Post subject: Re: Squats - A new beginning, a new end
PostPosted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 11:28 am 
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So am I, I love my Squats :D.

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 Post subject: Re: Squats - A new beginning, a new end
PostPosted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 1:41 pm 
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seems like a good time to be starting Squats, which I just happen to be my EPIC project this year O0 ...will be keen to see how the lists develop...

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 Post subject: Re: Squats - A new beginning, a new end
PostPosted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 3:29 pm 
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Yep, it was my choice for next army and seems an exciting time for it alright.


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 Post subject: Re: Squats - A new beginning, a new end
PostPosted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 3:35 pm 
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madd0ct0r wrote:
how much work has been done on the trade consortium?

I was invloved for a few years with the Varyngr project on warseer - basically documenting the new, post -nids society that might emerge.

It got as far as three competeing codexs if you're intrested?


I am interested. Email the info to me at moscovian@hotmail.om if you don't mind.
Trade Consortium is in embryonic stages, but Borka and I have been doing more brainstorming than anything. The idea is to get Thurgrimm's list in a good condition to playtest before making the Trade Consortium list. With that said, I am open to ideas.

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