Introduction

I have put together a small guide, now I have had time to play test the new Squat updates in the Hall of the Ancients book.

So if you need a little help with your Squat gangs then look no further!

What makes Ironhead Squats different?

Ironheads are a great starting gang, they have prestigious ranged fire power, toughness 4 and can access some of the best skills in the game. They are quite expensive to run and so lean towards elite builds (smaller numbers of strong models) but because of their higher than normal toughness if you make a mistake you can weather the storm better than most.

The Squats also get some nice exclusive weaponry and special rules, firstly lets look at their Rapid Fire superiority 

Ironhead Rapid Fire

The Squats have Rapid Fire on basically everything that shoots, even their stub guns are rapid fire 1, all of the Ironhead versions of weapons cost more than their lesser counterparts which is a fair trade off for the sheer amount of Dakka you get.

Now rapid fire is incredible when it comes off but it does increase the chance of rolling that dangerous out of ammo on the ammo dice, and some of the weapons have quite a high ammo roll (looking at you bolters) so just because you can use 3 rapid fire dice doesn't mean you always have to (but obviously you will). You can choose to use as many dice up to what is shown in the brackets with a minimum of 1.

Ironhead weapons include;

Ironhead Bolter - Rapid Fire 2 Bolter? That's quite tasty, just be aware that you are paying an extra 40 credits for it and you still get the 6+ ammo issue.

Ironhead Heavy Stubber - The additional Rapid Fire makes it RF3 and because the Stubber has a 4+ ammo roll and is only 10 credits more than the original(!) It's worth it if you want to bring a heavy weapon.

Ironhead Autogun - Similar to the Heavy Stubber the autogun is only an additional 10 credits for Rapid Fire 2 and 4+ ammo.

A lot of the time this is one of the main work horses for gangers to keep them cheap(ish) but still effective. 

Ironhead Stub Gun - The other main stay of your list. The Ironhead stub gun is 10 credits (5 credit bump), this is the same price as a standard autopistol but with the added benefit of the plentiful trait, longer short range and +2 to hit while in said short range. If you can get close enough, even a juve with a pair of these can be dangerous both in the short range and in melee, punching well above their weight.

Ironhead Auto Pistol - 20 credits and you get the auto pistol with extra Rapid Fire (RF2). Now there's nothing wrong with this really but given the choice between this and the stub gun, I’d take the stub gun.

Ironhead Bolt Pistol - For some reason this is the same price as a normal Bolt Pistol. It gains Rapid Fire 1 and actually goes towards fixing the problem with normal Bolt Pistols (no rapid fire, nearly the same price as a boltgun etc). I would say it's worth it, but the models you are likely wanting to put one of these on can probably access the Bolt Spitter power pack weapon which to me is better.

Ironhead Melta(!) - Unnecessarily good, the Ironhead Melta is strength 8, ap-4 damage 3 with Rapid fire? There is no down side to this over a standard Meltagun except its, shockingly small, price increase of 20 credits, the only issue is while in the Hive its just overkill on pretty much everything you can come across. But hay, ain't no kill like overkill.

Firestorm

Firestorm is the answer to the question no one asked, “Hey what if we could hit multiple times with this flamer?”, they provide incredible damage out of flamers but the issue is, is that what you want your flamers for?

To me flamers aren't there to take people out of action, but to set them on fire and laugh as they run around unable to put it out. Now because the Firestorm trait gives you X amount of hits (as per the RF dice) and the Blaze trait triggers for each hit, there's a good chance you are rolling multiple dice to try and get that 4+ to set them on fire so if you don't kill them, you are VERY likely to proc the Blaze trait.

Power pack weapons

Power pack weapons are an odd one, you can have up to 2 and then don't require hands to operate, now the way its written makes me think that you gain an additional attack per weapon you have attached to the pack just for that weapon or you can distribute your attacks evenly between all melee weapons and if you have another melee weapon you gain an additional attack like the core rules do with an additional melee weapon. 

I wouldn't put any of these into a starting list, but if you have an abundance of credits you could really tool up a melee fighter with some of these. 

The options we have are;

Circular Stone Saw - 25 credits, Melee and rending at strength +1 AP-2, damage 1. Probably the best melee option for its price in the Power Pack section.

Gem Extractor - 50 credits, Melee,  Strength +2, AP-1 and Damage 2. A dangerous weapon if you have the credits.

Ironhead Arc Welder - 100 credits, Melee, Blaze, Strength +2 AP-2 and damage 3. This is an expensive option but is very strong. I would say the Blaze is a bit much as its strength, ap and damage means whatever you are hitting is probably already dead.

Bolt Spitter - 40 credits, New to the Halls of the Ancients book,as I said before this is probably the better version of the Bolt Pistol. Now it has a shorter range, 4” short and 10” long, and only Damage 1. But it has the same Strength and AP, a 5+ ammo instead of 6+ and finally it's a Power Pack weapon so it doesn't take up a slot and can be used in addition to a 2 Handed weapon or 2 melee weapons.

Stone Burner - 70 credits, also a new addition. 2” short range and only 4” long range this weapon is easy to overlook even if it is Strength 5, AP-2, Damage 2 with a 5+ ammo roll. But it's the weapon traits that bring the whole weapon together, Melta, Power Pack (obviously), Scarce and Sidearm… yes you can use this in melee, automatically kicking in that melta trait if you wound and that means that there is a very high chance that you just take whatever you hit with this weapon off the table, the only down side is the scarce trait meaning if you go out of ammo that's it for the rest of the game, but what a trade off.

New Weapons

Ironhead Inferno Pistol - New to the Squats, the Inferno Pistol is already a beast of a weapon but in return for a reduction in range (4” short and 7” long) and a 20 credit bump (160 credits) you get a Strength 8, AP-3, Damage 2 with a 6+ ammo roll, Melta, Scarce, Sidearm and Rapid Fire 1 this weapon is very expensive and overkill in most circumstances, I don't see the reason to take this over the Stone Burner or the standard Ironhead Melta.

Ironhead Grenade Launcher - The Ironhead Grenade Launcher only has access to Seismic rounds, 6” short range (at -1 to hit), 24” long, Strength 3, AP-1 and Damage 1 with 5+ ammo, Blast (3”), Seismic and Knockback. Generally I'm not sure this is worth taking most of the time unless you intend to pair this model with another throwing flash grenades or playing in the wastes targeting vehicles.

My biggest issue with this weapon is the lack of ammo choices, it's a one trick pony for 50 credits.

Two Handed Chain Axe - Exclusive to the Charter Master and Drill Master this big beast is Strength +2, AP-1 and Damage 2 with Rending and Unwieldy for 40 credits. 

Two Handed Power Axe - A 2” versatile weapon (-1 to hit outside of base to base) that hits with +2 Strength, AP-1 and Damage 2 with the Power, Versatile, and Disarm traits for 65 credits.

Two Handed Power Pick - Another 2” versatile weapon and -1 to hit outside of base to base the Power Pick is Strength +1, AP-3 and Damage 2 with Power, Pulverise and Unwieldy for 75 credits, great for cracking those models that have been stacking armour saves.

Heavy Drill - Strength user, AP-1 and Damage 2 for 35 credits is decent, but when you add in the Rending trait it's definitely worth looking at.

Hydraulic Drill - 25 credits gets you Strength +1 and Damage 1 with the Entangle trait. I'm not sure about this weapon to be honest, I think I’d rather get a Chain Axe or the Heavy Drill.

Ironhead Powerfist - Strength +2, AP-2 and Damage 2 with Power and Pulverise for 60 credits, this fist packs a punch.

It's worth noting that the Ironheads have gained these weapons but have lost access to the one handed Power Axe and Power Pick, it would have been nice to have both but im not that fussed about it.

Fighters

Charter Master - 115 credits

The Charter Master has a fairly low movement characteristic of 4” but it makes up for it with its WS and BS both being 3+, Strength 3, Toughness 4, 3 wounds (which is a nice touch), a poor initiative of 5+, but 2 attacks. It's the mental profile of squats that really sets them apart however, Leadership, Cool and Willpower are all 5+ and intelligence is 6+ is superb. With this model you can be a buff piece and lean into leadership skills, counter charge with melee or even be a weapons platform. With access to Brawn, Leadership and Shooting as Primary skills and Combat, Savant and Wisdom of the Ancients as Secondary the Charter Master can do it all… providing you don't want to run them quickly up the board or jump over a gap.

Drill Master - 85 credits

A very similar profile to the Charter Master, the Drill Master has movement 4”, WS 4+, BS 3+, Strength 3, Toughness 4, 2 wounds, 5+ Initiative and 2 Attacks they seem slightly at odds with their Primary skill access being Brawn and Wisdom, although they do get Ferocity, Leadership and Shooting as Secondary.

Again the Mental stats are superb, 6+ Leadership, Cool and Willpower with 7+ Intelligence. 

Exo-Master - 110 credits

The new Champion for the Squats, they get some interesting rules and differences that separate them from the Drill Master, firstly they don't get to group activate but they do get Paragon of the Ancestors which gives them a special post battle action depending on which Ancestry you take.

4” movement as we are used to, WS 3+ BS 4+, Strength 3, Toughness 4, 2 wounds, 5+ Initiative and 2 attacks. 6+ Leadership, Cool and Willpower and finally 7+ Intelligence. The Exo-Master has a very similar profile to the Drill Master but is definitely more focused on melee. In Primary skills we have Brawn and Wisdom of the Ancients and Combat, Ferocity, Leadership as Secondary skills.

The Exo-Master is much more limited in the weapons they can take.

They are limited to Pistols, Heavy weapons and Close Combat weapons from the  Trading Post but from the house list they do get the Ironhead Combat Shotgun (8” short range, 16” long range with +1 to hit in short range, strength 4, damage 2, 4+ ammo, Knockback and Rapid Fire 1 for 40 credits) and the Storm Welder which is brutal in the hands of this model. Finally they come with the Exo-Suit, a 5+ armour that makes you immune to Blaze and Rad-phage, which is helpful.

Exo-Kyn - 60 credits

The new Prospect has all the usual rules, Hot Headed, Fast Learner and gets promoted to the Exo-Master if you can keep them alive that long.

4” movement again, WS 4+, BS 5+, Strength 3, Toughness 4, 1 Wound, 4+ Initiative which is a nice change compared to the leadership and 1 attack. 8+ Leadership (who cares), 7+ Cool, 6+ Willpower and 7+ Intelligence. They can take Combat as Primary skills and Brawn and Ferocity as Secondary. 

Finally they can only melee weapons from the Trading Post, but they can buy the Storm Welder from the House list.

Drill-kyn - 50 credits

The Drill-kyn are the base Ganger of the Squats, a standard Movement of 4”, WS and BS of 4+, Strength 3, Toughness 4, 1 Wound, 5+ Initiative and 1 Attack. They also have a Leadership and Intelligence of 7+ and Cool and Willpower 6+.

The joy of this model is they get access to Brawn and, more importantly, Shooting as Primary skills, with Combat and Cunning as Secondary.

Digger - 35 credits

The Digger is the speed in the Ironhead list, with a prestigious (for a dwarf) 5” movement, WS and BS 5+, Strength 3, Toughness 4, 1 Wound, 4+ Initiative and 1 attack. The Digger will be doing most of the heavy lifting (literally) when it comes to objectives.

Exotic Beasts

Techmite Autoveyor 0-2, 40 creds

First seen with the Claim Jumper hanger on, the Autoveyor is a handy little companion to have for only 40 credits.

With a Movement of 4”, BS and WS4+, Strength and Toughness 3, 1 Wound, a 4+ Initiative and 1 Attack, for 40 credits its worth getting later on in the campaign if you have enough spare credits, especially with the mental stats of 8+ Leadership, 5+ Cool and 6+ Will and Intelligence. This little blighter is more than capable of opening doors, hacking terminals or even opening loot crates, which is good because they get some bonus to the latter, you also get flack armour baked into the cost so you're sat on a 5+ save.

Special rules include; Tech Bypass - the Autoveyor can open crates with a reroll to determine the contents, so if you roll that deadly 1 and get a grenade to your face, now you have another attempt at getting something worth having. Not only that the Techmite also starts with the Skill "There's always another secret” that gives you an additional D6X10 credits when you open the Casket that you get re rolls on to begin with and as the average roll on a D6 is a 4, that means that you have a good chance to pay for the Autoveyor on the first casket.

The next Special rule is Mono arm, basically you can equip one of the Power Pack weapons, I really like the Bolt Spitter for 45 credits, it gives the Autoveyor a bit of range as well as having the sidearm rule if you get charged, there is also a drill you can add for 5 credits that is just Strength 3, AP-1 and damage 1, its basic but as a cheap option it works. If you don't have a weapon you can add one later down the line but once you equip one thats all you get, no swapsies.

If you are lucky enough to get your Autoveyor to become a specialist you can take Cunning as primary and Agility as secondary. 

Techmite Exovator 078b 0-2, 55 credits

The slightly bigger brother of the Autoveyor, the Exovator has the exact same stats with the exception of Toughness 4 instead of 3 but they get to equip 2 weapons instead of 1. They still get Mesh armour and re-roll the casket loot table but no longer get "There's always another secret” but instead get “No one pushes Kin around” which is a shame but makes the Exovator harder to push off platforms.

If you get an Excavator to become a specialist you get Brawn as primary and Combat as secondary giving this battle bot a bit more punch.

Techmite Oculi 0-1, 40 credits

The Oculi isn't the most aggressive Pet you can take but it has some serious utility, with a movement of 7”, WS and BS of 5+, a pitiful Strength 2 but 3 Toughness, 1 Wound, 4+ initiative and 1 Attack you will be forgiven for thinking this model is a bit of a bust as an offensive or defensive model. Now you may see an issue with the Oculi, it may be fairly quick and good at buffing your shooting, but it's kinda weak. In fact the only weapons they get is a pair of Pincers that hit at Strength 2 and Damage 1, but it's the special rules that make the Oculi make sense.

Flight - the Oculi can move freely between levels and can ignore all terrain (other then impassible obviously), nor can they fall off anything.

Target Paint - If the Oculi is within 6” of an enemy model, they can remove a point of cover if targeted by the Oculi’s owner. So a model in light cover would loose their -1 to be hit and heavy cover will only be -1 instead of -2.

Scout Drone - Pets usually have to be within 3” of their owner but the Oculi gets a long leash, 18” of long leash, which is amazing when you consider that it gains an extra 6” of effective range on top of that, meaning if you have a 24” area of removing a point of cover for your big scary ranged weapons.

If you are wondering how this little drone is going to stay alive with its Toughness 3, single Wound and 6+ save from its built in Flak armour, I wouldn't blame you, but this is where the Skills come in clutch. Escape artist allows you to add 2 to your initiative test for retreating out of combat (basically making it a 2+ to run away) and Evade gives you a -1 to be hit if its in the open, or -2 if the ranged weapon is shooting it at long range. 

Again if you are blessed by the Emperor and manage to make the Oculi a Specialist, you gain Agility as Primary and Cunning as secondary. I would say Sprint is the best choice if you get the option so the Oculi can always be in position but the only other option that actually has any use to the Oculi is Dodge so it's not exactly a massive choice.

Hanger on and Brute

Claim Jumper

I have already said in the last guide that the Claim Jumper is incredibly good for its 60 credit cost, gaining access to about 300 credits worth of equipment and weapons.

The Claim Jumper is a superb Counter Charger, keeping your opponent from wanting to charge one of your models in fear of being slapped down by this machine of vengeance.

On top of all that you get the “Seize the Prize” post battle action, this rule lets you  roll a D6, on a 5+ you can pick one of your opponents territories and gain its boon for this Cycle. You could use this to gain some extra credits, or maybe some infiltrate or extra Hive Scum etc, there are so many options.

Finally we will go over the changes from the previous version, the Power Pick has been removed and replaced with the Power Maul, that's it.

If it aint broken, dont fix it.

Exo-Driller

The Vartijan Exo-Driller is a great brute for the squats, with toughness 5 and a 4+ armour save it can tank nearly all small arms fire but it can be pinned fairly easily. It's skill, nobody pushes kin around, stops your Exo-driller from falling off things or being pushed back at all but the big thing that makes the exo worth bringing is its weapons. You start with the Vartijan heavy flamer, which is template strength 5, ap-2 damage 2 with firestorm, which is noticeably without unwieldy allowing you to move and shoot which might actually make it worth taking. But for 50 credits more you can upgrade the flamer for a Vartijan Heavy bolter, strength 5, ap-2 damage 2, rapid fire 3(!) with a 5+ ammo, which is also missing unwieldy so you can run about with your +1 to hit at 18” heavy bolter which is great if you play on larger boards.

This isn't something I would spec into early, unless you find yourself over flush with credits, but is well worth picking up at the halfway point in a campaign. It's even worth replacing the Claim Jumper for if you lose it and have the credits to do so.

Ancestry

The Squats come from a variety of clans, an Exo-Master can take one of 3 Post Battle actions each cycle, but otherwise stated only one Exo-Master can make each Post Battle action each cycle. So lets quickly go through them all.

Anglish

Negotiate Sale - You can sell 3 pieces of equipment for full Value each cycle

Ransom agreement - Pay 2d6x10 credits and take a fighter who has been captured back to your gang. The player who captured that model receives half the amount rolled.

Recruit Scion - if you have a gang member removed from your roster, either by having them killed or retired, you get a free Digger to replace them.

Scragfrid

Extract Creds - Refuse Boons from one of your territories and instead gain D6x10 credits, this can be done multiple times (with multiple Exo-Masters) but must be performed on different territories.

Automotive Tinkering - gain 2d3x10 credits to spend on vehicle wargear or upgrades. Any credits left over disappear.

Spoil Treasure - Add 3 availability to Trading Post rolls

Svardhol

Recite Grievances - Gives the exo-master the Berserker skill for the next fight.

Patch Em up - Purchase Bionics from the Trading Post as if they are common rarity.

Battle Drill - if you add a new model to your gang they can start with D3 exp.

Tapferkeit

Gunsmithing - One weapon from this fighter's profile permanently becomes master crafted.

Monkey Wrench - Reduce the “negotiate repairs” by 2D6X10 credits to a minimum of 5 credits

Hidden Tunnels - D3 friendly fighters gain the “infiltrate” skill for the next game only. This is a game changer and probably the best option the Squats get.

Helmeth

Sump Safari - Select friendly fighter, make Leadership test (for the exo-master performing the action) if it is passed that fighter gains d3 xp, if failed they go into recovery.

Press Gang - Make Leadership test for this fighter, if passed you can hire d3 hive scum for free for the next game.

Law of the sump - All gangs that took part in the last scenario gain D6x10 credits (rolled separately), why not share the love.

This is probably the best all round clan in my opinion, being able to bring free hive scum really negates the lower model count the squats usually bring, but also you can use your hive scum to collect objectives, letting your squats do what they do best… sending a wall of lead down range.

Snorrag

Midnight battlefield - Make the next underhive battle be subject to the pitch black rules.

Modified Techmite - Pick a exotic beast this model is equipped with and the next game you play they can move through impossible terrain (but not finish within it), now it's important to note that it doesn't say Mite, so you could, say, buy a Grapplehawk from the trading post and still get this bonus.

Overwork - Select a territory you own and gain all boons from it twice but then that territory gives no boons or income for 2 cycles. 

If you think you are about to lose a territory, or need an injection of cash quickly.

You could spec into this clan really easily, buying photo goggles or infra sights would give you a major advantage.

Trocken

Hive Scavenging - Gain 2d3x10 credits to spend on common wargear and weapons from the Trading Post, all credits not spent are lost.

Archeobot - One of this fighter's exotic beasts gains +2 strength to all weapons but all attacks gain the unstable trait.

Dome Exploration - Perform an Intelligence test for the Exo-Master, if passed gain D6x10 credits, if you fail, go into recovery instead.

I'm a big fan of this Clan as well, 2d3x10 is roughly 40 credits on average and that's a Grapnel Launcher and mesh armour every game… suddenly your squats are double moving 12” in any direction and have an armour save.

Vossinki

Combat Drop - the next ash waste battle this fighter takes part in, if this fighter is part of your reinforcement roster you can deploy during round 1’s end phase even if reinforcements are not allowed.

Scout out - Next time the gang rolls for a scenario, roll twice and pick your favourite.

Call for Aid - Petition house agent for free next game.

Splinter

Not Quite Dead - Any fighter who suffered a lasting injury may discard lasting injury roll and roll on the lasting injury table again, you must take the re roll even if its worse.

Adapt or Die - Select one skill your fighter has, it can be replaced with any skill from your primary skill tree.

Splinter Clan - Take a rule from another ancestry as your 3rd choice. 

Notable choices are Hidden Tunnels from Tapferkeit or Press Gang from Helmaeth.

The Splinter Clans are definitely worth taking, Not Quite Dead and Adapt or Die are both really good for new players who are trying to figure out how to make the gang work but if you add in something like Hidden tunnels from Tapferkeit or Press Gang from Helmeth and you have some serious power play.

Starting Lists

Squat All Rounder

Splinter Clan with either Hidden Tunnels or Hive Scavenging.

Charter Master - Trick Shot, Mining Laser, Mesh Armour and a Techmite Oculi - 295 Credits

This is a hard hitter, and for nearly 300 credits it bloomin well should be. The Mining Laser can shoot up to 24” away at Strength 9, Ap-3 and Damage 3, with the Oculi being within 6” of your target, you are reducing your targets cover by 1. As the campaign progresses, if you can get an Infra Sight your target will never get any cover saves. If you can get your leader into a nice position you can easily make an enemy model disappear each turn, Just make sure when you activate the Master, you do the Oculi’s movement first to make sure they are within the 6” of your target so you get the debuff to their cover save.

Drill Master - Nobody Pushes Kin Around, Mesh Armour and Ironhead Boltgun - 195 Credits

The first Champion, this model Is mostly there to push forward with your Juves and keep them in line. The Ironhead Bolter is incredible at causing lasting injuries but obviously is very likely to fail its ammo roll and stay out of ammo for the rest of the game. I would be tempted to add a melee weapon onto this fighter and use them as a counter charger / scary watch dog for your other fighters.

Exo-Master - Dependable Like Kin - Exo-Suit and Storm Welder - 185 Credits

The Storm Welder is Rapid Fire 3 with Shock, Reckless and a 16” long range, if you took hidden tunnels you can get the Exo-Master very close to your opponent and unleash a torrent of pain onto your opponent very quickly, just make sure you don't have a friendly model in their front arc because Reckless means it targets everyone in range equally, including your own fighters. Put the Exo-Master in the front and challenge anyone to come into range. This is so much fun to use and because of the skill there is no chance of blowing yourself up, I would consider getting a bio-booster ASAP for this glass cannon because once you get it off every opponent will be looking to not get hit by it, by any means necessary.

2x Drill Kin (1 Specialist) - Ironhead Autoguns - 75 Credits

Not the most exciting choices, but the Ironhead Autogun being Rapid Fire 2 and 4+ BS on the ganger (3+ if you aim or are in short range), these Squats are really there to keep enemy fighters heads down. If you can spread your shots to keep as many people pinned as possible will win you games, but if you have to focus fire you will be surprised how dangerous 6 Strength 3 Autogun hits can be.

2x Diggers - Ironhead Stubgun/Axe - 55 Credits

You can either equip these guys with an Axe and IH Stub Gun or Duel Ironhead Stub Guns, these Juves are really there to push up the board, grab objectives and get stuck in. because they have the extra movement (5”) on the gangers they are very capable of running about and holding areas until your slower but more fighty models can catch up.

Claim Jumper - 60 Credits

It's just too cheap to pass up, the Claim jumper takes up your first hanger on slot and thus cant gain exp at all, and if they take any lasting injuries they walk off, never to be seen again… until you buy a replacement because it's cheap as frack. The Claim Jumper is accompanied by their own Autovayor so they can go hunting for Loot Caskets to gather some extra credits and / or acting as a counter charger, ideally this model is with the juves, running up the board. Although they are a little slower. I would consider swapping this hanger on at the half way mark if you haven't already as they do drop off in effectiveness as they get injured and you have to replace them every game once the other gangs tool up.

Always another Rapid Fire (updated)

Charter Master - Fast Shot, Mesh Armour and Ironhead Boltgun - 225 Credits

The Charter Master is rocking the Ironhead Bolter (Rapid Fire 2) and Fast Shot, letting you throw just a metric Scum tonne of shells down the board towards your enemy.

Drill Master - Dependable Like Kin, Ironhead Heavy Stubber and Mesh Armour - 240 Credits

Another silly amount of Rapid Fire at RF3, the heavy stubber might only be Strength 4 but damn if it isn't effective when you are averaging 2 hits per dice for 4 hits total (minimum of 2 and max of 6) and with a 4+ ammo roll you can likely reload if you do get a jam, especially as you get a re roll on any ammo checks you make thanks to dependable.

Exo-Master -  Dependable Like Kin, Storm-Welder and Exo-Suit - 185 Credits

The Exo-Master needs to be at the front of your line because the storm welder is Rapid Fire 3 but also has the reckless trait so you are splitting your shots with everyone in front of you, friend or foe. Because of Dependable Like Kin if you roll a jam on the ammo dice rather then the chance of being taken out of action you just need to re load, like every other shooting weapon and with an ammo roll of 3+ (along with the re roll you get from dependable as well) there is a good chance you can keep shooting on every turn, even if you roll an ammo dice every time you let it loose, and as it hits at strength 5, theres a good chance to damage anyone hit by it, and if not nearly everyone in front of you is pinned so its stops them from charging you or getting to shoot their big heavy weapons.

Drill-Kin (Specialist) - Ironhead Autogun - 75 Credits

The only ganger in this list, the Drill-Kin Specialist is again just there to shoot lead forward and keep your opponent either pinned or bleeding out.

2x Digger - Ironhead Autogun - 60 Credits each

Two juves with autoguns, they have a BS of 5+ but if you aim then you have a 50/50 chance of hitting, and if you do, it's again Rapid Fire 2 and will do chip damage at worst.

Digger - 2x Ironhead Stub Guns - 55 Credits

Just a Juve with a pair of Rapid Fire pistols with Sidearm and +2 to hit in 8”, to mis-quote Dory, “Just keep shooting, just keep shooting, shooting, shooting, shooting, shooting…”

Ragnir Gunnstein - 100 Credits

Ragnir is a superb hanger on, I will talk more about him shortly, but the thing you  need to know is this gang is very likely to run out of ammo, so Ragnir being able to drop ammo crates on the ground, giving you a 2+ to your ammo roll is incredibly helpful.

Campaign Progression

Ammo jack

What is the main issue with Squats? Ammo. When you are firing that much Dakka you need some help. Thankfully the Ammo Jack is there to help you, for 50 credits you get to reroll ammo rolls of 1, and with up to 3 per gang you can reroll up to a roll of 3. It's uninspired but handy, you could however spend more credits and get…

Ragnir Gunnstein

At 100 credits Ragnir is not cheap, but he is thematic. Counting as one of your Ammo Jack's he also has the added bonuses of being “part of the crew” bringing the skill Munitioneer to help with your ammo checks further, a shotgun, carapace armour, Krak and Frag grenades and a respirator. If that sounds good then keep listening, you also get the joys of deploying D3 ammo crates. This allows you to add 2 to all ammo checks, just don't roll a 6 or you will exhaust the supply.

Fixer 

The fixer might actually be the first hanger-on you get (even over the Claim Jumper if you think about it) because Squats are expensive! The ability to earn D3x10 credits just for turning up will pay for itself incredibly quickly and from there it's just free credits.

Grapnel Launchers

I love Grapnel Launchers if you are playing on Sector Mechanicus terrain (or any open maps with multiple levels) giving you a 12” move in a single direction as a double action. This can get you into position quickly and rain fire down on your opponents.

If you can keep the Credits flowing into your gang (which isn't as hard as before thanks to things like the Mites and skills) you can get serious momentum going and once the squats are on top, they are hard to shake from that position.

Techmites

I have said in their section what the Techmites can do, they are incredible for their credit costs, the Autoveyor pays for itself quickly if there are any Loot Caskets on the board. The Exovator are good for protecting your model from being charged easily, as well as potentially providing some strong melee back up and the Oculi is amazing for models that focus on shooting as well as being able to pick up objectives and using the flight rule and its long leash to get in and out of trouble really well.

Combos

Plasma and Kin

Drill master, Plasma gun or Plasma Cannon and Dependable like Kin to overcharge every time.

I'm not a huge fan of plasma guns, I think underhivers should be looking for low tech weapons, but if any gang (other then Van Saar) should get Plasma it's Squats.

Its effective, more interesting then another IH Bolter and if you pair it with Dependable like kin you can overcharge every shot without fear of exploding yourself. Add some Mesh to keep them standing and you get 200 credits of danger not to mention hitting on a 2+ within 12” at Strength 7, AP-2 and damage 3.

If you are using Gunstein then you can drop an ammo cache next to them as well to keep them in the game.

Fanatic

Meltagun, hip shooting and displacer field - do you want to tank the shot or see where it lands.

Is this a meta build? No.

Is this going to be hilarious and scare the crap out of your opponents? Definitely.

The down side is unless you spec a champion into secondary skills the only model you can do this with on creation is your leader, but it is still definitely worth considering, just to bring more random carnage to your games.

Wrecker juves

Grapnel launchers and stub guns.

80 credits on a Juve with only Stub pistols seems like a lot, but as the Juves are there to get close and grab objectives the addition of a grapnel launcher boosts their effectiveness massively for only 25 additional credits. If you really want to spec this way (and I fully recommend it) then take either the Trocken Ancestry or the Splinter Ancestry with Hive Scavenging for the free common equipment.

This can be taken to the logical extreme and give Grapnel Launchers to everyone in your gang and create the Squat Mining Clans Air-force (or SMACA)

Final Thoughts

The main issue I have found with the update is that you could still just take the original box and rapid fire up the wazoo, that being said the Exo-master and the Techmites are really fun to play with and have some really good utility.

I have really enjoyed playing the Squats, I think they are great for a new player wanting to learn the game as the extra toughness lets you make some mistakes and not get you killed every time, just be aware it's easy to drop into a gun line gang that can get repetitive quickly unless you find your own fun.

All in all the Halls of the Ancients has given the Squats some much needed flavour and variety and I for one am very thankful for this.

As always if you have any more information that I have missed or even something you disagree with, get in touch and let us talk it through!

And if you like what we are doing on Second Best then why not share the credits and support us on Patreon?

All the love as always

3_Ogryns_In_A_Trenchcoat