The Case for the Next Faction

[Frostbite704]

The Premise

There has been lots of discussion regarding which will be the next faction. And I thought it would be a good idea to dedicate a discussion to that fact. I feel there is a lot of misinformation regarding each of the remaining factions, and their eligibility/ ineligibility for one reason or another.

And given the increasing likely-hood that this November/ December will see the final Faction DLC (mainly due to Zephon's upcoming release), there will likely be some players disappointed to not see their favorite faction represented in game.

Factions that Likely Won't Happen

Before talking about what may happen, let's briefly touch upon what likely won't.

Specific Chapters/ Sub-factions

This is mainly targeting Chaos Space Marine factions, as I haven't seen many Loyalist discourse on the matter.
While the various Traitor Legions all have something different to offer in terms of units or mechanics, the fact of the matter is, they are still Space Marines/ Chaos Space Marines.
While I'd love to see Thunder Wolves charging across Gladius, or Plague Marines infecting the land, it's unlikely (to an extent, and I'll touch upon this later).

Custodes

Sadly I cannot see a place for our Golden Boys in this game. Ignoring the lore implications of a detachment of the famously few Custodes ending up on this planet. I couldn't see the gameplay being much more different than Space Marines, but with less models within a unit, and stronger to compensate. I suppose the inclusion of some Sisters of Silence could mix it up. But ultimately, I don't think there is much here to expand upon that isn't already covered within the game.

Likely Remaining Factions

While presenting these factions I'll be presenting them in alphabetical order to eliminate ranking bias.
For each faction I'll be presenting reasons for inclusions, reasons they may not be included, and a look into what potential mechanics they could have.

Chaos Daemons

Pros:

• Currently the most requested faction (last I checked)
  
• Serve as a fitting final faction for Gladius, the Daemons have arrived, the End is Near
  
• Provide a wide range of diverse units due to the 4 Chaos Gods.
  
• Could potentially take in some units from specific Traitor Legions. Filling the itch for people wanting those legions, but not rehashing the Chaos Space Marine DLC.

Cons:

• The 4 differing Chaos Gods can be difficult to implement. It is rare that they all work hand in hand with each other. Figuring out the balance/ lore-reason/ mechanics involved with giving the player access to these different units could be tricky.
  
• Mono-god Daemons have a fairly limited roster.
  
• Full expansive roster with all gods, and potential Traitor Legion units could prove too big for a game near the of its support.

Mechanics:

Daemons have the potential to be very interesting in terms of Game Play. Assuming they gain the full Daemon roster, the player will have a vast and diverse roster to play with.

I could see Daemons not having "Cities" per say, but Daemonic Warp Portals scattered along the map. Each Warp Portal potentially acting as a kind of Pseudo-city. The Daemons need to discover and capture the various portals.

I could see a mechanic being to dedicate the individual portal to a specific God. From there only one kind of Daemon can be summoned from that portal. This helps make the faction less of a Daemon- soup, and more of a Daemonic Incursion, while also giving the player the choice to only spec into one God. The portals can be upgraded and spread to encompass more area and change the surrounding map to the specific God's Realm.

Early Tier Daemons would be what you expect, Horrors, Poxwalkers, Bloodletters and Daemonettes.

Mid Tier would get to more powerful Daemons like Flamers, Seeker Chariots, Plague Drones and Bloodcrushers.

Late Tier Daemon Units could include Traitor Legion Space Marines for the specific God, as well as Exalted Daemons of Lower Tier Units.

Genestealer Cults

Pros:

• Potentially the most different from the other factions so far. Would add a nice bit of diversity to the game mechanics.
  
• Already present in the game with Neutral Neophytes roaming the map.
  
• Could share some mechanics with Admech and Tau, as they also have Neutral units wandering the map which they can capture.
  
• Genestealers have not be added to the game yet. Despite Tyranids gaining several units, and being in the game for a while. One of their staple units have not yet been added. Potentially for this reason.
  
• Some models wouldn't need to be made from scratch due Genestealer Cults famously utilizing Astra Militarum vehicles from time to time.

Cons:

• Potentially too different for a new faction introduced this late into development. A lot of discourse surrounding them is that their sneaky and character heavy playstyle doesn't fit well within Gladius' combat model.
  
• Limited model range. 10 non-character units (now that Acolytes are split between Hand Flamers and Autopistols). 14 Characters, making them a very character heavy faction (like mentioned earlier). (A total of 24 units)

Mechanics:

Some of these ideas are based off other people's post that I've seen around here.
The gist of Genestealer Cult will be Guerrilla style warfare, until they are consolidated enough to launch their full scale revolution. Genestealer Cults would start with a Genestealer unit, which is their Colonizer unit. Genestealers can only colonize on a new type of Special Feature known as a Mining Settlement. Making Mining Settlements a Special Feature, also allow other factions to trap the tile within their boarders, giving a buff to Mineral Income. Perhaps a +20% bonus to the output of the tile?
Genestealer Cults would likely (maybe through a mid-tier research) be able to transport between owned Mining Settlements through the underground tunnels. Allowing a developing Cult to either escape harm, or redirect forces when needed.

A research would also give all infantry the ability to perform a "Cult Ambush". This would be similiar to a Jump Pack Move. Giving them extra movement, ignoring terrain modifiers, with a cooldown.

Depending on how the developers decide to implement them will depend on the order of units within the various Tiers.
The developers can either do a more lore-friendly implementation (as if the cult just arrived) and start with Acolytes, to Neophytes to Genestealers.
Or do a more familiar implementation, starting with Neophytes as the basic option first, and then moving onto the more mutated strains of hyrbid.

I believe they'd go for the second option, and so that's what this will be based off of.

Early Tier would involve a unit of Neophytes, like the Neutrals we see wandering around the map. With likely the Atalan Jackals as the early vehicle option. Neophytes would gain various upgrades through out the tiers making them a more solid (albeit still fragile) unit. Where they'd gain access to Mining Lasers to provide a good dose of Armour Piercing, as well as gain Grenade Launchers to provide some more Infantry Clearing. Additionally, these upgrades will increase the units size, from 6, to 8 (2 Grenade Launchers) to 10 (2 Mining Lasers).
An early Hero Option could be the Cult Magus which can sway Neutral Neophytes to our side, while also having various Psychic Abilities.

Mid Tier would see the inclusion of Acolytes. Providing 2 different forms to choose from. Acolytes with Auto-pistols, which are the more melee verity, gaining an upgrade to take Mining Weapons to increase their anti-armour damage output. And then Acolytes with Hand Flamers, which can be upgraded to take Demolition Charges, focusing as more of an Anti-infantry unit. For a Vehicle, we would see the Goliath Rock Grinder as the main "tank" of sorts. Genestealers would also be unlockable by this point, allowing for further expanding, and acting as a fast and sneaky Melee anti-infantry unit.
For Hero options, we would start to see more of them appear around here. Most likely the Kelermorph, as an anti-hero gunslinger. Likely also the Primus, acting as more of a commander, giving buffs and bonuses to nearby friendlies. As well as the Acolyte Iconward, who would likely aid in bringing back Neophytes and Acolytes, and would synergize with another mechanic added during this tier, the Cult Icon.
The Cult Icon would be an upgrade for Neophytes and Acolytes, which will allow them to heal damage done to them (with a several turn cool down and influence cost more than likely) and bring models back. The Iconward would be able to decrease the cooldown of this ability while within a certain range of the units.

Late Tier would see the inclusion of Hybrid Metamorphs to the roster, acting as front line melee units. Fitting into a similiar profile as the Genestealers, but more survivable in certain situations to the inclusion of the Cult Icon within the unit. Aberrants would likely also be included by this point as slower heavier anti-armour melee units. For Vehciles, this is likely where would start seeing the inclusion of Astra Militarum Tech. The revolution is in full swing, and the cult has stolen Leman Russ' and potentially Valkyries (if a flyer is deemed necessary for this faction) from the Defense Force on the planet.
For characters we would see the appearance of the Patriarch, as a Heavy Hitter and Psychic Manipulator, able to bolster the morale of his followers, and weaken the morale of his enemies.

There are various characters left out in this list, as they can honestly be added anywhere the developers deem fit. But the overall theme for Genestealer Cults is about improvement. They have limited unit diversity, this is known, so their researchers are aimed with improving what they have, and make them different from how they started. With the primary weakness being most of their units are fairly fragile, making careful use of the Cult Icon and Cult Ambush abilities crucial.

Ultimately, Genestealer Cults is much more than "just a Tyranid offshoot" or a "Guard Knock-off" as I've seen many people say on here. It's a fleshed out faction, that only shared 1 unit with the Tyranids and (in this example) 2 units with the Astra Militarum.

Inquisition/ Grey Knights

Pros:

• Have a good balance of diverse units. Cheaper humans, complimented with more expensive Grey Knights.
  
• Able to reuse some vehicle models from other imperium factions.
  
• A larger focus on Psychic powers could make for interesting mechanics.

Cons:

• Some aspects of the faction would be a little redundant. There realistically aren't that many unique Inquisition Units. Ignoring Inquisitors themselves, which would likely be heroes, you'd likely have Inquisition Scions, and Grey Knights.
  
• Grey Knights as a faction is somewhat limited, being much smaller in scope than their Space Marine Brothers.

Mechanics:

An Inquisition themed faction could have something for it. While no one part of the mix has enough units to sustain an interesting faction for this game, if the theme shifted more towards Imperial Agents, there could be something here. Allowing this faction to use Sister, Deathwatch Space Marine and Grey Knight units, as well as Scions and other minor Inquisition troops, could prove interesting. Making it more of a Imperium-soup.

Early Tier units would likely include a basic Inquisitor hero, with some low-level enforcer squad (perhaps arbites?).

Mid Tier would see the inclusion of some Sister units as well as Death Watch Kill Teams.

Late Tier would have Grey Knights appear, along with their Dread Knights and the some more Death Watch units that didn't fit earlier.

Leagues of Votann

Pros:

• Another much asked for choice.
  
• The newest 40K Faction, would provide a good way to spread more knowledge and lore about the faction.
  
• An opportunity to experiment with a faction that relies less on research.

Cons:

• By far the smallest faction in 40K (and not just in height). Only having a total of 12 units (not counting named characters).
  
• Would be difficult to fill out a tech tree

Mechanics:

Votann would need a much larger mechanic shake up than some players seem to think. Their lack of unit verity would be a short coming. The developers could potentially get away with this by splitting certain units up (kind of like what happened with Acolyte Hybrids).
But another thing they can do is make the Votann more quest or exploration focused. They don't have as much to research, and that's okay. The Votann are here looking for Ancestor Cores. They can be scattered along the map, action as a research bonus for other factions, but are crucial for the Kin. Each one the Leagues aquire, the stronger their units get. So rather than filling their tech tree with loads of minor buffing techs, their main reliance is on finding more and more of these Cores.
Additionally, Votann Research is fairly slow, so progressing through the Tiers would take about as long as any other factions, but with a lot less to research.

Early Tier would give us a basic version of the Hearthkyn Warriors as our main infantry unit. As well as providing us with Hernkyn Pioneers as an early Scout Vehicle.

Mid Tier would give us uprades fro the Pioneers to make them more of a combat unit, as well as Brôkhyr Thunderkyn for anti-vehicle suport and the Sagitaur for a transport.

Late Tier units would give us Einhyr Hearthguard for a Heavy Infantry addition and the Hekaton Land Fortress for our main Tank.

Sprinkled around would be some of the characters and such, as well as perhaps an anti-infantry version of the Hearthkyn, with more special weapons.

Despite their small stature, Votann have the opportunity to still be interesting. But it would depend on the creativity on the devs to expand on their diminutive offerings.

The Rankings

To offer my input, on which of these I think is the most likely I offer this simple list.

1. Genestealer Cults: They ultimately have the most potential out of any of these factions I feel. And it wouldn't be anywhere near as difficult to implement as many people theorize. The additional details of Genestealers being missing from the Tyranid Roster, and Neophytes being a Neutral Unit, only increase the chances I feel.
   
2. Chaos Daemons: If this is ultimately the last faction DLC, they would make the best inclusion. I think the potential to model the interactions of each of the Chaos Gods' units as well as potentially including named Traitor Legion Marines into this faction, holds a lot of promise.
   
3. Leagues of Votann: Despite having the smallest roster of any faction, it would allow the developers to experiment with some serious asymmetry.
   
4. Inqusition/ Grey Knights: While they are different enough to be an interesting concept on their own, the lack of original units hurts this factions prospects. I think an Imperium-soup would be a poor choice for a final Faction.

[Foxassassin]

An intensive list. The only two things I could comment on is; something I had a idea of awhile back.

In essence; if they jammed the Arbites in with Grey knights and Inquisition. A sort of 'remnants of the hive world' sort of collection.

Gladius was, apparently, a fairly massive world for the imperium, and given it's crazy history with the Xenos and Chaos there's plenty of lore reasons for them all to be there.

And it's not out of the question for them to be working together from what I understand of lore.

The second applies to all of the factions, if unlikely, that GW gives permission to actually create new units/variants for the sake of Gladius, kind of like DoW did with the Drone Harbinger.

[Grotzel]

Interesting analysis. I mostly agree with Frostbite's list ... although I would put Chaos Daemons above Genestealers. They are simply just a bit more interesting ... There are so many directions you could go with that faction. For example, instead of adding Chaos Space Marines dedicated to the Gods (I think those units would fit better in the regular Chaos Space Marine roster ... after all, Khorne Berserkers are already there), I think cultists could be used to plug any gaps / serve as a reason for any structures you might want to build aside from Summoning Circles. AND they could provide you with cheap early units up to potentially witches and sorcerers. It might also provide the Daemon faction with a better approach on how to tell their story.

Otherwise you'd run into the problem of who exactly the player is supposed to be. An unaffiliated Daemon Prince trying to please every God? All four big Chaos Gods / their lesser lieutenants arguing about just how to slice the cake (Gladius) in front of them? Weird ... though possibly interesting, but a leader of a cult would, in my opinion, fit quite well to the way Gladius usually handles campaigns.

Genestealers would get a close second place for me. After playing a bit of Warpforged, where they've been introduced, I've learned to see their appeal. They ARE kind of unique and fun. Plus - I really like Frostbite's idea to introduce mining settlements as a new neutral site. That is something that Gladius could certainly use.
Come to think of it, I'd love it if the developers could take another look at the Sororitas Holy Place Mechanic. It is a bit boring - even for the Sisters (it should REALLY provide at least the occasional minor artefact), but especially for the other players for whom this is simply a non-interactive place. They can't even loot or desecrate it.

Anyway, both Chaos Daemons and Genestealers have the potential to be interesting, creative factions - and I like that they are affiliated with already existing factions (Tyranids and Chaos Space Marines) which gives you nice new options for atmospheric teams.

Votann ... I agree that they are okayish ... at third place. Could be fine, but simply seem to be less interesting ... and apparently a bit barebones unless the Gladius team can add stuff ... which appears to be unlikely.

Sorry to say, Foxassassin, but I think Frostbite is right to see the Inquisition as the least interesting among the likely factions (though still viable). I think they are more likely material for an ambitious mod - considering their reliance on units from other factions. Several units, e.g. those from the Ecclesiarchy - and even Inquisitors themselves - should, in my opinion, just be put into the Sisters of Battle roster ... and Grey Knights could simply appear as a Space Marine superunit.

[Stardustfire]

this list only proves that only linkouts from bigger Armys are left, its only missing the also outsourced Harlequins and the new Craftworld Separatists.

none of the left options woud be enove to deliver something new.

Daemons woud be the best call (and only) for uniqueness with a big enove rooster.

If they really woud bring the mini subfaction army of Genestealers i woud wonder how they manage the Fluff Problem that Genestealers and ther offsprings work for the Tyranids as soon they arive. change every Genestealer Unit in range 3 of a Synaps creature permanent as a Unit of the Tyranid Player?

[LuciusRex (KRALJ)]

Excellent lists and rationalisations! I too would like to see chaos daemons first and foremost. Not only are they the faction with the most potential for uniqueness and creativity but also another chaos faction (we have multiple imperial and xeno factions), which adds to the overall richness of the game.

[Jey]

If there's a new faction, it will be Chaos Daemons.

There are two main reasons for that:
- Proxy Studios said they were done with what they wanted to add, and if they added more factions, it would likely be to add stuff wanted by people, and most people want Chaos Daemons (56 VS 44 for Votann and 21 for Genestealer Cults, according to our trusted poll
- Grill, the writer for Proxy Studios said that he would be very happy to write for Chaos Daemons.

There is also a pratical reason to exclude Votann because they simply don't have the roster for Gladius.

[Foxassassin]

Originally posted by Grotzel:

Sorry to say, Foxassassin, but I think Frostbite is right to see the Inquisition as the least interesting among the likely factions (though still viable). I think they are more likely material for an ambitious mod - considering their reliance on units from other factions. Several units, e.g. those from the Ecclesiarchy - and even Inquisitors themselves - should, in my opinion, just be put into the Sisters of Battle roster ... and Grey Knights could simply appear as a Space Marine superunit.

Subjective. All of the options are interesting to me, honestly. Everything so far, except a couple of duds from unit packs have been great additions. Whatever they produce next (And possibly beyond) will be welcomed.

That said, I have a soft spot for the Arbites trying to scrape together and survive the absolute cluster going on in Gladius, pairing them with Grey knights and Inquisition seems like a logical thing to help diversify them out and keep in lore.

From my understanding, and correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the SoB tend to do things... just on their own? While they're backed by the Ecclesiarchy, don't they tend to do things their own way, usually independently? So I feel like having a split of them and the rest could still work in a hypothetical scenario.

But, again, all of the options are interesting as they're going to be fun regardless, as long as they don't drop the ball completely.

[Stardustfire]

big problem is that Grey Knights is only a SM Chapter in itself (in SE they where only one Unit Imperial Agents, means they coud be buyed into any Impiral faction and got no big rooster) Arbitis? i only have them from SE (a Leman Russ, no Joke it was one of there Options, now THATS Police Forces, and one Unit with a Pumpguns) and again they where only Impiral Agents there. Last Inquistors, they are also (surprise) only Impiral Agents in the Start, there latest "Army Book" let the Harlequin one look like a Grimoure..

[Frostbite704]

Originally posted by Stardustfire:

this list only proves that only linkouts from bigger Armys are left, its only missing the also outsourced Harlequins and the new Craftworld Separatists.

none of the left options woud be enove to deliver something new.

Daemons woud be the best call (and only) for uniqueness with a big enove rooster.

If they really woud bring the mini subfaction army of Genestealers i woud wonder how they manage the Fluff Problem that Genestealers and ther offsprings work for the Tyranids as soon they arive. change every Genestealer Unit in range 3 of a Synaps creature permanent as a Unit of the Tyranid Player?

In response to Genestealer Cults succumbing to the Tyranids once they arrive, that’s not always true.
In some of their codices they mention that, yes, sometimes they are mind controlled and walk into the biomass reclamation pools, or stand still while they’re devoured. But not always. There are instances where the Tyranids pull the wool from over their eyes after the imperial forces are defeated, and then the Cult has to fight off the Tyranids (why? Mostly to give a reason for GSC and Tyranids to fight on the tabletop, and potentially Gladius).
But also, we already have Neophytes wandering the map, which are hostile to the Tyranids. So it’s very possible that the Cult on this planet doesn’t recognize the Tyranids as their Star Gods (maybe it has something to do with the experiments the Ad Mech did on them?).

[Grotzel]

Originally posted by Foxassassin:

Subjective. All of the options are interesting to me, honestly. Everything so far, except a couple of duds from unit packs have been great additions. Whatever they produce next (And possibly beyond) will be welcomed.

That said, I have a soft spot for the Arbites trying to scrape together and survive the absolute cluster going on in Gladius, pairing them with Grey knights and Inquisition seems like a logical thing to help diversify them out and keep in lore.

From my understanding, and correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the SoB tend to do things... just on their own? While they're backed by the Ecclesiarchy, don't they tend to do things their own way, usually independently? So I feel like having a split of them and the rest could still work in a hypothetical scenario.

But, again, all of the options are interesting as they're going to be fun regardless, as long as they don't drop the ball completely.

Of course - I agree that most of this is just subjective ... and that pretty much all viable choices would be interesting.
From my limited knowledge, I consider the Inquisition to be a rather weak thematic mixture of very different stuff from various factions.
To me, Grey Knights are just extra special Space Marines and should be lumped in with them (mainly because I don't like them).
Arbites do sound kind of cool, but I doubt that they are really needed. After all, if you want to experience regular people deaiing with the apocalyptic mess on Gladius, the Guard already covers that. Wouldn't Arbites be just an ever weaker version of them, using much of the same / inferior equipment?
Similarly, the ecclesial forces are already represented by the Sisters of Battle. You have a point, however. I agree that I'd prefer it if the Sisters remain just themselves -as much as is possible considering their limited roster - ... those units that are added to them should fit (thematically probably better to use female models ... well the Arco Flagellants were .... okay),

In any case mixing all of these elements (Grey Knights, Arbites, Inquisitors / ecclesiarchy stuff) together might work ... but I'd argue that it pales a little before more interesting alternatives. The Inquisition IS more intriguing and fitting than Custodes, however. I wouldn't really COMPLAIN about the Inquisition being the new faction. Well, not too much. ;)

But if Jey is right, it IS very likely going to be Chaos Daemons (which I would be very happy with) ... in any case, the choice has probably already been made quite a while ago - not that this means we can't have fun discussions like this.

[Grotzel]

Originally posted by Frostbite704:

In response to Genestealer Cults succumbing to the Tyranids once they arrive, that’s not always true.
In some of their codices they mention that, yes, sometimes they are mind controlled and walk into the biomass reclamation pools, or stand still while they’re devoured. But not always. There are instances where the Tyranids pull the wool from over their eyes after the imperial forces are defeated, and then the Cult has to fight off the Tyranids (why? Mostly to give a reason for GSC and Tyranids to fight on the tabletop, and potentially Gladius).
But also, we already have Neophytes wandering the map, which are hostile to the Tyranids. So it’s very possible that the Cult on this planet doesn’t recognize the Tyranids as their Star Gods (maybe it has something to do with the experiments the Ad Mech did on them?).

There's also the point that Gladius IS a very special case, The Tyranids are relatively weak here and have just escaped from the labs and are operating without a Hivefleet. This is pretty much the ideal scenario for Genestealers Cults keeping their independence.

[BNTYHNTR98]

Im up for any new faction , i want the game to have everything it can have I love the game , ive never played either Chaos Daemons , or Leages so they both intrest me. Lets hope there still actively updating and planning expansions, as we get closer to the winter release schedule we can only hope and wait with baited breath.

[Aramus]

Very interesting list, good comments about it.
Thanks a lot to the devs for the support and the increasing of the initial 4 factions to 11.
Gladius base game, DLCs and mods together form a kind of playable 40K-encyclopedia :)

My favourite for the next faction pack are chaos demons.
Different Chaos-Gods with interesting playstyle and a lot of units.

If released like "the last faction pack" as mentioned, this would help for advertise the DLC.
Even the possible story of the arrival of chaos demons to Gladius sounds interesting.
Also, this faction is very well known in the 40k-lore and other warhammer-games.

Unfortunately Votann offers a too low unit count, as mentioned only 12.
Other Gladius factions contains a minimum of 20 units.
If GW will expand the unit count, Gladius could be the first game which offers a playable Votann-Faction.