40k: Kill Team

Ok, here’s my hot take.

Warhammer 40k - 9th edition.

Unlike SWA or Necromunda, KT fits smoothly into the 40k -system-. It is immediately familiar and it feels like you would expect 40k at a smaller scale to play. But it also feels iterative, clearly building on 8th, AOS, and Necromunda to come up with something somewhat leaner. There is really a lot of loss between KT and Necromunda/SWA, but...I’m not sure I really miss the more extensive gear, more detailed campaign elements, and so forth.

Putting everything in the book up front is so smart...and there are more options than SWA allowed. And less of an emphasis on having to buy a unit box to get one specialist figure, thank Tzeentch. I hate that Daemons aren’t in there but shoot, everything else is. The game is totally complete in the box- more so than any “starter” product GW has ever released.

The terrain is some of the best GW has ever produced. Yah, it’s the tried and true “gothic ruins”, but it looks great, it’s hugely modular/customizable and you get enough for the full board- which is also included, no need to shop for a playmat.

I like that AdMech and GSC are the factions quite a lot. They are both not the usual suspects, and they are also relatively newer factions- which makes this a great way for lapsed players to come back. They are full sprue kits, and you can build them as the designated teams or make up your own.

I think they got it right this time, and I think this is something that should have been done a long time ago. It feels like this is not a one-off or a throwaway this time, it feels like a fully integrated 40k product and a new way to play.

Necromunda is doomed. It would be EXTREMELY smart for them to port the gangs over to KT rules. Hopefully someone will. It is worth noting that I -think- you should be able to play KT on the Necromunda boards for a 2D experience and it should totally work. At first I was ready to sell ‘Munda, but I think there is crossover potential.

So excited to play more. Hate that it is distracting me from AOS 2.0 though!

That's it! I'm getting this.

PS. Would boyz only ork kill team be boring?

No, because you can kit them out and give them specializations. The other choices for them are Gretchin, Kommandos, Lootas and Burnas.

There is also some fun stuff in the book where you can roll up random names and personalities.

They screwed the Eldar on troop choices. There are rumours swirling that is was due to focusing on is available in plastic/resin. I would have thought that the option to include the various aspects was a no brainer. Better that than worrying about kitting out a Storm Guardian to impersonate a Fire Dragon or Scorpion. Having the aspects makes for a more visually interesting play space. I'm also not keen on the Eldar being allowed to bring a heavy weapons platform on a small squad mission. How does that make sense? The absence of Warlocks or Farseers was also a let down.


I'll stick with the Harlequins unless some updates come down the line for the Craftworld folk.

Shadow War: Armageddon had the weapons platform too and it was kind of funny.

the_jake_1973 wrote: They screwed the Eldar on troop choices. There are rumours swirling that is was due to focusing on is available in plastic/resin. I would have thought that the option to include the various aspects was a no brainer. Better that than worrying about kitting out a Storm Guardian to impersonate a Fire Dragon or Scorpion. Having the aspects makes for a more visually interesting play space. I'm also not keen on the Eldar being allowed to bring a heavy weapons platform on a small squad mission. How does that make sense? The absence of Warlocks or Farseers was also a let down.


I'll stick with the Harlequins unless some updates come down the line for the Craftworld folk.

No aspect warriors or warlocks is nuts!!!!

Guardians with optional heavy weapons platform
Storm Guardians
Scouts
Dire Avengers

Huh, so just dire avengers... seems like a missed opportunity.

Even the Harlequins are a bit limited with only being able to select the generic Troupe player. But I suppose that a Death Jester or Solitaire may have been overpowered for the setting.

Yeah, they're kind of screwy about this, and they must be considering the business aspect also. Some got troops only, others have elites (Reavers & Stealth Suits come to mind).

The HWP is probably because they have it in the box. It'd be a shame when new player bought a new Eldar guardian box and found he couldn't use the platform. The Stealth Suits adds to Tau's firepower, and their stealth-theme suits Kill Team--although why Striking Scorpion aspect isn't included is quite confusing. The Reaver addition to SM kill team is rather dubious, although they could probably utilize their grappling hook to full effect.

There’s like twice as much to choose from in KT though. And you can totally just stick to the elite choices...so you can run Plague Marines or Poxwalkers, Dire Avengers or Guardians, Boyz or Lootas. Or a combination.

There is also the unspoken issue that the newer models (specifically Primaris and Death Guard” make the older models look laughably small. But they can’t update ‘em all.

Regardless of the size issue, the choice should be on the player on whether to use the old models or the go with the new stuff. To have troops not included due to model age is asinine, but in line with GW's model.

I dunno, I think it’s best to only include currently available stuff...they already extend that to web store only resin stuff.

Scouts and Tac Marines are listed for Astartes, so a bone is thrown if you don’t have Intercessors or Reivers.

I GW not about scratchbuilding models that aren't available? I hope they add more troop types in further additions.

40k 9th edition is a pretty good hot take. Having a skirmish system that can be run concurrently with the standard rules that is well thought out and supported is something that is loooong overdue from GW. Between this, standard 40k and the Wrath and Glory RPG I feel like there is a lot of potential for a multi-ruleset campaign showing the narrative at 3 different levels.

I really do hope they simply port Necromunda over to Kill Team, but it will probably take them a while to pivot, since they don't want to burn people already invested in the system. But yeah the writing is on the wall for that one; two competing 5-10 model skirmish rulesets can't possibly be sustainable even for a larger company like GW. I love that setting though, and the new miniatures and board tiles are top notch so hopefully it can be salvaged.