We weren’t joking when we said that the all-new version of Kill Team has been redesigned from the ground up. As we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks, the revamped unit stats, fresh rules for shooting, and a cut-and-thrust close combat system make for intense encounters, but there’s more to discover.
Today we’re talking about actions. Even the way your operatives are activated is completely new and, as we’re sure you’ll agree, this overhaul is pretty rad.
Kill Team has always been a game of alternating activations, but they were previously tied to the conventional structure of Warhammer 40,000. Even though players took turns to activate one model at a time, movements still had to happen during the movement phase, shooting in the shooting phase, and so on.
The new Kill Team rules are far more flexible. Operatives now have a stat called Action Point Limit (APL for short) – and you can spend these points (AP) on any action that’s available to them. Actions include dashing for cover, charging into combat, taking a shot, or using an ability that’s unique to a particular combatant. Here’s a choice selection of a few actions available to your operatives.
Most actions cost one AP, including moving, charging, shooting, and fighting in hand-to-hand combat, while falling back costs two – it takes a lot of concentration to disengage when the bullets and power swords start flying, after all.
But here’s the clever bit – most baseline humans and xenos have two AP, allowing them to move and shoot in a single activation, for instance, or charge and fight (though you can’t typically repeat an action). However, Astartes and Chaos Space Marines, as imposing transhuman paragons of war in the 41st Millennium, get a princely three AP per activation* which is a neat way to demonstrate their effortless superiority. Custodes, meanwhile, get four – enough said.
With a multitude of options available during each activation, battles in the new edition of Kill Team are more reactive as opponents battle to get the most out of every operative. The choice to make a break for it could turn out to be risky when the enemy can draw a bead on your precious scout on the next activation. It’s safe to say that we’re absolutely buzzing about the new system.
Join us again tomorrow as we look at how to put a Kill Team together and how rosters are balanced. The Kill Team: Octarius boxed set, featuring Ork Kommandos and Death Korps of Krieg squads alongside a whole town’s worth of fantastic Ork terrain, is available for pre-order from next month.
In the meantime, check out the updated Kill Team website and watch the awesome, blood-soaked Kill Team cinematic trailer (as if you’ve not watched it a dozen times already).
* As do Harlequins for that matter, though not Rubricae.**
** The designers really have thought of everything.