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  • Sunday Preview – Kill Team: Hivestorm Drops In

Sunday Preview – Kill Team: Hivestorm Drops In

The Massif Ballistus is primed and ready to fire – and the new edition of Kill Team is in the breach. 

The boxed game drops alongside a host of other kit, including a separate Core Rulebook, the plastic equipment pack, and the Approved Operations Card Pack. Eight full kill teams are also being re-released with new rules, tokens, and other bells and whistles – they will be joined shortly by a second and third wave of kill teams released in due course.

Unless otherwise stated, everything below will have a two-week pre-order period beginning on Saturday.

Kill Team: Hivestorm

SundayPreview Sep15 KT 01 Hivestorm

The launch set for the new edition of Kill Team is jam-packed with incredible new rules, miniatures, and other stuff. The Warhammer Studio has worked tirelessly to produce the best version of this tight and frenetic skirmish game set in the grim darkness of the far future – and the result is a finely balanced game of covert operations in three dimensions.

This box contains 22 all-new miniatures in two complete kill teams – the daredevil special operatives of the Tempestus Aquilons and their foes, the sinister xenos Vespid Stingwings. They are battling for the fate of Volkus – a planet which mounts one of the biggest guns in the galaxy, and a key strategic point in the wider battle for the Chalnath Expanse.

Both teams come with numerous build options – most can be built either as regular troopers or as key operatives with a diverse array of specialised skills, weapons, and gear. The Aquilons specialise in near-orbital drops directly on their targets, arriving with an automated servo-sentry gun, and an array of devastating Imperial arms, while the terrifyingly mobile Vespid flit about the killzone on their wings, laying waste with their advanced neutron guns.

SundayPreview Sep15 KT 04 HivestormBooks

The box comes with a 112-page softback Core Book containing full rules for the new edition, and a 72-page Hivestorm Dossier going into details about the plot and the campaign for Volkus, and including the rules for both teams.

SundayPreview Sep15 KT 05 VolkusTerrain

You also get a Core Token Sheet with 92 double-sided cardboard tokens, another token sheet with 55 tokens for your two teams, 36 Approved Operations Cards to build missions and objectives, a game board, 10 six-sided dice, plus 14 substantial pieces of new Killzone: Volkus terrain, and a Kill Team Equipment Pack containing 30 pieces of universal plastic equipment.

And that’s not all – there are two sets of free goodies available for people who pre-order Kill Team: Hivestorm (while stocks last). If you pre-order directly from Warhammer.com or make a purchase from a Warhammer store on or after the day of release, you will get a set of 12 bases with wound-counter dials (10 at 28mm, one at 25mm, and one at 40mm). 

Third-party stockists will be offering sets of 11 wound-counter dice trays which each hold two d6 dice – speak to your local store for more information. Both sets come with a natty drawstring bag.

Kill Team: Core Book

The 112-page Core Book is also available to purchase separately, packaged with the Core Token Sheet.

SundayPreview Sep15 KT 06 CoreBook

The book explains everything you need to play, including basic rules, weapon keywords, phases, actions, terrain for three separate Killzones (the vertical Volkus, watery Bheta-Decima, and confined Gallowdark), and provides two Mission Packs (the classic head-to-head Preliminary Ops pack and the new Joint Ops pack in which one or more players can play against the game itself, including full behaviours for a range of automatically controlled enemies known as Non-Player Operatives or NPOs).

Kill Team: Equipment Pack

SundayPreview Sep15 KT 07 EquipmentPack

You can acquire another Equipment Pack identical to the one included in the Hivestorm box in this separate release. The box contains one sprue comprising 30 pieces of universal equipment which can be taken by any kill team. The set includes two range markers (3” and 6”), two ladders, two collapsed ladders, two light barricades, two razor wires, two activated smoke grenades, two portable barricades, two heavy barricades, two mines, two comms devices, two ammo caches, two krak grenades, two stun grenades, two smoke grenades, and two frag grenades. It all also makes for useful scatter terrain in other Warhammer 40,000 game systems!

Kill Team: Approved Operations Card Pack 2024

Another standalone release of a product included in the Hivestorm box, the Approved Operations Card Pack provides the current way to play matched play games of Kill Team, building fun, flexible missions with varied objectives. It will be updated on a yearly basis. 

SundayPreview Sep15 KT 08 ApprovedOpsCards

It includes 36 cards, comprising one Game Sequence card, three Scouting Step cards, 12 Tac Ops cards. Nine Crit Ops cards, one Kill Op card, six Primary Op cards, and four Map Key cards. There is also one fold-out leaflet explaining how to use the deck, and two Mission Map leaflets containing six maps each for Killzones: Volkus, Gallowdark, and Bheta-Decima, and six non-specific maps. 

Killzone: Bheta-Decima and Killzone: Gallowdark

SundayPreview Sep15 KT 09 Killzones

There are three main Killzones supported in the new edition of Kill Team. The first of these is Killzone: Volkus, the new terrain found in the Hivestorm box. The other two have been repackaged for the new edition, offering different tactical challenges. These are Killzone: Bheta-Decima from the most recent season of Kill Team, and Killzone: Gallowdark, which involves close-quarters fighting in the belly of a voidship. Full rules for both are available in the new Core Book.

Kill Team: Drukhari Mandrakes and Datacards

SundayPreview Sep15 Teams 01 Mandrakes

Mandrakes are arguably the meanest guys in the entire Drukhari roster – and that’s saying something coming from the most objectively evil faction in the 41st Millennium. These twisted shades of fallen Aeldari, who lurk in the nastiest subdimension of the dark city of Commorragh, occasionally emerge to serve the purposes of an especially brave Archon, materialising in realspace and revelling in quixotic slaughter. This is the first time these 10 eldritch monsters have been available separately, and they come with a unique token sheet. They can be built as a range of specialists or as regular Mandrakes. A separate deck of 34 Datasheet cards will be released alongside them, containing faction rules and equipment, unique plots, operative profiles, and other useful information. 

Kill Team: Nemesis Claw and Datacards

SundayPreview Sep15 Teams 02 NightLords

The Mandrakes are certainly given a run for their money in the nastiness stakes by the Night Lords Chaos Space Marines, who are objectively the most evil subfaction in the 41st Millennium. When their raiding parties coalesce, they call themselves Nemesis Claws, and wanton violence, murder, and depravity follow in their wake. This is the first time this elite band of 10 Heretic Astartes have been available separately, and they’re packaged with a unique token sheet. Each can be built as one of a range of specialists or as a regular trooper. A separate deck of 34 Datasheet cards will be released alongside them, containing faction rules and equipment, unique plots, operative profiles, and other useful information.

Kill Team: Ork Kommandos and Datacards

SundayPreview Sep15 Teams 03 Kommandos

The Ork Kommandos return from the previous edition of Kill Team, repackaged with a new token sheet for the new edition. This box contains 12 miniatures, 10 of which can be built as a range of specialists or regular Kommandos, plus a Bomb Squig and a Kommando Grot ready to bring a touch of brutal cunnin’ to proceedings. You also get a unique token sheet. A pack of 36 Datacards is available separately, covering faction rules and equipment, unique ploys, operative profiles, and other helpful know-wotz.

Kill Team: Space Marine Scout Squad and Datacards

SundayPreview Sep15 Teams 04 Scouts

The Space Marine neophytes return for the new edition, packing the same flexible roster of equipment as before. This set of 10 Scouts comes with numerous options for operatives, and a unique token sheet. A pack of 34 Datacards is available separately, covering faction rules and equipment, unique ploys, operative profiles, and other helpful information.

Kill Team: Hernkyn Yaegirs and Datacards

SundayPreview Sep15 Teams 05 Yeagirs

The Hernkyn are the advance scouting parties of the Leagues of Votann, a hardy cadre who range far ahead of the rest of their forces in search of intel and resources. This set of 10 miniatures have been repacked for the new edition, and can be assembled as a range of specialists or as basic Hernkyn. You also get a set of unique tokens, while there’s a deck of 34 Datacards sold separately comprising faction rules and equipment, unique ploys, operative profiles, and other helpful information.

Kill Team: Corsair Voidscarred and Datacards

SundayPreview Sep15 Teams 06 Corsairs

The Corsair Voidscarred are a tricksy bunch of Aeldari brigands, who ply the stars and pitch up in killzones around the galaxy in search of plunder. This set of 10 miniatures is a motley crew of specialists, psykers, and unique abilities – though most can also be built as basic Corsairs. It comes with a pack of tokens, and there’s a deck of 37 Datacards sold separately, comprising faction rules, equipment, ploys, profiles, and other useful information.

Kill Team: Blooded and Datacards

SundayPreview Sep15 Teams 07 Blooded

Throw off the yoke of the Corpse-Emperor by throwing in with the Blooded, a kill team featuring 12 miniatures – 10 Traitor Guardsmen which can be built as a range of specialists or basic troopers, plus a mutated Traitor Ogryn and Traitor Enforcer. You also get a unique token sheet, while there’s a set of 38 Datacards sold separately, covering faction rules, equipment, ploys, and operative profiles.

Kill Team: Brood Brothers and Datacards

SundayPreview Sep15 Teams 08 BroodBrothers

Open your hearts to the Four-armed Emperor and welcome the forthcoming Day of Acension with the Brood Brothers, a set of 10 Genestealer Cultists based on the Cadian Shock Troopers sprue with various upgrades to build a variety of suspiciously bald specialists and troopers. It also includes a unique token sheet. They’re joined by a separate pack of 40 datacards, comprising faction rules, equipment, ploys, and operative profiles for the Brood Brothers plus various Broodcoven operatives sold separately in the main Genestealer Cults range.

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Baneblade (Audiobook)

SundayPreview Sep15 BL 01 BanebladeMP3

By the blessing of the Omnissiah was the Mars Triumphant born. From the forges of the Adeptus Mechanicus, this mighty Baneblade super-heavy battle tank comes to bring death and destruction to the foes of the Imperium. As part of the Paragonian 7th Company, Honoured Lieutenant Marken Cortein Lo Bannick commands this venerable war machine in a bitter war against the orks in the Kalidar system. As the campaign grinds on it begins to take its toll upon his crew, and old clan prejudices from the regiment’s home world arise once more. In a war which cannot be won by force of arms alone, such division may prove to be their undoing. The epic tale Baneblade by Guy Haley arrives as an MP3 audiobook next week on a one-week pre-order.

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Tomy Plushes

SundayPreview Sep15 Misc 01 Plushies

The second wave of plushes from Tomy go straight to sale next Saturday. Pick from a Watcher in the Dark, a Servo Skull, a Sassy Nurgling, a Ripper, and a Purple Sun of Xereus – each one more incongruously cute than the last…  

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On Warhammer+ this week, the epic third episode of The Tithes drops in hot, while the Tempestus Aquilons take on the Vespid Stingwings in a frantic clash from the new edition of Kill Team on Battle Report, and we learn how to paint wolf fur on Citadel Colour Masterclass.

SundayPreview Sept15 WHPlus

On Warhammer Community, meanwhile, another venerable Chaos Dwarf star player blasts into action, while there’s loads more coverage from Kill Team: Hivestorm.