Kill Team is Warhammer 40,000 for people who really like the sci-fi-fantasy world of Warhammer 40K, really like the models, really like playing games but simply don’t have the stamina for fielding huge armies of models across a table-top. It’s a light skirmish combat game that use’s a small amount of models, and the latest release of the game Octarius, not only revamps the whole thing, it also looks fabulous.
Games Workshop sent the Kill Team Octarius set to Starburst Towers for us to take a quick look and we have to say we got stuck in very quickly. We’ve reviewed various Kill Team products in the past and the game has been in flux for a while, with supplements such as Arena and Pariah Nexus varying wildly in terms of rules. Octarius is essentially a complete overhaul; taking the best bits from previous iterations of the game and producing something accessible and playable by everyone.
This is the nicest edition of the game so far – accessible rules, lovely models, fantastic terrain, everything you need to get stuck in.
Rules-wise, this is a more in-depth, drilled-down take on Warhammer. When your units consist of a handful of heroes you want to make sure that everything they do counts, so there’s more complexity here. There’s an initiative phase, which varies depending on your unit’s performance and the specific scenario.
There’s a strategy phase that not only allows your units to do more in their turn, it also presents more changes to get victory points and win. Finally, there’s the firefight phase, where all the action happens. There’s simply more tactical options for each of your units now, and the result is a smoother, more cinematic game. It’s like they’ve taken the best bits of Mordheim, Inquisitor, Necromunda and Space Hulk and smoothed them out into one tactically dense but fun-filled skirmish combat game. It’s a complete reboot of Killteam and it now feels like the game you always wanted it to be.
The set itself contains a huge pile of plastic. We get 10 Death Korps of Krieg (plus a ‘medkit’ model). The Kriegers are gas mask-wearing humans who have total disregard for their own survival. For years they’ve been difficult and expensive to come by, so these new plastic sculpts are welcome. This is Kill Team, so each one looks different, and rules-wise they’re not only really cool in combat, but also refreshingly different.
Ork fans aren’t left out here though; we also get a dozen Ork Kommandos, space monsters who think a bit more tactically before charging in and murdering all the humans they can find. Both brutal and cunning, these hulking creatures are dripping with weapons as well as a pet ‘squig’ covered in explosives.
As always, these are Games Workshop models so they’re lovely sculpts. A little tricky to put together in some places, but nothing an average gamer can’t handle. The game comes with a lot of terrain, all Ork-themed. So it’s crude and spikey buildings, ramshackle ammo depots, and the like to hide behind or charge at. This is all fairly easy to put together and looks fun to paint.
In addition to all this, the game comes with its own narrative campaign book, the titular Octarius. Though you can ignore this and just get on with beating up Orks, the campaign looks a lot of fun and the interconnected missions create a specific sort of storytelling experience that you only really find in this sort of game. Flipping through the book it looks like hours of fun and adventure for yourself and a good friend.
Overall, this is a remarkable reboot of a game we already really liked. They’ve nailed a mix of nostalgic old-school play with modern smoothness and we can’t wait to play more Killteam.
Kill Team: Octarius is available for pre-order from August 14th 2021, and Games Workshop has stated that everyone who pre-orders a copy of the new Kill Team that weekend will get one. (Similar boxes have sold out very quickly in the past, hence this guarantee.)
