So, I've been waiting a while to post this up, waiting until we had some more information through and a better idea of the new game. While we still don't know all the ins and outs of the new game, we do now have a better idea of how it all will work and so far, I like it.
There is a big fundamental change to the game, pretty much everything about it is changing and while I did t have an issue with most of the old rules, there were certainly some aspects that really didn't work and some that just made the game clunky to play. I had always thought that the next edition of kill team would clear these rules up but I didn't imagine that they would alter everything.
Let's have a look through what we do know so far, as we have had quite a bit of information from the Warhammer Community pages.
The first thing we learnt was that the box would contain new guard and Ork models, in the form of DKoK and Commandos, plus we learnt, though some observation of the box contents, that we weren't going to be measuring in inches any more. The first of these reveals seemed to get the community really hyped up but the second seemed to annoy quite a few people. Personally I think it's all a good step in the right direction and had me hooked straight from the off.
The next post we got listed the 5 major changes to kill team and while this did give us some new information, there was not really any solid facts in there. We did learn that the new rules were nothing like 40k proper, which annoyed some more people, and that these would include a proper alternative activation system, as opposed to the semi-alternative system we currently have. We also learnt that we were getting all new data cards for units, which annoyed some more people. We also learnt some information about the Octarius setting, which most people don't seem to care about. Lastly we learnt that these models would be proper MPPK, or multipart plastic kits and not mono or limited pose models, which is great, especially after all the mono-pose marines.
All in all, there are some really good bits to this reveal. The new system sounds good, as it is a proper skirmish game, rather than a small version of 40k and reducing the dice rolling is always going to be a good thing. Alternative activations is also good, meaning there will never be any dull moments waiting around. The alternative activation system is one of the things that has always drawn me to the likes of Bolt Action. I'm really intrigued by the new data card system and how it's all going to work when picking a full roster of troops. The data cards themselves seem pretty straightforward and easy to use,which is a change from previously, when things could get a little complicated.
The next Warhammer Community article we got went into more detail on the new data cards, giving us lots of information on what the new symbols and stats mean. We'll start with the simple bit, the new measuring symbols. This again, has been causing quite a stir in some parts of the community but it's just replacing actual numbers with symbols and is really easy to use. There are plenty of combat gauges out there which you can use instead of the GW ones. As for the data cards, we have learnt that there are 6 basic stats, Movement, Action Point Limit, GA, Defense, Save and Wounds. We know what most of these mean, the only ones that we don't really know about is GA. There are several thoughts on what it is but we don't know for sure yet. Having these limited few stats again means that things will be quicker and easier in game. Talking of stats, two stats that we are use to being set in stone, WS and BS, are changeable. This is a good move, meaning, weapons like snipers will have a better chance of hitting than a lasgun. Again everything shown in this post is encouraging, all apart from one thing. Right at the bottom of the article it explains the 4 symbols that can be found on the cards, labelling them as Combat, Staunch, Marksman and Scout, but also saying that these are for narrative play only. From this we can infer that there will.not be specialist like in the last game but any specialization we get will be a lot more focused and be done through individual data cards. I.e. we'll not be able to make anyone with any weapon a combat specialist but will have a combat specialist data card with restricted weapon options. Again, I think that this is a better system, as it means that specialist will be more important and well, more specialised.
The last article we had on Warhammer Community gave us an insight into how combat will work and some extras for movement. I'll start with the movement, even though it's at the bottom of the article. It looks like moving over an obstacles will reduce movement by a set figure, regardless of actual size. It seems that an obstacle will reduce movement by a 2" or a circle full stop, so no more measuring up and down or width, nice simple and easy. As for combat, it has, like everything else, been made a lot simpler. The fighters all roll their dice and then either cancel each other out or inflict damage, depending upon what you want to achieve. We don't know full stats for all the models yet, but it looks like another good move. There are just a couple of questions that I would like answering, like what happens when you have multiple models in combat, do they all roll off at the same time or separately? Also do you keep going until a model suffers enough damage to kill it, or until all the dice are used up? I mean a marine with a powerfist will be able to splat a guardsman in one hit, but if it has 2 hit Vs a guardsman's 3, could the guardsman just take the hit knowing he can put damage on the marine, or does he just die and that's the end of it?
The last thing to mention from last week's reveals is the new website. While this doesn't tell us a lot of information, there are a couple of bits that I want to point out, all to do with the way the factions are laid out. According to the website, there are now 21 factions, none of which are the special team from before, i.e. starstriders or Geller pox. I had none of the special teams, so I'm not bothered, no, what really interested me was the names of some of these factions and also the composition of the teams. To start with deathwatch are now part of Marines and not separate as before. Admech are not AdMech but Forge World, sisters are Ecclesiarchy and the golden boys are now part of Talons of the Emperor along side Sisters of Silence. It's a bit of a shake up of the common names but probably more accurate depending upon what units are in each faction. Likewise, CSM are now Traitor Space Marines, Eldar are now Craftworlds, Quin's are now just called Troupes and dark Eldar are commorrites. Then for the rest of the Xenos races we have Green skins, Tomb world's, Hunter Cadre and Cadre mercenaries for Orks, Necrons, Tau and Kroot. Lastly we have Hive Fleets and Brood Covens for Tyranids and Genestealer Cults. Now a few of these are fairly obvious but the change in me does lead to questions. A couple that give me hope for future releases are Cadre Mercenaries, which at the moment is just Kroot but I guess could include all Tau allied races at some point. The others that interest me are Ecclesiarchy and Hunter Cadre. This is because they are very different from their "parent" terms, Ecclesiarchy is a lot more that just sisters and Hunter Cadre is a lot more specific that Tau.
The other two entries that are interesting are the Veteran guard and Commandos. These are the starter box teams but the question is, will they be a full teams of just set teams as per the box. Either way, i think I'll be picking up some other units to build up veterans.
Well, as an initial look in to the new kill team, I am very excited by it and will most likely get the new box set. Hopefully with the new rules, a few more people might want to get in on the kill team action!
No comments:
Post a Comment