Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team is a solid skirmish game by the looks of things, especially now that it has been around for a few weeks and people have had a chance to explore its options. It launched with 16 factions from which players may choose, which is quite remarkable. As I noted in my Old vs. New Kill Team post, the new game does not include vehicles, but I think the slightly larger scale of the Combat Patrol format is a better fit for that style of gameplay. I like the core idea of Kill Team being a game based on small squads of specialist infantry, and I think it shouldn't be expanded beyond that. However, there remain a few glaring shortcomings.
I can understand why the Imperial Assassins and Custodian Guard aren't in the game because they don't fit the balance, and the Legion of the Damned doesn't fit the setting. However, glaringly absent factions include Chaos Demons affiliated with the four chaos gods as noted by the disappointed Chaos-playing clerk at my local game store. The Sisters of Silence were recently released with new plastic models, and while the current game isn't likely to need their anti-psyker traits, there are some armies that could find this sudden restriction on their abilities a fresh challenge, and the aforementioned chaos demons might also prove worthy foes. The Inquisition could easily add some Inquisitor rules and state that Imperium-affiliated factions could all be conscripted as Inquisition forces for a truly unique Kill Team. The classic Sisters of Battle, despite old metal models, would be ideal as a kill team faction, too.
Some of the included factions are also missing units that seem ideal for the game, though.
Space Marines seem to be so eager to incorporate the new Primaris line (ugh...) that they skipped over the classic jump-pack equipped Assault Marines and the heavy weapons of the Devastator squads. These would make the original Space Marines more, well, tactical. As it is, I'm not sure how well the original Tactical Marines fare on their own without New Marine support.
Orks are also missing the option for an all-Nob squad, which would be a great fit for the game setting since they are so readily kustomized with unique wargear right out of the box. A box of five Nobz with two wounds apiece, special weapons, and a few Grots as meat shields would make a great kill team.
Now, this being Games Workshop, I'm not holding my breath for free-to-download datasheets to fill these gaps, although I could see their White Dwarf magazine including some extra rules down the road or a special bonus product expansion for sale at some point. Maybe even a special expansion box with plastic Sisters of Battle is in the works! Yeah, right. But we can hope! Here's hoping this game gets the support it needs for the foreseeable future!
