Kill Team Thoughts on Factions

 

What makes a good Kill Team? At a very basic level a good kill team can generate Victory Points (VPs) faster than its opponents, over the four turning points of the game. Typically VPs are gained through taking actions, and taking actions is directly related to the Action Point Limit of the team (Team APL or TAPL). But this is not the end of the story, some action are better in some situation and some special rules and raw stats allow actions for one faction to be more powerful than the same action for another faction. 

Considering this, I think there are five main factors when comparing kill teams. TAPL and Model (but also wound) count determines how much of the board you can occupy and also allows you to spend proportionally less actions on getting VPs than maneuvering. Next are the Ploys.  Ploys are the soul of the Kill Team.  They give the Kill Team flavor and also, with consideration, can dramatically increase the power level of the Team. Finally there is maneuver, which has three elements; the ability to move, to shoot and to fight in close combat. A Kill Teams ability to maneuver is what allows it space to gain victory points and limit an enemies options.

One thing I like about the kill teams, in the compendium, is that they all have tradeoffs among these five attributes and while not balance none seem broken.  With this in mind let’s looks at the compendium teams we have been playing with.  

In our group these guys have the most winning record.  I would not suggest they are intrinsically better but they are a well-balanced team. In our group the build is always the same; 3 Warriors and 5 Genestealers.  This Kill team has a good TAPL and Model Count. The free dash action is okay, and can help if you need an activation to secure a victory point, but since the stealers don’t shoot what were they going to use that second action for anyway.

Ploys. Lurk is awesome, and combined with the Genestealers hidden horror rule really boost their durability until it is time to strike.

Maneuverer. If they lack somewhere it is in their shooting. They have some great weapons but with a 4+ to hit their effectiveness is noticeably less than other shooting teams, also with only three operatives caring weapons it is easier for your opponent to focus their shooting and incapacitate them early.  Keeping the Tyranid bio swarms firing thought the game is their key to success. 

The Emperors finest… (This comment is specifically for Intercessors but is generally true for all Primaris) It is quite ironic that they are currently an absolutely lousy Kill Team. While they do look good on raw stats their TAPL is 15 and their ploys are good, even if a bit boring. Where they fall down is in model count. Custodes are 50 % better (approximately) and marines only get 25% more fighters… They also lack in diversity, while the auxiliary grenade launcher is cool it is no substitute for a proper gunner.  Finally they are simply not good at close combat, with the exception of the sergeant.  The best type of Primaris are (IMO) the Incursers, just because they can shoot the full range and have better close combat to normal Intercessors.

Possible Fixes. Lots of idea here, you could make their Kill Team 6 operatives, but this would really not fit with the history of the 5 marine squad, you could mix types of Primaris marines, this would not really work with the fluff either and might not be enough, it would give a bit of diversity to the list though.  Personally I think the best thing to do is give the kill team 30 experience points (6 abilities) to spread amongst the team.  I think this would work with the fluff and bump the power to the right level.

Orks are very cool.  They have decent ploys (dakka dakka dakka is something I do almost every turn) and a good TAPL (around 19) as well as being quite tough.  They are very strong in close combat and average in movement.  They loose on armour and shooting.  Armour can be mitigated by being sneaky with the terrain and weak shooting mainly means if you take Lootas you should take Targetin’Fing with them.  I have mixed feelings about the shoota boyz, and think the choppa slugga boyz are more often the better choice. I have played them a few times and I think the stand out is the Nob.  Nobz are proportionally better than other kill team leaders compared to the average operative, and the Boss Pole for an extra APL is an auto include.  While you could make the leader a spanner I don’t know if being accurate when you shoot is all that orky. Gretchins have their place as mobile (short lived) barricades or as a helping hand in combat or seizing objectives. Generally they are fun thematic and not bad compared to other compendium teams.

Chaos has good balance when you take eight cultists and three marines. For the cultists I think focusing on close combat is better than shooting but two autogun operatives can be effective snipers and a safe early activation. Their ploys are a bit disappointing as they often only effect the marines.  I have found that “Letting the Galaxy” burn is your best choice 9 turning points about of 10 and then warp infused is also handy when your plasma gun gets injured.  I love the double activation of the cultists and do think that the flamer gunner is the best choice. You do need to be careful the way your models are grouped during the game, the autogun guys should be placed up high and then group your other cultists together.  You priority target is any enemy with torrent or blast special rule.

I haven’t played these guys yet.  We have only played compendium teams so far and Harlequins seem like they would not be fun for a beginner to play against.  But, as soon as my friend finishes his Custodes Kill Team these guys will meet them on the table.  They seem to only lack ranged weapons but due to the abilities bestowed by their flip belts and seemingly powerful ploys I think they will both be thematic and fun.

Balance.  On one hand it seems like the highly prescribed Kill Team lists means that the factions should be balanced.  On the other hand it does seem that even within the compendium there are three tires. The top tier is Harlequin and Custodes, then the rest are quite similar but as with any distribution there is a top and a bottom.  As mentioned with the marines, experience points is a built in way making any game fair and I bet they could even compete with the new designer lists.  Assuming designer lists, Custodies and Harlequins are fine the way they are then something in the realm of 4 random skills (20 xp) to an above average compendium list and 8 random (40 xp) to a below average list would likely make everything competitive.

Kill Team Game 4 Sisters of Battle vs Orks

 

Since this was my friend’s first game of the new Kill Zone we played the control the Kill Zone scenario.  He used his sisters of battle and I brought a kill team of compendium orks. I have begun to think more about gaining objectives and counting points rather than just blasting away at the enemy operatives and I think that was the main reason I did better. 

Turning Point 1 Size the ground. I won the roll and elected to defend this gave the initiative to my opponent the Sisters of Battle (SoBs).  Both kill teams secured their two objectives on their respective left flanks and prepared to square off in the middle of the Kill Zone.  There was some effective first turn shooting with 4 SoBs getting incapacitated.  This was more due to eagerness on the part of the SoBs then any cunning or lucky dice from the orks.  It does highlight how important setup is.  Also if you are going to leave an operative out as bate make sure you have a good trap to counter attack with. In the end both the SoB leader and gunner plus two more were incapacitated L, with only two injured lootas and an incapacitated ork with rokkit to show for it, oh and maybe a dead grot.  At the end of Turning Point One the score was 2-2.

Turning Point 2.  In this turn the SoBs do a good job finishing off the Lootas that they injured in the first turning point.  The Repentias also tried charging into a group of Orks huddled around an objective only to learn the hard way about charging operatives that have more wounds then you remaining and also have support from their team mates.  The Reaping special rule did get activated a few time in the battle, but I am not sure how useful it really is.  The Burna Boyz also had a few opportunities to shoot at multiple targets and the death toll on both sides continued to mount but each side held two objectives and the score was 4-4 at the half.

Turning Point 3. The Sisters win the initiative and decide to shoot up as many orks as they can causing some damage but spreading that damage across several operatives and not using an action point to claim one of the objectives.  The orks boss and remaining Burna boy charged into the SoBs objective in the center killing them and seizing it (the Boss Pole with its extra APL given to the Nob is a must include) allowing the Gretchin in the back to claim an objective and give the orks control of the kill zone 6-5.

Turning Point 4. Sister of Battle again win the initiative but have too few models left to push the orks off the third objective.  And the turning point ends quickly with a final score of 8-5 for the ork.

Some observations

Jockeying Lootas.  I believe I made a significant mistake by deploying my Lootas visible to the enemy.  Since the Loota’s Deffgun does not have the heavy trait it is possible to move it a normal move and still fire it (jockeying).  This could have prevented them getting injured before they had even fired. 

It seems that flamers or Burnas get a mixed review, some people feel that since it is unlikely to kill anyone and have a limited range they are poor weapon.  I like them for their ability to cause wounds to multiple targets thereby setting them up for a charge. Of course this is a bit situational and it does take an activation.  In all my games I have found them useful, even when targeting loan operatives.  Often doing 2 or 4 wounds is enough to allow them to be one shot-ed in close combat by a subsequent activation.

Charges and counter charges.  I think I have said this before but close combat is a brutal war of attrition in Kill Team.  Only with careful planning, good tactical ploys, luck or all three will you get away unscathed.  This means your operatives really need to be able to support each other, so keep a guy in the back waiting until your last activation, just in case.

Injured is good, Incapacitated is better.  I feel like the SoBs would have been more effective if they concentrated their fire better. After the lootas if they had whittled down the Burnas it might have been a different story

Orks are a decent list. I think the Ork Boss is very good and might be the best leader relative to their average warrior.  They can shoot (I like the combie-skorcha), fight and have 3 APL with a boss pole.  I think the Lootas are fine if they have a Targetin’Fing and don’t get injured. But otherwise Burnas and Choppas are where the money is made. I think Grots are useful as well but will need a few more games.

Sisters of Battle also seem good enough, they do have poor close combat but their shooting is very good. I think I would give the Repentias a miss and just take 10 SoBs. 

Kill Team Game 3 Chaos and Tyranids

 

On a bit of a role with Kill Team and I am enjoying it quite a bit.  This was our third game of kill team and as such we are still learning the game, although we think we only got one rule wrong (the first cultist activated as a group of one not two).  One thing I am learning is that there is a reasonable amount of tactical thinking required to be a successful commander if you don’t just want to rely on the dice gods (who were very present this game).  In this game placement and control of the objectives were significant factors, some would say less significant than the dice but I digress J

The scenario for Game 3 was the basic Control the Kill Zone scenario, we played this because we had a new player in the game and wanted to start with a scenario that us grizzled veterans already knew.  This scenario relies on the placement of 4 objectives, two are placed on the center line and the other two have more freedom.  In the deployment photo you can see the position of the objectives and how they favor the Chaos deployment zone.  The reasoning for the Tyranid player to place the right most objective where they did was to have it in a bit of cover (Oh we also set up the scenery before the objectives, so two mistakes...).

Turning Point One, Grab and Go.  Chaos won the initiative and their leader used his 3 APL very wisely to move to and secure an objective through a window before dashing back out of sight (the left objective). After that both sides advanced on each other but the right most objective was too far away to be secured by the Tyranids and the Kill Zone was controlled by Chaos at the end of the Turning Point. 

Turning Point 2, Burn them Down.  Again the initiative was won by Chaos and the Chaos Marine Gunner with the plasma gun proved very effective at injuring large monsters.  The Tyranids and Geenstealers did their fair share of killing in close combat but even in victory they were wounded and then able to be mopped up by the lasgun snipers from their vantage points or the two Cultist Gunners with flamers. The Chaos dice were hot but the Chaos stratagems of let the galaxy burn (easier critical hits) and warp infused (lets the marines ignore penalties for being injured) also proved very effective.

Turning Point 3, all is quiet.  By this point the Tyranids had largely been crushed and they had not scored enough victory points. The kill Zone was firmly in the hands of Chaos and the game was called with a 6 to nothing victory for them.

Turning Point 4, …..

What Chaos did right!  Well other than having hot dice I think they did a good job organizing their 11 models into smaller teams to take and hold three objectives.  Also the group activation of 2 allowing the activation of both flamer gunners was a headache for the Tyranids as they tried to get into engagement range.

Ultimately it was the setup that probably did the Tyranids in.  They suffered from not having a close objective they could lurk around. This meant that it was easier for Chaos to control the majority of the objectives.  In hindsight the barricades could have been used to provide enough cover to defend an objective in the open and closer to the Tyranid deployment area

Principles of Kill Team.  This is a work in progress but this is where I will try and direct my thoughts for the next battle.

Deploy the objectives and set up the terrain with the advantages of your Kill Team in mind.

Deploy your Kill Team with the mission objectives in mind maximizing your stratagems

Activate your Kill Team first to claim victory points, then to kill enemy operatives before they activate, and finally to kill enemy operatives after they activate.

Kill Team Game 2 - Tyranids and Smurfs

This was my second game of kill team I changed my kill team to the Ultramarines and my friend stayed with the Tyranid list form the last report.  The Marines were nothing special (with the current rules they can’t be special). For tech I took an Auspex, Auxiliary Grenade Launcher with Krack grenades and the reroll charm for the Sgt, who also had a Thunder Hammer.  All the Marines took the rapid fire bolters with the ceaseless special rule except one who had the Stalker Bolt Rifle. the mission was Duel of Wits.

Turning Point 1, Gun Line.  In the first turning point of this game the Marines decided to form a gun line on the high ground around objective 1, sadly it was too far away to control objective 1.  Meanwhile the Tyranids lurked, sneaked and scurried out of their corner securing objectives 2, 4 and 5. The fire from the marines was effective and two Geenstealers died and the Tyranid heavy gunner was injured but at the end of this turn it was 3 points to nothing for the bugs. Bolter discipline seemed to be an effective strategic ploy to double the effectiveness of the marines.  The grenade launcher supported by an Auspex combination was also strong (injuring the Tyranid warrior).

Turning Point 2, leap of faith, or being too high up.  With the Tyranid forces in the lead by victory points they attempt to pin the Marines in their current position by charging the Geenstealers at the center of the Marines.  One thing you learn about Marines in kill team is that the Intercessors are really not that good at fighting (close combat).  On the Marine Sgt’s activation he decides to leap into the melee to save his injured brothers form the Geenstealers.   Unfortunately even with a reroll he failed the leap from his vantage point onto the pipe and then the catwalk below and lands with the thump ending his turn.  There is more fighting and the Geenstealers do get pushed back but it is 6 to 0 at the end of the turning point, with the bugs controlling the same objectives and again being able to play a gambit on objective 2.

Turning Point 3, Mopping up the Bugs.  This turn brought a desperate struggle between the Tyranid Kill team leader and the marines contesting objective 3 and 4. The charge of the Tyranid was a bid of a rookie mistake since the Tyranid had only 2 wounds left and the marine had 8 wounds left.  This meant as long as the marine rolled 2 hits (one could get parried) the Tyranid had to die.  As well the Marine Sgt crack the skull of the other Tyranid Warrior with his hammer but being too far away to contest objective 2. The Turning Point ended with a score of 6 to 2 for the bugs, with the marines finally in control of more objectives.

Turning Point 4, too little too late.  Even with almost all the Tyranids incapacitated the marines were four points down and only a maximum of three to be gained this turn.  The Tyranids delay had worked, no doubt to provide some devastating effect on some other corner of the war ravaged city.

Close Combat (Fighting, as it is called).  Close Combat in Kill Team is a war or attrition.  Even the winner will take some damage, no matter the quality of their armor.  The only exception to this is the “one shot” charge.  If you can charge an opponent who has fewer wounds than your basic damage it is almost guaranteed you will kill them without taking any damage.  For instance, 3 dice at 4+ means close to a 7/8^th chance of getting one or more regular hits. 

Objectives and Victory Points.  This game was also a good example of killing without thinking.  The marines had only one warrior incapacitated while the Tyranids were virtually wiped out, yet it was a resounding Tyranid victory.  This was mostly due to the blood thirsty marine commander but also due to a poor plan to capture the objectives and certainly a poorly thought out deployment.  Deployment and Victory Points go hand in hand.

Deployment. In this game the deployment area was triangles in opposite corners.  Each corner had an objective just outside it and three more objectives were spread out diagonally between the other two corners. At first glance I was happy with my corner, since it had a very strong wall around my deployment area and objective.  What I learned was that from my objective I could not support other objective markers and from the wall I could not claim my objective.  This meant that claiming the objective took one marine out of the fight.  I also deployed to move into a gun line on the elevated wall, and while this did provide a vantage point from which to kill everything it was not close enough to other objectives to score points.  It is also a pain to climb down from, even if you fall.  After turning point 2, where I still had yet to score (2 points for most objectives controlled and 1 for a successful gambit) the best I could do was tie….