Kill-Team Season of the Sky Rumor

[jaxom]

To paraphrase the source (Chapter-Master Valrak), take with  big grain of salt; the rumored theme for the new kill-team season is jump infantry. I don't know how this fits with the rumored Striking Scorpion vs Scouts, but I think it's otherwise plausible. Swooping Hawks, Vespids, and Raptors could all use new kits and fit with the "this unit does stuff on its own" concept of kill-team. Meanwhile Mechanicus Rifle Winged Skitarii (can't remember name), Drukhari Scourges, Ork Stormboyz, could get upgrade sprues. If I were wish-listing, I'd even hope for an Elysian Drop Troops kill-team.

[Mr. Oddity]

Precedent for a jump unit has been set by the Votann kill team, but one model vs an entire team is quite the escalation. It would definitely be a good method to redo a lot of older jump infantry, but given how critical positioning can be in Kill Team they would need to be careful in their implementation. I could see them limiting teams like this to a "highly mobile" version of the game to keep things more fair (if true of course).

[sitnam]

It doesn't seem to fit previous rumors, which has also included Catachan. I'm also not sure how it'll play either, especially in balance with existing teams

 

I'll disagree with the Raptors, that is a perfectly fine and pretty recent kit (from the 2010's iirc). But I digress

[Urauloth]

Raptors pre-date the rescaling of the CSM range, the difference is quite noticeable next to legionaries, havocs etc. I'd love to see them redone.

 

This season idea seems incredibly hard to integrate with existing teams though. There'd be very little backwards compatibility with Gallowdark scenarios either (while older teams mostly fitted fine into that season).

[Xirix]

I would murder for plastic Vespids that actually look cool. (Sorry Vespids, I love you in theory, but man the resin models are ugly)

[Dark Shepherd]

Hears why it could be true...they can sell new elevated/suspended terrain like weve seen for Necromunda; some missions for jump v jump killteams, lower number of jump models for regular killteam (v foot sloggers)

[phandaal]

Adding in a whole new Jump Pack mode to Kill Team seems like a non-starter. People will just default back to their footslogger teams, and play other people's footslogger teams.

 

Besides, Striking Scorpions vs Catachans still makes a lot of sense for the follow up to the Gallowdark crashing on an Eldar jungle world.

[Halandaar]

Seems super unlikely to me. I mean it completely goes against how the entire game is played.

 

As a one-off expansion like Commanders or Elites from the previous edition, okay i could see that, but a full year of just jump units that the entire game would have to adapt to accommodate? 

[Chapter Master Valrak]

What I said, is that Vespids and flying stuff could work for Kill Team, I've heard rumours and I theorised it would fit perfect for Kill Team game :)

[SgtSharp]

2 hours ago, jaxom said:

To paraphrase the source (Chapter-Master Valrak), take with  big grain of salt; the rumored theme for the new kill-team season is jump infantry. I don't know how this fits with the rumored Striking Scorpion vs Scouts, but I think it's otherwise plausible. Swooping Hawks,

Lorewise sythes of the Emperors have used scouts with jump packs, mostly because the majority of the chapter at that point were scouts, so someone had to fullfil that role. not saying i think that is what they are going for, but it isn't unprecidented in the lore.

[Noserenda]

You already have an all jump team in the game with Stealth teams, so it could work.

[nightlordsfanboi]

Man I hope we don't get rescaled Raptors. The current ones fit nicely with my 30k Night Lords

[The Praetorian of Inwit]

I could see it happening. Why not? GW needs product to sell. This could come after the exsisitg rumured teams, or be it's own spin-off. GW has shown they clearly don't care about having sufficent staff to develop and support all these things, as long as they can list them and sell them and promise to ship them out at some point.

 

It would be cool to see Vanguard Veterans get a updated kit as part of it. 

[-DonCorleone-]

On 9/13/2023 at 7:48 AM, Urauloth said:

Raptors pre-date the rescaling of the CSM range, the difference is quite noticeable next to legionaries, havocs etc. I'd love to see them redone.

 

This season idea seems incredibly hard to integrate with existing teams though. There'd be very little backwards compatibility with Gallowdark scenarios either (while older teams mostly fitted fine into that season).

Actually, the Raptors/Warp Talons are the same size as the new Legionaries. 

 

[Bloody Legionnaire]

On 9/13/2023 at 9:35 AM, sitnam said:

It doesn't seem to fit previous rumors, which has also included Catachan. I'm also not sure how it'll play either, especially in balance with existing teams

 

I'll disagree with the Raptors, that is a perfectly fine and pretty recent kit (from the 2010's iirc). But I digress

 

It was more like 2012/2013. For what it’s worth, MkIII Marines came out in 2017 or so and are about to be replaced. While there are other kits I agree could use updating before raptors, I wouldn’t be surprised to see GW bring them in-line with nu-CSM stuffs
 

53 minutes ago, -DonCorleone- said:

Actually, the Raptors/Warp Talons are the same size as the new Legionaries. 

 

They are not the same size. Their pose with them dropping in from a jump, perched upon a tactical rock or what have you makes them stand taller, yes. But they are not proportioned the same the nu-CSM legionnaires are. They are the same size all “firstborn” pretty much are without their perches.
 

[Indy Techwisp]

>Season of the Sky
If winged infantry are the "theme" of the next season/box (aside from the already rumoured Scouts/Catachans vs Striking Scorpions), then it'd be a good way to get non-metal Vespids for Tau and bring back Elysian Drop Troops for Guard and other such flying infantry which are in need of rerelease/resculpting.

 

That said, I personally doubt it's a full season of flying squads because even factoring in the upgrade kit side of it, there just aren't enough of them to do a full season IMO.

[TheMawr]

40 minutes ago, Indy Techwisp said:

>Season of the Sky
If winged infantry are the "theme" of the next season/box (aside from the already rumoured Scouts/Catachans vs Striking Scorpions), then it'd be a good way to get non-metal Vespids for Tau and bring back Elysian Drop Troops for Guard and other such flying infantry which are in need of rerelease/resculpting.

 

That said, I personally doubt it's a full season of flying squads because even factoring in the upgrade kit side of it, there just aren't enough of them to do a full season IMO.

 

A full season would be 4 teams 8 teams

 

 

Thats 6 new and 6 upgrade potentials (though half are potentials for new teams too) without going deep into Creativity for new ones (GSC sky miners, mutants, winged kroot, obscure xenos at last), stretching for upgrade sprue ones ( jump pack berzerkers, the disc of tzeentch tzaangor or hellions) and completely ignoring the too elite stuff ( Marines, custodes.)

 

 

edit : And the only one that doesnt make sense to have kill team operative options is Swooping hawks.. Furies could easily have funky daemonic operatives

Edited September 18, 2023 by TheMawr

[Indy Techwisp]

21 minutes ago, TheMawr said:

 

Gonna be honest, forgot Stormboyz existed.

But they certainly need an upgrade.

[Marshal Reinhard]

My investment towards the must being a Scorpions vs scouts box has lessened considerably with the reveal of the neo scout box. Would still be cool, maybe scout snipers could find some spots in a kill team setup.

 

But catachan feel all the more prioritized now. They gotta happen

[Indy Techwisp]

Regarding the (likely) possibility that it's Catachans vs Scorpions, while Catachan is kinda easy to guess what they'll have (Chainswords, Flamer, probably a Sniper Rifle and/or LMG type weapon, etc.), what would the Scorpions get in a Killteam Kit?
Their whole thing is Aeldari Chainswords.

And on the topic of Jump Infantry KillTeams, a Stormboyz KillTeam would probably need new weapons and stuff too.

Tho what weapons they'd be (besides a full Melee guy) I don't know.

[Noserenda]

I dunno, the scouts look exactly like a kill team release from what we have seen so far, i think they could easily be in a KT box first.

I would kill to see jet pack corsairs back in action though, one of my fave armies and they got squatted in the face :( 

[TheMawr]

On the one side the Miniature potential really is there ( Stormboyz, Scourges and Raptors are ideal upgrade kit candidates <-- low kit price with pre-existing options, meaning you can even double up on sprues + upgrade sprue to get a 10 man team in roughly the existing kill team price range, on the other spectrum Skyreavers, hypothetical Votann jump troops and Elysians need relatively less sprue size for their flying gear, meaning they too can stay in the existing price range at a 10 man squad... Hawks and Vespids possibly need more space, but Im not sure.)  3 of these candidates have a codex within season too ( Orks, CSM, Tau ) though in contrary to warcry that is less of a key factor I think.

 

It also fits the setting of the teaser we have seen very well, its an ocean world with huge industrial buildings/ruins.. an ideal setting for flyers and vertical elevation.

 

Its just weird as it would not be backwards compatible with previous settings and kill teams, or at least not smoothly if you go from fully groundbased teams to fully skybound teams.

It also makes little sense to open the season with two new groundbound teams. ( however, that is ofcourse a rumor too... but from the same source.)

 

Perhaps its a misinterpreted continuation of the LoV kill team.. as in, its not all flyers but there are flyer operatives among them. I could see two or so scouts being able to take a smaller jump pack (more ravenguard nods ) and the striking scorpion team must have some wildcard element for kill team anyway ( Ynnari, Anhrathe or exodite alignment or something similar)

This however would limit the above mentioned options, and at least limit  cross 40k functionality when applied to the other teams.

 

 

Another possibility is that both rumors are not "the same thing" .. either Scouts vs Scorpions stands seperate from the new season (perhaps more a new starterset) and the entire new season is actually flyers, ignoring backward compatibility ( or at least ignoring balancing it.... would that suprise anyone ?)

 

Or Scouts vs Scorpions is the new seasons first box, and it will continue the kill team formula of a 1 vs 1 10man team each season, but flyers are a seperate expansion outside of the season roadmap... allowing you to replace a certain amount of operatives with flying operatives and offering us some team expansions in the form of new miniatures and reboxed ones (with or without upgrade sprues) in a concurrent or quicker release schedule.

 

 

There is at least also the good chance that rumors are just that ;) But thats no fun for speculation

 

 

 

 

[irlLordy]

Mandrakes might also fit the warcom article preview, I doubt Imperial observers care too much about the exact flavour of eldar, and would tie into the earlier Dark Eldar storyline. It would be another finecast model update, so makes sense from a GW sense.

 

The new/upgrade sprue design of the previous seasons doesn't really fit into a season of flying units though. There's not that many flying units they could stick an upgrade sprue with for a new KT. Well maybe ... stormboyz, pteraxii, praetorians, seraphim ... maaaaybe gargoyles or raptors. Anything else would be a new unit.

[Noserenda]

You could stick a new upgrade sprue in any flying unit, the sky is the limit ;) 

[TheMawr]

50 minutes ago, Marshal Reinhard said:

My investment towards the must being a Scorpions vs scouts box has lessened considerably with the reveal of the neo scout box. Would still be cool, maybe scout snipers could find some spots in a kill team setup.

 

But catachan feel all the more prioritized now. They gotta happen

 

The Catachan vs Striking Scorpion rumor is not actually a rumor though, its things being bend and twisted over time ( as I saw it evolve here and on the eldar reddit from wishlisting to misinterpretation to actually repeating it as a rumor... further explained in spoilers for those interested.)

 

Spoiler

Catachans have been long wishlisted as an ideal candidate in a kill team jungle setting ( even before the Spacehulk one.) even then people mentioned Striking scorpions as an enemy to emulate predator ( it was always scorpions, kroot or nids/genestealers.) however these where always wishlists

 

Valrak for a while mentioned the striking scorpions rumor ( I think scouts came later ?) but only the striking scorpions where repeated on the eldar reddit.. then when GW put out their teaser this escalated quickly.

You see.. the teaser was very green... I mean when you look closely you saw an ocean world with industrial ruins/structures, and GW went ahead and said it was exactly that in the same article.

But it was green... so it must be jungle, and jungle means Catachans

 

Within a week time this created a "the same person who gave us the big leak of 9th edition and the eldar codex leaks said it would be Striking scorpions vs Catachans on a jungle world" chinese whisper rumor flowing around on the reddit and Ive seen this then bleed over here as well ( but more nuanced, as in that there are rumors that its actually Catachans and not scouts vs striking scorpions, wich people keep repeating )

 

But this article is still significant https://www.warhammer-community.com/2023/05/01/where-next-for-kill-team-lets-look-at-the-path-ahead/

" Which aspect of this video intrigued you most? We’re definitely on a planet, and there’s probably combat – which will almost certainly be between squads drawn from two major factions in the 41st Millennium. So far, so Kill Team.

More specific clues abound, however. An Aeldari presence seems likely. Also, a glimpse of structures which appear to be built amid choppy waves. Further scouting is clearly required."

 

Though I always am reluctant to read too much into their wording.

 

Yet the scout team itself for me is the biggest evidence, that that rumor is true, and the scouts are for kill team. I think the studio Ultramarine paintjob is for the codex, and I think the Ravenguard paintjob they showed ( with the special equipment.. including grapling hook wich apparently has no rules in the spacemarine codex.) is for the Kill team, and might have more special operatives than what they have shown.

Edited September 18, 2023 by TheMawr