getting into kill team

[terminator ultra]

so coming from someone who has NEVER played a game of any kind, how smooth does kill team play and what is the kind of monetary ad time investment for the game? I love the lore of 40k but I am hesitant about getting into the game. I have many minis for many factions but they are all painted badly. looking to go with necrons or space marines.

[MithrilForge]

I've played Killteam (but not the newest edition..yet...) I ran a Necron Killteam and it was fun, you don't need a great deal of models and you can even kitbash some if needs be (i turned some warriors into half decent flayed ones) apparently the new rules for KT are even more friendlier and since you haven't played any other 40k game the new rules wont seem confusing to you.

compared to running a 40K army KT is cheaper, terrain is about the same price but board size is smaller (less terrain required) i'd suggest saving up and getting the boarding actions wall sets as they are awesome fun to paint and make for really nice themed games (like space hulk)

space marines have a few ready made killteams that can be fun to play - a marine faction you may like could be the carcharodons a loosely based "pacific islander" themed army.

 

good luck if you choose to get into Killteam!! 

 

Cheers, M  

[2PlusEasy]

On 2/9/2024 at 6:22 AM, terminator ultra said:

so coming from someone who has NEVER played a game of any kind, how smooth does kill team play and what is the kind of monetary ad time investment for the game? I love the lore of 40k but I am hesitant about getting into the game. I have many minis for many factions but they are all painted badly. looking to go with necrons or space marines.

 

Welcome, you're the type of gamer this game is aimed towards! To answer some of your questions:

How does it play? The short answer is "it's not bad." The game is mostly straight forward and self-contained with (mostly) pre-made Kill Teams and missions out of the box. It lacks the army list building of 40k and the customisation and campaign progression of Necromunda which makes it far more streamlined. It's designed to be quick and plays semi-quickly. Whether you consider it tactical or competitive is up to personal opinion: I don't consider the game balanced, so I play it with a beer and pretzels mentality and play against players who have the same outlook.

 

Money Investment? Expensive. This hobby is expensive and will continue to get more expensive. Kill Team will set you back a couple of hundred $AUD (or equivalent) when you factor in the minis, terrain, rules, battlefield and additional hobby expenses such as dice, brushes, paints, miniature storage etc. There are ways to lessen costs such as buying second hand minis, DIY jobs or playing in clubs with access to rules and terrain (I'm purposefully not mentioning 3D Printing here: that's a separate topic and hobby in itself), but prepare yourself that this is not a cheap hobby relative to other tabletop gaming hobbies. The silver lining however, is that it's cheaper then 10th edition 40k.

 

Time investment? Significant. When you commit to tabletop Wargaming, you're committing to 5 hobbies in 1: collecting, building / converting, painting, gaming and (ironically) selling. This means that the hobby has significant time investments relative to other tabletop hobbies in getting ready to play. Unlike a tabletop card game or board game which are usually ready to play out of the packaging, you have to build the minis and terrain as a minimum before it's ready to play. GW has also bred this culture of despising unpainted minis, so there's also extra time required. Your opposing player additionally has to do the same. There are ways to mitigate some of the time investment, but with mitigation comes a cost be it financially or at the tournament scores. However, once everything's ready to play, the time investment is low: the average game of kill team for me is 30 - 45 minutes when both players know what they're doing. This is great for getting multiple games in at a single gaming night.

 

Logistical Constraints? Moderate. Tabletop Wargaming is a physical hobby which involves travelling or commuting to play. This is an important logistical consideration for some which is usually forgotten, and an important influence on time constraints as well. ("tabletop simulator" hasn't really taken off for GW like it has with TCGs and RPGs, or even other wargames. GW likely has a tendency to sue people who try.) The silver lining? Kill Team is substantially easier to transport then 40k.

 

In summary, atleast in my opinion, Kill Team is a relatively good starting point for Tabletop Wargaming as a hobby. It's not cheap and has a time investment requirement, but the game itself is streamlined enough to pick up and play quickly. The silver lining is that it's cheaper, requires less time and is easier to store and transport then 40k.

 

You already own the miniatures, and painted badly is still painted so alot of the time investment to get ready to play is solved. Might as well give it a go?

 

[Edit] The other direction would be if you like the 40k setting and collecting miniatures but have reservations committing to tabletop wargaming is, have you considered a 40k RPG instead? Cubicle 7 does two different RPGs for the 40k setting: Wrath & Glory (a d6 RPG system designed to be a bridge between RPGs and Warhammer) and Imperium Maledictus (a d100 RPG system for the full RPG experience). Some groups likely still play the former Dark Heresy / Deathwatch / Rogue Trader / Only War RPGs too.

Edited February 11 by 2PlusEasy

[terminator ultra]

10 hours ago, 2PlusEasy said:

minis, terrain, rules, battlefield and additional hobby expenses such as dice, brushes, paints, miniature storage

minis check! hundreds of them. terrain sort of I have made 6 pieces. I have dice, brushes, some paints, and have storage. 

 

10 hours ago, 2PlusEasy said:

Wrath & Glory (a d6 RPG system designed to be a bridge between RPGs and Warhammer) and Imperium Maledictus (a d100 RPG system for the full RPG experience). Some groups likely still play the former Dark Heresy / Deathwatch / Rogue Trader / Only War RPGs too.

are these as well supported as say d&d?

[2PlusEasy]

4 hours ago, terminator ultra said:

Are these as well supported as say d&d?

 

Wrath & Glory is well supported by Cubicle 7 (it's producer) with regular content. It has additional TTG modules in Roll20 as well as Foundry, and there is a free website for official and unofficial content: www.doctorsofdoom.com

 

Imperium Maledictum is still brand new, and has only just had it's core book released recently.

 

The older Fantasy Flight RPGs are discontinued though when they lost the GW IP Licence. That's not a problem though: what you get is what you get and won't change.

 

They're not as well supported as either Pathfinder or D&D though: the two dominant RPG elephants in the room won't be eclipsed any time soon. If you're after one to play closest to a tabletop game though, Wrath & Glory is good to go.