My thoughts on the new Kill-Team game

[Deus_Ex_Machina]

Right off the bat I need to clarify that the notion of me ever investing into a Kill-Team game would have been zero although as of late things have changed. Why? Well, games like Necromunda & Stargrave are more established in the skirmish genre so what is the point to expand yet into another setting? To answer that question the response would be:

 

The Space Marine 2 video game.

 

SM 2 rekindled my love for power armour mayhem to such high levels that the only logical conclusion would be to invest into the Kill-Team starter set. It comes with pretty awesome models which will look even better once painted in an IH scheme. This post could end right here on a very positive note for a change but this is the interwebz and voicing criticism is it´s bread and butter. So lets go straight to two of my issues which I have with this release and those have absolutely nothing to do with the rules because I will most likely use another rule system anyway:

 

1. Terrain provided in the core box

Included in the starter set are MDF ruins which need not to be painted and are very quickly assembled. This is obviously very neat for beginners in the hobby so why am I bothered? When I think of skirmish games multi-level terrain comes to mind like in Necromunda & Infinity. Especially comparing an Infinity city layout with the pathetic little ruins provided by GW is like claiming a Mercedes Benz car is on the same level as a Trabant. And honestly it´s a disgrace for the market leader to invest so poorly into the third player of any wargame which is the terrain. The solution would be to just use Infinity terrain or even build something interesting from scratch yourself.

 

2. Pathetic attempt to appeal to a non-target demographic

I am talking right now about this Kill-Team commercial on Youtube:

 

 

Lets face it: Wargames have appealed to men, are appealing to men right now and will also appeal to men in the future. Chasing female gamers who are in a minority just to increase sales by 0.001% reeks of desperation. And again this comment could end right now but lets dive a little bit deeper in what is presented here in this commercial.

 

We have an attractive blonde woman wearing a boiler suit with exquisite manicured long nails and it looks off.

She is wearing the broiler suit to tone down her attractiveness as if she would moderate a Disney show for underage kids. GW, if you are afraid to have an attractive woman in your advertising then just put another guy into the video clip. Problem solved.

I get the idea of having flawless nails when having a closeup of the mini when she holds it in her hands but can you imagine her painting minis with her pretty long nails? Definitely not. In fact the combination of a boiler suit, a working class attire, does not mesh well at all with her pristine nails. 

 

Last but not least comes her body language and facial expression when confronted by this strange, male hobby. I am not a fan of fake, exaggerated enthusiasm displayed in commercials although her indifferent disposition towards the mini is not helping either. It reads like: 

 

"I don´t want to be here. Lets hope this charade is over soon."

 

What are your thoughts about the content of the new Kill-team starter set and how did you like the presented commercial?

[Cactus]

Dungarees are not boiler suits. I would advise anyone against wearing a boiler suit while wargaming because heavy baggy sleeves lead to falling miniatures. And I don't mean Dark Angels. I don't think your classist opinion is relevant to Soph's wardrobe decisions. I strongly doubt that anyone in GW's marketing team was cackling over their despicable plan to make somebody appear both common and classy in a promo video.

 

The video is Nick from Warhammer TV showing somebody how the game is played. These 'how to play' videos are not a new thing. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Soph is some sort of instagramfluencer rather than GW's new 'face' so I think your bizarre attacks on her attire and behaviour are very misjudged.

[INKS]

I understand the issue with MDF, in this case I think GW is looking for ways to keep starter set costs lower - and instant build, easy to use. If you fancy getting more into the hobby, or hopefully hooked then you'll get better terrain. Remember too that with this starter set you are only getting the beginner rules and  NOT the full rule set. So somethings like climbing to another level and vantage points and all that are likely not part of this version of kill team.

 

I can understand not liking that but it just to get people started. hopefully they like it and then get hooked.

 

As for the video. I really think you are reading way too much into it. 

I do not see any problem with her appearance. what she is wearing, her nails, or anything else. Sorry. I just don't get what you are trying to convey here.

as for fake reactions and stuff. I think there is some of that. But it's on par for the course with both the male and female in the video to pretend to be or over hyped for playing the game and things that are happening. 

 

Is it worse to watch two people who are mundane and kinda bored or monotone. or two people who are probably a little over excited for the game they are playing. 

Over excited reads better than monotone and bored.

I don't find her reactions to be any more fake than the guys.

 

All of that being said. Who cares about the video and how that effects kill team. I can like kill team without liking the video. The video has zero impact on my enjoyment of the game itself or the mini's or the how to videos on how to paint X mini. GW videos are high quality (in my opinion) which is high scripted with whoever they have around the studio to film them. That is just what they are. Sometimes or often times you just aren't going to get good genuine reactions and some people just don't read well on camera or when following a script. And it's 1000% scripted.

 

TLDR: I think you are reading WAY too much into the video.

[Gillyfish]

19 hours ago, Cactus said:

I would advise anyone against wearing a boiler suit while wargaming because heavy baggy sleeves lead to falling miniatures. And I don't mean Dark Angels.

 

Personally, I quite like this new theory as to the Fallen turned to Chaos. It was clearly the Caliban-pattern standard-issue boiler suits that did it!

 

In response to Deus_Ex_Machina, I am not sure I agree with your assumptions about the demographic. It certainly used to be the case that women were a rare sight in game stores, but that is no longer the case and I have seen both more women in game stores and clubs and more women involved in the hobby generally. In fact, one of my work colleagues runs a wargaming club and is a keen Orc and Ork collector in their many guises. So the video simply reflects a change in the hobby demographic that has been building for some time, even if we adopt a level of cynicism and assume that it is due to 'representation' as opposed to it being their jobs and something they enjoy (the occasional clunky scripting aside!).

 

I think you may also underestimate the ability of people to adapt to achieving intricate tasks with things like long nails; it's simply a question of practice.

 

As to the attractiveness (or otherwise) of either person in the video and their clothing, I am not really sure what point you are trying to make. Surely it makes sense that both would do something to look vaguely presentable as they are fronting a video, rather than go for a look of general dishevelment (perhaps replete with food stains and child snot)? Attraction is pretty subjective, as is the clothing that people do or don't find attractive (I mean, flared trousers were a real thing for a while, right?), so I am not sure that your interpretation is necessarily the logical one to make here.

 

Like you I tend to be a little sceptical about anything trying to persuade me to buy something, but this is by no means the most egregious example and GW and other games manufacturers have tried many, many permutations over the years. 

 

I think the better question may be, does the video do a good job of explaining what you get and how the game works (however clunky the script is)? After watching it, do you get a good sense of how the new edition (or boxset) plays and whether the game appeals to you or not?

[Ace Debonair]

On 11/14/2024 at 8:32 PM, Deus_Ex_Machina said:

 

 

1. Terrain provided in the core box

Included in the starter set are MDF ruins which need not to be painted and are very quickly assembled. This is obviously very neat for beginners in the hobby so why am I bothered? When I think of skirmish games multi-level terrain comes to mind like in Necromunda & Infinity. Especially comparing an Infinity city layout with the pathetic little ruins provided by GW is like claiming a Mercedes Benz car is on the same level as a Trabant. And honestly it´s a disgrace for the market leader to invest so poorly into the third player of any wargame which is the terrain. The solution would be to just use Infinity terrain or even build something interesting from scratch yourself.

 

 

I'm pretty sure the idea is you then proceed to buy one of the Killzone terrain sets, either with that multi-level stuff or set in a space hulk.

It's a starter set, after all, and ultimately they want more money from you. 

 

That's one of the reasons I'm surprised the Death Guard Kill Team can't take options from the regular plague marine kit; force people to buy the starter for the sorcerer, and then get them to buy the regular plague bois for the better weapon options.

 

If the MDF terrain is a hit though, we'll probably see more of it in future, and I wouldn't be surprised if the designs become more audacious (big buildings, non-imperial terrain that they shy away from making in plastic, that sort of thing).