Warhammer 40K Kill Team: Hivestorm is much more than a starter set

I once joked that Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 Killteam was the sick man of the British company’s otherwise thriving family of sci-fi wargames. After a high-profile relaunch in 2018, the small-unit miniature skirmish game has become one of the mainstays of the entire 40K franchise. With the new Warhammer 40,000 Killteam: Hivestorm boxed set, due out later this fall, Death Team effectively enters its third edition. But for all the streamlining of the core experience, the two new game modes — solo and cooperative play — feel a little light.

Death Team invites players to battle each other, traditionally 1v1 in a competitive format, with very small collections of miniatures – typically just six to twelve miniatures each. The advantage of the format is that new players don’t have to spend a fortune on figurines to get started, and hobby painters can amass an effective fighting force much more quickly. The second edition, released in 2021, added light narrative elements to the game, including personalized factions that developed new abilities over time.

Beehive Storm is a fairly large boxed set, complete with multi-story plastic terrain pieces and two 10-unit kill teams: the Tau’s Vespid Stingwings and the Imperial Guard’s Tempestus Aquilons. What’s unusual about these two factions is that they’re both airborne and can fly around the map, unlike virtually every other faction released for the game so far. As a result, the entire product feels more like Advanced Kill Team than an introductory starter set. And the marketing push, aimed directly at existing fans, seems to support that.

The refinements in this revised rule set greatly improve the quality of life for existing players. The game now uses inches, rather than the clunky geometric symbols that previously replaced… inches. I particularly like the idea of ​​universal gear that can be shared between individual units. But I was looking forward to feasting on the solo and co-op modes. Unfortunately, now that I’ve spent some time with them, they feel more like an appetizer than a main course.

In the entire 112-page Core book that is bundled inside Bee swarmsolo and cooperative play get a total of two pages of rules. Those pages pretty much boil down to one strategy: make the non-player enemies on the table do the meanest thing you can think of, as long as it’s shooting or engaging in melee combat, and then move on. They represent, quite literally, the most effortless implementation of solo or co-op rules I can imagine.

Death Team is known for an exotic collection of factions full of colorful little characters, many of which have bespoke rules inspired by the rich lore of the 40K universe. These new solo and co-op rules reduce all that material to six generic data cards designed to replace standard soldiers. That means players aren’t actually going up against another highly skilled Death TeamInstead, they simply plow through a bunch of low-ranking soldiers.

The miniatures, on the other hand, are some of Games Workshop’s best. I’m particularly drawn to the Vespid Stingwings, which look completely different from anything in the 40K universe. I particularly love how their tiny third set of arms, so small as to be almost vestigial, are posed. Some use the tiny appendages to stabilize their weapons while aiming, while others drape them casually over other limbs in more relaxed poses. But it’s the Aquilons that are likely to sell the most Beehive Storm boxes, as their grav-chute backpacks — one of the first airborne offerings for the new generation of plastic Guardsmen — will undoubtedly be a hit on the kit-bashing scene.

In short, if you’re already invested in the Kill Team franchise, this box set is a no-brainer. The new rules and landscape will be vital to competitive play for years to come. If you were looking for a rich, story-driven solo or co-op experience, you’re likely to be disappointed. If you’re a new player looking to get into the hobby, it’s probably best to start with a smaller box of miniatures. Then you just have to wait for the new Core book to appear in stores as a standalone item.