Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Kill Team(8E)

Tactics for individual factions are here.

The Rules

Unlike in vanilla 40k, most actions in the game are handled on a "I go, you go" basis of alternating activation, similar to Warhammer Underworlds.

Movement phase

Movement works similarly to how it does in 40k, but with two prominent exceptions:

• Charging is now done in this phase and replaces regular movement. While it is still possible to fail a charge, a failed charge will still allow the charging model to move the full charge distance rolled as long as it moves towards the intended target. As in vanilla 40k, a successful charge allows the charging unit to go first in the combat phase.
• A model can also choose to Ready, skipping their movement phase in favor of shooting first in the Shooting phase.

Terrain can also interfere with movement, with different terrain having different effects.

Shooting phase

Cover and range are more important in Kill Team than they are in vanilla 40k; shooting a unit from more than half of a weapon's maximum range imposes a -1 penalty to hit them, as does shooting a unit that is obscured (i.e. if any part of it is blocked by cover). That said, an unmodified 6 to hit will always hit so doubling down on dakka to maximize the chances of a lucky hit is still a viable strategy.

Morale Phase

Morale has two components in Kill Team: the morale of individual fighters and the morale of the team as a whole. If more than half of the squad has gone Out of Action, the remainder may break and suffer hit penalties. Meanwhile, models that have taken Flesh Wounds are at risk of becoming Shaken, which forces them to skip their turns entirely.

Flesh Wounds and going Out of Action

When a model loses its last Wound, its controlling player makes an injury roll. On a 4+, the model is Out of Action (i.e. dead); otherwise, it suffers a Flesh Wound. Being obscured is a -1 to the roll, and any previous Flesh Wounds act as a +1 bonus per wound. Additionally, attacks with a damage value higher than 1 cause multiple injury rolls.

In addition to penalizing future injury rolls, Flesh Wounds reduce a model's hit rolls and increase the chances of them becoming shaken in the Morale Phase.

Specializations

Specialization advancements work on a branching tree model; as they level up, they can pick and choose from different abilities in this order:

• Level 1
• Level 2A or 2B
• If Level 2A was chosen, Level 3AA or Level 3AB
• If Level 2B was chosen, Level 3BA or Level 3BB
• Any ability from previous levels not already selected

As a result, two identical units with the same Specialization can easily end up with a completely different set of advancements.

Demolitions

A set of abilities focused on grenades, flamer use, and attacking obscured enemies, with a few post-battle abilities thrown into the mix.

• Breacher (Lv 1): Add 1 to wound against targets that are obscured.

• Pyromaniac (Lv 2A): Re-roll 1s to wound when using a weapon with auto-hit properties (e.g. flamers).

• Grenadier (Lv 2B): Add 3" to the maximum range of any Grenades and re-roll 1s to hit with them.

• Saboteur (Lv 3AA): If the model is in the Kill Team and not out of action when making casualty rolls, roll a d6. On a 5+, an opponent loses 1 Materiel.

• Sapper (Lv 3AB): If the model is in the Kill Team and the Plant Traps Strategy is used, an extra piece of terrain can be booby-trapped.

• Siegemaster (Lv 3BA): Add 1 to injury rolls caused by attacks made in the Shooting Phase if they are made against obscured models.

• Ammo Hound (Lv 3BB): If the model is in the Kill Team and not out of action when making casualty rolls, roll a d6. On a 5+, you gain 1 Materiel.

Factions

Imperium

• Space Marines
• Imperial Guard
• Grey Knights
• Deathwatch
• Adeptus Mechanicus

Chaos

• Heretic Astartes
• Death Guard
• Thousand Sons

Xenos

• Eldar
• Dark Eldar
• Harlequins
• Orks
• Tau
• Necrons
• Tyranids
• Genestealer Cults