The 2024 Edition of Kill Team has overhauled the game, changing rules, datasheets, and bringing with it an updated set of rules for every team in the game. In this series we’re taking a look at each team, how they’ve changed, and what it means for how they play in the new edition.
The Elucidian Starstriders were one of two teams originally released in the Rogue Trader expansion for Kill Team 2018, then re-released along with their rivals, the Gellerpox Infected, in the Kill Team Annual 2022. It was strange times for them in the edition for a while – particularly after some nerfs – as a team with no smoke grenades during a time of horde dominance. But with the new edition things have changed substantially.
Before we dive in, we’d like to thank Games Workshop for providing a preview copy of these rules for review purposes.”
Team Overview
The Elucidian Starstriders are a group of intrepid heroes sallying forth into a vast, dangerous galaxy in search of feats and glory under the lead of a Rogue Trader, accompanied by a group of brave Voidsmen, their Voidmaster, and their wonderful guard dog, Maximilian. They also have access to heavy weaponry – being able to call on their ship, the New Dawn – to provide heavy support at any moment. They’re one of the trickiest teams in Kill Team, with a ton of tricks and weapons to help them stay relevant in the new edition.
The Video Version of the Review
If you’d like to watch a video review of the team, you should check out the following, courtesy of Can You Roll a Crit?
Special Rules
The Starstriders have two major rules for their faction, and both offer you a host of options you can select between during games, giving you a ton of flexibility.
Warrant of Trade
This is a unique ability in that it’s not one ability, but rather a set of abilities. Up to three times per battle, you can invoke this rule to gain one of the listed effects. These happen at different times during the battle, and you can’t use the same Warrant of Trade ability more than once.
Your options are:
- Consideration: You can gain an extra piece of equipment.
- Coordinate: You gain 1CP.
- Coerce: You force your opponent to either place their equipment before you, place it after you, or deploy their entire Kill Team before yours.
- Explore: You are allowed a reposition at the start of the first turn but can’t move more than 3” away from your deployment zone.
- Bribe: You can skip one activation.
- Seize: You can reroll the initiative die.
- Adaptable Terms: At the end of turn 2, if things are going terribly wrong, you can select a new Tac-op from those available, discarding any points you’ve already earned.
These are roughly the same as what you had access to in the prior edition, though they’ve been updated for the new edition in how they function – Consideration, for example, gives you one extra piece of equipment now instead of points to spend on equipment.
For me, the winners here are Consideration, Coordinate, and then you can flex between Bribe and Seize for third place as you like.
Privateer Support Assets
This rule represents your ability to call in backup from your ship, the New Dawn. Once per turn, when you activate either a Navy operative or Elucia, you can use this ability to get a nasty shooting attack from your ship. Doing this consumes your Shoot action, costing 1 APL, but has the Silent keyword. For this particular attack, your enemy targets will only get a save from cover if they have a vantage over their head (as it’s simulating fire coming in from the New Dawn, the ship, high above). Each of these can only be used once per game.
There are five Privateer Support Assets to choose from: The classic Archeotech Beam, Guided Shell, and Cluster Bomb from Kill Team 2021 are still here. These weapons deal heavy damage to either Marines (Archaeotech Bean) or hordes (the other two). In addition to those are two new arrivals: A Plasma Battery (also good against armor), and a Macrocannon with torrent which can deal serious damage to mid-range and horde enemies, especially in ITD.
Team Composition
Elucidian Starstriders are one of the few completely locked Kill Teams in the game. You will play with 10 miniatures: Elucia Vhane, the Canid, the Assassin, the Lectro-Maester, the Medic, the Voidmaster, 3 Voidsmen with lasguns, and one Voidsman with a Rotor Cannon.
The Archetypes for this team are Recon and Security.
Playing This Team
Elucidian are a tempo-control team, using Privateer Support Assets to deal additional heavy damage when and where needed. Operatives on this team are characterized by their flexibility and durability thanks to their ploys and equipment, and they can flex to 3 APL when needed and gain additional durability with the Undaunted Explorers Strategic Ploy. Starstriders have one of the best medics in the game, two operatives with 3 APL, a Canid with great movement, and several operatives with auras. That said, they lack strong melee abilities (with 2 notable exceptions), forcing them to play a bit different, distanced game. Though that’s what you’re signing up for anyways – this team may have more possible buffs than any other team in the game, and to play the Starstriders well you kneed to know your operatives inside and out to maximize their potential and effect on the table.
What’s Changed?
Several things have changed, from the different profiles we’ve seen for the New Dawn to their operatives.
Starting with Elucia, she now has 3 APL, and her pistol now only has Seek Light. On the other hand, she has Digital Lasers, which means that whenever she does the Fight action, she deals 1 point of damage before rolling dice. She also retains Merciless and has gained Reputation to Maintain – an ability which, if she kills an enemy, grants you 1 CP or one extra use of the Warrant of Trade ability (though this doesn’t let you double up and use a rule you’ve already used).
The Canid hasn’t changed much except for a greater charge range with Loyal Companion and an extra wound.
The Cult Assassin and the Voidmaster have seen their WS and BS respectively worsened. The Assassin lost her FNP in exchange for striking before dying, which is really good. The Voidmaster lost Balanced on his relic pistol, but his Disciplinarian aura has increased by one. The rest of the heroes remain the same (though the Medic now saves on a 4+ and has 8 wounds like the others).
As for the Voidsmen, they gained the ability to use a Privateer Support Asset on a counterattack (which will require careful activation management, as the asset no longer counts as one). The rotor cannon gained 1 damage and Rending at the cost of losing 1 attack and Relentless.
The ploys haven’t seen significant changes, except for a reduction in Well-Drilled range.
Finally, equipment has changed slightly. Starstriders can still opt to take armored Undersuits for better saves and Capacitor Packs for better Lasgun shooting. Additionally, they can shoot Privateer Assets without being obscured as long as the shooter is within 6” of the enemy operative, and thanks to Rapid Gunnery, they can use the same asset twice.
Three Cool Things About This Team
- A Bunch of Heroes: If you like heroic fantasy, this is your Kill Team. They’re a group of heroes on missions and Rogue Traders are basically the Indiana Joneses of the 41st Millennium.
- Big Guns: No other Kill Team has an orbiting ship at their disposal and the imagery of calling in your ship to just bomb the hell out of one guy is pretty great.
- Fun to model: The Elucidian are one of the killteams with the greatest potential to do amazing things with their models. From different miniatures, to 3d bit, even with modeling of the New dawn. The only limit is your imagination.
Final Thoughts
This team has undergone several changes that will significantly affect their gameplay. That said, if you liked them in the last edition of Kill Team, you’ll probably like them in this edition. They still feel like what they are: A group of heroes on adventures with a ton of flexibility in how they approach problems. Their mechanics have been refined, and they now have more tools against elites, which they will greatly need.
For everything else, they’re the same old Elucidian Starstriders, adapted to the new edition. So, my friend, hop aboard the New Dawn and get ready for adventures.
I’ll see you in the comments!
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