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.
Welcome back Kill Teamers, to the re-review of the Kommandos, Kill Team 2021’s poster boys and one of the most popular teams of the entire edition. Throughout 2021 the Kommandos went from the best team from the starting box, down to middling win rates, before skyrocketing back up to the 2023 boogey-orks in the wake of approved ops and major buffs. By the end of the edition Kommandos were still one of the most popular teams, but had lost their top of the meta status.
In this re-review, we’ll be going over the broad strokes of the changes, and trying to recontextualize the team in the new edition. Especially noting any larger changes, that are coming down the line. If you’d prefer to listen to the author talk over the changes, find his video over at Just Another Kill Team Podcast below.
Before we dive in, we’d like to thank Games Workshop for providing a preview copy of these rules for review purposes.
Table of Contents
The Video Version of This Review
If you’re interested in a video version of this review, you can find it in the video below, courtesy of Just Another Kill Team Podcast.
Kommandos: Ork Infiltrator Mobs
The team keeps the same loadout it’s had through the majority of 2023, with a newly buffed Nob, eight boyz, and the squig/grot combo for the last selection. We expect that will generally be the loadout taken out to attempt to score the Infiltrtion and Seek and Destroy tac ops.
Ability: Throat Slittas
All Kommandos operatives barring the Squig can perform a Charge action while under a conceal order. This is the classic ability to break the rules for the team, and it continues to look pretty strong. Players know and love this, and it’s good to see it unchanged.
The Operatives
Orks keep their 10 wound, 5+ save chassis, with melee orks generally clocking in around four attacks and shooting orks getting three. Melee remains on a 3+, and most shooting is still on 4+s. If you’ve played the old orks, not too much has changed. When we get to equipment we’ll see how some of these old stats have gotten a facelift.
Kommando Warrior
Sluggas have moved to the new pistol range of 8”, and Choppas remain scary for any opposing operatives sporting 8 or fewer wounds. Kommando warriors have been lifted up in the broader trend to boost default operatives, and have gained Taktical Wot-notz. Enabling warriors access to the new Smoke/Stun Grenades once per turn outside of the equipment choices during table set up. You get one of each a turn, so bringing a pair of warriors might actually represent a useful choice, especially into other 10 operative teams that Kommandos generally bully.
Kommando Boss Nob
The noble boss nob has caught the same buff a fair number of leaders have gotten, and gained a THIRD APL! This is going to be massive, especially with the Nob’s comms-man ability moving to a unique action. All of this flexibility has come at a cost, however, and our Nob has lost the ability to hit on 2+ in melee. This matches the drop in leader reliability across the board, so comes off as a standardization of lower lethality rather than a true nerf.
Kommando Bomb Squig
Our stat line stays the same, but our explosions? Those are much more showy. Explosives have lost the piercing 1 rule, a pip of bs for 4+s, and gained TWO attacks. This is going to make the Dakka Dakka turns truly a fireworks show. They’ve kept the 1” range of the last set of Kommando nerfs but dropped the APL rider, so we can charge, fight, shoot now! Interestingly enough there is now no rider that says that the Explosive’s shoot action incapacitates our Squig leaving the truly hilarious scenario of a living bomb squig post explosives. While the Boom! shooting on death rule, now lets us roll up to two dice looking for the 4+ explode on death. The real buff is the Expendable rule which means the squig doesn’t count towards your opponents kill ops, so those suicide runs are guilt free!
Kommando Grot
Basically the same, with the rider that the Grappling Hook action requires you to set up with visibility to that point. Generally this will be a minor nerf for competitive play, but shouldn’t really change how effective the grot is at applying board wide objective pressure.
Kommando Breacha Boy
Breacha fans rejoice! The Breacha Ram has moved up in the world, and no longer needs a sledgehammer or choppa to compete. It still hits on 4+s, but has FOUR attacks, with Brutal, Severe, and Shock. That is going to make the Breacha a real threat to almost anything as you’re nigh guaranteed to trigger the free parry in any round of combat, whether fighting or retaliating. Kool-aid’ing through a wall now leaves a Breach Marker behind which causes 1” thick terrain to take on the Accessible trait. Flavorfully enough the Breach action is free during Charge, and Reposition actions!
Kommando Burna Boy
Humble flamer fans rejoice, as the Burna was not left behind in the changeover to the new edition. In fact, we were given two shooting profiles at 8” and 4” ranges. The 8” range keep the Saturate and Torrent 2” that seems standard now, along with the 3/3 damage. Meanwhile the Deluge 4” profile loses Torrent 2” in favor of Seek Light to really force people to respect the promethium bursts.
Kommando Comms Boy
Shokka Pistol has seen a sidegrade in lower overall damage output, but a massive increase in reliability. Severe and Stun mean you’re also tapping an APL off your target, but the loss of the crit damage means the profile is effectively 1/2 damage from 1/3. The rest of the operative is much the same but that reliability is going to make the Comms far more annoying!
Kommando Dakka Boy
We’ve lost Relentless for Ceaseless, but the Dakka boy is much the same. Luckily for us, the Collapsible Stocks equipment means we can expect to get those Ceaseless rerolls at 10” ranges, instead of 6”. More of a sidegrade than any real downgrade.
Kommando Rokkit Boy
Our boy sees a sidegrade that will probably feel a bit better than worse. We lose the ability to get Relentless for Ceaseless much like the Dakka boy. However we get an extra attack, and trade 2” Devastating 1 for Blast 1” giving us far more threat into clumps. The sidegrade lies in our aimed profile which is now Heavy (Dash) which gives us less movement generally, but some modes where we keep a 3” move while gaining Ceaseless. The big note here is that the extra attack die and Ceaseless means Obscurity is less of an issue for a Rokkit Salvo in the new edition, so don’t be too afraid of taking the shot.
Kommando Snipa Boy
Our only 3+ shooter has become far less mobile with all our shooting profiles gaining the Heavy keyword. Meaning our snipa isn’t moving all that much if he’s going to be laying down the law. We’ve also lost permanent Silent, much like other sniping friendly operatives, and an attack die. In return we’ve gained 3/3 damage, which with our Devastating 2 will feel like 3/5 damage. With the loss of Sneaky Git we’re going to have to set up the ole fashioned way.
The Ploys
As far as Strategy Ploys go, we’ve got mostly the same spread. WAAAGH! sees a change to Balanced over the old wording, which is mostly a downgrade, but a minor one in the grand scheme of things. The old standbys of Dakka Dakka to incentivize crit fishing during a shoot off, combined with higher numbers of dice should see the Punishing rule get some easier use. While SSSSHHHH! and a quieter turn 1, will mean that Kommando’s should be excellent both with and without the initiative on turn 2. That strategy phase Dash action is going to mean you can push forward or retreat in equal measure as long as you stay out of sight. Meanwhile Skulk About continues to make those 10 wounds count, with a reliable cover save so long as you are on a conceal order. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
When we get to Firefight Ploys we lose Sneaky Git, for Kunnin’ but Brutal and Shake It Off. Kunnin lets us have concealed orks, who’ve charged, strike with a single normal hit as a critical, in a small nod to the old WAAAGH break points. Meanwhile Shake It Off lets an Ork dodge APL modification until the start of the next turn. With Stun Grenades becoming universal equipment this may have more play than I’d guess. Returning fan favorites Krump ‘Em and Just a Scratch return to terrorize an entire new generation of players. Those end of firefight phase fights from Krump ‘Em remain as brutal as ever, while Just a Scratch’s ability to ignore any normal damage die once a turn will continue to amaze. For players scratching their nogginz at an attack plan critical damage is the way around that Orkoid scratch resistance!
Equipment
Choppas
This effectively upgrades all your shootas with a middling three attack 4/5 profile. Gone are the days of shootas being upgraded Kommando Boys it seems.
Harpoon
Once per turn a Boy or Nob can pull an extradimensional launcher from their backpack of holding. Allowing you to fire off a solid range 8” 4+s 4/5 attack, with Lethal 5+ and Stun. Considering that Dakka Dakka really like landing criticals, a surprise Harpoon can really delete someone at an inopportune time. Not an always take, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this is useful.
Dynamite
Once a game, you can let loose with the new dynamite. It’s easier to throw with Heavy (Reposition), especially since everyone could throw it, but weaker when let loose. With five attacks, no piercing, Saturate, and Blast 1” it’s not nearly as scary as it used to be on the 4+ ballistic skill. It’s boosted up by everyone being able to chuck it, so it’ll probably be easier to catch a clump during the game!
Collapsible Stocks
Add 4” of range to Dakka shoota (short range), Shokka Pistol, and Sluggas. Considering the new utility of the Shokka, and the output of a dakka. This could let the orks really lean into the shooting angle.
A Kunnin Plan
When it comes to approaching a plan in the new edition, we’ve got access to Infiltration, and SnD. Our Kommando Grot makes for the perfect surveillance operative, who can zip almost anywhere to line up a valid target, and must be engaged. Considering how much dead space most boards have, I cannot imagine a world where you can’t snag a relatively easy 9 points with our grot’s help.
Meanwhile we’re a 10 operative team, with a Bomb Squig to break kill grade ties. Remember that if we keep losses down to 7 orky operatives we’ll keep an opponent to kill grade 3. Letting us play a pretty cagey plan that stops an opponent from snagging that extra point on the Kill Op. That leaves us 9 operatives to muck around with, and with 3 ways to fudge APL, we should be able to bully most operatives on the point.
Final Thoughts
It seems that players of Kill Team 2024 will have to be ready to fight back the ork menace for at least one more year, or three depending on how well GW hold the promises of changes to classified teams. Orks seem to have made the switch fairly well with the fear that new elites may have landed to eat their lunch. In the past when Space Marines could treat orks as 3/5 damage operatives, it was incredibly hard to shift the wall of ceramite.
The broad changes to Astartes mean those days may have returned, but it does seem that the toolkit remains as broad as ever. Against squishier teams you can angle for Kill Ops back by Seek and Destroy. While the elites may see a kompetent Nob infiltrate and collect data for a larger waaagh. Either way the team remains powerful, with more attack dice, and new tactics!
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