Kill Team 2.0 steps out of the Gallowdark and into the THIRD DIMENSION again with Kill Team Salvation. Many thanks to Games Workshop for providing us with an advanced copy of the new box for review.
Our Kill Team Salvation Coverage:
Kill Team: Salvation Unboxing (This article)
Kill Team Salvation – Space Marine Scouts Model Review
Kill Team Salvation – Scouts Kill Team Review
How to Paint Blades of Khaine Striking Scorpions: Dylan’s Method
Kill Team Salvation – Blades of Khaine Review
Unboxing Salvation
Unlike the majority of the “two teams and terrain” Kill Team boxes, this release is scaled back. Like the most recent Warcry release, Salvation comes in a monster/vehicle box, versus the longer, quasi-starter style. The big terrain kit was moved out to its own box – leaving this one with a small set of scatter along with the teams.
The Models
- New and improved Spare Marine Scouts
- Plastic Striking Scorpions, which can also make two Exarchs
The Terrain
- Salvation Rig Apparatus – new scatter pieces
The Play Aids
- Rulebook, tokens, and cards
What is NOT in this book
- Kill Team core rulebook
- Kill Zone Bheta Decima terrain set
Models
We cover these more extensively in other articles going live today, but the short version is: two classic units in need of a refresh get a brand new kit! Both the Space Marine scouts and the Aspect Warrior kits are super modular and generally go together pretty well.
The Terrain
The Salvation Rig Apparatus scatter is… extremely Warhammer. It’s cool and thematic, and it goes together easily. The terrain quantity Goldilocks zone is hard, though. We’ve previously mentioned that Gallowdark seasons getting another core set of terrain with each release could have been excessive. Salvation’s solution is to tell you to go buy the Bheta Decima terrain set to be able to use the included maps. We will see if stock numbers will be able to keep up with demand, to make this model work.
The Play Aids
As one would expect, this box contains new rulebook – which has rules for the two new teams, the Salvation campaign, and a guide for using the new terrain. Datacards are always a welcome addition here. Especially for games like Kill Team, quick reference materials are extremely helpful in keeping the complexity down.
What is NOT in the Box
As previously mentioned, this box isn’t a true starter set. You will need to bring your own core rulebook to the party. Most notably, the separate Bheta Decima Kill Zone is pretty tied in to maps in the Salvation box. This format switch is probably a good thing for pricing and availability, but it still feels a bit like unwrapping a video game system without any games.
Conclusion
Lots of 40k fans could set every bit of paper in this box on fire and still likely be over the moon about it. The new Scouts and Scorpions are great models. Lowering the dollar-buy in to get the new teams is a welcome change, though buyers of Salvation who want the new killzone will be at the mercy of stock levels. Warcry used precisely this formula for Hunter and Hunted – two gangs, one terrain feature, and playset sold separately. I was able to pick up a set of the Talaxis terrain at a store recently, so maybe this is working as intended!
Overall, a cool buy even just for the models – and a better value prop for that now that a massive terrain set is no longer attached. Are there any other old kits you want to see get a refresh in Kill Team? Drop us a line with your predictions! You can email us at Contact@Goonhammer.com.
