Another box on the horizon, hot on the tails of Gallowfall. This one end-caps the season and was quite the surprise!
I strongly believe this was squeezed in to get out of the way of Leviathan. Who can blame them? No matter how hard we bang the drum of KILL TEAM, 40k has been around for decades and is the biggest tabletop game out there. The announcement of Ashes put a lot of folks off of Gallowfall it seems, but honestly it’s nice to have gotten wind of this release when we did. Folks can make the best informed decision now and not “accidentally” buy into squats v goats when they wanted an imperium or chaos cult team.
Also, super excited to note that it’s a narrative focused box! No terrain, but a spin on narrative play is included in the box. It’s a light tough, nothing like Blackstone Fortress, but I *love* the attention narrative play has been getting this edition. That reminds me…I still have to write up my last two narrative games for the Emperor’s Bounty Campaign…anyway back to Ashes!
Inquisitorial Agent Kill Team
At last, an inquisitorial agent team is here. The theme and feel around Kill Team has lead many an Eisenhorn fan to beg for a team like this. I’ve seen some kitbashed Elucidian Starstrider teams fill this need prior (which is a great proxy idea no doubt), but I love that we have an official team now. First and foremost, their party-trick:
The roster for this team is expanded to 30 operatives! This makes sense when you see how many specialists they have in addition to the access to ancillary support (essentially a fireteam of ‘umies). The box comes with Sisters of Silence as well as Scions alongside the Agents, but you can also choose to bring Exaction, Kasrkin, Vet Guard, or Breachers. Maybe this team is why we got so many ‘Umie releases this season? Either way, you’ll need the roster space if you want to have ultimate versatility in matched play.
At first glance, it is a bit unfortunate that their “bespoke party trick” is having more room on a roster, but many folks have been shouting from the rooftops to bring back roster building / mustering. Here you go! When you take a moment to consider the flexibility it offers, giving you an answer to most matchups going into a tournament, it is a good bespoke ability (even though it happens in set-up and not in-game).
The Agents are standard Umies, 8 wound leader (your Interrogator), with 7 wounds on most others except his Servo Skull (5) and Servitor (11). You can take ONLY agents if you choose to, but if you select ancillary support you are restricted to 7 Agents (including the Interrogator and his pet). The max team size you can have is 13 (if you take Breachers or Vet Guard).
When it comes to the ancillary support, as the Scions and Sisters are the only options still in compendium, they now have new datasheets. It is important to note that these datasheets are only relevant to when they are taken as ancillary support with this team, and do not replace the datasheets of the compendium teams.
Tac Ops
They can take ANY archetype. That’s a neat level of versatility.
Of their faction Tac Ops, their first one–Seize for Interrogation–is my favorite. You choose to interrogate an enemy outside of 3″/SQUARE from any of the other enemy operatives when incapacitated, place a token down, and carry it at the end of the battle for 2VP (1VP if you just control it). As you choose when and where this happens, and reveal it at that time, it can be quite the competitive pick.
The other two faction Tac Ops are thematic but quite hard to score in comparison to Seize for Interrogation…or any other universal tac op from Seek & Destroy or Recon.
Ploys
Of their Strat Ploys, I see play in all of them. The one that stands out most to me is Denounce. I’ve been playing around with Phobos lately in casual games, and the ability to delay an operative’s activation (even for one turn) can swing the momentum of a game incredibly. Denounce is a worse version of what Phobos get as it’s only once per battle and close to the Void Dancer’s Fog of Minds shadowseer ability as the delay duration is variable. That being said, in turning points 2-4 if initiative doesn’t go your way at a key moment, you can turn the tide decisively in your direction. The remaining strat ploys are useful but not crazy…that being said…
From the Tactical Ploys, I really enjoy them all. Their cluster of Tac Ploys play with the mechanics of the game. The first one, Embedded Agent, lets you select your scouting option after you see what your opponent selects!!! You can guarantee the first round initiative order, or ensure you counter what your opponent is planning to do. At the very least (if you were not planning to react to your opponent’s decision) you at least get to choose an additional different scouting option as well (which counters the Space Cop ploy). Absolute Authority allows you to DENY the use of a strat or tac ploy from your opponent. They don’t lose the CP, but they cannot use that ploy for the rest of the turning point. This one hurts me to my core, and I cannot use Just a Scratch to get rid of that pain. The other two are a bit more basic and situational but still very useful when said situation comes up.
Operatives
Lets address the elephant in the room. Scions are hitting on 4+. I can hear the marching and clanging of bludgeons and pitchforks already. This gives a lot of context to the Kasrkin release, as the design moving forward for the game seems to pin Umie GEQs to hit on 4+’s. Also remember–this is in the context of an entirely new team with new abilities/interactions/synergies, so lets see how this plays out before we cast judgment on the decision here. All that being said, as far as ancillary support goes, I’m a big fan of the space cops over them anyway. I’ll get back to that at the end of this section.
Lets chat about the Interrogator. He comes with a little friend, the Tome Skull, which has 1APL, FLY, and 5 wounds / DEF 2. The Skull is also limited to only movement actions. The Interrogator has a very basic pistol with a long range profile, and fists. So, what’s the point? Auras. At deployment you choose which of two auras the Interrogator has, the Skull will have the other. You can swap these auras for free as long as they are within 1″/TRIANGLE of each other and both not within Engagement Range of an enemy.
The Auras are simple. Denunciation is the offensive aura, giving 1+ Attack to shooting & melee attacks for friendly operatives while the Interrogator/Skull is within 2″/CIRCLE of the enemy operative. Sanctification is the inverse…enemy shooting and melee attacks against allies within 2″/CIRCLE of the Interrogator/Skull will be at 1 less Attack. You have to take both of these guys, so no point on discussing whether this is a good pick.
This puts into context the Scion ballistic score change…WARNING…MATH AHEAD –> 4 attacks at 3+ will hit 2.6 times on average (yes I know fractions don’t matter, but stick with me). 5 attacks at 4+ will hit 2.5 times on average. 5 attacks on 3+ would hit…3.3 times on average. Given this data, you can see why the scion change makes sense (keeping them on par with compendium hit chance) in context of the buffs they can get from Denunciation. You can even have the skull dance between targets…and then the Interrogator swaps the aura and takes it to a 3rd. There’s no denying that positioning will fiddly, but that appears to be the name of the game with this team. Anyway, auras, that’s your leader and pet’s gimmick. Moving on.
The Gun Servitor is an interesting operative as well. He can take a MULTI MELTA or PLASMA CANNON, which is super neat and heavy. He has APL1 and is hitting on 4+’s, but given all of the above math that’s actually not that bad since you can bump these big AP shots to 5 Attacks by babysitting him with Denunciation. His APL can be boosted to 2 if he is activated within 3″ and visible / visible to an ally.…at least that’s how it reads as intended to me.
And on top of THAT, you have their psyker–Mystic Agent, who can perform a buff to allies attack or defense. The attack buff, Divine Guidance, lets you retain a failed hit as a normal hit, or normal hit as a crit. The defense buff, Divine Protection, does the same but for saves. The aura is large, working on allies within (and not necessarily visible) 6″/PENTAGON of the Mystic. So add that into the +1 Attack aura…and it’s all coming together.
They have many other neat operatives…like the death world veteran which has a quasi-Just a Scratch ability…A pistol guy with a SCOPED plasma pistol (“you’ll shoot your eye out, kid!”)…the Autosavant which will shower you in CP if your opponent spams a Ploy…the Hexorcist which can cancel an enemy operatives unique action or ability within LoS and 6″/Pentagon of it. But enough of the agents, let me explain my reasoning behind space cops as my favorite choice for their ancillary support
I don’t think you’ll want to take full Inquisitorial Agents (unless you want two gun servitors of course). There are several operatives that are situational, so pick your 5 specialists particularly effective for the match (after leader/skull) and ancillary support. I prefer the cops because of their mid-board interference. Two shield guys (the max you can take as ancillary support) will be melee interference, and then sprinkle in other operatives as you please depending on your needs to round out your team. The Agents have a melee blind spot, with a couple exceptions, so having some more melee support and short-range mid-board interference will help keep your aura passing and shooting going into late game. At least…that’s my take for my play style.
Equipment
Krak and Frags, stuns and smokes. You’ll take your grenades as you need to, with some play with Smoke depending on matchup and Terrain layout
The Power Knife is great on paper but at 3EP is a pretty high cost. Master-Crafted Autopistol will bump your Interrogator to bolter profile on his pistol…relevant to point out but not sure how often that will come in useful. Servo Skull will be perfect for Loot and Secure.
Yeah, overall some “ok” equipment, nothing that blows me away. Frag (2) + Krak (3) + Servo Skull (2) + Power Knife (3) may be a good starting point. Frag & Krak on the shield cops, Knife on the Leader to keep them safer if charged, and servo skull to whoever needs to do the mission actions.
Final Thoughts
This is a really technical team to play. Their auras (from Mystic and Leader/Book) are necessary and will need to be stacked in order to keep them efficient and effective. The control over the mid-board will be key to keep that aura-party in the back-line safe. It’s really had to tell their “power level” right out the gate like other more straightforward teams, but suffice to say if you take out the psyker and the skull (when it has the attack buff) they become a lot less imposing.
Chaos Cult Kill Team
This team is weird in the weirdest way…and I think it’s gross and charming. First and foremost, the operative list is probably the simplest I’ve seen in a bespoke team. You just have your team, no choosing, no mustering, nothing. Complete opposite from their counterparts in this box. You simply field 15 models. No real ranged attacks to speak off (even the psychic is 6″ threat). The Dark Commune all sit on 8 wounds, and the Devotees–I mean–the Mutants–I mean–the Torments are on 7-7-13 wounds. Wait, what? Yeah stuff mutates. Gnarly.
They really come into form with mutations and their accursed gifts. I’m not going to paste the rules here because it’s an entire page for the two. In summary, your Devotees and Mutants can “mutate”. An operative can only mutate once per turning point, and you cannot have more than 5 Mutants and 3 Torments in the killzone at a time. Instead of mutating to a new form (or if they’re already maxed to Torment), you could instead choose to gain D3+1 wounds…nice little bonus. The mutation will happen in three ways.
During your turn to use a Strategic Ploy or Pass in the strategy phase, you can trigger a number of mutations equal to the Turning Point number (so 1 mutation in TP1 strategy phase | 3 in TP3 strategy phase). In addition, if you inflict damage in combat but are not killed, you can then mutate. Finally, the Cult Demagogue (your Leader) can perform an action called Accursed Benediction which will trigger a mutation. When you mutate, you regain all lost wounds up to the max of the new form, and the new model is swapped in as close as possible to the old model’s position (and counts as the same operative for all tracking considerations). When swapping models, if you were in engagement range you must return to engagement range. If you were not, you may choose to replace the new mutated model in engagement range as long as it is as close as possible to the original position (given base size differentials between mutations). The latter will be a niche situation, and a certain level of sportsmanship and good faith play will be needed to ensure this isn’t exploited.
But wait, that’s not all!!! The first time you gain a Mutant, you choose an accursed gift, which will apply to all Mutants on the board moving forward. Similarly, when you gain your first Torment, all Torments will have the first gift as well as a new second gift you choose at that time of your first Torment mutation. The gifts are great, like Winged which gives your cultists an insane amount of movement (akin to the phobos Vanguard ploy), especially when stacked with Fleet (additional 1″/TRIANGLE movement). Other gifts allow you can deal mortal wounds on a change, buff your weapons in melee, or simply improve your save. Very neat and allows you to tailor to the terrain/layout and matchup. It’s kind-of a hidden muster system for this team. You can also customize your pokemon–I mean–cultists further by giving them additional gifts (more on that later).
In writing this I notice the ying and yang of the teams in this box. The Inquisitorial Agent team has a gimmick that doubles down on their pre-game versatility. In contrast, the Chaos Cults has a team gimmick that doubles down on in-game versatility. Neat 🙂
Tac Ops
They can take Seek & Destroy or Infiltration, both of which are thematic and also fairly easy for this team to execute on. As models remain the same model even as they mutate (this is explicitly noted in their rules), Rob & Ransack would be relatively easy to score with a mutant even if you’re limping by the end of a turning point –> Just bump up to a torment next TP!
Of their faction Tac Ops, Blood Offering seems the strongest to me. I’ll get to that one at the end. Of the other two faction Tac Ops…the first one, Tear Through, initially seems easy to score…but it’s a bit of a “win more” when it comes down to it. If you have two Torments pretty much on top of your opponent by the end of the battle you’ve likely already won. Because you choose accursed gifts as the game goes on, you can help guarantee you make it to your opponents DZ by giving them abilities like Winged. Profane Defilement is locked into three models and one of those models has to start end end the TP within 3″/SQUARE of the center of the Killzone…twice…to max, which needless to say is a challenge.
So. Blood Offering…I’m usually weary of Tac Ops that require a unique action such as this one. That being said you don’t have to be on the objective with a blood token necessarily, as the Leader can be within 6″ of an objective you don’t even control and still milk the VP. With the new mission scoring from the 2023.Q1 dataslate, you’ll want to push on to enemy objectives as much as they’ll want to push onto yours. On the side you are planning your advance you can position your Demagogue to snipe a VP while safe behind an Octarius wall (for example), and get your 2nd VP on the opposite side where your opponent is pushing through on to your objective (where you have plenty of heretics to run on to it after it’s marked to get the 2nd VP).
Ploys
On the Strategic side, they have some buffs to defense and buffs to offense, as well as a universal Reiver “terror” ability for the Mutants and Torments. Nothing mind-blowing here, but all useful.
For the Tactical Ploys, they have a “Get Down, Mr. President” ploy when the Leader, Iconarch, or Mindwitch operatives are targeted for shooting. Incidentally, these are the three models you need to stay alive in the middle of the killzone for their 2nd faction Tac Op, so a bit of synergy there to notice. The Mutants/Torments can also explode for D3/D6 mortal wounds on death, and double-fight (with one being free).
The one I like the most is adding more gifts to your cultist operatives. It appears that you can even use Abhorrent Mutation on Devotees and not just Mutants/Torrents, and they will keep this gift in addition to other ones gained later. Gaining extra movement your opponent has not accounted for is a great way to gain the upper hand in a stalemate, and a Devotee ignoring traversing to rush in and smack a wounded enemy operative, then mutating in the process, is a heck of a surprise!
Operatives
We need to talk about the leader because he has some cool abilities. He’s got a short and long range shooting attack and a smack-attack, all of which are decent but exceptional. I view those as a counter-punch, since the leader at 8w with a 5+ save will be more keen to use his special abilities and stay safe rather than get into the fray (that’s what Torments are for). He has 3 unique actions. The first can order a cult operative to mutate, visible and within 6″/PENTAGON of him. The next, to instruct an ally (including dark commune operatives) visible and within 6″/PENTAGON to fight for free. The final, can order an ally visible and within 6″/PENTAGON to dash or charge (only 3″/SQUARE) for free. Out of sequence activations are some of my favorite abilities in the game, allowing a seemingly static situation to continue to evolve. Note that as long as your Demagogue is still in range after Incite Urgency (the free dash/charge) you can then order that same operative to free fight!
The other Dark Commune operative worth talking about is the Mindwitch, their psyker. Again three abilities. The first, straightforward, -1APL from an enemy operative within LoS, simple as. The second involves you placing a Malefic Vortex token in any location visible to them, causing 1MW to each enemy operative within 2″/CIRCLE of that token at the time of placement and the end of each turning point–Great way to eventually flush out a sniper nest! Finally, they have a short-ranged Mind-dakka, and the closer you are the more damage you do. If you are nearly point-blank at 2″/CIRCLE you’ll cause D3+5 mortal wounds! Yeah…try not to get close unless you plan to take this psyker out.
Finally, the core of the team, the Cultists. The Devotee is pretty much a basic ‘Umie, but once mutated they lose their pistol, must spend 1 additional APL for mission actions/Pick up (careful on Into the Dark!) in exchange for a bit better melee and a 5+ FNP. The melee gains relentless and rending, a bit of damage, and as a Torment not only do they almost double in wounds but go up to 5 attacks in melee. As Torments they also do not gain cover from light terrain or operatives with wounds characteristics of 11 or less, akin to a Gellerpox Hulk. I point these guys out not because of any special tech, but a warning to people playing this team (and a tip of those playing into them). These mutating is the core to winning the game. The rest of the dark coven aren’t slouches but they are secondary to your wave of mutations crossing the killzone. With so many models, it will be hard to stay safe and not cluster in the DZ, making them particularly vulnerable to blast-related alpha strikes.
Equipment
Frag and Krak, check. Careful putting these on the devotees, as when they mutate the equipment fizzles. I see them as a decent choice shooting option your Blessed Blades…especially since they have quazi-GA2. I skipped this before but when one BB activates, another ready one within 6″/PENTAGON can activate as well (and you can complete their actions in any order).
Of the rest of the equipment…the trophy weapon is a weird one because of how the math works out. Vile Blessing seems like an auto-take in most match ups, at 3EP. Assuming you took grenades, that puts you at 8EP spent. At that point you’re probably better off with Covert Guises (free dash from a devotee end of scouting step if they’re still in the DZ) or a Chaos Sigil (5+ invuln save) over the trophy weapon since you can only take it once. I can also see play in taking several Covert Guises to move up the board (or spread out yoru deployment).
Final Thoughts
The team seems really really neat, but deployment and first turn will take a LOT of getting used to. This team doesn’t have synergies really, so very unlike their counterpart faction in the box. The only operative they have with a positional requirement is the Demagogue and with so many models on the board it’ll be easy for them to have someone to order around. What they do have is numbers…that’s their strength and weakness. Having the bodies to spare, but also painting a giant “BLAST HERE” target on your team. That being said, a good pilot with good positioning will be hard to keep back.
I’m very excited for these teams, first and foremost because they were a surprise, second because of the support of narrative, and finally…despite being a narrative box I see them having a good time in the matched play as well. What a way to end this season of Kill Team!
Strategic Advantage 