As a Veteran Warhammer Player, Here’s My Unfiltered Take on Kill Team: Typhon and the Tyranid Raveners
As a long-time Warhammer veteran and dedicated Kill Team player, this new preview of the Kill Team: Typhon set—featuring the Tyranid Raveners—fills me with both excitement and reflective critique. Below are my technical and strategic impressions, alongside my raw, unfiltered opinion.
1. Brutal Tactical Innovation
The Raveners introduce a never-before-seen mechanic in Kill Team: tunneling beneath the battlefield to ambush opponents. According to Mountainside Tabletop, they can construct a tunnel up to 5″ and “emerge for a lethal strike before retreating underground.”
Clarity and synergy: The interaction between Burrow, Predatory Instincts, and aggressive movement creates a truly dynamic playstyle—fast strikes followed by immediate disengagement.
Fire support: The Venomspitter, enhanced by the Distend Dorsal Sac, provides reliable shooting to control zones and melt key targets.
Criticism:
While conceptually brilliant, this poses a real challenge in standard matchups. How do you counter a unit that can appear randomly anywhere? The learning curve will be steep—but rewarding for those who enjoy commanding “tactical beasts.”
2. Components and Value
This set includes:
- 4 Raveners + 1 Ravener Prime
- 8 Battleclade Servitors led by an Underseer
- Tyranid terrain (15 pieces), 10 Hormagaunts, and a Ripper Swarm
- An 80-page dossier with missions and rules
In forums like Dakkadakka, speculation puts the price point between $150–$170 USD. Compared to previous boxes, this set offers a solid amount—especially if thematic terrain and verticality appeal to you.
Critical Point:
Games Workshop sticks to its “graphic bundling” model—no option to buy Raveners or Servitors separately. As usual, we face a tension between rich thematic content and real-world availability.
3. Meta Impact and Competitive Viability
- High mobility, high risk: Raveners only save on 5+, making them vulnerable to heavy weapons fire.
- Counterplay is essential: If your opponent plays well with cover and overwatch zones, the Raveners can be cornered.
- Servitors vs. Raveners: A compelling tactical contrast. Do you favor mech precision or the “bug rush”?
The meta could polarize: some players will thrive using high mobility; others will seek optimal lists to shut this threat down fast.
4. Personal Opinion
I love that GW is betting on strategic variety: no more “safe zones.” The board now breathes and shifts with every Ravener strike. But with innovation comes responsibility:
- Adaptation is a must: Players must rethink templates, movement routes, and tempo control.
- Community split? Hobbyists and terrain lovers will feast; those into traditional tactics might feel sidelined or frustrated.
5. Conclusion (No Fluff, No Fanboyism)
Kill Team: Typhon is a bold gamble that, in my view, is worth it:
- Pros: Genuine tactical freshness with immersive, thematic terrain.
- Cons: Price, exclusivity, and steep learning curve may drive some players away.
If you’re into discovering new mechanics, crafting masterful tactics, and taking your games in unexpected directions, this is a complete package.
If you prefer balanced, replicable matches without surprises, you may want to wait for resale options—or a separate terrain release.
Will you dare to tunnel into battle with the Raveners? Or stick to tried-and-true tactics? Tell me how you play and how you’d integrate this mechanic into your Kill Team list.
Kill Team: Sanctifiers – Fanatics with Style and Purpose
The Sanctifiers embody the most orthodox, ecclesiastical face of the Imperium. They’re faith turned militant—walking martyrs and missionaries of the divine flame.
Miniatures with personality: Units like the Conflagrator (evoking sacred flamethrowers) or the Death Cult Assassin bring great visual and tactical diversity. The floating cherub is a deliciously gothic touch.
On the tabletop: If the rules match the theme, expect faith-based synergies, mutual buffs, strong moral resilience, and enemy penalties for committing “impious” acts.
Unique tokens + datacards: Props to GW for maintaining design coherence with dedicated accessories. That said, it’s still frustrating that the datacards are sold separately and in limited stock. Tactical essentials shouldn’t be this ephemeral.
Verdict:
Pros: Top-tier ecclesiastical aesthetic, diverse roles, strong thematic coherence.
Cons: Risk of “deathstar” syndrome if too many abilities stack into a single overbuffed core.
Kill Team: Goremongers – Cyber-Mutated Khorne Fanatics
On the other end of the spectrum… pure Chaos. The Goremongers are Khorne’s biomechanical nightmare brought to the skirmish board. They’re not subtle—these warriors amputate their own legs to look more like Bloodletters. This is Kill Team at its most savage and unhinged.
Extreme design: The Blood Herald and his followers scream psychotic cult—mixing self-mutilation, implants, and a berserker lust for melee that borders on suicidal.
Aggressive playstyle: Expect high mobility, brutal melee, and likely “bloodlust”-type momentum mechanics or frenzy rules akin to other Khorne-worshiping forces.
Impaler and Skullclaimer: names straight out of a Black Library horror novella. Narratively brilliant. But if mobility isn’t balanced, they might break games by killing before their opponent even reacts.
Verdict:
Pros: Absolutely unique aesthetic, charge-based mechanics, incredibly cinematic on the table.
Cons: Could become frustrating to face if they alpha strike too efficiently.
A Veteran’s Final Word
Kill Team keeps evolving in the right direction: strong visual identities, unique rules, and deeply narrative tactics. The Sanctifiers are perfect for fans of the Imperium’s religious orthodoxy. The Goremongers cater to those who love visceral, chaotic aggression.
My only real gripe? GW’s persistent push to sell datacards separately with artificial scarcity. If you want to professionalize tactical play, you can’t keep gating critical materials behind limited print runs. Standardized PDFs or official app integration needs to happen.
Recommendation
- If you love balanced play with complex tactical synergies: go Sanctifiers.
- If you prefer fast, aggressive, and brutal decision-making: Goremongers are your meat.
Both bring excellent narrative and top-tier minis, so even if you just want to paint and collect—they’re absolutely worth it.
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