Warhammer 40K Kill Team: Arena Review
I have racked up a numerous games with the new rules and can say that never has it been so important to watch your placement and never have I been so paranoid that my models have been ever so slightly out of cover when the shooting round comes knocking. Yet if you’re worried about your team not suiting these confined corridors, don’t worry as another key aspect of Kill Team: Arena is it’s approach to balance. The aforementioned boards can be setup to form symmetrical sides, and all have clearly been thought out from the perspective of not favouring any one force. True there are areas that are open, but there always exists a side tunnel or alternative route, meaning that even armies with t-shirt saving throws stand a chance of getting stuck in.
Plus thanks to the new arena objectives, it might not even be bloodshed that sees you take home the victory. Every game under the new ruleset sees players pick 3 “objective” cards, one of which will be kept as a secret object for the player, and allow you to try and score points by completing these goals as well as those included in the “killzone” boards you choose. In fact the regular capture points are worth less than many of the objectives you can choose so the expansion encourages you to think outside the box (or “zone” as it should probably be). It can turn what might have been a one sided match into a victory with a few well placed units scoring points or managing to complete that secret objective you’ve been holding so close to your chest.
If fact you can look at Kill Team: Arena as emulating another incredibly successful Games Workshop side title Warhammer Underworlds: Shadespire as you race to capture the most amount of points before the game ends. It’s not quite the same but with the new objective cards it brings across that same level of tactical thinking.
And now thanks to the new “battle brothers” play style which sees 2 players team up against another 2 players, that tactical thinking is going to need even more discussion. Honestly I am so glad that team games have been given the once over in this ruleset as not only does the box provide rules on who can team up with who for fluff reasons, it also provided special tactics that can be used to give the edge up on your opponents. My personal favourite has to be the Ork rules that all play off of their love of violence to such a degree that they won’t allow themselves to be outdone by anyone, including their teammates, when it comes to close combat killing.
The only downside to the battle brothers addition is that to get the most out of the 4 missions dedicated to this setting, you’ll need 2 copies of Kill Team: Arena for the board layout. It’s a minimal gripe but considering that this expansion is centred around creating tournaments you wouldn’t immediately think more than one copy would be required.
And it’s when you’re actually creating tournaments that Kill Team: Arena proves its worth. You’re provided with 2 ways to set up these contests. In the more standardized format there are strict rules, laid out in a crystal clear format I might add, about how to stack scenery, object placement and most importantly about mustering your force.
Gone are the lengthy down times in which you can plan out your team in about 30 different ways before picking your final roster as in this you get 5 minutes. If your team isn’t legal at the end of those 5 minutes then your opponent MAKES it legal which can result in some horrible situations I’m sure for those not prepared to think on the fly. It’s a great way to make sure matches feel as if there’s high stakes and with the added threat of say, only taking a leader and a rubbish grunt in because you took too long, really sells the adrenaline rush nature of this game.