Kill Team Arena - thoughts and expectations -

[Master Sheol]

So GW announced a new expansion for KT in the last Open Day for more competitive gaming called Arena

It Will include ultra confined Combat rules as seen in RT expansion and new boards with scenery

 

So what do you think about this expansion?

 

I am interested because of the new boards for corridor combat but at the same time sad that the RT expansion could be almost useless

[Inquisitor Eisenhorn]

I'm into any corridor style maps they want to release.  The competitive angle...my personal approach to Kill Team is totally narrative so I'm indifferent to that.  

[Tordeck]

I'm looking forward to seeing more before I decide for sure. KT itself is great for both its narrative ability as well as being fairly balanced competitively. Commanders is a bit more swingy it is points costing and performance levels. So I'd say its too soon to say.

[RandyB]

GW is inching their way toward Kill Team: Space Hulk. Stop stalling and do it!

[Panzer]

Really no clue what to expect but I hope it makes a team of T'au Breacher viable. The long range penalty really screws with their three different profile gun and something like the arena map is what they should be great at. ^^

[Master Sheol]

Really no clue what to expect but I hope it makes a team of T'au Breacher viable. The long range penalty really screws with their three different profile gun and something like the arena map is what they should be great at. ^^

Shotguns and flamers everywhere! :D

[Maschinenpriester]

The expansion looks like it will give some kind of zone mortalis rules maybe... good that i ordered these mdf walls for my necromunda tiles. =D Edited January 9, 2019 by Maschinenpriester

[Tyriks]

I'm quite curious about this. I don't really know what to expect. I'll have to poke through it for sure.

[Brother Navaer Solaq]

GW is inching their way toward Kill Team: Space Hulk. Stop stalling and do it!

lol. it does look like it. i would like that idea. i own space hulk and putting that and kill team together would be a mash-up of the ages. :p

 

i hope the board is same size as the kill zones so that i can purchase a board without having to carry around terrain pieces with me.

 

@master sheol. haha. i would be that guy that would play with shotguns and flamers for the heck of it.

Edited January 10, 2019 by Mechanicus_Adept

[RandyB]

 

GW is inching their way toward Kill Team: Space Hulk. Stop stalling and do it!

lol. it does look like it. i would like that idea. i own space hulk and putting that and kill team together would be a mash-up of the ages.

 

i hope the board is same size as the kill zones so that i can purchase a board without having to carry around terrain pieces with me.

 

@master sheol. haha. i would be that guy that would play with shotguns and flamers for the heck of it.

 

All that's missing at current is blips for Genestealer Cults (or "ambushing player" if you want to generalize) and terminator equivalents (and perhaps only a non-ambushing player can use them). The Ultra Close Confines rules (found in both Rogue Trader and Arena) covers the rest.

[Panzer]

Nah the map for arena is mostly big rooms connected by short corridors. Way too easy for Genestealer to overwhelm Terminators. Spacehulk is mostly long corridors and few big rooms. So I'd think the rules would also be a bit different. We're not quite there yet. :P

[Orpheus108]

I like the vibe of it, I'm a sucker for new terrain and maps. The idea of the look of it being a cowboy western gives it an appeal of a far off planet and teams trying to make the best they can.

 

I'm reserved on the rest of the rules it comes with, I'll get it though, complete sucker for new KT sets. Though they have said somewhere I believe that there will be expansions for RT.

[RandyB]

Nah the map for arena is mostly big rooms connected by short corridors. Way too easy for Genestealer to overwhelm Terminators. Spacehulk is mostly long corridors and few big rooms. So I'd think the rules would also be a bit different. We're not quite there yet.

 

True. Maps needed, too. :)

[Toxichobbit]

I like the vibe of it, I'm a sucker for new terrain and maps. The idea of the look of it being a cowboy western gives it an appeal of a far off planet and teams trying to make the best they can.

 

I'm reserved on the rest of the rules it comes with, I'll get it though, complete sucker for new KT sets. Though they have said somewhere I believe that there will be expansions for RT.

 

I think maybe you're confusing two different releases? The cowboy-western themed Killzone is called Sector Fronteris and is a standard Killzone. The expansion being talked about in this topic is Kill Team Arena, which does include a new map like a Killzone, but also a chunk of new rules for competitive play and ultra-close confine combat.

[Master Commander Ajax]

I want to use the board and terrain for spaceship battles. Hopefully I’ll get to use the killzone for standard games without being forced to use the more competitive rules.

[Brother Navaer Solaq]

i saw the some battle reports on the arena.

it is different and it has more defined ruleset.

 

i am still on the fence regarding picking it up.

[Maschinenpriester]

It seems to be 70 euros for a bunch of barrels + doors, a rulebook and two printed boards... i am skeptical if i will pick it up. I am Interested in the rules mainly.

[Stealth_Hobo]

I'm not a competetive 40k player, but tournament style of games are usually good for faster pick up matches, so I might buy the expansion if it encourages my boardgaming friends to try out Kill Team. I've found that people are often intimidated trying out miniature skirmish/wargames even if you can lend them the minis.

[Black Knight]

If you are a competitive player or have ever gotten angry because a piece of scenery may have cost you a game? Then this is for you! If not put it on the ever increasing list of plastic crack we will never fully enjoy.

 

Dam my list is getting long...

[Inquisitor Eisenhorn]

I'm not a competetive 40k player, but tournament style of games are usually good for faster pick up matches, so I might buy the expansion if it encourages my boardgaming friends to try out Kill Team. I've found that people are often intimidated trying out miniature skirmish/wargames even if you can lend them the minis.

It's not an instant buy for me but I'm that guy who lends his collection to friends when we play so I'm keeping a close eye on the reaction to this when it comes out.

[Brother Tyler]

I picked this up yesterday and thought I'd provide a (sort of) review for those of you that might be on the fence.

As is well understood, the Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team - Arena expansion is about competitive play. What that means is that it provides a structure for balanced play where the map and terrain are as even as possible so that no players have any advantage from them. How often have players pointed to the map and terrain as having an impact on a game of Warhammer 40,000? The Arena rules prevent any such excuse from being made - you and your opponent have the exact same map and terrain to deal with, just reversed. This is clearly beneficial/desirable in competitive venues such as tournaments, but it can also be used to great effect in pick up games and in teaching new players. So it's not about cutthroat "win at all costs" play so much as it's about balance. The only disparities are those in the players and the inherent asymmetry of the factions.

The map board is of good quality with clear and attractive imagery. The sides are distinctive, and each has corridors that lead off one edge so that you can use two sets of boards for 2-on-2 games, which is called "Battle Brothers" in the rules (or if you just want to play a larger game).

The book covers three types of playing. The first is "Competitive" and is standard 1-on-1. The second is "Battle Brothers" and is 2-on-2 (each kill team on a side must share a keyword chosen from IMPERIUM, CHAOS, AELDARI, NECRONS, ORK, T'AU EMPIRE, and TYRANIDS (which includes GENESTEALER CULTS). Obviously, there are a lot more options for the IMPERIUM, with CHAOS and the AELDARI also having some variations. Most of the others are single-faction, though, so they'll just be double-sized kill teams, in effect. Still, it's a very interesting way to play, and the keyword limitations are thematic. The last style of play covered is "Ultima" and this is sort of a freestyle variation on Competitive play, randomly determining the killzone (from the Arena options) and using a special Ultima mission (which falls under the Competitive Play category).
 
The one thing that is either not in the rules, or I've missed it (brief skim through this morning, more detailed reading this afternoon) is rules for COMMANDERS. The competitive play mission and tournament rules provide a structure for choosing your kill team within a certain time limit (called "Mustering"), and provide resolution for when a player's kill team isn't completed in that time or it violates basic rules. The implication is that COMMANDERS can't be used in tournaments/competitive play, which should not be the case. While tournaments might have limits in place, the basic rules should have provisions for those situations in which COMMANDERS can be used.

The terrain is good quality, consisting of doors, chests, barrels, and pipes. These will work well in any type of zone mortalis board (and the barrels/chests will work anywhere). Of note is that the term "zone mortalis" doesn't appear anywhere in the rules, instead using the term "ultra-close confines." My guess is that this was deliberate so that players won't inadvertently apply Zone Mortalis rules to Arena games. Basically, you use the normal Kill Team rules with additions such as walls and doors, and common sense things such as how walls block LOS or obscure, you can't move/measure through walls (you have to move/measure around them), etc.

There is a new tactic that any faction can use: Point-Blank Overwatch. This basically adjusts the normal Overwatch fire in a small way, allowing you to delay it to a point of your choosing along the charging model's charge path (there's a bit more to it, but I don't want to bog you down with minutiae). There are also special objectives for Arena play, and Battle Brothers tactics for each of the factions.

The book provides a number of alternate map layouts, which include deployment zones and specific placement of doors, chests, barrels, and pipes. There are also layouts for Battle Brother play (using two boards).

The final three things covered are guidelines for running/participating in Kill Team Tournaments, Asymmetrical Events, and using the competitive rules in narrative campaigns. It's clear from the tournament rules that GW has watched and learned from the competitive circuit, with rules/guidelines intended to prevent/minimize some of the WAAC shenanigans that less scrupulous players might employ. Most of these fall into the realm of common sense and basic courtesy, but as we've seen, some players are willing to forego such things in their bids for glory playing games with little plastic soldiers. The Asymmetrical Events piece is a set of guidelines for using Narrative Play missions, which aren't necessarily symmetrical, in competitive environments. And as I've said, while this expansion is designed with competitive play in mind, the rules can easily be incorporated in non-competitive venues, hence the last set of "rules."

The box also includes cards for the missions, tactics, and objectives. From the looks of it, the box is just the right size to store the cards, boards, and completed terrain (once you remove the rulebook) - the doors look they can be stored standing up within the box, placed upon the boards.
 
If you're a competitive Kill Team player (i.e., you play in tournaments), you need this expansion.
 
If you're not a competitive Kill Team player, you still might find this expansion to be enjoyable and worth having. Players focus too much on the "competitive" word when considering whether or not to buy this set. I suggest "symmetrical" as a much better description. You don't ever have to play in a competitive venue, but you can still use this expansion to great effect. Even if you don't have any use for competitive play, the boards and terrain alone provide a great new killzone for you with special Ultra-Close Confines rules to spice it up from other killzones. You can even build your own asymmetrical boards/maps and simply use the terrain and Ultra-Close Confines rules in narrative play (though I think that you can find equivalent terrain stuff - doors, chests, barrels, pipes - in other sets).
 
Any gaming club or game store should probably have at least two copies; this will enable them to play/host Battle Brothers missions. You could always make your own boards and terrain, of course, as long as you build in the symmetry of the official stuff (and it would be very cool to see homegrown stuff that is different in arrangement from the official maps).
 
Even if you don't play Kill Team, I could see this expansion being handy for players of Necromunda or Age of Darkness/Horus Heresy. The ultra-close confines are a great way to represent the Underhive or various zone mortalis settings of the Horus Heresy. Similarly, the doors might come in handy for those of you that have the Space Hulk game (there aren't nearly as many doors in the Arena expansion as there are in Space Hulk, but you can use them to augment the Necromunda bulkhead doors).
 
The book itself is only 64 pages, smaller than an issue of White Dwarf Magazine, so much the cost ($90 USD) can be attributed to the boards/terrain (other killzones cost $80 USD). Unlike the other killzones, I can see this expansion remaining available as long as GW is supporting this edition of the Kill Team game. Hopefully.

[Panzer]

So it's really as the name suggests. Instead of the narrative approach we had so far it's an actual arena. An artificially set up killzone designed to have fights as evenly matched as possible.

It's a great idea but not really what I'm interested in when playing Kill Team so it's a pass from me. I'm sure others will appreciate this supplement though!

[Inquisitor Eisenhorn]

Thanks for the review.  It looks like it would be worth it just for the close-quarters maps.

[Gederas]

Hopefully the rulebook for Arena will be separate down the line. If not, I'm not sure if I want to spend the 90 on just that. But rules for ultra-close confines sounds fun. But then again, the faction I'd want to play (World Eaters) is disallowed because Chaos can't use Khorne Berzerkers :lol:

[Kinstryfe]

The biggest two things holding me back are that I've bought every killzone so far, and arena play basically says "hey, all of that is useless", which means that the fun of mix and match play is gone. I'd use it for competitive play, but...

 

My flgs has started running KT tournaments, and the idea of needing a set per two players is daunting. The store isn't about to buy a bunch of kits to use because it would take ages to make their money back, and I don't know enough players that are willing to buy it just to play in a tournament for a $25 prize opportunity.

 

I feel like they missed the opportunity to emphasize options to use any board with symmetrical setup as a supported option for big event play.