The Necrons have such ancient and complex technologies that they can exert limited control over the very forces of time, yet sometimes their meddling can have unexpected consequences – like a portal opening up to a Kill Team release from the distant future. For some reason their temporal gateways are always kind of blurry and at a strange angle, so Warhammer Community has engaged our top prognosticators to bring you a clear look at the box – Kill Team: Shadowhunt.
On the industrial world of Garranox on the fringe of Ultramar, a hitherto undiscovered tomb complex of night-black stone sparks deadly unrest when work crews experience nightmares and portents of death. They are spurred by the doomsaying of a rogue psyker-turned-prophet known only as the Harbinger.
The local Battle Sisters of the Order of Our Martyred Lady resolve to bring down this dangerous heretic with a kill team of their finest witch-hunters – but malicious eyes tasked with destabilising Guilliman’s realm watch from the shadows with primal hunger.
Unbeknownst to either side, an ancient power lurks beneath the surface – one that would surely bring about far greater death and destruction even than they could ever fathom.
Celestian Insidiants are outfitted with some of the finest anti-psyker wargear available to the Adepta Sororitas, including condemnor bolt pistols that fire anointed silver stakes and heavy maces fitted with null-field generators. Their elaborate power armour is decorated with spiritual talismans and wrought-iron crowns which focus their faith into an impenetrable shield against witchery.
They are experienced Battle Sisters who have prevailed against rogue psykers and heretic sorcerers, augmented by a brutal training regimen that tests their spiritual endurance to the limit and hardens their souls to the disquieting effects of null energy. Through arduous hours of intense meditation and reflection, they learn to accept the sickness, disorientation, and paranoia that envelops those within a null aura, allowing them to wield these powerful forces against sorcerous foes.
From above swoop the foul agents of Abaddon the Despoiler – the deadly Murderwing. Raptors and Warp Talons who display a particular aptitude for assassination, infiltration and asymmetric warfare, Murderwings are terrifying assault specialists borne upon roaring jump packs that revel in the thrill of the hunt and operate far more independently from the rest of their warband.
Murderwing operatives are experts in high-speed aerial combat, and push their jump packs to the limit with a Boost – allowing them to strike nearby foes, howl demoralising shrieks, or even snatch whole operatives off their feet and drag them away while passing overhead. Slavering killers wielding heavy chainaxes and warp-wracked fanatics with wicked talons are equally welcome in the ranks of a Murderwing, egos held in check by the presence of a fearsome Chaos Lord.
The mission rules included in the Shadowhunt Dossier shake up the game with an innovative map layout that combines the ruins and rubble of Killzone: Volkus with the claustrophobic corridors of Killzone: Tomb World. These Descent Killzones are divided into two smaller boards, each half representing the upper or lower level of a combined battleground. Operatives can climb or soar up and down through Entryways to claim objectives, and ambush their opponents.
Kill Team: Shadowhunt contains two double-sided boards which use the maps and missions included, though the rules work happily with any two killzones you want to use. A series of three Joint Ops missions tell the story of your combined kill team battling through Necron drones to reach a radiant power source – three guesses who might be stuck in there – while Adversary Ops rules pit your questing teams against one another as the tomb’s defenders attempt to stop you from unleashing the horror locked in its blackstone sarcophagus.
This boxed set won’t be coming for a while yet – there’s more coming for Kill Team in the interim which has yet to be revealed – and we’ll have a look into the new kill teams when we get closer to its intended reveal date.
Until then, rest well, and don’t let the nightmares get to you.
