Kill Team: Nachmund has arrived and the kind folks at the Games Workshop Community Team sent us a copy to get our nerdy dice rolling hands on.
With Nachmund being the third boxed set released for Kill Team we all know what to expect, two unique Kill Teams, a table full of scenery, a game board and of course the accompanying expansion book.
As long time readers will know I’m a fluff gamer, I love the settings, characters and lore of the 40k universe and as a result the first thing I do when opening a new box is grab whatever literature is tucked away in the box and delve into the new tome like a scholar finding themselves in the Black Library.
The setting for this box is the Nachmund Gauntlet, when the Cicatrix Maledictum tore the galaxy in two the Imperium needed to find away to reach the systems on the other side, this area of space became known as the Imperium Nihilus. Hope was eventually found in the form of The Nachmund Gauntlet. A narrow (in terms of universal scale) passage through the great rift, although considered narrow it was still home to billions of souls, the devastation caused by the warp was only the beginning, myriad factions have descended and as it’s fitting, there is only war.
When Nachmund was announced I was very excited as Aeldari (Or Eldar as they were called back then) were my first 40K force, and many moons before that a Chaos Space Marine was the first Citadel mini I ever painted. Nostalgia was at the very heart of this box for me, but the moment I saw the Aeldari Corsairs nostalgia was swept aside by excitement.
The Corsair Voidscarred (Aeldari) kill team consists of 10 models, in layman’s terms they are space pirates and if Corsair being in the name wasn’t enough of a clue once you’d seen the sculpts you’d have to be an Ogryn not to notice.
Take the Kurnite Hunter, he enters the battle with a Faolchú (space bird), this pirate Corsair can use his winged companion to reveal enemies and allow his fellow corsairs to target them even if they have the conceal order. Every single model in the Aeldari kill team is brand new, it’s long overdue but it is nice to see their range get some love from Games Workshop for a change.
As always, I highlight my favourite model from each kill team and for the Voidscarred Corsairs it isn’t actually bird boy, its the Voidscarred Startstorm Duellist. These duel pistol wielding Aeldari are described as brash and arrogant (so basic Aeldari then?) who dive into the fray toting a Shrunken pistol and a Fusion pistol. This model is fantastic, it’s so dynamically posed, I instantly imagine him ducking las-rifle shots and taking cover from Bolter shells.
On to the Chaos Marines, in the exact same vein as the Tau Pathfinder team from the Chalnath box, the Chaos Marine kill team is an existing kit but with an upgrade sprue but that sprue makes a very tasty difference. Many parts Stand out, maybe none so much as the joy and enthusiasm on the face of the Legionary Chosen. However, it’s the Legionary Butcher that stands out to me, and yes, I’m aware my World Eater bias is showing.
Of course the Nachmund book isn’t just fluff and model pictures, its also chock full of rules, most of which we won’t be mention as per usual. However, one rule in particular stood out to my narrative obsessed gamer brain. The Aeldari have access to a Tac Op called “Soul Guard’ which involves the Corsairs attempting the recover the Spirt Stones of their fallen comrades. While such a thing wouldn’t be remotely feasible in standard 40k, the smaller scale (I terms of model count) makes this Tac Op a stroke of genius. It also adds so much to a narrative campaign, imagine losing your favourite character and having to go all out the attempt to recover their spirit stone. In fact, i’d go so far as to make them persistent, and have the warrior who incapacitated the Aeldari keep said spirit stone in an attempt to despoil it with the energies of the warp. It would also give my remaining Corsairs the opportunity to recover the stone in later battles by defeating the warrior who has possession of it.
Of course the book also contains new missions to play and they a look great fun to play, most notable the “Blow the reactor” mission which sees the battlefield covered in a toxic smog as players attempt to destroy or defend a reactor.
You may be able to tell that i’m impressed by the Kill Team: Nachmund box (and that’s not just because of the healthy amount of terrain in it), but as always with this sort of thing, the inevitable question of value, and if this box is good value for money.
Well, the answer is YES, no matter which way you look at it this box is a steal at £115, now much like the Chalnath box, if you should pick it up or not is going to depend on how much you like the factions involved. Even if you somehow hate both the Chaos Marines and the Voidscarred Corsairs. I’d still recommend picking this box up, the fluff, the missions and the terrain are all work the asking price, not to mention that you could easily sell the Corsairs to any Aeldari player who’ll no doubt be foaming at the mouth for these Corsairs.
