For those of us who’ve spent countless hours rolling dice and moving miniatures across Killzones, the promise of a new boxed set is always thrilling.
Kill Team: Shadowhunt offers everything you want from a Warhammer skirmish game: tension, story, and beautifully deadly operatives. The Necrons’ meddling with time has opened a blurry, tilted portal to the future, and through it we get a peek at this industrial world gone wrong. Garranox, on the fringes of Ultramar, holds a newly discovered tomb complex that seems to radiate death and nightmares. The stage is set, the heroes are ready, and something ancient and malevolent lurks beneath the blackstone.
Garranox: A World of Death and Portents
The industrial world of Garranox isn’t your average hive city. Work crews stumble upon night-black stone and suddenly find themselves plagued by visions of death. The chaos is amplified by a rogue psyker turned prophet, the enigmatic Harbinger, whose warnings inspire both terror and action. To tackle this threat, the Battle Sisters of the Order of Our Martyred Lady form a specialized kill team. These sisters are trained to hunt heretics, but even their disciplined eyes cannot foresee the lurking horrors beneath the tombs.
Meanwhile, unseen observers watch from the shadows. These malicious eyes, intent on destabilizing Guilliman’s realm, add a layer of danger to every mission. What players get here is a classic Warhammer setup: multiple factions vying for control, with threats both immediate and cosmic. The story feels alive, with each skirmish part of a larger narrative that could go disastrously wrong if you’re not careful.
Celestian Insidiants: Faith and Firepower
The Celestian Insidiants are a joy to field. Outfitted with condemnor bolt pistols that fire silver stakes and heavy maces with null-field generators, they are designed to crush psychic threats. Their ornate power armor, covered in spiritual talismans and wrought-iron crowns, is as much a visual feast as it is a defensive tool. What really stands out is their training regimen. These sisters endure spiritual and mental trials, learning to withstand null energy’s disorienting effects and wield it as a weapon. As a player, watching them charge into psychic-laced battlegrounds feels both epic and satisfying.
These sisters aren’t just well-equipped models—they are characters with depth. Their resilience against rogue psykers, heretic sorcerers, and the creeping madness of the null aura gives players a sense of tactical and narrative weight with every move.
Murderwing: Chaos from Above
Opposing the sisters are the terrifying Murderwing, elite agents of Abaddon the Despoiler. Raptors and Warp Talons swoop in on jump packs, masters of assassination and asymmetric warfare. The Boost rule lets them strike at high speed, terrorize squads with shrieks, or even snatch operatives mid-air.
Players can expect aerial assaults that feel fast, lethal, and cinematic. The mix of heavy chainaxes, warp-taloned fanatics, and a fearsome Chaos Lord keeping them in line makes every Murderwing encounter a thrill.
Innovative Map Design and Mission Rules
Shadowhunt introduces a game-changing map layout. Descent Killzones combine the ruins of Killzone: Volkus with the tight corridors of Tomb World, split into two boards representing upper and lower levels. Entryways let operatives move vertically, claim objectives, or stage ambushes, adding a dynamic layer of strategy. The three Joint Ops missions guide your team through Necron drones toward a radiant power source, hinting at the ancient horror trapped within. Adversary Ops rules also let rival teams clash while tomb defenders fight to stop you, creating tense multi-layered engagements.
The boxed set includes two double-sided boards, but the rules are flexible enough to mix and match with any killzones you already own. This makes Shadowhunt as versatile as it is narrative-driven, letting players customize battles while keeping story stakes high.
Final Thoughts
Kill Team: Shadowhunt is shaping up to be a thrilling addition for skirmish fans. Between the richly detailed Celestian Insidiants, the terrifying Murderwing, and innovative mission mechanics, it promises fast, tense, and story-rich play. The mix of vertical gameplay, ambush potential, and intertwined narrative makes it feel alive on the table. While the boxed set isn’t out yet, it’s clear that Kill Team is pushing both mechanics and story forward in exciting ways. Until its release, we can only prepare our squads, sharpen our tactics, and hope the nightmares of Garranox don’t reach us before we do.
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