A new year is here, and Kill Team is already sprinting with Shadowhunt on the horizon. However, new boxes are only half the story.
The first Balance Update of the year is also ready to download, and it targets some real pain points. So Warhammer Studio’s Leila highlights six headline changes for the quarter. And overall, it reads like a mix of quality of life fixes, underdog buffs, and a few needed nerfs.
Breaching in Tomb World Gets Standardized
Breach Points in Killzone: Tomb World have been creating uneven matchups. Some teams without Grenadiers or Piercing 2 felt punished by bad drop zones. Meanwhile, teams that could cheapen mission actions could still push hard after Breaching. To even things out, a new universal equipment, Breaching Charge, gives a one time Breach action discount of 1 AP. Also, if Breach is done for under 2 AP, it now limits Charge or Shoot during that activation no matter how you got the discount.
Kasrkin and Battleclade Get Needed Help
Kasrkin have been underperforming, so they get a real damage tune up. A new Rapid Fire faction rule lets them shoot twice with lasguns, laspistols, and bolt pistols. Light ‘Em Up also now grants Severe without restrictions, so stacking shooting damage is easier. Meanwhile, the Sergeant gains Veteran Leadership, letting two Skills At Arms run each turning point. That can even reach three on one operative with the Sergeant’s unique action, which is clutch for key plays.
Battleclade’s Noospheric Network was strong but overly restrictive, so timing and movement limits get relaxed. Network Counteracts should be more valuable now. Also, the Servitor Underseer swaps Noospheric Spur for Datacoronal Accumulator, which can generate CP for teams that struggled to fund strategy ploys.
Canoptek Circle, Deathwatch, and Recon Tac Ops Get Trimmed
Canoptek Circle was too durable and too punchy, so Obelisk Node Matrix now only grants Accurate 1. Macrocyte Warriors also get offensive stats reined in, while keeping their returnable harassment role.
Deathwatch has been the most played faction ever, and its consistency started warping the meta. The Long Vigil and The Shield That Slays can no longer stack on the centreline, so durability drops. Special Issue Ammunition also changes, because Rending plus Lethal 5+ was a problem, and Piercing 1 made ranged lethality too high for melee leaning operatives. Finally, Recon Tac Ops Flank and Retrieval get adjusted, since they scored too reliably and too often piled extra points onto Primary Op plans.
Summary
This update aims to make Tomb World Breaching fairer, lift Kasrkin into the threat tier they should occupy, and smooth out Battleclade’s rule friction. Meanwhile, it tones down Canoptek Circle’s efficiency, nudges Deathwatch away from oppressive durability and spike combos, and makes two popular Recon Tac Ops less automatic. In short, it should open the field, and it should reward sharper play rather than autopilot scoring.
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