Kill Team - Hivestorm rumors (Updated 08/12)
An article on Warhammer Community on Friday (07/12) piqued my curiosity.
Aside from the fact that I always enjoy reading the short stories they offer, the comments on the 40k Facebook page seem to suggest that almost everyone believes it's some kind of teaser for Kill Team.
Link to the article: Chalnath Dispatches – At All Costs
But let’s go in order.
MAY 20
A video by Chapter Master Valrak was released on YouTube (for those who don’t know him, he’s the guy who always seems to have a rumor ready about anything related to 40k and beyond).
In particular, he claims to have reliable information, complete with names and content, about the next Kill Team box.
He also asserts that it could be the start of a new edition.
For those who don’t want to watch the video, here’s a summary:
- The name of the box will be “Kill Team: Hivestorm” and its contents will be similar to Octarius/Into the Dark, meaning two teams, scenery, manuals, and various accessories.
So, nothing like the Bheta-Decima stuff we saw in the last season. - The name of the kill zone will be "Kill Zone Volkus" (remember this name), and it will involve multi-level battles with a particular emphasis on the Fly keyword (which, as we know, has been the hardest to manage over the past three years, see Void Dancer).
- The two teams should be as follows:
- Tempestus Scions Aquilion - 11 models (10 Tempestus + 1 Gun Sentinel)
- Vespid Stingwings (already called that on the GW store) - 11 models (10 Vespid + 1 drone)
As with all rumors announced by Valrak, they should be taken with a grain of salt. Furthermore, there are no supporting elements for his theories, so the entire video is categorized as “maybe yes, maybe no.”
At least, until last Friday.
JULY 12
As mentioned at the beginning, GW published a short story on Warhammer Community titled "Chalnath Dispatches – At All Costs."
It essentially tells the story of four strategists of the Imperium who must make a difficult decision to try to save the Kessandras System and, in particular, the planet Volkus from a T'au invasion.
We are all familiar with the name Chalnath thanks to the second Kill Team box of Season 1, but the other names didn’t ring any bells for me. And rightly so, since the KT skirmishes are set in another system (Vedik) and neither Kessandras nor Volkus are ever mentioned.
In fact, they don’t even exist as entries in the pages of Lexicanum (the Warhammer wiki), so it’s plausible that they are new.
It becomes all the more curious that the name Volkus (the key planet of the system) is also the name of the rumored Kill Zone over a month earlier.
Additionally, recalling that the name Chalnath is also mentioned in the campaign book "Psychic Awakening: The Greater Good," I went back to it and found many more elements hinted at in the story.
So, I’m inclined to think it’s simply the next campaign book for 40k after Pariah Nexus.
However, besides the "Vulkos" issue, I can't ignore this:
It seems like the Tempestus are there. But what about the Vespid? Okay, they are still part of the T'au faction, but they aren’t mentioned.
At least not until you read White Dwarf 502 from July, where there are entire pages of narrative about the new War Zone:
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| Excerpt from "War Zone Chalnath: The Xenowar" |
JULY 25
Today, Warhammer Community released an article about the Grand Narrative event in Atlanta (where the World Championships of Warhammer will take place from November 21 to 24).
Link: Tackle Team Tournaments and More This November at Warhammer World
There are two interesting things in this article.
The first is this:
So, we can say that it’s very likely that any publication concerning the War Zone Chalnath will happen BEFORE that date.
Of course, we don’t know if these "effects on 40k lore" will relate to subsequent publications of other campaigns or if this Chalnath series will be like "Arks of Omen" with a different outcome depending on the results of the Grand Narrative.
The second thing, perhaps more interesting than the first (at least for us), is discovered by reading the event description.
For the first time in KT history the game will be integrated into the Grand Narrative with full effects on 40k lore.
This could not only strengthen the hypothesis that the next edition/season of Kill Team is connected (at least narratively) to 40k publications, but that it could see the light before winter or even after summer to align with the Grand Narrative schedule.
JULY 26
Finally, we have at least one confirmation. Namely, that the series of narrative articles that began with the publication of the first short story is related to Kill Team.
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| They removed the tag... too late, sorry. |
Link to the article: Chalnath Dispatches – Blade in the Dark
While in the previous story we got to hear the Imperial strategies to counter the T'au invasion in the Chalnath War Zone, this short story takes us to the command bridge of the Manta Unifying Hand in high orbit above the planet Astorgius.
Note: Astorgius is a Cardinal World in the Thaxaril System, a system previously mentioned. Although theoretically under the control of the Ecclesiarchy, it is actually plagued by a significant infestation of the Genestealer Cult (source: Psychic Awakening: The Greater Good). Another confirmation that the Cult will be one of the actors in the conflict in the War Zone, as hinted at in WD 502.
Here, Shadowsun, coordinator of all military operations in the Nem’yar Atoll, and her war council are trying to devise a plan to invade the key planet of the Kessandras System, Volkus.
However, the presence on the planet of an unknown Imperial weapon so powerful that even the T'au fear it (possibly the mentioned Alpha Asset from the first short story - Ed.) rules out a standard "colonization" operation.
Thus, they lean towards another type of approach.
AUGUST 3
Yesterday, Valrak uploaded a new video with rumors about the future of Kill Team.
The main points of the video are these:
- He’s sure that the next box will be revealed during the NOVA Open (August 28 - September 1).
- He refers to "some kind of new edition."
- He even hints at the teams for the second box of the next season: an Imperial faction vs. Orks.
The third point is obviously the one to take with the most caution, although there might be some validity to it. Not so much for the "Imperial faction," which could be anything from another guard-like team to Space Marines (Death Watch?), but for the Orks.
It wouldn’t be strange if they received a second team since many factions have had theirs, if not more.
To this update, I’d like to add my speculation/deep dive into the identity of the Tempestus (now considered a certainty).
As it happens, I’m doing some research for a future project, particularly on the origins of Kill Team. Many think Kill Team was born in 2018 with the previous edition, others know the 2016 edition, which was basically a surrogate of 40k. But the first appearance of Kill Team was in 2003 (!) within the "Chapter Approved" section of White Dwarf 286 (US version).
It was a very different game from what we know today (it’s very reminiscent of the current Sentry mode), and maybe we’ll have a chance to explore the issue further at another time.
The interesting thing is that during my reading, I came across this piece of Lore:
When I read "grav-gliders" and saw the image of the old Stormtroopers (who later became Tempestus Scions), I decided to dig deeper.
I discovered that the Harakoni Warhawks are indeed the Aerial Assault division of the Tempestus, specializing in the use of grav-chutes for orbital deployment.
Moreover, despite their name being unknown to most, GW has never forgotten them. In fact, they appear in more or less recent publications:
- Gathering Storm: Fracture of Biel-Tan ("The Cacophony of Extremis Six," p. 84)
- War Zone Octarius - Critical Mass ("Private Armies," p. 30)
- War Zone Nachmund - Rift War ("Astra Militarum," p. 31)
Maybe they’ll also appear in the Chalnath War Zone…
AUGUST 9
Right on schedule with its bi-weekly release, the third short story related to the Chalnath War Zone has arrived.
Link to the article: Chalnath Dispatches – Cunning and Brutal
This time we accompany a Kommando kill team directly onto the surface of Volkus, the key planet of the Kessandras System and, it seems, of the entire Sector. As suggested by Shadowsun in the previous narrative, the Orks have also opted for a more stealthy approach towards the planet.
From what can be read in the story, the Kommandos must reach an observation point among the ruins outside the high walls of the huge city in the background. The goal is to identify a "secondary" access point through which to infiltrate and sabotage the facility.
Once the patrol guards were eliminated and the "vantage point" was reached, the Nob managed to communicate his discovery to the command bridge of the Ork flagship in orbit, thanks to the help of the Mek Boy (!) accompanying him:
Halfway between their location and the city, there is a maglev station (a station for magnetic levitation trains - Ed.) with tracks pointing towards a tunnel that passes through the walls.
According to the Ork Nob, once the dilapidated fortress (the entire area seems to be in ruins due to frequent "earthquakes"...) defending the station is conquered, his team would be able to access those tunnels without too much trouble.
The story ends with the leader’s total admiration, if not reverence, for the gigantic weapon towering like a mountain in the center of the human city.
From a "spoiler hunting" perspective, this story might mean everything or nothing.
Personally, I can identify three possible points of interest.
- Many players are wondering what will happen to the "old" teams if a new edition is released.
Some even fear their elimination due to some kind of reset to start from scratch.
Even though I consider this a rather excessive concern, I think this short story might ease those worries, as it mentions the Kommandos (one of the first teams released) in relation to a future setting.
- I could pick up a slight reference to the Closed system (ITD) in relation to the railway tunnel.
In the past, GW has reused the typical system for battles in orbital ships to represent tunnels/underground/galleries and so on.
We saw this in the Campaign Rulebook of Ashes of Faith.
- The presence of the Mek Boy with the Kommandos.
This is definitely the point causing the most discussion.
The question arises whether the next season/edition will introduce the possibility of playing as operatives who are minor Characters in 40k.
In reality, this wouldn’t be a novelty.
It’s something that has already been done both in the beginning (Death Jester and Shadowseer of the Void Dancer), and very recently (Magus, Primus, and Patriarch of the Brood Brothers).
This would allow some teams to be refreshed, giving them new life and new gameplay dynamics.
However, it’s possible that we’re just overthinking and that the Mek is there only as a narrative device...
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| From the Chalnath book - Season 2 |
But dreaming doesn’t cost anything.
AUGUST 10
I must say I was hoping for it.
And it happened.
At the end of the AoS live preview, they unexpectedly showed the teaser for the next season/edition of Kill Team!
Link to the article: Critical Transmission Incoming from the Chalnath Expanse
The teaser lasts only a few seconds but shows us interesting things.
Further confirming previous speculations, we have the Tempestus Scions with grav-chute in plain view.
They finally offer us a shot of the legendary colossal weapon (called "Alpha Asset" by the Imperial forces) stationed on the planet Volkus.
Additionally, from the video, we can see that the conflict on the planet seems to have already begun, as some sectors of the city are on fire and explosions continue.
But most importantly, we have a date: August 16th!
Now, as hopeful as I am, I don’t think they’ll do a full reveal that day.
Rather, I believe they will show an animation like the one prepared for the release of Octarius.
I expect the full reveal to remain scheduled for the NOVA days.
However, the hypothesis of a new edition rather than a new season is becoming increasingly convincing, as GW only prepares such animations on these occasions.
At th
is point, I think we’ll find out soon.
AUGUST 12
It seems we’ve received another confirmation from today’s teaser: the Vespid!
They’re so fast that it was difficult to capture a decent screenshot of their silhouette (let’s hope they aren’t this fast in the killzone too).
With the reveal just four days away, there isn’t much else to see.
And that’s fine by me.
LOOK TO THE SKIES!
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