The Warhammer 40,000 of the future is Upgrade Sprues.<br>

The new Drukhari Mandrakes are being disregarded by all. It makes sense, since the most well-liked Warhammer army is made up of Space Marines and their Chaotic equivalents, and the Night Lords have a unique style of emo vampire death that just screams fun. They adorn their armor with lightning bolts; after all, they are the glam rock theater kids of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, so naturally they will draw all the attention.

But before I get too carried away with all the bat helmets and cloaks of flayed skin, I thought I should mention the Mandrakes. These models are quite good. Simple to assemble. lively. The players of Drukhari will be overjoyed.


Anyhow, Lords of the Night.

A standard Chaos Space Marine sprue and an extra Night Lords upgrade sprue are included with Kill Team: Nightmare. The Chaos Space Marine sprue is in good condition; at five years old, it feels much older, if I may say so myself. But the 8th edition kit is revived with the addition of some wonderful 8th Legion snazziness, rolling back the years.




You can construct a variety of special characters using the Kill Team kit, such as a Visionary, Fearmonger, Skinthief, Screecher, Ventrilokar, and other heavy and special weapon experts. All of these have its own set of regulations, but above all, they look great and make the most of the available equipment.

Although the Ventrilokar is a stylish banner bearer, his banner isn’t a picture of Konrad Curze, the founder of the Night Lords, or a gorgeous tapestry depicting their notable triumphs. Rather, it shows a real decomposing body suspended on meat hooks. The weapons, which range from poisoned blades to a chainsword housed in a ribcage, are really striking and appropriately metal. Still, the simplest component in the package is the best.


Without their helmets, Night Lords aren’t the same. This Kill Team’s distinctive bat wings help to distinguish them as Night Lords as opposed to ordinary, but stylish, Chaos marines. The horrific and impressive human skin robe is undoubtedly a striking feature, but the Night Lords’ characteristic shoulder pads and winged helms really make them come to life. And moving forward, Games Workshop ought to treat all Space Marines in the same manner.

Armies of Space Marines may seem a little stale. I attempted to add futuristic gadgets and robotic limbs to my Iron Hands in an attempt to make them look more unique, but they still have the same generic Space Marine appearance. It’s evident that The Kill Team: Nightmare Night Lords don’t.

Players of Space Marines would be flourishing if Games Workshop could produce upgrade sprues of this caliber for each initial starting Chapter. The Ultramarines could have their own technological advancements, the Dark Angels their hoods and wings, and Iron Hands—well, I’m sure they could come up with something better than a small wreath for the Imperium’s poster boys.


I realize that doing eighteen of them is a lot of effort, but the cost is also high. The most recent Kill Team box is available for pre-order today, and although the Night Lords sprue is packaged with it, I predict it will price somewhere between £15 and £20 when issued separately. Given that you require one for every squad in your army, that quickly adds up in cost. But the effort to create such a customized army would be worthwhile. After that, certain second founding Chapters might receive their enhancements (we’re really wishlisting this right now). Templars in black instantly spring to mind.

Although this looks excessive, it makes sense from a customer and business perspective. Staff have the option to upsell customers on an upgrade sprue when they purchase the same box of Primaris Marines (also known as Chaos Space Marines). Everyone is satisfied if the quality is on par with the Kill Team box. Furthermore, upgrade sprues might well save Space Marines from becoming monotonous, if the Night Lords are any indication.

But Drukhari are also cool.