Warhammer 40,000 for Adults Is Kill Team

I’ve frequently lamented not having enough time to play Warhammer battles. I’m sorry, mom, but as a teenager I used to commandeer her dining room table for a day or her living room floor for a whole weekend. – to engage in toy military games with my pals. It was the ideal weekend activity before we learned about alcohol. But I have better things to do these days.

First off, I now have to cover my own expenses. I just don’t have the spare cash to purchase enormous Warhammer armies any more since I have rent to pay and bills that are piling up.


Where would I keep plastic warriors even if I made enough money to squander away hundreds or even thousands of pounds on them? My mother’s cabinets, spare room, and garage are no longer mine to keep my armies. I have so many of my own plates in my kitchen cabinets that there isn’t room for a Dreadnought or nine. Perhaps a Dreadnought army scaled to the Epic would work well.

Apart from the space and money constraints, I’m an extremely time-constrained adult. It’s a daily battle for me to balance my full-time work (which is ironically partially writing about the little plastic figures I can’t keep on top of) and family with all of my hobbies. It doesn’t help that I’m a man with a wide range of interests.

I would have more time for fighting if I were a Warhammer Enjoyer who was single-minded (guys only ever think about one thing, etc.). As it is, my kid goes to bed, and I spend the next several hours painting models, playing video and tabletop games, watching football, playing football, jamming with friends, attending gigs, watching movies, visiting relatives, writing for fun, and cooking.


I wouldn’t trade my weekends for anything, but I spend most of them with my daughter doing activities that toddlers find interesting—that is, not Warhammer, at least not just yet. Tell me how I fit in with all of this, five-hour Warhammer battles?

Let’s get started with Kill Team. For busy people like me who enjoy hobbies, its squad-based combat conflicts are shorter, more manageable, and appear to be superior in every aspect. You get enough terrain to fill a small board in addition to two small forces of fantastic figures (my current favorites are the plastic Striking Scorpions, but the Night Lords upgrade sprue is a strong candidate). The package has everything you need, making it ideal for splitting with a friend and getting stuff done.


Not only is painting a squad quicker than painting an army, but it’s also more enjoyable. I adore giving each model their own unique personality and take a lot more time to complete.

I will always remember how my Striking Scorpion Exarch would lurk in the shadows until launching the ideal ambush to take out the opponent’s main metla gunner. Derek, rest in peace. The Aeldari won’t miss you.

Though I doubt I’d attempt to freehand lightning bolts on their shoulder pads if I had to paint fifty of them for a larger force, I haven’t painted my Night Lords yet. You get better by pushing yourself, but batch painting makes it hard to accomplish that.




I personally find Kill Team to be more entertaining than Warhammer 40,000 on every level. You receive fresh and intriguing sculpts (Drukhari Mandrakes, anyone?) that you may carefully paint to produce a small but powerful force. Kill Team incorporates mild RPG aspects to enhance the life of your individual models, and matches go more quickly. Have fun naming each model, which represents a character, and then sob into your Nuln Oilspill when they meet a merciless, XCOM-esque end at the hands of their own overheating Plasma Gun.

Well done if you can fit in a whole Warhammer 40,000 game during your adult life. Although I’m not and never will be a dedicated tournament player, I know plenty of individuals that do. But Kill Team is the game for you if you’re more of a casual gamer, painter, multi-hobbier, or parent.