Going over my tips for setting up Kill Team game boards!
Welcome to today’s Warhammer 40,000 Kill Team article where I update my terrain guide based on the Critcal Operations update! I cover how to setup boards, example terrain, keeping dropzones safe as well as 3 example terrain layouts you can use for your own games!
I’ve also done this as a more in-depth video on YouTube which you can watch here:
Key Points for Terrain
I’ll cover these briefly but when designing boards for Kill Team, here’s what I always follow:
- Place objectives first, so you can set terrain around them (just like in the core rules).
- Keep dropzones safe, ideally 1 to 2 pieces of heavy terrain in the dropzone so players don’t get blown up TP1. If you only go with 1 heavy piece, use a 2nd piece further forwards to obscure a dropzone.
- Use heavy terrain in the middle of the board, either a large block or long L/U-shaped terrain piece to prevent people shooting each other easily from their dropzones.
- Leave Tac Ops scorable, namely Secure Vantage and Central Control. Don’t place all vantage points within blue of dropzones and don’t entirely block off the center of the table with a large heavy terrain piece so Central Control is still scorable.
- Don’t place vantage points in dropzones. You can place them on the edge of dropzones but ideally with the side that has no cover on top facing the opponent to make it fairer or placing the vantage point more than blue from the dropzone so players cannot Recon dash onto them in the scouting phase.
I cover it more in my video but those are my basic tips.
Terrain Layouts
Now I’ll go over 3 terrain layouts I’ve designed for both tournament and casual play. They use a single set of Octarius terrain as it’s the most common set of terrain everyone generally has access too. Also I’ve designed these maps with 2 vantage points blocked off (big red X), meaning the roofs still exist but you cannot climb over/through or place on them (or phase through with fly). You can play the maps with all 4 vantage points on but then it does kinda break the balance of the board.
Each layout also has their own unique things I’ve designed to hinder movement. These are optional but will be mentioned for each map. I also don’t play these maps with doors on but they work completely fine with doors in-use. That’s up to player choice at the end of the day.
I’ve also done 3 layouts, 1 for each of the 3 new Critical Operations layouts. These maps are also designed so that they are easy to alternate between if you want to change maps every round as a TO. For this, the maps are designed that going from horizontal to diagonal, and then diagonal to vertical, only takes about 1 to 2 minutes.
Note: thanks to Dankboss for helping with the TTS layout designs.
Horizontal (Hamburger) Deployment
The unique quirks with this layout are as follows:
- The bottom left building has a gap that allows a 32mm base through between itself and the large scrap pile.
- The top right building has a 28mm gap between it and the small central scrap pile
- The top left vantage point is just over 1 inch from the board edge, meaning only a 25mm base can walk around it.
- You should only be able to get a shot from the top left vantage point into the dropzone opposite if you are in the bottom left corner of that vantage point AND if there is an operative on the left side edge of the light wall barricade in the dropzone.
Diagonal (Quesadilla) Deployment
The unique quirks with this layout are as follows:
- The bottom right small scrap pile has a gap of 1 inch allowing a 25mm base to walk around it freely
- The gap between the board edge and the central light wall is 1 inch so 25mm bases can walk around it freely.
- The gap between the bottom right building and the central oil rig allows a 32mm base or smaller to move around it freely.
Vertical (Hotdog) Deployment
For this deployment, I’ve got a 3rd image to highlight the exact placement of the scrap piles.
The unique quirks with this layout are as follows:
- The bottom left vantage point and bottom right large scrap pile are 1 inch from the board edge so a 25mm base can walk around freely
- The scrap piles are placed in such a way that you cannot scramble and use the doors at the same time due to the latest FAQ but also to hinder door use in a way if you are using them.
- The gaps between the small central scrap pile and the central light wall as well as the corner of the top right building is enough of a gap so that 40mm bases cannot move through.
Terrain Guide and Map Layouts Overview
So that’s pretty much it for today. I hope these tips and guide help you with your own terrain layouts. For the 3 maps I’ve provided, feel free to feedback! As I mentioned in the video, I may update these in the future based on feedback as well as maybe adding more terrain layouts in the future for boards like Nachmund and Moroch etc. Either way, the terrain layouts will be here to use for your own games or tournaments!
Before I go, feel free to check out my Discord as well as my Patreon if you want to give me some more support as well as my affiliate link at Element Games!
So remember, until next time, no matter what the tiers say, stay away from tier 15 and you’ll always be able to roll a crit!
Can You Roll A Crit? 