Kill Team Tier List Q1 2026

It’s time to look at the latest tier list for Kill Team!

Welcome to today’s Warhammer 40000 Kill Team article where I cover my newest quarterly tier list for Kill Team! Based off of tournament and personal experience, as well as reviewing every team, I rate every faction in the game! Find out who are the best and the worst for tournaments and events!

If you want, I’ve done a more in-depth video on the subject which you can watch here:

Explaining The Tiers

So the tiers are pretty simple:

S Tier – A super strong kill team, one you’re very likely to see at a tournament that will definitely make the top cut and/or win an event too. Possibly broken but in realty just the best team(s) to play and only really lose to other S Tier teams match-up wise, ergo having very few to no bad match-ups. Usually with a very high winrate, popularity/usage rate and good podium rate (getting 1st to 3rd at events).

A Tier – A very strong kill team. Very likely to be seen in a tournament that will make a top cut and even win the whole thing. Commonly finishes a 4 round tournament with a 3-1. Not as strong as a S Tier kill team but one you have to definitely keep in-mind for when aiming to play competitively.

B Tier – A strong kill team. Likely to be seen in tournaments and can make a top cut. Could win as well but not reliably. Definitely a team you need to remember for when playing in events Has more bad match-ups than the S and A tiers.

C Tier – An average kill team. Usually should be able to go 2 wins 2 losses in a 4 round tournament. May make the top cut but unlikely to win. You may need to remember these teams for events but it’s not a necessity.

D Tier – Bad kill teams. Weak due to either poor rules or mechanics. Unlikely to win with, commonly going 1 win and 3 losses at an event.

Also tiers do not represent skill. Someone who has spent a long time playing the same lower tier kill team is likely to beat someone hopping onto a higher tier one for the first time. This is just a general guide for players trying to find what the best kill team is for them to play or to watch out for at tournaments. These have all been charted by me based on the above factors as well as my tournament experience with the game.

Factions within tiers are also ranked by release from oldest to newest/random order, it’s not an indication of power as generally factions are very close together when it comes to power rating for each tier.

The Tier Lists

On the left is the old tier list and on the right is the new. We’ve had some changes, as well as two brand new kill teams. The S Tier has changed up slightly. Kasrkin jump up to A Tier while Deathwatch drop down into B Tier. Murderwing continue the power creep trend of at least one new box release being in the S Tier but tiers are a lot closer now.

S Tier

Fellgor Ravager: Fellgor jump up to one of the best teams in the game, again. Despite over-performing for the last 3 months, they saw no real nerfs. It seems likely that GW think their power comes from Flank (which was slightly nerfed) which isn’t really correct. The power of Frenzy continues to be incredibly powerful and walls so many factions in the game. In match-ups where Flank isn’t great, you can still crush opponents with Rout/Dominate.

Canoptek Circle: Despite the nerfs to Warriors, Canoptek remain in S Tier. They still heavily deny opponents points on Tac Ops from Seek and Destroy plus Infiltration, as well as effectively always winning on the Kill Op. Games will be a lot closer now but I can see turtle Canoptek still winning out. Their durability as well as damage output from the Crawlers and Geomancer cannot be underestimated.

Wolf Scouts: Even with all their recent nerfs to ploys and leader, Wolf Scouts have a lot of power and tricks remaining. Frosteye and Fangbearer remain dominatingly untouched, plus their is still a lot of exploration with Hunter spam. Wolf Scouts trash non-elite kill teams and still pile a lot of pressure on to other teams. While they won’t be as easy to play before the nerfs, they remain very powerful.

Murderwing: Murderwing are S Tier. Some people will say they are quite easy to beat on Volkus/Tomb World but no. On Volkus they destroy everyone. Who knew Marines with fly would be so powerful? After 3 months dominating the game, they will be nerfed…slightly. Even ignoring their damage and mobility, Murderwing also pack amazingly consistent chip damage too. Hide on vantage points then do mass charges to win, not even mentioning Malicious Narcissism.

A Tier

Corsair Voidscarred: Corsairs remain very strong with access to 2 piercing 2 weapons, mobility, and mass power weapons. They still hunt elites like no one else, but will struggle into the more popular larger horde teams. The buffs to the Shaderunner are a nice boost too.

Void-Dancer Troupe: Despite their prior nerfs, Void-Dancers have shown that their mobility and powerful ploys. Not as durable as they used to be against shooting teams, but still great overall.

Phobos Strike Team: Remain strong with their shooting and zoning prowess. Still have a few tricks but lose out to the more powerful teams in the tiers above.

Kasrkin: Boosted up into A Tier, Kasrkin might have been buffed too much. Seize the Initiative is probably the most problematic toolkit of the team but it does allow them to apply a ton of pressure to teams that lack a strategy phase charge or movement tricks. Regardless, being shooty Aeldari is pretty terrifying, especially into teams you out-activate.

Inquisitorial Agent: Inq still have all the tools to shut everyone down with Absolute Authority and so on. The real trick comes down to mastering all the correct anciliary support options for each match-up but Inq are in an amazing spot now but very hard to play.

Chaos Cult: Chaos Cult are still a great melee team. Ramping for a big TP3/4 push, Cult are a late-game monster team that can overwhelm teams quickly, just gotta play conservatively TP1 and TP2.

Blades of Khaine: Blades of Khaine remain great. They still have powerful Aspect Abilities and are a very flexible kill team. Do well into all other opponents and are the best Aeldari kill team!

Mandrakes: Very strong due to the meta but also changes with Approved Ops 2025. Even with the recent nerfs, they have amazing mobility partly due to their free dashes. Mandrakes are still a strong pick currently.

Nemesis Claw: Despite all their nerfs, Nemesis Claw have proven to be a strong meta pick. Powerful operatvies and tools with better Tac Ops now, it’s still a great time to be a Night Lord.

Tempestus Aquilons: Loving how they are still somehow 11 operatives, Aquilons remain a dominant meta threat with their mobility and firepower. Lose out to other horde teams but remain in a very strong spot right now.

Wrecka Krew: Being able to get +1 APL from performing charge actions helps the faction so much. Now Wrecka Krew don’t have to fear Stun grenades so much. Opponents must respect them more and Wrecka Krew have great 6 dice shooting. Extra Amour is now a weird side-grade and Aeldari/Power weapon teams are still a problem, but Wrecka Krew will get it done!

Raveners: A very powerful melee team due to their wounds and constant healing. Stat-check lots of factions while finding new success with Dominate from AO2025. They’re harder to play with the loss of Implant but still do great with their denial type of play the quickly racks up points late-game.

Celestian Insidiants: Celestian Insidiants land into A Tier. Despite being hard to play, they’re a great a late-game team. Vulnerable to fast rush-down teams, once setup Insidiants are difficult to kill and clear. Warriors are especially efficient here so correct team construction is key.

B Tier

Kommandos: Kommandos are mostly carried by the new Nob changed. Being able to double fight at 5 attacks with the Big Choppa helps the faction so much. Means they’re finally much better into elites and can reliably double-kill hordes.

Wyrmblade: Remain in B Tier, just overall solid. Still weak to melee but have amazing shooting threat.

Hunter Clade: Hunter Clade have proven to be very strong. They have some neat powerful combos and have a very respectable shooting and close combat threat.

Legionary: Despite the nerf to 4APL Tzeentch, Legionary remain a strong choice. Powerful operatives and Marks of Chaos still do a lot of work.

Blooded: Perfectly balance Blooded remain in the B Tier as their name suggests.

Elucidian Starstriders: Enjoying their new buffs, Starstriders are a great kill team once again. Still vulnerable to the melee gatekeep kill teams and must respect elites, the rogue traders remain a faction people must respect now.

Imperial Navy Breachers: Amazing tanks with low damage outside of melta and chainfist. Skullspolsion is funny but Breachers just exist to grind. Now Shotguns are +1 damage with Close Assault, life is much better for Breachers.

Farstalker Kinband: A very strong Crit and Tac Op team that just suffers with damage output. However, now that every Kroot is minimum 3/5 damage, they can finally better deal with 8 wound teams as well as elites, just dependent on you rolling those crits!

Hierotek Circle: Despite how terrible their Kill Op change is, even with it being clarified now, Hierotek are still good in B Tier. Powerful shooting and zoning, they just need to go back up to kill grade 8.

Exaction Squad: With their new buffs, Exaction Squad may even end up in A Tier now. Shooting is much more deadly with the Grenade Launcher, Cybermastiff is more efficient, and so is the Revelatum. Tac Ops are still a little rough but otherwise things are great for the Arbites.

Hand of the Archon: With their buffs HotA are back in B Tier. Lots of re-rolls but still tempo-heavy in the early game. Otherwise still great, especially with the new leader buff.

Hearthkyn Salvagers: Buffs help a lot and keep them in B Tier. Meta at the top end is still too much for them but now they basically fly on Volkus at least.

Brood Brothers: Brood Brothers remain very powerful, lots of shooting power and mobility tricks, with the Magus being one of the best leaders in the game. The reduced range of the Iconward is annoying but the overall changes with AO2025 still greatly benefits Brood Brothers as a whole.

Hernkyn Yaegirs: My personal favourite of the two Votann, Yaegirs have a lot of play with AO2025. Still very CP intensive and struggle in super tough teams but otherwise in a great spot.

Angels of Death: With the buffs they’ve gotten over the last three months, AoD are a great B Tier team now. Very flexible and consistent while still rocking the dependable elite body. Vanilla but still powerful.

Plague Marines: Being able to consistently apply Poison Tokens to 2 operatives per TP at 7″ is now very good. Poison Vents are strictly worse now but overall Plague Marines are just way more consistent. A very dependable defensive threat.

Vespid Stingwings: Vespid are amazing on Volkus but where Tomb World and Gallowdark turn off their faction ability, there’s not much that can be done until that is tweaked.

Ratlings: Scarper buffs make the team super mobile despite their 5″ move. Still have some flaws but play the Tac and Crit Ops so well.

Goremongers: Dropping down into B Tier, Gores remain great into any non-elite kill team. Even with elites they have a chance but are just more honest overall now.

Sanctifiers: They now take way more skill to be played effectively but still have powerful aura-stacking abilities and great durability for normal humans.

Deathwatch: Crashing down to B Tier from their nerfs, Deathwatch are a lot harder to play now. They still have very powerful operatives and abilities, but are just more inconsistent now. Especially as they cannot shoot and fight anymore on counteract.

XV26 Stealth Battlesuits: Stealths remain in B Tier. They dominate elites and struggle into hordes. Could see a minor buff but currently they occupy a great spot.

C Tier

Death Korps: Death Korps are kinda just stuck in C Tier. Other hordes do their job but better and they overall struggle with the edition changes. Still have great consistent shooting damage.

Pathfinders: Pathfinders are a little better now with their recent buffs. HIML being twice per TP is great and being able to use two Art of War abilities per game is amazing too. They’re still quite fragile but doing a lot better than before.

Novitiates: Novis remain in C Tier. Still can surprise some factions but otherwise remain static.

Warp Coven: Despite the Sorcerer buffs, they struggle to do much at 5 operatives effectively. Definitely need some more love to maintain the reduced kill team size.

Battleclade: A very strong defensive team that just can’t deal with all the aggressive teams in the game right now. When they can get shots off, Battleclade are terrifying. Currently, however, they just struggle.

D Tier

Gellerpox Infected: Gellerpox are just in such a rough spot now. Not really managing after the severe nerfs, they need some more love to be relevant again.

Scout Squad: Even with the constant buffs, Scout Squad are just not doing well enough. Need more durability and damage output. Even with all their tricks, they just can’t keep up the current meta.

Classified Tier List

With the classified tier list, there isn’t too much of a change. Hernkyn Yaegirs drop down a bit into the C Tier due to the lack of horde teams, but otherwise it’s all mostly the same. Just no D Tier as no faction really occupies that space with a much more reduced number of factions.

Tier List Overview

Once again, if you ignore the S Tier, we really do have a solid meta. It is frustrating that GW did not nerf Canoptek Circle and Wolf Scouts hard enough, hopefully they change their 9 month nerf plan fro teams if they want to boost overall health of the Kill Team as a whole. Tiers, though, now are much closer together. This is much better but the S Tier is still very dominating.

As for the weaker teams, hopefully they get some buffs too in April. Declassified teams got a lot of buffs, which is amazing, but teams like Gellerpox need some big love. Hordes are a lot better now but still have to watch out for elites. Exaction Squad and Farstalker Kinband are doing really great right now. There’s some more counterplay overall, yet now we must deal with the addition of Celestian Insidiants and Murderwing. Murderwing will likely dominate the game for the next 3 months, as the power creep circle continues to self-fulfil itself.

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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!