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
From the Q2 Tier List, you can see most of the change has happened around the S Tier, with nearly every faction changing. The most movement has been between both the A and B Tier. The meta remains really good while the only true stale thing being that we are still stuck with Approved Ops 2025 at the time of writing.
S Tier
Pathfinders: It’s 2021 all over again, literally. Now this will be a controversial one, and it all comes down to how your Tournament Organiser (TO) or local scene is ruling it. To keep it short, most people are ruling Pathfinders as giving them access to 5 Markerlights once per Turning Point (TP) which grants them Seek. This interpretation puts them back at the bottom. However, I go the Rules As Intended version (RAI) that Pathfinders don’t need to use their Target Analysis Optic equipment and go to 5 Markerlights normally. Giving Pathfinders access to full Seek again is wild. They’ll be once again deleting stuff from TP1 unless you have access to super cover. The only thing reigning them in, outside of the community currently banning them with their Rules As Written (RAW) ruling, is that they’re Declassified, so Pathfinders won’t be the total global menace they used to be.
Inquisitorial Agents: Despite the nerf to Tomes, Agents feel like one of the S Tier teams at the moment. Still very hard to play and collect, but they remain having the very powerful abilities of: easy re-rolls, ignoring modifiers, delaying activations, and the most important of all being able to turn of key faction rules via Absolute Authority.
Goremongers: Going up from A Tier to S Tier, Goremongers’ recent buffs may have been a bit too much. They now have a new shooting playstyle that makes them even more terrifying. Blood Tank management remains key but the faction has lots of ways to easily accrue this. Goremongers are still vulnerable to bad dice and have to respect the weakened elite kill teams, but otherwise, they are a very dominant faction at the moment.
Canoptek Circle: Despite Crawlers going down to 18 wounds, 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 are a lot closer now but turtle Canoptek still win out. Their durability as well as damage output from the Crawlers and Geomancer cannot be underestimated.
A Tier
Hunter Clade: Every Tier List I keep fluctuating on Hunter Clade between A and B Tier. I’m back to thinking they’re A Tier again as they just have a lot of mixed threats and powerful tools, being one of the few kill teams in the game who can reliably do this.
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.
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. Definitely a faction not to underestimate with their mobility and burst firepower.
Elucidian Starstriders: Back in A Tier based of consistent tournament performance, Starstriders are a great kill team. Still vulnerable to the melee gatekeep kill teams and must respect elites, the Rogue Traders remain a faction people must respect.
Imperial Navy Breachers: Amazing tanks with low damage outside of melta and chainfist. Skullspolsion is funny but Breachers just exist to grind. With Shotguns at +1 damage thanks to Close Assault, life is much better for Breachers. Plus they’ve been dominating at events and over-performing in the stats. Very powerful once.
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!
Kasrkin: Remaining in A Tier, 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.
Exaction Squad: Up in A Tier from B Tier due to months of stacked buffs along with elites getting nerfs, Exaction Squad are a solid A Tier threat. Shooting is 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.
Hearthkyn Salvagers: Salvagers are remain one of the best factions in A Tier. They demolish basically all elite kill teams and pseudo-fly in open killzones. Very terrifying thanks to the super fast Jump Pack Warrior with Fly.
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 loving the 3+ save Striking Scorpions!
Mandrakes: Very strong due to the meta but also changes with Approved Ops 2025. Even with their old January nerfs, they have amazing mobility partly due to their free dashes. Mandrakes are still a strong pick currently.
Nemesis Claw: Nemesis Claw are the best Imperial Space Marine hunters as well as being awesome overall. Mobility tricks, powerful melee, great board control, these Night Lords are still an amazing faction to play. Also love hunting AoD.
Brood Brothers: The Magus nerf hurts but Brood Brothers remain very powerful, lots of shooting power and mobility tricks, with the Magus still being one of the best leaders in the game. Hate Goremongers but otherwise really love how the current meta is.
Chaos Cult: Down from S Tier to A Tier, Chaos Cult just have a lot of threats with great mobility, tons of activations, ways to apply static damage, and more. They love/hate the Dominate change but otherwise are still incredibly strong.
Vespid Stingwings: Up from B Tier to A Tier, Vespid love the new buff to their leader. 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. It still hurts but the new leader ability helps mitigate this a little. They’re just so strong and fun now.
Angels of Death: Down from S Tier to A Tier with the nerf to Hardy, Angels of Death are just stillincredibly consistent. Being able to take both the Heavy Gunner and Eliminator together is a great. Chapter Tactics are still very good, especially Resolute, AoD are a faction to be feared still.
Sanctifiers: Up from B Tier to A Tier thanks to the performance of some dedicate Sanctifier players, they still take way more skill to be played effectively but still have powerful aura-stacking abilities and great durability for normal humans.
Raveners: Should have been in S Tier last quarter but remain a solid A Tier threat. Durability and tanking shooting on the tunnel is a lot worse now, but Raveners can still play complete denial via hiding in the tunnel and still love Dominate. Running out of the tunnel is a lot worse now but Raveners are still threatening when they do it. No longer meta kings, Raveners remain a solid meta threat.
Wolf Scouts: Despite all the recent nerfs, Wolf Scouts remain incredibly strong. Now requiring positional thinking due to the reliance on the huge storm bubble, they can pin down so many opponents. Cast the Runes and the Wolf itself are kinda bad now, yet Wolf Scouts are probably the best Space Marine faction still? A testament to their original design. Sure, Wolf Scouts are weaker, but like Raveners, remains a big meta threat.
XV26 Stealth Battlesuits: Boost from B Tier to A Tier, the VRT buff is huge but more so the reliability of the Homing Beacon. It helps a lot of bad match-ups got worse via nerfs, yet Suits still need to watch out for big hordes. However, more players are showing that the XV26 are big threats not to be ignored anymore.
Celestian Insidiants: 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. They’re great into Goremongers and still have too much damage negation. They could be S Tier, especially based on all the competitive players switching to them, but Insidiants are at minimum a strong A Tier faction.
B Tier
Kommandos: Kommandos are mostly carried by the Nob. 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.
Legionary: Legionary remain a strong choice. Powerful operatives, specialists, and Marks of Chaos still do a lot of work.
Blooded: Perfectly balance Blooded remain in the B Tier as their name suggests.
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.
Hand of the Archon: Down from A to B Tier, despite their prior January buffs making them a great and consistent team that play strongly into elite and horde teams alike, they still have quite a lot of bad match-ups that just push them down slightly.
Hierotek Circle: Down from S Tier to B Tier, Hierotek pay for the sins of the Chronomancer. They’re still a very strong team but just aren’t oppressive like before.
Fellgor Ravagers: Also down from S Tier to B Tier, Fellgor still have an incredibly strong faction mechanic with Frenzy. However, they’re now harder to play and operatives like the Mangler now require support for most charges now instead of constantly yolo’ing charges.
Tempestus Aquillons: Even at 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. Now down from A Tier to B Tier just due to being strong but not dominant.
Plague Marines: Being able to consistently apply Poison Tokens to 2 operatives per TP at 7″ is very good in addition to Bolt Pistols basically everywhere. Poison Vents are strictly amazing now but overall Plague Marines are just way more consistent. A very dependable defensive threat.
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. They really hate the Dominate change though.
Wrecka Krew: Down to B Tier due to how much Dominate has hurt Wreckas, the kill team still remains a great kill team. No longer an A Tier threat but still scary. Just limited by their general 2APL cap and limited threat ranges.
Deathwatch: Remaining in B Tier despite their buffs, Deathwatch are a lot harder to play now. They still have very powerful operatives and abilities and are more consistent now. Still missing that they cannot shoot and fight anymore on counteract, however.
Battleclade: Battleclade dominate most factions they out-activate, although the double dash being removed hurts. They still take a lot of planning and suffer against factions that out-activate them, but overall they’re very strong now.
Murderwing: Dropping down into B Tier from A Tier, Murderwing remain overwhelmingly powerful on Volkus. More manageable overall now, however, they still have incredibly damage output and APL manipulation. Malicious Narcissism is now only useful against opponents that out-activate you but the Retrieval and run away playstyle will likely be best for Murderwing.
Exodite Dragon Masters: Until we get an FAQ clarifying how they fully work, Exodites sit in a weird spot. They basically can’t get cover so are naturally better on Tomb World and Gallowdark kill zones.
C Tier
Novitiates: Novis remain in C Tier. Still can surprise some factions but otherwise remain static.
Wyrmblade: Wyrmblade are fine but are just being aged out of the game. Still rely heavily on their Cult Agents but otherwise fine.
Scout Squad: Dropping down from B Tier to C Tier, Scouts just are in a rough spot, especially with Insidiants existing. They are strong but take so much planning and have too many bad match-ups.
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. They’re not doing well from the stats and got a very bad buff.
Spectre Squad: Hitting on to the scene at C Tier. They’re probably top of C Tier but are still quite weak. Spectre Squad are fine, solidly balanced. However, the rest of the meta is still far too powerful for them, especially for a faction with no melee and that has effectively no power once the Meltagun dies.
D Tier
Death Korps: Death Korps drop down to D Tier. Other hordes do their job but better and they overall struggle with the edition changes. Still have great consistent shooting damage.
Warpcoven: Warpcoven struggle to do much at 5 operatives effectively. Definitely need some more love to maintain the reduced kill team size.
Gellerpox Infected: Gellerpox remain in a rough spot. Not really managing after the severe nerfs, they need some more love to be relevant again. Even with the buffs they got in August.
Classified Tier List
From Declassified to Classified, there are minimal changes. You could even argue the D Tier should be removed entirely, however, I do feel that Scout Squad and Hernkyn Yaegirs feel like the weakest factions currently. Otherwise, it’s all pretty healthy!
Tier List Overview
Once again like last quarter, meta is super solid and all the tiers are really close. Player skill still trumps a lot of match-ups, which is all great. As I’ve repeatedly said, it’s currently a great time to be playing Kill Team. Hopefully Approved Ops 2026 drops soon as that will massively change the game, Wreckas will love to see Dominate disappear for example. We may even get Armageddon soon which will add a new killzone and two new factions as well! An FAQ properly explaining Exodite Dragon Masters wouldn’t be amiss too.
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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!
