Warhammer 40K: What Plastic Death Korps Could Mean For Codex Astra Militarum

ATTENTION SOLDIER! New plastic Death Korps of Krieg minis are coming, but what does it mean?

This past weekend during their preview GW showed off the new Kill Team box set. Included in the set are brand new, and the first, plastic miniatures for the fan-favorite Astra Militarum regiment the Death Korps of Krieg.  Previously Krieg had an extensive line of resin Forgeworld models and full rules for an army. Now for the first time, they are in plastic. With rumors and signs pointing to the eventual coming of a new Guard book, let’s take a look at what this could mean.

It Could Be Nothing…

Let’s get this out of the way up front. Plastic DKoK in Kill Team could mean basically nothing. It’s possible that the Krieg “release” will be limited to just one box of infantry. Enough to make a veteran squad and that’s about it. This would put them in somewhat the same boat as the Tanith First and Only and the Euclidian Starstiders, as a side regiment with a very limited plastic set. Certainly, this would still be cool, and not too long ago I was hoping more regiments would get little releases like this. It wouldn’t really affect the army or the game, but would be nice for hobbyists. Indeed we have no evidence this release is anything other than the one box.

…Or It Could Be Big

On the other hand, there is some evidence that leads me to hope that this will be a bigger release. While both the Tantish and Starstriders got only one little release, that was a specific named unit, with named people in it.  This DKoK box is a more generic release and seems more in line with the kind of release you’d see as part of a big line of new units. On top of that, Orks, the other faction featured in the Kill Team box are getting a huge new release right now, despite the fact that they got a large one in 8th. Guard on the other hand are well overdue for a large overhaul and some new models. In addition, there are major rumors that 30K is getting moved over to the main studio from Forge World and getting some major plastic releases. If that’s the case then it would make some sense for the other large infantry FW lines, in particular, the very popular DKoK to also move to plastic.

Given that it’s possible that Krieg is going to get a major release. Along with the Veteran squad we’ve already seen, we could hope to see regular troops, officers and even new, or at least adapted vehicles. Most importantly we might see new Death Riders, thus returning Rough Riders to the Guard book after going missing in the last book. A major release of models is really needed to breathe new life into the army and this is a hopeful sign.

What Could It Mean For Rules?

A new Guard book coupled with a bunch of new models would hopefully also mean some major rules changes. Guard really need some help right now as they are possibly the worst army in the meta. If Krieg does get a large release, or really even just this small one, we could expect to see it added as one of the Regiments in the book, with its own rules. I’d honestly also expect to see Krieg get a little mini supplement in a warzone book, like Cult of Strife did, as this would boost it as the new kids on the block. Outside of that, we don’t really know what changes it would bring, hopefully new units and better rules.

One thing this could support is the inclusion of Lascarbines in the new book. I wrote about this possibility a few weeks ago. Now one of the big counters to this theory was that there are no models with Lascarbines, and Cadians just got an updated box without them. I did however note that one option could be “There is another new box coming that will have Lascarbines. This would mean either a non-Cadian Infantry Squad (Steel Legion?) with the alternate weapons or potentially a new infantry choice- Mechanized or Assault infantry squad?” Now clearly  I was a little off with my guess in regiments (still partially German inspired, but wrong war). However if Krieg is going to be a big release with more units it does open up the option that they get some alternate lasgun types. We will have to see what happens, but the possibilities are cool.

Let us know what you think Krieg means for the future of the Guard, down in the comments! 

Author: Abe Apfel

Abe is that rare thing, an Austin local born and raised here. Though he keeps on moving around, DC, Japan, ETC., he always seems to find his way back eventually. Abe has decades of experience with a wide range of tabletop and RPG games, from historicals, to Star Wars to D&D and 40K. He has been contributing to BOLS since almost the start, back when he worked at and then owned a local gaming store. He used to be big into the competitive Warhammer tournament scene but age has mellowed him and he now appreciates a good casual match. He currently covers 40K tactics and lore, as well as all things Star Wars, with occasional dabbling in other topics. Abe remains in mourning over the loss of WFB to this day.