Warhammer 40K: Kill Team – Blood & Zeal Introduces New Mechanics To Try
Kill Team: Blood And Zeal is coming to change the game. These new mechanics sound like a trip to try out if you’re up for them!
The new Battle Box for Kill Team is called Blood and Zeal for good reason. It’s pits two factions against each other who are both practicing their faith in their own way. There is sure to be bloody battles ahead fueled by the zeal of the faithful. That said, the Battle Box is also bringing some new mechanics to try out. Let’s check them out.
“Kill Team: Blood and Zeal is the forthcoming expansion to the latest edition of Kill Team, and alongside two new factions – the Sanctifiers and the Goremongers – it comes with an exclusive deck of 32 cards divided into Zeal and Blood categories, which make up part of the Blood and Zeal Mission Pack”
Blood And Zeal – New Mechanics
First up we have the new cards that make up the Zeal and Blood decks. These decks are special and are designed to work with the Blood and Zeal Mission pack.
“Players can draw cards from either deck, both in each Strategy phase and whenever your opponent scores VPs. Play the cards when they specify, and in a moment of need these divine powers can change the course of the game.”
From the sounds of it, these seem like cards that are designed to help the player that’s falling behind in the VPs. It could be viewed as a slight catch-up mechanic that both players have access to. Plus, the only way to draw more of these cards is for your opponent to score VPs. So, while they are helpful, if you’re drawing a ton of them you might be losing the objective game.
It’s also worth mentioning that you can also get a VP for playing the most of each card — so it sounds like there’s two VPs up for grabs there. Again, this sounds like a way to catch-up if you’re really lagging behind. But it’s also an interesting scoring mechanic to try.
The Shrine Abilities
Blood and Zeal also comes with a massive shrine statue. This terrain feature isn’t just for show either. Within the mission pack, there’s additional rules for the Shrine as well.
“When playing the Blood and Zeal Mission Pack, your operatives can perform two new actions when controlling the statue: Praise/Blaspheme allows you to remove cards from your hand or discard pile to draw a new one. Hallow/Defile allows you to draw a new card into your hand. “
Personally, I think this is a great mechanic. Not only is it flavorful to the game itself but it’s really worth going after mechanically. Having extra redraws can be a game changer in Kill Team. Plus this really does give you a focal point to fight over. I’ve played in narrative battles before and having a statue/focal point/terrain feature to fight over really does lead to some truly epic moments.
More To Come
Games Workshop isn’t stopping with these Battle Boxes and new mission packs. We saw them expand Kill Team already with Brutal and Cunning. Now Blood and Zeal is adding more once again.
“Each new mission pack will be thematic and exciting, and you will be able to play them with any team. They will provide completely new ways to play, including new components. This might mean plastic terrain, additional card decks, and even models from Warhammer 40,000 used in specific missions as unique NPO enemies.”
Be on the lookout for the new Blood and Zeal Battle Box as well as more Kill Team expansions in the future!
