Review: Death Korps of Krieg army set

The Death Korps Veteran Kill Team was just the beginning. After a long wait, the new plastic Death Korps of Krieg range is finally here, kicking off with the army set. In our review, we’ll be discussing the build options for all the new kits, including the new Death Riders and Combat Engineers. We’ll also be taking a look at high-res sprue images and the new 10th Edition Warhammer 40,000 Astra Militarum Codex.

The new Death Korps army set will be available for pre-order starting Saturday, 11 January 2025. The pre-order period lasts two weeks, with the official release date set for 25 January 2024. Please note that there will be only one production run, so the box is available only until stocks last. Due to the popularity of the Death Korps, the box might sell out very quickly.

Included in the box are:

• Lord Marshal Dreir
• 2x 5 Death Riders
• 5 Krieg Combat Engineers with a remote mine
• 1 Heavy Ordnance Artillery Team
• the new Astra Militarum codex with a special edition cover
• 68 datacards (army rule card, Combat Patrol datasheets, and 64 datasheets)
• 1 Death Korps of Krieg transfer sheet

All Death Korps of Krieg army set models reviewed

In this post we review all the new Death Korps models in the army set, including sprue images and all build options. For our impressions of the new Astra Militarum codex scroll to the bottom of this review.

Lord Marshal Dreir

Lord Marshal Varnan Dreir is a new special character model for the Death Korps, coming on a medium-sized sprue with his trusty steed ES819 and an 75mm oval base. There are sets of arms: a left arm with an outstretched laspistol, and the right hand on the sabre in its scabbard, or power sabre in the left hand and the laspistol in the right. There aren’t any other build or posing options, but the model is still a real eye-catcher on its scenic base.

Death Riders unboxed

The Death Riders, previously available only from Forge World, have now been translated into a brand-new plastic kit.

The kit contains five models on three medium-sized sprues, with each sprue included twice, so you can build a total of 10 models with the army set. The proportions of the riders and their mounts have been adjusted to fit the modern GW scale, compared to the more realistic Forge World models. There are also more dynamic poses, and the galloping horses with their eerie clawed hooves are some of the best mounted poses I’ve seen from the design studio. The base size is 60mm oval.

Patreon bonus content: Ultra high-res, uncompressed versions of these sprue images (and backsides of the sprues) can be downloaded here.

There are also quite a few build and customisation options:

• Death Rider 1: This model can be assembled as a Sergeant, which has a slightly different upper body than the regular model. For the right arm, you can either select a lance with a pennant or a power sword, while the left hand holds the reins. Alternatively, you can choose a lascarbine. Additionally, a power sword in a scabbard is included.
• Death Riders 2 to 5: Each of these riders offer various options for the right arm: a power lance, a power sword, or a lascarbine. Additionally, each model includes a power sword in a scabbard, a lascarbine in a holster, and an empty holster. You can attach these to the horse depending on the primary wargear.
• A total of six different backpacks are available (one of them meant for the Sergeant), which you can freely swap between the riders.
• The poses of the horses and riders are fixed, but you can choose between five different breastplates for the horses. Additionally, there are five different horsetails that you can swap to give your models a unique look.
• In addition, there are 4 different pockets and devices, all of which are included 5 times each and can be freely attached to the straps at the back of the mount.

It is not explained in the instructions, but the head of the mount and the rider form an assembly group that will fit on any horse’s trunk. This allows for even more variety.

Krieg Combat Engineers

The heavily armed Combat Engineers, also a staple of the old Forge World range, are making the jump to plastic as well. This new kit, spread across three small sprues, includes five Engineers and a remote mine, all on 25mm bases except for the mine, which is on a 40mm base. With this kit, you can assemble:

• Engineer 1 can be built as a Watchmaster or a regular Engineer. The Watchmaster has a right-turned upper body; an outstretched right arm, either with a laspistol, plasma pistol, bolt pistol, or hand flamer hand; a left arm, either with a power sword, chainsword, or club hand. Alternatively, the Watchmaster can also be built with a shouldered shotgun and grenade or a component in the left hand. The regular Engineer has a left-turned upper body and can be built either with a two-handed combat shotgun or a laspistol and trench club (the arm with the laspistol is different from the Watchmaster’s, but the pistols fit on this arm as well).
• Engineer 2 can be built either with a two-handed combat shotgun, laspistol, and trench club, or as a mine operator. The mine operator has a special upper body, head, and arms.
• Engineer 3 can be built either with a two-handed combat shotgun, flamer, or with a laspistol and trench club.
• Engineer 4 can be built either with a two-handed combat shotgun or with a laspistol and trench club.
• Engineer 5 can be built either with a two-handed combat shotgun or with a laspistol and trench club.
• The remote mine has no build options.
• Furthermore, 6 freely interchangeable backpacks are included.

Patreon bonus content: Ultra high-res, uncompressed versions of these sprue images (and backsides of the sprues) can be downloaded here.

If you look closely, the standard Engineers don’t have a lot of options to customize their look. Even the Watchmaster is mostly just a different weapon loadout. The arm pieces are flat and could be swapped around, but they’re really designed for specific bodies, and you might run into trouble with those breathing tubes.

While it’s likely to be a pricey money-per-points-in-game option if sold separately, these Engineers look fantastic. Especially with their combat shotgun loadout. It’s a bit disappointing that the flamer is the only special weapon option for the unit, though.

Death Korps Artillery Team

This colossal model, sitting on a huge 13 0mm base, arrives spread across three medium-sized sprues. The artillery piece itself offers incredible versatility, allowing you to build it as a heavy mortar, a quad launcher, a multiple rocket launcher, or a siege cannon. With a plethora of accessories and numerous pose choices for the three-person crew, you can essentially create a miniature battlefield scene right on your tabletop:

• The gun operator has four distinct pairs of arms, three equipped with different ammunition, and one pair with a tool box, and a wrench, corresponding to the four different weapon types.
• The second operator can either be equipped with a pair of arms holding a periscope and be placed freely on the base, or with a pair of arms holding a remote control connected by a cable, standing on the left step of the gun.
• The third operator can either have binoculars and an outstretched arm, standing on the right step of the gun, or hold a lasgun and stand on one of the two wooden crates, placed freely on the base.
• Additionally, two large stacks of sandbags, two wooden crates, two lasguns, a wrench, a pair of pliers, a hammer, a fire extinguisher, two oil cans, two shovels, a shovel stuck in the ground, and a cup are included. These can be used to freely decorate the base.

Patreon bonus content: Ultra high-res, uncompressed versions of these sprue images (and backsides of the sprues) can be downloaded here.

A glimpse into the new Astra Militarum Codex

Alongside the accompanying datasheets, the Death Korps army set also includes the new Astra Militarum Codex for the 10th Edition of Warhammer 40k. This nearly 170-page hardcover book comes with a special soft-touch cover featuring copper metallic foiling and a download code for the 40k app.

The lore

The structure of the lore section is a bit “unconventional” and differs from its predecessors. Initially, it outlines the current state of the Imperial Guard, including recent events such as the Fall of Cadia and the Indomitus Crusade. This puts the Cadians in the spotlight. The focus then shifts entirely to Krieg, and the following 10 pages are dedicated to the organisation and customs of the Death Korps. Cadians and the Steel Guard get two pages each, while Catachans, Valhallans, Mordians, and Tallarns only get one page. The Tempestus Scions don’t even get that, they’re just a footnote. I understand that you don’t want to rehash the same old stories in every edition, but this feels unbalanced to me. The Death Korps also dominate the showcase section.

The rules

Regarding the new rules and datasheets, the time of generic Astra Militarum units is over. There are only datasheets for the existing models, specifically Death Korps, Cadian, and Catachan infantry squads with weapon options corresponding to the contents of the respective kits. The same applies to heavy weapons and characters. There are no more generic troop types that you can use to represent other regiments, even though they are mentioned in the lore section. Instead, you have to choose the Death Korps, Cadian, or Catachan datasheets and use them as ‘counts as’. This also means that the classic infantry squad loadout with one special weapon and one heavy weapons team is a thing of the past. This is annoying for those with older collections.

Overall, the book leaves me with mixed feelings.

Value

The Death Korps army set is priced at £145 / 180 € / $230, which is similar to previous Warhammer 40.000 army sets. The exact individual prices of the included kits haven’t been released yet, but based on previous army sets, you should expect to save around 30 to 40% compared to buying them separately. It’s a no-brainer, as you’re only getting new models that you can use to expand your Kill Team infantry. This set is a must-have for any Death Korps of Krieg collector.

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