Review: Kill Team: Typhon

Kill Team: Typhon is here, and it’s a return to the large-format expansion boxes– c omplete with sprawling campaign content, thematic new terrain, and two brand-new Kill Teams. This time, it’s the long-awaited plastic Servitors for the Adeptus Mechanicus and an elite team of Raveners for the Tyranids. In monstrous unboxing and review, we take a close look at the new sprues (with high-resolution images!), dissect each team’s gameplay and build options, and explore what the Typhon Dossier brings to the table.

Kill Team: Typhon will be available for pre-order starting Saturday, 14 June 2025. The pre-order period lasts two weeks, with the official release date set for 28 June 2025. Please note that there will be only one production run, so the box is available only until stocks last.

Included in the box are:

• Battleclade Kill Team (10 models)
• Ravener Kill Team (5 models)
• 10 Hormagaunts plus a Ripper Swarm
• 15 Tyranid infestation terrain pieces
• Kill Team: Typhon dossier rulebook (80 pages)
• Token sheet and datacards for both Kill Teams
• a deck of cards for the new missions
• an Adeptus Mechanicus transfer sheet

Unboxing Kill Team: Typhon

Unlike the last few Kill Team boxes (we reviewed Kill Team: Blood and Zeal here), Typhon is a large-format box once more. However, the Core Rules aren’t included, which is a change from Kill Team: Hivestorm (review here), and the box itself feels a bit less packed. Let’s take a closer look at what’s inside.

Adeptus Mechanicus Battleclade Kill Team review

I can barely believe it, but it’s genuinely taken until 2025 for Games Workshop to release a full plastic Servitor kit. But they’re finally here! The sprue, made up of two medium-sized halves, contains a total of 9 models: 1 Servitor Underseer on a 32mm base, 2 Gun Servitors with heavy weapons on 32mm bases, and 6 regular-sized Servitors on 25mm bases. The Gun Servitors are the same size as those from the Agents of the Inquisition Kill Team and X-101 from Blackstone Fortress. You also get 1 Technoarcheologist on a 32mm base, who originally appeared in Warhammer Quest: Blackstone Fortress and was recently recut to a single small sprue.

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

Build options

• The Technoarcheologist and Servitor Underseer are monopose models with no extra options.
• For the two Gun Servitors, you can swap their left arms, as well as the backpack and the right weapon arm, which are connected. There are two heads specifically for the Gun Servitors, but you could theoretically use one of the other heads too. You get two heavy bolters and one heavy arc rifle for the weapon arms.
• Servitor 1 can be built as either a regular Combat Servitor or as a Technomedic Servitor. The Technomedic Servitor has a special head, backpack module featuring a Mechanosuture Array, and a right arm with medical gear.
• Servitor 2 can be built as either a regular Combat Servitor or a Breacher Servitor. The Breacher has a special head, backpack module, and a right arm with a lascutter.
• Servitor 3 can be built as either a regular Combat Servitor or an Auto-Proxy Servitor. The Auto-Proxy Servitor has a special head, backpack module, and arm pair with a taser goad.
• Servitors 4 to 6 are regular Combat Servitors.
• For all non-specialist Combat Servitors, there are 6 more interchangeable heads included, 9 left arms with servo claws in various shapes, as well as 6 right arms with phosphor blasters, 1 right arm with a meltagun, and 3 right arms with incendine igniters.

Gameplay

The Battleclade Kill Team plays like a highly synergistic force, where the Servitor Underseer orchestrates your small army of Servitors. Although generally slow, their unique “Noospheric Network” rule allows Servitors to perform free actions, which you can use for unpredictable and devastating attacks that can overwhelm opponents. This makes them difficult to counter, as threats can emerge from seemingly dormant models.

Composition-wise, the team uses all 10 models from the box. Inc. both Gun Servitors, up to one each of the special Servitors, and no more than one meltagun and three incendine igniters for the regular Combat Servitors. Archetypes are Infiltration and Recon.

Tyranids Ravener Kill Team review

The Raveners are the first standalone Tyranid Kill Team, and to everyone’s surprise (at least mine), they don’t include Genestealers. The two medium-sized sprue halves contain 5 models, all on 40mm bases, like the previous models. Each Ravener can also be built as a non-specific bioform, meaning the kit can be used for Warhammer 40,000 as well, likely replacing the older models.

Build Options

• Ravener 1 can be built as a Prime or a regular Warrior. The Prime has a unique head, a tail blade, and its own set of three arm pairs with scything talons and rending claws. The regular Warrior has a different head, another set of three arm pairs with scything talons, and a pincer tail tip.
• Ravener 2 can be built as a Wrecker or a regular Warrior. The Wrecker has a distinct armoured head, a tail with a bone mace, and a unique top arm pair with crushing claws. The regular Warrior has a different head, a top arm pair with scything talons, and pincers for the tail tip.
• Ravener 3 can be built as a Tremorscythe or a regular Warrior. The Tremorscythe has a unique head with antennae and a special middle arm pair with rending claws. The regular Warrior has a different head and a middle arm pair with scything talons.
• Ravener 4 can be built as a Felltalon or a regular Warrior. The Felltalon has a unique head with toxic glands, a top arm pair with toxic scythes, and a tail blade for the tail. The regular Warrior, by contrast, has a standard head, scything talons for the top arm pair, and tail pincers.
• Ravener 5 can be built as a Venomspitter or a regular Warrior. The Venomspitter has a unique head with venom sacs on the carapace, as well as distinct tail pincers. The Warrior, on the other hand, has a regular head and carapace and differently shaped tail pincers.

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

As with the recently updated Tyranid models, the Raveners stay true to their original design. However, their proportions and level of detail have been modernised, and some of them now even feature scenic tunnel bases. In terms of size, they’re quite similar to the previous versions, as they still come on 40mm bases. Personally, I think designers could have upgraded them to 50mm bases, as the models are quite bulky – especially with the broken ground elements.

When assembling them for Kill Team, the variety of biomorphs makes the individual Raveners feel surprisingly individual, which is quite unusual for Tyranids. That said, I find the large crest on the Prime and the antennae on the Tremorscythe a bit of an acquired taste. It’s also a bit of a shame that the models are effectively monopose, apart from choosing to build them as specialists or generic Warriors. The heads and arms don’t have ball joints, but are keyed to fit only in specific positions.

Gameplay

Raveners are a fast, melee-focused elite team with unique movement mechanics that let them control the flow of battle. Their key strength lies in their unique tunnel rules, a feature they extend each Turning Point. Operatives can Burrow into or out of it, trading a bit of movement and 1 AP for flexible repositioning. With 7″ Move and 3 APL, this cost is negligible though, allowing them to strike where it hurts most. Though vulnerable early on because of their 5+ save and reliant on positioning, the Raveners’ synergy, mobility, and explosive combat potential make them a potent and tactical force on the board.

The team comprises 5 operatives, 1 Prime plus 4 Raveners, with each special Ravener type being allowed only once. Raveners have access to the Infiltration and Seek & Destroy archetypes.

Hormagaunts NPOs

In addition to the Kill Teams and Tyranid Infestation terrain, Kill Team: Typhon also includes 10 Hormagaunts and 1 Ripper Swarm. These models are identical to the current Hormagaunt kit, which we reviewed here. The Hormagaunts are intended to serve as NPOs (non-playable operatives) in the Joint Ops: Typhon mission pack found in the Typhon dossier. I would have appreciated the option to use them as alternate operatives in the Ravener Kill Team, to add more variety. As it stands, one could argue that the Hormagaunts are primarily there to pad out the box and inflate the price.

Dissecting the Tyranid infestation terrain

Another highlight of Kill Team: Typhon is undoubtedly the Tyranid terrain. Xenos-themed scenery is a rare sight, and the iconic capillary towers of the Tyranids are now finally available in plastic. The box includes two identical large sprues, each with 8 terrain pieces. One pair of capillary towers is designed to be glued together, giving you a total of 15 pieces of scatter terrain.

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

So you get one two-pronged 13 cm tall capillary tower (which also fits neatly on top of the brood nests), two single 10.7 cm tall capillary towers, two brood nests, two gestation sacs, two shardspewer growths, two small spore vents, two capillary roots, and two underbrood mounts. Unfortunately, the two-pronged towers have very noticeable glue joints on one side at the base (see bottem right on the sprues, so if you want to use them as separate pieces, you’ll need to break out the Green Stuff to tidy them up. The level of detail is good for terrain kits (which are typically outsourced to China), though the spore chimneys on the towers do suffer from noticeable seam lines, as they’re made from two halves split in the middle.

Overall, it’s quite a wild mix of shapes, which makes for a nice bit of visual variety. Personally, I could have done without some of the smaller organisms in favour of a few more capillary towers, but that’s probably a matter of taste.

A look into the Kill Team: Typhon dossier

The 80-page Typhon dossier rulebook follows the familiar structure of the previous expansion books for this edition of Kill Team. The lore section continues the overarching narrative surrounding the planet Volkus, before introducing the two new Kill Teams. There’s also a short two-page story. This is followed by the full rules for the Battleclade and Ravener Kill Teams, complete with a designer’s commentary on how they play – something I find especially helpful when learning a new team.

The second half of the book focuses on missions. In addition to the rules for the Tyranid Infestations terrain, the main highlight is a co-operative PvE (player vs environment) campaign called the Joint Ops: Typhon Mission Pack. This features six missions played over a three-stage campaign. To play it, you’ll need the Killzone: Volkus terrain set as well as the new terrain from Typhon. Alongside NPC rules for Hormagaunts and Ripper Swarms, there are stat blocks for Barbgaunts, Raveners, Termagants, and Von Ryan’s Leapers.

The second mission pack included is the Adversary Ops: Typhon Mission Pack. This PvP (player vs player) mode is compatible with other mission packs that use three objective markers, but adds a twist: NPOs (non-player operatives) as a third faction on the board. It includes six mission maps.

Value

Kill Team: Typhon has an RRP of £100 / 130 € / $170. I think that’s fair for two complete Kill Teams including cards and tokens, plus 10 additional Hormagaunts and two large terrain sprues. You’re essentially paying an extra £15 / €20 / $30 for the Hormagaunts – and getting them at about half price.

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