Kill Team Guide: The surprising uses of the Scout and Sniper

Happy Monday everyone! Here we look at the Scout and Sniper, both of who evoke images of sneaky ninjas, spelling death from the shadows. However, one is better at being a big meaty wall and tackler, and the other is better as a machine gunner!

Here are some of the ground rules before we go into discussing the Specialists.

I’ll only be talking about them in terms of Matched Play, which means the following:

• Tier 1 only, so only the first ability and level 1 Tactic
• Only 4 Specialists per team
• One must be a Leader
• Each specialist must be unique in the Kill Team (i.e. you can’t field 2 Combat specialists)

Scout

Not a great specialisation at first glance but has its uses when you’re better at the game. This really comes into its own in campaign and higher tiers, so if you’re a new player and only sticking with Matched play it might be a good idea to skip.

• Swift: You can re-roll Advance rolls for this model

Woo?

Okay, not the best ability, but I’m hoping this had synergies with factions when we investigate them later. In all honesty, there is not much that you can do with this. Pair up with a flamer and you have quite a mobile burning unit, but other than that there’s not much you can do with it.

However, if you’re looking for a model that can run and grab objectives, or body block choke points then this can be useful. There are very few models that can travel more than 6-inches in Kill Team, so this will help your guy move reliably fast if that’s the role you’ve assigned them.

The tactic supports this but is oddly redundant.

• Tactic: Quick March
• Use this when you pick a Scout specialist to move in the Movement phase
• Either increase the models move by 2-inches OR re-roll the dice when this model advances in this phase.
• Cost: 1CP

Er… woo?

Okay, I can’t work this one out, as it seems blatantly redundant. All I can suggest is that if you’re using this to re-roll your Advance move then you’re doing it wrong.

Unless, and this is a bit of a stretch, using the Tactic means you either Move or advance. As in you can use the extra 2-inches to move normally without Advancing, but not Advance with the extra 2-inches. That gives this a slight niche, allowing you to get a little bit of extra movement without advancing (and thus shoot normally).

Either way, the Scout runs, and that’s pretty much all you can do with them. Is it worth it? Well, that depends on how good you are at reading the battlefield and using positioning to your advantage. This will be something that will be useful to veteran players more than newbies.

Sniper

Less of a “1 shot, 1 kill” guy, and better off fielded as a machine gunner. This specialisation is a good shooter, and the more shots per turn you can get from them the better.

• Marksman: You can re-roll Hit rolls of 1 for this model when it makes a shooting attack.

Nifty.

You really don’t need this explained. Better accuracy is better accuracy.

In comparison to the Demo Spec from before, this is a much more generalist shooter that works for models which aren’t in cover. The additional benefit t this trait is remembering that negative modifiers affect dice rolls rather than the models Ballistic Skill. In a simple example: if you roll a 2 with a -1 to Hit, then that counts as a 1. This means you get to use your re-roll.

Good to remember in 40K, but amazing in Kill Team with it’s huge amount of negative modifiers to Hit.

Notable synergies here will be with your Comms Specialists Scanner. You’ll gain a +1 to Hit, along with Re-rolling 1s. You might think that’s redundant but remember a natural 1 before modifiers is always a miss.

Good weapons for the Sniper are plasma and overheat weapons. The re-rolling 1 ability helps you to fire these weapons much more safely.

• Tactic: Careful Aim
• Use in the shooting phase
• Add 1 to Hit rolls in that phase
• Cost: 1CP

This gives your Sniper independence from the Comms Spec. For 1CP you can pretty much guarantee shots. Nothing more needs to be said than that.

You might be tempted to pair this with a Sniper rifle. You’d be wrong to do so, and in fact, the Demo Spec works better with that weapon. The Sniper rifles mortal wound mechanic activates on to Wound rolls of 6, not to Hit. In fact, the best weapon to give the sniper would be multiple-shot plasma weaponry. The Ad-Mechs Plasma Caliver comes to mind as a very destructive weapon in the hands of a Sniper.

Suggestions

Whilst the Sniper obviously pairs well with the Comms specialist, these two Specialisations are best independently fielded. The Scout is great at body blocking, and the Sniper is great at covering open space, and generally being a fire base.

But shenanigans for the Sniper that will annoy your opponent will involve any mechanic that goes off with good to Hit rolls. Necron tesla weaponry comes to mind, as does a Hellfire round from a Space Marine Heavy Bolter.

I have this nagging feeling I’m missing some big game breaking synergy with these two though but can’t quite see what it could be. Let me know in the comments below what you think.

Up next is the Veteran and Zealot, both of who offer some interesting tactics hidden beneath mediocre looking tactics and abilities.

Until next time!

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