Games Workshop has revealed that new sculpts for Warhammer 40k Eldar Striking Scorpions will be released as part of the next expansion for skirmish game Kill Team. GW previewed the contents of Kill Team Salvation on Warhammer Day, Saturday October 14.
Warhamer 40k Kill Team: Salvation will pit the Aeldari warriors against Space Marine Scouts, another new kit that was previously previewed at the Nova Open at the end of August. While Salvation will give these models rules in Kill Team, they will also be usable as part of their respective Warhammer 40k factions.
Kill Teams usually include a variety of miniatures with specialised capabilities, with snipers, demolition experts, medics, and so on. However the Striking Scorpions are armed as they always have been for Warhammer 40k: nine warriors with chainswords and shuriken pistols, and an Exarch with a choice of neat weapons.
Warhammer Community presenter Eddie Eccles reveals that the Kill Team can also include Howling Banshees, or Dire Avengers, adding that there will be bonuses for either focusing in on a single aspect, or mixing and matching.
The new Striking Scorpions will replace a finecast resin kit first released in 2006. It will be the most recent part of an ongoing range refresh for the Craftworld Eldar range.
Striking Scorpions are ‘Aspect Warriors’, embodying one part of the Aeldari path of war. They’re melee infiltrators and ambush fighters who are deadly in melee combat. Their ‘mandiblasters’ – psychically activated short-range needle gun, which grants their melee attacks the Devastating Wounds weapon ability against non-monster and non-vehicle targets.
There are many different Shrines of Aspect Warriors, representing the diversity of the Aeldari way of war, and their models include some of the longest-serving that Games Workshop produces. The tank-hunting Fire Dragons and Swooping Hawks are 2006 contemporaries of the outgoing Striking Scorpions kit, while the venerable Warp Spiders have been in service since 1993.
Aeldari were the dominant faction at the start of Warhammer 40k 10th edition, but the Autumn balance dataslate has taken them down a little.
As ever, these new Eldar miniatures look beautiful if you love painting miniatures. If you’re intimidated by how small and detailed they are, check out our guide to Contrast paints.