Kill Team Ready(ish): Primed, Drybrushed, and Good Enough for the Table
We had one of those very relatable hobby conversations this week: what do we actually bring for tomorrow, and how painted does it need to be to stop counting as “bare plastic”?
It started with a practical question from Wilini — who’s going to Mareczek’s tomorrow, and should he pack just Kill Team, or maybe bring 1000 points as well? You know the kind of dilemma: do we travel light and focused, or do we bring enough plastic to pivot into a completely different plan halfway through the evening?
In response, End3r dropped exactly the kind of message we like to see before a game night: his Kill Team squad was fully ready to go.
And of course, that immediately led us into the eternal painting question: if we still need to do a prime and drybrush, does that already count as battle ready?
Wilini proposed a wonderfully honest version of the minimum standard: white, grey, and black — three colors, technically legal, spiritually efficient. Honestly, we respect it. Sometimes hobby ambition means layered highlights, weathering, transfers, and scenic bases. Sometimes hobby ambition means getting the models to a point where we can put them on the table tomorrow and not feel guilty.
That’s a real part of the hobby too.
The hobby backlog never sleeps
Naturally, just as one project looks close to being playable, another one appears over the horizon. End3r mentioned that the new Kharadron Overlords Spearhead is coming out in a few days, which means more models to assemble before painting anything else.
A classic Warhammer problem:
- finish what we have,
- start the exciting new box,
- somehow do both,
- probably do neither in the order originally planned.
According to End3r, that likely means proper painting will have to wait at least another month. But with a Kill Team league in mind, even a minimal paint job starts sounding very reasonable. There’s a big difference between a lovingly painted force and a team that’s just not raw plastic anymore — but for regular games, that middle ground is sometimes exactly what we need.
Battle ready is a mindset
We’re big fans of not overcomplicating the first step. If the choice is between:
- waiting weeks for the perfect scheme, or
- getting primer, a drybrush, and a few basic colors on the minis,
then the second option wins surprisingly often.
Especially for league play, a simple tabletop standard can do a lot:
- the team looks coherent,
- it’s easier to read on the board,
- and we don’t feel like we’re pushing naked sprue energy across the terrain.
Will it win painting awards? Probably not. Will it look better than bare plastic? Absolutely.
And sometimes that’s exactly the momentum we need to come back later and finish the details properly.
Another league on the radar
To round things off, End3r also spotted an announcement on Facebook: Warhammer on Krucza is organizing a mini league in CP. Always nice to see more opportunities to get games in — and also a very effective way to suddenly care a lot more about whether our team has at least three colors on it.
If you want to check it out, here’s the link shared in chat:
Warhammer on Krucza mini league in CP
Final thought
This was a very small exchange, but also a very familiar one: balancing game plans, hobby backlog, new releases, and the eternal question of how little painting still counts as painted.
Honestly? We support the pragmatic approach. If tomorrow’s plan is Kill Team, then primer, drybrush, and three colors might be exactly the right amount of hobby for tonight.
And if a new Spearhead box derails the schedule immediately after that… well, that’s also very Warhammer.