Imperial Navy Breachers

*Knocks down the door* "FBI NAVY BREACHERS OPEN UP!!!

The Imperial Navy's version of the Stormtroopers in all but name. Imperial Navy Breachers perform a role not unlike those of the old Legiones Astartes Breacher Siege Squad during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy. Like their lesser cousins, the Imperial Navy Breachers have a pretty close and healthy relationship with the Militarum Tempestus especially on joint missions in exploring Space Hulks. Whilst Breachers stay exclusively in space, during that time living in the same environment, they perform a complementary force for the Tempestus Scions as additional force multipliers. So whilst the Breachers are part of Naval Security which are basically their own thing, it is not uncommon for Breacher teams to be incorporated in a Stormtrooper army from time to time.

Overview

Heavily armed and armored, Breachers are the elite of the Voidsmen, who are sent on boarding attacks on enemy vessels. Unlike regular Voidsmen-at-Arms which are more defensive in nature, Breacher teams are trained only for the offence. This includes first contact with Space Hulks and are more heavily armed and armoured as a result. Such an environment is something which they are ideally very suited for. Breachers are trained to be blunt instruments by the Imperial Navy and are equipped with Combat Shotguns, Bolt Pistols, Boarding Shields, Multilasers, C.A.Ts and Gheistskulls amongst many others. They also all wear Void Armour due to the hazardous operations they have to conduct in the vacuum of space, although said void armour is nowhere near the ones worn by the Solar Auxilia.

Back in the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy days, their roles may sometimes overlap with the Solar Auxilia, much to the former's chagrin.

Due to their hazardous nature, the Navy Breachers actually earn the rare honour of having bigger brass balls than the Imperial Guardsmen unlike their more coddled brothers.

Types of Breachers

As of the release of Kill Team: Into the Dark, Navy Breachers became a playable mini-army in the game, they have a shit ton of different Breacher types that makes up a Breacher kill-team. These include:

Navis Sergeant-At-Arms

The naval equivalent of a Imperial Guard Officer, except somehow, more badass.

The head honcho of a Breacher team. Navis Sergeant-At-Arms are squad commanders with years of experience, they are skilled at close-quarters fighting and are equipped with Bolt Pistols, Autopistols, Chainswords, and Power Weapons (Power Sword, Power Axe, or a Power Maul).

Due to their seniority in rank, Navis Sergeant-At-Arms are responsible for guiding his/hers underlings on an enemy vessel or an abandoned Space Hulk without getting unceremoniously jumped by enemy critters of various lethality. They are often the main form of communication and are central in the cohesiveness of a Breacher team.

On the Kill-Team tabletop, they are your typical leader operative, slightly tougher and deadlier than a generic operative, with a special ability that reflects their role as leader. Comes with the requisite extra wound and improved BS/WS. While you lack orders, the sergeant can pick between Attack Order and Defense Order ploys and use only one for free each turn. Of course, you can just keep him as an amped-up Voidsman with their navis shotgun to alternate between a high-damage but limited-reach Close Range profile or the infinite-range but puny Long Range profile. You're not utterly defenceless here either, as the Navis Hatchet gives him a decent weapon for fighting back in melee.

If you plan to go more melee, you have options. The heirloom autopistol gives you low damage but reliability in Balanced and Lethal 5+; the bolt pistol offers better damage at a shorter range. For melee, the chainsword offers higher damage with Ceaseless for re-rolls while the power weapon gives better crits than the chainsword but only Lethal 5+ for more crits.

Sergeant-At-Arms falls under the Combat, Staunch and Marksman type in Kill-Team.

Navis Armsman

The skull-smashers of the Imperial Navy.

Your bog-standard, run-of-the-mill Breacher infantry. Navis Armsman are the standard infantry type who specializes in close-quarters combat. They are there to act as a support unit of the entire Breacher team, providing covering fire whilst more important members can do their work without being bogged down by enemy counter-fire.

They are often the juniors of the team and less experienced overall. Although some Navis Armsman may still stay in their position as that is what they are used to. Navis Armsman are the most numerous lot in a Breacher team and often the first to suffer casualties due to their close-combat support nature. They are all equipped with Combat Shotguns and a small Hatchet Axe for self-defence.

On the Kill-Team tabletop, they are your standard generic, run-of-the-mill operatives, where you trade out any special abilities for GA2 with a 4+ save and 7 wounds. However, you have two major advantages over the Tempestus: 1. Armsmen are GA2 that has Breach and Clear, which can let you activate other nearby operatives. 2. Your Armsmen come with 3/4 damage hatchets as standard issue, so they can actually put up a fight in combat. They also come with Navis Shotguns, which come with two different profiles: At Close Range (around 6"/pentagon), this gun deals quite a good bit of damage with good accuracy. However, past that they need to rely on an unreliable and ineffective Long Range profile, which will usually lock your forces into close quarters.

Slugs are also a very vital item to buy if you can. Especially if you don't grab the Voidjammer/Surveyor and their pets, you'll be needing something more reliable for long-range conflicts. While the Slug's improved profile aren't better than the Close Range profile, it makes them more reliable as marksmen.

Navis Armsman falls under the Staunch and Marksman type in Kill-Team.

Navis Axejack

The Navy's Lumberjack for all the right Choppa.

Your close-range assault specialist of the team, which is one hell of a feat given nearly everyone is armed with shotguns as a standard weapon.

The Navis Axejack are your Door-Breachers equipped with large, two-handed Power Axes to remove obstacles in the way, or just straight up chopping things up that goes in way too close for even a Breacher team's comfort. This doesn't mean he is helpless in ranged combat however, as he also has a backup Autopistol for the right occasions.

As such, these guys are close-combat monsters who could actually tank some hits before returning the favour. In such close confines filled with things that would enlarge a squishy human's anus to fit the circumference of a Battle Cannon, the Axejack provides the first line of defense for close encounters.

Their traitor equivalent at least in terms of gameplay rather than fluff, is the Traitor Thug.

On the Kill-Team tabletop, while lacking the shotgun, the Axejack comes with a dangerous power axe with Lethal 5+ for more frequent crits. They live off charging into the fray, as they gain a 5+ FNP every turn they charge via the Emboldened abillity. On top of that, they gain a special charge action called Wade In that lets them immediately fight afterwards, adding Reap 2 to the axe for some potential splash damage in a fight.

Navis Axejack falls under the Combat and Staunch type in Kill-Team.

Navis Endurant

The normie version of an Astartes Breacher Squad.

Only the largest Breachers become Endurants, who carry heavy Boarding Shields and Heavy Shotguns. These soldiers are tasked with taking point or guarding the rear of a squad.

Due to their large shields, Endurants are quite important in holding the fucking line until reinforcements come in, they go to a more advantageous spot, or all the enemies die trying to overwhelm them. Their shields are basically the miniaturised version of the ones once used by Astartes Breacher Teams and a few of them would be enough to cock-block entire ship corridors. Combine this with their ridiculous Heavy Shotguns and anyone dumb enough to charge them would get turned into spaghetti. Their only weakness, however, is if the Breacher team stumble on wide open spaces. In those case, the shields provide very minimal protection from flankers or snipers on the roof.

Their heretical cousins are called the Traitor Trench Sweeper and are basically identical in terms of function.

On the Kill-Team tabletop, these are your big blokes carrying a heavy shotgun with Relentless for re-rolls. While his shield can be used as a weapon, it's trash there and better used as a parrying weapon that can block two hits with each parry. Thankfully, he has a special action that lets him immediately fall back.

The Endurant's key role is blocking friendlies from enemy fire. If this operative is under the Engage Order, they can shield one ally that moves next to them. Placed as such, the shielded operative is not considered within enemy LoS unless they have some elevation over that shield.

Navis Endurant falls under the Staunch type in Kill-Team.

Navis Grenadier

The Hurt Locker of the 41st Millennium.

The ones who really like to see things go boom.

Navis Grenadiers as their name implies, are explosive specialists equipped with Demolition Charges to breach sealed doors and bulkheads and forty kilograms worth of explosives strapped on his chest. Due to their nature, they wear a specialised Void Armour with a bomb vest that protects the guy from his own shrapnel and explosives. Truly, the Hurt Locker of the team.

As the one who understands the way of the grenade, Grenadiers are meant to flush out enemies out of cover and deal with swarmers such as Genestealers or Orks. They are equipped with a staggering amount of boom boxes such as a Demolition Charge, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Smoke Grenades, Shock Grenades, a Combat Shotgun and a small Hatchet Axe. Unfortunately, for some reason, they don't wield Grenade Launchers.

If a Navis Grenadier got their Heresy on, they usually transform into a Traitor Brimstone Grenadier.

On the Kill-Team tabletop, this Armsman not only comes with Frag and Krak Grenades like other grenadiers, but they also get a single-use Demolition Charge, an explosive with short range but a decent Blast radius and AP1 so it can pop through armour. Simply put, this guy will only see uses in cases where they can exploit close quarters.

Navis Grenadier falls under the Staunch type in Kill-Team.

Navis Gunner

The Irish Leper's fursona.

The Heavy Weapons Guy of the team. They are usually the largest troops in the squad alongside Endurants. They wield heavy weapons such as Las-Volleys, Meltaguns, and Plasma Guns.

As such, their primary job is to lay down the suppressive firepower to deny the enemy counterfire. Each of their gun options is meant for different scenarios. The Las-Volley is a suppressive weapon meant to deal with hordes at all respectable ranges. The Meltagun is there to blast through reinforced hulk doors and anything in the way including big, scary creatures. The Plasma Gun is there to deal with hardier enemies that just won't die.

If they fall to Chaos, there is a likely chance that either they or a member of the Special Weapons Squad would turn over and join a Blooded Squad as a Traitor Gunner.

On the Kill-Team tabletop, they are Armsman with a unique gun. The meltagun straight-up deletes most things it can go up against with high damage and AP2 with MW4 but is held back by its range. The plasma gun gives decent damage and AP1 with the chance to risk bodily harm for AP2. The Navis Las-Volley is their version of a multi-las, a Heavy gun with rapid-fire bolter strength and the extra coverage of Relentless and Fusillade to guarantee hits no matter who you target.

Navis Gunner falls under the Staunch and Marksman type in Kill-Team.

Navis Hatchcutter

"IT'S FISTIN TIME!"

The Navis Hatchcutter are the lads who specialise in cutting open bolted-up doors or entrances. These guys are actually the ones who do the breaching of the Breacher team. Due to their nature of cutting through barricades and doors, they are all armed with Chainfists, Autopistols and Plasma Torches. Despite the fact that they are meant to open up hatches, Hatchcutters are just as adapt at closing down hatches in case the Breacher team wants to find a way to deny an enemy to close-up on them or find brief respite to rest. The Hatchcutter as such, is the Breacher teams' other close-combat specialists.

On the Kill-Team tabletop, they are Stormtroopers with a FUCKING CHAINFIST. This motherfucker can straight-up DELETE an enemy in melee, because this chainfist has a decent WS, gives no drawbacks and with Rending and Brutal, nobody can even stop you from ripping them to bits.

Nevertheless, despite their awesomness in ripping apart mooks in close-combat, their real goal of a Hatchcutter is taking care of the many hatches and halls that show up in a space hulk. They never need to spend more than 1 AP to open hatches, but they can weld a closed hatch shut so enemies need to spend extra AP in order to open it. In addition, they have a second action that lets them place a breach token on a wall that lets friendly operatives march right through that wall as if it weren't there.

Navis Hatchcutter falls under the Combat and Staunch type in Kill-Team.

Navis Surveyor

"I summon thee Battlebot!"

The drone operators of the team. Navis Surveyors are scouts who operate C.A.T. drones in order to navigate narrow tunnels, holes, and see around corners. In a rare breach of common sense for the Imperium, unlike typical scouts, the Surveyor himself does not risk danger in going out into enemy territory for intel, for he has a drone to do the work for him. Something like what the weeaboos usually do with their drones. Now if only the Imperial Guard's higher-ups can order C.A.T. by the trillions. The Surveyor himself is armed with a Combat Shotgun for self-defence.

On the Kill-Team tabletop, this operative's not much better than a basic Armsman, but they have special actions that require a C.A.T unit to work. One lets the nearby C.A.T unit add +1 to its APL for the turn for extra zoom. The other action slaps a special Surveillance token within 6"/pentagon of the C.A.T unit. Anyone within 3"/square of the token is now spotted, counted as under the Engage order. This makes the Surveyor great at flushing out hiding threats, but this does require the C.A.T unit to function without getting crumped.

The C.A.T unit itself is a tiny drone that's not very strong. It's super-nimble with 4-circle movement and a pregame Dash, but with a flimsy DF2 and 5+ save and only 5 wounds, any smart enemy that sees an unattended C.A.T will smash it, channelling the frustration of ancient Space Hulk games gone south. It's not really meant to fight either, as it's got no weapons and can't even fight - all it can do is move, dash or fall back (at a 1 AP discount), and unless the owning Surveyor spends an action, you've only got APL1 to contend with.

Navis Surveyor falls under the Scout type in Kill-Team.

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  The little bot that could.

Navis Void-Jammer

*UCAV kill-streak unlocked*

The NEEERD! electronic warfare specialist of the team. Like the Surveyor, the Void-Jammer also operates his own set of drones. Unlike the Surveyor, his drones are meant to kill things or at least damage them.

The Navis Void-Jammer exclusively operate Gheistskulls to navigate terrain far too tense for regular Armsmen to reach the foe. The Void-Jammer himself is armed with a Combat Shotgun for self-defence.

On the Kill-Team tabletop, they are your other generic Armsman with some special tricks. One such trick lets the Void-Jammer zap an enemy within 6"/pentagon of the Gheistskull, robbing them of an AP on a 3+ (+1 if the enemy's within the skull's LOS).

The Gheistskull itself is a fancy servo-skull, just as exposed and as zippy as the C.A.T unit. It can only move, dash, fall back (with a 1 AP discount) or use its own unique action, Boost. Boost lets it mark a single spot within LOS and let it immediately zoom on over to anywhere within 1"/triangle of that spot.

Unlike the C.A.T unit, however, this servo-skull isn't entirely defenceless. The Void-Jammer can let the skull self-destruct, hitting anyone within 2"/circle of the skull. While it's not very dangerous, EMP makes it have a Lethal equal to the enemy's armour save - very irritating for MEQ, less so for GEQ.

Navis Void-Jammer falls under the Scout type in Kill-Team.

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  The suicide drones of the Imperium.

Gallery

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  I ain't got time to bleed Jack!