Para Bellum is gunning for Kill Team — First Blood gets full skirmish makeover

Conquest’s First Blood is being recast as a proper Kill Team competitor. Para Bellum isn’t just selling smaller fights – they’re shipping purpose-built warbands, a rules revamp, and boxed quick-starts that make the skirmish experience instant and tournament-ready. For anyone who thought Conquest lived only at grand-table scale, the 2026 changes are a declaration: Conquest wants your skirmish nights.

• Major First Blood rules overhaul in February 2026, with warband mini releases and boxed starters arriving March-April.
• New core warbands (Old Dominion, Dweghom, Spires) pre-order now; unified release date March 26, 2026. Hundred Kingdoms boxed set follows April 10.
• Spires warband contents and Dweghom starters position Conquest toward faster, tactical skirmish play that integrates with the full game.

Why this actually matters

Skirmish games live or die on accessibility: compact rosters, clear rules, easy pickup, and a path to competitive play. Para Bellum is checking every one of those boxes. The company announced a First Blood rules revamp this February, followed by boxed warbands and a “Supercharged” 1-player starter that includes dice, terrain, command cards and quick-start guides. That combination turns First Blood from an appendix of Conquest into a standalone skirmish ecosystem.

Compare that to Warhammer 40k: Kill Team, which long dominated the miniatures skirmish niche because Games Workshop packaged rules, competitive formats, and constant small-scale releases. Para Bellum’s playbook is familiar – but it matters because they offer full compatibility with Conquest’s larger armies. In practice that means you can buy a boxed warband for Friday night skirmishes and still use the models in larger tabletop battles without re-buying or extensive conversions.

The uncomfortable observation: this is as much a retail play as a rules update

Yes, the rules are changing. But the commercial logic is obvious: smaller boxed warbands and ready-to-play starters are collectibles that move inventory faster than an expansive core box. Para Bellum’s Spires set – a bio-horror themed faction — ships with a complete, playable roster (a High Clone Executor, Force Grown Drones with command models, marksman clones, an Incarnate Sentinel and vanguards). Retail-friendly price points like Hundred Kingdoms at $15.92 pre-order (MSRP $20.40) sharpen that edge. In short: this is designed to be impulse-bought by skirmish players and collectors who want something playable out of the box.

How the new warbands actually play

Para Bellum has said the new edition emphasizes “individual warrior autonomy” and faster, more tactical engagements. From the pack lists we’ve seen, that trend is real: compact squads of specialized fighters, more powerful solo models, and the sort of X‑Com‑style attachments and command options that reward maneuver and positioning rather than massed line tactics. That’s the exact mechanical niche Kill Team occupies — short turns, big decisions, tight counters.

Those changes also make balance a more delicate affair. Small tweaks can swing games wildly, so my immediate question for Para Bellum would be: how are you planning iterative balance patches and competitive support? A one-off rules dump and a wave of attractive minis is fine for sales — it’s not enough if they want a sustained skirmish scene.

What Para Bellum didn’t shout about (but we noticed)

The rollout timeline has a few awkward edges. ICv2 noted a February rules revamp that precedes some mini releases by a month, while the Dweghom Supercharged starter looks like it might have earlier estimated availability. Those calendar mismatches matter to hobby stores and tournament organizers trying to plan seasons. Also, community chatter praises Para Bellum’s boxed approach over Games Workshop’s Combat Patrols for “playability without backyard stat surgery” — but praise isn’t the same as sustained support via FAQs, errata, and balance patches.

What to watch

• Feb 27, 2026 — Para Bellum Twitch reveal stream (rules deep dive). This will show how radical the rules changes are and whether competitive structures are in place.
• Mar 26, 2026 — Core warbands (Old Dominion, Dweghom, Spires) release. Look for first play reports and balance hot takes.
• Apr 10, 2026 — Hundred Kingdoms boxed set release (retailer pre-order shows a later date). Retail availability will indicate whether supply is being staggered or truly global.

I’ll be watching the Twitch stream to see whether Para Bellum commits to an ongoing competitive cadence — weekly mission packs, seasonal balance updates, unified tournament rules — or treats First Blood like a product line that peaks at launch. That decision will tell you whether this is a sincere bid for the skirmish market or a clever merchandising cycle.

TL;DR

Para Bellum is repositioning First Blood as a Kill Team rival: tighter rules, ready-to-play warbands, and boxed starters aimed at skirmish players and collectors. The March-April release window will be the moment of truth for balance and availability. The key signal to watch is whether Para Bellum backs the launch with sustained competitive support or treats it as a single-season sales push.