For the better part of thirty years the Aeldari Exodites have been the space-elf equivalent of that mate everyone mentions but nobody has actually met. Loads of lore, a couple of tantalising art references, dinosaur-riding elves living out in the void – and not a single model to show for it. Well, put the kettle on, because the Exodites finally leapt out of the jungle and onto the tabletop in August 2026 with the Kill Team: Exodite boxed set.
It was a proper event, this one. New models for a faction that had existed only in the imagination (and the odd rulebook sidebar) since the 1990s doesn't happen every day. So let's talk about who the Exodites actually are, what was in the box, whether their new Warhammer 40,000 rules are worth building around, and what your options are now the box itself has sold out. You can find the whole range over on our Aeldari collection.
Who on earth are the Aeldari Exodites?
Right, quick history lesson – and it's a good one. Before the Fall of the Aeldari (the galaxy-shaking act of decadence that birthed the Chaos god Slaanesh and gutted their empire), a portion of the Aeldari saw the writing on the wall. They decided their kin had grown fat, hedonistic and thoroughly doomed, packed up, and left through the Webway long before the party ended in tears.
These were the Exodites – still often called "Eldar Exodites" by long-time fans from before the Aeldari renaming. Where the Craftworlds fled after the catastrophe on vast wandering ships, the Exodites got out early and settled the Maiden Worlds – lush, untamed paradise planets on the fringes of the old empire. They turned their backs on technology-for-its-own-sake and built a life bound to the land, guarding their ancestors' spirits in living World Spirit stones rather than the Craftworlds' Infinity Circuits.
And, crucially, they ride dinosaurs. Enormous reptilian "dragons" that they've bonded with over millennia. It is exactly as brilliant as it sounds. For the wider story of the Aeldari as a people – the Fall, the Craftworlds, Slaanesh and all – our Faction Files: Aeldari dossier covers the full history.
What was in Kill Team: Exodite?
A quick heads-up before the contents list: this box sold out fast and has already been delisted by Games Workshop, so treat the below as a record of what launched rather than something you can add to your basket today. It was a full self-contained boxed set in the mould of Kill Team: Terror on Devlan – a complete narrative experience you could play solo or co-op, no second player required. Here's what the haul included:
- 3 Aeldari Dragon Masters – elite, dinosaur-mounted operatives and the stars of the show.
- 2 Drakolithes – rounding out a five-strong kill team.
- 10 Beast Snagga Boyz and 5 Squighog Boyz – the Ork antagonists, included as non-player operatives (NPOs) to battle against.
- The Kill Team: Exodite Dossier – lore on Exodite culture, weapons and beasts, plus 20 Joint Ops missions forming a branching campaign.
- 88 datacards, an Exodite transfer sheet, and a token sheet with markers and movement aids.
In short: two armies, a rulebook, a campaign and all the bits, in one box. If Kill Team as a way into the hobby appeals, keep an eye on our Kill Team collection for the next boxed set – Games Workshop runs these as limited releases, and this one didn't hang around.
Can you use these in normal Warhammer 40,000?
Yes – and this is the bit that has the Aeldari faithful most excited. The Dragon Masters can be assembled as an alternative build – Dragon Knights – and Games Workshop has now published full Warhammer 40,000 rules for them, free on the Warhammer 40,000 app. So this isn't just a Kill Team curiosity; it's the first real foothold for Exodites in the wider game, and it's already live rather than a someday-maybe. Whether a full codex follows is anyone's guess, but a faction that waited three decades for models will happily take the win. See how the rest of the Aeldari play as a full army in our Aeldari Army Analysis.
Where do things stand now?
Honestly: this was a rockier launch than most. Games Workshop allocated only a small run of boxes per store, ours included, and pulled Kill Team: Exodite from its own catalogue barely a fortnight after release – a genuinely short shelf life even by limited-run Kill Team standards. If you missed it, you're not alone.
A few quick reads depending on who you are:
You're an Aeldari player who missed it:
- Frustrating, but not the end of the road. Games Workshop has indicated standalone Dragon Masters kits will follow later for players who want the models without hunting down the full box. Until then, browse the rest of the range in our Aeldari collection and use the free Dragon Knights rules on the app if you already own or convert the models.
You're new to the hobby:
- This specific box won't be your way in, but plenty of other Kill Team starter sets offer the same self-contained, two-forces-in-a-box format. Pair one with a starter paint set and you're away – our build-and-paint guide will walk you through the first steps.
You just want the coolest models on the table:
- Space elves. On dinosaurs. We're not sure what else you want from us. When stock resurfaces, grab some Warhammer Colour paints (the range formerly known as Citadel) and go to town on those scales.
As ever with allocated Games Workshop releases, when they say limited, they mean it. Keep an eye on our Aeldari collection and Kill Team sets for restocks and the standalone Dragon Masters kits when they land.
The Exodites spent longer as a rumour than most 40k factions have existed as models. They arrived riding dragons out of the jungle with a warband of overexcited Orks in hot pursuit, sold out almost as fast as they landed, and left behind free Dragon Knights rules for anyone determined enough to track the models down.
Further reading: new to all this? Start with What Is Warhammer 40k?. Already sold on the Aeldari? Read the full history in our Faction Files: Aeldari dossier, or see how they play as an army in our Aeldari Army Analysis. If you fancy reading up on the Exodites' Ork opponents, our Orks Army Analysis is a cracking primer.
