Kill Team (Specialist Game)

This is about the Games of the same name, for the Deathwatch detachment you can play as in this game, see Kill Team

Warhammer 40,000 Kill Team: Skirmish Combat in the 41st Millennium

7th Edition Game contents.

History of Kill Team Releases

Several products named "Kill Team" have been released over the years:

• 4th Edition Rulebook (2004): contained rules for playing Kill Team games with 40k minis.
• 5th Edition "Battle Missions" book (2010): contained a simplified 'Kill Team' Special Mission.
• 6th Edition "Kill Team", released in 2013.
• Kill Team video game, released May 2014.
• 7th Edition "Kill Team" boxed set (September 2016): included the Kill Team rules, a tiny copy of the 40k rules, a Space Marine tactical squad, and a Tau Fire Warriors squad.
  • Owners of the 6th Edition digital Kill Team received a free upgrade to a digital copy of the 7th Edition

8th Edition

Header for 8th Edition.

The emergence of Kill Team as a fully fledged and supported specialist game rather than just something farted out on the side and then forgotten about, in large part thanks to the runaway success of Shadow War: Armageddon.

• 8th Edition Core Set (July 2018): Includes core manual, a Skitarii squad, a Genestealer Cult squad, a game board, Sector Imperialis Killzone rules, datacards for the included squads, booklets with fluff for pre-constructed Kill-teams for both factions, Tactics cards (universal, AdMech, and Genestealer Cult), dice, and rulers.
  • 8th Edition Starter Set- Krogskull's Boyz (July 2018): Includes 5 pre-colored plastic Burna Boyz, 12 Orks Tactics cards, fluff booklet, pre-filled datacards for the Kill-Team, and Sector Mechanicus Galvanic Servohaulers (with rules for use in Kill Team)
  • 8th Edition Starter Set- Fangs of Ulfrich (July 2018): Includes 5 pre-colored plastic Reivers, Adeptus Astartes Tactics cards, fluff booklet, pre-filled datacards for the Kill-Team, and Sector Mechanicus Alchomite Stack
  • 8th Edition Starter Set- Drop Force Imperator (August 2018): Includes 5 pre-colored plastic Tempestus Scions, Astra Militarum Tactics cards, fluff booklet, pre-filled datacards for the Kill-Team, and Munitorum Armored Containers
  • 8th Edition Starter Set- The Writhing Shadow (August 2018): Includes 8 pre-colored plastic Genestealers, Tyranids Tactics cards, fluff booklet, pre-filled datacards for the Kill-Team, and Munitorum Armored Containers
  • 8th Edition Starter Set- Kill Team Mordelai (August 2018): Includes 5 pre-colored plastic Deathwatch Veterans, Deathwatch tactics cards, fluff booklet, pre-filled datacards for the Kill-Team, and Deathworld Forest Barbed Venomgorse
  • 8th Edition Starter Set- The Slicing Noose (August 2018): Includes 10 pre-colored plastic Wyches, Drukhari tactics cards, fluff booklet, pre-filled datacards for the Kill-Team, and Deathworld Forest Eldritch Ruins
  • 8th Edition Starter Set- Advance Team Starpulse (October 2018): Includes 10 pre-colored plastic Fire Warriors (plus 2 Drones), T'au Empire tactics cards, fluff booklet, pre-filled datacards for the Kill-Team, and Wall of Martyrs Imperial Defence Line
  • 8th Edition Starter Set- The Exalted Scythe (October 2018): Includes 5 pre-colored plastic Immortals, Necron tactics cards, fluff booklet, pre-filled datacards for the Kill-Team, and Wall of Martyrs Imperial Defence Line
  • 8th Edition Starter Set- Theta-7 Acquisitus (February 2019): Includes 5 pre-colored plastic Sicarians and a Tech-Priest Manipulus, Adeptus Mechanicus tactics cards, fluff booklet, pre-filled datacards for the Kill-Team, and STC Ryza-Pattern Ruins
  • 8th Edition Starter Set- Starn's Disciples (February 2019): Includes 5 pre-colored plastic Acolyte Hybrids and a Kelermorph, Genestealer Cults tactics cards, fluff booklet, pre-filled datacards for the Kill-Team, and STC Ryza-Pattern Ruins
• 8th Edition Environment Expansion - Killzone: Sector Munitorum (August 2018): A killzone set in a vast Imperial Supply Depot. Includes a double sided game board, 12 new tactics including 6 that interact with the terrain pieces and 6 unique to specific specialisms, 4 new missions and a good amount of terrain. 2 sets of 3 Munitorum Armoured Containers with 9 promethium barrels and 12 supply cratesfor scatter terrain and the option to add storm bolters to the Containers and 1 set of Sector Mechanicus Galvanic Servohaulers which includes 2 tracked servohaulers and a massive crane, both of which you can actually use in game to move around and attack your foes.
• 8th Edition- Kill-Team: Rogue Trader (September 2018): Features a Rogue Trader's crew battling against a horde of Nurgle mutants, along with more missions and rules for the Imperial Shuttle, Imperial Shrine Killzones, and ultra-close confines environment in general.
• 8th Edition Environment Expansion - Killzone: Deathworld Forest (September 2018): A killzone set on an overgrown Deathworld. Includes a double sided game board, 12 new tactics including 8 that interact with the terrain pieces and 5 unique to specific specialisms, 4 new missions and 1 set of Death World Forest scenery - including 2 Eldritch Ruins, 3 sets of Barbed Venomgorse, 2 Shardwrack Spines and 2 pieces of Grapp
• 8th Edition- Warhammer World Event Exclusives (22 September 2018): A run of OOP metal models with new datacards for use in Kill Team was sold exclusively at the Warhammer World Kill Team Weekender Event. Rules for both The Last Chancers and Gaunts Ghosts were available but they are limited to use in Narrative and Open Play only.
• 8th Edition Errata Release (28 August 2019): Release of official errata for the Core Manual, as well as a set of FAQ in the form of the Developer Commentary.
• 8th Edition- Kill-Team: Commanders (October 2018): Features rules for using more powerful HQ characters such as Space Marine Captains or Eldar Warlocks as "commander" models, as well as expands the points limit for games.
  • 8th Edition Commander Set- Nemesis 9 Tyrantis (October 2018): Includes a pre-colored plastic Broodlord, Tyranids tactics and Psychic Discipline cards, a skill tree card and a pre-filled datacard for the Commander
  • 8th Edition Commander Set- Crasker Matterzhek (October 2018): Includes a pre-colored plastic Acolyte Iconward, Genestealer Cults tactics and Psychic Discipline cards, a skill tree card and a pre-filled datacard for the Commander
  • 8th Edition Commander Set- Ankra the Colossus (October 2018): Includes a pre-colored plastic Necron Overlord, Necron tactics cards, a skill tree card and a pre-filled datacard for the Commander
  • 8th Edition Commander set- Feodor Lasko (October 2018): Includes a pre-colored plastic Commissar, Astra Militarum tactics and Psychic Discipline cards, a skill tree card and a pre-filled datacard for the Commander
  • 8th Edition Commander set- Gaius Akasian (October 2018): Includes a pre-colored plastic Watch Captain, Deathwatch tactics and Psychic Discipline cards, a skill tree card and a pre-filled datacard for the Commander
  • 8th Edition Commander set- Magos Dalathrust (October 2018): Includes a pre-colored plastic Tech-Priest Dominus, Adeptus Mechanicus tactics cards, a skill tree card and a pre-filled datacard for the Commander
  • 8th Edition Commander set- Torrvald Orksbane (October 2018): Includes a pre-colored plastic Primaris Librarian, Space Marine tactics and Psychic Discipline cards, a skill tree card and a pre-filled datacard for the Commander
  • 8th Edition Commander set- Vysa Kharavyxis (October 2018): Includes a pre-colored plastic Succubus, Drukhari tactics cards, a skill tree card and a pre-filled datacard for the Commander
  • 8th Edition Commander set- Fireblade Twinflame (October 2018): Includes a pre-colored plastic Cadre Fireblade, T'au Empire tactics cards, a skill tree card and a pre-filled datacard for the Commander
  • 8th Edition Commander set- Gitzog Wurldkilla (October 2018): Includes a pre-colored plastic Ork Warboss, Orks tactics and Psychic Discipline cards, a skill tree card and a pre-filled datacard for the Commander
• 8th Edition Environment Expansion - Killzone: Wall of Martyrs (October? 2018): A killzone set on an Imperial Defensive Line. Includes a double sided game board, 12 new tactics including 7 that interact with the terrain pieces and 5 unique to specific specialisms, 4 new missions and assorted Wall of Martyrs terrain including an Imperial Bunker, a set of 2 Imperial Defence Lines and an Imperial Defence Placement
• 8th Edition Environment Expansion - Killzone: Sector Mechanicus (November? 2018): A killzone set on a Mechanicus Forgeworld. Includes a double sided game board, 12 new tactics including 8 that interact with the terrain pieces and 4 unique to specific specialisms, 4 new missions and 8 frames of modular Sector Mechanicus terrain including an Alchomite Stack, a Ferrotonic Furnace, 2 sets of Plasma Conduits and a variety of platforms, walkways, ladders and supports.
• 8th Edition- Blackstone Fortress Kill Team Beta (December 2018): The units from Blackstone Fortress get a PDF of datasheets for use in Kill Team, with the explorers able to be added to their respective factions as either commanders or specialists (that don't count against your specialist limit) while the Servants of the Abyss get their own Kill Team faction. However, the rules are explicitly stated to be in a beta state, subject to change or be reprinted elsewhere with modifications, strongly suggesting a future Kill Team expansion centered around Blackstone Fortress. These rules, with some minor tweaks, were eventually taken out of Beta and officially released in Kill Team Annual 2019.
• 8th Edition White Dwarf Article- Mercenaries for Hire (January 2019): A 4-page article in White Dwarf featuring datasheets to play a Kroot solo Kill Team as well as making Kroot Carnivores available to the Tau.
• 8th Edition Environment Expansion - Sector Fronteris (January/February? 2019): A killzone set on an desert Frontier Planet. Includes a double sided game board, 12 new tactics including 4 that interact with the terrain pieces and 5 unique to specific specialism, 4 new missions and 4 Ryza-pattern Ruins plastic frames - 2 for creating an intact Ryza pattern building with roof, and 2 for ruins including crates.
• 8th Edition White Dwarf Article- Leading from the Front (February 2019): A single page article with a datasheet to represent the Black Library character Severina Raine as a Commander in Astra Militarum Kill Teams.
• 8th Edition- Kill-Team: Arena (February 2019): An expansion containing modifications to the base rules optimizing Kill-Team for tournament play.
• 8th Edition- Kill-Team: Elites (May 2019): Introduces a host of "elite" units to the game for every faction, most of which honestly feel like they just should've been in the game from the start (Ogryns, Terminators, Mandrakes and Striking Scorpions) while a few others threaten to be flat-out game-breaking (Crisis Battlesuits and Adeptus Custodes).
  • 8th Edition Starter Set - Toofrippa's Krew (May 2019): Includes 5 pre-colored plastic Flash Gitz, Ork tactics cards, fluff booklet, pre-filled datacards for the Kill-Team, and Urban Ruins
  • 8th Edition Starter Set - The Fractal Blades (May 2019): Includes 5 pre-colored plastic Scarab Occult Terminators, Thousand Sons tactics cards, fluff booklet, pre-filled datacards for the Kill-Team, and Urban Ruins
  • 8th Edition Starter Set - The Dolorous Strain (May 2019): Includes 5 pre-colored plastic Blightlord Terminators, Death Guard tactics cards, fluff booklet, pre-filled datacards for the Kill-Team, and Urban Ruins
• 8th Edition Environment Expansion - Sector Sanctoris (May 2019): A killzone set in an Imperial Shrine. Includes a game board with actual mechanical effects, 12 new tactics, 4 new missions and a disappointingly sparse amount of terrain, including 2 frames of Sector Imperialis Ruins and the badass Statues and Fallen Statues from the Sector Imperialis Basilicanum.
• 8th Edition White Dwarf Article- The Deadliest Mission (June 2019): Provides rules for using the map tiles from Blackstone Fortress as a game board using a similar format to Arena's Ultra Close Confines rules, as well as two premade missions for use with those rules.
• 8th Edition White Dwarf Article- Face Your Daemons (July 2019): Featured a profile for Inquistor Eisenhorn as a commander as well as FINALLY providing datasheets and rules for Daemon Kill Teams. Unfortunately they're almost as bad as the last faction released in WD, with the Daemons being lackluster and Eisenhorn having the wrong statline from a Copy/Paste mistake Thankfully FIXED in the Digital Edition. Daemons are still mediocre though.
  • Due to several mistakes with the printed and digital editions, Eisenhorn's final2FinalForSureThisTime datasheet was made available from the Warhammer Community Downloads section.
• 8th Edition Errata Release (23 August 2019): Second round of Errata including updates to the Core Manual Errata and Developer Commentary, as well as new errata for Commander, Elites and Arena.
• 8th Edition Core Set II (2019): Includes core manual, a Reivers squad, a Fire Warriors squad, a game board, Sector Imperialis Killzone rules, datacards for the included squads, booklets with fluff for pre-constructed Kill-teams for both factions, Tactics cards (universal, Space Wolves, and T'au), dice, and rulers.
• 8th Edition White Dwarf Article - Escalation (September 2019): Provides rules for using models, both Character and Cultist, from Blackstone Fortress Escalation in Kill-Team, in a similar vein to the Blackstone Fortress Beta Rules. Represents the first, and so far, only time a non-Core faction has gotten continued support beyond the initial publication.
• 8th Edition White Dwarf Article - Vanguard Reinforcements (October 2019): Features new rules for Incursors and updated ones for Eliminators, Infiltrators, Reivers and the Phobos Lieutenant. Also introduces the Reserve rules for players without the Elites book.
  • They forgot to add in the points values for the models in actual article, so they and some of the rules were made available here. Hopefully they'll get added to the Community downloads before the article is taken down.
• 8th Edition White Dwarf Article - Unexpected Encounter (November 2019): Includes rules for including the Ambull (and Borewyrms) as an AI-controlled monster to pop out of the ground at a randomly determined location and terrorize whoever is unlucky enough to be closest to it. This issue also included a little introspective article on Kill Team's development, but no other crunch.
• 8th Edition Kill Team: Annual 2019 (7th December 2019): Officially announced on 24/11/19 but leaked about significantly earlier, the book collates the majority of the White Dwarf content, adds new tactics for many of the factions and reprints others from the now OoP faction sets. It also adds some new CSM updates, new missions and provides the long awaited rules for a Sisters of Battle Kill Team. Also "painstakingly balances the game" ... by nerfing Orks and Marines.
• 8th Edition White Dwarf Article - Da Festive Revolushun! (December 2019): Includes rules for playing Da Red Gobbo (who is not legal in Matched play) and a Narrative mission featuring him.
• 8th Edition White Dwarf Article - Kill Team Dispositions (January 2020): Adds Five new "Dispositions" for your Kill Team in Narrative Play, which give you access three tactics unique to each disposition. Once again, Narrative Only for some reason, but does feature six new Narrative Missions.
• 8th Edition White Dwarf 452 Article - A Mysterious Menace (March 2020): Includes rules for including the The Archivist (a goddamn ZOAT!) as an AI-controlled monster that starts at a randomly determined location and spendd the game mind-controlling shaken models nearby (temporarily giving your opponent control of them) and generally wrecking anything that gets within range.
• 8th Edition White Dwarf 454 Article - The Witch-Hunting Elite (May [Subscriber only Physical release]/June [Full release] 2020): Included rules for using Sisters of Silence as a stand-alone faction. Unfortunately no Talons but is surprisingly well rounded for a WD faction with a very limited model line.
• 8th Edition Kill Team: Dice & Card Set (6 June 2020): A carry box for the included deck of fillable datacards (20 regular, 3 for commanders) and 2 orange d10s and 6 black d6s with orange pips both in the same style as the starter sets.
• 8th Edition Kill Team: Pariah Nexus (6 March 2020): Its an expansion and not 2.0!, Assault intercessors and their shiny new chainswords, and apparently "every model from the Indomitus boxed set will be getting brand new rules to liven up your skirmishes". Though everyone remembers how loose their definition of "every" has been in the past... Comes with a Necron chronomancer and 5x flayed ones, a SM captain and 5x heavy intercessors, a double-sided game board, a bunch of necron terrain, 24x objective cards and of course, the manual.

9th Edition

Header for 9th Edition.

The second edition of Kill Team (2018), completely reworked from the ground up to function as its own unique game rather than 40K with extra steps. Particular changes of note include the elimination of points costs so that you don't have to mathhammer over every little dude and piece of gear, and attempts to address the cheese of last edition, like spamming frag cannons and plasma. The new edition also reworked the factions, again. The two teams of the starter set (and each other boxset) got split off into their own separate factions (kommandos and veteran guardsmen) for some strange reason, existing factions got pruned of several units (losing a lot of what they got from Elites and Commanders), and some of the more niche factions didn't make it into the new edition at all, so if you enjoyed playing Servants of the Abyss, you're out of luck. But Kroot Mercs made it in. Twice. Wrap your head around that. Also came with a [badass trailer]

• 9th Edition Kill Team: Compendium (2021): Released alongside Octarius to allow people to play with some of the models they already had. Of course, these rules were very rudimentary in most cases and as time went on, some of the teams implemented either became less desirable or were outright rendered obsolete by the inclusion of not only new boxsets but also new bespoke Kill Teams that were only found in issues of White Dwarf.
• 9th Edition Kill Team: Octarius (2021): The first recorded instance of plastic Kriegers - a reveal that had had many cheering. Also present are some rather Catachan-styled Ork Kommandos and a bunch of orky terrain full of scraps. Just be sure and check the sprues carefully before you make your team list to jump right into the game, and be ready to go to your bits box or ebay for some extra parts, as the Krieg sprues don't actually have enough parts to make a fully equipped team. For example, the plasma gun, the melta gun, and boltgun all share the same shoulder, of which there is only one in the kit, putting you in a bind when you actually want additional special weapon support.
• 9th Edition Kill Team: Chalnath (2021): The next boxset of the new Kill Team, set between a set of Novitiate Sisters of Battle (something that's never been seen before) fighting a pack of Tau Pathfinders wielding some snazzy new gear that hasn't been seen before.
• 9th Edition Kill Team: Nachmund (2022): The third boxset. Displayed proudly is a group of Eldar Corsairs, which is pretty much the best news to ask for after Forge World squatted them, facing off against a pack of Chaos Space Marines, boasting some diverse roles to pick up.
• 9th Edition Kill Team: Moroch (2022): Boxset #4, released in Warhammer Fest 2022. Squares off the Traitor Guard (including recasts from Blackstone Fortress and well after the FW line was eradicated) against the Phobos-pattern Primaris Space Marines.
• Intercession Squad and Lite Core Rules Free PDFs (2022): The release of free PDFs for a Primaris Intercession Squad and a simplified version of the core rules make getting into the game faster and easier than ever without having to make any big purchases.
• 9th Edition Kill Team: Into the Dark (2022): What everyone thought was going to be Space-Kill-Hulk-Team was actually a box set of the Imperial Navy troops squaring off against Kroot! Complete with the non-board game debut of the C.A.T and a redesigned Kroot Hound. It is set on the Gallowdark, a legendary Space Hulk where the next "season" of Kill Team is taking place, with the next few releases exploring the Gallowdark further so that the player can collect that sweet, sweet Space Hulk terrain and end up with a very modular board. Hey, I've heard worse marketing gimmicks.
  • They also clarified that despite the new focus on close-quarters, this new "season" is not a new edition of the game (but they do have optional rules to try and emulate Zone Mortalis) and previous armies will play well with the new setting.
• 9th Edition Kill Team Annual (2022): A long time coming, but this will compile not only all of the White Dwarf Kill Teams and special scenarios into one book, but it also heralds the return of the Elucidan Starstriders and Gellerpox Infected teams from last edition. Still no Servants of the Abyss though (Sure, some might argue that the Blooded fill more or less the same niche, but they don't have traitor psykers, tech priests, and beastmen).
• 9th Edition Kill Team: Shadowvaults (2022): Part two of the Gallowdark saga, seeing not only Kasrkin make their glorious return, but also a unique Necron kill team led by a Cryptek with forces of Immortals and Deathmarks on hand alongside an understudy Apprentek and Plasmacytes.
• 9th Edition Kill Team: Soulshackle (2023): Part three of the Gallowdark saga, giving a bespoke Dark Eldar team full of Kabalite warriors versus the first appearance of the Adeptus Arbites in tabletop form, complete with a Cyber-Mastiff. Apparently comes with new terrain because GW realizes that they can only get away with recycling the same terrain for so long.
• 9th Edition Kill Team: Gallowfall (2023): The finale of the Gallowdark saga, as the space hulk is now crumbling and set to crash on a nearby planet while everyone else is busy looting what they can before bailing. Gives two entirely new teams for the Leagues of Votann and a pack of Chaos Beastmen who've lived on the ship before anyone else did.
• 9th Edition Kill Team: Ashes of Faith (2023): Announced on Warhammer Fest 2023, this might well be the start of a whole new saga. While the Cultists look to be merely reprints of the existing line (Cultists, Dark Commune as specialists and leaders, Cultist Torments as monsters), the Inquisitorial Agents promise to bring back the old-school ragtag band of gun-toting bums that fill an Inquisitorial retinue. Even better is that this faction has the option to add in an additional support squads from the packed-in Sisters of Silence and Tempestus Scions to adding in the Arbites and Kriegers (whom they took this idea from).

The Game

In Kill Team, players use a VERY small force, a single squad or mob with all models played individually. Limitations are huge in this mode, like no vehicles, no aircraft (though certain units can still fly), no HQs or special characters (outside of certain expansions), and just generally nothing too big or too powerful. It has its own missions and rules, but it's actually pretty fun, and the limitations and smaller scale allows some units to shine like they've never been able to before in full scale 40k.

Whereas in previous editions Kill Team was just a different game mode for 40k, following its big return in 2018, Kill Team is now a full-fledged Specialist Game, with the addition of specialist skill trees (for more narrative campaigns) and it's own unique missions, special rules, and stratagems.

The new editions of Kill Team expand on the game, turning it away from simply 40k skirmish and into a completely new game, rules are vastly different, weapon ranges are either infinite or 6 inches and combat involves both sides trading their dice off and choosing between blows or parries.

Also, Warhammer 40,000 made cheap, quick, and much cheese avoided. What's not to like?

However, you do need to bring a lot of terrain. Kill Team is very cover-centric, and you need as much of it as possible for a good game. Large area terrain like ruins or forests or factories are ideal for consolidating your troops and forming firing bases, besides providing cover and creating firing lanes.

Getting Started

The big appeal to Kill Team is that it's cheap and quick to get into, with the ability to make a viable team out of almost any one squad kit. If you want to just jump right in and get started with only one or two purchases though, there are a few good boxed sets with which to do it.

• Kill Team Starter Set: Contains everything you need to get started in Kill Team. Rulebooks, dice, measuring tools, cards, board, ork terrain, a squad of ork kommandos and a squad of death corps. The terrain in this set is very... basic, with just a handful of small walls and scrap piles, but considering what the books, accessories and the two teams all cost individually, the set is a straight up steal in value.

• Warhammer 40,000 Recruit Edition: Though ostensibly a starter set for 40k, First Strike is also a good starter set for Kill Team, containing 5 Primaris Assault Intercessors and 10 Necron Warriors (along with a pair of HQs and some scarabs but those aren't really relevant to Kill Team), as well as dice, rulers, a board, and a box that doubles as a terrain piece. Still requiring the Kill Team Core rulebook and Compendium, and some Immortals/Flayed Ones/Deathmarks to go with those warriors, does rather erode the good value a bit though. Especially compared to the actual Kill Team Starter Set.

• 9th Edition Boxsets: With the releases of the 9th edition boxsets, it is easier than ever to get into Kill Team and its boarding action modes.

Things that rock in Kill Team

• Fucking Cheap: Let's take it like you want a Kill-Team from scratch and do not use any squads you already have which meet the criteria. Well, congrats! You probably only need one or two boxes of miniatures. This depends on armies and builds, of course; but on average, it's highly plausible to have a Kill Team for under $50.

• Much cheese avoided: Had enough of the Riptide, Wraithknight, Heldrake (even with nerfs) and Wave Serpent dickery? Good news, the most overpowered units in 40k cannot be taken in Kill-Team. In the HoR Kill Team spam and strong units are usually taken care of at army list level by the devs, so That Guy will have a hard time finding bullshit loopholes with which masturbate itself furiously.

• Your dudes friendly: While much harder in entire armies, it's easy to empathize with a squad of individual miniatures and make your Kill Teams truly unique and YOURS. The Specialist rules only makes this decision easier. Remember the Last Chancers, where everyone was different? Basically the same thing that you can do to your dudes, especially if you have bits of the race the Kill Team will be. "See that Necron Immortal with bits of Deathmark's rifle? That's X-547, my weapon specialist and a hotshot everywhere", or "I'm Kargoth, the Dirty fighter Berzerker! I'm here to kick ass and chew bubblegum! AND I'M ALL OUT OF GUM." That kind of thing.

• The small scale of Kill Team allows you to really go crazy with conversions in ways that you just can't in 40k. Go the extra mile to add character to every one of your models, or represent obscure or custom armies that would either be too hard to convert or too expensive to buy for a full 40k army.

• Individual model movement allows more efficient use (or abuse) of Line of Sight, such as a single high-cost shooter carefully positioning himself at a corner so that he can only see one enemy model, which he shoots.. but when the enemy turn comes, he's completely hidden from the majority of return fire.

• The Rogue Trader expansion, the added rules for ultra-close confines in particular, breaths new life into the old game boards you have left over from previous standalone games likes Betrayal at Calth, Deathwatch Overkill, Assassinorum Execution Force, Space Hulk, etc. Now you can finally use them for a game other people might actually be playing.

Things that Suck in Kill Team

• Every man for himself: Every model acting as a separate unit might be cool and all, but this also makes them a lot more vulnerable.

• No vehicles (subjective)

• Due to the smaller model count and smaller game area, melee is a lot nastier in Kill Team than it is in 40k.

• With the set unit lists of modern Kill Team, instead of the loose parameters of previous versions that pretty much let you bring whatever you wanted so long as it fit the restrictions, many factions lose access to units that would be perfect for Kill Team operations.

• While the starter sets come with enough terrain pieces to get started with, be prepared for terrain to be your biggest cash investment for Kill Team (unless you build your own terrain, or just buy much cheaper 3rd party alternatives).

• Even with the removal of much of the cheese that goes with 40k, Kill Team can still be ridiculously unbalanced, with some factions at a very clear advantage or disadvantage compared to others. For example, there's not a whole hell of a lot Kroot Mercenaries can do against, say, Death Guard.

Tactics

9E Kill Team Tactics Pages:

• General Gameplay Tactics
• Imperium
• Chaos
• Aeldari
• Xenos

8E Kill Team Tactics Pages:

• General Gameplay Tactics
• Imperium
• Chaos
• Xenos

7E Kill Team Tactics Pages:

• Cult Mechanicus
• Deathwatch
• Genestealer Cults
• Inquisition
• Orks
• Skitarii

Kill Team: Heralds of Ruin

When GW first released Kill Team, it was good. It was popular, used few models and so coaxed new players to invest in a few models and have some fun, and with the smaller size came a whole new set of possibilities...

GW had taken a hold on the skirmish tabletop scene, and everything was good. Or so they thought. Unbeknownst to the British tycoon, their game had an effect on their customers, an effect they never learned to fear... Inspiration.

So hold the fucking phone, clear the goddamn calender and strap in, 'cause we're going warp speed - Suddenly there was Kill Team: Heralds of Ruin, and gawd djammit it was the best fucking unofficial supplement for 40k since BattleScribe. Unlike the official Kill Team, Kill Team: HoR was more of a stand-alone game with its own rules, gear and playstyle, making it more of its own game than the official one (at least until Kill Team became a proper Specialist Game in it's own right). Not only that, the game took inspiration from Mordheim and Necromunda, allowing for the fans of those games to get a compromise between playing the supported game and the good one.

While many rules are changed and amended in HoR to fit the new playstyle, these relatively light changes completely turned the game on its head, changing everything most players know about playing 40k. Space Marines are weak not-really-jacks-of-all-trades, masters-of-none infantry units, you say? Nope, in HoR they are among the most badass single models you can get, with powerful weaponry, grenades that can nail most things you come up against and an armour save that can really throw a wrench into any poor sod's plan. On the flipside, models like your Guardsmen are as good as toast - Imperial Guard is noticeably weaker than most other factions, and are generally poorly optimized for Kill Team, lacking any real sort of power unit (apart from Ogryns) and armoured vehicles.

Kill Team: HoR is still fully supported by the Heralds of Ruin blog, who originally made the supplement in the first place, and there are several for discussing the game around the webs, though the Facebook groups is the most active. In addition to any army currently available from GeeDubs, the good blog made sure to add some fan favorites like the Deathwatch, the Adeptus Arbites, Genestealer Cults and some vastly improved Sisters of Battle, which just goes to show what can be done when you try to make a game that caters to the wishes of the customers.

Reasons to Play Heralds of Ruin

• Very active communities with groups regularly updating each faction and individual members whipping up custom campaigns on a regular basis.
• 99.99% more variety and flexibility in team building compared to the other leading skirmish brands.
• Supports and features all 40K factions, plus even the one you never knew you wanted. Want to play as the Megarachnids? You got it! Want to play as the Vermynus (A.K.A. Space Skaven)? We got you covered baby! How about as the Slann? Well, that project has been on ice of a while... but once it's done, you certaintly can!
• Very Your Dudes Friendly with many armies supporting custom sub-factions, new armory items, and some elements of character creation.
• You're supporting quality community made content.
• Unlike the more official game systems, you can have a relative say in how each faction develops as most opus writers are welcoming of feedback and new ideas.

See Also

• Combat Patrol, another way to play 40k with smaller bands of units
• Shadow War: Armageddon, which laid the foundation for the release of Kill Team as a fully supported Specialist Game
• Necromunda
• The different branches of Warhammer 40,000 roleplay:
  • Dark Heresy
  • Rogue Trader (RPG)
  • Deathwatch (RPG)
  • Black Crusade (RPG)
  • Only War
  • Wrath & Glory
• The blog The Heralds of Ruin have created their own Kill Team supplement which basically fucks over the Official rules by amending rules like Orders and War Hymns, having whole army lists for each faction and the most amazing Campaign system I have seen for smaller game since fucking Necromunda and Mordheim. Find it here and be amazed: http://heraldsofruin.net/download/
  • Heralds of Ruin Kill Team Tactics
  • Now with a spanking new forum
• Teaser Video from Games Workshop
• Further information, plus details on the core set and a Q&A
• The official website
• Teaser video for Kill-Team: Rogue Trader
• Path to Glory, another another way to play 40k with smaller bands of units

Ways to Play Warhammer 40,000
Apocalypse - Cities of Death - Combat Patrol - Eternal War Kill Team - Maelstrom of War - Planetstrike - Zone Mortalis

The Specialist Games of Games Workshop
Warhammer 40,000 (Classic):	Battlefleet Gothic - Epic - Gorkamorka Inquisitor - Lost Patrol - Necromunda - Space Hulk
Warhammer 40,000 (New):	Aeronautica Imperialis - Assassinorum Execution Force - Adeptus Titanicus Betrayal at Calth - Blackstone Fortress - Shadow War: Armageddon Necromunda - Kill Team - Space Marine Heroes - Combat Arena - Space Marine Adventures
Warhammer Fantasy:	Blood Bowl - Man O' War - Mordheim - Warmaster
Warhammer: Age of Sigmar:	Gorechosen - Warhammer Underworlds - Skirmish - Warcry
Board Games:	Chaos in the Old World - Relic