Are you joining the Kill Team?

Later this month, it looks like Games Workshop will release a new edition of Kill Team. This skirmish-level game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe has the potential to create a whole new gaming experience. It has a somewhat rocky history though.

• 2004: it was included in the 4th Edition Rulebook. It had the core concepts of specialist teams of soldiers equipped with unique gear and a series of missions and rules just for the game mode. This was well before I started playing.
• 2010: there was a 5th Edition "Battle Missions" book including a "Kill Team" mission, but this was not a full-fledged ruleset or a supported separate product.
• 2016: the now-defunct 7th Edition boxed set was released, including the Kill Team rules, a paperback core copy of the 40k rules (sans fluff), a Space Marine Tactical Squad, and a Tau squad. I bought this, but never found anyone in my neck of the woods to play against. Further, it required the purchase of the faction rulebooks to use anything more than the poorly-balanced squads in the box.

Here we are in July of 2018, and a new 8th Edition Kill Team set has been announced. It will include the following::

• The core Kill Team manual
• A Skitarii squad
• A Genestealer Cult squad
• A game board
• A Sector Imperialis ruins terrain kit compatible with the rest of their product line, and likely a variation on one of the other kits.
• Datacards, Tactics Cards, and background fluff booklets for both included factions
• UniversalTactics Cards
• dice & rulers.

All of this will probably retail for around US$130 if online rumor sites are accurate, which is a lot for a two-player game, but it includes a lot of hobby potential. The aforementioned rumors indicate around $260 retail value for everything included if it were all purchased separately, making it a decent deal by GW standards.

It also looks like this will not just be a simplified set of 8th edition rules, instead using its own rules derived from other Specialist Games GW has recently developed. There are also promises for future expansion sets showcasing other popular factions, including new terrain pieces and new special rules. I have to admit that I am very tempted by this new box set. I just hope the core game manual includes all the info for all the factions in the game.

Of course, there's always the option of Mantic Games' Deadzone for a lot less money and a simpler rule set with a lot of tactical depth.