The Kill Team rulebook is the core rules volume for Games Workshop’s small-scale Warhammer 40,000 skirmish game, where a handful of elite operatives fight over sabotage, assassination and stealth objectives instead of massed armies.
What the kill team rulebook actually is
It’s the core book you need to play Kill Team, covering how to build a squad, how operatives activate, and how missions are set up and scored. Kill Team itself started life as a 2013 expansion to Warhammer 40,000, letting you use a handful of models for sneaky, high-stakes missions rather than full-scale battles.
Since then it’s grown into its own game line with regular editions, each with its own core book. The book doesn’t just list rules either, it sets the tone: outnumbered elites doing vital, dirty work in the shadows of bigger wars.
How the editions have changed
Every edition has reset the rulebook, and the 2021 edition was the big turning point. It moved Kill Team away from reusing 40k datasheets and gave every team its own bespoke operatives, which is why the 2021 and 2024 core books look so different from the 2018 one.
The 2018 edition leaned on 40k units and came with a long tail of expansions. The 2021 edition trimmed that model down; the 2024 book continues it with a core book plus smaller dossier-style releases.
| Edition | Core book | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team | 48-page expansion for 40k’s 6th edition |
| 2016 | Kill Team 2016 core manual | Standalone re-release |
| 2018 | Kill Team 2018 core manual | Backed by many expansions and killzones |
| 2021 | Kill Team 2021 core book | Bespoke operatives, Compendium, campaign books |
| 2024 | Kill Team 2024 core book | Core book plus dossier releases |
What ships alongside the core book
The core book is rarely the whole story. Each edition has been supported by expansions that add killzones, campaigns and new teams, from the 2018 wave of small team boxes to the 2021 season books like Octarius, Chalnath and Into the Dark.
The 2024 edition keeps things leaner, pairing the core book with a starter handbook and a run of dossiers (Hivestorm, Brutal and Cunning, Blood and Zeal and others). If you’re buying in, the core book plus your team’s rules is the usual starting point.
Where to get the current rules
Games Workshop keeps the live rules free through the official Kill Team app and its downloads page, including errata, balance updates and mission packs. That’s the version most players actually use at the table, and it gets updated after community and playtester feedback.
So the printed rulebook gives you the game’s foundation and flavour, while the app and downloads keep it current. Worth knowing before you hunt down an older edition second-hand.
- Core book: the base rules for your edition
- App and downloads: free, up-to-date rules and errata
- Expansions and dossiers: extra teams, killzones and campaigns
Key facts
- The first Kill Team rulebook was a 48-page expansion for Warhammer 40,000, released in December 2013.
- Kill Team is a skirmish game: small squads of elite operatives on sabotage, assassination and stealth missions.
- Core books exist for the 2013, 2016, 2018, 2021 and 2024 editions.
- The 2021 edition gave teams bespoke operatives instead of reusing 40k units.
- Current rules, errata and mission packs are free via the official Kill Team app and downloads page.
FAQ
Do you need the kill team rulebook to play?
You need the rules for your edition, yes, but you don’t strictly need the printed book. Games Workshop publishes the current rules free in the Kill Team app and on its downloads page.
Which kill team rulebook is the latest?
The 2024 core book is the current edition, supported by a starter handbook and dossier releases. The 2021 and 2018 books cover earlier editions and play differently.
Is the kill team rulebook the same as the 40k rulebook?
No. Kill Team began as a 40k expansion in 2013, but it’s since become its own game with its own core books and rules.