In this review we take a closer look at what’s in the new Kill Team starter set, and, more importantly, what isn’t. Is this a better purchase than Kill Team: Octarius? Find out in this post.
The new Kill Team starter set will be available for preorder from Saturday, January 22nd 2022, alongside separate releases of the Ork Kommandos, Veteran Guardsmen (Death Korps of Krieg), the Killzone Ork terrain, and the Octarius book. The suggested retail price is £65/€85.
Please note: Games Workshop provided us with this item. Thoughts and opinions are our own.
Features
We’ve already covered the contents of the Kill Team: Octarius box and our thoughts of the 2nd Edition of Kill Team in detail here, so in this review, we’ll focus on the contents of the new starter set and how they differ from the contents of the Octarius box.
The first thing I read online about the new Kill Team Starter Set was: Kill Team: Octarius light. And I can see where this is coming from, because similar to the launch boxes and starter sets of the current editions of Warhammer 40,000 and Age of Sigmar, this is a trimmed-down but more affordable set based on an existing set of models.
With the Kill Team Starter Set you have to cut back on the terrain and components, and the Octarius campaign book is also not included, but the complete Core Rules are available in a more handy format and there is a new “Recruit Edition” companion book with a beginner-friendly tutorial campaign.
Here are the differences between both boxes at a glance:
| KILL TEAM STARTER SET | KILL TEAM: OCTARIUS |
| 10 Death Korps of Krieg incl. Kill Team specific accessorie sprue and transfers | 10 Death Korps of Krieg incl. Kill Team specific accessorie sprue and transfers |
| 10 Ork Kommandos incl. transfers | 10 Ork Kommandos incl. transfers |
| Killzone Essentials (3 combat gauges, six barricades, sheet of counters) and 10 orange dice | Killzone Essentials (3 combat gauges, six barricades, sheet of counters) and 10 orange dice |
| 1 sprue of Ork scatter terrain | 5 sprues of Ork structures and 1 sprue of Ork scatter terrain |
| Paper battle mat | Cardboard game board |
| A5 sized Core Rules booklet (including core rules, matched, open, and narrative play, no background or intro section) | Large size Core book (including core rules, matched, open, and narrative play, AND background and intro section) |
| Recruit Edition booklet with short background and intro section, 4 tutorial missions, and datacards for Veteran Guardsmen and Ork Kommandos (no army list or additional tac ops/spec ops rules like ploys, equipment or assets) | Octarius Campaign book with complete rules for Veteran Guardsmen and Ork Kommandos, Killzone: Ocatrius rules, Octarius War mission pack, and background section |
| No Tac Ops cards | 2 decks of 27 Tactical Ops cards each |
In this video I show you the contents of the new Starter Set books:
As you can see, the Recruit Edition booklet only contains the basic datacards for the models included, which is fine for playing the tutorial campaign, but you’ll need to purchase the Octarius book for the complete rules and army lists for “proper” games of Kill Team. Tac Ops are included in the Core Rules book, but if you prefer physical cards these are another extra purchase. It’s a bummer, but no big surprise to be honest, as you’ll also need to shell out for the respective codices or battletomes if you want to play proper games with the Warhammer 40.000 and Age of Sigmar starter sets.
The models are the same as in the Kill Team: Octarius set, minus the larger Orc structures and the cardboard gaming board, which has been replaced with a cheaper paper mat.
If you don’t know how to paint these models, check out our painting tutorials for the Death Korps, Ork terrain pieces, and Kill Team barricades.
Value
With a recommended retail price of £65/85€, the value of the set is quite decent. The Kommandos, Death Korps and Killzone Essentials (the set of combat gauges, barricades and markers) alone are £91/112,50€, and you get a sprue of scatter terrain, the Core Rules in a handy format, and a nice beginner’s campaign on top.
Of course, it’s also true that the set doesn’t come close to the sheer value of the Kill Team: Octarius box, where you also got a proper board packed with Ork junkyard terrain (the separate Killzone Octarius terrain set with all the terrain from the original Octarius box is £60/80€), the Octarius book (a hefty £25/32.50€ for such a thin softcover book), and a set of Tac Op cards (£12/15€). By the way, the Kill Team: Octarius set is still available at a few retailers like our partners Element Games (click here), usually with a good discount, and might be a real alternative to the starter set for many.
8.0 Score
Pros
- Good value over purchasing the models individually
- Handy small size Core Rules including matched, open, and narrative play
- New beginner-friendly campaign to learn the rules step-by-step
Cons
- Doesn't contain the full rules for both the Ork Kommandos and Veteran Guardsmen, making the purchase of the Octarius book mandatory
- Doesn't contain Tac Ops cards
- Less terrain, can't compete with the sheer value of the Kill Team: Octarius set
Final Verdict
If you don't care for the Ork terrain and gameboard and/or have enough terrain and game boards from the first edition of Kill Team, and the handy format of the Core Rules and the more beginner-friendly introductionary campaign appeal to you, you won't go far wrong with the new Kill Team starter set. You just have to keep in mind the additional purchase in form of the Octarius Campaign book for the complete rules of both included Kill Teams.
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