Kill Team Annual 2023 Review - Season of the Gallowdark

The Kill Team Annual 2023 is the culmination of the last years worth of Kill Team products. The previous Kill Team Annual 2022, collected all the articles that had been published in White Dwarf, but there haven't been many of those this season of Kill Team, so this annual collects all of the content from the published products in the Gallowdark season.

We've covered Kill Team in depth since the last edition, and you can read our guide to all the current Kill Team products, or check back to where the previous season of Kill Team started with the Gallowdark in our Kill Team Into the Dark preview. In this article, discuss what the Kill Team Annual 2023 contains and if you need to pick it up.

Kill Team is a skirmish wargame, set in Games Workshop's larger Warhammer 40,000 setting. As a skirmish game, Kill Team features a small number of elite troops, fighting special operations battles, rather than huge battles fought with entire armies. If you want to check out the Kill Team rules before you buy, Games Workshop has made the core rules available to download for free.

What Does Kill Team Annual 2023 Contain?

The Kill Team Annual 2023 contains:

• Full rules for 10 kill teams (detailed below)
• Killzone rules and Mission Packs from Into the Dark, Shadowvaults, Soulshackle and Gallowfall
• Rules for running a campaign in the Gallowdark from the Into the Dark book.

Using the Kill Team Annual 2023 will require several other products, which we detail below, but it's worth noting that this doesn't contain the Core Rules for Kill Team, which are available separately.

What Kill Teams Does The Kill Team Annual 2023 Contain?

The Kill Team Annual 2023 contains the full rules for the following kill teams (You can read our guide to each kill team in the link after each):

• Imperial Navy Breachers (Kill Team Into The Dark)
• Kroot Farstalker Kinbands (Kill Team Into The Dark)
• Cadian Kasrkin (Kill Team Shadowvaults)
• Necron Hierotek Circle (Kill Team Shadowvaults)
• Adeptus Arbites Exaction Squad (Kill Team Soulshackle)
• Drukhari Hand of the Archon (Kill Team Soulshackle)
• Leagues of Votann Hearthkyn Salvagers (Kill Team Gallowfall)
• Beastmen Fellgor Ravagers (Kill Team Gallowfall)
• Inquisitorial Agent (Kill Team Ashes of Faith)
• Chaos Cults (Kill Team Ashes of Faith)

The rules include the full datacards for each operative, along with the Tac Ops, Abilities, Equipment, Ploys, and Spec Ops rules for each.

What Kill Teams Products Do I Need To Use The Kill Team Annual 2023?

To use the Kill Team Annual 2023, you will need the core accessories of the Kill Team Core Rulebook, 6-sided dice, and a measuring tool.

To use the specific kill teams, you will need at least 1 copy of that kill team's boxed set, although most require 2 copies to build all the options and for a full roster.

To use the Gallowdark rules, you will need one set of Gallowdark scenery and a game board, and to use the specific killzones from each supplement, Into the Dark, Shadowvaults, Soulshackle, and Gallowfall, you will need the specific scenery set from each of those, which are available separately.

Is The Kill Team Annual 2023 Missing Any Rules From The Gallowdark Season Of Kill Team?

Out of the Gallowdark Kill Team Season, the only rules missing from the Kill Team Annual 2023 are the Ashes of Faith campaign rules (the rules for both Ashes of Faith kill teams are included though) and the Apprehend the Prisoner mini 3-player campaign from White Dwarf #489. The Kill Team Annual 2023 includes every other published rule from the Gallowdark season.

What Are Our Final Thoughts On The Kill Team Annual 2023?

The Kill Team Annual 2023 is a solid way to get access to everything released across the 5 Gallowdark boxes. I hope they release the Ashes of Faith campaign components (rules, tiles, cards) separately so that everyone can also enjoy that way of playing. It would have been a nice touch to include the Apprehend the Prisoner rules, which play into the Gallowdark season well, but as it was only published last month, the Annual was probably already at the printer. It's also not a huge stretch to pick up a single copy of White Dwarf for the 3-player rules or skip it if you don't play with 3 players.

The rules the Kill Team Annual 2023 contains are some of my favorite kill teams and missions from the 2 seasons of the current edition of Kill Team. The tight confines of the Gallowdark make for some incredible matches, the some of the thematic kill teams in the Annual 2023 are a joy to play.

Should I Buy The Kill Team Annual 2023?

If you only picked up 1 or 2 of the Gallowdark boxes, then this is an easy way to access all of the rules from this season. If you are only missing 1 rulebook, then you are probably better off just picking up the individual release of that book. If you missed all of the boxes, then this is a straightforward purchase, allowing you to get all of the rules in one place, and then pick up the kill teams are scenery that you want to game with.

The copy of Kill Team Annual 2023 used to produce this review was provided by Games Workshop.