Can you play Kill Team on your own, or with a friend against the game?
Yes. The current Kill Team edition has a mode called Joint Ops, where one or two players run their own operatives against enemies the rules control, called Non-Player Operatives or NPOs.
You need the Core Book, which holds the Joint Ops missions, a team, some miniatures to stand in as the enemy and a board with terrain. Our Starter Set covers a team, a second team for the enemy and a first set of terrain.
How Joint Ops works
Games Workshop added Joint Ops with the edition that began in September 2024. Instead of an opponent, you face hordes of NPOs that follow a simple automatic process. The enemies can be any miniatures from your collection, from cultists and mutants to Space Marines and aliens, so a second team or odd figures from other armies will do.
The Core Book holds a Joint Ops mission pack for one or more players, with full behaviours for a range of NPOs. Missions can be adjusted: you can change how many NPOs there are, or how many wounds each starts with, to make a mission easier or harder.
Games Workshop also makes Terror on Devlan, a boxed set built around Joint Ops, with nine missions that can be played solo or co-operatively. In that box, NPOs activate by drawing from a 13-card deck. One suit from an ordinary pack of playing cards, ace to king, makes a 13-card deck that can stand in for it. We do not list Terror on Devlan.
What to buy
| Item | Why you need it | Ours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Book | Holds the Joint Ops mission pack and the NPO behaviours. | Kill Team Core Book, £31.60, sold out at the moment |
| A team and some enemies | The Starter Set holds two teams, so one can be your operatives and the other the NPOs. | Starter Set, £57.28, in stock |
| Terrain | The Starter Set's MDF pieces cover early games; a killzone gives you more variety. | Killzone: Volkus, £69.52, sold out at the moment |
If you already own a Warhammer collection, you may need only the Core Book and some terrain, because enemy NPOs can come from what is already on your shelf. The extras a first game needs are on the Starter Set contents page.
Is it for you?
Expect to run the enemy yourself. In one r/killteam thread, players described Joint Ops as extra busywork, because you activate the NPOs yourself and effectively play both sides. In return you can use any models you already own.
Kill Team solo suits you if you enjoy playing both sides of a scrap and want a reason to field your models. It is not a game built around a single automated opponent. If you do go ahead, the Starter Set is the box to start from.
A first session in four steps
- Build and base one team from the Starter Set.
- Build the other team, or pick a few other miniatures, to be your NPOs.
- Set up a small board with your terrain.
- Choose a Joint Ops mission from the Core Book and follow its NPO rules.
Common questions
What is a Non-Player Operative in Kill Team?
A Non-Player Operative, or NPO, is an enemy the game controls through a simple process instead of an opponent. A wide range of miniatures from your collection can stand in for NPOs in Joint Ops missions, so you do not need a second army.
Do I need a separate box for solo Kill Team?
No, the Core Book has the Joint Ops mission pack. Terror on Devlan is an optional boxed set built around Joint Ops, with nine missions of its own, but you can start without it.
Is solo Kill Team any good?
It suits you if you already own models and enjoy playing both sides, since the enemy can be any miniatures from your shelf. The Starter Set gives you one team to run and a second to use as the enemy.
Joint Ops: Warhammer Community (Games Workshop's news site), 21 August and 15 September 2024. Terror on Devlan: Warhammer Community, 4 May 2026. Player views: Kill Team threads on Reddit, 2026. Prices and stock: this shop, read live.