The Full Stop - A Deep Dive into Warhammer 40k Combat Patrol

Welcome to Combat Patrol! 

Whether you are a new recruit to Warhammer 40,000 

or a seasoned veteran, 

Combat Patrol is all about getting your forces 

into action as quickly as possible.

- Combat Patrol Rules - Games Workshop

Welcome back to the Art of Caesura!

Recent readers will see that we've been looking at our fun little Warhammer gathering, KillCon over the past few weeks. Two weeks ago I provided a narrative verion of my game of Combat Patrol of my Black Templars vs. Tristan's Tyranids where as last week I gave a more "gamer oriented" play-by-play of the game. 

Today I want to dive deeper into this accessible and engaging game-type. I want to argue that Combat Patrol is not just for beginners.

Combat Patrol in 10th Edition is Games Workshop's new smallest scale Warhammer 40k game type. But unlike in previous editions, where it just meant that both sides took 500 point armies and went at it, in this edition, Games Workshop has changed things up a little. 

Now, you buy almost any (sorry Knights) of Games Workshop's Combat Patrol boxes (like a small army in a box), download the free Combat Patrol Rules, download your free army rules (also available for free in the App even without the codex) and go. But I want to emphasize - it is a slightly different game than regular 40k - it is no longer just 40k at a smaller scale. 

40K never scaled brilliantly at super low points values. Army-wide abilities, which were balanced in larger battles, could be game-breaking in small-scale battles. Likewise, certain units - which your opponent may have plenty of tools against in larger games - may be overly punishing if your opponent is unprepared to deal with them with the small force they've been able to bring. 

Combat Patrol takes all this into consideration. In the free army rules, you'll find that it is a pre-built deck (to borrow from Magic the Gathering). All of the army construction decisions have been standardized. The units in your army will have set loadouts (for example, in the Black Templars Combat Patrol you must take the Pyreblaster instead of the Powerfist in the Primaris Crusader Squad). If a kit in the Combat Patrol box can be built in multiple ways, the rules will define which build it counts as in the Combat Patrol. 

The only choices that you make in terms of army construction are:

• Which one of two enhancements your warlord gets (these are enhancements that are unique to Combat Patrol).
• Which one of two secondary objectives you opt for.
• Whether to Patrol Squad (break in half) certain large units where this option is given. 

This is all in an effort to give a semblance of balance to Combat Patrol boxes which were initially developed long before this game mode was designed. Methetinternet has broken down all the points values of each box (though this was before the most recent points update). 

Other methods they have used to balance smaller / weaker Combat Patrol armies is by giving them more powerful detachment rules, or easier secondary objectives (and the opposite for stronger armies). 

And Games Workshop did actually put the effort in here. In the lead up to 10th edition, Stu Black (Product Development Manager for 40k) did a bunch of interviews on different channels talking about aspects of the new addition. He talked specifically about Combat Patrol with Nick from Play On Tabletop (link to that video here) and at 11:05 Nick asks Stu specifically about their efforts to balance Combat Patrol, Stu's answer starts at 12:20 where he says: 

"Combat Patrol is probably our most tested product [emphasis is mine], because we're really really conscious that we don't want to balance it after the fact - now, you know if we need to we will...so we're we're really trying to front-load all of that balancing and play testing"

I'm not a Games Workshop apologist, but I just wanted to include this quote to demonstrate to 40k veterans that this isn't just a game mode that they slapped together. 

Once your Combat Patrol army hits the tabletop, it is much more similar to "normal 40k". While the data cards are slightly different (most units' stats are the same, but special abilities have been stripped back as a whole) the mechanics of the game are the same as normal 40k. 

Why this would appeal to novices:

By having a quicker game mode with minimal pre-game prep you can get straight into the action and get the reps you need to become confident with the core mechanics (and deeper strategies) of 40k, while increasing your speed to be a better opponent at larger points levels. 

Also, if you know what faction your opponent will be playing, you will know exactly which units they have access to. If you like, you can read their free army rules in advance and become familiar with what their units will be able to do and which should be your priority targets. 

Why this would appeal to veterans:

This "set-deck" style of play is very popular in other games because by constraining your build, you have to be creative with what you have. It is like a puzzle - you are given the (often sub-optimal) pieces and have to use your skill on the tabletop to make them work for you. 

BUT

Combat Patrol is not trying to be everything to everyone. By not getting to construct your army you're missing out on the fun that can be had honing your list. You don't get to play with some of the models that you might really want to play with (as a Black Templars player that would be Helbrecht, Grimaldus and Sword Brethren).

In summary, I really like Combat Patrol for what it is. It has even almost accomplished it's goal of tempting me to buy a completely new Combat Patrol (Ad Mech) - for a fun painting excursion. 

Thanks for tuning in, I'll see you next week on The Art of Caesura!

Reading: The Lincoln Highway - Amor Towles

Watching: Yellowjackets

Gaming: Warhammer 40,000: Warpforge

Next Week: 

Keep on crusadin'...