So this is new. GW is introducing a new type of game called Combat Patrol. Basically, players will select from pre-made forces sold in Combat Patrol boxes. Each army will be 1000 points and will be played on a 44×30″ Board
each Combat Patrol will have custom rules to enable balance, and will be self-contained. This include modifying datasheets and simplifying abilities. Check out the difference below:
In order to provide some replayability you will get access to enhancements allowing you to tweak your warlords.
The core rulebook will have six default missions with their own rules and deployment maps. You will also get to choose between secondary objectives
As part of this game type they have also introduced new stratagems to balance the Combat Patrols against each other.
I think this is an interesting idea aimed at getting people into the hobby. By leveraging their kits as being one-stop-shops, it makes it less overwhelming and you can focus on just playing one set of models until you want to branch out. There are two potential failure points here. The first is if GW can create 1K armies that are cheap enough for people to buy as a first purchase. If the initial price is too high, people won’t want to risk spending a lot on something they don’t know of they will enjoy. The second, is balancing this at launch. Not only do you have to maintain some form of balance initially, you might struggle to update rules as older combat patrols float in the ether. You could try to only do limited runs of Combat patrols and phase older ones out. That would work but could also annoy some new players.
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