Blob Guard in Combat Patrol?

So your friends or local shop has some combat patrol going on and you wonder what to bring, ...blob guard maybe. So how would they do?

Well firstly what is Combat Patrol?

Well it is a scaled down version of Warhammer 40,000 that was introduced back in 4^th edition as a way to play some quick games, which worked very well for school clubs, but also for the newer player to 40K it was a great way to build up a small army and get used to the rules and mechanics of the game. For veteran players it is a nice change from the regular 40K games and you can play three or four in a single day of gaming.

The following rules are used in the Combat Patrol game and are played on a 4’X4’ board with 25% scenery.

1.       Armies are no more than 400 points.

2.       You must have one Troop choice.

3.       You may have one HQ choice, but no more than one.

4.       Armies are not required to take mandatory unit choices. All other unit restrictions (i.e.0-1) apply.

5.       You may spend remaining points from anywhere in the Codex. 

6.       No model can have more than 2 Wounds.

7.       No model can have a 2+ save.

8.       No Special/Unique/Named Characters are allowed in the Combat Patrol event.

9.       No vehicles with a total Armour value greater than 33. This is calculated by adding the Front, Side and Rear armour numbers. (Only count the Side once).

From here players roll for sides, deploy 12” in from the table edge, and face off against each other. The game lasts six turns and at the end of the six turn the player with the most victory points wins the patrol. Victory points are calculated in the following way: destroy a unit and you get the full points that your opponent paid for it, take the unit below 50% and you get half the points your opponent paid for it. So, if you explode that Space Marine rhino you get 35 points, kill two Space Marines out of a unit of ten and you get 0 points, etc.

So, now we know what the parameters are for making a list let’s try making a few.

List 1:

400 Pts - Imperial Guard Roster

Troops: Infantry Platoon (46#, 400 pts)
   1 Infantry Platoon, 0 pts
      2 Platoon Command Squad, 24 pts = 2 * 6 (base cost 6) + Grenade Launcher x2 10 + w/Autocannon 22
         1 Heavy Weapons Team, 20 pts = (base cost 10 + Autocannon 10)
         1 Platoon Commander, 11 pts = (base cost 6 + Melta Bombs 5)
      7 Infantry Squad, 40 pts = 7 * 5 (base cost 5) + Grenade Launcher x1 5
         1 Heavy Weapons Team, 20 pts = (base cost 10 + Autocannon 10)
         1 Commissar, 45 pts = (base cost 35 + Power Weapon 10)
         1 Sergeant, 15 pts = (base cost 5 + Power Weapon 10)
      7 Infantry Squad, 40 pts = 7 * 5 (base cost 5) + Grenade Launcher x1 5
         1 Heavy Weapons Team, 20 pts = (base cost 10 + Autocannon 10)
         1 Sergeant, 15 pts = (base cost 5 + Power Weapon 10)
      7 Infantry Squad, 40 pts = 7 * 5 (base cost 5) + Grenade Launcher x1 5
         1 Heavy Weapons Team, 20 pts = (base cost 10 + Autocannon 10)
         1 Sergeant, 15 pts = (base cost 5 + Power Weapon 10)
      7 Infantry Squad, 40 pts = 7 * 5 (base cost 5) + Grenade Launcher x1 5
         1 Heavy Weapons Team, 20 pts = (base cost 10 + Autocannon 10)
         1 Sergeant, 15 pts = (base cost 5 + Power Weapon 10)

So this list uses the 1 Troop which you have to get, and gears it out for the dual role. Each infantry squad has a grenade launcher and autocannon, giving them good ranged firepower, then each sgt has a power weapon for close combat aid. One squad has a commissar added in with power weapon to allow you to make one huge blob to deny opponents points for thinning the squads. 

The PCS takes the same load out with grenade launchers and a autocannon to help support from behind the blob, and the final 5 points goes into melta bombs for the PCS commander.

  List 2:


400 Pts - Imperial Guard Roster


Troops: Infantry Platoon (47#, 400 pts)
   1 Infantry Platoon, 0 pts
      4 Platoon Command Squad, 39 pts = 4 * 6 (base cost 6) + Grenade Launcher x3 15
         1 Platoon Commander, 11 pts = (base cost 6 + Melta Bombs 5)
      9 Infantry Squad, 50 pts = 9 * 5 (base cost 5) + Grenade Launcher x1 5
         1 Commissar, 45 pts = (base cost 35 + Power Weapon 10)
         1 Sergeant, 15 pts = (base cost 5 + Power Weapon 10)
      9 Infantry Squad, 50 pts = 9 * 5 (base cost 5) + Grenade Launcher x1 5
         1 Sergeant, 15 pts = (base cost 5 + Power Weapon 10)
      9 Infantry Squad, 50 pts = 9 * 5 (base cost 5) + Grenade Launcher x1 5
         1 Sergeant, 15 pts = (base cost 5 + Power Weapon 10)
      9 Infantry Squad, 50 pts = 9 * 5 (base cost 5) + Grenade Launcher x1 5
         1 Commissar, 45 pts = (base cost 35 + Power Weapon 10)
         1 Sergeant, 15 pts = (base cost 5 + Power Weapon 10)

So for this List we drop all the autocannons, add another Grenade launcher to the PCS and give the infantry squads another Commissar allowing them to become two 21 man blobs making sure you don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

List 3:

400 Pts - Imperial Guard Roster

Troops: Infantry Platoon (28#, 325 pts)
   1 Infantry Platoon, 0 pts
      4 Platoon Command Squad, 34 pts = 4 * 6 (base cost 6) + Flamer x2 10
         1 Platoon Commander, 6 pts
         1 Chimera, 55 pts
      7 Infantry Squad, 35 pts = 7 * 5
         1 Heavy Weapons Team, 20 pts = (base cost 10 + Autocannon 10)
         1 Sergeant, 5 pts
         1 Chimera, 55 pts
      7 Infantry Squad, 35 pts = 7 * 5
         1 Heavy Weapons Team, 20 pts = (base cost 10 + Autocannon 10)
         1 Sergeant, 5 pts
         1 Chimera, 55 pts

Heavy Support: Hydra Flak Tank Battery (1#, 75 pts)
   1 Hydra Flak Tank Battery, 0 pts
      1 Hydra Flak Tank, 75 pts

OK, so this list isn’t a blob, but it does add some real options, with 3 Chimeras , some autocannons inside for added punch and the hydra you can expect to upset a lot of people with that much AV 12 at these points.

Adding hull flamers to the vehicles helps stop hordes to a degree, and the two flamers on the PCS can aid in this while moving forward.

Although you do have an option to swap the autocannons for grenade launchers in the infantry squads, and bump up the PCS to four flamers

There are plenty of other builds which could be made using a Deathstrike or Manticore, but assuming the 4x4 board they become less enticing due to their big ranges being excluded a bit and the enemy being closer.

Other options like armoured sentinels and Marbo could play a role, but vehicle wise you are limited due to the AV max rule.