AdeptiCon 2023. This was my second time at AdeptiCon for Bolt Action and my first foray into the awesomeness that is Combat Patrol. This event is held in high regard by all who have played in it in the past, and I was looking forward to playing for the first time in this event. I took an Early-War German Blitzkrieg list centered around two lightly armored vehicles and a smattering of accompanying regular infantry.

My Army – 449pts, 7 Order Dice

2nd Lieutenant – Reg (50) +1 extra man (10)	60
Heer Infantry Squad – Reg NCO SMG (3) 5 men with Rifles	63
Heer Infantry Squad – Reg NCO SMG (3) 5 men with Rifles	63
Heer Infantry Squad – Reg NCO SMG (3) 5 men with Rifles	63
Anti-Tank Rifle Team – Reg	30
Sdkfz 231 6-rad – Reg Light Autocannon w/ coax MMG Recce	100
Panzer I – Reg Two turret-mounted MMGs	70

Game 1
Prisoner Capture vs Ryan (Poland)

For Game 1 we played Prisoner Capture, a mission that had at least half our armies arriving via First Wave and the rest via Reserves with Outflanking allowed. You scored points by “spotting” enemy units by bringing your Lieutenant within 24″ of an enemy unit that was in open ground or light cover. You scored additional points by “capturing” enemies by defeating an enemy unit in close combat, with bonus points awarded for capturing the enemy Lieutenant. You can read the full mission details in the player packet.

My opponent was Ryan, running a Polish Army. He had a Lt, two ten-man squads with a BAR, a Light Howitzer, a Light Mortar Team, and TKS Tankette with a Light Autocannon.

Game Highlights

• We both neglected to outflank, I went all First Wave and Ryan went half in Reserve.
• Turn 1: A couple of shots as the forces closed in on each other, a single Pin was put out on a Polish squad from the 6-rad.
• Turn 2: A German squad was spotted, but zero Pins or kills by both players. The large amount of heavy cover on the table was brutal! A Polish 10-man squad failed its Reserve Order Check.
• Turn 3: Center Polish squad takes a wound from the Panzer I, but then the TKS strikes back and puts a Pin on the Panzer I, but fails to penetrate its armor. Polish Howitzer fails its shots on the 6-rad.
• Turn 4: Heer squad charges and captures the Polish LT, the Germans lose a man in the process. Eight angry Poles counter-charged but only scored one kill against the German’s three, causing the Polish squad to flee and the Germans held onto their prisoner.
• Turn 5: ATR team kills the Polish Light Mortar loader, the Mortar holds as it passes the Moral Check. The 6-rad kills and Pins the second 10-man Polish squad, they subsequently fail an Order Check to Run and go Down, saving the Germans holding the captured Polish Lt.

Result – Win
10 to 1 VPs

Game 2
Scattered Drop vs Rob (Germany)

For Game 2 we played Scattered Drop. There were three objectives spread evenly across the center of the board – whoever held the most at the end of the game won. As an added twist, half of our armies arrived via airdrop and were subject to scatter, the other half would arrive via Reserves without any Outflanking.

My opponent was Rob, playing an all Regular Early-War German list with a LT, Heavy Autocannon, Flamethrower Team, LMG Team, a Panzer I, and two Infantry Squads. Rob and I met at Polar Vortex earlier this year and played the exact same mission, in round two, with the same army nationality (French), talk about coincidences! What are the odds?

Game Highlights

• I scattered all three infantry squads and my LT, Rob scattered his Autocannon, both infantry squads, and his LMG Team, which scattered off the board and lost one man.
• Turn 1: Both sides maneuvered and jockeyed for position. No Pins or kills.
• Turn 2: Rob’s Flamethrower moved up and failed to hit, but keeps its fuel. Other shots from Rob put two Pins on my troops in the building next to the right objective. My 6-rad failed its Reserve order check.
• Turn 3: My Panzer I killed two infantrymen on the backline. Then the boys in the building forced the Flamethrower Down. My squad in the middle goes Down to avoid heavy enemy fire. Heavy Autocannon immobilizes and put three Pins onto the 6-rad who finally decided to show up from Reserve.
• Turn 4: Rob “Snaps To!” pulling dice for the LT, Flamethrower, and LMG Team. His flamethrower missed again! He needed a 2+ and rolled a 1. LMG deals no Pins or kills. The building boys kill the flamer at Point Blank. The 6-rad Rallies and clears all Pins.
• Turn 5: Very little action this round while both forces maneuvered into position, but Rob was able to finish off the 6-rad with the Heavy AC.
• Turn 6: My squad in the center field lost three men and failed their Moral Check. This left Rob controlling one objective, and the other two contested.

Result – Loss
1 to 0 Objectives

Game 3
Flare vs Josh (Germany)

The Mission

For our final game, we played Flare!. In this mission, we scored points by destroying enemy units and by having units in the enemy’s deployment zone at the end of the game. All units, other than forward deployers, arrived via First Wave. Additionally, at the start of each turn, we placed a special Order Die in the bag to represent the fare. Until the flare die was pulled, line of sight is limited to only 12″.

My opponent was Jeff and his beautiful LRDG and their amazing pink trucks. He was running two LRDG trucks, one had a Light Autocannon (rear facing), two squads of Vet Infantry, a Lt and an ATR.

Game Highlights

• Turn 1: It was all first wave by both sides, and a single Pin was put out, and it was on the LRDG Gun Truck.
• Turn 2: Plenty of shots this turn, but only a Pin on the LRDG officer and ATR, Flare dice was the third from the last pulled.
• Turn 3: Jeff’s infantry on the right charge and kill my LT, but lose two of his Vets in return. Panzer I kills the ATR loader, and the lone man remaining fails his Moral Check and flees. Gun Truck splits fire and wounds a man in two different squads and puts a Pin on each. My right flank unit charged the remaining infantry and there was a mutual wipe! Wow!
• Turn 4: My ATR dies to another Vet LRDG infantry charge.
• Turn 5: But then my squad on the left kills three of the LRDG troops and the remaining flee on a failed Moral Check.
• At the end of Turn 5, with Jeff’s two trucks having multiple Pins and no clear way to get to my Deployment Zone we called it. I had one unit in his Deployment Zone and killed four dice worth of Jeff’s force, he had only killed three of mine.

Result – Win

Final Thoughts

Three amazing games, against three great opponents and their beautiful armies, on superb tables. If that isn’t what AdeptiCon is about, then IDK what it is. Going 2-1 with a force I had basically zero playtesting with was a win in my book. Combat Patrol lived up to the hype. This event is so good and the missions throw such a curveball at you, all while being creative and fun, it really speaks to just how good Andrew is at what he does. All the credit for the event goes to Andrew and Tom for the fantastic TO job and for running the event smoothly. I can’t wait to see what they cook up next year!