Welcome back Combat Patroleers. After a somewhat disappointing week 4, the flow of grey plastic resumes in Issue #5 with a single troop model: the Combat Patrol exclusive Space Marines Infernus Sergeant. Is a single unit champion model and magazine issue worth the $14.99 cover price? Thank you to Hachette and Goonhammer for giving me the opportunity to review these models and magazines.
Narrative Materials
This issue introduces the Imperial Tithe, the taxes paid by the various worls of the Imperium to the Imperium in order to feed its mighty war industries. The issue explains that “Many governors work their populations to the bone to extract the Imperial Tithe, forcing their citizens to toil day and night and shipping off vast populations to serve in the Astra Militarum”. They also touch on the Black Ships and the fate of psykers in the Imperium, explaining the options are “killed on the spot”, “placed into the vast and terrible machinery of the Golden Throne”, and sanctioning, saying “Those that survive sanctioning are often deeply traumatised by the process.”
The issue also has a table to give your Infernus Marines Sergeant an Epithet and a backstory behind his Epithet. This table is focus on Leviathan!Ultramarines, and so instead of using it for my new Space Wolves Infernus Marines Sergeant, I’ll use it for my Ultramarines 4th Company Sergeant Fabian.
Sergeant Fabian the Enlightener has studied the Codex Astartes – a legendary tactical manual – very closely, and his careful applications of its strategies marked him for greatness.
Hobby Materials
This issue introduces basecoating, recommending three thin coats and showing the progression from a streaky/patchy first thing coat to a clean and opaque third coat. The magazine has recommendations on how to hold the model and how to work (from the inside out), as well as a recommendation on using subassemblies.
The Space Marine Infernus Sergeant is a monopose model of an Infernus Marine standing triumphant atop a dead Tyranid. Unlike the Infernus Marines from the previous issue (and the Leviathan box), this model is not a push-fit model. It’s the usual multi-part plastic kit, with a choice of shoulder pad and head. I took advantage of this to add my Combat Patrol Infernus Marines to my Space Wolves army, and used some Space Wolves bits I had floating around to customize the Sergeant.
My Space Wolves were modeled fighting Orks, and so I used one of the big Ork skulls from the recent Citadel Battlefield Trophies box. I wasn’t able to fully finish the squad by the time this review had to be written and go to print, but I came close. I very much like this model, and it is a worthy edition to my collection. If Infernus Marines were better, I could see this issue becoming sought-after simply to have two different sergeants.
Gaming Materials
The scenario for this one is a repeat of the Scenario from Issue #3, except this time the Infernus Marine gets three extra cannisters that add either AP -1, -2, or -3 to a round of shooting. You choose to use the canister *before* you make your shots roll.
The magazine offers an explanation of dice rolls and modifiers, explaining how to use d3 dice in Warhammer and how rerolls work. Basic stuff on the second to last page. The last page, however, is actually a surprisingly helpful summary of how dice modifiers work: It breaks down with pictures and diagrams the difference between “Modifying Dice” and “modifying characteristic”, and the order of operations in which characteristic modifiers and dice modifiers take place.
Final Verdict
Yes, I think this issue is worth the cover price. The model in this issue was one that I think the line sorely needed, because the Leviathan Infernus Marine Squads have a sergeant in an extreme and unique pose. This alternate sculpt gives a common monopose kit some much-needed variety, and offers a spot of easy customization on top of that. I think the last page explaining dice and characteristic modifiers is a good cheat sheet for anyone to use. The lore sections were a bit shorter, but still full of the critical flavor that Combat Patrol has kept up since the start.
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