Could a Patrol Phase Make Our Warhammer Games More Interesting?
Could a Patrol Phase Make Our Warhammer Games More Interesting?
Lately we’ve been circling around one idea that feels very relatable if you play a lot of Warhammer: in many of our games, those classic 5–6 rounds are really only enough to model one proper manoeuvre.
You set up, you advance, maybe you commit to one flank, maybe there is one meaningful redeployment, and then the game is already racing toward its conclusion. It works, of course — that pace is part of what makes modern Warhammer playable in an evening — but it also leaves us wanting a little more cat-and-mouse before the real clash begins.
Stas recently threw into the chat a mechanic that immediately caught our attention: pre-game manoeuvres in the form of a small minigame before the battle proper. The example that sparked the discussion came from Chain of Command and its Patrol Phase.
What grabbed us about it
The core idea is simple, but very elegant.
Instead of getting a fixed deployment zone and just lining everything up, both sides first play out a reconnaissance game using patrol markers. Those markers represent scouting teams probing the battlefield, trying to find gaps, seize good approaches, and deny the enemy freedom of movement.
From Stas’ summary, it works roughly like this:
- each side gets a number of patrol markers,
- players alternate placing or moving them,
- every marker has to stay within 12” of another friendly patrol marker,
- when opposing markers come within 12” of each other, they lock in place,
- once the patrol situation is resolved, players place Jump-Off Points behind their final line,
- those Jump-Off Points replace classic deployment zones.
What we really like here is that deployment becomes something you earn and shape through interaction, not just something printed on the mission map.
Why this sounds exciting for Warhammer
The bit that resonated most with us was Stas’ observation that our standard game length often only leaves room for one manoeuvre. If that’s true, then maybe the answer isn’t always to make games longer. Maybe the answer is to make the approach to battle matter more.
A pre-battle phase like this could create exactly the kind of “podchody” energy we often miss:
- feinting toward one side,
- contesting lanes of advance,
- fighting over who gets the better starting angles,
- forcing the opponent into a less comfortable opening setup.
In other words, instead of the first turn doing all the work, some of that tension gets moved before turn one.
That feels very promising.
The really tasty part: visible points, hidden intent
Another detail Stas pointed out is especially cool: Jump-Off Points are visible, but your opponent does not necessarily know what will deploy from which one.
That is such a strong idea.
It creates uncertainty without requiring hidden maps, secret deployment sheets, or too much bookkeeping. You know where the enemy can emerge from, but not exactly how they will commit. That means the opening turns become less about solving a static puzzle and more about reading intent.
For us, that sounds like a great source of tension:
- is that flank marker a bluff?
- are they about to push a hard-hitting unit through the centre?
- are they spreading options rather than committing?
This kind of uncertainty is something we really enjoy in skirmish systems, and we’d love to see more of it in bigger Warhammer games too.
A fun Warcry-like echo
The other thing that made us smile was the deployment cost idea. As Stas described it, the commander can spend a die of a given value from a pool to pay for deploying a unit.
And honestly? That immediately gave us Warcry spellcasting vibes.
Not because the systems are the same, obviously, but because there is that same satisfying feeling of converting a limited resource into a tactical effect at a key moment. We always like mechanics that ask: do we spend this now, or save it for something better?
That kind of decision-making can make even deployment feel dynamic rather than procedural.
Would this work in Warhammer?
That is the big question, and we don’t want to pretend we’ve tested it yet. For now this is very much in the “interesting idea we want to poke at” phase.
Still, it feels like there are a few obvious reasons why some version of this could be fun in a Warhammer context:
-
It gives movement a story before the first turn begins.
Instead of two armies appearing in perfect formation, it feels more like they actually approached the battlefield. -
It makes deployment interactive.
A lot of deployment in Warhammer is important, but not always exciting. A patrol-style phase could make it a game in itself. -
It may create more meaningful openings without extending total game length too much.
If we want more manoeuvre but don’t want to play 8–10 turns, maybe a short pre-game layer is the answer. -
It introduces uncertainty in a healthy way.
Visible entry points with hidden commitment sounds like the right kind of fog of war for tabletop play.
Of course, there would also be challenges. Different Warhammer systems have very different assumptions about table size, unit count, alpha strikes, reserves, and mission balance. What works in one game might be clunky or abusable in another. So this is definitely not a “just paste it in and done” situation.
Where our heads are at right now
At this stage, we’re mostly just excited by the design space.
We like the thought that if a standard game only really has room for one major manoeuvre, then maybe that manoeuvre should start before deployment is finalized. A patrol phase, scouting minigame, or some lighter version of that concept could be a really neat way to make the battlefield feel more alive.
We’re not announcing any grand homebrew system today — this is more of a hobby notebook entry than a manifesto — but it is exactly the kind of mechanic that makes us want to experiment.
Maybe the best outcome isn’t even a full conversion of the Patrol Phase. Maybe it’s just borrowing a few principles:
- dynamic pre-game positioning,
- contested setup,
- public deployment anchors with hidden commitment,
- and a little more room for bluffing before the first dice of the battle proper are rolled.
That already sounds like fertile ground.
If we end up trying something inspired by this in one of our Warhammer games, we’ll definitely report back.
What do you think?
Have you played systems with a patrol phase, scouting minigame, or some other form of interactive deployment? And if you have, do you think something like that could be adapted for Warhammer without turning the game into a rules swamp?
Because right now, the idea is very much stuck in our heads.