Learning Bolt Action Part Two: List building

I hope many of you checked out my first article about learning how to play . It covered the initial steps I took to collect, paint, and read the rules which culminated in signing up for a major Bolt Action event. This article will detail the list I plan to use for the event and will cover about how list making plays a part in Bolt Action and other games we play.

Make a List and Check it Twice
It has always been my opinion that list building is the game behind the game. It keeps us thinking about the game when we are not painting or actually playing it. The vendors probably see list building as the unseen hand that forces us to purchase more models and to keep the buzz going 24/7.

Why does list building take up so much of our time? I think the answer is simple, it is an extension of the game we can “play” at any time. It also represents the analytical side of the game where we try to find the perfect combination. I am guilty of spending a lot of time list building, I really enjoy it and I am attracted to games that have list building in it.

While this may not be popular with some, I think other than assuring you have a rules legal list there is no “Perfect” list or any list that will assure you success. A lot of factors in games are not covered by lists,   terrain, your opponent’s forces, and missions. Nor can you predict how your dice rolls will come out. On top of this, during a game, we run into so many possible unique situations and we analyze these quickly in order to make decisions on what moves to make, as this is happening your list makes little difference, however knowing what the units can do makes a lot of difference.

The basic rule of thumb for making a list is really simple, make sure it’s legal and make sure it can do what you want it to do in order to win. A lot of people spend a lot of time studying the “Meta” of a game and bringing things to counter it. Many games, however, are balanced enough that no single list is overpowered (OP). In those games systems, if one list is OP the developers make changes (or introduce new forces) to “Nerf” what is perceived to the OP.

Another comment on list making is how it ties into our purchases. To me, this is an ingenious tactic by game companies to drive sales. When we build a list we focus just as much as what we do not have in our collection than we do for what we have. As I go through my Bolt Action list below, I will show you some examples. A lot of list building sites are really list “buying” enablers, and the folks from have smartly figured this out. From their force building tool, you can add what is on your list to a shopping cart on their site.

We should also realize how much list building is a community thing. We share via email our “master lists” with our fellow players and we post them online and ask for comments. Check out any message board and you will see how many posts are about lists. Gamers also have no problem sharing their opinions on such topics. You do need to remember, however, these are only opinions and often uninformed, or semi-informed ones.

My last comment about lists is how they interact with our playing style. Many gamers do not know their style, are they aggressive? Do they want to sit back and wait? The quicker we figure out our style, and it could be different for each game, the better we can build a list to play. Since I have never played Bolt Action before, this was not a consideration for me.

My List
Like many of others, I bought my Bolt Action models without a massive amount of list analysis. I knew what forces I wanted to run (Canadian Infantry and Polish Paras) and those starter boxes from Warlord makes it all too easy to pick everything up in one shot.

Turhan Buckley, who I mentioned in my previous article, really helped while I was developing my list for an upcoming 1250 point Bolt Action event. I also used to make my list and all the screen grabs are from their site.

I will try to share my thoughts as to why I picked what I did. Many of the seasoned BA crowd may think  I am incorrect with my judgement. They are probably correct. Remember I have never played this game and I am going on what I have heard from others.

I now realize that 1250 is a lot of points and I know that this made making my list harder, I assume with a lower point total a player would focus on the basic elements of a list, at 1250 you can take just about anything you want. 

This list would focus on the basics for my force. I received a mixture of opinions about whether I should run a Veteran or Regular force. I took a mixture of both.

My required units are made up of two rifle squads and a Second Lieutenant with an escort. I was told not to mix weapons types as to ranges (SMG vs Rifle). Another thing every online source mentioned is to maximize Order Dice. Based on the mechanics of the game I believe this is another good idea.

The British Come with a free artillery observer. From reading the rules I do not think this unit is very effective, but it’s free.

I was told to have squads that and provide suppressing fire and squads that specialize in assault, so I took two small squads of airborne troops. I played around with taking a second platoon of airborne, which gets me another command section, however, everything I needed could be fielded in one large unit.

The only thing I really lost was the Airborne PIAT team, however, this list has some good anti-tank assets so I did not need the PIAT team that much. The other extra squad as another infantry squad just like the two that were required. I did notice one thing when I was adding the airborne squads; that they are not really historical. This is a game based at the platoon level and you would never see such a mix under one platoon commander in real life. Other than this I see only one other (see 6pdr paragraph below) egregious example of where the forces in the game are non-historical.

When it comes to support squads everyone had different recommendations. Do you need a Sniper Team or is it a waste? Is the Mortar Team worth it? Does it need a spotter? Since I had so many points to play with I took the Flamethrower Team in case I decide to be aggressive. I also took the Sniper Team in case I decide to sit back. I also really want to see how these four teams play in the game, what role they have and how they support my main forces.

For serious anti-tank work, I took the 6pdr gun from the starter box. I got a lot of comments about taking the 25pdr instead since it can bombard as well as be used as an anti-tank gun. This is probably good advice however it came too late for me to purchase the model, and have it ready for the event.

This is another example of where the game veers off the rails of history.

I do know a bit of how a British Infantry Battalion was organized, and it did have a support company that had 3” Mortars, Vickers HMGs, and 6 & 17pdr AT guns that they would send to where they were needed. So their presence in my platoon makes sense to me. The 25pdr would only be around my platoon by an accident. Maybe other than small mortars (2” & 60mm), I think artillery should be off the table in all 20th Century games. Artillery guns also would rarely work singularly and would be with their battery mates with another 3-5 guns.

Another opinion I got from folks was about vehicles, many players told me to “put my PIAT in a Jeep”. In fact, I saw this advice in a lot of places. They never explained in any great detail as to why I should do this. So I took the jeep to cart the PIAT around. I added the Universal Carrier the simple reason that I had it in my collection. It has a number of MG shots, and getting shots on target seems really important in this game. It also has some anti-aircraft ability in case I am attacked from the sky.

The last addition was a tank. I was not sold on making a list that had a tank in it, I wanted to keep this game to its infantry roots. The starter box came with a Cromwell which I did up with the decals from the Polish 10th Motor Rifles. I also picked up a Churchill tank, just because I dig it. The Churchill, however, was way too many points to put on my list. I also relented to put the Cromwell on the list just get a feel for how they play and how much of the game depends on them.

The last thing I picked was the National Characteristic that the British have. I thought of choosing Rapid Fire which gives my riflemen extra shots. Other players, however, recommended Vengeance which also seems pretty good and it is what I went with.

The Journey
The list building exercise is a lot of fun. While I only spent my time with the late war British lists, I did find them very well rounded and mostly historically accurate. The amount of options the lists give you is amazing with every theater of war covered. I can see how a tournament organizer can make some very interesting events in which a particular part of the war can be used as the theme for the forces that can play.

Also, I like how you can create the role of specific squads, they can be built to be tasked with providing supporting fire or to close in and assault. This alone gives you the ability to build a list that fits your play style.

So with nine days to go before the event, I finally settled on my list. Is it any good? I wouldn’t know. I have yet to play this game. Time will tell, though, if I earned my stripes as a BA list builder.

Thanks to everyone who offered feedback. I was given great advice. Now it’s on to the event.