One of the questions that comes up most in all the social media groups for Bolt Action is a variation of "How do I build my army?" There are many ways to answer this question because of all the play styles and army types. Here are some things to keep in mind to make your decision more efficient.
* The foot soldier is the core of this game.
All the factions have basic troop selections consisting of riflemen. The squad sizes vary as well as quality. From this we can understand that there are three troop qualities and it is a balance of points and play style that fit them into your list.
-Inexperienced: The cheapest option that allows you to take more soldiers per point. While having a large quantity, your quality will suffer as they fail leadership tests easier with taking initial casualties. They are also easier to kill needing just a 3+. Do you think you have more soldiers than they have bullets? Do you like horde armies to the likes of Orks in 40k? This may be the play style for you, and your gonna want to max those squads out in bodies.
-Regular: Mid range option that allows a modest amount of troops that don't route as easily after taking initial casualties. 4+ kills these troops. I usually take 8-max troops in Reg squads.
-Veteran: High quality troops, you pay for their ability to pass leadership tests more easily and their survivability as they require a 5+ to kill. I usually take 6-8 Vet troops in a squad.
You will at minimum need 2 squads of troops per the generic reinforced platoon selector which is widely accepted as the selector used in most tournaments and events. This obviously varies on your meta. Personally I like to spend 450-500 points on troops and the rest on supporting elements, this includes the required Lt. who I will sometimes take with a buddy so someone is there to take the bullet when they take fire.
This further breaks out to 120 or so points a squad with room to equip them with other weapons. For example the Germans can take panzer fausts for 5 points, they are a one time usable weapon that are great at taking out tanks and other armor. I like to take 2-3 in a squad that I will dedicate to tank hunting. Conversely, Assault rifles are the same points and fire one additional shot at a shorter range than rifles and while they don't suffer the moving and shooting penalty, these weapons are very situational and fall into a grey area where the SMG can do the assault job better, as can the rifles at range. I built a bunch of them for the rule of cool factor to have fun.
For the average army or regulars or vets one box of troops should suffice, If playing the Soviets who get a free 12 man squad or any other army that gets a free squad you would be better off with two infantry boxes. Same if your really into building and painting all kinds of different soldier kits like I am.
* Supporting Elements.
In my experience the most popular support element is the medium mortar with a spotter. At regular for 60 points this is a unit that's meant to keep static units moving, because if they zero in they can make quick work of entrenched troops. Chances are you need this in your list.
The least popular Ive seen is the medium machine gun team, 50 points regular gets you a 3 man team that puts out 5 shots (6 if your German) and can be one shot with a sniper. There are a crap ton of posts online and theories on how to make them better, I won't get into here with this post but I will say that there was a tournament where I had a hell of a time taking out a polish vet MMG team because my opponent positioned it so well.
Artillery pieces can be super helpful here, medium howitzers can be really effective against infantry and armor. They will blow up troops (especially vets) but not necessarily destroy armor in one hit, it more so puts more pins on them to make them ineffective. My favorite Arty piece of all the armies is the Soviet Zis3, its a medium AT gun as well as a light howitzer (you select the fire type when targeting). I recommend them for the Soviets.
Medics are very situational and only get their points back if they save a few troops, If you have an extra dude to build why not make one for fun.
Snipers are fun however need to be positioned well, they're great for putting down individual targets for example: officers, suicide AT troops, observers and spotters.
*Vehicles
Ill start this section with saying that Trucks are great, I take 1 or 2 in almost every list, they get your important troops where they need to be fast, they're cheaper than halftracks, and most can take a MMG. In my opinion having a truck is very useful for most armies.
Tanks come in all shapes, sizes, and point values. I fit them in secondarily. Keep in mind that they can be taken out with one solid AT shot, they are bullet magnets and can be used as a distraction tactic as well. I try to keep my tanks under 200 points, my favorite one for value now is the Panzer 3 G: 8 armor, medium AT gun, 2 MMGs all for 155 points. That is a great standard to hold your armor slot to.
Armored cars can be lots of fun to use, they're usually moderately priced and provide adequate support for your troops. I try to keep these vehicles at the 60-120 point range.
*Example List
Here is an example that has no affiliation to any specific army:
Reg Lt. with buddy 60 pts.
3 Reg squads of infantry, 8 men per squad. on avg: 120 points a squad.
1 Reg Medium Mortar with spotter - 60 points
1 Vet Sniper team 65 points.
1 Reg truck with MMG - 54 points
1 Medium Arty Piece - Roughly 80 points
This example build gives you about 679 points, take the rest of those points and experiment! Add another Reg Squad, or keep the 3 and upgrade them to vet, or add an armored car or tank, either way with this basic build you can expand into this game with some more knowledge and hopefully not blowing through too much cash.. till you want to.
Oh and one more thing: use EASY ARMY to build your lists, its the most widely accepted format builder and is very easy to use: www.easyarmy.com
Pictured above is a female Soviet Commissar I painted, model is from Stoessi's Heroes: https://stoessisheroes.com
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