Contemptor Kevin's Combat Patrol Issue 27 Review

The October 2025 package has arrived, and it contains four issues with no extras. So it's just four issues: three with models, one with paint. Unlike past packages, this whole set builds a total of one Combat Patrol unit. So let's see what Issue 27 entails! As always, thank you to Hachette and Goonhammer for the opportunity to review these models, magazines, and materials.

Narrative Materials

This issue introduces us to Aspect Warriors. The issue explains who the Aspect Warriors are (elite fighting force serving a shrines dedicated to a particular path of the Warrior), and associated with a specific Phoenix Lord. The issue goes through the various Aspect Warrior Shrines, explaining what they do: The Dire Avengers are the Ultramarines of Shrines (flexible and can adapt to all manner of battlefield challenges).

Dire Avengers. Credit: Rockfish

Meanwhile, Shining Spears are "noble and virtuous" jetbike pilots "of the utmost skill and daring;" Warp Spiders are Aeldari who imitate the X-Man Nightcrawler; Fire Dragons like to light things on fire; and so forth. The only Aspect Shrine associated with its Phoenix Lord in the text is Asurmen with the Dire Avengers, which seems like something of a lost opportunity.

Crimson Hunter Exarch. Credit: Wings

Hobby Materials

This issue has two of the Combat Patrol's six Winderider jetbikes and the instructions to assemble them.

Ulthwe Windriders. Credit: Corrode

It also has a new painting technique to teach: relayering. The issue explains how you can go back over shaded areas with your original base coat color to re-highlight and brighten the model. The example is a glow-up to the Tyranids, in taking their skin from the light pink post-Carroburg Crimson shade back to the off-white of Wraithbone. The issue helpfully explains that "techniques such as shading and relayering can give character to large areas on models like the Psychophage by introducing shadow and depth."

These are good foundational hobby materials and they explain the concept of layering very well, better than I originally understood layering back when I entered the hobby.   However, if you are here on Goonhammer.com, I would be remiss not to remind everyone that we ourselves have a tutorial on layering, from Porble!

Gaming Materials

This issue comes with some additional cardboard tools: It has the Chaos Space Marine datasheets (Dark Apostle, Legionaries, Havocs, and a Hellbrute), the Aeldari detachment rule, stratagems, and options, and two new terrain cards: a Munitorum Armored Container and a bunch of barrels.

Munitorum Armored Container. Credit: SRM

The playing materials within the magazine are: 1) Reprints of Pages PG-3 and 4 from the Core Rulebook and 2) Condensed versions of pages from the Tyranid (pp. 50-51) and Space Marine (pp. 94-95) Codexes which list and display the Combat Patrols that came with those Codexes.  The Magazine versions do not offer the little designer commentary blurb for the battlefield use of the various units.

That's it. No scenarios where you play with your new Aeldari toys against Tyranids or Marines. Just (effectively) reprints from other books.  Just pages reprinted from 2023-era Warhammer rule books.  I find this a bit of a let down, to be honest.

The Final Verdict

Reader, you might have noticed this review is a smidge shorter than our normal reviews of Combat Patrol Magazine. And that's because there is not a hell of a lot of content in this issue. There's a section on Aspect Warriors and layering paint. And don't get me wrong, both are important to 1) Aeldari Identity and 2) attractive painting, but that's all this issue really offers.

But you do get two Jetbikes for $15, and the box of three retails for $60. So the issue can probably be forgiven for thin content because it offers such a fantastic deal.

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