This page contains all of the old Epic battle reports from the old site, that I typed up in 2017 based on pages and pages of old notes I found from the 90s and early 2000s.

Note that in the earlier games, we did not have enough models to do many full armies. That is why there are a lot of strange allies. Also, the maps I've recreated are not 100% accurate in terms of terrain used, as the stuff we used decades ago no longer exists, so I can not photograph it. I've used pics of my current terrain and tried to make it fit wherever I can.

Click on any of the following to get taken to that report:

Imperial Vs Mixed Eldar Vs Orks & Chaos Imperial Vs Eldar Chaos Vs Orks (Stebloke & Scooby) Imperial Vs Chaos Vs Orks Orks Vs Space Marines Imperial Vs Eldar Orks Vs Chaos Imperial & Eldar Vs Orks & Chaos Imperial Vs Eldar Imperial Vs Orks Chaos Vs Eldar Eldar Vs Imperial Eldar Vs Orks Imperial & Eldar Vs Orks & Chaos Chaos Vs Space Wolves Tyranids Vs Squats Imperium Vs Chaos Space Marines Vs Orks Squats Vs Imperial Chaos Vs Imperial Chaos Vs Imperial Orks Vs Chaos Orks Vs Chaos Orks Vs Imperial Eldar Vs Tyranids Chaos Vs Imperial Squats Vs Orks Orks Vs Space Marines Tyranids Vs Squats Chaos Vs Eldar Special Titan Battle Tyranid Wave Battle Tyranids Vs Orks

After we stopped playing Epic Space Marine, I started to work on my own ruleset called Epic-S. Any playtest reports can be found here:

Chaos Vs Imperial Guard Tyranids Vs Chaos

Imperial (Stebloke) Vs Mixed Armies (Pencil).
4000pt armies. 45VP target.

Scenario

Campaign 1, Battle 1, "Ghazghkull's Revenge"

The armies of the Imperium have been dealing a lot of blows to the Chaos, Ork and Eldar armies, so Ghazghkull has made an alliance with an Eldar Warlock and a Chaos Champion of the World Eaters, to join together to destroy the leader of the Imperial army, Ragnar Blackmane. If these devilish armies win it could leave the home worlds of many Marines open to attacks.
The news of this alliance has spread to Commissar Yarrick, who has spent years of his life hunting down the Ork Warlord. So with his forces, Yarrick has joined Ragnar in the first of what could be many battles to come...

Deployment

Da Plan, by Pencil

I'm lucky enough to have an army with a wide array of strength and firepower. The Grav Tanks on the left carrying 6 stands of Guardians will advance and try to capture objective 1. The tanks will stay on the city floor to defend against attackers. The Lascannons will use their range to pick off any target out in the open. The Daemon Engines will rumble forward destroying all Marines in sight. The mob which consists of Ghasghkull's retinue, Terminators, the Warlock and the Chaos Champion will go for objective 2 on the hill. The Eldar Jet Bikes and Chaos Bikes will zoom forward and collect objective 4. The Vibro Cannoks will float forward to attack anyone going for objective 3. The Avatar will move forward to the nearest enemy and kill it. The Cannon Of Khorne will try and destroy the Reaver Titan before it uses its multi barrage rocket launcher. The Prism Cannons will help to protect objectives 2 and 4. The Trolls will try and get objective 5. The Titan will just kill Marines and protect objective 8. The Grav Tanks with Marines in will go for objective 6, while the ones will Guardians in will get objective 8.

Battle Plan, by Stebloke

Well the warm ups are over and here's the first major battle. Once again I'm in control of my Imperial army against Pencil's mixed forces. It is important I pull this one off to keep up my morale. I had to use Ragnar and Yarrick due to the scenario, but I also took Ulrik for a bit more CAF up front. These would be looking to find Ghazghkull so that Yarrick could sort him out once and for all. The Land Speeders and a detachment of Veterans would hold objective 1 on the right. To the left of that small squad I placed the Imperial Support unit, to fire upon the hill and protect my flanking move. The mass of my army was placed in the middle. These were 2 detachments of Veterans, the Assault Marines, the Commissar, a Storm Hammer, the Reaver Titan and a Warhound Titan. The Devastator detachment was placed behind the buildings on the left and were to capture objective 7, then clear objective 6 with the Vindicators while the bikes sped forward to capture it. The Veteran HQ and the other Warhound would accompany this attack, then cut in to help with the objectives in the middle.

End

Score after 4 turns: Imperium: 45, Mixed: 47.
Result: Draw.

Debriefing, by Stebloke

Phew, just made the draw. Lucky or what? Once again Pencil out fought and out played me. It was just lucky he didn't get any of my Titans in a psychic lock. If he had then he would have run rampage because they inflicted a lot of damage in that first turn. The mega battle of the game was when Yarrick and Ulrik charged in against Pencil's 'ard mob. Ulrik was killed fair and square, butchered by Ork Nobz and Chaos Terminators. But Yarrick's fight with Ghazghkull was initially a draw, but because it was so important Pencil talked me into re-rolling the fight, which the Ork got the better of. Ragnar couldn't make it to that fight as his Rhino had been destroyed and he was lagging behind.
After the first turn, the Storm Hammer and Warhound in the middle were pinned by continuous Eldritch Storms, and did nothing for the rest of the battle. But who could forget the Assault Marines felling the Avatar with a few well aimed pistol shots? That was a laugh. Overall I'm quite happy that I stuck to my plan, and I held more objectives at the end than Pencil. But that shows you I took quite a crap kicking as he ended up with more points.

Eldar (Stebloke) Vs Orks & Chaos (Pencil).
3000pt armies. 40VP target.

Scenario

Campaign 1, Battle 2, "The Eldar Fight Back"

The mixed alliance was disappointed not to grasp victory when they met the Imperial army. Ghaghkull and his Chaos allies blamed the Eldar scum for the battle's failure. In this battle, the remaining Eldar head back down to the planet in an attempt to rid the world of Ghazghkull and his Primarch allies, Angron and Magnus The Red.

Deployment

Eldar Plan, by Stebloke

Leading the charge in the centre is the Avatar, with the close assault experts, the Striking Scorpions, who would hopefully take objective 4. Magnus is on the top of the list for heavy bombardment because of his beam of power, so I gave the Prism Cannons this job and placed them in the centre so they can fire on him wherever he is. The bulk of my army is to take the hills and the surrounding objectives. Included in this assault are the Fire Dragons, two Falcon detachments each carrying Guardians, a Vyper detachment, two squads of Jetbikes and the Phanton Titan. The Exarchs and a Warlock are placed in the middle of the two main forces so they can go wherever is needed. On the left I have placed the remaining Falcons and Guardians, so they can take objective 8 whilst firing down into the city. The other Jetbikes I placed over here to look for an opportunity to get down the left flank and get behind the enemy.

The Plan, by Pencil

Down to business. The Tzeentch Marines on the right in the Rhinos will zoom forward and stop in the middle of the town to soak up some firepower and cause havoc. Thraka and the Braincrushas will rumble forward and do the same. The Khorne Marines will take objective 5 and try and protect 7. The Weirdboy Battletower and Magnus will stay at the back and use their range to kill the Eldar, but if the Avatar is near, Magnus will charge and attack. The Terminators will take objective 4 with covering fire. The Disc Riders will go for objective 2, using their size to take advantage of any cover. Angron and the Daemon Engines will move forward and kick butt of anything, be they man, beast, Avatar or Titan. The Trolls will try (try) to move forward and protect the left flank.

End

Score after 2 turns: Eldar: 25, Orks & Chaos: 31. Eldar retreat.
Result: Orks & Chaos victory.

Debriefing, by Stebloke

From the jammy death of the Avatar at the beginning of the game, to the ever jammier fall of the Phantom Titan at the end of the second turn, nothing went right for my Eldar. Nearly all my rolls were 1s and 2s. Then Pencil rolls a 6 when the Chaos Marines hit the leg of my Titan which caused it to fall on the Warlock. There's not much chance of fighting back when things like that happen, so I decided to resign so the Eldar could fall back and live to fight another day.
Oh well, another battle lost. You know I don't think I will ever win a battle against Pencil. He always pulls back strongly when I've gotten 7-10pts clear in the first turn. Nearly every battle is the same and I think I'm beginning to turn into a bit of a sore loser.

Imperial (Pencil) Vs Eldar (Stebloke).
2500pt armies. 40VP target.

Scenario

Campaign 1, Battle 3, "Blood Hungry"

The Eldar have been almost wiped out. The commanding Warlock contacted the Imperial forces, hoping for an alliance. But when the Imperials turned down the alliance, the Warlock ordered the remaining Eldar troops to capture secret Imperial information hidden in a ruined temple.
Meanwhile, Ragnar Blackmane was buoyed after Ulrik and Yarrick were found alive, but badly injured. After he found out about the Eldar's mission he knew he must stop them or die trying.

Deployment

The Eldar Host, by Stebloke

In this game there are special victory conditions. We will play to 40pts as normal. Then if I control any of the objectives in the temple at the end of the game, I win, no matter the score. To try and balance this up a bit, Pencil has been allowed to deploy two units in the temple.
I placed the Avatar on the right to cover the Grav Tanks, who had to go through the town and come in from behind the temple. Accompanying the Grav Tanks were the Deathstalkers, to punch holes in any tanks that might get in their way. In the middle are the two squads of Guardians in Grav Tanks. One of these is to charge straight through the temple and hold up the enemy as long as they can. The others are to try and get rid of the units already in the temple and hold on to the objectives until backup gets there. This backup is a Tempest squadron, the Warlock Titan and the Striking Scorpions. The Titan is to support the Guardian hold up with its psychic lance, then position right on an objective, scattering any nearby enemies.

Space Marine Plan, by Pencil

The Stormblade on the far right will advance, firing at the enemy near objective 2 and the ones advancing to the temple. The Gunship containing Assault Marines will zoom forward for objective 2 or 4. The Sentinels will keep objective 1 for the first turn, then advance into the temple, along with the Leman Russ Tanks. The command vehicles consisting of Ragnar in his Stormblade, the Commissar and Command Unit, will kick ass in the temple. The other Stormblade and Shadowsword will rumble forward and kick ass. The last Gunship will zoom forward to objective 7 or try and kill the Avatar. The Tactical Marines will take objective 6, then move towards the centre.

End

Score after 3 turns: Eldar: 13, Imperials: 57.
Result: Imperial victory.

Debriefing, by Pencil

Success! Ragnar has protected the information, after a fierce and closely fought battle.
I am a bit sorry that a lot of my tanks could not get into the battle fast enough, and one even died before it saw any action. The Tactical Marines could not close in on the temple, as they were held up in close combat.
I managed to snatch nearly every objective early on and tried to keep them. The Devastator Marines could have done a lot better but just kept missing. But the one Thunderhawk Gunship was outstanding, taking out the Warlock and hunting down Grav Tanks.
The Shadowsword did alright killing a Tempest with its first shot. The Assault Marines were ok, but could not keep down the ferocity of the Striking Scorpions. Considering this is my first battle with Space Marines I think I did well to have the information at the end and win by such a margin.

Debriefing, by Stebloke

So close. The last roll of the game decided the battle. All I needed was a 4+ on 1 dice, but I got a 3. If I had got that roll the Titan wouldn't have fell and I would have kept objective 4. Even though it was a massive points difference, the game was well fought and it told me I can actually stick to a plan. Every model did as my plan asked them to, and I nearly got it. Only the Avatar didn't get into any action. Perhaps if I'd put him more central he could have killed the tank that shot the Titan.
Oh well, I was thinking too big if I thought I was actually going to win a game.

Chaos (Pencil) Vs Orks (Stebloke & Scooby).
3500pt armies. 45VP target.

Scenario

Campaign 1, Battle 4, "Clash Of The Superior"

With the Imperium weakened, and the Eldar as good as defeated, the Orks, hungry for more battle, ambush their Chaos allies.

Deployment

Da Plan, by Stebloke and Scooby

Before the battle we had to draw 4 mek cards. We got Soundz, Squig Fuel Injector, Red Paint Job and Big Gunz. We gave the Bad Moonz Big Gunz to give them that extra kik in their firepower. These were placed in the large area at the back of the Ork deployment zone along with the Braincrushas, Shokk Attack Guns and Stompas. These were to be used as fire support for the Snakebites and the Kult. The entire Kult of Speed was on the right to fly up the flank then cut in left and race across Pencil's back line. The Snakes were to advance on the hills with the Mekboy Gargant to take objectives, and hopefully the Gargant could lifta-drop some Cannons Of Khorne. Finally we gave Red Paint Job to the Gobsmashas, and Sounds and Squig Fuel Injector to the Battlewagons.

Plan, by Pencil

The Minotaurs will charge objective 7 on the hill and kick butt. The Daemon Engines and Banelord will just give cover and kick ass. The Marines in the ruined building are expendable and will just grab a few objectives. Angron and his Bloodletters will take objective 4, and try to pin the Gargant in combat. The Cannons of Khorne will make Ork soup. The other Marines will do the same. Mortarion and his Plague Bearers will attack anything in their way. The other Daemon Engines will try to gain VPs by killing loadsa Orks. The last Marines and the Dreadnoughts will take objectives 2 and 3.

Turn 1

A battle eager Angron started the charge towards the Ork army. The two detachments of Death Guard charged out of the ruins as some World Eaters grabbed objective 5. The Chaos right flank charged towards objectives 2 and 3 as the massed ranks of the Snakebites surged forward. Ork bikers sped down the flank to be spotted by the Banelord and Daemon Engines. Mortar fire from the Doom Blaster was joined by the Banelord's Hellstrike cannon, Battlehead and Doomfist. The Orks were smashed everywhere, leaving few survivors. The Mekboy Gargant stomped forwards, as the Warboss headed into the nearby building to claim objective 1. Shortly after, a blast from the Cannon Of Khorne brought the building crashing down, killing the Ork leader. The Bad Moonz and their supporting units struggled to pick any targets through the buildings.

Turn 2

The Snakebites and Boarboys made the hill as the surviving Warboss retinue clambered into a Battlewagon and sped forward in a crazy bid for revenge. The mad Orks crashed into and toppled a Dreadnought but the nearby World Eaters soon killed them off. On the other flank the Nobz Bikers attacked the Minotaurs but suffered more casualties than they inflicted. The Battlewagons reached the hill and the crazy Madboyz lept out to take objective 7, holding their ground when some of them were killed off by the Banelord. The Mekboy Gargant spied the skeletal figure of Mortarion and opened fire. The Super Lifta Droppa killed two Plaguebearers but failed to take the Greater Daemon. But the kustom cannon opened up and blasted the Primarch to shreds. However, Mortarion was saved by his God's magic. In response, he clambered onto the hill and released his Plague Wind, rotting five squads of poor Orks to mush. Nearby, Angron let out an awesome mighty roar, sending the Snakebites running for their lives.

Turn 3

Things were looking bad now for the Orks. Sensing victory, Angron charged forward and let out another mighty roar, this time sending the Squiggoths and Braincrushas falling back. The Banelord reached the hill, stamped on a Battlewagon, then shot a Stomper out of existence. In a crazy move, the last Nob Biker charged headlong into two Death Guard detachments. Despite being totally surrounded he still managed to survive. On the hill in the middle the Boarboyz somehow managed to keep objective 4 from the Plaguebearers and Bloodletters, but they had been left all alone and surrounded. On the other hill Mortarion and the Mekboy Gargant charged into each other. After a tough battle, neither could find the advantage. Even though only 9 pts behind and still in with a chance, the Orks figured that with the Kult smashed to bits, the Snakebites fleeing, the Warboss dead and the Bad Moonz unable to shoot anything, their best option was to flee. They turned and ran to save their sorry hides for another day.

End

Score after 3 turns: Chaos: 31, Orks: 22. Orks retreat.
Result: Chaos victory.

Debriefing, by Pencil

Well, half way through turn 3 the Orks turned tail and ran, just as Angron was about to kick ass and Mortarion kill the Mekboy Gargant. Altogether my force worked pretty well. I am however upset that a lot of my force did not see a fight but better luck next time.

Debriefing, by Stebloke

So yet another miserable defeat to Pencil and his Chaos horde. Even through Angron didn't fight he was the major player in the Chaos victory, routing the Snakes, Squiggoths and Braincrushas. The Kult's skirmish down the right was completely halted by the Banelord and Minotaurs, who left just 5 models left at the end. The Mekboy Gargant was the most imposing force in our army, but went after objective 3 instead of 4 for some reason. He shrugged Mortarion off it though, so that was good. After looking back, I realised we only broke the Plaguebearers. Crap or what?

Imperium (Stebloke) Vs Chaos (Pencil) Vs Orks (Scooby).
2500pt armies.

Scenario & Deployment

Campaign 1, Battle 5, "Return To Kadavah"

In this battle there are different victory conditions. All three armies are looking to claim the objectives around the town at all costs. No player gains victory points for breaking units in this game. The central objective is worth 5 points, and the three outer objectives are worth 2 points each.

End

The restricted view prevented the Chaos army doing much, so they walked forward and grabbed the main objective to win the game. The only other unit to get close to the main objective was the Imperial Rough Riders, who were happily slaughtered by the Minotaurs and Cultists.
The majority of the Orks stomped straight forward and engaged the Imperials, who held firm under the attack and fired back with their Titan, Devastators and tanks.

Result: Chaos victory.

Orks (Scooby) Vs Space Marines (Stebloke).
3500pt armies. 45VP target.

Scenario

Campaign 1, Battle 6

Many months have passed since the Eldar failed in an attempt to steal important Imperial information. Now, the Orks have discovered the location of even more ancient Imperial secrets...

Deployment

Space Marine Plan, by Stebloke

Scoob has made some interesting choices in this one, as both his clans have mixed movement. This will slow down his faster moving units, allowing me to decide the best course of action. My Warlord will dominate the middle with Warhounds on either flank. It would be difficult to break either clan, but most of my firepower will go at the Moonz, who are worth 16VPs! The Bikes and Assault squad will take objectives 7 & 8, leaving 6 to the lone Thunderhawk. The Tac squad, Dreads, Veterans and Land Speeders will have the hard job of moving forward into the middle and braving the Ork return fire in an attempt to get objective 5.

End

Score after 3 turns: Space Marines: 36, Orks: 27. Space Marines retreat.
Result: Ork victory.

Space Marines Debriefing, by Stebloke

Well, if I could have been bothered to carry on this battle I think I would have won quite easily. I had shattered the Bad Moonz and I held the objective symbolizing the information in mass numbers. But as it was, most of my army ended up on one flank while most of Scoob's ended up on the other, so I just couldn't be bothered and retreated. While this left the Orks in control of the battlefield, they failed to grab their main objective. But as that objective was not the victory condition, and I was the one who retreated, the Orks still picked up the win.
I thought my units did ace as they had no support from the Titans until the last turn. One Warhound was destroyed early, and Scoob kept shooting Snotlings at the others which stopped them from doing much. Next time, the Shokk Attack Guns will be high up on the barrage list!

Imperium (Scooby) Vs Eldar (Stebloke).
4000pt armies. 45VP target.

Scenario

Campaign 1, Battle 7, "The Eldar Fight Back Again"

The Imperial forces find themselves under heavy attack when the Eldar return with reinforcements and attack the city of Leptus. With the aid of two Titans, Castiga and Lightning Death, the Space Marines lead the defence of the city. The Eldar need to be stopped!

Deployment

Eldar Plan, by Stebloke

I've never really used Eldar, but in this one I'll be using them against my main army. This means both Scoob and I are fighting with newish armies.
As I have no control of the Avatar I've put him right in the middle where I hope he will clear objective 4 or 6. As I know Scoob is using a Reaver with a multiple barrage launcher, I need to spread my army so this will have less effect. To help protect against this threat I have placed the Warlock in the middle as well, and hopefully he can get some Eldritch Storms down.
I'm aiming at objectives 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8 as my main targets. I've placed the Titan to get 8, as it is right out in the open and I need its suvivability. I've placed some lascannons in support and some Guardians. The other lascannons will take objective 5 while the Fire Dragons will take 3. Over on my right the Prism Cannons, Exarchs and Falcons will clear objective 1, then if I need it the Jetbikes will go get it.
The assault on objectives 4 and 6 will be the big one. I intend to use the Wave Serpents and the Striking Scorpions to clear number 6, while the Vypers will try and get number 4. The other Jetbikes will be on guard for any Scouts dropping in. The Tempests will help with objective 1 or 4, whichever one needs it most, and keep an eye out for any Titans to shoot.

End

Score after 5 turns: Space Marines: 45, Eldar: 56.
Result: Draw.

Eldar Debriefing, by Stebloke

Well, the Eldar are back for sure. All in all (apart from my Titan), I stuck more or less to my plan. The Titan had to leg it back to behind a building because of the beating it was taking from all of Scoob's tanks rumbling down that flank. Luckily I still held the objective with a handful of Guardians. As it was, the Titan fell soon after, so I shouldn't have bothered.
The battle started poorly. I lost two Tempests and only held one objective by the end of turn 1. I cheered up when my right flank started messing up Scoob's troops with annoying pop-ups. My Grav Tanks were sent for objective 1 as my Jetbikes ended up being needed in the bloody battle for objective 3. I had undersetimated Scoob's interest in this objective, and needed to fight off Scouts, Land Raiders and Vindicators in order to keep it. Though it did cost my Fire Dragons and two squads of Jetbikes.
I'd got no chance to get objective 4 as Scoob sent both his Titans to it. The Reaver was a pain, killing my Titan and the Avatar, so I made sure in the last turn to focus it and take it down for some revenge.
Anyway, Scoob realised he could scrape a draw by breaking some lascannons with pretty much the last shots of the game, which he did. Poop.

Orks (Stebloke) Vs Chaos (Scooby).
4000pt armies. 45VP target.

Scenario

"The Ambush Of Death"

Right at the edge of the Imperium, on the small planet of Maniculas IX, a Waaarrrgghh has been gathering. On this planet, Mekboyz have started to create massive Mega Gargants. A Chaos Horde appears from the warp to challenge the Orks and stop them before they can create these mechanical monstrosities.

Deployment

The Orky Plan, by Stebloke

So here I am trying to stop a Chaos army from interfering with the Orky's "Gargant-uan" plans. I expect Scoob's plan will be to close right up to me and frump me in combat, so I've tried to get lots of shooty to combat this. The Moonz will take the hill and objective 7, and try and hold 4. These lot will shoot the Chaos scum as they come through the town.
The Snakes are more of an assault force, and I want them to take objectives 2 and 3. The Madboyz (with Rokkit Pax) and Stormboyz will make a mad scramble across the open ground to get objective 1, and maybe 5. I beefed up the Kult with some Gobsmashas and as many Battlewagons as I could get, to keep the break point high, but low VPs when they do go. Aided by both Gargants, the Kult will go for objective 8. If the Gargants can hold this, the Kult will then go for number 6.

End

Score after 4 turns: Orks: 55, Chaos: 23.
Result: Ork victory.

Ork Debriefing, by Stebloke

Well, I don't know what happened in this battle, but I came out with quite a comfortable win. It was a surprising game with the Orks pulling off all sorts of strange things they don't normally manage, like holding 6 of the objectives. I think what Scoob found difficult was getting shots off on my units. The Kult was never in one place for more than a few seconds, the Moonz were behind the town, and the Snakes were well dug in except against the Cannon Of Khorne's barrages.
The Banelord bit the dust for the first time. Normally I would run two smaller Titans away from the Banelord, but as I was feeling Orky I let the Slasher and Mekboy Gargants have a go, and down went the Titan. Scoob's general play was quite good, and he had the initiative on every turn, but I think his army lacking firepower let him down.

Imperial with Eldar reinforcements (Stebloke) Vs Orks with Chaos reinforcements (Scooby).
4000pt armies, with 2500pt reinforcements.

The victory point target depends on what turn the players bring their reinforcements on. Turn 1 = 70pt target, turn 2 = 65pt target, turn 3 = 60pt target, turn 4 = 55pt target, turn 5 = 50pt target.

Deployment

Space Marine Plan, by Stebloke

This battle is the first we are going to try with reinforcements. When Titan Legions arrives, we are planning huge games like 6000pts with 4000pt reinforcements. Compared to those, this will be quite small, but we don't have the expensive Titans yet.
As Chaos are slow, I don't expect them having much say in the battle as they will be coming on late. I've decided to concentrate my forces on my right and in the middle. The Land Raiders will be my main fire support, taking down anything in the open. The Devastators here will hold objective 2 and give more support. The two squads of Land Speeders will go for objective 1, and maybe number 3. The Titans and the infantry will try and get the objectives in the middle, with Ulrik supporting. On the left, the lone Bikers will try and get objective 8 if the Orks leave it open.
When the Chaos arrive it will be hard to hold any objectives in Scoob's half of the board, so I've kept my Thunderhawks and Scouts back to make any needed deep strikes.

Reinforcements Arrive

Eldar Plan, by Stebloke

The good thing about this reinforcement lark is that I can try and correct any mistakes I made in my deployment. I think I've only made one, which is having nobody to hold objective 7, so the Bikers have had to cover it.
Both Scoob and I have chosen turn 3 to bring on our backup, so a 60pt target for both of us. I was thinking of bringing everything on in the town and providing support, but I think having them more spread out will be better. I placed two squads of Guardians, the Avatar and some lascannons on the left to free up the Bikes. I put both Titans in the middle so that my stuff on the hills could move forward if they wanted and still have some support. Both Titans have psychic lances which are lethal against other Titans, so the Banelord can watch out. Everything else is moving up behind the town to start making pop-up attacks.
I still also have both Scout squads to drop in, so I'll send these at objective 1, 4 or 8, whichever is the least defended.
One Warhound has gone down early again, and the other is really beat up. But they both did cause nearly all the damage to the Moonz, so they were well worth their 500pts.

End

Score after 5 turns: Imperial & Eldar: 55, Orks & Chaos: 45. Imperial & Eldar retreat.
Result: Ork & Chaos victory.

Imperial & Eldar Debriefing, by Stebloke

In the end I was so bored and tired of the game I just gave up. The reinforcements made the game really long and tiresome, and also upset all my plans in a way. What also made it boring was that Scoob refused to move anything in the ruins on his left. While I was happy for them to stay out of the way it meant I couldn't shoot them and half of my things had nothing to do. The only real target was the Mekboy Gargant. Force field generator smashed, kustom cannon destroyed, -1 to hit on its supa-lifta, a smashed foot, and 4 fires belching out smoke, but still the git wouldn't fall.
The backup won it for Scoob. His Orks, except the Kult (chickens) had been smashed. The only thing that stopped me getting all the objectives was when the Greater Daemons and Minotaurs arrived.
The Scouts in the Gunships did well again, taking objective 8 and smashing up the Cannon Of Khorne, but I realise now I should have sent one group at objective 3. I am disappointed with the Reaver, but delighted with the carnage the Warhounds caused. I think I know how to use them now - send them through a town or somewhere with loads of cover, and hope there's lots of infantry to squish.

Imperial (Stebloke) Vs Eldar (Scooby).
4000pt armies. No victory point target. This game will be played for 4 turns, then points added up at the end to see who has won.

Deployment

Imperial Plan, by Stebloke

The two battles I've enjoyed the most so far have both been Eldar against Imperials, but I controlled the Eldar on both occasions. I'm hoping I enjoy the battle just as much from the other side.
I've brought Ragnar to this battle for one specific job, and that is to get me the objective, which I struggle to get against Scoob. I placed him far right with the Ravenwing HQ, and these two will secure objective 8, perhaps with the Devastator HQ as well. The Devastators on the hill will soften up any opposition around objectives 4, 5 and 7. The Land Raiders and Stormblades will then get objective 7. The Rough Riders and Veterans will make a break for objective 4, while the Land Raiders hold objective 5.
I'm using a Librarian for the first time, and he also has a specific job, which is to hunt down any Warlocks Scoob might bring. The other Devastators would just keep an eye out for pop-up attacks. Everything behind the town will just go for objective 1 and then hunt down tanks looking to pop up.

End

Score after 3 turns: Imperial: 64, Eldar: 18. Eldar retreat.
Result: Imperial victory.

Imperial Debriefing, by Stebloke

I think it's safe to say Scoob had his butt kicked in this one. The battle went sound and every model fulfilled their mission (except the command units, who chickened out of attacking objective 8). I wiped out the Wind Riders by the end of turn 2. The Devastators, Stormblades, Veterans and Rough Riders all did ace, but it was Ragnar that won me this battle, his special rule winning me the initiative on the first 2 turns. He was even attacked by 5 Jetbikes, shooting down 2, then swatting the others away in combat like the boss he is. The Librarian also managed to hunt down and take out that Warlock.
It took a lot to kill the Phantom Titan. I had to pummel it with Devastators, Land Raiders, and 2 Stormblades (including ALL their missiles), but its explosion took out a full squad of nearby Jetbikes so it was worth it. The Warlock Titan didn't do anything though. It spent the game sprinting across Scoob's back line, to charge into combat with a Warhound and completely fail to beat it.
My attackers down the left got wrecked, but not before giving some out first. But my Scouts didn't see the battle, as I was going to use them to assault objective 8 on the last turn, which never came.

Imperial (Stebloke) Vs Orks (Scooby).
5000pt armies. 50VP target.

Scenario

"Titan Legions"

"A marauding warband of Orks has moved into Sector 4172 on the planet Retallus IV and captured the Generator Vulcanis. Move in and engage the Orks. It is important that you control the Generator before any Ork reinforcements arrive."

Deployment

Imperial Plan, by Stebloke

This battle is the first that lets us control the new well 'ard Titans from Titan Legions. We decided to fight the battle using 5000pt armies so we could get used to them before moving on to higher points values.
I've set up my guys to challenge for control of the Generator. The Tactical and Assault Marines will charge in there with support from the HQ units, while the Knights will help from the flanks.
The Devastators and Imperator will hunt the Gargants.

Turn 1

The Devastators and Knights charged down the left flank, taking objectives 1 & 2 and taking cover behind the Adeptorum. The other three Devastator detachments all advanced into nearby buildings. The Assault and Tactical detachments raced across the open ground, as the Kult of Speed moved through the Ork camp and captured the objectives there. On the Ork left, the Bad Moonz got very confused and shuffled around a lot, while the two Battle Fortresses sped off towards objective 6, and the Mega Gargants made their way towards the town. The Imperator stode forward and turned to face the Bad Moonz. At first it tried and failed to destroy the objective 6 building, then only managed to kill a Stomper. Perhaps its Princeps were distracted by the Pulsa Rokkit that landed nearby and began to produce its powerful pulsa field. The Devastators in the town started a firefight with the Mega Gargant Slimesqueeza and stripped it of 3 shields. As the huge war machine went to reply its Big Lobba misfired and exploded, then its Skullcrusha jammed. The Kaptin groaned in frustration, only feeling a bit better when the Super Lifta Droppa crunched a Knight. The Devastators at objective 8 opened fire on the Gibletgrinda and destroyed it, the exploding tank scattering dead Madboyz. Trying to get some order the Bad Moonz Nobz instructed their Boyz to open fire. The Shokk Attack Guns and Braincrushas killed off some Devastators and the Paladin HQ, but the return fire killed three of the Attack Guns. Adding to the carnage, Mega Gargant Skumsplatta opened fire on some more Devastators by the Imperator. It blew away 4 squads and two Rhinos.

Turn 2

The Kult of Speed charged out of the Ork camp and into combat with the Tactical detachment and Battle HQ. To even things up the nearby Assault detachment and Paladin squad charged into the fray and a bloody battle ensued. The Mega Gargants clattered forward and Slimesqueeza attacked the building by the Imperator and brought it crashing down, finishing off that Devastator detachment. With its Deth Ray Slimesqueeza then damaged the Imperator's sensorium dome but the mechanics were able to repair it. Skumsplatta and the Braincrushas opened fire on the Knights charging through the town and destroyed them both. The Imperator trained all of its guns on the Bad Moonz, killing 6 squads, a Stomper and a Braincrusha. The Devastators rained more fire down on Slimesqueeza and stripped it of 6 more shields.

Turn 3

The remaining Kult of Speed raced off towards the woods, but the Knights chased them back and defeated the warbuggies that were claiming the objective there. With no competition the Assault Marines captured objective 3 as the Chaplain and Devastator HQ moved to take two more objectives from the Orks. As the Mega Gargants rolled through the city, the Imperator lined up Slimesqueeza and attacked it. The tower guns stripped the Gargant of its last shield, and the Plasma Annihilator scored 5 strong hits, igniting ammo and sending fires through the hull of the machine. Slimesqueeza exploded with a deafening roar. Firing its remaining guns at the Moonz, the Imperator killed the last two Braincrushas and 3 Wildboy squads. In reply, Skumsplatta fired at the Imperator and scored numerous hits, but failed to cause any real damage. The Orks had been overwhelmed 64 to 14.

End

Score after 3 turns: Imperial: 64, Orks: 14.
Result: Imperial victory.

Imperial Debriefing, by Stebloke

I have to put this win down to Scoob's poor deployment. I can understand wanting to keep the new Mega Gargants out of the firing line until they got closer, but he would have been better off putting them around the town with the Bad Moonz to support them. He could then have used the Kult on the flank. Because of this, the Mega Gargants didn't have the effect on the battle they should have done.
The Devastators proved once again that their firepower is great. They should also take most of the credit for the destruction of the Mega Gargant, even though the Imperator got the last few shots. The assault on the Generator went well, but Scoob surprised me by putting more effort into taking objective 2, and I had to send a lot of troops to hold it.

Chaos (Stebloke) Vs Eldar (Scooby).
4000pt armies. 45VP target.

Deployment

Chaos Plan, by Stebloke

This will be my first ever game as Chaos, but after having these strange mutated machines and monsters thrown at me for months, hopefully I've built up a good understanding of them. My force is basically split into two sections. Khorne and Nurgle form its majority, and will take the river and the Ork camp. Tzeentch has a small flanking force.
The Cannon Of Khorne don't have a lofty position to deploy, so I set them up where there's the best view of the battlefield, where they can cover the Banelord, which will advance and take objective 3. The Cannons and Magnus also form my Titan-busting group. It's up to the Cannons to take down their shields so Magnus can shoot them.
There is one plan for everything behind the camp - charge like hell, kill things, and take the objectives. The Marines on the right will get into the building and provide a little covering fire.
Over on the left, the Bikers and Doom Wings will attack objective 1 with the Disc Riders supporting from objective 2.

End

Score after 2 turns: Eldar: 48, Chaos: 13.
Result: Eldar victory.

Chaos Debriefing, by Stebloke

My main downfall here was my failure to get the objectives. Scoob used his speedy Jetbikes to do just this, and with the Phantom Titan battlegroup sorting out all my firing units there was nothing I could do to stop him. The objectives and his "Delaying Action" mission card gave him 35pts, so he only needed 10 to win. I think I'd have been in with a good chance though if he'd just missed his target, as I was getting in range for some combat.
The amount of fire Magnus took was incredible. I had to save him about 5 times, and all he did was take out a Tempest.
I can't make any excuses for this battle. Scoob knew what he had to do and he did it, which was grab the objectives and finish it as quickly as possible. As for me, I think I played it as I should. It's just that I'd picked all slow units, an example of poor army selection.

Eldar (Stebloke) Vs Imperial (Scooby).
4000pt armies. 45VP target.

Deployment

Eldar Plan, by Stebloke

From this battle on we have decided not to use battlegroups or the big Titans like the Imperator. This is the way I've grown up playing Epic and it is much better than having the Titans ruling the board, and having to deal with all their cards and counters.
My plan for this is fairly simple. I'm sure the river will attract Scoob's attention, but if he puts lots of units on his right, they'll only have one place to cross the river. So I've put all my shootiest units on my left to turn that area into a death zone. This also works out quite well on my right, as all my assault units should be able to stay in cover as they go through the ruins.

End

Score after 2 turns: Eldar: 45, Imperial: 23.
Result: Eldar victory.

Eldar Debriefing, by Stebloke

Two second turn wins on the trot for the Eldar. We're starting to really learn how to use them. This is to use your Jetbikes to deep attack your opponent's half. Use the Guardians to hold objectives. Use Grav Tanks to give support. Then use smaller, specialised units to help wherever they are needed.
I think on the first turn Scoob was really unlucky with his dice. His Devastators kept missing, and he rolled a 1 when he only needed a 2 to destroy the objective 3 building with his Bombards. Though on the second turn when I charged his Knights with my Jetbikes, every single one hit with its bolter. Lucky or what?
I decided to do without the firepower of the Phantom Titan on the first turn, electing to charge to get it within the minimum range of the Bombards to protects its wings and try and keep its shield up. It immediately had its wing blown off on the 2nd turn anyway, so I needn't have bothered. But I did score my first ever good hit with a psychic lance and took out two Crusaders with it.
Another thing that was fun was when Scoob forgot about the Firestorm and it took out the Thunderhawk and Scouts using its snap fire rule.

Eldar (Scooby) Vs Orks (Stebloke).
4000pt armies. 45VP target.

Deployment

Orky Plan, by Stebloke

It's been a while since our last battle but here we are again. This time Scoob's hoping to give Eldar a hat-trick of wins in succession. This is my plan to stop him.
I have deployed nearly all of my force behind the buildings. Hopefully the slow Orks won't be so outclassed in the town. The Snakes and Kult will charge through the city, hopefully getting objectives 6 and 7. The Gibletgrinda with its special delivery of Stormboyz will hold objective 8, and hopefully the Madboyz can do something about number 5.
The Deathskullz will give general support, and will probably have to move up to help keep objective 5.
On the left I've put the Slasher Gargant and the Freebooterz. These would hold objective 1, and if not being threatened, make a move for number 2. Leaving a Gargant in the open is a bit suicidal because their points can easily tip the game in the opponent's favour. But if the Eldar go for a quick win I don't think there'll be time to wear down a Gargant. And if they decide to slog it out, that will suit my Orkies just fine.

End

Score after 2 turns: Eldar: 49, Orks: 25.
Result: Eldar victory.

We Wuz Robbed, by Stebloke

Will anyone stop the Eldar sometime this century? I must have had one of the worst first turns ever. Scoob sent his Jetbikes at my Snakes and they wrecked face. Sure on the second turn the Snakes fought back and wiped them, but they broke in the process and most started to run away.
I definitely used the Kult wrong. They were supposed to go for objective 6 but on both turns I used them to try and help counter Scoob's aggressive invade into the town. The Nobz Bikers did well though, taking out the Wave Serpents and Fire Dragons in combat, but that wasn't the job I'd given them. Oh well. They are Orks I guess. Gotta get fitin' as soon as possible.
The Deathskullz also struggled to do anything, as everyone in front of them was in combat, and targets were limited.
For close combat and blood-spilling this has to be one of the best battles I've fought. It's a wonder so many Orks and Eldar survived.
Once again the objectives were the main Eldar source of points, as killing seemed about equal on either side. Next time I'll have to be more prepared.

Imperial with Eldar reinforcements (Scooby) Vs Orks with Chaos reinforcements (Stebloke).
3000pt armies, with 2000pt reinforcements.

The battle lasts for 5 turns, and victory points added up at the end. Reinforcements arrive on turn 3 and may be deployed near the corners of each player's deployment zone.

Deployment

Another Orky Plan, by Stebloke

Again I find myself using Orks, but this time I will be getting Chaos support. Scoob will no doubt bombard me with Devastators and Titans, then use his Eldar and Thunderhawks late on to grab the objectives. So I've tried to build an army to take as much punishment as possible, hence all the tanks.
My favourite Ork tanks, the Bonebreakas, are to steam across the table and take objective 5. The Great Gargant will definitely be needed here, where the fire arcs are the best. The Goffs will stay in the camp until the Gargant has (hopefully) got rid of some of the Imperial firepower. The Goffs will then attack objective 2. I've given the Moonz the support role, deploying them near objective 6 so they can fire upon objectives 5 and 7.
My general plan is to stay out of sight, fire at any units in the open, then make a push on the last two turns.

Reinforcements Arrive

Chaos Plan, by Stebloke

At the moment the Moonz have done well, but the Goffs are in tatters. Half of them must charge this turn as their are no Nobz nearby. The Thunderhawk, Scouts and Reaver have been the problems, so I've sent the Banelord after the Reaver and some Marines to shoot down the Thunderhawk. The Daemon Engines are to get objective 7 with the Bloodthirster. The Marines would then support them. I put the Cannon Of Khorne where they can charge to the middle then settle on to first fire. I need to take out that Reaver and kill 3 more Devastators to get their points, which will balance out the points when the Goffs undoubtedly break.

End

Score after 5 turns: Imperial & Eldar: 57, Orks & Chaos: 61.
Result: Ork & Chaos victory.

Ork & Chaos Debriefing, by Stebloke

What a close finish. Scoob obviously missed that he could shoot my last Goff Nob with his Dark Reapers, which would have given him objective 1 and the game. I can't thank the Chaos for any of this victory. The Banelord got shot straight away and took out the Chaos Marines near it. The greatest power in my army was the Great Gargant. It soaked up firepower for a full 5 turns, and then only just exploded, taking out the Exarch squad near it. Even though smashed to bits, my Goffs took 3 objectives, and the Moonz got 2. What about the Chaos? What did they do? Answer = nothing.

Chaos (Scooby) Vs Space Wolves (Stebloke).
1000pts of Chaos (attackers) and 700pts of Space Wolves (defenders).

Scenario

"The Downfall of Bari XII"

Very important plans and blueprints of the under-construction city of Bari XII are being held in the Generator Vulcanis in a neighbouring city. The forces of Chaos have found out about these plans thanks to traitors in the Imperial Guard. While most of the Imperial army is drawn away by a larger Chaos attack, a small strike force is sent to retreive the plans from the small Space Wolf garrison.

Deployment

Space Wolf Plan, by Stebloke

In this battle we decided to do something different. We decided to have no super heavies or Titans, and only to have small armies. Because of the small size of the armies we decided to forget about army structure - we could take whichever units we wished to make up the points. The attacking army had 1000pts and would attempt to get a unit into the Generator Vulcanis then get back over the half way line. This was to signify stealing the information. The defending team would have 700pts and attempt to stop them.
I could see that I would be hard pressed against the Chaos threat. The army was twice the size of mine, and I'd recently upgraded them with a Thunderhawk which Scoob had chosen. It was all up to my Blood Claws to keep the data from the grasp of Chaos. They would be in the building, waiting for the scum to come to them, while the rest of my army would try to wither down the attackers as they came forward. My Thunderhawks would try to get behind the Chaos lines and disrupt them as long as possible.

Turn 1

The battle started with a scream of engines from the Chaos Thunderhawk as it sped over the top of the Generator Vulcanis and landed at the back entrance. A warband of Chaos Squats ran out and prepared to storm the building. The Chaos Rhinos rumbled towards the front doors and a Thousand Sons unit disembarked and charged into the building. Reacting to this threat the Blood Claws piled into combat. Some Blood Claws left the building to tackle the Thunderhawk to stop the Chaos units using this method of escape. As the battle raged the other Chaos Marines outside fired their rockets at the Long Fangs in the windows of the Vulcanis, and managed to kill some of them. Inside, the Long Fangs opened up on the Thousand Sons attacking them and managed to defeat some. In close combat, things were fairly even, but the Blood Claws were able to destroy the Thunderhawk. The Space Wolf Thunderhawks and artillery opened up on the Chaos units charging across open ground but only managed to kill two Trolls and two squads of Chaos Marines.

Turn 2

The Chaos horde had quickly overwhelmed the building. The Squats charged in as well and joined the Chaos Marines in attacking the beleaguered Space Wolves. The two Thunderhawks tried to thin out the Chaos army, but one was hit by a Thousand Sons rocket and crashed. The other Thunderhawk and the artillery again fired back and managed to almost wipe out one detachment of Chaos Marines. Inside the Vulcanis it became a bloodbath as Chaos units hacked down their enemies. In the end, only a Long Fang Rhino outside the building survived.

Turn 3

In a desperate attempt to hold up the Chaos army, the lone Long Fang Rhino charged the Chaos Rhinos to force the units in the building to withdraw on foot. The Squats who had taken the secret information then charged out across open land, under fire from the Thudd Guns and last Thunderhawk. In the end, only one of the Squat squads that had entered the building remained. The last Long Fang Rhino was smashed up by the three Chaos Rhinos.

Turn 4

The Chaos Squats retreated back over the half way line as the Chaos Rhinos charged into the Mole Mortars and destroyed them all. It was all up to the Thunderhawk and Thudd Guns to bring down the Chaos Squats, but the Thunderhawk was destroyed by Thousand Sons, and the Thudd Guns indirect fire scattered well wide. The Chaos were victorious.

End

Result after 4 turns: Chaos victory.

Space Wolf Debriefing, by Stebloke

Damn. The Chaos scum just kept coming, and there was nothing I could do about it. I held the first turn well, but when all the Marines got slaughtered in the second turn I knew it was over. I should have taken a couple of tanks with lots of attack dice like Predators or Leman Russ tanks, as my barrages were not all that effective. As it was, I was disappointed with the Space Wolves who got killed too easily. Now the Chaos have the info and the city of Bari XII may well be doomed before it is even constructed...

Chaos Debriefing, by Scooby

I was confident in the army that I had selected to fight this battle. Everything did what I picked it for. I was very pleased with the Thousand Sons because they took out the Blood Claws in close combat, and the others picked off the Long Fangs inside the building. The Trolls just soaked up firepower which stopped the rest of the horde getting blasted instead, but I was disappointed with the Thunderhawk which got destroyed too early.
That'll teach the pesky Space Marines to mess with the forces of Chaos!

Tyranids (Stebloke) Vs Squats (Scooby).
5500pt armies. 55VP target.

Deployment

Evolved To Kill, by Stebloke

Originally we planned a Chaos V Squat battle, but I figured the Chaos wouldn't stand up to the full might of Scoob's Squat tanks. Then for some reason I had the idea that I wanted to use the entire of one of my armies in a battle. The smallest army I have is the Tyranids at 5500pts, and any of the others would be far too large. Scoob quickly agreed to face me, as it would give him chance to use more of his Squats than he had before. As cool as the idea sounds, it has left me with an army I've only used once, and in that battle we did not use the Tyranids special victory point rules. My confidence for this battle is not particularly high.
I've decided my overall plan is to charge like hell and overwhelm the Squats in combat, but I know that if I manage to win this battle it will be more through luck than strategy.
The Tyranid commanders, the Dominatrix and Hive Tyrants, are the most important links in the swarm as they give orders to the thick units, so I've spread these all over the table. There aren't many places for artillery apart from the hill on the left, so I've placed the Exocrines and Dactylis here. The Hive Tyrant over there will keep giving them orders and support the Lictors, Termagants and other nearby units.
The only other units capable of providing some decent firepower are the Dominatrix and Tyranid Warriors. The Energy Pulse is turned into D6 hits and has a hefty -4 modifier, so I'm sure it can handle some of those super-heavies. The Warriors are like Devastators but with a shorter range. Units within 10cm can also copy their orders so it will be useful early on when they'll all need charge orders.
The rest of my army will be charging, hunting and rampaging towards the Squats with as much ferocity as I can feed them. All of the rampaging units are also loaded into spores to drop from the skies. I don't know yet when they'll come on by it will be at objective 6 or 7.
I've decided that the Hierophant, with its 8 wounds, will be the thing to distract the firepower of the Squats. It should prove a scary sight, and I hope Scoob shoots it a lot as I don't think its weapons are up to much. The Hierodule is a smaller (but no less uglier) version of the Hierophant, but has a better weapon fit. I've placed it on the right to charge down the flank and harass the Squats, maybe even going after some of those Goliaths.

Turn 1

The battle began with the arrival of the Mycetic Spores, all of which landed around objective 7. However one spore fell too far behind the Squat lines, the Haruspex inside would take no part in this battle. The rampaging creatures burst from their spores and into combat with the super heavy tanks and trikes, but a Carnifex spied the nearby Gyrocopters and chased them instead. The Bio-Titans scuttled forward, the Hierophant disgorging the Hormagaunts from its abdomen. As the Tyranids surged forward the Squats looked to counter attack. On their right flank, some Rhinos moved forward and deployed a unit of Berserkers in the trees. Alongside the Rhinos, a biker squadron charged killing 3 Hormagaunts and a Lictor. In the middle the Leviathan pushed passed the Malefactors as the Cyclops blasted two of the Carnifexes. Before the Squats could unleash their devastating salvo, a Dominatrix ripped a Thunderfire apart with a psychic Energy Pulse, and the Exocrines opened fire on the Gyrocopters near the forest and destroyed all 3 of them. The Goliath cannons, Thunderfire and the other super heavies opened fire, killing 3 Gargoyles, 3 Termagants, 3 Genestealers and inflicting a massive 13 wounds upon the Hierophant Titan, causing it to collapse in a mangled heap. The Overlord Airship attacked the nearest Hive Tyrant, inflicting 3 wounds and forcing it to the floor. By objective 6 the bikers fought with Lictors, managing to win 4 out of 5. But the Lictors all had acid blood and all of the bikers were splattered by it and melted away. Other units exchanged fire, as the Hierophant regenerated 7 of its wounds. The huge creature clambered back up onto its remaining 3 legs. However the Hive Tyrant did not regenerate and was left a mush on the hill. At the end of the turn the points were 39-2 in favour of the Squats.

Turn 2

A surviving Carnifex that was in combat with a Cyclops was joined by a Haruspex and a Malefactor, but the Squat tank managed to fight them all off with its guns and large spikes. As the Tyranid artillery on the hill rained down on them, the Squats in the forest found themselves attacked by the Lictors, but the bikers were able to fight off the nearby Hormagaunts. The Leviathan rumbled forward and released its company of warriors, who readied their lasguns. The Hierophant Titan charged into the Colossus nearest the river as the two Dominatrix again summoned their energy pulses. The last Thunderfire cannon was rent apart, and the other Colossus was stripped of 4 shields. Continuing their attack the Dominatrix opened fire with their Bio Cannons and ripped the huge tank apart. Seeing the threat of the Tyranid hive queens, the Overlord opened fire on one but could only cause 1 wound. As the large creature attacked it, the Colossus fired all of its guns at the Hierophant. Somehow it shrugged off nearly all of the hits but the Doomsday Cannon caused enough damage to make it collapse again. Then the Cyclops and Thunderer unit in the center added another 5 wounds and damaged another leg. The Exocrines fired at another unit of Gyrocopters and again destroyed all 3. Yet on the other flank the other Gyrocopters managed to inflict enough damage to cause the Hierodule to fall. However, 6 of its 7 wounds regenerated, and thanks to the psychic powers of the Hive Mind, the Hierophant regenerated all of its wounds. At the end of the turn the Squats were very close to victory with 46pts to 16pts.

Turn 3

The withered Tyranids still pressed on. The Hive Tyrant charged the Trike holding objective 6 and ripped it apart, as the remaining Genestealers and Carnifex also headed into battle. Now the psychic abilities of the Tyranids came into their own. Using an Energy Pulse, a Dominatrix downed a building which squashed 3 Thunderer squads. Then a psychic barrage from the eyes of the Hierodule caused the Cyclopses crew to die in agony. Another psychic barrage brought a Goliath cannon falling down. The Nids continued their attack, and the Hierodule and Tyranid Warriors ripped the Leviathan apart with Deathspitter and Bio Cannon fire. Despite all this, the Squats opened fire again. A Goliath dropped a shell neatly on the objective 8 building and it collapsed, killing all the Tyranid Warriors within. The remaining Cyclops fired its rockets, killing the remaining Exocrines and a Dactylis. Other units again exchanged fire, and though the Tyranids had staged a late fight back the battle was over. The advancing horde had been stopped 58pts to 44pts.

End

Score after 3 turns: Tyranids: 44, Squats: 58.
Result: Squat victory.

Tyranids Debriefing, by Stebloke

Well, you can safely say the Tyranids got a serious pounding. From the beginning the sheer mass and strength of the the Squat artillery and Bikers controlled the battle. But even though it was a clear victory, there were quite a few Squat units right on the edge of breaking. If I'd just been able to deny 1 more objective, it would have gone to the next turn and I may have scraped a draw. Oh well.
I only needed to kill 1 more Gyrocopter to get 7 pts, kill another 2 to get another 7 pts. The Guild Bikers lay in tatters, and I only needed to kill the last 3 to wipe them out and get another 8 pts. A single stand of the central Thunderer unit somehow survived, denying me another 4 pts, and one more Goliath would have got me another 5 pts.
But it's all a waste of time waffling on about what could have been. What about what was?
The whole battle was riddled with silly little mistakes. On the first turn I forgot to replenish my Hive Mind cards and all my units except the Zoanthropes had to follow their instincts. They didn't do much anyway, because I forgot to fire with them as they shoot in the psychic phase.
Scoob mentioned several times that he didn't like the Tyranids psychic phase, but I don't think they'd stand a chance without it. I got really lucky with my cards in the psychic phase, especially hitting both Psychic Barrages on the last turn when needing 6s. And even this couldn't get me back in the game.
The Hierophant did a top class job. It took everything that was thrown at it and kept some of Scoob's tanks out of the game for several turns. The rampaging creatures proved entertaining, if not particularly effective, but it's a shame I lost a Haruspex off the board at the beginning.
I suppose I should mention the Thunderer squad that somehow drew combat with the Carnifex on the last turn. Obviously, they cheated and snook some Weetabix onto the battlefield.

Imperium (Stebloke) Vs Chaos (Doogle).
4000pt armies. No objectives. Most points after 4 turns wins.

The Story So Far...

It's been bloody ages since our last Epic battle report, but during February half term me and Doogle have been doing some serious dice rolling, and have been working through three games in a mini campaign, all about a Chaos attack on an Imperial city.
We decided we wanted the battles to be fairly simple so have not bothered using any objectives and have been using a set turn limit of 4.

The first battle was fought 14th & 15th Feb, with 2000pt armies. My army was mainly Space Marines, backed up by some Baneblades. Doogle commanded a Khorne and Tzeentch army, including Magnus and Angron.
Most of the fighting took place on the Imperial right flank in the city. The Veterans and Scouts fought with Chaos Dreadnoughts and Daemon Engines. By sheer weight of numbers the Veterans overthrew the Daemon war machines, but Magnus, Juggers and Chaos Marines continued the fight and swung the battle in the favour of Chaos. The Doom Wings played havoc with the other Imperial units, and Doogle managed a 17-13 win in the first battle.

We moved on to the 3000pt battle, which we played on the 17th Feb. This time, I opted for a mainly Imperial Guard army, full of tanks, with a Dark Angel Ravenwing to provide mobility. Doogle chose a mainly unchanged army, but added in a Banelord.
Once again, the Chaos force had the better of it. The Ravenwing were slaughtered by Daemon Engines and Chaos Squats, and Magnus hid in a building to shield himself while he destroyed super-heavy tanks by the bucket load. The Banelord took the most punishment from the Imperial lines, but survived two hits to the reactor. The victory points were 27-13 to Chaos.
Things were not looking good leading into the final battle...

The Forces

Deployment

Imperial Stuff, by Stebloke

Screaming wildly, I jumped out of bed. It was the morning of the 18th Feb, and I had been having a nightmare about Chaos. The day before, I had lost yet another battle to Doogle and his damn Epic Chaos geezers. This brought back nasty memories of a certain Pencil character and his damn Epic Chaos geezers.
"You'll never take me alive!" I explained to the Banelord model. "DO YOU HEAR ME?"
This time, things would be different, and I sat down with my army cards. Straight away I took my beloved Devastators, along with a Titan, Knight Crusaders and some Stormblades. Added to that were some more shooty tanks and my trusty Veterans, who would get down and clash with the Chaos warbands head-to-head.
"Ha ha! Let's see the Chaos scum survive that lot."
I was confident this time. But then again, I'd been confident the last two times as well...

Turn 1

The movement of the Doom Wings signaled the start of the battle, flying low to behind the bunker. Magnus moved into a building as the rest of the Chaos army moved forward. The Thousand Sons moved towards the city as the Space Marine Veterans moved forward to challenge them. The Reaver Titan advanced on to the hill as the Devastators readied their rockets. As the fighting began the Predators fired at the Doom Wings but missed them all. In reply one of the tanks was melted away by their flame cannons. The Devastators on the left had more luck, killing 3 Disc Riders and stripping the Banelord of 3 shields. The Titan returned fire and killed two opposing squads of Marines. The Devastators and Reaver Titan in the middle all had miserable aim. The shots that hit the Doom Wings bounced off due to the gifts of the Chaos God Tzeentch.

Turn 2

The Storm Tiger Land Raiders move passed the bunker as the Doom Wings flew along the Imperial lines. The tanks were spied by the Daemon Engines and two of them were blasted apart. The Death Dealer wasn't finished and also claimed another Predator. In the city, the Veterans and Thousand Sons charged each other. While things were close, Juggers joined in and tipped the combat in favour of Chaos. The lead Stormblade and Reaver Titan fired at Magnus and ripped him apart time and time again, but again Tzeentch came to the rescue and resurrected him each time. In reply, Magnus used his Beam Of Power to topple a Knight Crusader. Another Stormblade fired all of its rockets at Angron. Although the powerful Hellion missed, the four Hunter Killers all slammed into the Daemon. Somehow, he shrugged off every hit. The Banelord continued to exchange fire with the Devastators, as a Stormblade came too close. The Titan of Khorne melted it to mush with a powerful blast from its Doomfist. Finally one of the Doom Wings came crashing down under fire from the Knight Crusaders, and the last Predator wrecked the Doom Blaster.

Turn 3

Knowing it would take something heroic to claim the city, the Veteran HQ signalled another charge and all available Marines piled in along with the Chaplain. Only one Jugger was left by the end, but the rockets of the Thousand Sons soon cut a bloody path through the victorious Veterans. Even worse was to come as Angron himself charged in, his sword slicing Space Marines left and right. The Bloodthirster charged the remaining Vindicator and smashed it in two. Magnus moved into another building to get a better view, and blasted the Stormblade HQ tank, leaving the last one without orders. On the right flank the Daemon Engines got the better of the last Land Raider and last Predator and destroyed them both. Another Doom Wing fell to the Reaver Titan, as the Devastators and Stormblade sent everything they had at the Banelord that was stomping towards them. The rockets flew like a hail of arrows, damaging the Doomfist and head. The Titan fired back and toppled a Knight Crusader, but the surviving Knight hit the Daemonic machine full in the reactor with its Quake cannon. The Banelord erupted in a flash, consuming 3 Devastator squads and HQ, and the nearby Commissar.

Turn 4

Magnus saw the defeated Banelord and ran back to his original building, turning only to destroy the last Stormblade. The Bloodthirster now charged into the Chaplain, who fought heroically but had no chance against the beast. The surviving Veterans continued the struggle, and with supporting fire from the Reaver Titan managed to defeat more Chaos Marines. All of the available Devastators fired at Angron, and blasted him to tiny pieces. This time, the Chaos Gods decided not to save their Daemon and Angron was dragged screaming back into the warp. But it was not enough to force the Chaos out of the city. Despite the Chaos taking a late beating they had managed a 38pts to 34pts victory.

End

Score after 4 turns: Imperial: 34, Chaos: 38.
Result: Chaos victory.

Imperial Debriefing, by Stebloke

What the hell happened? I died, I think. But it certainly could have been worse. At least I put up some sort of a fight in this battle, unlike the two before where I got beat too easily. The last two turns went very well, but it seemed like there was nothing I could do to stop those damn Daemons and their damn magic saving cards. On the last turn I got 16 points compared to Doogle's 1. Reminds me of the Tyranid Vs Squat battle where I pulled it back but couldn't do enough. Oh well.

Total campaign victory points:
Chaos: 82.
Imperial: 60.

This was one of only three games I ever played using the Epic 40,000 rules, and the only one I made a report of.

Space Marines (JIK) Vs Orks (Stebloke).
1000pt armies.

The Forces

Space Marines

Force Berenesis Armour Detachment: Captain in Land Raider, Psyker, 2 Land Speeders, 3 Land Raiders, 6 Whirlwinds, 2 Predators, 2 Devastator Squads in Rhinos.

Force Proborscis Marine Detachment: Captain in Rhino, 2 Scout Squads, 2 Terminator Squads in Land Raiders, Assault Squad in Rhino, Assault Squad, 3 Vindicators, 2 Dreadnoughts.

Orks

Wazgit's Boyz: Warboss on boar, 8 Boarboyz, 5 Stormboyz.

Gubbit's Shootaz: Warboss in Stompa, 5 Shooty Boyz, 4 Stompas.

Klabgut's Speedos: Warboss on bike, Wierdboy Wagon, 3 Battlewagons.

Urgum'z Flyerz: 6 Fighta Bomberz.

Nekkchoppa & Slimekilla: 2 Battle Fortresses.

Battle Synopsis

End

Morale values after 4 turns: Space Marines: 10, Orks: -2.
Result: A glorious victory for the Imperium.

We started playing Epic Space Marine again in the early 2000s after a break of several years. When we came back, rather than play all of the official rules, we started to tweak things and add our own house rules. We were also very inconsistent with what notes we made on a game-by-game basis, so the reports from here on might have a lot of detail or be very vague.
For some reports, I've had to include the original maps, as there is not enough detail in them to recreate them like I've done with all the other maps.
I've done what I can...

Squats (Scooby) Vs Imperial (Stebloke).
3000pt armies. 6 Objectives. Play for 4 turns.

End

Score after 4 turns: Imperial: 20, Squats: 54.
Result: Squat victory.

Chaos Vs Imperial.
5000pts of Chaos, 3000pts of Imperial.
Chaos must get 27 victory points of units off the far table edge in order to win.
In game 1, Stebloke is Chaos, and Scooby is Imperial. In game 2 the players switch sides.

Battle 1 End

Score after 7 turns: Chaos get 23 VPs worth off the table edge, and everything else is broken. The Imperials just hold out.
Result: Imperial victory.

Battle 2 End

Score after 5 turns: The Imperials are wiped out, but enough Chaos units are defeated to once again only allow them 23 VPs worth.
Result: Imperial victory.

Chaos (Stebloke) Vs Imperial (Scooby).
6000pt armies. 55VP target.

Turn 1

This was the first game we played which pitted the Imperial Imperator Titan against the Chaos Imperator Titan. At least, that was the plan. The first shot of the game was the Reaver Titan firing its warp missile, which blew the leg off the Chaos Imperator and made it topple to the ground. The Tzeentch and Slaanesh forces advanced into the city, while Magnus blew up a building filled with Devastators. The Imperial Titans shot up the Chaos right flank.

Turn 2

The Slaanesh forces, backed up by a Thunderhawk filled with Emperor's Children, attacked the Imperial Super Heavy Tanks and their escort. The Keeper of Secrets used Aura of Slaanesh and broke the Devastator company. Two vortexes from the Tzeentch contingent only succeeded in knocking a weapon off the Reaver Titan. The Imperial left flank shoots the Plague Tower and Tzeentch Warlord Titan.
The Chaos army held 5 objectives compared to the Imperial's 2, but had caused enough damage with the fall of the Imperator to win 56 points to 35.

End

Score after 2 turns: Imperial: 56, Chaos: 35.
Result: Imperial victory.

Orks (Scooby) Vs Chaos (Stebloke).
4000pt armies. 45VP target.

We decided to do this battle when we realised that I had never won with Chaos, and Scoob had never won with Orks apart from one battle where I conceded.

Battle Scribbles

End

Score after 4 turns: Chaos: 49, Orks: 43.
Result: Chaos victory.

Orks (Stebloke) Vs Chaos (Scooby).
4000pt armies. 45VP target.

Battle Scribbles

A very close battle came to an end after three turns when a Subjugator and the Banelord teamed up on the Great Gargant and kicked its ass, with the explosion almost completely wiping out the nearby Goffs. Other highlights included an Ork Warlord charging Magnus and getting owned, and some typical comic genius from the Madboyz, who decided to play catch with grenades and blew each other up.
This was Scoob's first win with Chaos in a normal battle.

End

Score after 3 turns: Chaos: 52, Orks: 34.
Result: Chaos victory.

Orks (Scooby) Vs Imperial (Stebloke).
6000pt armies. 55VP target.

Battle Scribbles

An insanely destructive battle which was to test our new house rules for the Imperator Titan and Mega Gargant, making them act like any other Titans. In a very close battle, the Orks had most of the momentum until the Mega Gargant finally exploded due to the consistent and concentrated fire it had taken. This explosion took out nearly all of the Deathskulls nearby, and tipped the points in favour of the Imperials. However, the Orks had done enough to just scrape a draw.

End

Score after 3 turns: Orks: 55, Imperium: 71.
Result: Draw.

Eldar (Scooby) Vs Tyranids (Stebloke).
5000pt armies. 50VP target.

Battle Synopsis

In the first turn the Eldar grabbed 4 objectives and bombarded the Tyranid horde, inflicting a lot of casualties. On turn 2 things really kicked off. The spores dropped behind Eldar lines, but the Eldar tanks there destroyed all but a Carnifex and a Haruspex. But this allowed other Nid forces to advance. A Dominatrix opened fire on the Phantom Titan and luckily killed it with its first hit. The Eldar biker Host broke due to close combat, and a lot of survivors went on fall back. Things were now looking rough for the Eldar, but the spore attack had failed, and Stebloke had forgot to replenish his Hive Mind cards in the psychic phase, meaning all instinctive creatures would become uncontrollable. Into turn 3 and the Nids really went for it into close combat with Genestealers, Lictors and anything else in range. The lone spore Carnifex continued its rampage and destroyed a second Tempest, but the Avatar caught and destroyed the last Haruspex. As one Dominatrix suffered 3 wounds, the other opened fire on more Tempests and broke that company. The sheer amount of carnage on the battlefield looked like a surefire draw, but the injured Dominatrix forced the Howling Banshees away from an objective and the Nids just grabbed it.

End

Score after 3 turns: Eldar: 48, Tyranids: 66.
Result: Tyranid victory.

Chaos (Scooby) Vs Imperial (Stebloke).
5000pt armies. 50VP target.

The Forces

Turn 1

The Chaos army took the initiative as the battle started. The Imperial army advanced into firing positions as the Chaos horde charged forward. The Subjugator Titans led the way, one just reaching a detachment of Devastators and ripped some of them apart with its claws. The Chaos Thunderhawk screamed across the skies and landed amongst the artillery company. The Emperor's Children inside charged out from the ship and attacked some Basilisks.
The Imperial guns opened up as the Artillery company targetted the approaching Minotaurs, Land Raiders, Vindicators and Disc Riders, but there fewer casualties than the Imperials hoped. Magnus The Red counter attacked with his awesome beam of power and brought a building down that was inhabited by some Devastators.

The Imperial left flank of Leman Russ tanks and Devastators traded fire with the oncoming horde, as the Cannon of Khorne and Daemon Engines gave some back in return. One platoon of Heavy troops turned round and blasted at the Emperor's Children, destroying their gunship. At the end of the turn the Imperial army had inflicted moderate casualties, but their lack of interest in the objectives meant Chaos took a first turn lead of 30-17.

Turn 2

This time the Imperials took the initiative and the Chaos army charged once more. The Subjugators continued to make a nuisance of themselves, as one destroyed the last Chimedon and the troops inside, and the other charged a detachment of Veterans, killing many before the marines managed to bring it down by weight of numbers. As the horde charged forwards, the Imperial army counter attacked across the battlefield. A detachment of Veterans charged forward onto the central hill and into combat with some Thousand Sons, but their horrible stench distracted the Marines and they were nearly all killed. At the same time the Devastator Commander charged into the Thousand Sons Champion, but even he must have been lacking conviction after seeing his comrades hacked down and was also slaughtered. Two Commissars raced forward looking to drive some Disc Riders away from objective 3, but could not quite manage it.

Other attacks went well though, as another Veteran unit arrived on the battlefield, dropped off by Thunderhawk right at the back of the Chaos army and proceeded to destroy the Cannon of Khorne. The Rough Riders countered against the Emperor's Children and killed them all for no losses. Most of the Imperial left flank settled back onto first fire and gave the Chaos everything they'd got, breaking almost all of the units charging at them.
Magnus once again made his Beam of Power felt as he destroyed another Devastator occupied building at objective 5. The Artillery once again opened fire, this time using the view Magnus had just made for them to concentrate on the Daemon Engines. However, due to Khorne's bonuses, the few shots that hit bounced harmlessly off their strengthened armour. Despite Imperial progress at thinning the horde, three of their own companies were now on the edge of breaking. All available Chaos Marines and tanks opened fire, causing enough casualties to break the Devastators, Heavy company and the Veterans.
In pretty much the last attack of the fight the Lord of Battle opened fire on the Ordinatus and one shot got through it's shield and blasted it apart. With the Chaos still holding six objectives, they had easily caused enough casualties to romp home to a comfortable 61-39 victory!

End

Score after 2 turns: Imperial: 39, Chaos: 61.
Result: Chaos victory.

Imperial Embarrassment, by Stebloke

Well that wasn't good. That's really not supposed to happen. I'm a bit shocked actually. Now I know Scoob's a good general, but a Chaos army isn't supposed to win in the second turn. So why did it? The main reason was my stupid main idea. Wait for them to come at me while blasting them apart, then with bikers and Veterans go and grab any weakly held objectives. I completely failed to realise that this would no doubt give Chaos the most points after turn 1, something you should never allow when facing Khorne. Then on turn 2 when waiting for my chance Scoob's faster things were already on me and my objective-getters were forced to duke it out in completely unimportant areas of the battlefield. When I did go forward with my Veterans I charged instead trying desperately to get more points. I guess I was just not thinking straight from start to finish and deserved the crap kicking I got.
Overall though, like all our recent battles, the fighting was close and the kill factor was high. From killing alone I got 29pts and Scoob got 31pts, so things were really close in that regard. The way the killing came about was a bit weird, as most of it, even from the Chaos army, was from shooting. This makes me feel even worse as Imperial should always be above Chaos in terms of shooting. But I was really let down by my Imperial Guard. The Devastators were inflicting quite a few casualties despite all the fire they were attracting. Whereas the Heavy and Artillery companies hardly did anything. The Leman Russ tanks have still to prove themselves to me, and I don't know why I keep taking them. How that many tanks with that many guns fail to cause considerable damage time and again I have no idea. As mentioned before, for a battle involving Chaos there was little combat, and even that was close apart from the Veteran massacre on the hill.
At the end of the day, had I opened my eyes for a moment this battle really could and should have been won.

Squats (Scooby) Vs Orks (Stebloke).
5000pt armies. 50VP target.

The Forces

Deployment

Turn 1

The Orks surged forward as the battle began. The Battlewagons and Skullhamma on the left deployed the Bad Moon clan right on top of objective 3, as the Evil Sunz and Kult Of Speed charged into the Imperial town on their right flank. By objective 5, the Madboys surged forward, jumping through the air using their crazy rocket packs. One of them landed funny and died, causing the others to flee the battlefield in fear. The two Squat biker companies charged forward in a counter attack, one of them charging into combat with the Evil Sunz, as the other charged the Bad Moonz.
A Goliath Cannon on the west of the battlefield dropped a barrage squarely on the Shokk Attack Guns, killing two of them. In response, the survivors sent some snotlings through the warp, who materialised inside the Goliath cannon, killing its crew and toppling the huge weapon. The Slasher Gargant also opened fire, its belly gun ploughing straight through the Colossus and two of the nearby buildings, completely destroying all three. In the center, the Land Train and Cyclopses unleashed their weapons, weakening the speed freaks, and stripping power fields from the Great Gargant. The Gargant then retaliated with it's belly gun, smashing the Land Train and four of its battlecars.
In combat, the Squat bikers ripped into the Ork Boyz of both the Moonz and the Evil Sunz, and defeated almost all of those they were in combat with, breaking both clans already. Things really did not look good for the Orks, as the Squats took a 43-33 lead.

Turn 2

The broken Bad Moonz turned and legged it from the hill as their Nobz tried to fight back against the Squat bikers. On their right flank the Nobz bikers moved to contest objectives 6 and 7, as some Warbuggies moved back to try and take objective 8 from the Colossus' Gyrocopter. A Goliath cannon fired its massive shell into the Warbuggies who were smashed apart, and the nearby Cyclopes and Squat bikers thinned out the Nobz. One surviving Nob biker got mad and smashed up the three Rhinos attacking him.

On the left flank the Thunderers in the trees had a poor round of shooting, and watched as the Slasher and the Ork support units opened fire on the victorious Squat bikers on the hill, managing to break them. In the center of the battlefield the Mekboy Gargant clanking towards objective 6 opened fire on a Cyclops and stripped its shields, but its Lifta-Droppa arm failed to beat the tank's tough armour. Then the Cyclops' return fire failed to penetrate the Gargant's strange deflector shield.

At the end of the battle, the insanely heavy losses the Orks had suffered in turn 1 meant the Squats had pulled out a win with 57 points to 47.

End

Score after 2 turns: Squats: 57, Orks: 47.
Result: Squat victory.

Ork Stuff, by Stebloke

Aarrggh, so close. Grabbing a draw with the Orks would have been quite an achievement against Scoob's very shooty Squats. Actually for a while we thought I'd managed it because the Great Gargant shot and destroyed the shieldless Cyclops with its Mega Cannon, until we remembered that Great Gargants have different fire arcs to other Titans, so that attack was illegal. Bummer.
Last time we played with these armies Scoob destroyed me, getting more than 70 points to my pathetic 8, so in that regard I'm a lot happier today.

Orks (Scooby) Vs Space Marines (Stebloke).
5000pt armies. 50VP target.

The Forces

Deployment

Turn 1

The battle started with all three Imperial Thunderhawks screaming across the skies, landing just before the Ork line and unloading their transported troops. The Blood Claws charged into the Deathskulls and Bad Moonz, and the Assault Detachment charged the Kult of Speed on the far right of the battlefield. The rest of the Imperial army advanced into firing positions, as the Orks proceeded to dive on their attacking Space Marines and beat ten tons of crap out of them by weight of numbers.

The Great and Slasher Gargants opened fire with their belly guns, using the explosive rounds and causing immense damage on the densely packed Imperial infantry lines.
The Imperial left flank of Land Raiders and Devastators returned fire on the Gargant and destroyed its scorcher turret but caused no real damage. The Devastators on the right flank were seemingly shaken by the Slasher's attack and only managed to destroy a few Warbuggies.

Turn 2

The Orks now launched their attack with their massed ranks of Nobz bikers, attacking the Marine bikers on the right flank, and screaming forward to take objective 3. The Marines countered, as Ragnar shouted his battle cry and the nearby Grey Hunters pounced on the Nobz, backed up by the Wolf Guard Terminators. As the Space Wolves charged, the Nobz shot many down, causing enough casualties to break the company. The close combat was fairly even, but the Wolf Guard managed to take the objective.
More fire rained down on the Great Gargant, and its belly gun was destroyed, but the few fires it had were brought under control. The Mekboy Gargant covering objective 7 found itself attacked by another Marine biker squadron and the Librarian, who assaulted its crew with his psychic powers, but it wasn't enough to stop the machine. It simply shot three of the bikers and the Librarian dead, then splatted the other two bikers in close combat. The Bad Moonz and nearby units opened fire on the Devastators on the hill and caused enough casualties to break them. So even though the Marines held five of the objectives, the fact they had been completely out-shot by the Orks meant an embarrasing loss for the Imperials 53-37.

End

Score after 2 turns: Orks: 53, Space Marines: 37.
Result: Ork victory.

Imperial Waste Of Time, by Stebloke

Now this really sucks ass. What's going on with me and my Imperials? In this battle I took an all Marine army because last time my Imperial Guard let me down, and this time the Marines were twice as bad.
Definitely didn't help that I made some huge errors in my deployment and on the first turn. I wanted to stay out of the trees for faster movement, but that just bunched my guys up into easy targets for those belly guns. Then my main plan at the start was to charge his clans with my Blood Claws to try and get them to run away as early as possible. Sound enough idea, and against the Bad Moonz it may have worked but Scoob passed his morale check. But like a complete idiot I also attacked the Deathskulls even though the Great Gargant stood right beside them which meant they wouldn't run away anyway. Poor little Blood Claws got a bit beat up.
Even then though I'd still got plenty of guns left, but they just all kept missing. My Land Raiders and Devastators on the left shot everything they'd got at the Great Gargant, and it still had about 3 shields left at the end. I seriously need Epic lessons, especially with Imperials.

Tyranids (Stebloke) Vs Squats (Scooby).
5000pt armies. 50VP target.

The Forces

Deployment

Battle Synopsis

At the start of the battle, all of the Spores dropped right in front of the Squats, who had deployed far back and bunched up on their left flank. Expecting this attack, the Squats were all on first fire orders and shot every single dropped Tyranid to pieces. Gladly for the Nids, most of the Goliath Cannons then completely missed. But even without their firepower, the Squats put out enough shots to riddle the rest of the Tyranid line. Many saving throws were needed, and the Harridan got lucky over and over to survive.
In the second turn, the Carnifexes from the Spores had all regenerated and got attacked by mobs of bikers who hacked them all back down again. The Nids then started stringing some good attacks together, with the Hive Tyrants and Dominatrix using their nasty bio-cannons to bring the destruction of the Cyclops and a Colossus. The Squat counter attack was immense. Two Hive Tyrants, the Harridan, several broods, and the Hierodule were all cut to bits by Squat guns.

In turn 3, the Squat bikers and Gyrocopters came out to play and took 4 of the objectives. The two Carnifexes that had regenerated again this turn used their acid blood and took out all 14 of the bikers they were fighting, but as they were from different companies there were no points to be found. The remaining Tyranids unloaded all they could into the airships, but one managed to survive. The two Dominatrix had both lowered their shields to use their psychic attacks for the first time, leaving them open to Squat return fire. One of them was soundly pummelled to tiny bits of mush.
The Nids had taken an absolute crap kicking 62-31.

End

Score after 3 turns: Tyranids: 31, Squats: 62.
Result: Squat victory.

Unstoppable Little Fat People, by Stebloke

Going into this battle I never really thought I could win against the Squats. I'm just not that insane. But after that first turn, where I had probably my best saving throws ever, I thought I may have a chance. But then it all went to pot as usual. It's just the Squats. They're just really hard. They've got loads of guns. Their bikers are harder than anyone else's, come in squadrons of more bikes than anyone else's, and you have to kill nearly all of them to break them.
Sure, I made some errors, the main one being dropping all my Spores right in front of all those guns. I should have dropped them elsewhere and took as much cover as possible until the Squats came out to get some objectives.
Unfortunately, it is getting to the point where I feel it's not really worth me going into some battles because it's fairly obvious from the beginning I'm gonna lose. Sucks ass.

Chaos (Stebloke) Vs Eldar (Scooby).
5000pt armies. 50VP target.

The Forces

Deployment

Battle Synopsis

The sheer speed of the Wind Riders allowed them to swoop forward and grab six of the objectives, as other Eldar units sat ready to pop up. The Chaos horde advanced, with the Doom Wings and Disc Riders moving down their right flank, and a strong Khorne contingent charging across the open middle ground. The Minotaurs were blessed with long legs as they tried to get into combat with the Jet Bikes hovering around objective 6, but they just couldn't make it. The Chaos Thunderhawk sped through the sky and landed behind the Prism Cannons. The Emperor's Children inside jumped out and attacked the tanks, destroying one of them, but losing more of their own number.
The Eldar volley rained down on the Chaos army, stripping all the shields off of the Banelord in a matter of seconds but somehow caused no real damage. The Banelord's return fire was pitiful indeed and caused just one or two casualties. The Cannon of Khorne fired, and all three attacks were on target but again caused no damage. The Warlock Titan was especially lucky as a shot scattered away from its reactor on the hit location aim dice.
More Eldar tanks opened fire, thinning the Minotaurs, Marines, Vindicators and Disc Riders, and only Magnus the Red could do anything to counter. His beam of power lashed out, toppling the building housing half of the dreaded Dark Reapers.
At objective 8, the Flamers attacked the Vipers and through magic made them retreat.
The one real bit of Chaos luck came at the end of the turn as the Banelord raised 5 of its 6 shields.

In the second turn the Chaos army threw itself forward in an effort to get more objectives, but bloody fighting at both objectives 3 and 6 both ended up going in the favour of the Eldar. At objective 1, another unit of Vipers swarmed all over the Thousand Sons Champion there and took that objective as well. The Exarchs charged forward, shooting up two of the Cannon of Khorne before losing some of their number to nearby Dreadnoughts. The last Cannon misfired and exploded trying to shoot the Warlock Titan.
An Eldar Warlock flew forward in his Grav Tank to attempt a mind blast on Magnus the Red, but failed. Then all the nearby Flamers and Disc Riders (9 attacks all together) turned to fire at the little dude but no shot managed to kill him. This just wasn't going right for the Chaos army.
The Doom Wings swept down on the pop-uppers, but only one remained by the time they got a chance to fire, its flame cannon causing no damage anyway.
The Banelord released all 4 remaning Havoc Missiles which only killed the last two Striking Scorpions. Both missiles that hit the Warlock Titan scattered away from its wings.
The supporting Eldar Dreadnoughts opened fire, destroying the last of the Vindicators, as elsewhere the Daemon Engines rumbling toward objective 6 also came under damaging fire.
With them holding 6 objectives and managing to shoot the Chaos army to bits, the Eldar won easily 64-33, and the only thing that was a surprise was the Banelord did not get destroyed.

End

Score after 2 turns: Eldar: 64, Chaos: 33.
Result: Eldar victory.

Chaos Stuff, by Stebloke

I have to admit when I saw Scoob's army cards I thought I had a good chance. The Eldar army was quite small, and didn't include as many psychic weapons and dreaded Aspect Warriors as I had expected. But it was not to be, and I don't get it. When I'm a shooty army like Imperial, Scoob takes a combat army like Chaos and shoots me to bits. But when I use Chaos I can't hit the side of a barn. He says it's really all just the dice rolls, but it can't be just that. If it really just boiled down to dice rolls then we'd each win roughly half each, but Scoob wins way more than I do.
It's not like I really made errors either, like I have in a few other games. I couldn't really do anything different which would have increased my chances. The Eldar just had too many things that could pop up, and all the cover to take advantage of it.
Oh well.

Special Titans Vs Titans Battle.

The Forces

Scoob's Army

Chaos Imperator Titan

Mega Gargant

Imperial Warlord Titan x2

Reaver Titan

Warhound Titan x2

Mekboy Gargant

Subjugator Scout Titan

Stebloke's Army

Imperator Titan

Mega Gargant

Banelord and Chaos Warlord Titan

Reaver Titan

Warhound Titan x2

Mekboy Gargant

Subjugator Scout Titan

Battle Synopsis

Scoob's Warlord fired its vortex missile causing lots of damage on Stebloke's Mega Gargant, but luckily for Stebloke, Scoob's warp missile just missed the Imperator's reactor. Most of Scoob's fire went at the Banelord, stripping its shields, destroying its Doomfist and Battlehead and damaging its reactor. Stebloke's fire went at Scoob's Mega Gargant, stripping its shields and causing minor damage.

On Stebloke's right flank there was combat between his Subjugator and one of Scoob's Warhounds, with the Warhound winning but not causing enough damage to drop the Chaos machine. In the end phase the Banelord repaired a reactor breach threatening to destroy it, but it could raise no shields.

On turn two more fire rained down on the Banelord and the two Mega Gargants, as Scoob's Subjugator charged in to help his Warhound ally take down Stebloke's Subjugator. The Chaos Warlord's melta cannon soon fried Scoob's second Warhound, but return fire dropped both of Stebloke's Warhounds.
Scoob's Mega Gargant was next to go, after being hit by Stebloke's Reaver and its volcano cannon. But Stebloke's Mega Gargant soon followed, without managing to fire a single shot all battle. As the Banelord struggled with another reactor overload, Scoob's Reaver advanced into range and peppered it with shots from its gatling cannon. One shot damaged the Banelord's leg and it toppled awkwardly to the ground.

Though only two turns had passed, the battle had been long and hard. The armies, with Scoob's having much the advantage, withdrew from the battlefield, with both Imperators escaping without a scratch.

End

Result after 2 turns: Scoob victory.

This was a special battle where I teamed up with Scoob to try and fight back against wave after wave of Tyranids, who would continue to respawn until we had scored 75 victory points.
We had earlier made models to represent ourselves in games of Epic, so decided to use them for the first time.

Battle Synopsis

For the first time ever Stebloke and Scoob lined up together as Imperial Guard and Squat to combat a seemingly non-stop wave attack by the Tyranids, who moved onto the battlefield at random locations.

At the start of the battle, most Tyranid units including both Bio-titans moved onto the battlefield on the east side, which was mainly held by the Squats. Seeing this, the Warlord TItan and a squadron of Leman Russ tanks quickly redeployed to help fight back the coming wave. For the first few turns the Squats and Imperials picked off what they could at long range while the Tyranids advanced over the hills and through the city. The allies took little casualties during this time, except for one of the Warhounds which had charged forward to mow down as many Nidz as possible with its mega bolter.

On turn 4 things really kicked off on the Squat flank. The Tyranids emerged from the city, supported by a new wave of Genestealers and Malefactors which were dropped from spores, and charged into the Squats. The two Squat biker guilds bravely counter-attacked, as the Imperial and Squat guns fired volley after volley at the advancing swarm causing many casualties. The Hierophant titan suffered tremendous wounds time and again but managed to regenerate, as the Hierodule got a point blank blast from a Colossus right on its head. The titan staggered away, and when it regained its senses spied the form of the Warlord titan.
On the mainly Imperial flank, the Nidz were being held back but Hive Tyrants and a Dominatrix were closing in. The biggest spore drop yet backed them up in the form of Gargoyles, Genestealers, Malefactors, Biovores and Lictors. The other Warhound was toppled, as well as the Ordinatus Armageddon and several Leman Russ tanks. The Squat bikers continued to beat back the swarm in close combat, and pushed back against two broods of Termagants and managed to slaughter a Hive Tyrant.
Meanwhile, the Hierodule charged at the Warlord Titan. The plasma destructor fired, and the bio-titan was toppled. Not stopping there, the Warlord stamped on its head, inflicting more wounds which finally killed it.

Though the Nidz had seemingly been held back, another spore drop at the start of turn 6, consisting of Genestealers, Tyranid Warriors and Haruspex made it more interesting, as the drop came down right where the Squat bikers were fighting. The Nidz, including the somehow still standing Hierophant charged in once more, as a fresh Hierodule scuttled onto the battlefield with more Hive Tyrants and a Harridan. The Squat bikers found themselves under pressure and were badly mauled, but the Hierophant was finally felled by the firepower of a Colossus.
The heat was also being turned up on the Imperials, as the big fresh drop from a short while ago closed them down led by a Dominatrix. The large Tyranid commander brought destruction to some Leman Russ tanks and 2 Bombards, weakening the available Imperial firepower. Just as things started to look a little tough, it became clear that no more Tyranid reinforcements were to arrive. The allies had broken the back of the swarm, but could they defeat the remaining Nidz with what they had left on the battlefield? On the Imperial side, the Rough Riders killed a whole brood of Gargoyles, then bravely charged at the Lictors as their Commissar was killed by a Hive Tyrant. But the Lictors soon routed them. In the middle of the allied front line, Stebloke and Scooby stood against the swarm. As Stebloke fell to a Dominatrix cyst, Scoob valiantly fought against a Hive Tyrant. Though the brave warrior fought long and hard and managed to inflict a wound, the huge creature eventually got the better of him.

There was a sudden hole in the middle of the front line, but the remaining Nidz could not exploit it. The two Dominatrix were overpowered by mass firepower, and the fresh Hierodule charging down the flank put up little resistance compared to its predecessor. The Tyranids had been stopped after 8 turns.

Tyranids (Stebloke) Vs Orks (Scooby).
4000pt armies. 45VP target.

Battle Synopsis

A risky tactic by Warlord Scoob, who brought a Mega Gargant, Great Gargant and a Slasher Gargant, giving him just a Kult of Speed and a couple of support cards to play with. All of the Gargants started on the west side of the battlefield where there was more open ground. As most of the Tyranid army started to the east in the buildings and trees, a lack of targets soon became apparent for both sides.
The Hive Tyrants, Carnifexes and Dominatrix on the Tyranid left flank did well to keep the Gargants busy, while overwhelming Tyranid forces in the middle caused the Kult of Speed to turn and retreat as they tried to get more objectives. Lucky regenerate rolls and regenerate cards kept the Hive Tyrants in the game, as the Dominatrix twice hit the Great Gargant for six with its psychic blast.

During turn three, bio cannon fire finished off the Great Gargant, but things were becoming frustrating for both commanders. Warlord Scoob was annoyed with his army choice, as he could do very little to take any objectives, while the Tyranids were struggling to take out the Mega Gargant, a task that would be needed to win the game.
A very un-Orky and un-Tyranidy thing then happened as both players decided to call it a day. The battle had become an awkward stalemate.

End

Score after 3 turns: Tyranids: 18, Orks: 9.
Result: Draw.

Epic-S Beta 1.1 playtest battle.
Chaos Vs Imperial Guard.
6000pt forces, 600 VP target.

It's been a very long time it seems since I last did any kind of battle report. This is mostly because I have been really trying to bash out my new Epic rules that have been steadily progressing all year.
I finally feel in a position to really give these new rules a good work out with a proper big cruncher of a battle. The two forces that are the most ready for fighting are the forces of Chaos and the Imperial Guard, so it makes sense for the battle to be between these two. If the rules work alright in such a large battle (in a report no less!) then it will be a good indication that more work could be done on the other forces.
With no opponent available, I will have the rather strange experience of fighting against myself, but as the purpose of the battle is to test the rules on a large scale then I don't think it will really matter much...

Deployment

I've deployed most of the foot troops from both sides in positions to assault the city. Hopefully this area will turn into a scene of complete carnage as 4 of the 8 objectives are contained within. Dominating the centre of both force's battle lines are the Imperator Titans. These two immense war machines have not made any playtest appearances yet as I have not had chance to field large enough forces. Needless to say, I am most looking forward to seeing what these two will do under the new rules. The eastern side of the battlefield will be for the forces of Khorne to try and claim against the massive firepower of the Reaver Titan and Imperial Guard tanks arrayed against them. Though the Chaos force looks quite weak compared to the Imperial Guard's, I am using a brand new rule that is being tested for the first time here: summoning. There are no less than 3 Daemon packs waiting to arrive right into the thick of the action rather than having to run across open ground getting shot at by all those huge guns. But will they arrive soon enough? Only time will tell...

Turn 1

The entire Chaos battle line surged forward as one, intent on closing the gap with their enemies. The Doom Wings screamed down the western flank, attracting immediate fire from the Leman Russ tanks and Heavy Support platoon stationed there. The foul engines of Tzeentch looked for a moment like they would evade the entire wave of incoming fire due to their immense speed, until at last one took a solid hit from a Leman Russ tank at almost point blank range. By then though it was too late for many Imperial Guard troops. The infernal fire spewed forth by the surviving Doom Wings wrought tremendous casualties on the Guardsmen making their way through the city (including a Section HQ squad), as well as claiming the lives of a few Imperial Beastmen and a Leman Russ tank.

The charge was well under way all down the Chaos line. The Lord of Battle led its minions forth, but its long ranged weapons only succeeded in rending another Leman Russ tank apart.

The well prepared Imperial defences blazed their reply. The Imperator Titan's barrage weapons all missed their intended targets, but its Defence Laser gave Magnus the Red a taste of things soon to come, blasting a huge hole right through his torso. The Daemon Prince needed immediate assistance from his God's magic to keep him mortal and fighting. The Imperator now turned its attention to the Khorne engines, letting rip with an awesome volley from its Plasma Annihilator, turning a Death Dealer to molten slag, and almost completely destroying the Lord of Battle. The mechanical Greater Daemon suddenly found itself completely disabled, its wheels destroyed, and its reactor overloaded. It would take no further part in the battle unless it could repair itself, or find favour from its God and gain some assistance.

Around the feet of the Imperator, the Shadowsword tanks continued the attack upon Magnus the Red, ripping the Primarch apart again and again with their Volcano Cannons, but each time the magic of Tzeentch saved the Daemon.

The Reaver Titan took its turn, firing its Warp Missile and causing impressive damage on the Imperator Titan of Nurgle, as the huge machine stepped forward from its perch atop the hill. The missile's unique systems allowed it to bypass the Chaos Titan's shields and armour, exploding deep within the machine, causing heavy internal damage and disabling its movement completely. The Princeps guiding the monstrous Titan roared their defiance and returned fire, though only managed to kill a Shadowsword and one of the Leman Russ tanks now threatening the heavily damaged Lord of Battle. Magnus the Red also returned fire and found some small kind of revenge, his Beam of Power taking apart the Storm Hammer tank before it even had the chance to fire its many Battlecannons.

At the end of the turn the Lord of Battle failed to repair its reactor, and would sit helplessly and furiously as the battle raged around it for another turn at least. As four objectives were still unclaimed, the rather conservative victory points for turn 1 were 139 to 124 in favour of the Imperial Guard. There was still a long way to go yet...

Turn 2

Both forces now made more of an effort to grab the open objectives. The Chaos Beastmen charged to take objective 4, as the Commissar in the center of the Imperial lines moved forward in his Rhino to take objective 6 from under the nose of the disabled Lord of Battle. Things were starting to look interesting at objective 8, as the Leman Russ tank squadron there moved to place themselves right on top of it to face the Minotaur Warband charging to meet them. The Rough Riders who had been waiting in reserve nearby moved up in support of the tanks.

The Doom Wings again signalled their intent to cause mayhem, and the nearby Leman Russ tanks wheeled round to open fire. Still one surived to pour more flaming rain down on the beleagured Guardsmen who had already lost their Section HQ, leaving only two squads remaining as the flames cleared.

In the city the fighting turned into a close ranged firefight. Death Guard traded shots with the Imperial Heavy Support Platoon, who managed to cause enough damage to Mortarion that the Primarch needed to be saved by Nurgle's gifts. The two units of opposing Beastmen looked set to fight it out for objective 4, until nearby units rained fire down on their position. The Chaos Champion and the Death Guard fired one way, while the Inquisitor and the Tactical Guardsmen fired the other. The Chaos Beastmen took more casualties, but the Imperial Beastmen lost their Section HQ and would not be able to move for a while as they waited for new orders.

In the middle, Magnus had to again call on his God's aid as Volcano Cannon shots courtesy of the Shadowswords blew his body apart. He immediately countered, destroying one of them and breaking the company. Wanting to be rid of the painful tanks once and for all, the Nurgle Imperator attacked the remaining one with its Defence Laser, but missed. Its remaining volleys began the long process of stripping shields off its Imperial counterpart.

In reply, the Imperial Imperator scored a direct hit with its Hellstorm on the Chaos Cultists, irradicating 8 of their 10 squads in an impressive attack. Without a line of sight to their Greater Daemon, who was still moving through the city, the morale of the remaining two squads failed and they turned to run. Its Seige Mortar also scored a direct hit, again on Magnus. But this time the Daemon's mortal body actually stood up to the punishment and assistance from the dark Gods was not required. However, assistance was required for the Lord of Battle, who came under another furious attack from the Imperator's Plasma Annihilator. Somehow at the end of it, the monstrosity still stood, and thanks to Khorne's gifts found its reactor back online.

The Lord of Battle's spirit howled in pleasure at being able to fight once more, and it immediately opened fire. It managed to destroy another Leman Russ tank and strip some shields from the Reaver, before the Reaver's counter attack found its way through the Daemon's armour. The attack struck a vital system, and the Chaos Gods allowed the inevitable to happen, believing they had bestowed enough help upon their minions for now. The Lord of Battle expired in a thunderous explosion, killing two nearby squads of Death Guard. The sight of losing their Greater Daemon did not phase the nearby Minotaurs, who still moved on objective 8. However, with no Khornate Greater Daemon remaining on the battlefield, the Bloodletter pack could no longer be summoned to the fight.

On the eastern flank, the Disc Riders decided they had finally crept into a suitable firing position and popped up, opening fire with their Lascannons at the Leman Russ tanks at objective 8, scoring direct hits and obliterating all 3! The Leman Russ company was shattered, though its HQ tank fired back as the Disc Riders tried to get back into cover, killing two of them in reply.

Thanks to their decimation of the Imperial armour, the Chaos force took a turn 2 lead of 368 to 325, but their numbers were really starting to thin.

Turn 3

It was now reaching crunch time, with both forces coming under pressure. In an effort to drive the Chaos force away from objective 8, the Rough Riders bravely charged up and over the hill into combat with the Minotaurs to try and hold them back. However, the Minotaurs were blessed by yet more Chaos magic, growing to twice their size and easily hacking the Rough Riders down. The surviving horsemen could take no more and routed. The last Death Dealer joined in, charging at the Leman Russ HQ which was trying to defend the objective. The tank stood no chance as the machine of Khorne turned it into scrap. Return fire from the Reaver Titan destroyed the Death Dealer, though the Minotaurs were left in clear control of objective 8. The Death Guard on that side of the battlefield fired back at the Reaver and stripped it of its two last shields, but the Disc Riders popping up could cause no damage on the Imperial machine.

In the city things got a little more interesting as the Plaguebearers of Nurgle were summoned to the battlefield. One however materialized right on top of a squad of Chaos Beastmen, killing all involved. Bloody fighting now took place between the two forces for objective 4. The Plaguebearer's stench and the support of the Chaos Beastmen allowed them to slaughter all but one squad of Imperial Beastmen, who bravely fought on and managed to take down one of the Nurgle Daemons. In reply, the Inquisitor and Tactical Company HQ Unit ordered their men to open fire, but somehow the surviving Plaguebearers survived 12 direct lasgun hits without taking a casualty. Only the Inquisitor and the HQ Unit themselves had any luck, killing the last Chaos Beastmen and one of the Plaguebearers. The attacks though still could not stop the Chaos force claiming objective 4.

At objective 1 Mortarion and his Champion moved in to clear out the counter-attacking Imperial Guard there. Together with Death Guard covering fire they defeated the Guardsmen who had charged into the building and forced the last Leman Russ tank to flee. Only the Commissar now stood in a position to do anything, but for now he could not stop Chaos securing that objective as well.

Figuring he needed some cover, Magnus the Red made for a nearby building, pausing only to destroy the Shadowsword HQ tank before it could target him again.

The Imperators traded volleys, but once again only managed to take out a few of each other's shields.

Moving to secure objective 2, the Heavy Support Platoon charged across open ground and into the building. The last Doom Wing again looked to make a nuisance of itself, cleansing the building with unholy fire and killing all but one squad of the Guardsmen. To their credit, their morale held, enabling them to keep the objective.

It had been a much bloodier turn, swinging the battle clearly in the favour of Chaos, though leaving both forces in a total mess. The victory points were now 531 to 345, with Chaos looking in control.

Turn 4

The turn started with a successful summoning of the Tzeentch Flamers. They appeared right by the last full platoon of Guardsmen and threw themselves immediately into battle. The Inquisitor charged in to try and even the odds, but the Flamers were under the influence of Chaos magic and slaughtered all their foes except the Inquisitor who managed to defeat one. The Chaos Imperator opened up on the survivors and killed several more, before turning its attention to the Reaver Titan. It was able to strip the Reaver of its defences, but the titan-killing Defence Laser missed what might have been an important shot.

Near the Flamers, the last two Plaguebearers were cut down by their foes, as the Tactical HQ unit and last Beastman squad charged into the objective 4 building to try and secure it. Magnus the Red however had other ideas, using his Beam to bring down the building. One HQ squad managed to jump clear of the blast to keep the objective contested.

Once again the Guardsmen had no luck at bringing down Daemons with their lasguns. This time it was the Flamers who survived several accurate shots, which just could not find a way through their hide.

At objective 1, the Death Guard Champion charged at the Commissar, but the Imperial hero defied the odds to hack down his opponent, only to be cut to ribbons moments later by supporting Death Guard boltgun fire. In response, the Imperator Titan opened up with its barrage weapons, destroying a building in which 3 squads of Death Guard were moving through. With those casualties the Legion was broken, though their morale stayed unbreakable under the stern eye of their Primarch. The Imperator continued its bombardment, and reduced the Chaos Imperator to its last shield, but could do no more.

The last Doom Wing still haunted the skies, swooping low to incinerate the last two squads of Guardsmen from what had been a full platoon at the start of the turn. The Inquisitor was also caught in the flames but his armour held out.

Mortarion ignored the plight of his most trusted followers to spread his wickedly effective Nurgle's Rot amongst the Imperial Guardsmen. They suffered tremendous casualties, and now only 4 models of the 33 from that company were still in play.

Near objective 6 the Commissar charged forward to try and drive the closing detachment of Death Guard away. The fight ended in stalemate and that objective also remained contested.

The Reaver Titan opened up with all its guns on the Minotaurs now very close to assaulting it. Four of the beasts were taken out, just one shy of breaking the warband.

At the end of the turn, not that it mattered, the last two Cultist squads rallied just before leaving the battlefield. The last Leman Russ tank however did not, and carried on its escape route at full speed.

Hardly anything now still stood on the battlefield, but because of the contested objectives and the still operational Titans, neither force had yet reached the victory target. The points were 563 to 398 in the favour of Chaos.

End

That was where I decided to stop the battle. I figured the next turn would either prove easy for the Chaos to win by taking objective 4, or it would become an awkward stalemate that would only be broken by the demise of one of the Imperators.
So what was it like to play the rules on a pretty big scale? I have to say I quite enjoyed it, with a few little niggles. I can't believe that the game didn't end properly in turn 3 or 4 when the Imperial force seemed to crumble and Chaos take charge. Still, it has allowed me to make one or two tweaks to the rules that I may not have caught by doing smaller test battles, such as taking a couple of shields from the Imperator Titans and a small modification to the AP table. Overall though I think the rules work really well, keeping the essense of the old Epic Space Marine ruleset, and really just cutting out all the fat that made those rules so cumbersome to play. The shooting changes and the addition of the AP table give a lot more individuality to standard troops such as Guardians, Space Marines, Guardsmen and the like, who were exactly the same at shooting in the Epic Space Marine rules, which is completely frelling stupid.

My problems in this game were mainly due to the fact that I was concentrating more on doing the report than I was taking notice of the rules, such as on turn 3 when I gave the Imperial Beastmen orders and sent them into combat when they had just lost their HQ and should not have done such a thing. Late on in the battle I also realised I'd not been giving the Leman Russ tanks all their attacks. Silly little things like that.
But nevermind. I'm glad all the crazy work this year is starting to pay off. With the inclusion of the other forces and a bit more tinkering it should be a fun game to play.

Epic-S Beta 1.3 playtest battle.
Tyranids Vs Khorne.
3000pt forces, 180 vp target.

In all the Epic-S playtesting I've realised the claws and fangs of the Tyranids have never been pit against the vicious might of Chaos. As I have recently finished painting all my Khorne army I saw an opportunity to have a fairly small but very brutal fight that I could finally take photos of, as most of the 'Nidz are also completely painted.
The scene is set for a ferocious clash between the two most close combat oriented forces...

Deployment

Turn 1

As the battle commenced, both sides charged their flanking forces towards the bridges, as the Lord of Battle and the Dominatrix faced off against each other over the river. Chaos Marines, Chaos Squats and Genestealers all jumped out of their transport vehicles in preperation for the battle to come.
Bio-cannon fire from the Dominatrix caused minor damage to the Lord of Battle, and return fire from both the Greater Daemon and the supporting Cannons obliterated 2 Exocrines and some Termagants. The first turn ended uneventfully with Chaos leading 30-0.

Turn 2

The turn started with the attempted summoning of the Khorne Daemon packs, but the Bloodletters found themselves lost in the warp. The Fleshhounds materialized bang on target just south of the river, and immediately charged into combat to support the Lord of Battle as it assaulted the Dominatrix.

On the eastern flank, the Juggers, under the influence of Chaos magic, charged full speed into the trees to bring the Lictors there into combat, and stop them from assisting their hive queen. More Khorne forces poured over the eastern bridge to be met by equally fierce resistance, and the two forces proceeded to rip each other to pieces.

Moving up in support, the Hive Tyrant shredded the Blood Reaper with its Venom Cannon, as the Tyranid Warriors performed a psychic barrage which annihilated the minds of the Death Dealer's crew. Warrior deathspitter fire then took out some World Eaters, as flaming death from the surviving Cauldron of Blood wraught heavy casualties on the Genestealers.
On the western flank, the Malefactors pushed their way passed the Minotaurs to attack the Daemon Engines, but were all destroyed in short order as all of the Chaos machines were empowered by Khorne. Nearby, the Bloodthirster swooped down into the fray but was not expecting to face such tough opposition from the Genestealers. The Greater Daemon needed Khorne's assistance to survive as the 'Stealers tore into its flesh. The Tyranid Warriors in support traded shots with the Chaos Squats and Daemon Engines, and came off by far the worst, ending up with just one stand remaining.

Everything going on down the flanks seemed to fade in comparison to the clash that was taking place in the middle of the battlefield. As the Lord Of Battle steam-rollered towards it, the Dominatrix rattled off titan-killing bio-cannon fire that damaged its chain fist. The attack put the Greater Daemon on the back foot, and as they clashed in combat it proved no match for the Tyranid hive queen. Once again, the power of Khorne was needed to save one of its Greater Daemons. In response, the Fleshhounds piled in, inflicting serious damage to the Dominatrix, even through the huge creature's powerful defences, and leaving it close to death. The Fleshhounds in turn found themselves mobbed by the Termagant brood, and only one Daemon remained at the end of the blood bath.
At the end of the turn the Chaos forces still just held the lead 121-115.

Turn 3

The Juggers on the east fought back under heavy magic influence as the Hive Tyrant there charged them down, proving too much for the Tyranid commander and ripping it to pieces. Their victorious cheers were cut short soon after as deathspitter fire from the advancing Warriors ate through their armour and melted them to pools of mush. In the fighting on the bridge the last World Eater Marines and Champion took out the remaining two Haruspex, but not before they could decimate the Cauldron of Blood.
This time it was the Lord of Battle that found itself swamped as Termagents, Lictors and the nearby Hive Tyrant all charged in to assist the Dominatrix. The Greater Daemon used its Flamejets to frazzle the Termagents attacking it, and hacked apart the Lictors with its chain fist, but even at point blank range its gatling blaster could not hurt the Dominatrix. The 'Nidz battered the machine from all angles, with the Hive Tyrant striking the killing blow. With not enough magical gifts left to save it, the Lord Of Battle exploded, taking with it 3 nearby groups of Termagants and inflicting a wound on the Hive Tyrant. The Bloodthirster tried in vain to reach the combat to assist, but was simply too far away and howled with rage.

The almost untouched Minotaurs on the western bridge hacked down the rest of the Genestealers, as the Chaos Squats heavy bolter fire mopped up the remaining Warriors to the south, leaving Chaos in firm control of the area. The Daemon Engines near here combined their fire with the Cannon of Khorne and sent volleys into the victorious Hive Tyrant and Dominatrix. The Hive Tyrant was left perilously close to death, and maybe would have been killed had the last cannon not misfired and exploded.

At the end of turn 3 the victory points were 186 to 177 in the favour of Chaos, meaning the game was over. The Tyranids had just scraped a well fought draw. (In Epic-S, a player must be victorious by at least 10 points to claim a minor victory. If the point difference is 0-9 pts then the game is considered to be so close that it is declared a draw.)

End

Wow, you can't get much closer than that. It was a well fought blood bath from start to finish. It probably would have been different if the Bloodletters had better luck, as the Dominatrix would probably have fallen on Turn 2. Those poor Bloodletters don't seem to have any luck in these battle reports. One day they might actually turn up.
The Chaos forces probably had the better of it, but because I only wanted painted models in this report the 'Nidz were restricted as they couldn't have any Titans, Trygons, the Harridan or Carnifexes yet. A bigger game would have also had some spores I imagine. I would like our first proper big battle report to be between these two forces. It would rock.