Epic 30k Battle Report

Fellblade of the VIIth Legion unleashes fire from its main guns during Epic 30k action!

Another belated battle report as a catch up on a bit of blogging.  A few weeks ago, founding Conscript Curt C came to town for a weekend visit.  We tried out "Team Yankee" for the first time, but we also managed to squeeze in a game of Epic 30k using the "Epic: Armageddon" rules engine.  The scenario featured another battle between XVIth Legion, the Sons of Horus, and the VIIth Legion, the Imperial Fists, duped followers of the so-called "Emperor".

View of the table - the objective, the Administratum facility, is smack dab in the middle

Conscript Byron joined the game once again, taking command of the Imperial Fists, while Curt played the side of hope and change, the Sons of Horus. The game wasn't too complicated - both sides were looking to take possession of an Administratum building which housed critical records and data on the history of the later Imperial Crusades. The Warmaster, noted for his passion for truth, was particularly concerned about the presence of some records in this facility relating to recent operations in the Istvaan system. Intelligence sources indicated said records reflected poorly on his actions by completely leaving out the notable role played in these events by false-flag Imperial terrorists.  Consumed by his devotion to accurate historical recollections, Horus dispatched his Marines and heavy tanks to secure the facility for brutal and complete purging appropriate remedial measures.

Twin accelerator cannons - KABOOM!

This Fellblade is starting to feel the pain...

A kill for the Loyalists!

The game would last six turns, and whoever controlled the building would win.  The catch? Only infantry could be sent through the Administratum facility walls for any occupation (or related assaults) - the arcana of the outside walls, aided perhaps by some twisted dark-age technology, blocked all vehicles.  Given enough time, the enlightened chaps in the IT department of Legio Mortis might have solved it, but the presence of the Imperial Fists meant things would go down the hard way...

Sicaran tanks advance for the XVI Legion

The Imperial Fists try and corner another victim...

And so the battle raged! I have to say (selfishly) that it was great fun to see these figures in action once again, as Fellblades and Land Raiders clashed.  It was an escalating engagement, with Byron and Curt able to bring on an additional detachment every turn.  The catch - or, perhaps if you were Bryon or Curt, you might argue, the "shiv" - was that there were more detachments than turns, so they had to choose between bringing on artillery and heavy tanks to hammer their opponents, or bringing forward infantry to capture the building - and also to calculate how to get the infantry delivered to the building in one piece.

The Sons of Horus turn the tables!

And it ends in tears for the dupes of the false "emperor"

Early on the Imperial Fists seemed to be carrying the day, but Curt and his tanks - guided, surely, by their excellent training and faith in the Warmaster - started to knock out the Imperial Fist armour. By the 6th turn, there were almost no Imperial Fist tanks left running on the table...and yet...

The infantry of the XVI Legion seize the objective...

The Imperial Fists mount a fierce assault...

Hard slogging on the way up...

...And yet! Byron had fed a steady diet of available infantry into the maelstrom, and as the infantry battle raged inside the Administratum compound, the Sons of Horus were forced back in the final turn!

Whirlwinds fire in support...

The Sons of Horus are driven back...

But so are the Imperial Fists!

Opposing commanders reflect on the game - good times and lots of 30k carnage!

But not so much that Curt's lads couldn't dish out some final abusive artillery and break the Imperial Fist infantry too!  Maybe the VIIth legion needed a 7th turn...

And so, the 30k-est ending possible - nobody won, but there were tons of casualties! How appropriate. A big thank you to Curt for visiting and to Byron for playing.  Both embraced the spirit of the setting very well, and the carnage on the table was very enjoyable.  Epic remains one of my absolute favourite games, and playing Epic in the 30k setting is a ton of fun.  While I'm still painting 28mm 30k stuff right now, I'm planning to bring Epic 30k out to Prairiecon in June, so I'm hoping to get more stuff finished before then.   

Team Yankee Test Game - Holy Hind!

Firing positions! Ivan on the way!

Between work and racing to finish a final few entries in Curt's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (which has concluded now, even if winter itself hasn't - be sure to check out all of the amazing work here) I have been slacking at blogging of late, but will try and catch up a bit.  Up first, a belated battle report of a test game for "Team Yankee", the new cold-war-gone-hot rules from Battlefront.

NATO dupes in position...little do they suspect...

Conscript Curt was in town a few weeks ago for a visit, and together with Byron we took my newly painted "Team Yankee" models out for a spin.  The scenario was extremely basic, and I apologize, as I only have a fuzzy recollection on the points used (would have been about 60 or 70 per side, tops, based on what I have painted).

"The Plan" - WARPAC advances from the lower right, while NATO awaits on the top left

Curt give an enthusiastic thumbs-up to the Soviet advance - he's a big fan of the Hinds

I thought the game would be quick.  But oh man, I underestimated that.  We played TWO games, and each one lasted two turns!! I had read about that experience online from other folks playing their initial games, and wow, it's really something.  The game is murderous, which is in many ways a fair reflection of the (thankfully fictional) conflict it is looking to simulate.

Soviet T-72s encounter from fire from M1s

Curt took command of the Soviets, and Byron played the US side. In the first run-through, Curt's Hinds made short work of the M1 Abrams tanks, who shot up a few T-72s, but otherwise were quickly overwhelmed.  Curt didn't even need to deploy the motor rifle company!  Talk about Soviet efficiency! Promotions all around!

Hind makes a kill...

More Hind carnage...

Comrade Curt is loving the Hinds - he poses here near the smoking wrecks of Byron's M1 platoon...

In our second run through, we stowed the over-powerful Hinds to see how it would play.  In this iteration, the M1s managed to knock out a lot more Soviet stuff (many T-72s and BMP-2s were full of holes), but the mass of tanks still overwhelmed the M1s - and again, it took two, or maybe three turns at most.  Wow!

T-72s open fire!

Soviet battalion commander plays it safe...meanwhile, the motor rifles move out (behind the forest)

So for now, no more "Team Yankee" (or at least, no more with helicopters) until I get some AAA stuff painted for both sides, especially the US.  The Hinds are total murder - and I think that's fine, they bloody should be! But some M163s will be needed for the US players to have much chance in the game. The US Cobra helos were a lot less scary, we found, so we could probably play without Soviet AAA stuff, but still, it would be nice for the players to have it a bit balanced.

M1s engage - they made short work of the BMP2s...

My take on the rules? Well, maybe I'm just crusty and getting older, but I still find Battlefront is excessively fond of fiddly little special rules.  A top level skim of their rules is always reasonably straightforward, but when you sit down and start to play, your head hurts with every little exception you can attempt.  This is particularly pronounced with the "orders" for movement Battlefront has introduced, which are different from their prior "Flames of War" game.  I want to recognize and compliment Battlefront for trying something different, but in the end it keeps making my head hurt.  "I moved, but I count as stationary, but, but, but, etc" AAARGH! Enough with the damn special rules! And get off my lawn! Grumble, grumble etc.

Cobras try to help...

Another weakness is the "IGOUGO" aspect - generally I'm okay with that approach, it's simple, easy to remember, but in some situations, it kinda mucks the game up, particularly games as murderous as "Team Yankee".  I think an alternating activation would be much more enjoyable.

"Maybe we'll be safe here from the Hinds..."

Motor rifle carnage

Tough night for NATO

But will you have fun with "Team Yankee"? Yes! Tanks on fire! Helicopters! Cool! I'm cranky about some aspects of it, and I hate plastic models, but it's still very entertaining overall and what a neat way to have an engaging, flaming-tank-filled battle on the table in (very) short times! I'm confident the games will start to last a few more turns once I get a bit more stuff painted...I hope to get these out on to the table again for the Conscripts soon.