Some "Epic" Nostalgia

Cool! All there and unpunched!

 A couple of amazing Ebay scores have arrived in recent weeks as I prepare for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (it's already started - check it out! Byron has struck already with a platoon of 15mm Sherman Tanks...), and these have induced some "Epic" nostalgia on my part.  Remember this game???

Lovely nerd flashbacks checking out the box

Remember when GW thought about their games this way?

My big aim in the Painting Challenge this year is to finish 30k stuff - of course I hope a lot of that will be in 28mm, but I have been scouring Ebay in recent months picking up a bit here and a bit there to try and put together a 30k game in Epic - the "format", so to speak, that got the whole thing started.

Epic goodies! Original Space Marine rules, data cards, and most importantly, Space Marines!

This box is a big part of that - has all the old buildings, the old rulers, the old rules and old figures - a truly wonderful find.

Oh yeah! Now THAT is a battle!

Another nostalgia score was a box of old plastic Warlord titans.  GW has continually abused the Warlord Titan with new designs - each one progressively worse, in my (wholly subjective, totally superfluous) opinion.  The ominous, turtle-shell style of these old plastics simply cannot be beat, in my view. It will be great fun to paint up six of these suckers - three loyalists, and three traitors.

Side note - OK the new look warlord in "28mm scale" from Forge World is in fact a lovely design, but since it is not available in Epic sized, I'll disregard that for now :)  

Woohoo! Old time plastic goodness!

One theme in this year's Challenge is "nostalgia" - I usually ignore the theme submissions (they derail my momentum) but a maniple of these old Warlord Titans might just do the trick...

Might even use the void shield wheels, just for fun...

I'm looking forward to getting a few of these bits under the paint brush very soon.  Epic has changed a great deal over the years since this version of the game was released - I'm debating whether to base them in a fashion consistent with my newer approach to the game, or to go whole-hog with the nostalgia and use the old little square bases...we'll see what happens!

So watch for this - and hopefully more - to come in the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge.  As before, I will be posting progress here on our blog do, and I hope participants Byron and Kevin do the same.

All the best, and have a great Christmas!

30 Seconds Over New Rynn City: Aeronautica Imperialis Battle Report

Last Thursday I wanted to set up something we hadn't played for awhile. But I also thought it would be cool to do another game in keeping with our current and long-running Rogue Trader "Invasion of Rynn's World" campaign. The solution was "Aeronautica Imperialis", the short-lived aerial combat game from Forge World, set in the 40K universe.

I found a suitable scenario in the AI rulebook. An Ork air fleet is tasked with taking out some ammo supply bunkers on the outskirts of New Rynn City. Imperial interceptor aircraft and ground defences must defend the targets. The Orks had a Blasta Bommer, two Fighta-Bommers, and two squadrons each of three Fightas. The Imperials had two heavy flak guns and two squadrons of Thunderbolts, one of two and the other of three aircraft.

The models I have for AI are mainly the old Epic aircraft, cast in white metal. They're great models.
 

The Ork Fighta-Bommers are converted Imperial Marauders from Epic. I greenstuff'd on some Orky looking engine covers and rivets and gave 'em a red paintjob.
 

The Blasta Bommer is a resin Forge World piece. A gorgeous model but a bit of a challenge to assemble as the resin on the rear stabilizers was pretty warped. Lots of fiddly little gun barrels too, and unfortunately some were casualties of our recent house move :-(

Fightas are Epic pieces and are super-fun to paint. Very characterful and Orky little models.

Here's a nice shot of the beginnings of the furball. Aeronautica Imperialis uses clever little "maneuver cards" that also act like templates for the maneuvers. Pre-plotting is limited to choosing a maneuver for your plane for the next turn. Speed is set at the start of each turn (shown on the red dice) and altitude is a function of maneuvers picked (green dice).
 

The two sides dice for initiative at the start of each turn and the winner picks one plane to move, and play alternates back and forth. Shooting alternates too, with the initiative winner picking the first plane to shoot. Fighters generally take two points of damage to bring down but some weapons can do more than one point per hit. Ork big shootas, for example, roll 8 dice at short range! Hits are scored on a 5 or 6 if the target is at the same altitude as the firer - if they're one range band apart it takes a roll of 6.

A Thunderbolt catches one of the Ork Fightas in a deflection shot. Conscripts Greg and Mike ran the Imperial side, and if it wasn't for bad luck they'd've had no luck at all. Usually Mike can be relied upon for hot die rolling but not this night. Both Greg's and Mike's dice were appalling.

The Orks drew first blood with a shootdown of a Thunderbolt. Kills went back and forth for a bit but the Orks had more planes in the air so could absorb more losses.

Fighta and Fighta-Bommer

The Orks left the heavy lifting to the Blasta Bommer and it obliterated one of the bunkers on its first bomb run. Then the huge Bommer ended up flying off the table! A Fighta-Bommer hit the other bunker and although the doors were blasted off, the ammo inside failed to detonate.

The Orks had much better dice luck than the Imperials in the dogfight and after about 7 turns the Imperials had lost too many planes to continue - after taking 50% losses the remainder must bug out. So although the Orks only busted one bunker, we had to give them the win as they forced the other side off the table.

I really like AI for a straightforward aerial fight. There isn't a ton of record keeping required but the maneuver cards keep things flavorful and moderately tactical. The models are great too, and it's easy to put on a game. It's one of those Specialist Games that never should have died.

An Epic Clash - Epic: Armageddon AAR

An Imperial facility on Toxo IV.

Last week we celebrated the imminent arrival of Christmas with a game of Epic: Armageddon.  We haven't played Epic in a while, so I thought it would be fun to set up a game on poor old Toxo IV just before the holidays. The scenario pitted nearly equal forces, a column of Dark Angels (Loyalists) vs. a column of Word Bearers (Traitors!).  The objective was an Imperial facility in the centre of the table. The game would last six turns, and whoever held the facility - or the greatest part of it - at the end of the game would win!

Loyalist Marines - Dark Angels.

The Dark Angels had two tactical detachments, a devastator detachment, a Predator detachment, a Land Raider section and a pair of dreadnoughts.Conscripts Dallas and Dave V. played the loyalist side.

Followers of Horus - Word Bearers.

The Word Bearers had a very similar force, but instead of a devastator detachment they had an assault detachment.  Conscript Jim took command of Horus's followers for his very first game of Epic.

Preliminary action - the Dark Angels have rushed their Land Raiders forward, while the Word Bearer assault marines ponder their options.

It was a race from the get-go to see who could get units into the Imperial complex.  Dallas and Dave rushed their Land Raiders forward, while Jim was very aggressive with his assault marines.  He got some good results with them, taking out one of the Dark Angel Land Raiders (this is a good outcome - Land Raiders are supremely tough in Epic) with a close assault.  It was Jim's first taste of the "engage" order, and he rapidly grew fond of it.

You can see the Land Raider has been driven back (on the right, with a crump) - the second one having been destroyed.  The assault marines have retired to a quiet corner of the facility.

Despite this initial success, the Dark Angels had better luck crowding into the complex, thanks to their slightly easier approach path (which they had won when dicing off for table-edge selection).  Dallas and Dave were ultimately able to cram most of their force into the complex, while Jim tried to pick them off from the flanks.

"Yeah, that's two hits." Dallas's hot rolling preserved for the record - a pair of "6"s followed by a pair of "5"s.

One of the most incredible moments in this game (or any of our games for a while) came when Dallas' detachment of Predators made a "double" move, which allows two move and a round of fire at "-1" to hit. The Predator Destructor's auto cannon is not a huge AT weapon to begin with, and when you add the "-1", you needed "7" to hit. To do this, you need to roll a "6", then a "4".  Dallas managed with BOTH of his Predator Destructors!! He nearly wiped out Jim's Predators with this shooting.

How come the Word Bearer Predators are gone?

The most accurate shots in the galaxy...

Jim's jump troops made repeated assaults against the Dark Angels, and were very, very successful considering how they were hugely outnumbered.  But their high close combat value and high maneuverability make them dangerous, and he briefly pushed one of the Dark Angel tactical units back.  As the turns moved along, Jim was able to blast through the walls and get all of his troops in for one last big push.

The Word Bearer Land Raiders have smashed a hole on the right.

Jim also levelled some punishing fire into the complex.  He took revenge on Dallas' super elite Predators, knocking out three of the four tanks. The Dark Angels took losses, but Marines in hard cover are very, very tough customers.  Dallas and Dave hunkered down, the devestators pouring out heavy fire. Jim was only going to win if he went "all-in".

Close up of the complex.  The Dark Angels have comprehensively manned the facilities and are ready to fight!

As the sixth turn approached Jim won the initiative and sent every marine he could muster through the breach against the Dark Angels.  The close combat and fire fighting was very, very fierce.  The Dark Angels paid a high price, but they did not break enough to give the Word Bearers any kind of toe-hold in the complex.

The Word Bearers are trying to swarm toward that hole on the right.

It was a close game.  Jim's aggressive use of his jump troops was fun and worked well for him.  They did not kill a ton of Dark Angels, but they drove them back a couple of times thanks to some fortunate die rolls. 

Another view of the fighting in the final turns - on the left side of the photo you can see Dark Angel tactical stands which had been driven from the buildings by a daring assault of the Word Bearer assault marines.

As the sixth turn came and went, the Dark Angels remained in possession of the Imperial complex, denying a key piece of Toxo IV infrastructure to the Horus' rebel marines.The Word Bearers were driven away, minus their assault detachment, which had paid the ultimate price for their super aggressive tactics.  The last stand had been smashed to bits by one of the Dark Angels' dreadnoughts.

This Dark Angel dreadnought had something to say to the Word Bearer assault marines.

It was GREAT fun to play Epic again, particularly in the Horus Heresy setting. It is easy to forget but many of GW's rulesets other than 40k are very good, and the Epic: Armageddon rules are one of their best.  The rules do a very, very good job of presenting the Marines in a fashion that is more authentic to the actual setting that you read about in the fluff - very tough, flexible, and not easy to move out of defensive positions. You also do not need many Marine models to have a good, quick and fun game.

A view of the Word Bearer's desperate final attack.

Thanks to Dallas for hosting and to Dallas, Dave V and Jim for playing! Special thanks to Dallas for the photos as well. Happy holidays to all, and I look forward to some great gaming in 2014!

- Greg

"Not an Ordinatus Day" - Epic 40K Battle Report

Rebels to the core: Conscripts Curt, Mike F. and Bill

Last Thursday the Conscripts gathered at my place for Greg's Epic 40K game entitled "Not an Ordinatus Day". It was an indeed an "epic" encounter, set in the time of the Horus Heresy, pitting massive titans of the loyalist Ordo Titanicus against their traitor brethren.

The battle took place in an unnamed Imperial city. The scenario was a straightforward one - as the title indicated, the Rebels had procured a fearsome "Ordinatus" weapon (basically a planet-killer gun on a massive tracked chassis) and were escorting it across the length of the table to its firing position. (For any Winnipeggers reading this, we imagined that the central road across the table was Pembina Highway and the Ordinatus had to get from downtown to Investors Group Field for a Bomber game)

Loyalists to a fault: Conscripts Greg, Dave V., Jim and Byron

The Loyalist forces were assigned three larger Titans and a couple small ones, and were tasked with preventing the Ordinatus (codenamed "The Compensator") from getting to the Bomber game. The Rebels had a small contingent of Titans escorting the Compensator.

Joing the action already in progress, the Loyalists (bottom) have just vaped a Rebel titan, a lighter Scout model I think.

Another view of the Loyalist titan. Greg came up with some clever names for these imposing war machines ;-)

The Rebels light up some of the Loyalist fools on the hill.

A strong Loyalist group reinforces the centre against the Rebels. Conscript Curt rolled the Compensator directly into action early on, and its fearsome weaponry destroyed at least one Loyalist Titan with a single shot. So the Compensator became a target of highest priority...

...just so. Concentrated Loyalist firepower eliminated the threat from the Centurio Ordinatus' gargantuan weapon.

I didn't take the best pics of the game (perhaps Greg will add more?) but the Titans looked awesome prowling around the city. Those Imperial skyscraper models were among the best things GW ever included in its boxed games, for sure.


"Fusion power is clean and safe" - except when your Titan explodes

Mike ponders the inevitable triumph of the Emperor's Light while Bill literally flees the table ;-)



Rebel titan's reactors overload and explode

Excellent game as always put on by Greg. Epic 40K is such a good ruleset - consigned to GW's heap of history. Dulce et decorum est pro profectus mori. (Apologies to Wilfred Owen)

From The Mists Of History...

NIB goodness - a Capitol Imperialis from the Epic 40k game!

Grabbed this one off of Ebay a couple of weeks ago - a NIB Capitol Imperialis!  It arrived safe and sound, and is ready to be assembled and painted.  I haven't painted anything for Epic 40k for well over a year (and even then most of that work was related to a huge re-basing project).  I look forward to doing (to quote Dallas) the "unthinkable", opening this sucker up and getting it based and painted for a game of Epic 40k!  Stay tuned to the blog for details...

Battle Report - 15mm Sci Fi

15mm Sci-Fi action during our game this week

Yesterday we assembled at Dallas' place to play some 15mm sci-fi.  Previously we have been using the Future War Commander rules to play these games, but this week Dallas and the gang politely indulged my drive to fiddle with rules and play the game using a home-baked variant of the Epic 40,000 rules engine.

Dallas' beautiful Earth Force troops from Rebel Minis



Dallas' very cool UNE Superfortress Colossus - see this link for more on this model

 The scenario pitted my "Federal Forces" (Khurasan Federal Army and Control Battalion with vehicles from Khurasan and Old Crow) against Dallas' "Earth Force" faction (with infantry and vehicles from Rebel Minis, and one monster walker that I believe is now OOP...).

Control Battalion and tanks wait in reserve for the Federals

The Federals had occupied a settlement, and Earth Force was determined to re-capture it.  The Federals started with an army detachment dug into the buildings, and the rest of their detachments in reserve. Earth Force came in on the first turn, and the Federals would have to roll for reserves...whoever had the settlement at the end of 10 turns, or broke the other side first, would win!

Dallas and Mike F took control of the Earth Force, while Brian and Mike A went with the Federals.

Federal troops occupy the objective buildings - models from Khurasan

The game was hard fought.  Over the first couple of turns, the Earth Force guys pounded on the Federal troops holed up in the settlement.  Mike A and Brian managed to damage some Earth Force APCs with AT fire.  Dallas and Mike F then sent the lads in for a massive close assault.  It worked - the Federal Army detachment was broken and driven out the objective.

Mike F's mechanized detachment hits some AT SNAFUs early in the game

Overheard shot of the first Earth Force assault - the Federals were overwhelmed

After this happened, the Federal Reserves arrived - a mechanized Control Battalion platoon, two medium tanks and a pair of super-heavy "Siler" tanks. Mike A and Brian launched a bold assault with the fearsome Control Battalion.  It was a success, but was something of a phyrric victory, as the margin of defeat for the Earth Force detachments was very narrow.  Dallas and Mike F's detachments were tossed out of the objective, but they inflicted heavy losses on the Control Battalion units.

Control Battalion leads a fierce counter-attack against the Earth Force troops

At this point, Dallas was bitten by some bad rolling, and a mechanized infantry detachment that "should" have rallied quite easily opted to continue retreating instead.

The Control Battalion remnants continue to battle for control - APCs are models from Old Crow

Despite the setback, the remaining Earth Force troops found their nerve, reorganized, and counter-attacked, as the massive UNE Colossus Walker continued to close in on the objective.   The game became a series of closely fought firefights and assaults.  Mike A and Brian won nearly all of these with some hot rolling, allowing their Control Battalion remnants to cling to the objective.

Another close-up of the heavy fighting - this would have gone better for Earth Force if that one detachment had not chickened out....

Meanwhile, the Siler tanks exchanged hits with the giant Colossus Walker.  Eventually the weight of fire from the Federal Side took out the shields and knocked out the walker.  The loss of the vehicle was the final straw, and the army morale of the Earth Force side broke.  It should be noted, however, that at that time, they were still contesting the objective, allowing Mike F and Dallas to claim a Thorpian Moral Victory. The battle was very, very close, going down to practically the last turn.

Siler tanks concentrate on the massive UNE walker

The Colossus is wreathed in the "smoke of victory" after knock-out hits from the Siler tanks

Full credit to all players for pursuing the objective with great gusto - in nine turns, I think there were like three close assaults and four more firefights.  The objective buildings changed hands several times during the game. It sort of became necessary to destroy the settlement in order to save it...

Thanks to Dallas for hosting, and to everyone who came out to play. Thanks also to all for showing patience while we worked through the adaptation of the Epic 40,000 rules.