Brother RUG I am trying.
Coming from a Fire and Fury, Warmaster, Spearhead, Commander series, Panzer War degree of abstraction, having never won a single game of 40k despite having 4500pt of Imperial Fists fully painted I now play Warpath with, but having had those same friends over to play FWC and kicked their ass consistently I know I do what I do - well.
In Victoria, especially in Melbourne, there's a good two dozen Epic players. All good mates. I like having opponents I call on, we go to each others' houses, we met at clubs for games etc...

What I'd like is to figure out how I can give my opponent a good game.

I don't even want to WIN - it's no biggie to me - but I can read in their faces when they know I know they know they beat me before the game started. I don't know what I'm doing. When my friends and I play Warmaster, they know I know what I'm doing. When we play WWII, I know what I'm doing. It's a GOOD game, nevermind who wins. I don't care who wins! And for the most part, neither do they.
Practice and advice, which I turned to Taccoms for, and being humble in not knowing the rules all that well....that builds in my experience an understanding of the rules.
Kings of War, I'll take on anybody with that ruleset - why? Because I get it! I know it. I wrote the Battlescribe files for it for 3rd ed (much love to the rest of the team BTW).

I play wargames, my friends know what I'm like when I know the game and rules - unforgiving and brutal. I win the games of the rules I know. In E:A, I'm learning. That's all. Happy to bow my head low and say "how do I make Guard list? What to you think of this? Is this is a silly combo? Why?"
I'll get there when I know what I'm doing - dice gods permitting!

Yes, if "Clipping" means flanking attacks, then by all means, go for it ... Flanking is also referred to as "Envelopment" ... To understand Envelopment/flanking see the ancient battle Cannae or why it was so important for the 20th Maine to hold Little Round Top at Gettysburg ...

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Legion 4 "Cry Havoc, and let slip the Dogs of War !" ... "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

@ Ginger
Don't think the issue is the rules, it's merely my understanding of them.
Had a 22 Leman Russ Cpy get clipped on monday. Lost it and I ended up with two tanks.
Here's me thinking you've never ridden in a tank - I have - and that's impossible. Abstractionis maxima.
IM-POSSI-BLE. Still.........my BTS was gone.
Next time (Monday) instead of rolling a tank company of 22 tanks up the guts of the field I'll make use of their ranged attacks.
I've learned loads off this thread thanks to some awesome contributors.
Told them my list, what I liked, and how I lost.
They built me a list, I just follow your guys' advice. I don't know or understand E:A.
Having studied the military, I find some things peculiar. But then again this is sci-fi, so be it. I don't mind.
What I would like - for now - is to give my opponent a good game.
As it stands people see me play other rulesets and they think "oh darn"
When I play Epic they know I know they know they'll win. Why? Because I haven't a clue how to run Guard.

Yeah, remember that a unit killed by a blast marker or assault resolution is just as likely to be running away as being dead.

Take a broken Russ tank killed by a blast marker inflicted with a heavy bolter. It's not that the tank explodes, it's that the crew hears yet more shots pinging off their armour and think "eff this, let's get outta here". Also why a tank with a Commisar won't be killed - if you got a murderous maniac with a chainsword inside your tank, are you going to run or are you going to listen when he tells you to stay right where you are?

Understanding the "abstractions" within the Epic paradigm ...

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Legion 4 "Cry Havoc, and let slip the Dogs of War !" ... "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

Tanks getting "hacked down" in Epic is most likely their crew losing their nerve and bailing from the tank and back towards friendly lines; a fairly common occurrence for some armies in WW II. And, you know, 40k is basically WW II In Space!

Shhh...don't say that too loudly!
It's all completely original. Everything. 110%
Empire halberdiers are not lansknechts.
Imperial Guard are clearly not Soviets.
But the "abstraction" rationale I can see.
And more Sentinels on the way, I can see how they'd be handy indeed.

Remember, a unit is considered combat ineffective when it takes 1/3 losses ... but of course in some cases, units may have taken many more losses in combat, and still continued to fight (The FFL at Camaroon, IJF in the Pacific and CBI, Merrill's Maurders in CBI, The French at Dien Bien Phu, etc., etc.). When a stand of 5 infantrymen in Epic is "killed", of those 5 soldiers maybe 2-3 are actually dead, the rest wounded to the point of being unable to fight. 1 or 2 might be fine and/or only lightly wounded, but are in shock or stunned and/or taking care of the others ... Same thing happens with AFVs/Tanks. As high as 80% of AFVs "Knock'd Out" in combat are repairable. Not many actually suffer from what is considerd "Catastrophic Destruction". Like you see in the movies, turret blown off, huge fire, and explosions, etc.. But it does happen on occassions ... In Epic the AFV may have only had a mobility kill, ie., track and/road wheel damage or turret/weapons damage or malfunction. And the crew bails out. So for gaming purposes the vehicle or infantry stand are no longer considered "combat effective" ....

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Legion 4 "Cry Havoc, and let slip the Dogs of War !" ... "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

Great description L4. Another fantastic description I read once on the boards that made it really stick for me was, and I paraphrase, "when scoring a hot at those Ork buggies it doesn't mean I blew it up. Perhaps the ork swerved too fast and flipped over trying to avoid some bolter fire. Perhaps while his back was turned another Ork decided to stab the Nob in the neck and the unit basically fell into disarray as a fight broke out...". All sorts of things are represented by a unit being "destroyed" in the game. It also helps to remember that NOTHING is to scale. That 5cm on the table between units is probably a good 100 or more meters. I don't have the rulebook in front of me but the designer notes section IS FACINATING.

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There's a designer notes section?
On the website rulebook as well?
Oh and thanks for the remarks, helping me get into the groove. I like E:A in principle, as well as being played by a lot of folk in Victoria. Just want it to work for ME, if you get my drift. Have a good game, no matter who wins, and shifting from rivet counting/command driven games is taking awhile.
But I'm starting to get the picture, and with any luck the whole army will be done by Monday week so well in time for the tourney. I usually play games where you roll for where each shot hit each tank. E:A has elegantly gotten rid of that but it takes getting used to, that's all. The BP idea takes getting used to. Cllipping....well clipping I still don't get but I will when I finally pull it off - in several games people have told me "you could have" but I still don't get how.
Makes no sense to me. The FF/CC I'm still figuring out as well.

Though a friend who read these forum posts rang me yesterday and said "you play really well. You're just out-listed"
Thus I'm hoping the Taccomms list with my play style might get me somewhere. More activations definitely seems a good place to start as well as more activations each with a purpose.
Should I post here or to the Painting section? Reckon I'll post a link to that section, that would make more sense.
PS my painting sucks. Actually no, it's my basing that sucks. My painting I'm pretty stoked with.
Any basing tips for infantry?

Who would've known....
THIS is the GW I used to love!
http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA_Cus ... Armies.pdf
Cool article!

Firefights usually take place at about 200-250m ... Close Combat is very much closer, bayonets, grenades, pistols, combat knives/tomahawks, rifle butts, entrenching tools, fists, spit, etc., etc., get involved ...

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Legion 4 "Cry Havoc, and let slip the Dogs of War !" ... "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

There are a number of neat concepts in E:A, barrages are one. Most rules have fixed ranges for weaponry allowing the potential target to move with impossible precision to avoid being shot. E:A barrages differ by allowing you to place the templates beyond the stated weapon range (the range is measured to a unit under the first template). The consequence is that barrages get a 'fuzzy' range.

Crossfire is another fairly 'realistic' rule that is often overlooked. Especially usefull against Leman Russ - there are real world corrolaries here. And no, I have not ridden a tank; they are too bloody dangerous for my liking - people have a nasty habit of shooting at them.

This also highlights the obvious need to recognise the strengths and weaknesses of both your army and your opponent's, which in turn leads to developing the relevant strategies and tactics for each army and circumstances. As Rug says, it sounds as though you have some good 'teachers' who will demonstrate this, with 'extreme prejudice'.

You forgot Bad Language and Sharp Sticks there, Hudson

_________________
He's a lawyer and a super-villian. That's like having a shark with a bazooka!

-I HAVE NO POINT
-Penal Legion-Fan list
-Help me make Whitescars not suck!