Well, finally got in another game of EPIC today... was hoping to get in two, but my wife surprised me with tonight being date night!

My Evil Friend Dave, of the International Tau Playtests, took a Fir Iolarion Eldar Titan Clan Army, while I took my tournament Orks... the poor Cads!

_________________
"EPIC: Total War" Lead Developer

Now living in Boston... any EPIC players want to meet up?

Rules Used

Epic Update 2008
NetEA Recommendations
Fir Iolarion Eldar Titan Clan Army v1.1

Scenario

Tournament Scenario

Armies Used

Fir Iolarion Eldar Titan Clan Army - 3000 Points

Phantom Titan Warhost HQ – (BTS Goal)
1 Phantom Titan
1 Autarch
2 Titan D-Cannon  

Phantom Titan Warhost 1
1 Phantom Titan
2 Tremor Cannon  

Revenant Titan Warhost
1 Revenant
2 Revenant Sonic Lance

Ranger Troupe A
7 Rangers

Ranger Troupe B
6 Rangers

Ranger Troupe C
6 Rangers

Ranger Troupe E
6 Rangers

Ranger Troupe F
6 Rangers

Nightwings
3 Nightwings

b]Warlord Khroma’s ‘Eavy Metal Thunda[/b] - 3000 Points

Big Warband
Warboss Character
4 Nobz
12 Boyz
4 Grotz
2 Boyz
2 Grotz

Stompamob – (BTS Target)
3 Stompas
1 Supa-Stompa
3 Soopagunz

Stormboyz Warhorde
6 Stormboyz
4 Dethkoptas

Big Kult of Speed
4 Warbikes
6 Warbuggies
6 Skorchas

Big Mekboy Gunzmob
10 Big Gunz
1 Nobz
2 Oddboyz Characters
2 Soopagunz

Big Blitz Brigade 1
6 Gunwagonz
2 Flakwagonz
2 Oddboyz
2 Soopagunz

Blitz Brigade 2
6 Gunwagonz
2 Flakwagonz
2 Oddboyz
2 Supazapp Gunz

Fighta-Bommerz 1
4 F-Bs

Fighta-Bommerz 2
4 F-Bs

_________________
"EPIC: Total War" Lead Developer

Now living in Boston... any EPIC players want to meet up?

this is going to be one interesting battle report

_________________
numquam culum es

Battlefield:

4x6

Eldar Titan Clan chose table corners.


Deployment:

No reserves.

Eldar Titan Clan garrisoned all Ranger Troupes, with Troupes A and B on overwatch.

Orks garrisoned the Stormboyz, the Warband, and the Big Gunz, with the latter two on overwatch.

Remaining deployment as shown:

_________________
"EPIC: Total War" Lead Developer

Now living in Boston... any EPIC players want to meet up?

Turn 1

No teleports.

Strategy Roll: Eldar Titan Clan

Sensing trouble, the Nightwings go on CAP.

Blitz Brigade 1 doubles forward to drop some fire on Scout Troupe A… and gives them a Blast marker.

Ranger Troupe C goes on overwatch.

Fighta-Bommerz Sqwadron 2 dive down to ground attack the leader Phantom Titan.  The Nightwings intercept… and it’s a bad day to be an Ork pilot as, even trying to jink, the Eldar planes take out three aircraft… and the Titan nails the fourth!  *OUCH*  (The purpose of that attack was to draw out the Nightwings for a subsequent intercept… odds didn’t turn in my favour.)

The Ranger F-Troupe doubles to a better position, but has no targets.

Noticing the bait has been taken… and devoured!, Fighta-Bommer Sqwadron 1 intercepts the Nightwings… and only places a Blast marker (Insult *and* injury in two simple activations!)

Ranger E marches laterally into cover.

The Stompamob doubles forward and fires on F-Troupe, taking out two Rangers, while the extra Blast marker from 6BP of Soopagunz breaks the formation and they fall back.

Phantom 1 doubles forward and fires on Blitz Brigade 1, also catching the Gunzmob in a field of vibrating death.  A Gunwagon and a Soopagunwagon are shaken apart.

Angered by this, the Gunzmob resolutely advances on Phanto 1 and manages to do 1DC of damage!

Ranger Troupe A drops overwatch to marshal… but fails and even the Autarch can’t get them to get it together so they regroup and clear all Blast markers.

Blitz Brigade 2 then doubles to fire on Phantom 1… *both* Supazzapgunz hit… and *both* Suppazzapgun hits get through the Holofield doing a combined 4DC of damage and breaking the battered Titan!  WAAAAGH!!!

The lone Revenant bounds forward on a double, but can’t get anything in line of sight.

The Stormboyz take to the skies to fire on Ranger Troupe A, placing a Blast marker.

Far in the backfield, Phantom HQ doubles forward… but can’t locate any targets in range of its vicious weapons.

The Kult of Speed races to the middle of the battlefield with a march, losing a single Warbike to the snipers of Ranger Troupe C.

Ranger Troupe B doubles forward and fires on the Kult of Speed, but scores no hits.

Seeing it getting thick in the middle, the Warband doubles forward, following the Kult of Speed…


End of Turn

Sqwadron 1 takes a Blast marker on the way back to base.

Ranger Troupe A fails to rally.

All Ork formations successfully rally.

_________________
"EPIC: Total War" Lead Developer

Now living in Boston... any EPIC players want to meet up?

Turn 2

No teleports.

Strategy Roll: Eldar Titan Clan

Battered, but not beaten, Phantom 1 advances back into the fray and manages to catch both Blitz Brigades in its sights!  Blitz 2 loses a Gunwagon and a Flakwagon, while Blitz 1 only loses a Flakwagon, but the accumulated Blast markers break the Ork tanks.

Ranger Troupe E then engages the Stormboyz, who countercharge into Phantom 1!  The Orks do no damage at all… and lose three Koptas and two Stormboyz in the swirling fray as they are easily sent packing.



The Stompamob doubles towards Ranger Troupe C and puts *two* Blast markers on them.

And then the Kult of Speed follows up, engaging Scouts B… and A and C and the Revenant Titan in a massive mess of destruction!  The Kultists take out three Rangers from Troupe B and one from Troupe A… and get *pounded* in return.  



After the smoke clears, three Skorchas and a Buggy sputter away in defeat while the Eldar reposition… Scouts B breaking and falling back.



From its new position, the Revenant sustains fire on the Gunzmob and takes out both Soopagunz along with five Big Gunz, completely demoralizing them.

Phantom HQ doubles to fire on Blitz Brigade 2… but only manages to trash a Flakwagon.

The Figha-Bommerz of Sqwadron 1 ground attack Phantom HQ for one Blast marker.

The Warband doubles on Phantom HQ and places another Blast marker.

Ranger Troupe C marshals, firing on the Stompas to little effect and then clears all their Blast markers.

F-Troupe fails to march and regroups.

And then Ranger A fails the same order and also regroups…


End of Turn

Ranger Troupe B fails to rally.

The Kult of Speed and the Stormboyz fail to rally.

_________________
"EPIC: Total War" Lead Developer

Now living in Boston... any EPIC players want to meet up?

Turn 3

No teleports.

Strategy Roll: Eldar Titan Clan

Phantom 1 doubles towards the Stompamob… and manages to knock down a single Power Field (of three)…

The Stompas double forward as well, targeting the Phantom HQ and catching the Revenant as well, putting two Blast markers on each Titan.

The Warband lets out a mighty battle cry and engages the Titan leader.  Three Grotz and a Boy are ground into paste while a single DC is done to the Phantom…



The Orks still manage to win, which breaks the Revenant! WAAAGH!!!



Ranger Troupe E gets revenge by advancing on the Warband, scoring a single hit… which takes out the Warlord… *sigh*

Blitz Brigade 2 doubles after the Phantom HQ… and does no damage…

Fighter-Bommerz 1 then dive down to hit Phantom 1… again, no damage… and it only has 1DC left… *sigh*

Ranger Troupe C doubles to put a Blast marker on the Stompamob and…

Ranger Troup A *ENGAGES* them… with the support of other Rangers and Phantom 1.



Initial attacks see one Stompa and two Rangers go down… and support fire sees two Power Fields and 1DC lost from the Supa-Stompa… and then the Eldar win by “1â€Â

_________________
"EPIC: Total War" Lead Developer

Now living in Boston... any EPIC players want to meet up?

Turn 4

No teleports.

Strategy Roll: Eldar Titan Clan

Phantom HQ sustains fire on the Warband and is able to hit the Supa-Stompa as well… and kills a *single* Boy.

In frustration, Ranger Troupe E engages Blitz Brigade 2 and wipes out the Ork tanks for a cost of two Rangers.

[picture messed up]

The Stompa tries to engage… but fails its activation and BREAKS!

Phantom 1 sustains fire on the Warband and takes out a Grot and four Boyz.

The Revenant then advances on the Warband and takes out a Grot and one Boy.

The Fighta-Bommerz ground attack Phantom 1 and do a single DC of damage, toppling the spindly construct… finally.

The Nightwings now ground attack the Supa-Stompa and do 1DC damage.



The Warband tries to double… fails, and is forced to move back into formation.

Ranger Troupe B doubles back to secure the Blitz and Ork Objective 1, but doesn’t shoot at anything.

Ranger Troupe C needs the calm words of the Autarch to advance after the Warband and put a Blast marker on them.

Blitz Brigade 1 doubles on Rangers A, kills a Ranger, and breaks the target.

F-Troupe *succeeds* at going on ovewatch and guards Ork Objective 2…


End of Turn

Neither surviving Eldar Titan rallies.

And *no* Ork formations rally at all!!!


Score:

Eldar 1 (DTF) vs Orks 0 (none) – Die roll says…On to turn 5!

_________________
"EPIC: Total War" Lead Developer

Now living in Boston... any EPIC players want to meet up?

Turn 5

No teleports.

Strategy Roll: Eldar Titan Clan… *SIGH*

Phantom HQ attempts to advance, but the Autarch is so tired even he can’t get motivated to do much, so the Titan fires on Blitz Brigade 1 and the Warband… the Ork tanks get a Blast marker, while the Warband loses a Grot and a Nob… and it’s enough to break the savaged formation…

Blitz Brigade 1 then *engages* Phantom HQ… and is wiped out for their troubles…



The depleted Gunzmob actually manages to sustain fire on Phantom HQ… and places a Blast marker…

The Revenant responds by engaging the Gunzmob and barging deep into them… wiping them out while taking no damage.



Sqwadron 1 ground attacks Scout Troupe E, kills one, and breaks them.

Scout Troupe C advances and scares away another Boyz unit from the Warband.

Scouts B try to go on overwatch and fail, regrouping to hold their position.

The Nightwings see that it’s all over and stand down…


End of Turn

Good for the Eldar.

Not so good for the Orks.


Score:

Eldar 2 (DTF, TSNP) vs Orks 0 (none) – Moderate Eldar Victory!

_________________
"EPIC: Total War" Lead Developer

Now living in Boston... any EPIC players want to meet up?

Wow... no comments at all... I guess no one collects Eldar Titans...

_________________
"EPIC: Total War" Lead Developer

Now living in Boston... any EPIC players want to meet up?

How do you feel it went and the list played? I have to admit I've not read the list, but I only own a couple of Revenant Titans.

Remarkably poor shooting by the Eldar Titans, must have been quite frustrating to gear up with all the nice tools and then keep missing the barn from the inside. How did the alternative weapons feel before missing, about right?

_________________
Visit www.epic-battles.de the ultimate german epic site&forum!

They sure looked scary on paper!

But, as barrage weapons, they seemed to hit okay... on a double the values are going to be AP5+/AT6+... it's just a benefit that you don't have to worry about cover... and my opponent is notorious for rolling poorly when sustaining... *laugh*

As we played, my opponent and I discussed the balance between the "reliability" of the direct fire weapons vs the potential "quantity" of attacks that the barrage weapons offered and came to the conclusion that it wasn't as easy a choice as it might appear.

The plethora of Ranger (or any other support formations) made me think that the list might benefit from a 2-per-1 support ratio vs the current 3-per-1.

As always, fighting Eldar Titans can be quite frustrating, and the massed Rangers made it tough to position for crossfires; armies with more accurate direct fire might be able to handle them better and large assaults can, potentiall, throw enough dice to take the 6DC machines down.

Looking forward to facing it again some time... and my opponent will probably include at least one Farseer, as he missed the ability to triple activate at times.

And, perhaps I won't be so cavalier with my planes next time...

_________________
"EPIC: Total War" Lead Developer

Now living in Boston... any EPIC players want to meet up?

I'm a little surprised by the amount of shooting went on with the phantoms - they seem so much more effective assaulting (and supporting each other). How did you find the massive flak umbrella from all those titans?

I don't usually field titans, but I do have 5 phantom/warlock titans, so I'd easily be able to play with this list. That is, if I find anyone willing to play against me

_________________
numquam culum es

But all those templates ... against Orks! I don´t know if you expected facing a horde, but surely this must have been a target-rich environment, and then so few shooting kills.

Btw, why double D-Cannons? Seems overkill.

Regrettably   I have equipped an opponent with a a twin-Tremor Phantom, a Fusion/D-Cannon Phantom, so I might get some of this Eldar Titan hurt myself....

_________________
Visit www.epic-battles.de the ultimate german epic site&forum!