[Epic] [E40K] Battle Report, part III

From: Chris White <chris_at_...>
Date: Fri, 29 Aug 1997 14:49:42 -0700

        The battle thus far: turn one of a "capture the flag" type scenario; Chaos
vs. Space Marines. Light casualties, Chaos Veterans have captured the
objective but were forced to retreat after CC.

        Turn Two: At this point we realized there was a problem: our table was too
small, and Chaos (me) would be able to get the objective off the table just
by going onto Assault orders and the SMs wouldn't be able to do anything
about it. So we decided that the objective would have to be removed from
the short table edge (this being the furthest distance from the center of
the table). This would allow the SMs some time to try to get the objective
back, especially since the detachment in possession of it was Broken.

        The Chaos Powers were ascendant and Chaos won the initiative for the first
turn. Taking a gamble Chaos moved first spreading Blood Rain (the assault
detachment)really thin, but encircling the nearest enemy detachments and
cutting off their line of attack to the Shaodows of Death (the detachment
"running the ball"). While measuring the distance for possible snap fires,
the average range was shown to be about 11cm. This hemmed in Force Asmodeus
pretty solidly; they wouldn't be able to advance without provoking some
snap firing. It was at this point that I noticed that some of the lines of
the plaid flannel sheet we were using (hence the planetary name Plaiditius)
were about 12cm wide. I pointed this out to my opponent and we both
immediately tried to forget it, with the aid of our Water Cooled TOBACCO
Smoking Device. We even considered removing the sheet for all of, oh, two
seconds...
        Anyway, Shmo'el the Fallen plugged the remaining route to the Shadows,
with the Reapers moving North towards the Whirlwinds of Force Diablo and
the LoB moving to just out of snap fire range of the Warhounds on their hill.
        The Imperium's hands were pretty much tied: all of the detachments on the
table were nose to nose, and Space Marine movements consisted mainly of
maneuvering to maximize arcs of fire.

        The Imperium, not having moved much, was better prepared to fire and fire
they did! Force Clonus, having dismounted their four units of Devastators,
opened up with them and their six Whirlwinds which wiped out several units
of Chaos Marines, two Khorne Engines (a Skull Tower and a Cauldron of
Blood, for those of you who remember a difference...), and a Silver Tower.
The Reapers, trying to sew confusion (BM) amongst the enemy, split their
fire towards Forces Asmodeus, Beelzebub, and Diablo killing one SM, one
Land Speeder, and one Predator respectively. Force Asmodeus, trying to
break through to the Rhino carrying the Intel info, fired on the
intervening Blood Rain. They were paying too much attention to their long
term goals, it seems, and their fire was mostly ineffective killing only
one Rhino. Blood Rain fired back with a vengeance, killing two Rhinos and
two Tactical Marines. The Warhounds of the Eyes of the Emperor, having
shrugged off the poorly aimed fire of the LoB, then proceeded to slaughter
the left flank of Blood Rain, killing two Chaos Marines, a Land Raider, a
unit of Noise Marines, a unit of Berzerkers and one Rhino.
        Seizing the moment, the rapid assault units of Force Beelzebub charged
into the right flank of the Reapers, but were driven back by one point!
This was the second turn in a row that this unit had been driven off
(albeit barely). Force Asmodeus, perhaps disheartened by their lousy aim,
failed to overcome their BMs and were unable to charge. The Eyes of the
Emperor were on Blood Rain, breaking them in a Fire Fight. Blood Rain now
had five BMs on them.
        Shmo'el the Fallen, being the only remaining Chaos unit able to charge,
waded into Force Asmodeus with his Terminators of Khorne, their Land Raider
lending fire support. He was victorious, but the Terminators died anyway.
The LoB lost a fire fight to the Eyes of the Emperor, gaining two BMs in
the process.
        At the end of the turn, everyone knuckled down and got busy. All Blast
Markers were removed, except for eight (!) remaining on Force Asmodeus, and
everyone who was Broken rallied except, again, Force Asmodeus which was the
detachment closest to the objective.

        Turn 3: The Space Marines, their mission clear, won the initiative for the
turn and forced Chaos to go first.
        The Shadows of Death made a regular move, while everyone else went on to
Assault orders. The idea was that, since an assault move wouldn't get them
off the table this turn anyway, it would be best to have maximum firepower
available and leave the CC to the units not carrying the "flag." The other
units blocked for their end run.
        The Space Marines opened with a preparatory bombardment from Force Diablo
against the only unit in range, the Reapers, killing the remaining Silver
Tower and some Chaos Marines. Force Asmodeus "retreated" 20cm, trying to
circle around the LoB to get to the edge where the Shadows of Death were
headed. The Attack Bikes of Force Beelzebub swung around behind the ragged
remains of the Reapers heading West and had an uninterrupted view of the
Rhino carrying the "flag", but were too far to do anymore than watch. Force
Clonus, which hadn't been doing much of anything except lending support to
other detachments, split it's fire. The Predators killed some trailing
elements of the Shadows of Death, and the Land Raiders killed the remaining
Khorne Engines and a Noise Marine unit from the Reapers. Blood Rain failed
to inflict any damage on the Warhounds, while the Overwatching Heavy
Weapons and Land Raider of Force Diablo finished off the last remaining
units of the Reapers (who didn't get to fire on the turn of their death).
Shmo'el's Land Raider, on Assault orders, missed it's one shot at Force
Clonus.
        The Lord of Battle stripped a void shield off a Warhound of the Eyes of
the Emperor, then the Eyes attacked. They split their fire: 11 FP vs. Blood
Rain, killing a unit of Chaos Marines, a Berzerker, and one Rhino; 12 FP
vs. the Shadows of Death killing two units of Veterans.
        The Imperium won initiative in the assault phase and the Warhounds charged
into close combat with units from Blood Rain and the Shadows. Chaos won,
bringing down a void shield on one and doing one damage on the other, but
two Predators died in the process. The remaining Attack Bikes of Force
Beelzebub got into a fire fight with some veterans of the Shadows, winning
by eight and breaking them.
        On Chaos' turn, Shmo'el led the charge with Blood Rain and some Shadows
joining in against the Warhounds, causing one damage but losing badly.
Shmo'el's skull now adorns the Brass Throne of Khorne, with the Land Raider
from the Shadows and the last Berzerker. Not having to retreat, the
Warhounds engaged in a fire fight with all remaining units, destroying the
Command Land Raider of Shmo'el, a veteran from the Shadows of Death, and
leaving only one survivor of Blood Rain: a unit of Noise Marines.
        The Shadows of Death, having used their retreat move to get closer to the
table edge and seeing the end in sight, shake off two Blast Markers and
rally. Force Asmodeus loses some Blast Markers and just barely rally, but
it is too late.

        Turn 4: Seeing that there is no possible way to stop the Chaos Rhino from
leaving the board in the movement phase, the Space Marines concede the day.

        Aftermath: This battle was quite bloody. Chaos, although it won, had only
five units remaining including the Lord of Battle. Under normal victory
conditions, I would have lost. My opponent and I have played several
battles, and I have yet to inflict any meaningful damage against that unit
of Whirlwinds! They are really *&$!# shooty, and whenever I get a chance to
threaten them, they just up and move 30cm, which is very frustrating and
actually they make excellent bait for traps.
        We decided that the scenario needs some definite overhauling. Either the
table need to be bigger, or the objective should be taken off the ENEMY's
table edge. Any input (if you're still with me, that is...) would certainly
be appreciated.
        Things I would have done differently: I would have remembered to use the
extra 10cm the Forced March card gave me in the movement AND the assault
phase, instead of just the movement phase (I often forget about cards in
play). Otherwise, I was fairly happy. I did win my first battle as a Chaos
commander, so I have no room to complain.
        Things I liked: I really, really like a sizable unit of infiltrators; one
or two units per detachment only serves as a snap-firing buffer, but an
actual detachment of them can have quite an impact.
        Things the Space Marines would have done different: We didn't really
discuss this; he had to leave. I think he would have charged into CC with
the Warhounds earlier, I saw his eyes bug out a little when he looked at
the data sheet and saw their assault value. (We have never had CC involving
Titans other than as support before.) He also muttered something about
letting the fast assault group (Beelzebub) get bogged down when they should
have been going after my Rhino with the plans.

        All in all, a fun day.

        BTW, writing these things is TEDIOUS AS HELL, but sure adds another
dimension to the game.

        Later...


Nickles
Received on Fri Aug 29 1997 - 21:49:42 UTC