I don’t really celebrate my birthday, but 50 is a big deal. So I decided to go full nerd and organise an enormous multi-player game of Epic 40,000. The scenario was very loosely based on the First War for Armageddon, as Angron approached the River Styx and was ambushed by the Grey Knights.
System: Epic Remastered, aka Epic 3rd edition with some fan edits. Scenario: The final battle of the First War for Armageddon. Game Size and Factions: Roughly 20,000 points each of Chaos and Imperial.
Imperial defenders breakdown:
Blood Angels (Paul H): 6k
Sisters of Battle and Imperial Guard (Matt): 4k
Dark Angels and Imperial Guard (Richard): 4k
Imperial Guard (Bradley): 4k
Greu Knight Reinforcements: about 2k
Chaos attackers breakdown:
Mixed Chaos (Jonathan): 4k
Khorne and Nurgle (Ian): 8k
Emperor’s Children, Nurgle, and Tzeentch (Paul T): 8k
The gaming area was around 19×5’/4.8×1.3 metres on a slightly larger table, to give a bit of space for dice etc. There was a nomansland about 40 cm deep between the forces, although this contained a number of Chaos Cultists as a vanguard force, with Blast markers already placed on them. A length of cord was used to mark the front of each deployment area, rather than having to measure all the time.
From the Chaos left flank/city end of the table.From the Chaos left flank.Everyone deployed.
The start of the battle.
About a third of the Blood Angels Chapter were deployed on the far flank, supported by three Warlord Titans.More Blood Angels, with Sisters of Battle holding the centre.My Khorne and Nurgle forces in the centre, facing Guard and Sisters.Nurgle forces besieging the city wall, facing Guard and Dark Angels.Emperor’s Children attacking the walls on the far right flank, facing massed Guard.
Interlude: The Cult of the Horned Bull
The Cult of the Horned Bull had fought their way across Armageddon Secundus, almost as many of them dying to the jungle beasts and disease as to enemy action.
The Cult of the Horned BullBut now it was time for the big push!The Cult was in an honoured position, escorting the great lord Angron (read: acting as cannon fodder) to the crossing on the River Styx!And then the Leman Russes of the False Emperor opened fire from their position on the bridge.When the smoke cleared, most of the Cult’s armour had been reduced to twisted wreckage. The cultists dived for cover as the Leman Russes opened up with a second salvo.This time the enemy tanks’ target was the Lord of Battles. With a hideous groaning sound, it slumped to one side, before erupting in a blaze of warp energy that consumed even more cultists.‘Oh noble lord Angron, avenge us!’ Mighty wings blocked out the sun for a moment, as Angron leaped over their heads with a roar of bloodlust.
‘Witness! Our lord Angron!’ Few of the Cult survived the battle. But this was no surprise, for Khorne cares not where the blood and the skulls come from.
Continued…
As both sides unleashed their firepower, the Blast markers and casualties started to pile up.
A Tactical Company of the Blood Angels humger down on Overwatch orders, while the Adeptus Sororitas advance under heavy fire.Left flank overview.An outflanking force of Bikes and Land Speeders suffers an orbital bombardment.Angron and the Bloodthirsters charge into the Leman Russ company on the bridge.Due to the narrow frontage not many of them could reach combat.But there were easily enough to win the combat and kill all the tanks in contact.
Interlude: Preparation
Old and new versions of my ruler/game summary aid (front).Old and new versions of my ruler/game summary aid (back).An intro sheet for players who hadn’t played this edition of Epic before.Newly-designed two sided Blast markers, cut with a 15 mm hole punch.Order counters and Blast markers. I did another hundred Blast markers after this photo was taken, and we used a lot of them!The painted Grey Knight proxies.My Chaos forces laid out in their detachments on the army list printouts.47 War Engine data sheets. I didn’t do one for all 66 War Engines, as formations of identical Baneblades didn’t need one per model. These are sized for card sleeves so that dry wipe markers can be used on them.
Continued…
The rest of turn one. While Angron was spearheading a successful assault in the centre, the Chaos attacks on the flanks weren’t doing so well in the face of massive firepower.
Overview of the left flank. The Plague Towers were doing a good job of laying down fire on the Tactical Company, but the rest of the Blood Angels were barely scratched.The Sisters of Battle made an assault but were broken and pushed back, and all of Saint Celestine’s bodyguards were killed.The Blood Angels and Warlords guarding the Generatorium and Refinery.While Angron took one bridge and a Warlord held the next, the left one was held by Sisters Repentia who mostly killed a Reaver Titan while getting stood on.The right flank slowly crawling towards the city walls.The Emperor’s Children facing massed Guard infantry backed up by Titans, Baneblades, Shadowswords, and lots of artillery.
At the end of turn one we stopped for lunch. The engine kill count as this point was a couple of Lords of Battle, a Questor and two Subjugators, a Warp Palace, and a bunch of lesser War Engines like Baneblades and Shadowswords.
