Return of Epic Battles

Last night I hooked up with Dave (theDragonsBane) and played my first game of Epic since last November when the new Eldar codex drove all thoughts of 40K from my head. We shook out 3000 pts and prepared for battle.

Black Storm Battle Force
Platoon #1 - 8 marines, 4 havocs, rhinos, supreme commander
Platoon #2 - 8 marines in rhinos
Platoon #3 - 8 marines, 1 obliterator, 3 defilers
2 x Forlorn Hope in rhinos
Bike Company
6 Terminators
Deathwheel
2 Hellblades

Space Marines
Can't remember exactly, but there was 2 or 3 tactical units in razorbacks and rhinos, one or two dev formations with land raiders, 1 predator formation, whirlwinds, 2 Warhound titans, some AA support.

I decided to make a push up the eastern side of the 4x4 board while Dave decided a more balanced line across the centre with some emphasis on the east. We traded some salvos and headed into turn 2 with high hopes.

I teleported my terminators into cover near the whirlwinds and Blitz objective. Dave got first turn and decided those six stands could not, well, stand. He fired the whirlwinds and an infantry formation at them but just missed breaking them.

I decided to push on the East before he had a chance to respond. I launched the bikes into one tactical formation and secured a victory driving them back, and then I retained the initiative and sent my Chaos Warlord and his attending marines and havocs against the Space Marine force commander in the ruins. The battle went poorly for me as he made 5 out of 6 armour saves and I lost three stands, but the roll off was a tie! We fought again and this time my numbers and lack of blast markers saw me through to victory and the death of the enemy supreme commander.

Dave tried to regain control of the battle by threatening my defiler formation on the Blitz objective with a warhound, but he had too few units to cover all the objectives and I was pushing determinedly up the east side and breaking everything that got in my way. Turn three he was able to prevent an outright victory by chaos, but he was broken and falling back and outnumbered and we agreed going to a turn 4 would see the most likely demise of the Imperials.

Victory to the Black Storm!

Analysis:
This game pivoted on the crucial assaults I launched in turn 2. Had either failed, especially the second one, I would have been thrown back and the battle would have been drawn out perhaps to his advantage.

Admittedly, I started the game with a huge advantage in that Imperial Marines are about 10-15% too expensive. Yes, that ATSKNF is really handy but the smaller formations and the fact they die just as quickly and shoot just as much as my chaos marines means that my larger formations often are overwhelming the Imperial lines, especially the mechanized lists.

The only Space Marine Epic list I fear is the one Al perfected with the thunderhawks, Terminator company, Imperial Navy fighters for support, and Titans, and a handful of marines to fill it out. That list was so flexible and hit so damn hard wherever he wanted I had a lot of trouble dealing with it.

Great game Dave! Thanks!