EPIC ARMAGEDDON.
Epic is a tabletop wargame set in the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe. Where Warhammer 40,000 involves small battles between forces of a few squads of troops and two or three vehicles, Epic features battles between armies consisting of dozens of tanks and hundreds of soldiers. Due to the comparatively larger size of the battles, Epic miniatures are smaller than those in Warhammer 40,000, with a typical human being represented with a 6mm high figure, as opposed to the 25 and 28 mm minis used in Warhammer 40,000.
Plastic and metal Epic miniatures are available through the Specialist Games section of Games Workshop’s online store. An additional lineup of resin models is available via GW’s Forge World subsidiary.
- Quote from Wikipedia.
NetEA website the best site for all the rules and latest army lists in Epic Armageddon
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The Battle of Petra Manufactorum.
This was my first full game in about 3 months and I was really looking forward to it. Mark is always good fun to play against and we are equally matched.
Ork Invasion Force.
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Great Gargant
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Gargant + 2 Stompas
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Supa Stompa + 3 Stompas
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Supa Stompa + 3 Stompas
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Stompa Mob
- Stompa Mob
Legio Victorum defenders.
- Reaver (Prolix Letum – Long Death) 2x Quake Cannons, Carapace Landing pad, Multilasers, Sacred Icon, Veteran Princeps
- Reaver (Dies Furor – Day of Rage) Close Combat weapon, Melta Cannon, Plasma Cannon, Multi Lasers, Sacred Icon, Legate
- Reaver (Imperator Tectum – Emperor’s Shield) Gatling Blaster, Plasma Blast Gun, Laser Burner, Multi Lasers, Veteran Princeps
- Forge Knights
- Sentinels
- Sentinels
- Thunderbolts
The Orks had taken the Imperials by suprise (again).
Hidden in their small asteroids, the green-skins were finally nearing the planet and the city of Petra. There, they would be sure to find a battle to fight and loot to steal… Petra was the site of an Adeptus Mechanicus Manufactorum!
It wasn’t until the Drop Roks began plumeting through the atmosphere, leaving burning trails across the morning sky, that the defenses swung into action. The nearest Imperial force was a battle group from Legio Victorum, fresh from repairs at the Manufactorum. 3 Reavers, 2 squadrons of Sentinels and the groups Forge Knights (really, only service & repair units – not meant for the front lines). The group was formed into a battle line as the horizon was lost in a huge dust cloud. Something big was headed their way…
The Imperials deployed first and garrisoned one of the Sentinel squadrons on Overwatch. There were no other garrisons and the rest of the forces were deployed as per the photo above.
1st turn.
The Orks won the Strategy roll and allowed the Imperials to go first.
With the Legion’s battle-cry ‘For the Alien…Nothing’ burning in his heart, the Legate looked to his right and ordered the Prolix Letum to open fire. The Reaver shuddered as the massive Quake Cannons belched flames into the air. Nearby trees ignited instantly. The targets – a group of Stompas and a hulking Gargant – were smothered in explosions and momentarily lost to sight.
The SupaStompa lost it’s Power Field and the Gargant (with it’s 2 escort Stompas) was undamaged. Both formations recieved a blast marker.
The Legate grimaced as the Orks shrugged off his biggest guns and they began advancing.
The Great Gargant Doubled forward close to an objective (a water pumping station) near the Manufactorum.
Just then, the vox crackled to life and a squadron of Thunderbolts reported in. They had been ordered to support the Titans until more reinforcements could be spared. They were ordered to attack a Stompa Mob and were pleasantly suprised to realise that the Orks had no air cover with them! The lead Stompa exploded as it’s 2 escorts turned and ran for cover from the cursed planes.
The Stompa Mob was broken (once again reinforcing our belief that formations of 3 units are the most fragile in Epic Armageddon).
The previously attacked Stompa Mob + SupaStompa Doubled up next to a small wood.
Holding the 2 remaining Reavers in reserve, the Imperial Legate ordered the Forge Knights to march up the road and gain a better position for the battle. He could see the main focus of the battle was going to be in this area and the Knights would be a useful back-up to the Reavers when the real fighting began.
Next, the Gargant and it’s escorts Doubled forward alongside the Stompa Mob and fired on the Forge Knights, placing a blast marker.
The garrisoned Sentinels were Marched forwards to shadow the Stompas and Gargant (hopefully to still be within 30cm of them by the end of the Turn to hamper their Rallying attempts).
Realising this, Mark Doubled his remaining SupaStompa and Stompas across the battlefield and fired on the Sentinels, destroying 2 of them and breaking them. They retreated to the ammo dump objective.
The remaining squadron of Sentinels Marched up behind the Manufactorum and shadowed the Great Gargant.
The last unactivated Stompa Mob Doubled up towards the Manufactorum.
Finally, with the battlefield taking shape before him, the Legate ordered the Imperator Tectum to move forward, double quick, and fire on the Gargant. Flashes of energy danced across the Ork War machine as 2 of it’s Power fields went down.
Seeing the need to keep the Reavers close together, the Legate pushed his ancient Titan through the trees and strode, quickly towards the Orks. The Plasma Cannon unleashed a volley at the lone, visable Stompa but all the shots went wide of the mark. A cold shiver of doubt briefly ran down the Legate’s spine, so far all his firepower had seemed quite useless. He pushed these thoughts aside as the Thunderbolts roared overhead and back towards the Imperial lines. At least they had been successful, something he was sure the loud-mouthed pilots would remind him of later!
End phase.
The Thunderbolts leave via the Imperial side.
The Sentinels remain broken but the knights clear their blast maker.
The broken Stompas rally and turn back towards the battle. The Gargant and Stompa Mob, both fail to remove their blast markers. Not having a Warlord (Supreme Commander) was starting to be a problem for the Orks. A small group of Grots, scurried from the Great Gargant and swarmed over the pumping station objective (as per the Grot Attack rule) to claim it.
2nd Turn.
The Imperials win the Stategy roll.
Praying to the Omnissiah, the Legate again ordered the Prolix Letum to fire on the Stompa Mob and Gargant. The attack was only slightly more effective this time with the 2 Stompas guarding the Gargant exploding in the barrage. The Legate had a growing fear that this day would be his last in the service of his beloved Omnissiah…
The Stompa Mob + Supa Stompa to the rear of the Ork army, Doubled forward and lobbed a couple of shots at Imperator Tectum, placing a blast marker.
Next, the Thunderbolts raced across the battlefield and fired on the same Stompa Mob as before, breaking them again.
The nearby Stompa Mob decided that it was time to March across the battlefield but a Grot dropped a spanner in a vital cog and the Stompas only ended up Advancing slowly (failed activation with no re-roll). They gained a blast marker.
The Sentinels behind the Manufactrum went on Overwatch (I wasn’t really sure why I did this at the time but it turned out to be a VERY useful tactic).
Running out of activations, Mark finally decided to Double the Gargant up closer to the Reavers and attack Dies Furor dropping a Void shield and placing a blast marker.
This was the trigger for the Reavers to attack the Gargant.
Trees snapped like matchsticks as Dies Furor pushed through the wood to get a clear shot at the Gargant. The Legate was finally close enough to use the Melta Cannon. As the powerful shot went wide (again…!) the Legate began to feel the rage that his Reaver was named after. How could this be happening?
Seeing the Dies Furor shots miss their target, made the Princeps onboard the Imperator Tectum even more determined to regain the Emperor’s favour and destroy the alien war machine. Moving forward, he Engaged the Gargant. Shots criss-crossed the air as all 3 giant War Engines opened fire with everything they had. Shields absorbed lethal attacks and winked out of existance. Reinforced armour gave way under the furious barrages. As the dust settled, the Gargant had retreated out of fear of the 2 Imperial Titans whilst Imperator Tectum nursed gapping wounds to her thick hide.
At the end of the Assault, the Imperial Reaver had lost all it’s shields and 1 DC with no critical. The Gargant had lost 5 Dc with no criticals and was broken.
The remaining Stompa Mob + Supa Stompa Doubled around the woods and fired on Dies Furor, placing a blast marker on both the Reavers.
The Legate could see the need to get the Forge Knights into the fray. He ordered them to Engage the Stompas but even though he roared till his voice was hoarse, they would not move. “Cowards”, he thought, and though it was harsh, it was also true. They were not front line troops and really were glorified mechanics.
The Knights failed their activation test (even with the re-roll_ and Regrouped, removing blast markers.
With the Gargant running away, the Legate began looking for the next target. It was just then that the Legate noticed a warning light. Turning to his right, his worst fears were confirmed. The Great Gargant was heading straight for him, with all guns blazing!
In truth, the Legate had planned to avoid the Great Gargant until last, trying to destroy all it’s supporting units first and then gathering his forces for the final assault on the monstrocity. He could see that wasn’t going to be possible now.
The Great Gargant Doubled towards Dies Furor but only placed a single blast marker.
End phase.
The Thunderbolts leave the battle field, un-opposed.
The broken Sentinels fail to rally but both the Reavers remove all their blast markers. They also regenerate a void shield each.
The Gargant remains broken but all other Ork formations Rally to rem0ve some blast markers.
Again, Grots stream out of the Great Gargant and cover a nearby objective.
3rd turn.
The Orks win the strategy roll.
Keen to smash one of the Reavers, the Great Gargant again Doubled along the road and fired at Dies Furor. Explosions landed all around the Reaver but as the dust cleared, only the Titan’s last void shield was lost. The Titan was still undamaged.
Now to smash the Reaver…
Mark called for the Stompa Mob to Engage the Reaver but failed the activation roll (due to blast markers). 2 Stompas were supressed but the other 2 Ork machines opened fire, placing another blast marker… the Reaver was still undamaged.
The Legate checked his mighty war machine for damage and was amazed to find that even though all the Void shields were gone, all other systems were still functioning at 100%. He had had enough of this battle. Things had gone from bad to worse and these Orks were now starting to surround him. It was time to destroy the Ork behemoth and break their will to fight. He barked orders to the Imperator Tectum and it moved quickly behind him and burst through the trees to the Gargant’s left, all guns blazing. Sparks traced across the Gargant as Powerfields absorbed the attack.
Now the Legate turned the Dies Furor to charge the menace before him.
To his suprise, a proximity warning sounded and he instinctively paused… In a desperate act to regain their honour, the Forge Knights charged past their leader to engage the Great Gargant. Pride filled the Legates heart at the bravery of his lessar brothers in arms. Targeting the enemy, he ordered Imperator Tectum to also provide cover fire. One of the knights stumbled and fell as it moved through some trees but the rest reached the Ork monster and battle was joined.
As the fight unfolded, it became clear that the Knights would not survive but even as the last Knight fell, a fire broke out on the Great Gargant. It’s Powerfields were gone and it was now defenceless.
The remaining Stompa Mob and it’s SupaStompa doubled forward to try and finish off Dies Furor. Again the Ork fire was wild and only a blast marker was placed.
Looking up at the Ork machine, the Legate Knew his time had come and he drove Dies Furor into the wounded Gargant. Imperator Tectum again provided cover-fire. The massive chain fist clove deeply into the bowls of the Gargant and more fires sprang up all over the war engine. It was a desperate fight but the Legate began to doubt that he could prevail against so large a foe. As the Ork’s Lifta Droppa picked up the Reaver the Legate bellowed in helpless rage. Finally, Dies Furor was dashed to the ground and exploded in a ball of fire. The Legate had fallen.
The Great Gargant had beaten all it’s attackers but the grots onboard were desperately trying to put out the 4 seperate fires raging across the machine.
The undamaged Stompa Mob near the Manufactorum engaged the Sentinels, unconcerned about them being on Overwatch. Only a single Sentinel was in position to fire before the Assault…
In one of the best parts of this story, a lowly Sentinel driver aimed at the nearest Stompa and actually managed to hit it with his Multi Laser. The shot pierced the Ork’s tough armour and detonated an ammunition storage compartment. The 2 remaining Stompas feared that there must be something else besides Sentinels guarding the Manufactorum and fled, broken, just in case (again proving that formations of 3 are very fragile).
This left both commander’s with a problem. The Orks only had the wounded Great Gargant on the Imperial side of the board but the Imperials had no units on the Ork half. Prolix Letum could either March onto the Ork’s side of the board or fire on the staggering Great Gargant and try and finish it off (BTS objective). I chose the latter option (much better for the story).
The Veteran Princeps primed both Quake cannons and fired on the enemies most important unit. Finally the Quake cannons aim was true and the mighty Ork war engine came crashing down. So fierce was Prolix, Letum’s barrage that the nearby Stompa Mob was also smashed and it’s few remaining battle machines fled from the burning carcass of the Great Gargant.
As things stood, it was going to be a 2:1 win to the Imperials (Break There Spirit & They Shall Not Pass to They Shall Not Pass). The only hope for the Ork’s was to March the last remaining, damaged Stompa Mob with the hope of getting on the Imperial half of the map. Needing a 4+ to activate the Stompas lurched forward as fast as their stumpy legs would go. Even as this happened, the Thunderbolts again streaked across the Sky and dived down upon the Stompas, sending them fleeing in Broken desperation to hide from the menace in the air.
The battle was over. Only 1 Ork formation remained unbroken but the Legio Victorum had paid a high price. Dies Furor, the legate and the Forge Knights had fallen facing a mighty foe and tales would be told of their bravery for years to come.
This was a great game and the outcome came down to the last few activations, just as it always should.
Photos from Warhost 2012 (1 day tournament).
Decemeber 2nd 2012. We had 10 players turn out for a 1 day, 2000pt tournament. This was the first Epic Armageddon tournament that I could play in properly as it was being run by my good mate Duro. He did a fantastic job and taught me a thing or 2 about running events.
This will really just be some photos from the 4 games I played (and a few of the other tables as well).
My 4 games were with Chris, Matt, Cam and Jason. All were great fun and I managed a 2win- 2 loss record. I also took out best painted which was a nice bonus!
My army.
Alistair’s army.
Cam’s army.
Chris’ army.
Jason’s army.
John’s army.
Matt’s army.
Tyson’s army.
A great day.
The Epic Armageddon community in Perth, Western Australia is getting better each year. We now have 2 annual tournaments and campaigns and I’m getting more people asking for demo games so the future is looking good around here!
8 Player Mega-battle 2012.
5th August 2012, 8 of us met up for another mega-battle. Each player brought a legal 3000pt army and we split into 2 teams for a day Epic battle (Imperial vs Chaos). 12,000pts per side.
Imperial forces:
- Codex Marines
- Scions of Iron Marines
- Minervan Tank Legion
- Steel legion
Chaos forces:
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Chaos Guard (Steel Legion)
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Chaos Tank army (Minervan Tank Legion)
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2x Chaos Titan forces (AMTL)
Objectives were placed on the 3 metre wide board and we were off.
Setting up.
The Chaos army was holding the remains of an Imperial city whilst the Emperor’s finest had been sent to destroy them.
The Imperial deployment.
Chaos Deployment.
The Imperials kept their Terminators in reserve as the entire Chaos army was protected by a scout screen of Sentinels and Vultures.
Turn 1.
The formations begin closing on eachother. The Imperials tried to stip the shields off the Chaos Imperator using their Vulture’s missiles but most of the Imperial skimmers were shot down with overwatch fire.
The Chaos forces followed this up with a similar tactic as their Vultures stripped the Imperial Warlord of shields and then retained with 2 Deathstrike missiles doing reasonable damage to the War Engine. Shadowswords fired at Baneblades, Manticore artillery rained rockets on Valkyries and their Stormtroopers and Guardsmen huddles next to the Chimeras. Reaver titans armed with Volcano cannons (and close combat weapons) targeted super-heavy tanks. The Imperator targeted a Leman Russ company but only managed to kill a couple of tanks! All that firepower wasted…
A Formation of Chaos Forge Knights (with Warhound supporting fire) tried a clipping engagement on 2 intermingled Steel Legion infantry companies but the Guardsmen managed to fight the Chaos Knights off.
The Imperials had bought a Strike Cruiser which fired an orbital barrage at the Chaos forces, placing blast markers on 4 seperate formations (which did result in a few failed activations! ). The Scions of Iron sent in their Landing craft carrying a Terminator detachment in Land Raider Crusaders. This was going to hurt…
Unfortunately for the Space Marines, the Imperators Defence Laser targeted the Landing Craft. it scored a hit and managed to make a critical roll which destroyed the Landing Craft before it could drop off it’s cargo… A devestating blow to the Imperials.
The first turn ended with a slight edge to the Chaos forces (they had broken destroyed a few formations but the Imperials still had the rest of their Terminators waiting to teleport in).
Turn 2.
The Imperial Terminators finally joined the battle. Both sides were praying to win the Strategy roll…
The Imperial side won the Strategy roll and the Terminators set about doing what they do best… Close Combat Engagements.
The Imperator was well screened by some Skitarii soldiers so the Terminators went for a Reavers, Warhounds and artillery. 2 detachments of Terminators took on a Reaver but they were destroyed whilst leaving the titan on 1DC. Another detachment of the super soldiers went after Warhound and destroyed it. In return, another Reaver killed 2 Terminator stands, breaking the formation which had no where to run and so it was wiped out. The last Terminator formation engaged a Manticore platoon and destroyed them, which aslo broke a nearby Shadowsword company.
Chaos Warhounds and a Reaver went after the Imperial Break Their Spirit formation (a Scions of Iron Heavy detachment with Land Raider Helios upgrade). 4 Land Raiders were destroyed but they were still alive.
Turn 2 was a tale of failed activations (on both sides but more so for the Chaos team). So many 1’s were rolled that it really stalled the game (that and there was some time wasted as we took our time deciding what to activate).
As the 2nd turn progressed, the Imperial Minervan Legion went all out at the Imperator. The Imperator had fire again at the same Leman Russ company, again doing minimal damage! The 2 Leman Russ companies stripped the Imperator’s Void shields with ease and then hit the mighty war engine with everything they had. The Stormhammer company joined in as well as the Chaos behemoth was pounded. Even though it had 10 blast markers on it (nearly breaking it), the Imperator only lost 2 DC during the whole turn. The reinforced armour held strong.
This was the game position near the end of the 2nd turn.
We had to finish the game at the end of the 2nd turn. It came down to points which lead to a (very) marginal win to the Chaos forces (by only 300pts in a 12,000pts per side game). Great fun as always and a big thanks to Duro, Julian, Connor, Scott, Nick, Simon and Drew. Thanks for turning up and having fun guys!
8 Player Mega-battle 2011.
July 2011, 8 players met up at our local club (Tabletop Gamers Association) and played a huge game of Epic. We split up into 2 teams of 4 players, each player bringing a 3000pt army for a total of 12,000pts per side.
The Imperial army consisted of:
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Codex Marines
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2x Minervan Tank Legions (Guard)
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Steel Legion (Guard)
The enemies of the Emperor army consisted of:
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Speed Freeks (Orks)
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Tau
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Rebel Guard (Minervan Legion)
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Chaos Titan Legion (AMTL)
Even though the game was for fun, we placed objectives in case we managed to get to the 3rd turn. Deploying the armies took a while and then we were into it with the Emperor’s Enemies winning the strategy roll.
Photos.
The game lasted for about 6 hours and we only got to the end of the 2nd turn. We worked out the points of broken/destroyed units which left teams on the following scores:
Imperium – 3250
Emperor’s Enemies – 4200
The non-Imperials won the game by 950pts (not that any of us really cared about who won, we all just had a great day hanging out with good people and blowing stuff up).
Great fun! My thanks to Duro, Alistair, Scott, Dave, Jason, Simon, Julian and Connor. Next year, we’re going to need a bigger board!
War Without End 2010.
War Without End is a 13 week campaign that we are running at our local game club (Tabletop Gamers Association). I’ll just upload many photos so you can see the kinds of battlefields and armies we have here in Perth, Western Australia.
Talk about some bad luck on dice rolls!
Before the assault…
After the assault.
The campaign has come to an end. We played 23 games over 13 weeks using 5 different army lists.
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Adeptus Mechanicus Titan Legion (x2)
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Biel-Tan (Eldar)
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Steel Legion (Imperial Guard)
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Space Marines (Codex Astartes)
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Red Corsairs (Chaos Marines)
As this is the first time I’ve done anything like this, I wanted to keep things fairly simple.
We used a map of 4 planets with 9 territories per planet. A victory allowed a player to claim 1 territory. If their army was painted then they could claim an extra territory per victory.
Once all territories were claimed, the players could then challenge eachother with the victor taking one of the losers territories.
The player with the most territories at the end, won the campaign. If there was a tie and one player controled an entire planet, then that player would win the campaign.
As it turned out, the Red Corsairs won the campaign by 1 territory.
A 6 player Epic Mega-battle 2010.
We organised a Mega-battle to have some fun at the end of the campaign. Each of the 6 players bought a legal 3000pt army and we split the teams up into Imperial vs a loose coalition of Chaos forces.
Imperial team had:
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– Space Marines
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– Imperial Guard
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– Imperial Titan Legion
The non-Imperials consisted of:
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– Eldar
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– Traitor Guard (using the Steel Legion list)
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– Chaos Titan Legion (using the AMTL Titan list)
We played on a 10ft x 4ft board with 3 objectives each as per usual.
I finally had an oportunity to use my Dies Irae Chaos Imperator Titan.
I planned to keep the Chaos Knights close to help protect the Chaos Imperator from Teleporting Terminators… It didn’t really work out as I’d planned!
The Imperial Warhounds came bounding through the ruined city to pick off important targets and get set up for the 2nd turn.
Meanwhile, the Leman Russ companies waited their turn.
As they began to slowly move forward, the Eldar launched a suprise aerial assault with their deadliest troops.
The Leman Russ companies fought off the assault and won the Engagement.
Turn 2 saw the dreaded Terminator teleport attack. Fortunately for the Chaos Titan, the traitor forces won the Strategy roll and were able to remove one of the 3 Terminator companies before the assault. The remaining Terminators were still able to easily win the assault and break the huge War Engine (with only 3 DC left).
This is what the board looked like at the end of the 2nd turn.
The Imperials were in control of much of the board and were well set up for the 3rd turn. Unfortunately, we’d already played for 4 & a half hours and a couple of the Imperial players had to leave. The game hung in the balance with the 3rd turn Strategy roll, probably giving the winner a victory. Sadly we’ll never know. It was a lot of fun and I hope we’ll get a chance to do this again and actually finish the game!
Steve.
Onyx's Hobby Blog 