EPIC BATTLE REPORT: The Battle of Petra Manufactorum
An Epic Battle Report by Epic Evangelist GR00V3R
It was not until the Roks began plumeting through the atmosphere, leaving burning trails across the morning sky, that the Petra defenses swung into action. Fortunately for the defenders, a battle group from Legio Victorum was present and fresh from repairs at the Manufactorum. The battle group formed into defensive lines as the horizon was lost in to the dust cloud created by Ork activity…
Ork Invasion Force (3,000 points)
• Great Gargant
• Gargant + 2 Stompas
• Supa Stompa + 3 Stompas
• Supa Stompa + 3 Stompas
• Stompa Mob
• Stompa Mob
Legio Victorum Defenders (3,000 points)
• Reaver (Prolix Letum – Long Death) 2x Quake Cannons, Carapace Landing pad, Multilasers, Sacred Icon, Veteren 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, Veteren Princeps
• Forge Knights
• Sentinels
• Sentinels
• Thunderbolts
The Imperials deployed first and garrisoned one of the Sentinel squadrons with Overwatch orders. There were no other garrisons and the rest of the forces were deployed normally.
To Battle (by Onyx with edits by GR00V3R)
Turn 1
The Orks won the Strategy roll and allowed the Imperials to go first.
With the Legion’s battle-cry burning in his heart, the Legate ordered the Prolix Letum on his left 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 its Power Field and the Gargant (with its two escort Stompas) was undamaged. Both formations recieved a blast marker each.
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.
The vox crackled to life and a squadron of Thunderbolts reported in, ordered to support the Titans until more reinforcements could be spared. They were ordered to attack a Stompa Mob, and the Legate was pleasantly suprised to realise that the Orks had no air cover with them. The lead Stompa exploded as its twin escorts turned and ran for cover from the cursed planes. The Stompa Mob was broken.
The Stompa Mob attacked previously and the SupaStompa Doubled up next to a small wood.
Holding the two remaining Reavers in reserve, the Imperial Legate ordered the Forge Knights to march up the road and gain a better position. He could see the main focus of the battle was going to be in the Forge Knight’s area, and the Knights would be useful backup for the Reavers when the real fighting began.
The Gargant and its escorts Doubled forward alongside the Stompa Mob and fired on the Forge Knights, placing a blast marker.
The garrisoned Sentinels were Marched forward to harry the Stompas and Gargant–if still within 30cm of them by the end of the Turn, the Sentinels would significantly hamper their Rallying attempts).
Realising this, the Ork commander Doubled the remaining SupaStompa and Stompas across the battlefield and fired on the Sentinels, destroying two and breaking the formation. The Sentinels retreated to the ammo dump objective.
The remaining squadron of Sentinels Marched into position behind the Manufactorum and shadowed the Great Gargant.
The last unactivated Stompa Mob Doubled up towards the Manufactorum.
With the battlefield taking shape before him, the Legate ordered the Imperator Tectum to move forward on the Double and fire upon the Gargant. Flashes of energy danced across the Ork War machine as two of its Powerfields went down.
Seeing the need to keep the Reavers close together, the Legate pushed his ancient Titan through the trees and quickly strode towards the Orks. The Plasma Cannon unleashed a volley at the single visible Stompa, but the shots went wide and no significant damage was done. A cold shiver of doubt 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.
In the End phase, the Thunderbolts left via the Imperial side.
The Sentinels remained broken, but the knights cleared their blast maker.
The broken Stompas rallied and turned back towards the battle. The Gargant and Stompa Mob both failed to remove their blast markers, however–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 Ork’s Grot Attack rule) to claim it.
Turn 2
The Imperials won the Stategy roll.
Praying to the Emperor, 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 twin 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 Emperor…
The Stompa Mob and Supa Stompa to the rear of the Ork army Doubled forward and lobbed a couple of shots at Imperator Tectum, but managed only to place a blast marker.
The Thunderbolts raced across the battlefield and again fired on their Stompa Mob prey, breaking them once more.
The nearby Stompa Mob Marched into position across the battlefield, but (thanks to a failed activation test and no re-roll available) a Grot dropped a spanner in a vital cog somewhere and the Stompas only ended up Advancing slowly. They gained a blast marker for their efforts.
The Sentinels behind the Manufactrum went on Overwatch.
Running out of activations, the Ork commander decided to Double the Gargant up closer to the Reavers and attack Dies Furor, which lost a void shield and took a blast marker.
This was the trigger for the Reavers to attack the Gargant.
Large 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! But the powerful shot went wide (again!), and the Legate began to feel the rage after which his Reaver was so aptly named. 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, Dies Furor Engaged the Gargant. Shots criss-crossed the air as all three giant War engines opened up with everything they had. Shields absorbed lethal attacks and winked out of existance, and reinforced armour nevertheless gave way under the furious barrages.
As the dust settled, the Gargant had retreated out of fear of the two Imperial Titans, but Imperator Tectum was left nursing gaping wounds in her thick hide.
At the end of the assault, the Imperial Reaver Imperator Tectum had lost all its shields and one Damage Capacity (DC), but at least no critical hit was caused. The Gargant had lost five Dc, also with no critical hits, and but was broken.
The remaining Stompa Mob and Supa Stompa formation Doubled around the woods and fired on Dies Furor, managing to place a blast marker on both the Reavers.
The Legate saw an opportunity to use the Forge Knights. The Knights were ordered to Engage the Stompas–yet even though he bellowed till his voice was hoarse, they (failed the activation test, despite the availability of a re-roll and) refused to move move. “Cowards!”, he bellowed feebly.
The Forge Knights chose to Marshall, removing their blast markers.
Just as he thought it couldn’t get any worse, the Legate noticed a warning light. Turning to his right, his worst fears were realised. The Great Gargant was heading straight for his Titan with all guns blazing.
The Legate had hoped to avoid the Great Gargant and destroy its supporting units before facing the Ork monstrosity. Following this strategy was no longer an option.
The Great Gargant Doubled towards Dies Furor, but–Fortunately for the Reaver’s crew–managed to place a single blast marker only.
In the End phase, the Thunderbolts again left the battlefield unopposed. The broken Sentinels failed to rally, but both the Reavers successfully removed all their blast markers and regenerated a void shield each.
The Gargant remained broken, but all other Ork formations ralled to remove some blast markers.
Again, Grots streamed out of the Great Gargant to cover a nearby objective.
Turn 3
The Orks won 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 had been taken. The Reaver remained undamaged.
The Ork commander bellowed for the Stompa Mob to smash the Reaver by Engaging it in an assault, but–thanks to the presence of blast markers–the formation failed its activation test. Two Stompas were supressed, but the other two Ork machines opened fire, placing another blast marker. The Reaver remained undamaged.
The Legate checked his mighty war machine for damage and was amazed to find all systems still functioning perfectly. He had had enough of these Orks. Things had gone from bad to worse, and the Orks were now starting to surround him. It was time to destroy the Ork monstocity and break their will to fight (the Break Their Spirit victory condition). He barked orders to the Imperator Tectum’s crew and that Reaver moved quickly to burst through the trees to the Gargant’s left. The Reaver rained fire upon the Great Gargant and sparks flew as its power fields absorbed the attack.
Now the Legate turned the Dies Furor to charge the behemoth before him.
In a desperate effort to regain lost honour, the Forge Knights charged past their leader to engage the Great Gargant. Pride filled the Legates heart at the bravery of his lesser brothers in arms. Targeting the enemy, he ordered Imperator Tectum to provide supporting fire. One of the knights stumbled and fell as it moved through trees, but the remainder reached the Ork monster and battle was joined.
It quickly became evident that the Knights would not survive the assault. Yet they had made their mark in history–the Great Gargant’s power fields were completely depleted and, even as the last Knight fell, a fire broke out upon the Orkish war engine.
The Stompa Mob and its SupaStompa Doubled forward in an attempt to finish off Dies Furor. Again the Ork fire was wild and a blast marker only was placed.
The Legate knew his time had come and sent Dies Furor into the wounded Gargant under an Engage order, with Imperator Tectum again providing supporting fire. The massive chain fist clove deeply into the bowls of the Gargant and more fires sprang to life throughout the gutted war engine.
But despite all that the Reavers could throw at the Great Gargant, the Legate could not prevail against the hated foe. The Great Gargant’s Lifta Droppa collected the Reaver and, with the Legate bellowing obsenities in a futile rage, Dies Furor was dashed to the ground to explode in a ball of fire.
The Great Gargant had beaten off its attackers, but the Grots aboard were left desperately fighting no less than four seperate fires raging throughout the enormous machine.
The undamaged Stompa Mob near the Manufactorum engaged the Sentinels, meanwhile, unconcerned about their Overwatch fire as a single Sentinel only was in position to fire before the assault.
Tjh lowly Sentinel gunner took aim at the nearest Stompa and scored a direct hit with his Multi Laser. The shot not only pierced the Orks machine’s tough armour, but managed to strike an ammunition storage compartment, which detonated spectacularly. The two remaining Stompas feared that there must be something else besides Sentinels guarding the Manufactorum and fled, broken, just in case.
This left the (newly in charge since the Legate’s demise) Imperial commander with a problem. He had only the wounded Great Gargant on the Imperial side of the battlefield, while the Titan Legion had no units on the Ork half (giving the Orks the They Shall Not Pass victory condition). Prolix Letum could either March onto the Ork’s side of the battlefield (to deny the Orks their They Shall Not Pass condition) or fire on the staggering Great Gargant and try and finish it off (to achieve both the Break Their Spirit victory condition AND the They Shall Not Pass condition). The Imperial commander chose the latter option due to the fact it would, if successful, provide a much better ending to the battle.
The veteran Princeps primed both the Reaver’s Quake Cannons and fired on the enemy’s 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 its 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 (the Break Their Spirit and They Shall Not Pass victory conditions compared to the Orks’ They Shall Not Pass condition).
The only hope for the Orks was to March the last remaining damaged Stompa Mob with the hope of getting the formation onto the Imperial half of the battlefield. Needing to roll a 4 or better to activate the Stompas, the order was successfully relayed and the formation lurched forward as fast as their stumpy legs would allow.
The Thunderbolts again streaked across the sky and dived down upon the Stompas, sending them fleeing, broken, to hide from the airbourne menace.
The battle was over: a 2:1 win to the Imperials. Just a single Ork formation remained unbroken, but the Legio Victorum had paid a high price. The loss of Dies Furor and the Legate was keenly felt, and yet the Reaver and the Forge Knights had fallen facing a mighty foe–tales would be told of their bravery for centuries to come…
Packing up (by GR00V3R)
This was a tight game and the outcome came down to the last few activations, as is frequently the case in Epic.
This game highlighted the imprortance of maneouvring in Epic, and showcased the role supporting fire plays in assaults–even in war engine-dominated games.
The availability of air power clearly provided the Imperial forces with an edge, while taking the low-cost Sentinels also provided the Imperal player with a higher number of activations–having a greater number of activations can allow you to out-maneovre your opponent if you can force them to use their last activation before you run out of yours.
To my mind, both players performed admirably in this game, playing their sides to their relative strengths, and the outcome was always in the balance. These are the best games, and both players clearly had a lot of fun playing this one. I hope it has inspired you all to pick up your 6mm minis and roll those dice…
The above post was taken directly from Onyx’s original battle report, with just a few minor changes here and there and the final analysis from yours truly. Thanks to Onyx and Mark for the use of their battle report, which you will find in its original form on Onyx’s blog at http://onyxworkshop.wordpress.com/epic-armageddon
~Guys, give it up again for your tireless servent GR00V3R. This one was long but worth the read. I haven’t read such a well put together and illustrated battle report on Epic since the early 1990s. Comment away.
