Epic Eldar Titans vs Space Marines. Battle of Oxol.

"As always Britt writes the battle report and I take the pictures."

Greg & Dean came over last night for a 4050 points/side Epic Armageddon game. The usual 4’ x 6’ table with a town (Oxol) on the Western edge, forests(of alien oxol trees) in the centre, and a very long hill along most of the length of the Eastern edge. (See Greg’s blog for pictures). Dean played the Eldar Titan Clan while Greg & I shared the Space Marines.

The Ironclaw Space Marines Task Force

4 Warhound Titans,  (in 2 units @ 500 pts each unit)

2 Scout platoons,    (150 points each)

1 Terminator Platoon, (350 Points)

2 Whirlwind Platoons,  (300 points each)

2 Predator Annihilator platoons  (275 points each)

4 Tactical Marine platoons, one of which had a Commander. (300 points each + 50 for Cmdr)

Fir Iolarion Titan Clan

1 Phantom Titan with 2xTremor Cannon and Spirit Stones = 850

1 Phantom Titan with 2xTremor Cannon and Spirit Stones = 850

1 x Revenant Titan Host = 650

2 x Revenant Titans. Each Revenant Titan is armed with 2 weapons, Revenant Pulse Lasers for this group.1 Revenant Titan w. Bonesinger

2 x Revenant Titan Host = 650

2 x Revenant Titans. Each Revenant Titan is armed with 2 weapons, Revenant Pulse Lasers for this group. 1 Revenant Titan w. Bonesinger

3 x Revenant Titan Host = 650

2 x Revenant Titans. Each Revenant Titan is armed with 2 weapons, Revenant Sonic Lances for this group. 1 Revenant Titan w. Bonesinger

1 x Windrider Troupe = 200

3x Jetbike 3 x Vyper

2 x Windrider Troupe = 200

3x Jetbike 3 x Vyper

Deployment & Turn 1:  The 2 Space Marine Scout units deployed on top of the 2 Eldar objectives in SM territory (see pic). Greg commanded the Western flank, Britt the Eastern, each taking half of the units of each type with Terminators in reserve. The Space Marines won the initiative, and rushed forward to reinforce the Scouts in Oxol. But the Eldar rush up their Jetbikes for a firefight with the Scouts in the city, rout them and move into the city.

Marine Tac 3 moves into the Central forest, but Whirlwinds mislay a ‘fire mission’ order. 2 Eldar Rev’s fire at Scouts holding the East Hill, 2 squads are lost.  Another group of Eldar Rev’s rout Tac 3 in the central woods. Forces on both sides move up. The Eldar Titans generally move toward the South-East, leaving the Jetbikes to cover & hold the city. The Marines are grim. Little they’ve done so far has done much damage or even slowed down the Eldar onslaught.

Turn 2: The Eldar have the initiative. A Phantom ‘s awesome firepower hits and routs Tac 4 near the Eastern Hill. Warhound 2 moves along the Eastern side of East Hill, using its cover to try to reach the Eldar baseline objective.

   Greg’s Tac 1 attacks the 2 Rev’s in the city. The battle goes for 2 rounds, with the Marines finally being forced back. Greg’s Predators then swing to the west of the city along the road and pump firepower into the Jetbikes. The Jetbike units counterattack the Predators, but after a long engagement, the Predators hold their ground, routing the Jetbikes. A Phantom barrages Tac 2 covering south of the city behind a hill

   Greg’s Whirlwind fires at the Rev’s in the city. Meanwhile another unit of Rev’s wipe out Whirlwind 2. Greg’s Tac 2 gets hits on the Phantom near city. The Marines have taken heavy losses, but the Eldar are hurting as well. Jetbikes gone, the city is obviously in danger. To the East, casualties continue to mount for both sides. While powerful, the Eldar Titans can’t be everywhere, and what was once a walkover is now becoming a fair fight!

 

Turn 3:  The Terminators arrive near the Phantom near the centre. SM’s have the initiative & use it as the Terminators rout the weakened Phantom, though it rallies later. Firefights erupt everywhere as 2 Rev’s take on Greg’s Predators & Warhounds. Predators shoot at the wounded Phantom and the Warhounds finish it off. The explosion is spectacular as well as being disheartening to the Eldar.

   Tac 3’s last stand. With 2 Rev’s still disputing the Eldar western objectives, badly shot up Tac 3 saw their duty and did it, attacking the Rev’s (who were also badly shot up). When the smoke cleared, the Rev’s were routing away, but poor Tac 3 had ceased to exist. To the east, most objectives were disputed but a badly damaged Rev on ‘overwatch’ beat off 2 Warhounds from the table-edge objective.

Victory to the Marines: Just about all the objectives were in dispute, but the shot up Phantom proved to be the decisive moment, as it gave the Space Marine players 1 Victory Point for a “destroy their spirit” as it was the Eldar’s most expensive unit. This was a very intense and very close game with action everywhere and hard decisions being the norm.

Thanks for a great night of gaming Greg & Dean. This will definitely be a battle to remember!J

“In Memory of Marine Tactical 3, who saw their duty and did it.”

May your dice roll high

Regards
Greg