Battle 5 of those fought as part of my Epic War! Campaign. To find out more about the Campaign, please have a look at this thread;

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=24706&start=15

Apologies in advance, this report suffers from not having taken enough photos. I'll try to surmise as best as I can.

Which units were used for this battle can be found on the pre-campaign force lists in the same thread. To help, the Marine force used was under code P74, the Eldar E1.

The battle was fought in woods (F3 on Campaign Map). The Marine army was on Charge orders and the Eldar on First Fire. This meant that the Marine player had to deploy his whole army first. In addition, the Eldar player could deploy an extra 25cm forward of the standard deployment zone and would automatically have initiative on turns 1 and 2 of the battle.

The Marine army was worth 2,000 points, and the Eldar 2,000, although the Eldar army had been slightly depleted in an earlier battle to sieze the Campaign Objective that this battlefield represents. To secure a win, one side must score 35VPs.

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Turn 1 (early doors, only a little movement has occured)

Having had to deploy my entire Marine army before the Eldar placed anything, and because my new tactics seem to be working a little better, I went for a highly defensive set up. The Eldar forward deployment will give them a big advantage for taking objectives early on; 2 Battle Companies are the mainstay of my force and I decide early doors that my Rhinos will try to take cover as often as possible behind woods, while troops will be in the woods or taking up position in buildings, hoping to take a few of those objectives. The left flank is extremely flimsy, but the Eldar are similarly weak there.

The focus of the battle will be in woods in the centre and right flanks. Harlequins, Striking Scorpions, and the Avatar worry me most.

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Turn 1 (after all movement)

Left Flank: An HQ stand and a Devastator squad move into buildings to take objectives. Dark Reapers do likewise in woods. A bold lone HQ moves up, hoping to threaten the Dark Reaper's objective later in the game...

Centre Flank: Assault troops move into buildings preparing for an onslaught on the woods in turn 2. They deliberately do not head for the woods straight away. This will draw the Avatar away from the wood battle in turn 2...

Right Flank: Tactical troops are jumped by overconfident Harlequins. Assault troops join the melee to make it 2 v 1. All of the troops are backed up by a hastily redirected Chaplin. The Tactical troops fullfill their usual cannon fodder role but their involvement has been crucial as secondary assault troops knock seven bells out of the Harlequins. For crimes against fashion they simply could not be allowed to endure.

Marines: 17 VPs
Eldar: 25 VPs

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Turn 2 (after all movement)

Left Flank: HQ unit casually stolls towards the Dark Reapers. Not much else to report.

Centre Flank: Rhinos and Assault stands set about the Guardians. They should all die, but infuriatingly one of the little swines survives. Some more assault stands give other Guardians a good doing in the other wood, but the close proximity of Dreadnoughts and the Avatar are cause for concern.

Right Flank: Marines hide like cowards or sensible individuals who consider their survival preferable to death (depending on your point of view). No way are they going to try and take on the Striking Scorpions. Likewise, the Scorpions can't afford to venture out of their woods as the Assault troops can easily snatch their objective if they do...

Marines: 22 VPs
Eldar: 15 VPs

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Life of Die Channel including Epic Podcasts and Battle Reports

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Net Epic Evolution Rules
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Turn 3:

I forgot to take pictures of this and the rest of the battle! Sorry!

Left flank: That HQ stand finally arrived at the objective. The Dark Reaper was duly dispatched and the objective claimed! Hooray for my one-man army!

Centre Flank: The Marines manage to hold on to both objectives in the woods, although the Dreadnoughts and the Avatar almost take the one on the right. Sneaky Rhinos charge up on to the hill to snatch away another objective!

Right Flank: As before, stalemate!

Marines: 37 VPs
Eldar: 5 VPs

Marine victory is ensured, but now the Eldar are in full retreat!

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Turns 4 & 5:

Assault troops pursue Dark Reapers and break them! But one squad is defeated by fleeing Dark Reapers and the assault detachment also breaks!

Frustratingly for the Marines, the Avatar provides cover for a fleeing Warlock! This means that despite the fact that all Wraithguard and Dreadnoughts have been destroyed, they failed to chalk up the 5 VPs for breaking the Spirit Host!

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Life of Die Channel including Epic Podcasts and Battle Reports

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Post-battle note: The Eldar Warhost were not broken during the battle due to the new "Depleted Force Break Points" rule - see viewtopic.php?f=14&t=24493&start=30

But because the standard break point total was reached, the Marine player gains the 9 VPs for the campaign! Both sides are exactly equal after 5 battles!

The war continues...

_________________
Clickable links for more Epic goodness:

Life of Die Channel including Epic Podcasts and Battle Reports

Epic 40K Players Page on Facebook
Net Epic Evolution Rules
Net Epic War! Campaign Rules