EpicScapes

Once again, Chaos tries to stomp an Imperial city. In the last instant, the Imps manage to draw help from a nearby Squat stronghold. Under the eerie white glow of 2 suns, the two forces face each other across the city centre.

While the Lord of Change charged ahead on the southern flank, supported by his minions and several detachments of Traitor Marines, Fulgrim threw his demonic hordes against the Squats on the northern flank. The Khorne war machines around the Lord of Battle and the Tzeentch Warlord Titan Mutator advanced in the centre against the massed ranks of Tactical infantry, two companies of superheavy tanks and the Reaver Tempestuous, supported by Squat Airships and two companies of Imperial and Squat bikers.

Tempestuous started the battle with a full volley at the enemy Titan and tanks: The Vortex missile exploded just short of the Titan, overloading its shields. Over the course of the first round, the Mutator was barraged by heavy fire from all sides, to which it eventually succumbed. Imperial and Squat artillery pounded the enemy lines all over the field.

Over the course of the first round, Chaos was battered heavily by the massed Imperial firepower, losing almost all tanks and daemon engines and a lot of the infantry not caught up in their mad charge against the Imperial positions. Valkyries dropped off two platoons of assault troops to tie the enemy up in a fight around the centre objective while the support bikes held back and the tactical gunners dug in around the line objectives . The Doomwing roared by to wreak havoc among the defenders, burning a few bikes to cinders with its flame bombs (2).
To the north, enraged by the presence of their mutated cousins and supported by heavy fire, the advance spearhead of guild bikers clashes with the first enemies around the centre objective taken by Chaos squats (3).
By the end of the round (which took us about 3 hours), the chaos advance was halted for the moment, the mutants recoiling from heavy losses inflicted in the centre (map): The Lord of Battle was toppled by salvoes from the Stormblades missiles, all of which were looseded in the first round. The airships lost the Grindel’s Fist, but rained fire all over the northern half of the field (4). The Silver Tower formation broke apart, thus failing to shield the advance of the minotaur band. Again and again, Chaos had been able to protect its greater demons through the use of fell magic.

Round 2 turned out to be a much shorter mop-up of the Chaotic forces that had still not been able to reach the firepower behind the covering Imperial forces. The bike company, still largely intact, tied up the rest of the Tzeentch advance in the south, whose survivors were picked off by tactical covering fire. The doomwing made a largely effectless run against the supporting line of firepower before being brought down (5).
The heavy tanks covered the centre (6). The hot spot in round 2 was the carnage wrought around the northern centre objective: The Squats poured all their bike company into the fight against the mass of mutants and lesser demons(7).

Emperor be praised, the Imperials had held the city! Having broken most of the Chaos forces, IG/SQ already had had a massive lead of over 20VPs more at the end of round 1 due to persistent fire aimed at strategic targets. The plan to tie Chaos up with light assaults had paid off on the southern flank. In the north, the Squats had bravely tried to stem the Chaos tide that swamped the centre objective. Also, winnig the initiative for both rounds certainly helped, especially in the first shot of the game, the vortex missile! In the end, the centre objectives had largely been given up to Chaos in exchange for the VPs their broken ranks brought. Final score 66 to fiftysomething VPs if I remember right.