Tom has been working on some "fowdy k" rules for a while- basically an adaptation of 40k Epic to Flames of War. The conversion is fairly straight forward and we found the FOW rules really handled everything quite well. I am not going to post the rules here as I don't want to be sued into oblivion, nor am I going to be very specific on the rules as we go, but suffice it to say the batrep should be easy enough to follow. note: All Warhammer 40k references are IP of 40k. Don't sue me. please.
I will briefly say the Space Marines do have a neat "armored infantry" feel to them- not quite as beefy as tanks, but not as puny as infantry. Additionally, the level of abstraction for squad levels was handled very elegantly, and kept the game moving. Tom did a bang up Job on these rules, and I thoroughly enjoyed the conversion. Without further ado, here is our Free For all using about the only terrain I have that works with 6mm.
Tom's Space Marines
HQ (2 space marine stands)
2 Combat groups each with 6 teams + 1 dreadnaught + Rhinos
2 Land Raider platoons ea/ w 3 land raiders
Steven's Imperial Guard Leman Russ Company
HQ (2 Leman Russ)
1st Platoon w/ 5 Leman Russ and 1 Vanquisher
2nd Platoon w/ 5 Leman Russ and 1 Vanquisher
3rd Platoon w/ 6 Leman Russ
Manticore Battery w/ 3 launchers
Basilisk Battery w/ 6 tubes
2x Infantry platoonsAs you can see, the Imperial Guard vastly outnumbered the space marines. We decided to do Free For All, though we'll try to change it up next time.
The Imperial Guard side.
A Leman Russ Platoon rolls out.
An observer takes advantage of a large plateau.
Basilisks prepare to provide artillery support.
Guardsmen tanks roll out.
Infantry move forward through a wood.
Space Marines are deployed the hold the line against the rogue troops.
A venerable dreadnaught prepares for battle.
Land Raiders wait in a copse for the enemy armor.
The observer can find no targets.
The Manticores attempt a barrage on some gone to ground marines, but fail to range in.
Despite being outmatched, the Leman Russes go toe to toe with the Land Raiders hoping numbers will carry the day.
Guardsmen move towards the intersection.
The Land raiders return fire!
One Leman Russ explodes spectacularly!
The presence of Leman Russes bolster the infantry's morale.
Massed fire from the Leman Russ knock out a Land Raider!
The Basilisks range in, but do no damage to the Land Raiders.
A combined arms force moves towards a wood held by a Space Marine group.
Land Raiders move out to assault the Guardsmen!
MGs soften the infantry up.
The assault succesfully forces the guardsmen back!
Leman Russ move up to provide cover for the troops.
The Guard's left. Leman Russ line up to blast the Space Marines out of their foxholes.
The Land Raiders finish off the Imperial guard near the crossroads, and begin inching towards the IG objective! Basilisks move up, but unsurprisingly do no damage.
The assault force on the IG left.
The Land Raiders push even deeper into guard territory! Backing up the whole way, heedless of the Basilisks!
The Space Marines open up on the infantry with everything they have, causing massive casualties.
But the return fire is devastating. The Space Marines lose several stands, their transports, and their dreadnaught to the powerful battle cannon.
The Land Raiders lose one tank to the pursuing Leman Russ, but pull back past the Basilisks.
Tom almost cinched the game here! I didn't even realize he was contesting the objective. I failed to move any teams within contesting range…
More fire from the Battle Cannons continues whithering the Space Marines.
Another Land Raider goes down! Moments before, however the other Land Raider was also bailed, and thus Tom did not start his turn with the objective. He did, however, manage to pass morale to keep the platoon in the game and remount the bailed tank.
Tom backs up behind the burning vehicle for cover and opens up on the Basilisks
On the following turn, massed fire from lascannons, battle cannons, and the Vanquisher knocked out the last Land Raider.
On the Guard left, infantry moves up to assault the severely depleted space marines.
At the same time, on the right, the other Leman Russ finish off the Land Raider at a cost of two of their own.
At this point, Tom's Space Marines on the left fail motivation putting Tom below half and giving the Guardsmen an objective. The guards lost an infantry platoon and the basilisks, making the game a 4-3.
CLOSING THOUGHTS:
This was a blast. It played quickly, the rules were intuitive and worked fine. I'm looking forward to playing move to get a better feel for the balance. I think we both underestimated the Leman Russ, but the Space Marines didn't get much of a chance to show their strengths.
