Epic, Swordwind questions, balance, bases..?

[draccan]

Hi

I haven't really played Epic since a lot in 2nd ed. and a little in 3rd. ed.
Some questions regarding Epic Armageddon (not so interested in NetEpic at this time):

GENERAL
1. Would you say the army lists are somewhat balanced?
2. What armies are overpowered in your opinion?
3. What armies are underpowered in your opinion?
4. How different are the rules in the printed Epic Armageddon rulebook from those on GWs site right now?

SWORDWIND
5. Do people tend to play with Swordwind?
6. How are Feral Orks faring compared to normal orks (esp. balance)?
7. Anyone with some experience with feral orks they like to share?
8. How are the Siege Masters list compared to the vanilla Imperial Guard list (esp. balance)?
9. Anyone with experience with siege masters who likes to share?

OTHER
10. Does it matter in terms of charging or other game mechanics if you use the square or the rectangular infantry bases? Any advantages of one over the other?
11. Do you believe Epic will ever be back from GW?
12. I know they are impossible to get these days, but anyone with experience with Tau?
13. How would you rate the Warhound titans from Forgeworld vs. those on GWs site. Forgeworld Warhounds are actually cheaper as you get two.

Cheers, hope some can answer some of these questions... I am thinking to return to Epic but I need some info before I can decide what to get..

[CaptainSenioris]

Hi there

I'll try to give some quick answers but I'm sure more knowledgeable folks will straighten out or ellaborate where I seem vague.

1. Would you say the army lists are somewhat balanced?
They are all different in their own way and are fairly balanced as they are IMO.

2. What armies are overpowered in your opinion?
There isn't any particular army that is overpowered as you put it, certain combinations & situations can lead to a particular army seeming overpowered. Eg A Steel Legion army with both shadowswords & deathstrikes will seem overpowered against an army containing large war engines.

3. What armies are underpowered in your opinion?
I haven't ever seen them used so can't really comment but I've never considered feral orks to be very powerful.

4. How different are the rules in the printed Epic Armageddon rulebook from those on GWs site right now?
There are some important differences, mainly how engagements work but there is also some changes to aircraft and a bump in range for the battle titans. The Eldar had their core special rules changed with the eratta too i.e. Pulse/Spirit stones.

SWORDWIND
5. Do people tend to play with Swordwind?
People I know use the armies from swordwind(except ferals) but I don't think people play out the campaign with themed forces too often.

6. How are Feral Orks faring compared to normal orks (esp. balance)?
7. Anyone with some experience with feral orks they like to share?
Can't really comment

8. How are the Siege Masters list compared to the vanilla Imperial Guard list (esp. balance)?
9. Anyone with experience with siege masters who likes to share?
They play very differently to steel legion and fortifications are a must, some find them grueling/dull to play against because of their static shooting focus.


OTHER

10. Does it matter in terms of charging or other game mechanics if you use the square or the rectangular infantry bases? Any advantages of one over the other?
It hardly matters really. The advantages/disadvantages are very situatuational and hardly come up. A lot of people like basing on circular bases now to make things less regimented.

11. Do you believe Epic will ever be back from GW?
I have no idea, GW could pull a fast one I spose but I like the current edition despite its occasional foibles. Fan support is ongoing in the form of groups like the NetEA(like NetEpic but for Epic Armageddon) who create/develop lists for use with the core Epic Armageddon rules. Some of the list champions that helped create the original lists still help out too.

12. I know they are impossible to get these days, but anyone with experience with Tau?
I'm in the proces of building a Tau army myself but haven't used them on the table yet, a lot of people use proxie models from other sources to represent them on the tabletop. As long as your models are consistent people are generally fine.

I hope these mini answers help but I'll finish by pointing you towards http://www.tacticalwargames.net/taccmd/

That forum is home to a lot of epic players old/new and is definitely worth checking out.

[draccan]

Thanks mate, very appreciated :-D

Any pics of your Tau yet? And did you proxy / use other sources models (which?)?

[Chaos and Evil]

I suggest visiting the Tactical Command forum linked to above to ask your questions - it's the biggest Epic forum on the web.

[Irisado]

I haven't played anywhere near as much Epic Armageddon as I would like to have done (I played second edition for years, even after it had been replaced by Epic 40K), but based on the games that I have played, and reports which I have read, I would say that there are very few problems with overpowered and underpowered armies and units. The game certainly feels a lot more balanced in terms of the armies than is the case for armies across Fantasy and 40K.

We know from the other active thread in this board that GW won't ever return to supporting Epic. It's a matter of economics. Like most of their games, it simply doesn't sell enough for them to warrant supporting it (in their eyes). This is why they focus on Fantasy and 40K.

Oh, and while Chaos and Evil is right about Tactical Command, there's no reason not to continue to discuss Epic here too.

[susu.exp]

GENERAL
1. Would you say the army lists are somewhat balanced?

I´d say the lists are very balanced, in particular since they´ve continued to be developed. This goes for the GW lists and even more so for the current community lists.

2. What armies are overpowered in your opinion?
3. What armies are underpowered in your opinion?

Well, see above. I´d say that in Epic battles are won and lost on the table and not in the build list phase (much less the "pick army" phase).

4. How different are the rules in the printed Epic Armageddon rulebook from those on GWs site right now?

I don´t have the printed RB around, but the online rulebook mainly consolidated the FAQs and Errata into the main text.

SWORDWIND
5. Do people tend to play with Swordwind?

Around here people will play any list that´s either E:UK or NetEA. They contain slight updates to the core and SW lists.

6. How are Feral Orks faring compared to normal orks (esp. balance)?

I haven´t played them (either with or against) and they lack some anti-air options. They should balance out anyway, but will conceede some mobility to the opponent.

8. How are the Siege Masters list compared to the vanilla Imperial Guard list (esp. balance)?
9. Anyone with experience with siege masters who likes to share?

A friend is building them, so I might be able to say something soon. The basic infantry does worse against Tanks, but Upgrades can help there and being able to buy fortifications makes them excellent for holding the line. I´d say you should run Thunderbolts with them to intercept anemy flyers, in particular anything that can put nasty stuff behind your lines.

OTHER
10. Does it matter in terms of charging or other game mechanics if you use the square or the rectangular infantry bases? Any advantages of one over the other?

Not really. The rules specify bases in very broad terms and any effects there would be minimal at best.

11. Do you believe Epic will ever be back from GW?

Epic is still available from GW... That being said I don´t think they´ll start expaning it again (one reason for this belief is of course the recent statement to that effect).

12. I know they are impossible to get these days, but anyone with experience with Tau?

Another friend of mine is starting some up soon, so there´s a distinct hope that I´ll be able to tell you more at some point.

13. How would you rate the Warhound titans from Forgeworld vs. those on GWs site. Forgeworld Warhounds are actually cheaper as you get two.

Yup. That applies to a lot of Epic models and quite in general, if FW has a model the SG range has as well, FW is usually the way to go.