Battle Sequence
To fight a Titandeath battle, perform the following steps, in order.
Titandeath Battle Sequence
- Determine Titandeath Mission
- Muster Armies
- Place Terrain
- Determine Control of the Battlefield
- Place Objective Markers
- Determine Titandeath Secondary Objectives
- Declare Reserves
- Deploy Forces
- Battle Begins
- Determine Victor
Determine Titandeath Mission
In Titandeath battles, do not use the Missions from the Legions Imperialis Rulebook. Instead, to determine a Titandeath Mission, one player rolls a D3 on the table below. Alternatively, players can simply choose a Mission from the table, so long as all players agree.
| D3 | Mission |
|---|---|
| 1 | Domination |
| 2 | Breakthrough |
| 3 | Point of Conflict |
Each Mission determines the deployment zones of both armies, the Primary Objective for both players and, if necessary, how Objective markers are deployed on the battlefield. Descriptions of each Mission, along with their deployment maps, can be found on pages 98-101.
Muster Armies
When fighting a Titandeath battle, both players use a points limit to determine the size of the game that is to be played. The standard points limit for Titandeath battles is 6,000 points, however players can agree upon whatever points limit they wish, though you may want to use a larger battlefield if using more than 6,000 points per side. The sum total of points values of all Detachments in an Army can never be greater than the agreed upon points limit. A player can have fewer total points than the points limit, however there is no benefit for doing so, thus players are encouraged to get as close to the limit as they can.
Designer's Note: Army Rosters
Some players may wish to prepare an Army for every eventuality, or simply have a pre-prepared Army roster that they use for every battle. If players wish, this step can be performed before the Determine Titandeath Mission step.
In Titandeath battles, do not follow the sequence described in the Legions Imperialis Rulebook for Mustering an Army. Instead, follow the sequence below:
1. Declare Allegiance
The first step in Mustering an Army is for the player to declare their Army's Allegiance and note it on their Army roster. Players can declare their Army's Allegiance as either Loyalist or Traitor.
An Army that has the Loyalist Allegiance may not include any Detachments that contain models with the Traitor special rule and an Army with the Traitor Allegiance may not include any Detachments that contain models with the Loyalist special rule. In all cases a Detachment will indicate if it has a set Allegiance - any Detachment that does not list a specific Allegiance may be included in any Army, regardless of Allegiance.
Future supplements may explore additional Allegiances - such supplements will detail in full any rules for such Allegiances.
2. Choose Formations
Once a player has declared their Army's Allegiance, they can then select Formations up to the agreed points limit for their battle. In Titandeath battles, players can only select the Legion Support or Knight Household Lance Strategic Asset Formations (see page 205). Note that the normal restrictions on how many of these Formations your Army can contain, and what percentage of the agreed points limit these can comprise, do not apply in Titandeath battles. As such, a player may select as many of these Formations as they wish, limited only by the points cost of those Formations.
Engine Killer Weaponry
When mustering your Army for a Titandeath battle, for each weapon with the Engine Killer (X) special rule a model has, you must increase the points cost of that model's Detachment. The amount the points cost is increased by is equal to the Engine Killer value of all weapons in that Detachment added together to form a single total, which is then multiplied by ten to determine the final points increase. Weapons which have the Engine Killer (X) special rule on a profile with a Range characteristic of '-' do not add to the total and are ignored when calculating the points increase of a Detachment.
For example, Lee wishes to add a Detachment to their Army which contains a Reaver Battle Titan with a Reaver volcano cannon, a Reaver chainfist and a Reaver apocalypse missile launcher. The total Engine Killer value on weapons this model has (excluding the Reaver chainfist, since this has a Range characteristic of '-') is 3. As such the points cost of this Reaver Battle Titan Detachment is increased by30 points.
Place Terrain
There are a variety of ways that terrain can be deployed on the battlefield, one of which should either be selected by agreement of all players involved in the battle or by having all players roll a dice, with the player with the highest roll deciding which method to use:
- Players can divide the table into quarters and deploy D3+1 areas of terrain in each quarter, with players taking turns deploying a piece of terrain, starting with the winner of a roll-off. For Structures, it is suggested that several individual Structures count as one area of terrain for the purposes of deploying terrain.
- Players can collaborate, placing various areas of terrain from those available to them to create an interesting battlefield.
- One player can set up the entire battlefield in a manner of their choosing. Then, when it comes to rolling to see who has control of the battlefield (see page 94), the player who did not set up the terrain automatically gains control of the battlefield.
Regardless of the method used, terrain should encourage tactical decisions and movement amongst armies.
The addition of a cluster of large Structures along with a few areas of Obstructing terrain and/or other line of sight blocking terrain will greatly influence the flow of battle, restricting avenues of movement and providing tactical advantages and disadvantages to Detachments.
Determine Control of the Battlefield
Both players roll a D6, re-rolling ties. The player with the highest result chooses which player has control of the battlefield. The player with control of the battlefield chooses a deployment zone, with the remaining deployment zone going to the opposing player.
Place Objective Markers
Once deployment zones have been assigned, players deploy any Objective markers, as detailed on the deployment map for that Mission.
Objective Markers
In Titandeath battles, places of vital importance are represented by Objective markers. Objective markers can take many different forms, from simple coloured tokens or bases to custom terrain pieces built to match a player's Army.
Unless otherwise stated, an Objective marker in Titandeath battles should be represented by a token or base 32mm in diameter. A model can end its move in base contact with an Objective marker and can move through it without issue but cannot end its move overlapping one. Regardless of their appearance, Objective markers do not block line of sight.
When deploying Objective markers, the centre of the base is used when measuring - if an Objective marker needs to be placed 18" from a battlefield edge, the centre of the base must be 18" away. During a battle, any measurement to an Objective marker is measured from the edge of the marker. Objective markers cannot be deployed within an area of Impassable terrain, nor can they be deployed overlapping or on top of a Structure. If a marker cannot be placed according to these rules, reposition any Impassable terrain or Structures to allow the marker to be placed in the correct position.
When deployed, some Objective markers will be deployed outside of either player's deployment zone. Objective markers outside either player's deployment zone are referred to as neutral objectives. Neutral objectives often give different Victory Points when captured, depending on the Mission being played.
Determine Titandeath Secondary Objectives
Once all terrain has been placed and all Objectives deployed, each player determines their Titandeath Secondary Objective. Each player has a separate Secondary Objective that can be different from their opponent's. The Secondary Objectives presented in the Legions Imperialis Rulebook are not used in Titandeath battles.
To determine a Secondary Objective, the player rolls two D6 and consults the table below to determine two Secondary Objectives. If the same result is rolled on both dice, re-roll one of the dice until two different results are rolled. Once this is done, each player secretly chooses one of the two Secondary Objectives rolled - the other is discarded. Once both players have chosen their Secondary Objective, they reveal their choice to their opponent simultaneously.
| D6 | Titandeath Secondary Objective |
|---|---|
| 1 | Control the Battlefield |
| 2 | Scan and Survey |
| 3 | Fresh Supplies |
| 4 | Stand Tall |
| 5 | A Matter of Honour |
| 6 | Break Their Lines |
Declare Reserves
Players now secretly decide which of their Detachments will begin the battle in Reserve. This means the Detachment in question does not start on the battlefield and instead is placed to one side - the Detachment is referred to as being in Reserve. If they wish, players do not have to place any of their Detachments into Reserve. Once each player has decided, they reveal their choices to their opponent.
Detachments in Reserve can arrive on the battlefield during the course of the game. From the second round onwards, when that Detachment is activated, it can either stay in Reserve, or enter the battlefield. If the Detachment enters the battlefield, place the Detachment's models in base contact with the controlling player's battlefield edge (as indicated on the deployment map for the Mission being used), after which the Detachment can complete its activation as normal (i.e., move if its Order allows, etc.).
Detachments in Reserve do not count as destroyed and are counted for the purposes of determining a Formation's Break Point (i.e., the total number of models in the Formation during Army creation is used, not the total that were deployed on the battlefield). If a Formation becomes Broken while one or more Detachments within it are in Reserve then those Detachments do not have to take a Morale check but are classified as Broken when they arrive on the battlefield.
Detachments in Reserve must be issued an Order as normal and activate when their Detachment does. When activated, Detachments in Reserve can do nothing and thus stay in Reserve, or arrive on the battlefield if their rules allow. As previously stated, Detachments that are in Reserve must be activated after all Detachments on the battlefield, unless they are arriving on the battlefield.
Unless instructed otherwise, if a Detachment in Reserve has not arrived on the battlefield by the end of the fourth round, it counts as destroyed, can no longer arrive and can take no further part in the battle.
Deploy Forces
After all terrain has been placed, all objectives have been determined and players have decided which, if any, of their Detachments will begin play in Reserve, the armies are deployed. Players take it in turns, starting with the player who has control of the battlefield, to deploy a Detachment (excluding Detachments which are in Reserve). To deploy a Detachment, that player places all the models from the chosen Detachment onto the battlefield, wholly within that player's deployment zone and within Detachment Coherency if applicable - if a player runs out of Detachments to deploy and the other has not fully deployed, then the player with Detachments that have yet to be deployed deploys all of their remaining Detachments immediately. Once both players have deployed all of their Detachments, except those in Reserves, the battle begins.
Battle Begins
After forces have been deployed, but before the first round, any effects or special rules which happen at the start of the battle take place. If a player has more than one effect which takes place at this time, they can choose the order in which these effects are resolved. If both players have effects that take place at the start of the battle, the player with control of the battlefield resolves their effects first. The first round then begins.
Game Length
Unless instructed otherwise, Titandeath battles last five rounds and once the fifth round has been completely resolved the battle ends.
Determine Victor
Once the battle ends, both players determine the total number of Victory Points (VPs) they have earned over the course of the battle. The player with the most VPs is victorious. If both players have the same number of VPs, the battle is a draw.
Scoring Victory Points
In Titandeath battles, VPs are earned both during the battle and at the end of the battle. Most Missions require the capturing of Objective markers, with a player scoring VPs at the end of each round for each Objective marker they control. In some missions, different Objective markers are worth different numbers of VPs. In addition to VPs earned through capturing and holding Objective markers, each player's Secondary Objective offers additional ways for them to score VPs at the end of the battle.
Capturing Objective Markers in Titandeath Battles
During the course of the battle, both armies can capture Objective markers scattered across the battlefield.
During the Calculate Victory Points stage of the End phase, each player determines if any Objective markers have been captured by their Army. To capture an Objective marker, a player must have at least one model within 6" of the marker. If their opponent has no models within 6" of the same marker, the player captures the Objective and is said to be in control of it. Once a player has gained control of an Objective marker, they remain in control of it until the opposing player captures it - they do not need to leave models within 6" of the marker.
If both players have models within 6" of an Objective marker then players should calculate the total Tactical Strength of their Detachments within 6" of an Objective. Each Detachment's Tactical Strength is determined by its type, as shown in the table below:
| Tactical Strength | Detachment |
|---|---|
| 5 | Warmaster Heavy Battle Titan or Warmaster Iconoclast Titan |
| 4 | Warlord Battle Titan or Warlord-Sinister Battle Titan |
| 3 | Warbringer Nemesis Titan or Reaver Battle Titan |
| 2 | Warhound Titan or Dire Wolf Heavy Scout Titan |
| 1 | Any Detachment with the Knight Type |
If one player has at least double the Tactical Strength within 6" of an Objective marker compared to the total Tactical Strength of all models controlled by their opponent that are within 6" of the same Objective marker, that player captures the Objective or retains control of it if they had previously captured it.
Otherwise, the Objective is referred to as a Contested Objective and its status does not change - if it was uncaptured it remains uncaptured, or if it was controlled by a player, it remains under their control.
Contested vs. Uncontested Objectives
Many Missions will reference Uncontested Objectives when awarding Victory Points. If an Objective marker is Contested then it does not award Victory Points in such circumstances. Note, an Objective is not Contested if the controlling player has at least double the Tactical Strength within 6" of it as their opponent and thus it would count as an Uncontested Objective and score VPs. As such it is important to determine if an Objective is Contested or not when both players have models within 6" of it. Note that the distance at which Detachments can contribute to controlling or contesting objectives is larger in Titandeath battles than in standard games of Legions Imperialis due to the average size of the models involved!