User blog:Supahbadmarine/Clash of the Titans

Recently I allowed my imagination to run wild, and started coming up with some interesting ideas. I decided to put the factions of 40k up against the factions of some of the other major science fiction series. So I put certain armies within 40k against armies that I felt had a similar feel to them in Gears of War, Halo and Starcraft. I came up with one four-way battle, one three-way battle and three one on one battles.

The four-way battle was the battle of the human civilizations. I put the Imperium of Mankind up against the Coalition of Ordered Governments from Gears, the United Nations Space Command from Halo and the Terran Dominion from Starcraft. I found that the end result was that the Imperium won. However on closely expecting each of the armies I concluded that the other armies sometimes surpassed the Imperium in certain military aspects. Furhtermore I found that the chance of the Imperium winning changed if you used solely the Imperial Guard or the Space Marines.

The three-way battle was the battle of the blights. I put the Tyranids up against the Zerg from Starcraft, and the Flood from Halo. Each of these factions are extremely similar. They all use genetically engineered natural weaponry in place of formal technology, and each is governed by their own hive mind of sorts. I concluded that the Flood would be the victor. The Tyranids surpassed the Zerg in over all fighting ability, and had far more specialised units than the Flood. However that was their undoing, as the Flood can infect the Tyranids breeds and use them against the Tyranids. All three of these forces are blights to their galaxy, but only the Flood is an actual plague.

The first of the one on one battles took place betweent the Eldar and the Protoss form Starcraft. These two races are remarkably similar. Each of them had their evolution accelerated by a highly advanced race, with the Old Ones for the Eldar and the Xel'naga for the Protoss. They are both far more intelligent than humanity, and have radically superior technology. There armies tend to have less manpower, but are more efficient in combat. Finally both races have an extreme apptitude for Psychic power. In the end I gave the victory to the Eldar, as I felt that they were more flexible.

The second one on one battle was between the Tau Empire, and the Covenant Empire from Halo. Both of these factions represent multiple alien species united by a single dogma, with the Tau venerating the Greater Good and the Covenant united by worship of the Forerunners. They both have technology that surpasses that of their human opponents. They are both lead by religious figures that they would not dare to defy, as in the Ethereals and the Prophets. They also designate each of the species in their empires to specific battlefield roles. This match up is made all the more easy due to the fact that I don't have to factor in Psychic powers with the Tau. In the end I gave the victory to the Covenant. It was an extremely close match though.

Finally I put an Ork Waaagh! against the Locust Horde from Gears. Both of these factions represent extremely savage races. they both are brutal and tenacious. They have a similar level of technology which made this match up much easier. Furthermore both races fight in massive armies, with plenty of room for casualties. In the end I gavbe the victory to the Locust. The two species match each other in terms of aggression, but the Orks tend to fall apart when their methods fail them. The Locust on the other hand are far more adaptable and tenacious, coming back from near crippling defeats, and coming back stronger.

So what does the community think?