I just think loudly. There are many games where combat is vital and it works well. Rules are transparent and no one complains. One example of such games is CIV III, CIV IV.
These rules can be easily transplanted to EoE.
1.Is there really a need to come up with complex and sophisticated new rules?
2.Is anything wrong with combat in existing games?
3.I am curious why one of the existing battle schemes from popular games was not implemented.