Test Lists and the Daemons' First 1500 Outing

Well, still more Daemon content today, although that should change soon. I'll be participating in the FLGS's Ard Boyz tournament on August 13th, and will be fielding Hive Fleet Tzimisce for that particular bloodbath. I have a preliminary list worked out, but I'm waiting to do a post on that until the actual scenarios are released and I can start on some more meaningful tweaks. If you've played me before then you won't be particularly surprised by the style of list I'm taking... but I think the Swarmlord will add some bite.

Anyway, back to yesterday's outing with the Daemons. I finally got to test the list I'd been building up to throughout the Escalation League:

Great Unclean One w/ Cloud of Flies

Herald of Tzeentch w/ Daemonic Gaze, Bolt, Chariot, Master of Sorcery x2

6 Fiends of Slaanesh

5 Plaguebearers, x2

10 Daemonettes, Transfixing Gaze x2

10 Seekers of Slaanesh, Transfixing Gaze

Daemon Prince w/ Mark of Tzeentch, Bolt, Breath of Chaos x2

In the other corner were Dark Eldar... apparently the planet we were fighting on was double-booked for its order of "horrors undreamed of". Going from memory, he fielded:


Duke Sliscus

Succubus w/ Agonizer

4 Trueborn w/ Blasters in a Venom w/ dual splintercannons, x2

4 Trueborn, 2 shardcarbines, 2 splintercannons, in a Venom w/ dual splintercannons - the Duke came in with them

10 Kabalite Warriors, blaster and dark lance

7 Wyches, Hekatrix w/ Agonizer, in a Raider w/ Night Shields and Flickerfield - the Succubus' unit

5 Scourges w/ 3 Shardcarbines and 2 Haywire blasters

Ravager w/ triple dark lances

Voidraven Bomber w/ Necrotoxin Missiles


We rolled up everyone's favorite combination, Dawn of War with Capture and Control objectives. I placed mine in a  large ruin about as close to the center line as I could; his went on top of a low tower in the opposite corner. Having won the roll off for turn sequence, I went second. My opponent deployed his Warrior squad near his home objective behind some pretty dense terrain.

Turn 1:


My opponent decided to Deep Strike most of his army. Only the Voidraven moved on from his board edge, angling behind the same patch of terrain the Warriors were hiding behind ( a series of 3 towers about 9" from the board edge").

My turn was a little more eventful. I rolled a 1 for Daemonic Assault, so instead of my preferred wave, I got both squads of Plaguebearers, both Heralds, and a squad of Daemonettes. One unit of Plaguebearers landing on my objective, losing one to Dangerous Terrain, the Daemonettes appeared on target a few inches from his Warriors, the 2nd unit of Plaguebearers scattered away from the support position they were supposed to occupy for the Daemonettes and landed midfield, and the first Herald landed on impassable terrain and mishapped back into reserve. The 2nd Herald caught a break of luck, bursting from the Warp directly in front of the Voidraven and shooting it down.

Turn 2:

The Dark Eldar have no better luck with their deepstriking attempts. The Wyches' Raider landed in midfield within striking distance of my  objective, while one unit of blaster Trueborn arrived,  scattering back towards his table edge but still within range of the Daemonettes threatening his objective. The Duke and his unit arrive this turn as well, but mishap in the exact same place my Herald did and also go back into reserve. Caught between Warriors and Trueborn, the Daemonettes are blasted off this mortal coil, screaming in frustration. Across the board, my Herald shrugs off a lance shot and prepares to retaliate.


My reserve rolls pick up at the bottom up 2. The Fiends, Seekers, a Daemon Prince, and the Great Unclean One all arrive. The Seekers land near my objective, trying to bait the Wyches into charging them first or counterattacking if they go for my objective. The Fiends appear on the opposite side of the ruins, ready to support the Seekers or make a dash for the Trueborn covering his objective. The GUO appears as close to the Trueborn squad as I dare, and lands on target, while the Daemon Prince appears on ground still slick with Daemonette ichor.  The Herald shakes the Wyches' Raider, but fails to otherwise damage it. Since my Daemon Prince is too far away from the Warriors to use Breath of Chaos, it also fires its Bolt into the Wyche Raider; it hits, but is deflected by the Flickerfield. The Seekers, Fiends, and GUO run for better positioning, while the Plaguebearers advance steadily towards the DE objective.

Turn 3:

The 2nd unit of blaster Trueborn directly behind my Herald, the Ravager arrives near the center of his table edge... Sliscus and the Scourges stay in reserve. The Wyches leap out of their Raider and head for the Seekers. The Warriors, in a repeat of last turn's performance, shred the Daemon Prince bearing down on them. The GUO fares a bit better, and survives the combined fire of the Venom, Ravager, and Trueborn with 2 wounds remaining. The Wyches and Succubus rush the Seekers; all but 2 of my daemons are killed, but they hold out and manage to cut the Wyches' numbers by half. On the other side of the field, the 2nd unit of blaster Trueborn and their transport unload into my Herald... who somehow survives.

My reinforcements consisted of  the remaining Herald and the 2nd unit of Daemonettes. The Daemonettes landed behind my own objective; the Seekers were going to die in combat without help, and the Fiends would need a good fleet roll to reach the Wyches, who could shred my Plaguebearers despite the casualties. Both Heralds took shots at the nearest Venom and shot them down; the injured Herald managed to detonate her target, killing 3 Trueborn in the blast. I rolled very well for run and assault moves this turn. The Plaguebearers completed their slog from midfield and finally made it into assault range of the Warriors, killing a few for no losses and locking them in melee. The GUO did the same for the Trueborn suddenly bereft of a getaway vehicle, while the Fiends surged around the ruins and assisted the Seekers. The Wyches managed to put a wound on the Fiends, while the Succubus killed only a single Seeker; in return the Fiends cut the Wyches to pieces and consolidated into the Succubus, who passed her Leadership test.

Turn 4:

Duke Sliscus and the Scourges finally decided to show up, the former landing  on the ground my Fiends had started on last turn, the latter about 6" from the mob of Daemons surrounding the Succubus. The two surviving Trueborn failed to kill my wounded Herald via shooting or the subsequent assault; they finally finished her off at the top of Turn 5, with neither unit contributing to rest of the battle. As everything else was in assault, the rest of his army focused fire on the Plaguebearers on my objective, who went to ground; two survived after 3+ cover and Feel No Pain. In assault, the Succubus decided to step it up she finished off the lone Seeker for the Pain Token, then saved all but 1 of the 13 wounds the Fiends inflicted. The Fiends then Hit and Ran out of the combat.

At this point the Daemons moved in for the kill. The last Daemon Prince landed in midfield and managed to shoot down the Wyches' Raider, while the free Herald whiffed against the Duke's Venom. In assault the GUO finished off the Trueborn, while the Plaguebearers somehow managed to win combat against the Warriors and wipe them out in a Sweeping Advance. The Daemonettes just barely got into assault with the Succubus, while the Fiends multiassaulted her and the Scourges. This time she wasn't so lucky, and went down under a flurry of claws. The Scourges only took two casualties, passed their leadership test, and found themselves surrounded by Fiends, while the Daemonettes consolidated back into cover.

Turn 5:

The Dark Eldar had little left at this stage. In shooting the Duke and company put another wound on the GUO bearing down on him, but couldn't finish it off. The Venom fired its splinter cannons into the Herald, but couldn't bring it down, while the Ravager boosted into the ruins holding my objective, just shy of contesting range.

At this point we called it. I had his objective solidly under control, while only the Ravager had the possibility of contesting mine if the game went on. 

Thoughts:

That went fairly well, although I think a big part of my victory was him coming in via deepstrike; it put us on an even footing rather than presenting me with a wall of transports and splinter fire. The Great Unclean One and Plaguebearers continue to excel; as usual they killed little, but soaked up an absurd amount of firepower. I'm a little disappointed the Daemon Princes didn't get more play, but they should get another chance Thursday.

They Just Keep on Coming...

Fourth round of the Escalation League is kicking up to 1250 this week, and we're finally starting to approach the point where everyone is playing with a distinct force. Overall I've been pretty surprised at how things have turned out; the Xenos are making a clean sweepwhile most of the MEQ armies are in retreat or absent entirely. The rarity of power armor is starting to make this feel like like an entirely different game. At the moment an Ork foot list backed up by Looted Wagons and  Lootas seems to be racking up the most victories. I'm not sure if I can take him in a straight fight with the list I'll be bringing, since I've left what few templates I have til 1500, but it should make for an interesting matchup if I draw him. Overall the Dark Eldar players are the ones (w)racking up the most kills, although none of them have really dialed in on how best to use their troops yet. The Tau and Craftworld Eldar are starting to put the hurt on their opponents, and even the Khornate Daemon player is beginning to reap his tally of skulls. Our resident Chaos Marine player has been hit pretty hard, but that should change once his Obliterators finally arrive.

Imperial Guard and Space Marines of all stripes have been scrabbling for victories for the most part - there aren't that many of either, and most of them are newer players who are still figuring out their own strengths and vulnerabilities. Our resident Necron player is winless, but has only gotten in a pair of games with them, and actually shows signs of making them about as dangerous as they can possibly be - I suspect he's going to be one of the more feared opponents when his codex gets its rumored update in a few months. Sadly Tyranids are bringing up the rear - mine are benched for the time being, and the other Hive Fleet is trying to stuff MCs, Warriors, and minimal fire support into very few points, with predictable results.

Here's what I'm bringing to the party  Thursday:

HQ:

Great Unclean One - 160

-It won't win many combats, but will take some killing to stop. Hopefully it'll get to eat some Long Fangs/Lootas.

Herald of Tzeentch w/ Daemonic Gaze, Master of Sorcery, Bolt of Tzeentch, Chariot - 100, x2 

-Vehicle hunters, pure and simple. I'd trade Tyranid Harpies for these in a heartbeat.

Elites:

5 Fiends of Slaanesh - 150

Troops: 

10 Daemonettes - 140 

-Scoring unit, and 40 rending attacks can do some damage with a little luck.

5 Plaguebearers - 75, x2

-Objective holders and the occasional speedbump.

Fast Attack:

10 Seekers of Slaanesh - 170

- 50 rending attacks has to get something, right? 

Heavy Support:

Daemon Prince w/ Bolt of Mark of Tzeentch, Bolt of Tzeentch - 140, x2

- More AT fire, with some extra combat muscle thrown in.

The Dark Between Planets...

Not much to report in the last week; I haven't gotten a chance to take the new 2000 point Tyranid list out for meal yet. Most of my games have been in the 1000 bracket with the Daemons, either playing in or practicing for the local Escalation League. They've been doing pretty well, although the absence of some of the newer power armored codices probably has something to do with that. Even Daemon shooting doesn't seem so bad when the majority of vehicles are AV 10 and open topped. One more game at 1k and then we move up to 1250; I think my next additions will be to round out the HQ slots with another Herald of Tzeentch and a Great Unclean One.