Chaos Daemons Tournament Report - Bringing Fatecrusher Back

This weekend my FLGS held a 1500 point 40k tournament as a capstone to its summer escalation league. While I didn't have time to participate in the league, the tourney itself was open to everyone, so I decided to throw together a list and get in a few games. Initially I was going to field my stock 1500 Tyranid list, but I've played some iteration of that one for over a year now, and thought it might be time to test out some of the Chaos Daemon theories I've been kicking around since the new codex released.

Here's what I ended up taking:

Chaos Daemons - 1500

Fateweaver

Great Unclean One w/ Exalted Reward, Greater Reward, ML 3

6 Bloodcrushers w/ Bloodhunter, Lesser Reward

15 Daemonettes

15 Daemonettes

10 Plaguebearers

10 Seekers of Slaanesh w/Heartseeker

Soul Grinder w/ Mark of Tzeentch 

The rough idea was to use Fateweaver, the Crushers, and the Great Unclean One as a self-buffing hammer while the rest of the army hung back, picked targets of opportunity, or cleaned up the mess once those units got into my opponent's face. The GUO picked the Grimoire of True Names in every game, and used it to make target priority a nightmare for my opponents throughout the course of the day. 

Game 1: Vanguard Strike Deployment, Purge the Alien

My opponent, Jason, fielded Iyanden Eldar, including a Wraithknight (Warlord), Farseer, Vibrocannon battery, a moderate sized group of Jetbikes, three Guardian squads on foot with Brightlances, a group of 10 Warpspiders, 5 Pathfidners,  a small squad of Swooping Hawks, and a landing pad. My opponent won first turn and took it, castling up in multistory ruin with most of his Guardians, Spiders, and Jetbikes, while the Farseer, Vibrocannons, and Wraithknight hung out in the landing pad fortification he deployed right next to said ruin.

Initial deployment, just before the Pathfidners infiltrated into the woods on the top left.

I deployed in a rough line, with Fateweaver and the GUO hugging cover, my fast units ready to move forward, and the Daemonettes further back in case Jason, my opponent, got too aggressive with any of his models. The first round Eldar shooting went relatively well, with the Vibrocannons whiffing against the Grinder, the Scatterlaser/Suncannon armed Wraithknight killing only a few Daemonettes and an unlucky Seeker. Most significantly, the Warp Spiders teleported into midfield, then battle focused a few inches too far forward. Thanks to range limitations they inflicted minimal damage, and then rolled poorly on their attempt to jump back.

The beginning of Eldar turn 2, as his army reacts to the arrival of the Bloodcrushers. Obscured by the building and just behind the surviving Pathfinders, the Swooping Hawks have just landed and blinded Fateweaver.

On my turn, parts of my army started to pull away. Fateweaver had a golden opportunity to claim First Blood by using Flamebreath on the Pathfinders and then finishing off the survivors with flickering fire, but rolled poorly to wound and then was Denied on the followup power.  The Soul Grinder moved to back him up, while the Plaguebearers shuffled forward, hoping to get into Linebreaker position later in the game. The Seekers moved up, but not as far as they could have, hoping to either bait the Knight into a charge or make an assassination run against him next turn buffed by the Grimoire. The Daemonettes spread out in an attempt to stay alive and out of range of the Guardians. Finally the Bloodcrushers advanced as far forward as they could, and in the assault phase just barely made it into contact with the Warp Spiders hiding out in the crater before them. The Spiders were ripped to pieces, giving me a KP and First Blood. 

Midway through Eldar 3.

The Eldar counterattack was relatively muted. The Pathfinders fired ineffectually into Fateweaver, as did the freshly arrived Swooping Hawks, whose bomb backs hurt the rightmost group of Daemonettes. The rest of the Eldar focused on the Bloodcrushers, who were annihilated despite a 3++ save from a successful Grimoire use the previous turn.

Relatively little happened on Daemon turn 2. Realizing that he wasn't going to take the bait and charge into Daemonette range, I parked both squads in cover and continued to advance with the Grinder and Plaguebearers. Fateweaver flew off the table edge, Vector Striking the Pathfinders to death on the way out. Unfortunately the Seekers failed their Grimoire role despite a reroll, so instead were buffed with Endurance and sent out in a longshot charge at the Hawks. Here they succeeded, winning combat handily and locking the two surviors.

We ended up playing through the end of Eldar four, but the Eldar were unable to make a comeback. Lance fire could not finish off the Soul Grinder, the Jetbikes had no good targets that didn't involve them getting assaulted in the next turn, and the Hawks died after two rounds of combat, leaving the Daemons with a respectable 4-1 win.

Round 2: Hammer and Anvil Deployment, Emperor's Will 

My opponent, Ed, having just purchased the new Marine codex, used the Matt Ward version one last time for this tournament. His army consisted of two Tactical Terminator squads (one foot mounted, the other paired with a Chaplain and a Land Raider, two five man Tactical squads on foot, a Missile/Lascannon Devastator squad, a Whirlwind, and a Storm Raven Ferrying an Ironclad Dreadnought.

Our objectives ended up directly across from one another, mine in a ruin, his in some trees. 

Deployment, shortly before SM turn 1. His objective is in the woods on the upper left, while everything else is in the opposite corner. Mine is in the ruins straddling my deployment line.

I lost first turn, but took minimal damage from the Space Marines in turn one thanks to Nightfighting. The only real movement was his Land Raider, which drove over the Chaos Ruins to get into visual range, and then fired its lascannons  at the Soul Grinder in concert with the Devastators. Together they managed to destroy its Iron Claw, but left the Harvester cannon intact. 

The beginning of Marine turn 2. The Storm Raven has just arrived from reserves, and is lining up an attack run on Fateweaver.

Relatively little happened in Daemon turn 1. Fateweaver, the Seekers, the Bloodcrushers, and a unit of Daemonettes converged on my opponent's objectives, while the Soul Grinder shuffled forward trying to bait more fire into its hull. The other unit of Daemonettes, having been made Invisible by Fateweaver, began the long run towards midfield and my opponent's objective. Most significantly, Forewarning, Endurance, and the Grimoire all were successfully applied to the Bloodcrushers, giving them a 2++ and Feel No Pain. Eat your dual hearts out, Grey Knight Paladins!

Space Marine Turn 2 began disastrously with the Land Raider immobilizing itself on terrain. The Terminators immediately disembarked to begin the long slog towards the objectives, but had no good targets for their shooting. Lascannon and Missile fire reduced the Grinder to a single hull point, but its Harvester remained untouched. The Storm Raven advanced to midfield, dropping off the Ironclad on the way, although the dreadnought remained out of weapons range. In the shooting phase the Raven bracketed Fateweaver and put 5 wounds on him between his missiles, assault cannon, and multimelta, but miraculously all were saved.

The end of Daemon 2. The Crushers butchered the Tactical squad, while the Plaguebearers form up on my own objective.

On Daemon turn 2 the noose began to tighten around the Marines.The Grinder and attendant Daemonettes continued to shift away from the Terminators. The Harvester cannon finally came into play, stripping a hull point from the Raven. Fateweaver, not wanting to push his luck, threw out Forewarning and Invisibility, then made a 90 degree turn right off the table edge. The Bloodcrushers, once again sporting a 2++ and Feel No Pain, charged into woods holding the Marine objective, and annihilated the Tactical squad holding it.

The Marine reaction was swift, furious, and relatively ineffective. Virtually every gun that could draw line of sight to the Crushers did so, including the Storm Raven, which went into hover mode and pivoted on the spot to bring all its weapons to bear. Some wounds got through, but none that would have inflicted Instant Death; all 6 Bloodcrushers remained. Both the Terminators and the Ironclad then charged into the Bloodcrushers. Combat ends with two dead terminators and 3 wounds between two now dead crushers, but I pass the Instability test and lock.  Slight better for the Marines, the Land Raider, splitting fire thanks to PotMS, strips the last hull point from the Soul Grinder.

Assault phase of Daemon turn 3.

In my turn I continued to move away from the footslogging Terminators and towards the Marine objectives with everything able to do so. With the Grinder destroyed and Fateweaver back in my deployment zone, I had no shooting to speak of. Fortunately the assault phase was eventful. The Seekers and Daemonettes both managed to reach the hovering Storm Raven and rended it to pieces, while the Ironclad and Terminators whiffed their attack rolls (which was huge as I had charged the Crushers out of buff range, and they had reverted to their normal 5++ save. More Terminators fell, but the Marines stayed locked in combat. 

At this point it became a mop-up operation.  Over the next few rounds the Terminators were killed by the Bloodcrushers, who were destroyed by the Ironclad in the same round of combat. This freed him up to be shot in the back and destroyed in turn by Fateweaver, and meant that the Marine objective was free and clear to be claimed by the Daemonettes who had destroyed the Storm Raven.

The game ended with much of the Marine force still intact, but too far away from either objective to alter the course of the game, and with the Daemons up 8-0.

Game 3: Dawn of War Deployment, 5 Objective Crusade

My opponent for the last game was Dave, who once again brought his Mechanized Eldar, consisting of 2 Crimon Hunters, 3 Wave Serpents with full upgrades and 5 strong Dire Avenger squads, a 4th Serpent carrying five striking Scorpions and his Autarch, and a pair of Fire Prisms with holo-fields. This was exactly the situation I did not want to confront with my Daemons. Massed Wave Serpents  put out an absolutely withering amount of fire that can cripple or destroy just about any unit they focus on. In my first crack at this style of Eldar, also against Dave, things did not go well . Furthermore, the mission type is not one I shine in. With only 3 scoring units, all of them relatively fragile, I have to balance holding my objectives with getting my scorers killed in an attempt to get them onto enemy objectives.

To make matters worse, I lose the rolls to go first and place objectives. I place both of mine outside my deployment zone, one behind a LoS blocking ruin, the other near the table edge in an ice forest as close as I can get to the first. Dave mirrors my placement, with two shielded by a LoS blocking ruin near his DZ, and then places the third in midfield, out in the open. 

Dave clusters his Waves Serpents on the two objectives in his deployment zone, placing one Fire Prism near the center of his board edge, and the other near a hill, giving him cover and a potential angle of fire onto both of my objectives. His Scorpion Wave Serpent stayed in reserve to outflank.

I responded by splitting my army.  A unit of Daemonettes and the Plaguebearers went onto the left corner of the board (from my angle), mostly shielded by the ruins and poised to grab the objectives I had placed. The Soul Grinder went between them to provide a deterrent if the Scorpions and their transport arrived on this side of the board edge. On the opposite side of the table, the Great Unclean One, Bloodcrushers, and Seekers line up as far forward as they can and prepare for a suicide run against the clustered Serpents. Fateweaver was held in reserve, partly to prevent him from being killed while on the ground by focused Wave Serpent shooting, and partly to allow him to intercept the Crimson Hunters when they arrive.

The Eldar movement phase in Turn 1.

As the game began I was not enthusiastic about my chances, but then a Slaaneshi miracle occured: I finally got a six on my Seize the Initiative roll. That one roll gave me the opening I needed. On the flank with my objectives, the Plaguebearers, Daemonettes, and Grinder shuffled closer to their assigned places. On the other side, the Bloodcrushers were successfully buffed by the Grimore, and ran forward along with the Seekers and Great Unclean One. No real damage was inflicted, but the chance to boost the Bloodcrushers' save before they were shot was huge. 

The Eldar response was not lacking, however. The Wave Serpents shuffled around around to prevent auto-hits, and one of the Dire Avenger squads hopped out to add some extra firepower. Shooting saw the Seekers go down to Wave Serpent Fire, giving up First Blood in the process, but subsequent fire was insufficient to kill even one of the Bloodcrushers. Their enhanced save combined with different firing angles ensured that while many were wounded, none went down.

Wave Serpent parking lot, just after the Bloodcrushers' charge.

As my second turn began, Fateweaver decided to stay off the field, while the second group of Daemonettes deepstruck near the central objective, then promptly ran 6" to avoid being splattered by blast templates. The objective holding Daemonettes and Plaguebearers continued to adjust their positioning, while the Soul Grinder put his back to the table edge to deny melta shots to his rear armor (the Autarch was carrying a fusion pistol). The GUO moved up further and successfully Grimored the Bloodcrushers again. Once again I had no shooting to speak of, and we went directly to the assault phase. The Crushers multiassaulted the disembared Dire Avengers and the nearest Wave Serpent, killing the Avengers, but failing to scratch the tank... 

End of the Eldar shooting phase, turn 2.

The Autarch's Serpent and one of the Crimson Hunters arrived at the start of the Eldar turn. Four of the Crushers went down to shooting, but the last two stayed up with 1 and 2 wounds each. Once again, taking fire from multiple angles resulted in spreading the wounds over the squad. The Crimson hunter lit up the GUO, but failed to inflict a wound, while the Autarch's Wave Serpent opened fire on the Plaguebearers, killing half of them.

Daemon turn 3, shooting phase.

 One way or another my Turn 3 was going to be a decisive turn. It got off to a poor start, with Fateweaver having to use his reroll just to negate another 1 for his reserve roll. It got worse when I risked using the Grimoire on him and rolled a two, knocking him down to a 5++. Fortunately things got better rapidly.  Fateweaver only managed to Velocity Lock one of the Hunters, but the the surviving Bloodcrushers and the GUO both managed to charge and destroy a Wave Serpent, exposing Dave's last two scoring units and significantly reducing the firepower he could bring to bear. On the other flank, the Soul Grinder moved closer to the Serpent, hoping for a lucky charge next turn or to force it to back off.

At this point the Eldar still had significant firepower remaining, but were exposed and had multiple targets that needed to be destroyed if they were to make a comeback.  The Velocity locked Crimson Hunter flew off the table, but was replaced by another. This one promptly put three wounds on Fateweaver, who luckily passed his grounding test. Combined shooting from the Dire Avengers killed one of the Crushers and put the other on his last wound, but couldn't finish him off. Both Fire Prisms drew beads on the Daemonettes on the central objective, but poor scatter and good placement minimized the damage. The Autarch's Wave Serpent also fared poorly, only managing to kill three of the five Plaguebearers camping the last objective.

Midway through Eldar turn 4.

At the start of Daemon turn 4 I moved in for the kill. Fateweaver and the GUO moved up to the surviving Dire Avengers (after successfully Grimoiring Fateweaver) and proceeded to incinerate one squad in shooting and destroy the other in assault. The Bloodcrusher charged the surviving, empty Wave Serpent, but only tore off its Scatterlaser. On the opposite flank, the Soul Grinder made a lucky charge through terrain and destroyed the Autarch's Wave Serpent, killing a Scorpion in the explosion. 

At this point we were running out of time again, and were told to finish the turn and stop. The last Wave Serpent moved as far away as it could get from the Bloodcrusher, then gunned it down, while the undamaged Hunter ineffectually strafed Fateweaver. The action then moved to the other flank. Both Fire Prisms and the reappearing, Velocity Locked Crimson Hunter bracketed the Daemonettes in the center, devastating the unit but leaving several alive and at least one within scoring range. The Autarch scored a penetrating hit on the Grinder only to see it pass its invulnerable save. In desperation the Autarch and Scorpions launched a multiassault against the Grinder and the last two Plaguebearers (which come to think of it, they shouldn't have been able to do, having been torn out of their transport in my last turn). The Scorpions managed to kill the Plaguebearers, sweeping me off an objective, but lost the combat when the Autarch was cut in half by Soul Grinder.

Final positions at the end of the game. The Scorpions denied an objective, but couldn't claim it, while my Daemonettes are still on two.

With the last turn over the Daemons had a solid victory, 8-1 (Linebreaker, Slay the Warlord, 2 Objectives, Gave up First Blood)!

Top 3 for the day consisted of 1.Chaos Daemons (3-0) 2. Space Wolves (2-0-1) 3. Mech Eldar (2-1)

Overall I was surprised at how well the list handled. While the first game didn't offer any particular challenge list wise and the second gave me an advantage in terms of composition, the third was about as close to a nightmare scenario as I can dream up. While the Bloodcrushers seldom survived a game, they never died alone, and did so after absorbing an unholy amount of shooting. Grimoire buffed they were able to absorb about as much firepower as they could in previous editions, and they were about as close to unkillable as its possible to be in this game with Forewarning added to the mix. The only real disappointment was the Seekers. While they really need larger numbers to be effective, they were useful only in the first game, drew little fire, and died the first time my opponent decided they needed to go away.  In future games I think I'll swap them out for Screamers, which seem to offer similar combat ability and speed coupled with better durability.

Battle Report and a New Test List.

If the rumors are true, then the current Tyranid codex only has a few months left to live. Obviously then, it's time try out some new additions and tricks! After some fresh reading online, particularly from Hive Fleet Hyenna , here's what I got to test out yesterday.

Clocking in at 2000 even -

HQ:

Hive Tyrant w/ TL BL devourers x2, Wings - 260

Hive Tyrant w/ TL BL devourers x2, Wings -260

Hive Tyrant w/ TL BL devourers x2, Armored Shell, Tyrant Guard -300

Hive Tyrant w/ TL BL devourers x2, Armored Shell, Tyrant Guard -300

Troops:

20 Termagants
20 Termagants
20 Termagants

Tervigon w/ Stinger Salvo, Dominion, Catalyst, Toxin Sacs
Tervigon w/ Stinger Salvo, Dominion, Catalyst, Toxin Sacs

Fast Attack:

6 Raveners w/ scything talons and rending claws.

I was hoping that the 2 winged Tyrants would provide some additional firepower and some much needed range. Previous iterations of the swarm have been durable, but just don't have the speed or hitting power to cross the board in the face of a determined opponent with significant shooting. I also wanted to test out using the Raveners as bait - moving them up, having them go to ground outside of Synapse, then moving a Syanpse creature back in range to pop them up and get them moving again.

My opponent brought a small and unoptimized but potentially very dangerous Space Wolf list. Logan Grimnar escorted by 8 Plasma pistol gunfighting Wolf Guard, Arjac joined with a group of Grey Hunters, a 2nd group of Grey Hunters with a Rune Priest (all three units with Drop Pods), a 3rd Grey Hunter pack, also with a Rune Priest (this one mounted in a Rhino, 2 Long Fang packs with a mix of missiles and lascannons, a Whirlwind, and a small pack of Thunderwolves.

We rolled up Big Guns Never Tire (5 objectives) and Hammer and Anvil deployment.

Initially I planned to reserve all my MCs but one Tervigon, which would almost surely be killed by the Space Wolf Drop Pods, and then wipe them out with massed devourer fire. That plan became untenable when my opponent rolled up -1 to enemy reserves for his Warlord Trait. Unwilling to risk giving him the chance of wiping out my heavy hitters piecemeal and having won the roll to take the first turn, I decided go first, buff up with psychic powers, and try to tank the initial Pod landing.

After both sides have deployed. The red poker chips mark the objectives. One is hidden behind the wall in the upper right, one is with the Long Fangs in the tower, one is with the second set of Long Fangs in the trees, one is in the open center left, and the last one is covered by the Raveners.

I set up defensively in case my opponent seized the initiative. My Warlord is the Tyrant with his face pressed against the columns, with the second one trying to provide him a cover save from the other angle. My entire deployment zone, save a few inches on each corner, is covered by Shadows in the Warp, the Termagants are on the edge to minimize Jaws of the World Wolf angles, and the Tervigons are placed such that a single 24" line can't get them both. This might seem excessive, but you only have to lose two MCs to Jaws and a third to plasma fire once to become acutely conscious of how badly my opponent's initial drop can hurt.

In this case, paranoia paid off, because the Space Wolves rolled a six and took the first turn after all.

At the end of Space Wolf 1. The rightmost Tyrant is dead, but was swapped out for my proxied 2nd Tyrant, a Harpy conversion that hasn't seen much table time in the last two years. Sorry, Harpy.

 Preparation and more than a little luck paid off. The Rune Priest and his pack set up to try for a Jaws shot at some Termagants and my Warlord, but were blocked by Shadows in the Warp. Logan and his Wolf Guard fared better, and took the opportunity to incinerate one of the winged Tyrants before she got a chance to Swoop. Fire from the Long Fangs put a wound on my Warlord's Guard, while the Whirlwind stripped off a wound from a Ravener. Meanwhile the 2nd Rune Priest and Thunderwolves closed in.

The end of Tyranid turn 1. Suffice it to say things have not gone well for the Space Wolves.

Despite losing a Tyrant and giving up First Blood, the Space Wolves failed to deliver the crippling blow they had hoped to. The leftmost Tervigon and Termagants moved up towards the objective, while everything else pivots to deal with the two Podded packs. Logan and company are bracketed by all three surviving Tyrants and then finished off in assault by the Raveners, while the Rune Priest and his Grey Hunters are Enfeebled, torrented by Fleshborers, and then assaulted by a freshly spawned brood of Termagants and the survivors of the brood they shot the previous turn. At the end of combat only the Priest remains, with a single wound.

Midway through the movement phase of Tyranid turn 2.

 Bad luck continued to plague the Space Wolves in their second turn. My opponent tried to get Arjac into range of the Warlord in the hopes of dropping him to Initiative 1 with his hammer and getting both the Tyrant and Tervigon in one Jaws shot. Instead the Pod scattered too far back, and the squad had to fire at the Tervigon, stripping off two wounds. Even worse, the Rune Priest mounted in the Rhino, now in Jaws range, was denied by the Termagants he attempted to fire through. The Thunderwolves attempted to finish the job Arjac had started, but despite a successful charge, their Thunderhammer was too far back to swing in the first round of combat. The Tervigon lost one wound to a rend, and another to a failed armor save, then Smashed, hit with both attacks, and killed both Thunderolves. The survivor passed his leadership test, and the two models locked in combat.

The Tyranid turn amounted to a repeat of its turn one. Both walking Tyrants turned on Arjac's squad, killing him and half the squad between their devourers. The Raveners finished off the survivors in the assault. The brood of Termagants that had narrowed the charge range of the Thunderwolves in the first place rushed in to save the Tervigon, and assisted by her Toxin sacs, managed to kill the last of the cavalry before they could strike. Meanwhile the winged Tyrant swooped over to the Rhino, hoping to destroy it expose the Grey Hunters inside. Despite firing all its devourers, it stripped a single hull point.

The end of Space Wolf turn 3.

Despite near crippling losses, the Wolves fought on. The Rhino moved slightly to make itself more difficult to hit, and tried once again to line up a Jaws shot on the Tervigon and Warlord. This one finally got through Shadows and Deny the Witch, and succeeded in dragging the Tervigon into the bowels of the earth, but the Warlord passed his Initiative test. Fire from the Long Fangs and Whirlwind did no appreciable damage.

Midway through the Tyranid shooting phase on turn 3. At this point we called it.

At this point it became a mopping up operation. With the flying Tyrant in position to kill his Long Fangs, the Rhino destroyed and the last Grey Hunters exposed to a Ravener assault, my the Space Wolves conceded.

In retrospect that was more instructive in how to defend against Jaws than a test of the list. I had hoped the Raveners would attract some Long Fang fire in the ruins directly across from their starting point, but they spent most of the game thorax deep in Space Wolf instead. I definitely enjoyed having the extra speed and firepower of the winged Tyrant, but since most of the big guns came to me, I'm still not sure how well this list would stand up to a sustained castle. Nevertheless, it was a fun game, and had a few dice rolls gone differently could have been as one-sided in my opponent's favor as mine.

More testing is needed before I'm comfortable with this.