Daemons vs Tau, 02.02.2016

Mission: Purge the Alien, Dawn of War 

My opponent was a beginner, so we agreed on a simple mission type to keep the game going nice and easy.

Points limit:  1000 points restricted FOC (league rules)

Restricted FOC. All the standard rules apply, but you must follow the following FOC chart. 1 - 2 HQ, 1 - 6 Troops, 0-2 Elite, 0-2 Fast Attack, 0-2 Heavy Support, 0-1 Optional additional Troop, Elite, Fast Attack, or Heavy Support Choice.

Lists:

Chaos Daemons: Restricted FOC

• Daemon Prince of Slaanesh, lvl 1 Psyker (Iron Arm, Lash of Slaanesh), 2 Greater Rewards (Lash of Despair, +1 Wound and It Will Not Die) (look, no wings!), Warlord: Herald of Doom (-1 to Fear checks)
• Herald of Khorne, Exalted Reward (Grimoire of True Names)
• 20-man Bloodletter squad, upgraded with Banner of Blood, instrument, champion
• 12-man Daemonette squad, standard, instrument
• 5-man Flesh Hounds
• 5-man Seekers of Slaanesh
• Soul Grinder of Slaanesh, Baleful Torrent 

Tau: Restricted FOC

• Battlesuit Commander, Drone Controller
• 8-man Marker Drone squad
• 2x 6-man Fire Warrior strike team
• 3x 1-man Crisis Suit (identical equipment, plasma rifle, missile pods)
• 1-man Broadside Suit (missile pods, smart missiles, seeker missile)
• Piranha
• Riptide, 2 shield drones, stimulant injectors

... and other upgrades I'm pretty sure I forgot about.

Deployment

I chose table sides, but the Tau deployed first, forming a gunline in a corner.

I counter-deployed in the opposite corner, with most troops in cover to survive the first turn. I kept the Seekers and the Prince in reserve.

Tau, turn 1.

Barely any movement and surprisingly ineffective shooting due to bad rolls (and good saves on my part).

Daemons, turn 1.

I started by casting the Grimoire on the Bloodletters. Had I failed that, I would have stayed in cover. Alas, Chaos was on my side. I could begin the long march.

The Daemonettes were badly mauled and I didn't want to give up First Blood, so I ran them into cover. The Soul Grinder advanced on the far flank with a Run of 9 inches (thanks to Fleet and Daemon of Slaanesh).
The Warp Storm unleashed itself on a squad of Fire Warriors, making them run away. They regrouped next turn.

Tau, turn 2.

Seeing my quick advance, the Tau re-prioritized their targets. All fire went into the Bloodletters and the Soul Grinder. However, AV13 and 3++ made sure that I escape relatively unscathed.

8 marker lights.

Daemons, turn 2.

Both the Seekers and the Prince entered play. I ran the Seekers in from Outflank and directly into cover, right in front of the Tau gunline, hoping that they would draw away some fire. They did. The Prince entered by Deep Strike and didn't scatter too much.
The Bloodletters advanced, again under the protection of the Grimoire.

The Grinder obliterated a squad of Fire Warriors, gaining me First Blood.
The Prince lashed out at a Crisis Suit, killing it.
The Flesh Hounds charged into combat, survived a whole army's worth of supporting fire (taking no wounds), then took 3 wounds in close combat from Fire Warriors. Yes, you read that right. I even lost the combat, but passed the instability test.

Tau, turn 3.

Withering close range salvos continued to pour into my troops. The Seekers were decimated. The Soul Grinder took another Hull Point damage. Bloodletters died.

No longer fighting through difficult terrain, the Flesh Hounds defeated the Fire Warriors and overran them.

Daemons, turn 3.

Let the slaughter begin!
The Bloodletters charged the Piranha. The Flesh Hounds charged a Crisis Suit. The Prince charged the Commander and his Drones, taking 2 wounds in Overwatch.
The Bloodletters were left clustered up, but at least they took out the melta.
The Hounds were stuck in combat. Yay!
The Prince killed some drones; the Commander had refused the challenge.

Tau, turn 4.

A final barrage of shots before the final charges. The close combats held out.

Daemons, turn 4.

The Prince and the Soul Grinder successfully won the combat together, then advanced on the Riptide. The Bloodletters killed the Drones from the Piranha. The Hounds eliminated the last Crisis Suit.
At the beginning of the assault phase, I charged the Riptide with the Daemonettes to eat his Overwatch. In a fit of luck, I managed an 11 inch charge (Fleet to the rescue) and also survived combat with 1 model, preventing him from shooting.

We played through turn 5, at the end of which the Riptide was left with 1 wound and in combat with everything except the Soul Grinder. The score was 12-1 in my favor. My opponent graciously conceded.

Things to add

• I have purposefully dumbed down my list, knowing that I faced a beginner opponent. It was fun to try out a Lashprince and the Torrent Grinder.
• I rolled very, very well. I got Iron Arm (without which I may have lost my Prince on the turn after arrival). I got all Grimoire rolls. I got both reserves in on turn 2. I compensated a bit with a bad Warp Storm result (-1 invulnerable saves), but that was towards the end, when the battle was already going in my favor.
• Target prioritization is the number 1 issue for the Tau. The Piranha should have hunted down the Grinder with its melta gun. Marker lights could have worked out better.