Tournament review and further thoughts

This isn't even an attempt at a coherent text. Here goes.

• I had my second tournament now. It went a lot better than the first. I was 3rd; last time I was second before last.
• Last time I promised not to go to tournaments until Chaos Daemons get a new codex. We've got Curse of the Wulfen since, so here's hoping we'll get something new before the next tournament?!
• Last time I actually felt that I have no chance. This time, I felt that I do. Although there were no hardcore tourney lists here; no Necron Decurion, Eldar jetbike spam, Space Marine superfriends etc.
• I think I've had my fill of 40k for a while. 
• I haven't painted anything in a long while, even though I promised to in my last rant. A combination of playing 40k and being a DM for a DnD group leaves no time for other aspects of my hobbies. It's time to change that.
• I have models to put on the table, but they are almost always proxies. It's time to change that.
• Short term goal: finish painting the half-painted stuff in my army.
• Long term goal: assemble and paint the stuff lying around in boxes. That should be enough for a Tallyband and a Rotswarm.
• To wrap up, here's a picture of a potato the miniatures I currently own with the painted ones up front:

Daemons vs Tyranids, 26.06.2016

My fourth game in the tournament.

Mission: Spoils of War + The Relic, Dawn of War Deployment. ETC rules

Points limit:  2000 points

Lists:

Chaos Daemons: 

Daemonic Incursion Detachment

• Warpflame Host 
• 6x 11-man Pink Horrors
• 3x 3-man Flamers of Tzeentch
• Herald, exalted locus of +1 spell strength, level 3 psyker
• Demon Lord: Kairos Fateweaver
• Demon Lord: Lord of Change with the Impossible Robe, 2x Greater Reward, 1x Lesser Reward, lvl 3 Psyker, warlord
• Auxiliary: 5-man Chaos Furies

Combined Arms Detachment

• 2x Nurglings
• 2x Herald of Tzeentch on Disk. Level 3 psykers (Portalglyph, Grimoire of True Names)
• Aegis Defense Line with Comms Relay

This was my list with the usual everything-is-a-pink-horror proxies.

Tyranids:

Living Artillery Node

• 3-man Warriors with 1 Venom Cannon
• 3-man Biovores
• Exocrine

2 Combined Arms Detachments, mounting up to:

• 3x Flying Hive Tyrants, twin linked Devourers with Brainleech Worms, Electroshock Grubs, level 2 Psykers, one is the Warlord
• 2x Venomthrope
• 2x Termagaunts with Fleshborers
• Mucolid Spore
• Children of Cryptus
  • 8 Genestealers with the Spawn of Cryptus
• 2x Carnifex with twin linked Devourers with Brainleech Worms
• 3-man Zoanthropes with Neurothrope

A slightly varied list from last time, with the Mucolid spore replacing a couple of Gaunts.

Deployment

I deployed first, with all my Horrors lined up behind the Aegis Defense Line and hiding in ruins on the flanks.

I had no S10 or D to be afraid of, so I placed both my Greater Daemons on the table, on the left flank.

I rolled the perfect Warlord Trait: +1 to invulnerable saves. My Warlord now had a 2+ rerollable without Cursed Earth! Which was fine, since I did not manage to roll Cursed Earth anywhere.

The Nurglings infiltrated right next to the Relic.

Daemons, turn 1.

Target priority: Kairos flies forward and snipes 2 Biovores with Psychic Scream. 1 Zoanthrope dies to Bolt of Change.

Tactically summoning Daemonettes to hold the objective.

In a stroke of absolute luck, the Warlord casts Prismatic Gaze on a Flying Hive Tyrant and rolls 6 on the D table. First Blood, but one wound to Perils.

Possessed a squad of Horrors to get a Bloodthirster of Insensate Rage. Unlike the match with the Ultramarines, however, this was not a good move. More on that later.

Tyranids, turn 1.

Enraged by the loss rather than demoralized, the Tyranids surge forward. 

The Hive Tyrant on the right leaves the Bloodthirster with a single wound remaining.

The Warlord Hive Tyrants unloads into my Warlord, but does not inflict any wounds. Shooting overall into my ranks, but the main anti-infantry threat - the Biovores - was already neutered.

Daemons, turn 2.

Reserves arrive, even though I tried to keep them out by rerolling with Comms Relay. Furies land at a safe distance from everything. Flamers land but scatter, although still killing a respectable amount of Gaunts.
Bloodthirster does a Vector Strike for 2 wounds and flies off the table.

Daemonettes surge forward, but do not charge as I need to hold objective 5 again. No such compulsions for the Lord of Change and Kairos. The last Biovore dies to Psychic Scream. The Lord of Change charges and destroys the Warriors. The Carnifex loses 3 wounds to a D-shot.

Tyranids, turn 2.

The Genestealers arrive from outflank.

The Hive Tyrant flies forward and unloads into the Pink Horrors.

Everything runs towards the left flank, intent on delaying the rampage of the Lord of Change.

Daemons, turn 3.

The Lord of Change, a surviving Flamer and the Daemonettes in the ruins have weathered a lot of shots from the Carnifex and the Tyrant. They now proceed to clean up the Venomthrope and the Carnifex.

I unload 3x 2d6 S5 AP4 shots into the Genestealers. I roll horribly, and they survive.

I fly in both Kairos and my Bloodthirster on the right flank, intent on killing the Warlord Tyrant. Kairos unleashes a cover ignoring D-shot, but not only suffers and dies to perils, he also misses. Tyrant survives.

Tyranids, turn 3.

The Genestealers assault a Horror squad. They survive, denying Blood and Guts.

Whatever left of the back lines, retreats and fires into the approaching Lord of Change.

Warlord Tyrant fires into Pink Horrors.

Daemons, turn 4.

The Lord of Change cannot reach its targets yet to assault, so I try a lucky shot with Hellfire Gaze - I kill the Neurothrope.

I cannot shoot the Genestealers who are locked in combat, so I prepare to lose another Horror squad.

However, I do manage to kill the Warlord Tyrant with Misfortune + Flickering Fire.

Tyranids, turn 4.

There is nothing to stop the Genestealers from butchering another squad. The Tyranids rack up more killpoints.

Turn 5.

This is the final state of the table. The game ends at the end of turn 5.

14-6 for the Daemons.

I am fairly certain that, had the game continued, I would have easily racked up more points by killing what was left of the back lines (1 Carnifex, 1 Venothrope, 1 Zoanthrope, 1 Mucolid, 1 Exocrine). Several volleys of Flickering Fire should have knocked out the Genestealers, too. On the other hand, I had already failed that once this game, so who knows. I regret taking the risk with Kairos for the D-shot, but I was certain that I would take the Warlord with me, and also deny the killpoint for the Bloodthirster. Alas, I was in the lead in Maelstrom points, behind in killpoints and was holding the Relic at the end, so no real complaints anyway.

Daemons vs Ultramarines, 26.06.2016

My third game in the tournament.

Mission: Contact Lost + The Emperor's Will, Dawn of War Deployment. ETC rules

Points limit:  2000 points

Lists:

Chaos Daemons: 

Daemonic Incursion Detachment

• Warpflame Host 
• 6x 11-man Pink Horrors
• 3x 3-man Flamers of Tzeentch
• Herald, exalted locus of +1 spell strength, level 3 psyker
• Demon Lord: Kairos Fateweaver
• Demon Lord: Lord of Change with the Impossible Robe, 2x Greater Reward, 1x Lesser Reward, lvl 3 Psyker, warlord
• Auxiliary: 5-man Chaos Furies

Combined Arms Detachment

• 2x Nurglings
• 2x Herald of Tzeentch on Disk. Level 3 psykers (Portalglyph, Grimoire of True Names)
• Aegis Defense Line with Comms Relay

This was my list with the usual everything-is-a-pink-horror proxies.

Ultramarines: Combined Arms Detachment

• Chapter Master
• 2x 5-man Tactical squad, Missile Launcher, both in Razorbacks with twin-linked Lascannons
• 5-man Devastator Squad, 4 Lascannons
• 5-man Assault squad
• squadron of 3 Predators, 2 with twin-linked Lascannons and 2 sponsoon-mounted Lascannons, one with Autocannon
• Land Speeder with Typhoon Missile Launcher, Heavy Bolter
• Land Speeder with Autocannon
• Dreadnought with twin-linked Lascannon, Missile Launcher
• 5-man Terminators with Cyclone Missile Launcher

Imperial Knight

• Thermal Cannon
• Gatling Cannon
• Missile Pod
• Meltagun

So a lot of lascannons and a Knight. Lots of long-range firepower here.

Deployment

I deployed first. Learning from my mistakes in the last game, I kept both my Greater Daemons in reserve. I set up the Horrors mostly in cover, and hoped to weather the first round of shooting.

Up front, the gunline.

Daemons, turn 1.

I didn't do much in the first turn, being able to sit on objectives and score them. 

I made sure that I have Cursed Earth coverage everywhere.

I actually thought that I made a mistake by casting Possession with a squad of Horrors. I did get a Bloodthirster of Insensate Rage, but I actually gave up First Blood. In the long run however, it proved fruitful.

Ultramarines, turn 1.

The right flank pushed forward, with everything else laying down a storm of shots. However, there were no real targets. I had no issues with Going to Ground with all the targeted Pink Horror squads, to gain 2+/3+ cover save (rerolling 1-s), so my casualties were minimal.

Daemons, turn 2.

Unfortunately, no pictures here; but you can see below that I flew on with my Greater Daemons. 

Kairos managed to wreck a Predator and shake another, denying the squadron bonus against Monstrous Creatures.

The Warlord shot at stuff, but to no great effect.

I tried to land my Furies in the enemy's back lines, but mishapped and went back to reserve. I got one squad of Flamers in, who landed next to the Predators, but did not inflict damage.

Ultramarines, turn 2.

The Assault Marines land beside the Nurglings and charge - double ones.

My army absorbs a second round of massive shooting, with no visible effect.

Daemons, turn 3.

The Bloodthirster lands, then I cast Invisibility on it from Kairos.

I try a D-shot into the Knight, taking off 2 Hull points.

Both Nurgling squads assault the Marines, but even with Misfortune, I barely survive combat.

Ultramarines, turn 3.

The left flank unloads into Kairos and the invisible Bloodthirster. Both survive. 

The right flank unloads into the Warlord, who also escapes unharmed.

The Nurglings defeat the Assault Marines.

Daemons, turn 4.

The Bloodthirster eliminates the Devastator Squad.

Right next to it, two Flamers wage their eternal close combat against the unupgraded Chapter Master.

The Lord of Change unleashes a psychic barrage into several Marine squads, but fails to destroy any of them. At least I charge and destroy a Razorback.

Ultramarines, turn 4.

The struggle carries on.

The Bloodthirster takes a wound from Lascannon fire.

The Lord of Change takes a wound, but passes the Leadership test.

Turn 5.

The Bloodthirster eliminates the Predator squadron. Kairos flies on; along with the Lord of Change, they manage to eliminate most of the marines there.

Furies finally arrive and take the Emperor's Will objective.

In a final, desperate attempt, the Chapter Master charges the Bloodthirster. I pass all the armor saves, and obliterate him. The game ends at the end of turn 5.

20-0 for the Daemons.

This definitely went better than expected. I think I learned well from the other day's mistakes. The Bloodthirster was incredibly lucky, and the Horror squad that summoned it got back its point value manyfold. On the other hand, the Knight would probably have been used better by going forward and stomping some Horrors - at least it went well for the Wraithknight. Then again, that would have forced me to deal with him, and between 2 Prismatic Gazes and the D-thirster, that should not have posed a big problem.

Daemons vs Eldar/Dark Eldar/Assasins, 25.06.2016

My second game in the tournament.

Mission: Cleanse and Control + Crusade, Vanguard Strike Deployment. ETC rules

Points limit:  2000 points

Lists:

Chaos Daemons: 

Daemonic Incursion Detachment

• Warpflame Host 
• 6x 11-man Pink Horrors
• 3x 3-man Flamers of Tzeentch
• Herald, exalted locus of +1 spell strength, level 3 psyker
• Demon Lord: Kairos Fateweaver
• Demon Lord: Lord of Change with the Impossible Robe, 2x Greater Reward, 1x Lesser Reward, lvl 3 Psyker, warlord
• Auxiliary: 5-man Chaos Furies

Combined Arms Detachment

• 2x Nurglings
• 2x Herald of Tzeentch on Disk. Level 3 psykers (Portalglyph, Grimoire of True Names)
• Aegis Defense Line with Comms Relay

This was my list with the usual everything-is-a-pink-horror proxies.

Dark Eldar: Combined Arms Detachment

• 2x Archon, Warlord, webway portal
• 2x 5-man Cabalites
• Raider, Night Shields
• Imperial Bunker with Comms Relay

Eldar

Allied Detachment

• Autarch
• Rangers
• 3 Nightspinners

Wraithhost 

• Spiritseer
• 2x 5-man Wraithguard with D-cannons
• Wraithblades
• Wraithlord, 2 flamers, scatterlasers
• Wraithknight, 2x D-cannons, scatterlaser

Officio Assassinorum

• Culexus Assassin

Deployment

Table prepped and ready.

Deployment below. The Eldar got to deploy first. Wraithblades in the Raider, grouped up with the Cabalites around the Wraithknight. Bunker (with Rangers and Autarch) behind them, then the Nightspinners and another group of Cabalites.

I got my customary Aegis Defense Line and the Horrors behind it. Nurglings infiltrated on objectives. Lord of Change on the right flank, and Kairos in the lower right corner. Tactical error imminent...

Eldar, turn 1.

So I originally measured out the Wraithknight's effective threat distance (12" movement, 36" inch range on the D-cannons), then put Kairos just out of this range (you can see a bit of him in the corner). There is one thing I forgot about: combat focus. The Wraithknight ran forward, then Kairos got two D-shots in the face. 6. Removed from play.

This was the first major event of the game. I was completely demoralized.

Other less cinematic events: the Raiders speeds towards the Nurglings. Culexus advances. Nightspinners shoot up some Horrors. Cabalites advance on the far side. Wraithlord advances.

Daemons, turn 1.

I lined some Horrors in front of the Wraithknight to try and block him off as much as possible. 

I then took a huge gamble. I jumped forward with the Lord of Change and assaulted the Wraithlord. The plan was to get locked in combat, kill it on the next turn, then take off after the Wraithguard arrive. So far, so good.

Eldar, turn 2.

With the Autarch and the Comms Relay manipulating reserves, both squads of Wraithguard managed to hold back.

The Wraithblades disembark and destroy the Nurglings.

The Wraithknight starts its rampage in my ranks, shooting, assaulting and stomping. 

The Assassin advances further on.

My gamble backfires horribly as the Wraithlord refuses to die.

Chaos Daemons, turn 2.

Furies arrive from Deep Strike and scatter off the objective.

I cast Grimoire on a group of Horrors and assault the Wraithknight. This would work if not for a 6 on the stomp. I lose most of the squad, but at least the Wraithknight is locked in combat.

I commit another tactical error and do not assault the Assassin with the Nurglings. I had my reasons - I had to score that objective to stay even with the points. However, locking the Assassin down would have been a lot better at this point.

Unfortunately, I manage to kill the Wraithlord. The Lord of Change is on the ground.

Eldar, turn 3.

Both Wraithguard squads arrive next to the Lord of Change. I get a salvo of D-shots with multiple 6-s. Removed from play.

The Culexus is free to assault a squad of Horrors.

Chaos Daemons, turn 3.

I knew I was losing. Both my Greater Daemons were down and I did not inflict nearly enough casualties. I was growing desperate. My only chance to hold out was to dominate the Psychic phase, and I couldn't do that with the Assassin around. I charged it with everything I had (all Pink Horrors), hoping to crush it with numbers. It survived with 1 wound.

I summoned Bloodletters to have a change against the Wraithknight, but they mishap and get placed in the far corner.

Flamers arrive and at least kill both squads of Cabalites. 

Eldar, turn 4.

The Wraithknight joins the assault. The attacks themselves do not do much, but 3 stomps later, most of my Horrors and Heralds are dead.

The characters leave the Wraithguard squads to hold more objectives. My right flank is no longer a threat, with only a couple of Horrors and a Fury moving around.

Chaos Daemons, turn 4.

I take whatever victories I can. I assault an Archon with Horrors and the Fury, killing it.

Two Flamers spray the bunker, killing the Rangers and the Autarch inside.

Eldar, turn 5.

The Eldar continue to demolish my ranks. The Wraithguard destroy the remnants of the right flank, the Wraithknight destroys one squad each turn.

Chaos Daemons, turn 5.

I manage to destroy the Raider with Psychic shooting, hoping for the killpoints to save me.

I enjoy a brief moral victory as the Spiritseer is possessed by a Herald of Tzeentch.

Turn 6.

By turn 6, all of the table belongs to the Eldar, who score points with impunity. The greatest hammerblow is of course the Crusade objectives, which yield 12 points to the Eldar at the end of the game.

Final score: 20-0 for the Eldar.

Forgetting combat focus was my greatest mistake here. I should have just kept both Greater Daemons in reserve, and keep them in the air, wrecking havoc with Psychic shooting. 

Daemons vs Daemons, 25.06.2016

My first game in the tournament.

Mission: Tactical Escalation + Big Guns Never Tire, Hammer and Anvil Deployment. ETC rules

Points limit:  2000 points

Lists:

Chaos Daemons: 

Daemonic Incursion Detachment

• Warpflame Host 
• 6x 11-man Pink Horrors
• 3x 3-man Flamers of Tzeentch
• Herald, exalted locus of +1 spell strength, level 3 psyker
• Demon Lord: Kairos Fateweaver
• Demon Lord: Lord of Change with the Impossible Robe, 2x Greater Reward, 1x Lesser Reward, lvl 3 Psyker, warlord
• Auxiliary: 5-man Chaos Furies

Combined Arms Detachment

• 2x Nurglings
• 2x Herald of Tzeentch on Disk. Level 3 psykers (Portalglyph, Grimoire of True Names)
• Aegis Defense Line with Comms Relay

This was my list with the usual everything-is-a-pink-horror proxies.

Chaos Daemons: Daemonic Incursion Detachment

• Tallyband
• 2x 10-man Plaguebearers
• 5x 3-base Nurglings
• Herald with locus of Feel no Pain
• Infernal Tetrad
• Khorne Prince: Armor of Scorn, wings
• Slaanesh Prince: armor, wings, Grimoire of True Names
• Nurgle Prince: armor, wings, Corruption
• Tzeentch Prince: the Impossible Robe, level 3 Psyker, warlord
• Forgehost
• 3x Soul Grinder, Daemon of Khorne, Phlegm Bombardment

Deployment

I got to deploy and go first. I placed my ADL in front of the Horrors, then spread them nicely to cover the most ground with Cursed Earth. The two Daemon Lords are at the flanks, and the Heralds are scattered about, attached to Horrors squads. The Nurglings infiltrated as far ahead as possible.

On the other side, the Grinders and the Princes are spread out. The Herald is in the middle, giving the 12" FnP bubble to the Plaguebearers. The Nurglings are spread out, infiltrating where ever possible.

Chaos Daemons (me), turn 1.

I flew ahead with Kairos and tried to spread around some damage. I killed some Nurglings, but didn't manage to hurt the big guys. Not even with Prismatic Gaze.

Chaos Daemons (opponent), turn 1.

Kairos was an excellent bait. The Slaanesh prince used the Grimoire on him (mitigating my own Grimoire), then 2 Princes flew over to Vector Strike. I got a wound - and now his CC Princes were flying for at least 1 turn. Also, all the Grinders shot at Kairos, with no additional wounds. Staff of Tomorrow saves the grounding test.

Everything advances on the right flank. The Nurgle Prince wipes out my Nurglings for First Blood.

Chaos Daemons (me), turn 2.

The Lord of Change jumps forward, intent on pushing back this flank.

On the far side, Daemonettes are summoned to hold the objective.

All my reserves come in, most of them disastrously.

The Furies try to land on a back objective, but scatter off and cannot run to hold it. All the Flamers scatter off and are not able to inflict maximum damage. One squad mishaps are placed by the opponent behind the far Soul Grinder for an easy killpoint.

Kairos flies off the table, but not before causing some havoc. I manage a D-shot on his Warlord, taking off 3 wounds.

The Lord of Change faces off against the Nurgle Prince. They mostly talk about their lives and work instead of causing damage.

Chaos Daemons (opponent), turn 2.

The Furies die to Phlegm, but unexpectedly cause a lot of damage. The colored Grinder steps into tanglewire, trips and gets immobilized.

The Princes on the far side land and get ready to wipe out the Daemonettes. 

All my Flamers get either wiped out or bogged down in combat. They hold unexpectedly well and tarpit a group of Plaguebearers for a couple of rounds.

"Epic" duel continues at a rate of 1 wound/combat phase.

My center Nurglings get charged, but heroically hold out.

Chaos Daemons (me), turn 3.

Kairos flies back on and snipes the Slaanesh Prince with a well placed D-shot.

The Daemonettes assault the Khorne Prince, holding him off for the newly summoned Bloodcrushers to kill off in the next round.

Two squads of Pink Horrors join the combat to help out the Nurglings by flailing about helplessly. Some wounds are inflicted on both sides with no clear winner.

Chaos Daemons (opponent), turn 3.

More Nurglings and the Herald join the middle combat. It looks like it will go on forever.

The Daemonettes hold off the Khorne Prince for another round.

Hilariously, the Tzeentch Prince kills himself with Perils of the Warp.

The Lord of Change finally mans up and kills the Nurgle Prince.

Observe the Flamers still holding off the Plaguebearers between the hills and the ruins.

Chaos Daemons (me), turn 4.

Until this point, we were mostly equal in points and kill points, but the tide was already turning in my favor with two Princes already dead and one Grinder out of comission. In this turn, the Bloodcrushers assaulted and killed off the Khorne Prince, and the Lord of Change joined the middle combat, killed a lot of Nurglings and the rest died to Daemonic Instability.

We played another turn but no more notable stuff happened. I scored more points by virtue of table control.

Final score: 16-4 in my favor.

I did not think that the Infernal Tetrad would do much, without being fully kitted out with Psychic powers and random Gifts.  They didn't actually do more than threaten my own field and thus keeping me back, allowing the Tallyband to advance unhindered. However, this was enough to maintain an even score right until the point the Princes started dropping.