First thoughts with the new Daemons

After spending last week reading both German copies and photos of the real thing, followed by actually getting my iPad copy Friday night and then playing the old codex on Saturday I got to give the codex a whirl today.  First thoughts:

• Damn, that's a lot of psykers.  I have to learn a new phase of the game.
• What, no...  You can't double me out I have Eternal wa....  Oh, crap, you're right.
• Oh yeah, I forgot to roll on the Warp Storm table, hang on a second.
• I need more and multiple colors of tokens to mark war charges, warp flames and soul blaze.
• There aren't enough psychic cards in the deck for me to use that much divination.
• I need cards for the Daemonic Rewards so that I can put them next to the models.
• Discs are jet bikes?  Let's see what I can do with screamers.
• Wow, 30 minutes of set-up and rolling dice and we're now just starting the game...

I got to play a 1500 point game against a local Dark Angel player, Hunter.  I've never played against him before and we were both doing a little learning.  Here is the list I played; since I had to make it by hand I hope my math held up.

Army List

HQ

Tzeentch Herald - ML2, Ex. Locus Conj., Gr. Reward - 110

Tzeentch Herald - ML2, Ex. Locus Conj., Less Reward - 100

Tzeentch Herald on Disc - ML1 - 70

Tzeentch Daemon Prince w/ wings - ML1, Gr. Reward - 250

Troops

20 Pink Horrors w/ Blasted Std and Instrument - 210

20 Pink Horrors w/ Blasted Std and Instrument - 210

Elite

3 Flamers of Tzeentch + Pyro Caster w/ Gr. Reward - 117

3 Flamers of Tzeentch + Pyro Caster w/ Gr. Reward - 117

3 Flamers of Tzeentch + Pyro Caster w/ Gr. Reward - 117

Fast Attack

9 Screamers - 225

Heavy

Tzeentch Soul Grinder w/ torrent and plehgm - 190

~1500 points

Battle Report

The game went to 6 rounds and was separated by a single VP.  We played Big Guns/Vanguard.  He brought a shooty DA foot list with 2 vindicators, 2 dreadnoughts with missiles and lascannons, a small melt bike squad and a command squad with the banner of devastation.

Objectives - three objectives equally space right down the middle of the no man's land.  The left objective was adjacent to a Shrine of the Aquila, the center was in the Blasted Landscape (dangerous terrain) and the right was next to a impassable column.  Locations turned out to be key later in the game.

Deployment - he deployed gun line style with his command squad behind LOS blocking terrain, and his librarian joined to a Tac squad manning a quad gun.  Both that squad and another were behind a long wall of Aegis DL.  His dreadnoughts were placed in upper levels of ruins, so they were stationary for the game and the deployed vindicators on each flank.  His third tac squad deployed far left.

I deployed (what the heck is deploying BTW) a horror blob squad center left, daemon price far left (on foot), soul grinder center and screamers far right.  The screamers got a ML Herald in disc and the two foot squads each got ML2 Heralds on foot.

Turn 1
My opponent failed at seizing the initiative.  I walked forward with the blob squad and soul grinder, flew the DP up behind the Shrine of the Aquila and moved the screamer forward; after buffing the DP and the blob squad.  My first warpstorm roll resulted in the Khorne attack which did a little damage to my opponent.  I shot at the squad with the Libby, who denied the witch.  I could see the random daemons going downhill quick.  The screamers slashed at a tac squad taking about half the squad out.  The SG killed a few marines with phlegm.

Then I learned how nasty the banner of devastation was.  Holly crap that was a ton of shots.  My screamer squad was taken down to half strength only do to some lucky rolling.

Turns 2/3
I had a turn of +1 inv followed by a turn of -1 inv saves.  Squads of 4 flamers are still pretty nasty, but will not wipe a tac squad by themselves any longer, but the warpfire will take another 2 models on average one in three times (6+ FNP isn't too bad, so plan to wipe a squad in 2 turns).  I flamed the DA command squad and killed the banner (and the rest of the squad).   A good turn of Pink Horrors shooting with the blasted standard is devastating to your opponent.

I took some pretty good damage on the Horror squad, down to ML2.  The Soul Grinder didn't make it past turn 3.  The screamers made an assault and did their job.  I mishapped my other blob squad, which my opponent relegated to the back of my deployment zone.  I got to spend the entire game moving and running to claim an objective.

Turns 4/5
The DP vector struck a vindicator and proceeded to get shot to pieces failing all his saves.  Not worth his points.  But, I cleaned up the rest of his scoring units save one and a vindicator.  The other vindicator tried to claim the far right objective, but I was able to contest with a squad of flamers.  I took mass casualties running through dangerous terrain trying to claim the center objective, but made it.

Turn 6
The game ended on turn 6.  I was able to tie my opponent on objectives and won due to having won first blood.  What a game.  I felt like a newb playing this army.  I'm sure I screwed up plenty of things.

A few mistakes I made:

• Phlegm is now ordinance, which means if the Soul Grinder fires it all other weapons are fired as snap shots.
• Remember how many warp charges you have and what you want to do.