Deathwing vs Daemons Batrep

Okay,
so a friend was wanting to borrow Daemons for an RTT (change of pace for him with this group) and I wished to see how my Deathwing might hold up vs an all power weapon army...seeing the rising quantities of Grey Knights and all.
Thus, a mutual test was born!

His list (from memory)[italicized unit his preferred first half drop];
Skarbrand
Skulltaker (on 'crusher)
Herald (on 'crusher w/might and all that jazz)
Bloodcrushers (x5, fully kitted)
Bloodletters (x10, kitted)
Bloodletters (x10, kitted)
Bloodletters (x5)
Daemon Prince (doomy Khornate type with all that jazz)
Daemon Prince (doomy Khornate type with all that jazz)
Soulgrinder (shooty mc-shoot pants)

Mine;
Belial
Int Chaplain Termie
5x DW Termies (full upgrade squad, 5x THSS/Cyclone)
5x DW Termies (5x THSS/Cyclone) [5 of these squads]
Ravenwing Squad (sgt w/meltabomb, 2x melta, 1x MM Attk Bike)

Deployment; Spearhead
Mission;
1 objective, center of table.
Primary Victory, center objective
Secondary Victory, Table Quarters (any unit scoring this)
Tertiary Victory, KPs

I won the roll to determine 1st turn/Dep zones. Normally, against daemons, I go second...in order to not lose 1st turn shooting...but I wanted to try an-anti daemon tactic with this list, so chose to go first.

I deployed with two DW units central right and central left of my DZ. I also reserved (Deathwing assault for 1) 3 units of Deathwing.
I then deployed across all fronts of my DZ boundary, and scouted bikes outward 12"...the attack bike into the center of the table, one squad to the leftmost quarter and one toward the right.





Turn1;
With my first turn movement, and DW drops, I had created 2 'safe' zones for him to drop. One in the back corner of his deployment zone, one in a 'pocket' inside mine. All other points on the field were now close to table edges.
The far corner would put his walking daemons in the pickle of multiple shooting turns to approach the central objective. Taking the 'pocket' should garner me at least one, if not more, Deep Strike Mishaps...and hopefully a dead unit with little effort.
Deathwing assault placed the command unit (w/characters) surrounding the central objective, turbo boosting bikers and squad movement (+running) set up my defensive strategy.
Woe is the person who counts on scatter. Four units dropped (his preferred half), 3 units hit...and the Bloodcrusher-star (with attached Skulltaker/Herald) scattered precisely 3 inches...two more, and he would have mishapped on terrain. :(
(oh well, best laid plans..blah blah).

Turn 2;
With the drops to my upper right, and center, I folded back into Dep zone. I brought a Deathwing squad into the upper right quarter to engage the winged Daemon Prince there, folded two toward the 'Crusher-star, and brought the DW squad on to the building (BARELY) the the ground floor to engage the bloodletters. Crack missiles put two wounds on the Daemon Prince, and killed a 'crusher. My assault led to another dead crusher (champ I believe) and wounds for everyone but Skulltaker. I saw to the end of the winged Daemon Prince, and reduced the Bloodletter squad in the building to 3. The bloodletters managed to reduce their foes to 2 models, though. (During movement, I had also cordoned off Skarbrand with a sacrificial bike squadron...to prevent him from engaging the combat involving 'crushers on his turn).



His reserves brought in the Soulgrinder (just in my DZ) and the 2nd full squad of 'letters right in the 'pocket' behind the 'crusher/terminator furball. Soulgrinder fire netted no kills. The new Bloodletter unit closes on the objective with a run.
During his assault phase, he baked the bike squadron with Skarbrand, and finished off the Terminators engaged with the 'crushers. At this point, he had lost another 'crusher.

Turn 3;
My turn, and no reserves...lonely DW squad waits in the wings!
Belial and the Chappy disengage from the Command Squad, who charge off to deal with the crippled crushers (the Characters then join a squad coming up from the left-flank). The terminators that had smashed the DP, close on Skarbrand (who's busy licking biker-blood off an axe)...while bikes boost 'round to get a melta shot(next turn) on the 'grinder.
Shooting puts down another crusher, and a wound on skulltaker, and what will be the ONLY wound delivered to Skarbrand...while crack missiles bounce harmlessly off the soulgrinder.
My assault finishes the small Bloodletter unit in the building, and puts down two more 'crushers for no lost termies. Unfortunately, the assault into Skarbrand nets me NO wounds on SB for 4 lost termies. At least he's stalled for next combat phase.




NO RESERVES FOR YOU! Okay, so he's not waiting for MUCH...but what he did have in the wings doesn't come in!

Turn 4;
NO RESERVES FOR ME! Well, we both sucked the reserve pipe...but no big. Not a lot of movement this turn, we're solidly tied up. I bring the left termies (with characters) into the middle, to challenge the 'letters...while we kind of mutually annihilate on the center (crushers/Skulltaker go poof to command terminators, then Skarbrand bathes in the offal of same squad moments later)...rolling into:

Turn 4/5 is where we stall...furballs everywhere...blood everywhere. Reserves for both come in (final DP, small 'letters and a DW squad for me) no really new assaults. Blood flies, dice fail me HORRIFICALLY...dice ROCK for him awesomely (not just exaggeration here, he hits and wounds with EVERY attack on a 9 'letter charge vs a terminator squad...it was bad...there were tears, and gnashing of teetth).
I finally kill the 'grinder. One golden moment for me, though...the new DP that came was down to 1 wound to 4 crack missiles and a melta gun! :)








Turn 5&6;
Okay, so the DP went down. The two remaining Terminators that STARTED in the building came down to get him, and were promptly slaughtered. He then died to final fire from the remaining squad across the table. They were, in turn, pounced by 5 lousy Bloodletters near the center...and wiped out...by FIVE LOUSY Bloodletters...dammit!!! :)

The Chaplain, who was the only remaining terminator on the table, finally succumbed to Skarbrand (after surviving Belial and a Terminator squad's demise around him through 3 CC phases) and the game ended turn 6.

it ended as the pictures show below...






Excellent and fun game! I was doubly happy to see my Daemons on the table, it's been too long since they were dusted off!

I don't think I made any errors, and neither did Edge.
It became a 'weight of dice' issue, and in CC the 'edge' went to the Khornate Daemons.

I did find a few things, amongst them;
-My initial movement/deployment tactic could have worked...but all plans can run amock in a dice-managed environment. As it is, it still shoe-horned him into a less-than-optimal deployment spread...I just failed to capitalize on it completely.

-I really should have started with a 4th unit on the table, tightening the 'pocket' to my upper right. Other than cramping the zone, it would have made little difference to my initial spread...but may have made it more difficult to dispose of the first DP.

-DW CAN manage a Power Weapon exclusive environment. It ain't fun, but I was there all the way to the final act (and considering bronzing that Chaplain model...he just wouldn't go down til the bitter end...appropriate for a Chappy!)

-The Bloodcrushers would probably have been better applied as 2 units of 3, with Skulltaker in one.

-My only 'error' was just a choice, and that was where my last DW squad deepstruck in. I should have brought them in opposite the Bloodletters, and another turn out of assault range of them, but still within run-contestation of center on turn 6.