The Gordium Campaign: Balance of Power vs. Demons

Having decoded the first cogitator the Dark Angels battle barge, Sword of Caliban, has warped into the system of Purgatory in the gothic sector of the segementum obscurus. Immediately following bombardment of the target hive city of Yamada, the strike team is assembled and thunderhawks are launched....

references below*

+++Dataslate recording over purgatory+++

+Archival subscript+

++Belial's address to the assembled deathwing strike force++

My brothers, over the past three months we the deathwing have followed the trail of the heretic and traitor known as Terrigrax. He was known one time as our brother Pannus Lovitus, a company champion of the third company. Now he has joined in the cult of khorne worship and has aided those who have brought demons to this fetid planet. BROTHERS THIS CRIME WILL NOT GO UNPUNISHED! Incapacitate him if possible, but we will not show this foe mercy. More sinister than this, it seems that Ravenwing scouts have reported a sighting of a two headed flying creature, demonettes of Slanesh, along with pink horrors of Tzeentch. As we speak our brothers from the 4th company are forming a perimeter and thunderhawk salvos have created a breach in the defenses for us to enter Yamada Hive. We enter a warzone like no other and we must see out our task. This includes protecting this planet from demonic invasion. You my brothers, cover yourselves in glory today for none shall learn of our efforts here. Let us tear the heart from the enemy ! Strength for the Lion, Honor for the Emperor!

deployment

mission purge the alien

Demon 1 - fateweaver takes flight, getting into range to cast bolt of change and withering fire, the librarians hood cancels both! terrigrax and his spawn move into the building and wait to spring their trap. the screamers move up to get cover in preparation for a turn 2 assault.

DA 1 - Bellerophon tries to cast misfortune on the screamers, but fails takes a wound to perils. knowing the danger of the screamers and their armorbane, both landraiders unleash on them. killing all but three.

Demon 2 - again fatey tries his spells and while the hood blocks one it, the power field blocks the second. the grimoire also fails. the screamers assault and are able to pen, causing an immobilized result on the LRC.

 DA 2 - Again the librarian fails to cast misfortune, but takes no wound. Sensing opportunity all Deathwing knights disembark, and almost all the shooting is directed at fatey. after using his reroll to stay aloft once he fails a second time and pluments to the ground...

DA 2 - the DWK activate maces and send fatey back to the warp.

Demon 3 - Terrigrax springs his trap, charging into the deathwing on the flank while the demonttes charge the deathwing knights.

DA 3 - Bellerophon the librarian retreats, while the demonettes chew through the DWK, and Terrigrax and his spawn rip apart the opposite flank. *

Demon 4 -Terrigrax charges the deathwing in concert with the spawn and the demonettes. A challenge is begun between the libby, Bellerophon and Terrigrax, the Chaos lord. Swinging at the same time* the demon weapon fails rolling a 1, but still being ap2 it slices through bellerophons armor fatally wounding him. swinging with all his might bellerophon channels the warp and is able to cause a single wound. Focusing his mind one final time, Bellerophon passes his first psychic test causing instant death to his foe! meanwhile the demonettes try to cull the deathwing one final time.

DA 4 - still gunshy after being punked in the first game of the tourney, belial stays in the Land raider, while his friends outside  get killed.

Demon 5- demons run to get cover trying to escape the counter attack.

DA 5 - forgeting that the immobilized landraider could still fire the hurribolters unleash on the deamons. but being fearless they are in no danger. meanwhile the sqaud in the forward landraider delivers its payload and begins to press the demonettes shooting up the third squad, but not charging due to healthy respect of the rending claws.

Demon 6 - the demons run as far as they can attempting to escape the guns.

DA 6 - with the game winding down the landraider shoots at the cultists heading for the corner of the board. with three failed saves the cultists break and flee, putting the dark angels ahead by one VP.

the game ends the dark angels win 5-4!

Epilouge -  In the glowering dark of the coming night Belial knew his work was not done but as he surveyed the damage around him he knew that he could sleep a bit easier tonight. The darktalons would come to pick up brother Lovitus, who styled himself Terrigrax. His mind might be broken by the librarian's blow but soon he would be in the hands of chaplains. The repentence of the fallen angel was not so much his concern as the fact that his dark angels had won the day and the deathwing had brought the chapter one step closer to redemption. there were still two more cogitators to decipher, but he would be able to sleep well tonight.

The Story continues in, Part 4!

Analysis - This was an awesome game, not only was there plenty of back and forth, but it was also fun too play versus demons, they are really powerful and a lot of fun to play against. Plus my opponent had a great looking army! there were three big errors in this game.
1.) the libby should not have swung at the same time as the juggerlord. i was remembering the initiative being 5 from the previous codex and having not had a ton of games i messed this one up, but it was an honest mistake.
2.) i should have brought the backfield deathwing squad into the LRC. i didn't realize you could be 8" away from the door and still get inside. this would have changed the game considerably.
3.) even though i showed it in the pic for DA5 i actually got so caught up in the LRC being immobile i forgot to fires its weapons! i might have netted an extra VP had i remembered that.
I got kinda lucky with knocking out fatey so early, obviously but he did fail two flight tests so it seemed fair. i also killed a herald at some point which is how i got the high number of VPs. fearless horde with invul saves and rending, yikes demoettes are no joke. the shooting from tyhe pink horrors killed one termie during the game,  but was not shown above.
Should i have used belial more. im not sure. the high initialtive and rending on the demonettes makes it so that they are really nasty and i wanted to protect that vp.
Overall i think the mistakes balanced out and because my opponent had so many battle points from his first two games he won the tourney. While i came in second. I had a great time and while i made some mistakes this is a powerful and fluffy army so i like it.

*References: original background: from hubblesite http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/  "hubble traces subtle..."
images of ships from: http://www.bishco-post.com/Dark_Angels/BFG_Fleet.html