Thanks for putting the list up it helps us a lot, especially old farts like me whom have no imagination
Starting small and working up into a new game system is always a good idea so no worries on excluding War Engines and flyers from your early games. In fact it is a very good way to learn the game. Most of what I am about to post will be for future reference because my advice IS to experiment with different formations and combinations until YOU find the ones you like. That said on with my overly long post >:D
Army Size........
For most battles you want between 2.5 to 3.5 formations per 1,000 points fielded in a 1,500 point game that works out to be 3 to 5 formations, you had three so no problems there.
Combined Arms.......
A well balanced force contains 35%-50% Grunts (Infantry), 25% to 40% Fast Attack (Bikes, Jump Pack Infantry), and 25% to 40% Support (Everything Eelse including War Engines) and this would be in points and not formations. For a 1,500 point game that works out to 525 to 750 points of Grunts, 375 to 600 points of Fast Attack, and 375 to 600 points of Fast Attack. The Retinues are pure Grunt formations, the Raptors are Fast attack, and the Daemons are Support (As they literally arrive to aide other formations in combat). While your army is a bit heavy in the Grunt category it isn't insanely over the limit so therefore your Combined Arms balance is Ok even if it is a bit Grunt Heavy (No need to point out the Greater Daemon issue at has already been mentioned).
Da Battle Plan.......................
In broad terms your basic plan was sound, but it also had a few holes in it that a more experienced player would have quickly exploited. Fast Attack formations (Raptors) are very good at taking ground because they often can use their speed to pick the ground they want to fight over. Hence they most often have the initiative by default. That said they are often dead meat if they are forced to stand and fight over a piece of ground, because their advantage lays in using their speed to gain the initiative standing still IS NOT what they shine at doing. Put another way, if they aren't moving the enemy CAN exploit their weaknesses, in most cases that is a lack of franged firepower. In the case of your army the Raptors will be able to take ground but your Retinue's inability to keep up with them means you will not be able to consolidate the ground the Raptors have taken.
Improving the Army and the Plan of Battle.....................
(1) For reasons already stated drop the Greater Daemon or improve your summoning capacity to allow the beast to arrive. My vote is to drop the Greater Daemon for a 1,500 or even 2,000 point army, you will get more out of the points saved getting other stuff.
(2) Drop the Oblitirators and Land Raider from your first Retinue and get Rhinos and Havocs making this entire formation Mobile. This will give you one formation that can consolidate a position the Raptors have taken.
(3) You only really need one formation, in a 1,500 point battle, to protect your objectives. Why? If you are attacking on one flank the enemy is going to be too busy trying to stop you to get at that flanks objectives. This means you only need one formation to protect the other two, one Rentinue (your second one) should be able to pull this off. (Remember we are talking about a 1,500 point battle here not a 3,000+ point battle.
Building on this Core Army................................
Truthfully that is going to be up to you, because as you play the smaller battles you will start to develope your own 'style of play' and start finding which formations you really like using. Once that is established then you are going to have to learn how to use them effectively in larger battles. If you run into a problem along that road the advice on how to improve it can be found here for free, now ain't that cool
Anything can work, really....................................
If you follow the 'Army Size' and 'Combined Arms' advice, given above, then your Army will perform well on the battlefield once you have learned how to use it. My own Khorne Chaos Marine Army, lead by 'Jaldon the Unforgiven', has NO Daemons in it (They are beneath Jaldon's followers and belong only in the LatD), contains no aircraft (Only wimps would fight that far away from the enemy), and is built around Retinues and Bike formations with the belief that in your face IS the way of Khorne >:D
Yes this does mean I have handicapped my own army, but the fun (To me, at lest, this is itself is a compliment of the design of Epic-A) is that despite these voluntary handicaps the Army continues to win more battles then it loses. Knowing how to use what you have is more important then finding what one thinks (Or anyone thinks) is a power combination.
I hope this helps and isn't to rambling............
Cheers and good gaming
