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[40K] Competitive Innovations in 10th: Doing It Live pt.2

Welcome to Competitive Innovations, our weekly feature for a number of game lines across the tabletop wargame space. Each week our army list and tactics experts canvass the top tournaments for their game of specialty, looking at the week’s top match-ups and how they played out on the tabletop to let you know what’s hot, what’s not, and what might be coming next as the competitive meta evolves year-round.

Not to be outdone by the fine folks of Denver, the Toronto Fall Open also fully adopted the new dataslate, so they’re front and centre in part 2 alongside:

  • Toronto Fall Open 2024 (New Rules & Points)
  • Edmonton Wargaming Open 40K
  • Dragons Lair Open 2024
  • Last of the Summer Winehammer 7
  • ELBCOAST CUP XIII – GT

If you’re looking for the following, go check out part 1:

  • Denver 40K Fight Club October Open 2024 (New Rules & Points)
  • Malmö Wargaming Weekend 8
  • Battlefield Birmingham 23 (New Rules)
  • Mektoberfest warhammer 40k gt
  • Rapid Fire 2024

Toronto Fall Open 2024

62-player, 6-round Grand Tournament in Toronto, ON, Canada on October 19 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Linchpin – Fog of War – Tipping Point

Ridvan Martinez – Drukhari (Realspace Raiders)
Army List - Click to Expand

vs.

Devin Swann – Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion)
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Thoughts

An entertaining match up here, as an awful lot of C’tan square up against one of the Pariah darlings as it begins the journey to re-spec and go again. In the Necron corner, lots of tough, teleporting bodies! That’s the gist, really. Six C’tan and a handful of utility units – it will bully certain armies that cannot hurt the C’tan and suffer in reply, but it is grievously light on scoring options if they get tagged, swamped or brought down.

Why not all three? Here’s a Drukhari list that can. The last few weeks have been quite funny in the content world for the naughty elves, with a fair few of the game’s best assuring us loudly and often that Drukhari are and have always been bad, and more than a few proclaiming their death after copping some quite nasty nerfs on the core ingredients of a Skysplinter Assault list.

Not Skari though guys. Skari is a believer. He gets right on here with adapting, picking up on the utility of the original Realspace Raiders detachment, which is better suited to some existing meta challenges but also relies on the suite of units that largely avoided points rises. Talos are a great example – these have nice tools for a number of opposing armies in the meta at the moment, their only downside being their relative lack of speed. Here, with Insensible to Pain in the pocket for -1 to wound, they’re ready to go and slow down some C’tan and keep them locked in place as the many trash units out OC and out score them. He will know the score here – pick off anything that isn’t a C’tan, then bog down and tie up the C’tan themselves whilst outscoring them. Looks like that’s more or less exactly how it went! A cheeky Pariah GT win for Skari, and yet another GT win for the bad, bad Drukhari…

Result

Drukhari (Realspace Raiders) Victory – 93 – 63

Ridvan Martinez – Drukhari (Realspace Raiders) – 1st Place

Credit: Keewa

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Realspace Raiders Mixed Arms

Thoughts

The future for Drukhari might just be back where we started. Realspace Raiders was a solid if uninspiring detachment on release, but was outshone by the many, many overtuned indices of early 10th and dropped off the radar very quickly. With a few buffs that have stuck since their implementation for Drukhari (New Vect, +1 ap in melee when empowered, various points adjustments), it now looks better placed to weather the nerfs to Skysplinter and keep the army ticking. Haywire Talos love tanks, and they also love blatting enemy light and medium infantry, so they’re good to go in the current meta. I like the MSU feel of the rest of this list which avoids too many eggs in one basket and keeps the go-wide vibes of a Skysplinter list. It’ll take careful piloting to sing, but in Skari’s hands were you ever really doubting it would bring home the bacon? Really well done on the event win sir!

Devin Swann – Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion) – 2nd Place

The Deceiver. Credit: Wings

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Yes We C’tan

Thoughts

It’s loads of teleporting C’tan and some chaff. Having Deceiver in is a lot of fun- he gives you some redeploy options, and his innate Stealth makes him an ideal early push out to get the party started and draw the opponent out. This list isn’t actually that easy to use- every engagement has to be picked carefully and the C’tan themselves don’t benefit from the 3 inch deep strike anymore which makes delivering them a bit challenging at times, but once they are on the points a lot of armies will fall short trying to clear them. Really well done on the top placing!

Ryan Bell – World Eaters (Berzerker Warband) – 3rd Place

Credit: Robert “TheChirurgeon” Jones

The List

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Archetype

World Eaters Goodstuff

Thoughts

At first glance, one less spawn unit but otherwise business as usual keeps the World Eaters train rolling. Brutally effective, and a well established meta force. Glad it continues to work after the slate! Very well done on the top placing.

François Lalonde – Blood Angels (Liberator Assault Group) – 4th Place

Credit: Crab-Stuffed Mushrooms

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Liberator Assault Group Melee

Thoughts

Behold, a glimpse of the future! Loads of special characters, a mad lad with SUSTAINED 3 Hits, and infantry squads for them to lead. Liberator Assault Group is a little bit lighter on assets and swings than the previous iterations of combat BA. I think it has to pick its engagements very carefully but a chonky unit of Sang Guard with Dante and the raw power of the characters gives it a very potent ‘all in’ turn, in which any failure to whittle units right down to the legendary heroes leading them will end in tragedy when they solo a bunch of units the following turn as well. Proper knife edge stuff for the BA, you love to see it. Really well done on the top placing.

The Best of the Rest

There were 3 more players on 5-1 records. They were:

  • 5th – Chris Hanes – Adeptus Custodes (Shield Host): Shield Host Custodes with double Caladius, combat bricks and some MSU Venatari.
  • 6th – Nick Jagiello – Astra Militarum: Bullgryn make way for lots of infantry in transports in front of the Leman Russ here.
  • 7th – Malaki Fowler – Thousand Sons: Triple Vortex Beast / Daemon Prince castle with Magus and friends behind.

Edmonton Wargaming Open 40K

70-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Edmonton, AB, Canada on October 19 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Matthew Secter – T’au Empire (Mont’ka) – 1st Place

Fire Warrior Breacher Team. Credit: Rockfish
Fire Warrior Breacher Team. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Mont’ka Pressure

Thoughts

Oh hey, a pre-slate GT win for Tau! A faction doing well by standing still, and probably not the only one this slate. Riptides are now so expensive you will still take a bunch of them, ya poor darlings. Everything else here spreads the threats wide and gets ready to go for the jugular, with a squad of Broadsides for those hard, hard targets. Speedy, shooty, and ready to take advantage of nerfs elsewhere after this. Really well played on the event win!!

Kieren Trimbee – Genestealer Cult (Outlander Claw) – 2nd Place (Undefeated)

Kelermorph. Credit: Rockfish
Kelermorph. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Outlander Claw Vehicle Spam

Thoughts

Outlander Claw gained a unit in the slate, and this pre-slate build jams in the full six Laser Ridgerunners, blasting away behind the tanks. It ain’t subtle, but it’s sure as hell effective! A lot of shooting and then all the chaff and utility ahead of it to score and deny for fun, with a second wave returning after the first to cause even more trouble. As GSC players myself included start to flirt with Broodsurge, it is surely worth noting that this already very powerful detachment is even stronger now! Well done on the top placing.

Daniel Wortel – Chaos Space Marines (Renegade Raiders) – 3rd Place

Credit: Robert “TheChirurgeon” Jones

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Renegade Raiders Mixed Arms

Thoughts

A nice push RR list with the solo blob of Accursed exploiting scout move via Mark of the Hound. Baby MSU Chosen spread the threats wider, the Predator remains a very cost effective gun platform with the extra AP stacking on offer here, and Abaddon lurks helping everything shoot harder, ready to storm into action when the time is right. This list doesn’t really change much after the slate so I expect to see plenty more experimentation with it. Really well done on the top placing.

Jonah Sinclair – Astra Militarum (Combined Regiment) – 4th Place

Leman Russ Exterminator. Credit: Rockfish
Leman Russ Exterminator. Credit: Rockfish

The List

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Archetype

Guard Hull Spam

Thoughts

A real hull spam guard build, shoving in Hydra alongside the other tanks to jam and create insufferable pressure. No Bullgryn here and I really like the solitary Basilisk to keep opponents honest and give you a crucial slowing tool- this feels very relevant in a world of Ingressing combat GSC! Really well done on the top placing.

The Best of the Rest

There were 8 more players on 4-1 records. They were:

  • 5th – Mark van Berkel – Dark Angels (Gladius Task Force): Lennon style Gladius Dark Angels.
  • 6th – Josh Stapleton – Adepta Sororitas (Bringers of Flame): Vahl edition Brings of Flame Goodstuff.
  • 7th – Adam Green – Leagues of Votann: Massed Pioneers, Land Forts and Sagitaurs.
  • 8th – David Coren – Grey Knights: Dreadknight heavy Grey Knights.
  • 9th – Logan Wathen – Tyranids (Invasion Fleet): Lictors and Big Bugs in Invasion Fleet.
  • 10th – Thomas Cruickshank – T’au Empire (Kroot Hunting Pack): Kroot Jail with some Hammerheads and Riptide sprinkled in.
  • 11th – Simon Baines – Aeldari: Avatar, Aspects and Wraithknight Aeldari.
  • 12th – Dennis Lacasse – Tyranids (Invasion Fleet): Mass MSU bugs with a few anchor Monsters and a Zoan brick.

Dragons Lair Open 2024

58-player, 6-round Grand Tournament in Houston, TX, US on October 19 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Zach Meyer – Imperial Knights (Noble Lance) – 1st Place

Imperial Knight Armiger Helverin
Imperial Knight Armiger Helverin. Credit: Pendulin

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Imperial Knights!

Thoughts

A GT triumph for the big stompy robots, you love to see it. Two big guys and a bunch of Armigers feels like a good mix of threat saturation with some solidity and punch, and I particularly like the strategic flexibility that a Mysterious Guardian chassis gives you to overload a location and push from there. Knights live and die by leveraging their big resources carefully and creating bad choices for the opponent, but if they can manage that the cascade effect can often see them home. Really, really well done on the event win!

Kevin McCormick – Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion) – 2nd Place

Skorpekh Lord. Credit: Wings

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Le Hypercrypt

Thoughts

A spin off on the French WTC Hypercrypt list, a personal favourite of mine as it slams in some genuine melee counter punch to push back the bold armies hoping to tag the Monolith, win the game, save the world, and get the girl. Hypercrypt are meta stalwarts at this point so not a tonne to add here besides noting that they will slightly need to change their tempo of play post slate, but are more than capable of doing so and should remain a deadly force! Really well done on the top placing.

Eric Tadt – Genestealer Cult (Outlander Claw) – 3rd Place

Genestealer Cults Reductus Saboteur – Credit: RichyP

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Inik Lathson GSC

Thoughts

Outlander Claw doing Outlander Claw things – so much OC, so many bodies, and enough damage through a wide range of volume profiles to gradually wear down almost anything. Watch this space as GSC prepare to go up a level as their rivals decline, a dangerous combination! Well done on the top placing.

David Hall – Imperial Knights (Noble Lance) – 4th Place

Imperial Knight Lancer. Credit: Jack Hunter

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Imperial Knights!

Thoughts

Another triumph for the 2 big, many small approach, this one goes for an on board Cerastus instead of the Guardian antics. Love seeing the Eversor in here, he is such a useful little blender these days for a Knight army, able to go out and cuddle exactly the kinds of units the bigger models can’t reach. IK have had some drops, and they have the raw output to challenge a few of the games top gunlines – is there moment about to arrive?! We shall see!

The Best of the Rest

There was 1 more players on a 5-1 records. They were:

  • 5th – Nick “Doots” Toomey – Adepta Sororitas: Vahl inspired Bringers of Flame with some Arcoflagellants in the mix.

Last of the Summer Winehammer 7

37-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Thongsbridge, England, GB on October 19 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Mike Porter – Genestealer Cult (Outlander Claw) – 1st Place

The Manwolfs’ new ride. By Fowler

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Outlander Claw Goodstuff

Thoughts

A storming event win for Mike Porter, who jams in an extra utility / res piece in the Purestrain Genestealer five man (I rate this myself) but otherwise hits the ‘yes’ button on the existing core build for Outlander Claw. High Tempo board control and denial suits the Porter way, it’s a match made in heaven! Really well done on the event win as always Mike.

The Best of the Rest

There were 6 more players on 4-1+ records. They were:

  • 2nd (4.5-0.5) – Markus Hinson – T’au Empire (Mont’ka): Mont’ka pressure with a bunch of Hammerheads.
  • 3rd (4.5-0.5) – Courtney Rhodes – Orks (War Horde): War Horde MSU with a couple of big 20 mans of Boyz.
  • 4th – Ratnu Vaidya – Chaos Knights (Traitoris Lance): War Dog Spam with Rotigus.
  • 5th – Christopher Chedotal – Thousand Sons: Double MVB Tsons.
  • 6th – William Spencer – Chaos Daemons: MSU Utility backing up the tanky GUO, Skarbs, and a Lord of Change.

ELBCOAST CUP XIII – GT

36-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Hamburg, HH, DE on October 19 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Hannes Hoferichter – Blood Angels (Sons of Sanguinius) – 1st Place

Blood Angels Sanguinary Guard
Blood Angels Sanguinary Guard. Credit: Jack Hunter

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Sons of Sanguinius Farewell Tour

Thoughts

Farewell Sons, you truly were a combat army that existed in 10th edition. Long live the new BA! Very well done on a smashing event run, BA aren’t at all easy to pilot all the way in the current meta. Gabriel Seth gets a final run out before turning into a Captain as he bides his time for a new model…

Adrijano Ilic – Thousand Sons (Cult of Magic) – 2nd Place (Undefeated)

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Thousand Sons Farewell Tour

Thoughts

Farewell Sons, you truly were a magical army that existed in 10th edition. I like the commitment to Rubric death bricks here- something that will be rewarded after the slate and might offer a route forwards. The longest lasting power index of the edition, are the Tsons finally going to be brought low by the slate, or will they have the last laugh yet again? I’m excited to find out!

The Best of the Rest

There were 5 more players on 4-1 records. They were:

  • 3rd – Kay Kleinvogel – Astra Militarum (Combined Regiment): 18 Bullgryn and lots of utility and gun behind.
  • 4th – Patrick Nemitz – Astra Militarum (Combined Regiment): A mere SIX Bullgryn,but lots more utility and dakka.
  • 5th – Lennox Hemke – Astra Militarum: Twelve Bullgryn and a Rogal Dorn amidst the supporting cast.
  • 6th – Philipp Grünwoldt – Orks (Green Tide): Big stacks of Boyz in Green Tide with Painboyz on hand to buff them.
  • 7th – Patrick Schmitt – Tyranids (Invasion Fleet): Big bug, little bug, cardboard box Invasion Fleet with plenty of Hormagaunts.

Wrap Up

There you have it folks! The dying embers of meta that was as we march into meta that might be. It’s all up for grabs, dig that army out and see where it’s at, you might be pleasantly surprised!

Lowest of Men, out.

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