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[40K] Competitive Innovations in 10th: Holding Pattern 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.

Today we have:

  • Cascade Clash: Descent – 40k Major Fall 2024
  • MOAB 40K 2024
  • Geekfest – Autumn – Warhammer 40K GT
  • Clan Wars Scottish Open 6
  • The Great Game – Gongaii GT Fall 2024

On Wednesday Boon did an admirable job covering for Wings, and reviewed:

  • Hanseatic Alliance Open 2024
  • Alba GT 2024
  • BZU 40K GT 10/5-6/2024
  • Dragon Fall Championship
  • Paragon City Games Warhammer 40K Store Championships
  • The Spice Must Flow GT

Cascade Clash: Descent – 40k Major Fall 2024

82-player, 6-round Grand Tournament in Mount Vernon, WA, United States on October 05 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Matchup & Mission – Space Wolves versus Necrons

Jaden Iwaasa – Space Wolves (Stormlance Task Force)
Army List - Click to Expand

vs.

Steven Ross – Necrons (Awakened Dynasty)
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Thoughts

Look, sometimes your cute, technical, finely poised Awakened Dynasty list built around a couple of crucial stat check units gets run over by howling Wolves, and that’s ok.

Result

Space Wolves (Stormlance Task Force) Victory – 100 – 26

Jaden Iwaasa – Space Wolves (Stormlance Task Force) – 1st Place

Credit: “Contemptor” Kevin Stillman

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Wolf Jail

Thoughts

Awooo! Wolf Jail is still good. A remarkable few months for lots and lots of Thunderwolves, the reactive moving and defensive shenanigans of Storm Lance, and the cheap go-wide utility of Scouts and JPIs. Really well done on the event win!

Steven Ross – Necrons (Awakened Dynasty) – 2nd Place

Skorpekh Lord
Skorpekh Lord. Credit: Chris Cowie

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Awakened Dynasty Pivot

Thoughts

Don’t let the shellacking in the final fool you – you can do some very cool things with an Awakened Dynasty list like this. There is an awful lot of mission play, and the durability of the Wraith and Lychguard bricks provide crucial pivot and absorption points for the rest of the list to counter off and launch defensive strikes. Szeras and the Lords act as mini missiles with revive potential in this detachment, and the entire thing can leave you activation locked and drowning in deceptively durable small units. Really well done on the top placing.

Tommy Aguilu – Grey Knights (Teleport Strike Force) – 3rd Place

Grey Knight Paladins. Credit: Colin Ward

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Mixed Arms GK

Thoughts

Grey Knights continue their middling Pariah season, with the army itself struggling a bit with nerfs and the new demands of the mission pack, which reward armies packing the centre more than those skirting the edges outside of the precarious secret mission life. This list is a good example of well rounded, take all comers GK – able to handle a wide range of profiles – and that’s probably the best approach right now. Very well done on the top placing.

Stu Angel – Thousand Sons (Cult of Magic) – 4th Place

Credit: Robert “TheChirurgeon” Jones

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Vortex Beast / Character Spam Tsons

Thoughts

Thousand Sons continue to jam Vortex Beasts on points and then counter attack with a hail of vicious mind bullets. This formula is well established now and has its predators, but remains so devastating into armies that cannot connect with them on their own terms. Really well done on the top placing!

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 5th – Koen Klein – Space Wolves (Champions of Russ): Champions of Russ Thunderwolf / Wulfen spam.
  • 6th – Jordan G – Tyranids (Synaptic Nexus): Synaptic Nexus big bug time with double Tfex.
  • 7th – Adrian James – Imperial Knights: Triple big Knight / Armiger IK.
  • 8th – Ruben Zhao – Blood Angels (Gladius Task Force): Shooty Blood Angels Gladius with a cheeky Librarian Dreadnought.

MOAB 40K 2024

52-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Sylvania, New South Wales, AU on October 04 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Brodie Middleton – Astra Militarum (Combined Regiment) – 1st Place

Bullgryn. Credit: Corrode

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Bullgryn and Bear it

Thoughts

18 Bullgryn do the business for the Astra Militarum, as plenty of cheap infantry score, and Leman Russ provide punishing support fire. The throwawy unit of Scout Sentinels give the list some otherwise lacking turn one pressure, and are a good candidate for Reinforcements! As well. Guard have had a very solid few months, and we wait to see what the slate does for their boneheaded anchor unit… Very well done on the event win Brodie!

Woody Wu – Space Wolves (Stormlance Task Force) – 2nd Place (Undefeated)

Logan Grimnar Santa Mode
Logan Grimnar as Santa Claus. Credit: Kevin Stillman

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Wolf Jail

Thoughts

More wolf jail! I always like the versions with a Vindicator or two in for problem solving. Not a tonne to say here, this thing has been working like a charm for some time now! Really well done on the top placing.

The Best of the Rest

There were 7 more players on 4-1 records. They were:

  • 3rd – Daniel Xerri – Grey Knights (Teleport Strike Force): Triple Techmarine / Dreadknight skew GK.
  • 4th – Ben Tinker – Orks (Dread Mob): Massed Grotz, Mek Gunz and a Stompa in Dreadmob, huzzah!
  • 5th – Greg Maginnity – Aeldari: MSU Aspect Warriors, Fire Prisms and War Walkers.
  • 6th – Kirby – Adeptus Mechanicus (Skitarii Hunter Cohort): Go-wide Hunter Cohort mission play and Las Chickens.
  • 7th – David Sarram – Astra Militarum: 18 Bullgryn Guard.
  • 8th – Arian Fanaeian – Thousand Sons: Vortex Beast Tsons.
  • 9th – Jim Calveley – Blood Angels (Sons of Sanguinius): Double Sang Priest brick Blood Angels.

Geekfest – Autumn – Warhammer 40K GT

42-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Shearwater, NS, CA on October 05 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Brandon Vallee – T’au Empire (Kauyon) – 1st Place

TX78 Sky Ray Gunship. Credit: Rockfish
TX78 Sky Ray Gunship. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Kauyon Skytide

Thoughts

Riptides and Skyrays en masse in Kauyon with a horde of scoring trash out in front. It gets the job done you know! Tau remain very powerful and capable of putting up serious hurt if they can navigate their way to a good connect in turns 3-5 that breaks the enemy back and brings home some belated primary. Really well done on the event win!

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Blair Macdonald – Chaos Daemons (Daemonic Incursion): Big Boi Daemons with Beasts of Nurgle and Brigands in support.
  • 3rd – Mike Chapeau – Imperial Knights (Noble Lance): Big Knights and Armigers baby.
  • 4th – Matthew Reeson – Adepta Sororitas (Bringers of Flame): Quite hull-lite BoF with Vahl Paragons and some Repentia.
  • 5th – Adam MacLeod – Astra Militarum: 18 Bullgryn Guard.
  • 6th – Stefan Samson – Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion): Silent King / Tesseract Vault Hypercrypt.
  • 7th – Jonathon Betteridge – Drukhari (Skysplinter Assault): Double Voidraven Skysplinter.
  • 8th – Connor Campbell – Slaanesh Daemons: Belakor inspired Slaanesh with some Soulgrinders.
  • 9th – Ryan Hebb – Chaos Daemons: Big Monster Mash Daemons with supporting utility.

Clan Wars Scottish Open 6

33-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Scotland, GB on October 05 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Innes Wilson – Black Templars (Ironstorm Spearhead) – 1st Place

Black Templars Gladiator Lancer. Credit: SRM

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Black Templars Ironstorm

Thoughts

I’m calling this an overcorrection. Innes plays sneaky fragile nonsense for a few weeks and something deep inside calls for shooting people repeatedly to death with big tanks and planes once more! Ironstorm still has tremendous volume shooting and reach – in a world of many many combat or mixed arms armies all vying with each other, just hitting the delete button definitely poses real challenges for a lot of opponents! Very well done on the event win.

The Best of the Rest

There were 3 more players on 4-1 records. They were:

  • 2nd – Allan Davidson – Ynnari (Battle Host): D-Cannon and Shoot and Scoot Ynnari.
  • 3rd – Bruce Duffy – Death Guard (Plague Company): Rhino rush Plague Marines. Was there some pact to bring back the pre-Pariah meta for this one lads?
  • 4th – Tim Dagnall – World Eaters (Berzerker Warband): Vanella style WE with Rhinos Angron and Eightbound.

The Great Game – Gongaii GT Fall 2024

30-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Forest Grove, OR, United States on October 05 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Isaac Terada – Thousand Sons (Cult of Magic) – 1st Place

Tzaangor Shaman
Tzaangor Shaman. Credit Mike Bettle-Shaffer.

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Tsons Goodstuff

Thoughts

I like a cheeky Tzaangor Shaman as the cheapest way into Cabal shenanigans. Otherwise, very much business as usual here! Tsons have had a very, very good year. Really well done on the event win!

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Ben Freeman – T’au Empire (Retaliation Cadre): Ret Cadre Tau with tonnes of Battle Suits and Ghostkeel.
  • 3rd – Phillip Ebbers – Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion): C’tan / Silent King / Monolith Hypercrypt.
  • 4th – AJ Edman – Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion): Silent King / Monolith / DDA Necrons.
  • 5th – Daniel Mindlin – Grey Knights: Dreadknight skew GK with some Subductors.

Wrap Up

Go on, give us a slate. It’s time!

Lowest of Men, out.

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