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.

Another year, another LVO in the books, with a 10th Edition classic facing off against the new hotness for the trophy. That’s what you’re here for, and exactly what we like to see, and we’ll dig into it in just a moment.

First up, two housekeeping items:

1. Tickets are available for the Goonhammer Open UK, so if you fancy winning a Golden Ticket and making a splash on the world stage (or playing a host of other games), come to Leicester on 22nd/23rd March. More details below

The Goonhammer Open UK

2. If you want to hear the Competitive Innovations team talk about 40K rather than just reading our words, you can check out last night’s 6+++ show, where I joined Lowest of Men to break down the LVO results and more.

The meta is wide open and the playing field is the most level it’s been in a good while (the highest win rate from GT+ events this weekend was a mere 53.5%), so it’s a great time to be following the game, which we’re going to do by covering the following today:

LVO 2025 Warhammer 40k Champs
Dutch Masters finale GT
Loch ‘n Load GT 1
1 GT MOGUER IBERIAN OPE
Burn & Learn Vol.10

On Friday Lowest of Men will look at:

HAMBURG MAJOR 2025 40k
First Assault!
DA GITHAMMER WAAAGH WEEKEND!!!! GT
Cross-Swords Vigil of Peace
Abyss Bonne année, Grand Nez 40k GT

As one of our patrons put it, LVO has superdelegates, so only the Showdowns for part 2 got voted on this week. As a result, we’ll be looking at:

Black Spear Deathwatch vs. Vanguard Ultramarines at the LVO
Classic World Eaters vs. Ynnari at Da Githammer Waaagh Weekend.

LVO 2025 Warhammer 40k Champs

1051-player, 10-round Supermajor in Las Vegas, NV, United States on January 16 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Take and Hold – Prepared Positions – Hammer and Anvil

Mark Hertel – Deathwatch (Black Spear Task Force)
Army List - Click to Expand

vs.

Ben Neal – Space Marines (Astartes) (Vanguard Spearhead)
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Thoughts

Well well well, Space Marines is it? The poster boys of 40k throw down on the toppest table of all, both packing builds with ultra-potent redeploys as a key centrepiece. The Ultramarine Centurion Vanguard build is a tried and tested favourite, but recent incarnations have generally included Bobby G, which Ben has eschewed here. Instead, he’s used the points freed up by that and also by not buying an “alpha” bodyguard for Calgar to invest in going a bit wider, adding some extra Eradicators to shore up killing power against heavier hitting foes. It’s worth saying that there’s two definite trends in the best performing Marines lists (these two and Jack Harpster’s), which is that they have a bit more ground coverage than most, and at least one big uppy-downy shooty unit.

Both of those are on display in Mark’s build as well – two Deathwatch Terminator units help fill space, while also cracking off some extra missiles, and the terrifying Talonstrike bomb threatens to melt anything that looks at you funny via concentrated bolter hell. You’ve also got a few more close assault pressure pieces from the Veterans, and the ultra-solid all-rounder of the Indomitor team. Scary stuff, but definitely notable that unlike a lot of Deathwatch builds you have the Terminators instead of doubling up on the big bricks, and I think that’s a major contributor to why Mark did so well, especially on GW terrain where extra durable space fillers are valuable.

So who wins when these two face off? Hilariously given the combatants, Hammer and Anvil goes some way to minimising the power of redeploys, as it’s generally one of the easier maps to sustain screening on, especially since both builds have that extra coverage. That ends up hurting Ben more since a higher proportion of his points are invested in such toys, whereas the Deathwatch can throw more hands in melee, especially without Bobby G to worry about. The Inceptors add a bit more of a way for the Ultramarines to find an angle, but the fact they can be largely bounced by Armour of Contempt on the Terminators is an issue, and Deathwatch getting some discount Stratagems off the mission rule is extra gravy there.

I think, fundamentally, the dynamics of this game are going to gradually force the two armies to the brink of a massive engagement, and when that triggers the superior brawling ability of the Deathwatch (plus having some much tougher “expendable” units to bait with in the Terminators) gives them the edge. That said, the Ultramarines are likely better placed to punish any sort of mistakes from the Deathwatch, and both armies can potentailly leverage the second turn to play ultra conservatively and try and force a low point win if they’re worried. Given the final scores, I’d guess the Deathwatch didn’t give the Ultramarines any openings to take advantage of, and triumphed when the inevitable clash finally detonated.

Result

Deathwatch (Black Spear Task Force) Victory – 88 – 56

Mark Hertel – Deathwatch (Black Spear Task Force) – 1st Place

Deathwatch veteran Isak Al’Tah. Credit: Charlie Brassley

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Go-Wide Deathwatch

Thoughts

Mark has featured in this column on many occasions, most recently sporting a hilarious Land Raider spam build, and it’s great seeing him take the big trophy here. I love his list, and I think the Terminator MSUs are the real X-factor that pushes it over the top via the extra positioning flexability. Fantastic stuff, huge congratulations!

Ben Neal – Ultramarines (Vanguard Spearhead) – 2nd Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Ultra Vanguard

Thoughts

All covered in the Showdown, and really notable that Ben’s choice to break away from the herd and prioritise board coverage over Bobby G paid off. I do also really like the use of both Ventris and a Shadow War Veteran Lone Op to really punish foes who want to lean on stratagems. Ben is also no stranger to this column (and his team name makes me smile every time it comes up), so huge congratulations to him as well!

Jack Harpster – Blood Angels (Angelic Inheritors) – 3rd Place

Primaris Chapter Master Dante. Credit: Jack Hunter

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Go-wide Inheritors

Thoughts

In third place we’ve got the Art of War’s Jack Harpster running a very cool new go-wide Angelic Inheritors build. This puts lots of small but punchy mobile threats onto the table, and uses the tools of Inheritors to load up some nastier shooting than you might see in Liberator. Stacking Instant of Grace and Strike Now For Glory lets you throw an exceptionally brutal punch with the big Plasma Inceptor unit, and you can then reload them with Unto The Burning Skies if they need to be scooted across the table. You also get a more static, but still powerful, threat from the Devastators – being able to use In the Shadow of Great Wings means they can just stand in the open while blasting away at the foe, and they also have great synergy with Strike Now for Glory and the build in re-rolls they’ll have from their Leader and the Detachment rule. Finally, being able to stick a revival Enhancement on the Lone Op Lieutenant is really good, as it gives you a sticky way to contest an objective in an emergency.

All this comes together to something that’s notably more versatile than Liberator (at the cost of not having any melee hammers of the same magnitude), and particularly on the very diverse GW terrain layouts that seems to have been a great bet from Jack. Congratulations for taking third place and showing off what this can do!

Floof Cox – Genestealer Cult (Host of Ascension) – 4th Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Horde Host

Thoughts

Hell yeah! A breakout performance from Floof here, bringing back the classic horde-style Genestealer Cults and taking it all the way to the semi-finals. This list trades on the classic Cult attribute of being incredibly overwhelming to face, unleashing wave after wave of nasty shooting threats, and having ample scoring units to lock in Secondaries. The army has been tuned up for the modern environment with a few changes – adding a couple of Benefictus gives you more ability to punch up in an emergency (and being able to protect and reload them with Back to the Shadows makes that appealing), and the list construction leans into how the new version of Cult Ambush works. Rather than having to take lots of small supporting Acolytes, Floof has nearly maxed out Neophytes for maximum overwhelming threat, and is presumably planning on reviving one big brick and two Acolyte squads pretty much every game. That keeps the pressure super high, and having multiple Ridgerunners also ensures everyone operates at peak potential. Huge congratulations to Floof for an impressive uprising!

The Best of the Rest

I am including:

Everyone who made it to the Shadow round.
Everyone who was undefeated after the Swiss.

That gives us 14 more players, who were:

5th – Ridvan Martinez – Drukhari (Skysplinter Assault): Shooty, transport-light Skysplinter with a Talos unit, a Raider to fill with ramming Wracks, various Infantry MSUs, Scourges, and a Voidraven to top it all off.
6th – Josh Roberts – Ultramarines (Gladius Task Force): The Bobby G Vindicator/Ballistus gun club, swapping out one Ballistus for a Gladiator Reaper to diversify the output a bit.
7th – Jay Eggett – Chaos Space Marines (Pactbound Zealots): A surprise showing for a shooty Pactbound hull spam build, cramming in lots of Vindicators, Destructors, Helbrutes and Venomcrawlers as Nurgle, plus a couple of Slaanesh Maulerfiends for counterpunch.
8th – Derek Apsche – Chaos Space Marines (Chaos Cult): The latest version of the cultist horde that Derek has been rocking all year.
9th – Don Hooson – Death Guard (Plague Company): Hull-heavy Death Guard, with Mortarion leading a cavalcade of Daemon Engines into battle.
10th – TJ Lanigan – Thousand Sons (Cult of Magic): Double Mutalith, lots of Characters, and some extra cheap space fillers, a build that no power on earth seems able to pry out of TJ’s hands.
11th – Conan Jennings – Ultramarines (Ironstorm Spearhead): Down-the line Bobby G gun club.
12th – Jeffrey Stenquist – Death Guard (Plague Company): Pretty much the opposite end of the Death Guard spectrum, going for lots of Plague Marines in Rhinos, leaders and a scattering of cheaper hulls and support pieces.
13th – Adam Tricola – Ultramarines (Gladius Task Force): A more all-rounder Bobby G Gladius list, keeping some of the shooty hulls but adding the roving threat of a full Jump Intercessor unit and a full Sternguard squad to Deep Strike via Ventris.
14th – Hans Lieber – Death Guard (Plague Company): Another heavy Death Guard build loaded with Mortarion and Engines, though sneaks one Plague Marine Rhino in, technically making it the all-rounder version I guess?
15th – Brian Daugherty – World Eaters (Berzerker Warband): Classic World Eaters with all the hits you’d expect.
16th – Matt Evans – Tyranids (Assimilation Swarm): Double Tyrant Guard brick board control Swarm, with a Neurotyrant/Zoanthrope unit for heavy lifting.
17th – Kevin Leonard – Chaos Daemons (Legion of Excess): The double Keeper/max Fiend version of Slaanesh Daemons, including a Epitome wound battery.
18th – Durante Bozzini – T’au Empire (Kauyon): Hull-heavy Triptide Kauyon. Say it with me kids – Triptide is inevitable, Triptide is eternal.

Dutch Masters finale GT

70-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Amersfoort, UT, NL on January 18 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Mark Krijntjes – Chaos Daemons (Legion of Excess) – 1st Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Heavy Excess

Thoughts

Goodness, that fits does it? Welp. Fiends and Keepers of Secrets were already some of the best Daemon datasheets available, so it’s not hugely surprising that maxing out on those in the powerful new detachment is a very compelling prospect, particularly as you can fit a surprising amount of spice in the remaining 500pts. The Tormentbringer boosts the Fiends and adds Fight on Death action, while the Epitome unit ensures that if you simply don’t want your fiends to die for a bit, they don’t have to. What results is a build that’s an absolute nightmare for anything on a melee plan to deal with (and there’s lots of that out there), while having the speed and threat from the re-rolls to lunge out and clear hull-heavy builds like the Bobby G gun club. Slick and effective, and I expect this to basically be the starting point for the detachment going forward, well done Mark!

Chris Clayton – Death Guard (Flyblown Host) – 2nd Place (Undefeated)

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Flyblown Pox Horde

Thoughts

Drown them in Poxwalkers. Simple. Flyblown Host has struggled a little to find its feet compared to the classic Plague Company, but it does have a few neat things going on, which this list leans into. Scouting forward with lots of Poxwalkers and Terminators is going to be pretty intimidating out the gate, and if they connect it’ll be very hard for opponents to push their way back into the game. Poxwalkers can get surprisingly crunchy here, and can become rough for foes who have teched for tanks to handle, and can chip through most stuff thanks to Mortal tricks. You also get some great spike shooting from the Terminator Sorcerors with access to full hit re-rolls, which can be a nasty surprise for foes. Finally, although the list can be a little one-dimensional in terms of its damage output, Mortarion papers that over substantially via his ignore modifiers aura, helping ensure that even the sturdiest foes eventually wither away. My blunt opinion is that Plague Company is still a strong enough detachment that you don’t need this, but I’m always happy to see someone showing how to make a different toolset really work, a great undefeated finish from Chris.

Cees Jan Stam – Drukhari (Reaper’s Wager) – 3rd Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

No Harlie Wager

Thoughts

OK this is just a sick joke – no Harlequins in the Harlequin-ally detachment. Drukhari do like sick jokes, I guess, and the success of this build shows just how great the Stratagems in Wager are for a wide variety of Drukhari units. Cees’ build does also have a plan to squeeze value out of the Detachment rule via including Conductor of Torment, which I guess does give you a kind of pseudo-Oaths as long as you’re doing plenty of shooting, and get the ordering right. The army is definitely shootier than some versions to take maximum advantage of that, and it’s nice to get a bit of extra reliability in a crunchy metagame. While I would definitely loved to see more Harlequins included, tt’s undeniably a smart use of the tools, so well done Cees.

JC van der Lee – Deathwatch (Black Spear Task Force) – 4th Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Big Brick Deathwatch

Thoughts

More Deathwatch to round out this top four, leaning a bit more into their ability to build terrifying monster bricks by adding a second large Indomitor team and big Veteran unit. The result is incredibly intimidating, and you’ve still got some great mobility via the Teleport Stratagem and the Beacon Angelis for the Judiciar Veteran unit, allowing it to be wedged wherever it will be most annoying for melee foes. You do get a little less board coverage than the more go-wide variants, but the threat of the Talonstrike team out of Deep Strike is so huge that the opponent may well not be able to take as much advantage of that as they’d like, and like any good Space Marine list you get Infiltrators to screen out your home. Another spicy showing for the Black Spear boys, great stuff JC.

The Best of the Rest

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

5th – Guillaume “Razorix” Buchkremer – Tyranids (Invasion Fleet): A termagant horde with some big bugs behind.
6th – Ron Eliyahoo – Tyranids (Assimilation Swarm): Assimilation monster mash, with one of each Norn and various medium-large friends.
7th – Christian Domburg – Astra Militarum (Bridgehead Strike): Double Tank Commander Bridgehead.
8th – Fokke Dijkstra – Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion): Ultra-Character focused Hypercrypt, with double C’tan, the Silent King and a fully tooled Immortal unit.
9th – Rob Goossens – Necrons (Starshatter Arsenal): Silent King, a couple of Doomsdays, and various sizes of melee threat, including full Wraith and Lychguard units.
10th – Simon Borgers – Chaos Daemons (Plague Legion): Bilepipers and Plaguebearers galore to confuse and Battle-shock the foe, a GUO and Rotigus as tarpits, and three Brigands to blast away while the foe figures out what’s going on.
11th – Kjell Lutz – Adeptus Custodes (Solar Spearhead): A versatile all-rounder Spearhead build, taking a Character Telemon and a couple of Vendreads, but supporting them with a broader range of toys like Warden/Blade Champion units, a three-bike squad and some Venatari.
12th – Johri van Eerd – Adeptus Custodes (Solar Spearhead): A similarly all-rounder build that also has Draxus and some Custodians.

Loch ‘n Load GT 1

36-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in North Kessock, Scotland, United Kingdom on January 18 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Dean Brannen – Necrons (Starshatter Arsenal) – 1st Place

Catacomb Command Barge. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Heavy Starshatter

Thoughts

Doomsday Arks go brrr. Bringing in the Catacomb Command Barge alongside them lets you keep up Szarkeh’s Ignore Modifiers aura without re-rolls, creating a situation where there’s almost nothing they can’t chip through, and it also makes the Nightbringer extra deadly up close. Having access to the Immortals is also a great asset for Necrons right now, as they help you adapt to the need to carve through hordes as well as just heavy hitters. The biggest question going forward is whether you can still afford to run without Imotekh in a world where some of the good Stratagems are extra expensive, and we’re definitely going to see a bit of re-tinkering to find the best builds. The hard skew towards pure murder that this build demonstrates is still the killiest you can make Necrons even after the changes and that’ll certainly count for something – well done to Dean for crafting and unleashing this engine of destruction.

The Best of the Rest

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

2nd – Duncan Brown – Space Marines (Ironstorm Spearhead): Tanks galore, throwing down triple RepEx like it’s 2019 all over again.
3rd – Rich Dovey – Space Wolves (Champions of Russ): Melee-heavy Champions, taking two full ThunderCav bricks and supporting them with Wulfen and other smaller threat packages.
4th – David Jack – Dark Angels (Gladius Task Force): Deathwing GTF with the Lion.
5th – Adam Spicer – Tyranids (Invasion Fleet): Exocrines and Maleceptors with a bit more Infantry support than usual, using a mix of Hormagaunts and Genestealers.
6th – Garron Owen – Ultramarines (Gladius Task Force): Bobby G gun club with a Reaper.

1 GT MOGUER IBERIAN OPEN

34-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Moguer, AN, España on January 18 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Jose Luis Barragan Mateos – World Eaters (Berzerker Warband) – 1st Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Eightbound MSU Spam

Thoughts

Legion of Excess has created a fairly hostile environment for melee builds by positioning itself as a top Fight Phase predator, but appropriately the Berzerker Warbands of the World Eaters are just shrugging, screaming, and getting on with it. The ability to hit like an absolute tonne of bricks, at speed, backed by a respawning hellbeast is apparently never going out of fashion. This build does make some tweaks from the norm though – in line with some other successful builds this week, it emphasises going wide rather than tall, going all-MSU on the Eightbound and cutting out a Fight First Berzerker brick in favour of lots of Jakhals. It gives you a bit more ability to manage trades against other melee armies, and press on a wide front against something like the Bobby G gun club, all of which helps in the very diverse metagame. Although the win rates are pleasingly flat this week, World Eaters are one of the top few factions on that metric, and it’s definitely Berzerker Warband driving that, with Jose one of the players at the forefront – congratulations.

The Best of the Rest

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

2nd – Ricardo Sambruno – Astra Militarum (Combined Regiment): Resisting the new Bridgehead hotness for a classic all-rounder double Dorn Regiment build.
3rd – Luis El Humilde – Necrons (Starshatter Arsenal): King, Doomsdays, Nightbringer, melee Destroyer MSUs.
4th – Capi – Necrons (Starshatter Arsenal): King, Doomsdays, an Enmitic Lokhust/Lord unit and a few small melee threats.
5th – Adri Bispe – Imperial Knights (Noble Lance): Canis and his many squires.
6th – JUANMA MUÑOZ LÓPEZ – Dark Angels (Gladius Task Force): Extremely Character-light Deathwing GTF, using the extra points to take Vindicators.

Burn & Learn Vol.10

29-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in England, GB on January 18 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Oliver Gaisford – Ultramarines (Gladius Task Force) – 1st Place

Cobalt Scions Ballistus Dreadnought. Credit: Charlie Brassley

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Bobby G Gun Club

Thoughts

Bobby G continues to have shooters here, this time with the addition of a big brick of Flamer Aggressors for Calgar to stomp around with. Love that for him. If you’re worried about Orks or a newly emboldened Cult horde (of whatever flavour) it’s fairly interesting, so I guess worth keeping an eye on as the impact of this weekend sinks into the metagame. Nice work from Oliver.

The Best of the Rest

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

2nd – Chippy Wesemael – Leagues of Votann (Oathband): Beserk-heavy Votann, unleashing two full squads from Land Fortresses.
3rd – John McCarthy – Blood Angels (Liberator Assault Group): Two Reiver Squads with Lieutenents? In this economy? (It’s go-wide no-Datasheet Liberator as we saw from Innes last week, but with more Reivers).
4th – Struan Robertson – Thousand Sons (Cult of Magic): Characters, Rubricae and a Mutalith.

Wrap Up

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[40k] Competitive Innovations in 10th: Holding Space (Marines) pt.1

LVO 2025 Warhammer 40k Champs

The Showdown

Take and Hold – Prepared Positions – Hammer and Anvil

Thoughts

Result

Mark Hertel – Deathwatch (Black Spear Task Force) – 1st Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

Ben Neal – Ultramarines (Vanguard Spearhead) – 2nd Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

Jack Harpster – Blood Angels (Angelic Inheritors) – 3rd Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

Floof Cox – Genestealer Cult (Host of Ascension) – 4th Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

The Best of the Rest

Dutch Masters finale GT

Mark Krijntjes – Chaos Daemons (Legion of Excess) – 1st Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

Chris Clayton – Death Guard (Flyblown Host) – 2nd Place (Undefeated)

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

Cees Jan Stam – Drukhari (Reaper’s Wager) – 3rd Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

JC van der Lee – Deathwatch (Black Spear Task Force) – 4th Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

The Best of the Rest

Loch ‘n Load GT 1

Dean Brannen – Necrons (Starshatter Arsenal) – 1st Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

The Best of the Rest

1 GT MOGUER IBERIAN OPEN

Jose Luis Barragan Mateos – World Eaters (Berzerker Warband) – 1st Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

The Best of the Rest

Burn & Learn Vol.10

Oliver Gaisford – Ultramarines (Gladius Task Force) – 1st Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

The Best of the Rest

Wrap Up

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