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[40k] Competitive Innovations in 10th: Holding Space (Marines) pt.2

By Lowest of Men

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.

Part 2, now with some Xenos and Chaos forces getting a chance to shine.

Today we’ve got:

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

Part 1 on Wednesday covered:

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

HAMBURG MAJOR 2025 40k

103-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Hamburg, HH, Deutschland on January 18 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Jens ‘Bothi’ Bothur – Necrons (Starshatter Arsenal) – 1st Place

The Silent King
The Silent King. Credit: Pendulin

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Go-wide Starshatter

Thoughts

How do you adapt when everyone and their mums is packing Doomsday Ark solutions? Cut those down and go wider with other units instead. Plenty of heft in this list regardless with two Triarch Stalkers to draw the opponent out for cheaper, a Spyder to soak mortals, and Destroyer emphasis to pick off marine bodies and MSU. I like this as a more flexible solution to the pressure infantry builds we are seeing in the game right now! Really well done on the event win.

Sebastian Müller – Dark Angels (Gladius Task Force) – 2nd Place (Undefeated)

Rainbow Warriors Azrael by Craig “MasterSlowPoke” Sniffen

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Dark Angels DWK

Thoughts

Loads of Deathwing Knights and the Lion – still a really potent force! Gladius gives it a bunch of crucial tricks, and Lancers provide hard target removal. It isn’t rich on assets but it packs a crucial stat check / fights first problem that will help into some of the nasty damage two melee brawlers we are seeing. Amazing work!

Ben Hackländer – Death Guard (Plague Company) – 3rd Place

Credit: PierreTheMime

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Death Guard Hull Spam

Thoughts

Hull spam Death Guard had a great run at Nottingham under Nathan Roberts, and we see another take on this here – freeing up some points by cutting out the Plagueburst Crawlers in favour of the nippier, cheaper Blighthaulers. A lot of tank to chew through with Mortarion mashing things up and providing crucial buffs. Well done on the top placing!

Paul Hilsdorf – Necrons (Starshatter Arsenal) – 4th Place

Illuminor Szeras
Illuminor Szeras. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Starshatter Goodstuff

Thoughts

A more conventional triple DDA Starshatter list, this one compliments that with screening melee destroyers out ahead of the guns. Starshatter will continue to be one to watch in the meta going forwards, and you need a plan for this build to go far at events right now. Amazing work on the top placing.

The Best of the Rest

There were 12 more players on 4-1 records. They were:

  • 5th – Ingo Berthelsen – Adeptus Custodes (Talons of the Emperor): Massed infantry Custodes in Talons.
  • 6th – Niklas Frerichs – Adeptus Custodes (Solar Spearhead) : Dreadnought spam with a couple of bike squads.
  • 7th – Kayu Orellana – Tyranids (Assimilation Swarm): Assimilation Swarm with a big brick of Hormagaunts, some Zoanthropes, and lots of stodgy scoring trash.
  • 8th – Nils Gottschalk – Leagues of Votann (Oathband): 15 Bikes and 20 Berzerks, delicious Dwarf nonsense!
  • 9th – Leif Westermann – Aeldari (Battle Host): Triple Wave Serpent, triple Fire Prism, lots of Aspects. Epic.
  • 10th – Sebastian Maack – Ultramarines (Vanguard Spearhead): New wave Vanguard with Gulliman.
  • 11th – Dennis Gottschalk – Grey Knights (Warpbane Task Force): Triple Purgation Warpbane with a Razorback and some Dreadknights.
  • 12th – Nikolai Anthony – Chaos Space Marines (Creations of Bile): Terminator brick / Possessed brick Bile.
  • 13th – Sebastian Kollberg – Chaos Space Marines (Renegade Raiders): Accursed brick and MSU in Raiders.
  • 14th – Niels Scheer – Ultramarines (Gladius Task Force): Ultramarines Gladius with multiple Vindicators and some infantry MSU.
  • 15th – Robin Schreiber – Ynnari (Battle Host): Yvraine brick / Wraithblade brick Ynnari with Scourge in support.
  • 16th – Jonas Dobberow – Chaos Space Marines (Creations of Bile): 15 Warp Talons and 20 Possessed in Bile.

First Assault!

42-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Hyrylä, Uusimaa, Suomi on January 18 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Juuso Sipiläinen – Chaos Daemons (Legion of Excess) – 1st Place

Syll’Esske. Credit: Brin

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Hefty Slaanesh

Thoughts

A more rounded, gun-toting take on the Slaanesh hotness here, with Soul Grinders for backfield presence and shooting and Belakor to provide that sweet no-sell aura to stop enemy guns. As a break out meta star Slaanesh has a way to run on finding the ideal build, and it’s very cool to see this different take on it winning a GT! Amazing work.

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Jouni Haavisto – Orks (Taktikal Brigade): Flash Gitz, Tankbustas, and some tasteful Deffkoptas in Taktikal.
  • 3rd – Eero Saukkonen – Astra Militarum (Bridgehead Strike): The emerging Bridgehead chassis – lots of Scions, some indirect, and a cheeky Tank Commander.
  • 4th – Tatu Sipola – Chaos Space Marines (Creations of Bile): Hefty Bile with lots of Possessed and Chosen.
  • 5th – Juha Ottelin – Astra Militarum (Bridgehead Strike): Same list as above but with an extra Tank Commander!
  • 6th – Arto Lampila – Leagues of Votann (Oathband): Massed Sagitaur and Land Forts.
  • 7th – Migs Silvanto – Blood Angels (Liberator Assault Group): LAG MSU with some small squads of Centurions! I love this.

DA GITHAMMER WAAAGH WEEKEND!!!! GT

34-player, 6-round Grand Tournament in Cypress, CA, United States on January 18 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Crucible of Battle – Purge the Foe – Smoke and Mirrors

Kyle Parry – Ynnari (Battle Host)
Army List - Click to Expand

vs.

Alan Dehesa – World Eaters (Berzerker Warband)
Army List - Click to Expand

Thoughts

A spicy match up here pitting those who would quite like to be dead against those who would really like you to be dead. The WE list is interesting, dialling down the Eightbound to slot in some Predators and Helbutes and create different challenges and profiles for the foe to deal with. Otherwise, business as usual with the going fast and punching things!

The Ynnari probably quite appreciate the WE bringing tanks for them to pick off with Lances and such, and the list here is beautifully asset rich with a million cheap and cheerful units to give the Eaters the run around. That gives them a better chance of avoiding the loss condition of a mass connect from the melee push. On paper I’d be optimistic of the elves ability here to absorb and out-activate the WE, which makes the perfectly executed one point win by Angron’s sons even more impressive, really well done!

Result

World Eaters (Berzerker Warband) Victory – 83 – 82

Alan Dehesa – World Eaters (Berzerker Warband) – 1st Place

Credit: Robert “TheChirurgeon” Jones

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

World Eaters Mixed Arms

Thoughts

Perpetual bridesmaids, the World Eaters claim an event win and I am very psyched about it! This list is genuinely very innovative, packing in some supporting fire. The triple Helbrute is really funny into some melee match ups getting you some additional activations and making the mini-games that WE pose even more complicated. Fantastic work on the event win!

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Kyle Parry – Aeldari (Battle Host):
  • 3rd – Ed Safarian – Astra Militarum (Combined Regiment):
  • 4th – Jason McKenzie – Adeptus Mechanicus (Haloscreed Battle Clade):

Cross-Swords Vigil of Peace

34-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Lee Mill Bridge, England, United Kingdom on January 18 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Jonathan Summerfield – Grey Knights (Warpbane Task Force) – 1st Place

Grey Knights Nemesis Dreadknight. Credit: Colin Ward

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Warpbane Librarians

Thoughts

A very tidy Warpbane list, which mixes in some of the standouts (Purifiers and Purgation Squads), and then adds some mortal wound output from Librarians to help it muscle through tanks and monsters. Warpbane seems to be flexible and effective but takes some careful piloting to get the best out of, so an event win in a game full of nasty threats is very commendable, really well done!

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Cameron Giles – Adeptus Custodes (Solar Spearhead): Dreadnought / Caladius spam with two Assassins!
  • 3rd – James Mclean – Tyranids (Invasion Fleet): Truckloads of Invasion Fleet Termagants in front of the usual heavy hitting monsters.
  • 4th – Liam Steptoe – World Eaters (Vessels of Wrath): Three huge bricks of Eightbound to maximise the new buffs in Vessels, epic.
  • 5th – Steve Pearce – Deathwatch (Black Spear Task Force): Techy Deathwatch with a Talonspear team, some Judiciar squads and a Navigator from the IA book.
  • 6th – Steven Connell – Chaos Space Marines (Creations of Bile): Four Rhinos chock full of Legionaires in Bile – amazing.

Abyss Bonne année, Grand Nez 40k GT

28-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Montréal, Québec, CA on January 18 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

John Winter Russell – Astra Militarum (Bridgehead Strike) – 1st Place

Kasrkin Kill Team. Credit: Jack Hunter

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Bridgehead Infantry Spam

Thoughts

Guard stalwart John gets on the new hotness and packs in the Scions and Kasrkin. I like the tasteful counter charge unit of Rough Riders for those nasty melee pushers, and Mortars help to put the opponent on a timer. Getting the drops in the right places is key here, but when it goes off Bridgehead is really very hard to play against. Fantastic work on the event win!

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Sebastien Geoffrion – Tyranids (Vanguard Onslaught): Pressure Vanguard with loads of Genestealers and supporting Warrior bricks.
  • 3rd – Valentin Puchkarov – Chaos Space Marines (Creations of Bile): Thirty Possessed Bile, let’s go!
  • 4th – Sebastian Hebert – Blood Angels (Liberator Assault Group): MSU Sang Guard, double Vindicator and plenty of other flying murderers in LAG.

Wrap Up

There we are folks! Our meta continues to throw up combat pressure and go-wide shooty threats. It’s a world of extremes out there but so many builds seem to be able to win events right now, and we love to see that. Keep on enjoying those hams!

Lowest of Men, out.

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