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[40K] Competitive Innovations in 10th: Lame Duck and Cover pt.1

By James "One_Wing" Grover

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.

So, how about those balance updates then? This column is a day late because, let’s be honest, none of you would have read it yesterday, so here we are on an unfamiliar Thursday talking about the world that was.

If you haven’t yet seen the details of the exciting new balance updates, take a look at our coverage here.

We’ve presumably got one more week of pre-slate events after this, but the weekend after that we’ve got the UKTC Coventry double-header, which is one of the UKs biggest events of the year and will be using the updated points, so we’ll have plenty of results to review very soon.

For now, today I’m looking at:

  • Battle For Salvation GT 2024
  • NurgleMania 5 – 2 Tagesturnier
  • Otoñocalipsis Kingdom Wargames, Warhammer 40k
  • Call to Arms GT Hosted by Away Games
  • Carnage – Solaris

Tomorrow Lowest of Men will pick up the slack and cover:

  • SSG GT Goes Solo?
  • 2d6 Exterminatus
  • There Is Only War III
  • Brighton 40k GT IX
  • Bugle Bat Reps : Bugles Big Bash 3

This week’s Showdowns will be:

  • Skysplinter Drukhari vs Imperial Knights at Call to Arms
  • Realspace Raiders Drukhari vs Kauyon Tau at Bugle’s Big Bash

Battle For Salvation GT 2024

114-player, 6-round Grand Tournament in West Nyack, NY, US on October 12 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Samuel Pope – Tyranids (Invasion Fleet) – 1st Place

Termagaunts. Credit: Rockfish
Termagaunts. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Gaunt Carpet with Shooty Bugs

Thoughts

First up this week, and largely unscathed by the Balance update, we’ve got an Invasion Fleet spin on the recipe of Gaunt horde with shooty bug backing. This saw success as the Unending Swarm detachment a while back, but it looks like the combination of access to the all-important Feel No Pain stratagem plus better general synergy with including a Tervigon and Flyrant has proved too big of a lure to ignore. This build pressures the opponent’s board control capability with big hordy bricks, which many armies aren’t currently built to handle, and has punishing attrition from the Exocrines and Tyrannofexes. Access to the Detachment Rule for the fleet also stacks with Twin Linked on the Termagants to make them surprisingly OK into a broad sweep of targets, and while not especially complex, this build is quite challenging to put down, and fairly adaptable on the table. Great work from Samuel, and very well positioned for what comes next.

Johnny Zoo – Chaos Space Marines (Renegade Raiders) – 2nd Place (Undefeated)

Night Lords Possessed Squad – Credit: RichyP

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Raiders Commune Spam

Thoughts

Our second list is rather more on the naughty list, as GW have noticed that maxed out Accursed Communes are turning up in a lot of successful lists. A 90pts tax plus a nerf to surge moves probably sends this back to the drawing board, particularly as one of the other recent rising starts in Chaos Space Marines (Obliterators) went down in price. The big Possessed unit is notable here though – it gives you a nice broad threat that can crash through most targets, and those also got cheaper, so expect more of them. Congratulations to Johnny for giving this build a suitable sendoff.

TJ Lanigan – Thousand Sons (Cult of Magic) – 3rd Place

Credit: Robert “TheChirurgeon” Jones

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Double Mutalith

Thoughts

Neither TJ or this build need any introduction, and I for one am looking forward to another round of “will the massive nerfs (substantially north of 100pts on this list) finally take Tsons below a 50% win rate?” Honestly – could go either way. Great stuff from TJ as always.

Cullen Burns – Aeldari (Battle Host) – 4th Place

Wraithlord. Credit: Rockfish
Wraithlord. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Falcons and Dragons

Thoughts

Our first outright winner from the dataslate, this extra crunchy Mechdar build skews to be about as resilient as you can be with Aeldari, and packs spectacular killing potential, particularly against heavier targets thanks to the appalling amount of re-rolling melta on display. All those other mid-durability targets draw flak from the Avatar, and leaves you with a good shot of reaching the late game with your own personal icon of Khaine intact, which I know from experience is very tough for foes to handle. This build is very cool, and I for one look forward to seeing what Cullen does with the princely sum of 30 additional points.

The Best of the Rest

There were 8 more players on 5-1 records. They were:

  • 5th – Shaun Reynolds – Dark Angels (Gladius Task Force): Deathwing Knight GTF.
  • 6th – Jasper Biski – Orks (War Horde): Mechanised melee Infantry galore.
  • 7th – Zach Point – T’au Empire (Retaliation Cadre): Crisis suits and Commanders for days with a couple of Hammerheads in support.
  • 8th – Daniel Wohlmuth – Adepta Sororitas (Hallowed Martyrs): Hull-heavy Hallowed Martyrs with one big Arco-flagellant squad as an anti-horde counterpunch.
  • 9th – Sascha Alexander Edelkraut – Black Templars (Gladius Task Force): An all-rounder heavy infantry build centred on a unit each of Aggressors and Eradicators.
  • 10th – Roger Porcelli – Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion): Double C’tan and a Monolith, plus lots of small supporting units.
  • 11th – Jack Murphy – Chaos Space Marines (Renegade Raiders): Commune and shooty hull Raiders with one Rubricae unit for a surprise punch.
  • 12th – Samuel Lucidi – Death Guard: Looks like some all-rounder Infantry and engines with supporting Brigands, but the list is mangled in a new and exciting way so *shrug*.

NurgleMania 5 – 2 Tagesturnier

47-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Nürnberg, BY, DE on October 12 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Tim Schneider – Leagues of Votann (Oathband) – 1st Place

Trans-Hyperian Alliance Hekaton Land Fortress. Credit: Colin Ward

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Counterpunch Votann

Thoughts

This is the build to run out if you’re feeling extra grudgy, as full bricks of Beserks leaping from Land Fortresses is going to extremely ruin the day of anyone who has gotten too close. The rest of the build provides the standard Votann ability to swiftly spread out, and the doubling up on solo Champions for headbutt/scoring potential is a good way to squeeze in some extra value. Minimal changes (other than needing to find 10pts for the Yaegirs) is good news for the Votann too – they’ve been consistently solid, and the demise of some of the very top builds gives them more chance to shine. Tim is, of course, ahead of the curve on that, great work!

Manuel Wayand – Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion) – 2nd Place (Undefeated)

The Silent King
The Silent King. Credit: Pendulin

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Heavy Hypercrypt

Thoughts

Our second undefeated player from this event is sporting Hypercrypt, which has been lurking just behind the top tier in this quarter, and is now poised to challenge for the throne. That’s largely because, as seen here, the majority of the balance impact on lots of these lists from their nerfs are neutralised by the inexplicable points drop on Doomsday Arks. With that in mind, Hypercrypt’s days of zapping around causing mischief aren’t likely to be ending any time soon. Credit where it’s due, Manuel’s version does go for the extra cool option of bringing a full Skorpekh unit to unleash at an appropriate juncture, which is much more fun than just bringing a third Doomsday or a C’tan (and does have a pleasingly broad damage profile), so well done for that!

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 3rd – Fabian Bader – Adepta Sororitas (Bringers of Flame): Speedy Flame Sisters.
  • 4th – Martin Nguyen – Space Wolves (Stormlance Task Force): Wolf Jail.
  • 5th – Pau “Conejo Malo” Poensgen – Drukhari (Skysplinter Assault): All the nasty melee transport units and one brick of Talos.
  • 6th – Nikolai Stocks – Grey Knights: Double big Terminator brick and three Dreadknights.
  • 7th – Patrick Schmitt – Tyranids (Invasion Fleet): Big shooty bugs and a Tyrant/Swarmlord tag team up front.

Otoñocalipsis Kingdom Wargames, Warhammer 40k

38-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Madrid, MD, España on October 12 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Marco Esteban – Space Wolves (Stormlance Task Force) – 1st Place

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

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Wolf Jail

Thoughts

After many, many months on the run from the cops (who only just figured out how to Advance/Charge), Wolf Jail’s reign of terror may be coming to an end after a hefty blow to ThunderCav in the balance update. They’re probably not totally dead as an inclusion in some builds, but probably as a one or two of, and once you make that decision you’re probably better off as Champions of Russ, especially with the (effective) buff they get to their Vow stratagem. Still, you can’t say they didn’t have a good run, and well done to Marco on giving them a final runabout before getting sent to the balance pound.

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Guillermo Palacios – Dark Angels (Gladius Task Force): Deathwing Knight GTF
  • 3rd – Francisco pellon lopez – Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion): Shooty Hypercrypt with lots of Heavy Lokhusts, a couple of Doomsdays, and a Monolith.
  • 4th – Victor Zorio – Astra Militarum (Combined Regiment): A first appearance for Tempestus Aquilions, joining various mechanised guard stuff and a full Scion/Command Squad unit.
  • 5th – Shadowblade 40K  – Drukhari (Skysplinter Assault): Incubi-heavy Skysplinter with a Talos brick.
  • 6th – Antonio Felix – Thousand Sons: Rubricae-heavy Tsons with a single Mutalith.

Call to Arms GT Hosted by Away Games

35-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Williamsburg, VA, United States on October 12 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Scorched Earth – Inspired Leadership – Crucible of Battle

Emory Garrett – Drukhari (Skysplinter Assault)
Army List - Click to Expand

vs.

ABE OLMEDO – Imperial Knights (Noble Lance)
Army List - Click to Expand

Thoughts

A classic clash between big robots and bad elves here, which honestly you could have pulled out of any edition since 8th. The Knight side of things is extra hefty here, going for the bold and heroic choice of three bigs, though still gets a surpriding number of Armigers in too. I think that’s a mixed blessing here – on the one hand, the T12 on big Knights hits a key breakpoint where the darklight the Drukhari are packing isn’t going to cut them down quite as fast. However, the flip side of this is that the Drukhari have also brought some haywire, which is much more of a headache to play around at range, as a spike upwards can inflict huge damage on a big, and they’re also sporting two full Incubi units, creating melee threats that can actually threaten to lift a big Knight with Archon re-rolls. That’s compounded by the lower drop count of the Knights making Swooping Mockery more effective, and increasing the risk of the layered defence from transports sending a turn awry.

There is a flip side of that which is that the Drukhari probably can’t fight on all fronts at once, so going aggro with three bigs might be enough to overwhelm them, especially with Helverins to brutally punish any vehicle poked out. Realistically I think you just have to full send here as the Knights – a long game with Scourges plinking away and the eternal threat of the Incubi is just going to let the Drukhari roll things up. Sally forth and try and smash them, and take advantage of built-in Action/Shoot for the Primary for good measure – it might force some tricky choices on targets. The Drukhari are clearly still favourites here, but it’s very much a game where recognising that and going all in could flip things. Sadly here, it did not.

Result

Drukhari (Skysplinter Assault) Victory – 100 – 69

Emory Garrett – Drukhari (Skysplinter Assault) – 1st Place

Kabalite Warriors – Credit: RichyP

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Skysplinter with Talos

Thoughts

Drukhari had a great weekend to cap off a great three months, so it’s not super surprising that they took a hit in the balance update. However, as Emory’s build here demonstrates, the impact of that has been somewhat mitigated by choices top players have already been making. This build does still need to lose an entire unit, which isn’t nothing, but the pivot towards Talos and far fewer Characters than the lists we saw a few months back keeps the impact under 100pts for most lists. Given how well positioned they were previously, that should leave Drukhari as serious contenders still, so I’m sure we’ll see more from Emory in the future.

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – ABE OLMEDO – Imperial Knights (Noble Lance): See Showdown
  • 3rd – Don Belec – Blood Angels (Sons of Sanguinius): Jump Sons with two big Death Company units and a final(?) showing for the jump Priest and VanVet unit.
  • 4th – Preston Southan – T’au Empire (Retaliation Cadre): Commanders, Crisis and Riptides, plus two squads of Pathfinders to screen and amp other units up.
  • 5th – Edward Appel – Astra Militarum: Bullgryn and double Dorn.
  • 6th – Reynolds Wagemaker – Thousand Sons: Double Mutalith Tsons.

Carnage – Solaris

32-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in England, United Kingdom on October 12 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Andy Quas-Cohen – Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion) – 1st Place

Nightbringer. Credit: Wings

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Heavy Hypercrypt

Thoughts

Another winning Hypercrypt build, another list that barely gets hit at all. This is fine. Everything is fine. Maybe in a week GW will issue a note that they accidentally pressed “minus” next to Doomsdays rather than plus. Great to see the Nightbringer though. Love that guy. Good stuff from Andy, and enjoy your continued campaign of teleporting doom.

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Callam Taylor – Death Guard (Plague Company): Bloat Drones, Brigands and Rotigus, plus a big squad of Plague Marines as a centrepiece.
  • 3rd – Matt Bell – Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion): Heavy Hypercrypt with a Tesseract Vault.
  • 4th – Kieran French – Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion): Infantry and Destroyer-heavy Hypercrypt.
  • 5th – Markus Hinson – Grey Knights: Ultracrunch with Dreadknights and Canis Rex.
  • 6th – Mustafa Naamani – Chaos Daemons: Monsters and Beasts galore, using the Gift GUO as an anvil, and Skarbrand/Belakor with Bloodcrushers and Hounds (plus a few Fiends for good measure) to go hunting.

Wrap Up

More events tomorrow, one more week of lame duck 40K, then the ever exciting new metagame chaos. Hopefully Hypercrypt doesn’t just win everything.

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