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[40K] Competitive Innovations in 10th: Underneath the Grotmas Tree 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.

Meta-that-was folks. Lap it up, and then move forwards into a horrifying blue dawn. Let’s get into those lists!

Today:

  • Merry Slaaneshmass 2024
  • Fight Before Christmas ’24
  • Da Winter Waaagh 24
  • 40K Finnish champs
  • Quebec City Open III
  • Hour Zero: Heroes Unleashed

Wednesday:

  • Feliz Exterminatus 3
  • Iron Cage: Winter Whammy 2
  • LVO preparation 40k GT featuring Friendship
  • SA40k Commissar Cup GT – Presented by Dragon’s Lair
  • GRIMDARK 23: Julkänslor
  • Hyper 331: GT

Merry Slaaneshmass 2024

71-player, 6-round Grand Tournament in Ocean Shores, WA, US on December 07 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Matchup & Mission – Tau (Retaliation Cadre) versus Tyranids (Invasion Fleet)

Donald Plummer – T’au Empire (Retaliation Cadre)
Army List - Click to Expand

vs.

Ryan Lynn – Tyranids (Invasion Fleet)
Army List - Click to Expand

Thoughts

This is a really interesting pair of lists to try and analyse and I definitely didn’t call the result! At first glance, this Tyranids list is really quite scary for the Tau, able to fill the board with small units (I love the MSU Leapers), deny space and choke score. Picking their way out of this without getting isolated and losing key Crisis suits feels risky to me, and Shadows is on hand to kneecap the Tau score as well.

On the pluse side for the warriors of the Greater Good, they have flamers, several ways to inflict damage and then get out of trouble, and activations powerful enough to dunk the Tyranid MSU several at a time, and peel open the monsters despite the feel no pain on offer from IF. It will require some very careful, knife edge play, but it looks like the Ret Cadre thread the needle and brought back a huge win. Really well done!

Result

T’au Empire (Retaliation Cadre) Victory – 82 – 44

Donald Plummer – T’au Empire (Retaliation Cadre) – 1st Place

Crisis Fireknife Battlesuits with Plasma Rifles. Credit: Jack Hunter

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Retaliation Cadre Suits

Thoughts

A meta that was favourite – Ret Cadre has had a really fun few months and finally established itself as the go-to Tau detachment. The real question now is whether it can survive the changes wrought by the dataslate – only time can tell!

Paul Winters – Slaanesh Daemons (Daemonic Incursion) – 2nd Place

Credit: Liebot – https://instagram.com/liebot_pics

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Slaanesh Daemons

Thoughts

Ok, first off, I love it. Calling it that this is somebody testing out their Slaanesh ahead of Grotmas to remember how it all works – what a beautiful top placing to achieve! Daemons have shown time and again that a wide range of builds actually work with the index, so I am SO hyped for what is next for them. Very well done on driving all before you here.

Ryan Lynn – Tyranids (Invasion Fleet) – 3rd Place

Carnifexes. Credit: Rockfish
Carnifexes. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Board Control Invasion Fleet

Thoughts

I love this carpet list, which floods midboard with tiny trade pieces and dares the opponent to come and puzzle it out. It’s a touch lighter on output than some IF lists with a lot riding on Old One Eye and gang getting it done, but the choking power on the board that it has early game is really very impressive and will bamboozle many. Great work on the top placing.

Matthew Cargille – Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion) – 4th Place

Necron Skorpekh Lord
Skorpekh Lord. Credit: Pendulin

 

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Monolith Hypercrypt

Thoughts

Good old Hypercrypt, coupling MSU with a Monolith and romping to victory. Big changes ahead for this detachment, which loses some of it’s mobility and reach with the dataslate, but there is Starshatter waiting in the wings to compensate… Very well done on the top placing.

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 5th – Lukas Troller – World Eaters: A lovingly named 20 Terminator and lots of Eightbound World Eaters list. Looks a blast to play!

Fight Before Christmas ’24

49-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Upper Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand on December 06 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Matt van Wijk – World Eaters (Berzerker Warband) – 1st Place

Credit: Robert “TheChirurgeon” Jones

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

No Angron World Eaters

Thoughts

Angron continues to fade out of some WE lists, and this one goes YES on Eightbound instead. The trapping potential here is game ending, and will punish a lot of the very shooting skewed builds we see in the current game. I know from experience if a big brick of Exalted trap something it can win a game on it’s own. Awesome, and very scary. Really well done on the event win!!

Richard Holman – Adepta Sororitas (Hallowed Martyrs) – 2nd Place (Undefeated)

Credit: Greg Narro

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Hallowed Martyrs Mixed Arms

Thoughts

A very techy Hallowed Martyrs list, that packs in some durable blocks of Sacrosancts, plenty of melta, and the obligatory wall of Castigators lurking behind them. HM is very good at drawing opponents out and anti-trading through the resurrection of characters – as Sisters continue to cop points rises and nerfs, getting the most out of every unit is crucial, and this may well be the way to go. Great work on the top placing.

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 3rd – Dan Hayden – Genestealer Cult (Biosanctic Broodsurge): Go-wide MSU Broodsurge with Metamorphs, lots of Aberrants, and some Ridgerunners.
  • 4th – Haydn Korach – Death Guard (Plague Company): Morty and Typhus lead big bricks of Deathshroud to war.
  • 5th – Steve Joll – Imperial Knights: 40k by Knight, top placings by day. Champion of 40k Steve with two Cerastus, a horde of Armigers and a Navigator!
  • 6th – Sean Sullivan – Leagues of Votann: Double Fort triple Sagitaur Votann.
  • 7th – Cam Wilkinson – T’au Empire (Kauyon): A TAUNAR, REPEAT, A TAUNAR!
  • 8th – Liam Sampson – Imperial Knights: Canis, an Errant, a Crusader, and some Armigers.
  • 9th – Michael Stewart – Ultramarines (Vanguard Spearhead): Vanguard Ultras with Gulliman and Calgar alongside a big brick of Centurions.

Da Winter Waaagh 24

47-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Horwich, England, United Kingdom on December 07 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

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

Szarekh, The Silent King. Credit: Rockfish
Szarekh, The Silent King. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Hyperthicc

Thoughts

Hypercrypt specialist Andy romps to victory with his tried and Tesseracted Necrons list. Silent King tech slots in to make sure you get through those pesky modifiers, and you pick the foe off on the margins for a couple of turns before rolling on through. Really well done on the event win Andy, excited to see what you do next!!

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Markus Hinson – T’au Empire (Mont’ka): Angle-shooting triple Hammerhead Mont’ka. Brutal.
  • 3rd – Michael Duff – Tyranids (Crusher Stampede): He’s handsome and he’s in the podium again!!! Massed ‘Nid monsters in Crusher, not even gonna read it.
  • 4th – Ben Facey – Grey Knights (Teleport Strike Force): Mixed arms Paladin and Dreadknight Grey Knights.
  • 5th – James McGlough – Astra Militarum: Lennon-style triple Hydra tank car park guard.
  • 6th – Craig Farrell – Death Guard: Glorious all-in brawler Death Guard with a Land Raider. Well done Zeeto!
  • 7th – Shaun Delaney – Blood Angels (Liberator Assault Group): A real mix of MSU Blood Angels melee with some Ballistus to anchor.
  • 8th – Phil Roebuck – Tyranids (Crusher Stampede): Massed Tyrannofex and Exos in Crusher Stampede.
  • 9th – David Leniewski – Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion): Triple C’tan / Tesseract Hypercrypt.

40K Finnish champs

36-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Järvenpää, Uusimaa, Suomi on December 07 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Eero Saukkonen – Astra Militarum (Combined Regiment) – 1st Place

Lord Solar. Credit: Rockfish
Lord Solar. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Astra Militarum with Hydras

Thoughts

A few nice pieces of tech here that are worth of explanation. The Hydra makes it into the list as a dirt cheap tank that can shoot a little, but crucially requires commitment of some anti-armour resources to deal with. Hoover those up with your Leman Russ, and roll to victory, is the concept. They’re also great for managing the GSC menace, as is the big brick of Rough Riders. A beautifully designed list, well done on the event win!

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Mika Liu – Chaos Daemons (Daemonic Incursion): Monster mash Daemons.
  • 3rd – Ville Ritari – Death Guard (Plague Company): Triple Predator, lots of infantry Death Guard.
  • 4th – Kaarle Tukia – Orks (War Horde): Glorious Trukk, Battle Wagon and Kill Rig rush.
  • 5th – Juha Ottelin – Astra Militarum: Tank Commander and Leman Russ spam.
  • 6th – Indran Yogaswaran – Adeptus Custodes (Talons of the Emperor): Mixed arms double Caladius Custodes.

Quebec City Open III

32-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Québec, QC, Canada on December 07 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Éric Marcoux – Chaos Knights (Traitoris Lance) – 1st Place

Credit: Swiftblade

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Massed War Dogs

Thoughts

There is an Exalted Flamer in this CK list, which is a bit different I guess. The Blue Horrors are also neat. Poor CK really need some more ways to build and fast – maybe the Grotmas detachment will help? That said, epic to take an event down with the War Dogs at the moment, that is no easy thing. Really well done.

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – François Lalonde – Genestealer Cult (Biosanctic Broodsurge): Triple Abominant, mass Flamer Acolyte GSC in Broodsurge.
  • 3rd – John Winter Russell – Astra Militarum (Combined Regiment): Massed Scions, Aquilons, and Sentinels alongside the guns.
  • 4th – Robert Mailloux – Imperial Knights (Noble Lance): Double big Knight, lots of Armigers.
  • 5th – Dominique Carette – Ultramarines (Vanguard Spearhead): Vanguard Ultras with some Blade Guard squads for counter push alongside the Centurion brick.

Hour Zero: Heroes Unleashed

27-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Großweil, BY, Deutschland on December 07 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Roman Kleiber – Orks (Bully Boyz) – 1st Place

Sirrus Bizniz, Goff ork warlord in mega armour. Credit: Charlie Brassley.

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Bully Boyz Trukk Rush

Thoughts

Bully Boyz have had a quiet few months but cruise to victory here, with a list that packs the log jam of Meganobz into Trukks and couples them with a brick of Flashgitz and the sneaky super grots to add additional pressure. Winning a GT with Orks at the moment is no easy thing and should be commended, fantastic work! Hopefully the slate heralds exciting things ahead…

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Matthias Murr – Blood Angels (Liberator Assault Group): Big Terminator brick Blood Angels – love it.
  • 3rd – Christian Muschalek – Black Templars (Gladius Task Force): Go-wide melee trading Black Templars with loads of Sword Brethren.
  • 4th – Max Herzog – Adepta Sororitas (Bringers of Flame): Proper shooty Bringers of Flame dialling it back.
  • 5th – Moritz Bund – Astra Militarum: Militarum goodstuff with a slab of Bullgryn.

Wrap Up

Slate has been! Slate has been! What will all those changes mean? Tune in soon for more reviews, and have fun out there.

Lowest of Men, out.

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