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[40K] Competitive Innovations in 10th: Warm-Up Warfare 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.

Even now the WCW is well underway, and the great and good of the game are duking it out to see which armies and players rise to the top, which we’ll look at next week. However, we’ve still got plenty left to cover from last weekend, so let’s check in on our remaining events, which are:

  • GUTI Majestic Beasties IV (2024)
  • Tournois Blackshield Tournament – Compétitif/ Competitive
  • The Standoff 2024
  • The Gravel Pit #3
  • Manatorsk Open GT
  • The Hogtowner 2024
  • TLM x Layton November GT

Part 1 on Wednesday covered:

  • Alliance Open WH40K Grand Tournament 2024
  • BOLTERCON 2024 Warhammer 40k GT
  • The Hobart GT 2024
  • The 2nd Siege of Windsor GT
  • Dicehammer “Highlander” Charity 40k GT
  • Nemesis 40k 2024
  • El Legado de Dardo

GUTI Majestic Beasties IV (2024)

70-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Winnipeg, Manitoba, CA on November 16 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Sébastien Demeule – World Eaters (Berzerker Warband) – 1st Place

Credit: Robert “TheChirurgeon” Jones

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

World Eaters Goodstuff

Thoughts

The World Eaters blueprint has stayed relatively unchanged – go fast, hit stuff, and hopefully get another bite at doing so when somehow, Angron returns. Despite catching a nerf or two in the last slate they have had a really good few weeks – why is this, Tom? I hear you cry! Well, one of their big predators in Thousand Sons has retreated considerably, Skysplinter is also in decline, and WE have always had some game into more static, tank line type armies, which are quite dominant in this meta. All in all, happy hunting for Khorne’s boys, and I am here for it. Really well done on the event win!

Kylee Plouffe – Adepta Sororitas (Bringers of Flame) – 2nd Place

Credit: Keewa

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Bringers of Flame Vahl / Triumph

Thoughts

Sisters players are increasingly falling back to Vahl and the Triumph, despite early noises to the tune of these being easy cuts to account for points costs. The reality is that after the nerfs Sisters players don’t need to tech as much for the mirror, freed of the heavy burden of being better than everybody else. As such, Vahl’s value goes up, as she remains a potent counter push and late game bully piece into the wider field and punishes armies looking to get aggressive into BoF – one of the things it doesn’t enjoy. The Triumph ultimately hands out crucial buffs, helps Exorcists confirm kills, and serves as another counter push or surge piece. Lists feel better balanced with at least one, and often two of these units in. Amazing work on the top placing!

Garret Olson – Blood Angels (Liberator Assault Group) – 3rd Place

Mephiston, the Lord of Death. Credit: Corrode

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

BA Full Send

Thoughts

The Blood Angels book is extremely fun. At least, Liberation Assault Group is, I’ve not seen anyone else trying anything else yet, but I’m sure I will! The meta isn’t necessarily favourable to the sons of Sanguinius right now, but that hasn’t stopped people swinging for the fences with all-in jump pack melee regardless. This list packs all the right HQs in – Lemartes and Astorath for the murder brickswith added resilience, Dante for a combat-swinging battle-shock and tougher anchor piece, and Mephiston because, well, he is simply incredible. LAG is light on trading pieces because of how much of a donkey punch it is capable of, and this means you have to use every unit correctly. Get it right, though, and you wreck face. Really well done on the top placing.

Logan Antonation – Space Wolves (Stormlance Task Force) – 4th Place

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

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Wolf Jail

Thoughts

Wolf Jail keeps on trucking, and I like the addition of a couple of cheeky Wulfen Dreadnoughts and Suppressor squads here. This gives you multiple ways to push out screens, and several action monkeys who are either fast enough, or durable enough for the job at hand. Double Infiltrator squads is a nice meta choice that gives you a lot of anti- Aquilon or anti-GSC space control, and I could see this list pushing out the dreads and Infiltrators to absorb a Broodsurge charge before rolling them with the Wolves. You have to think about these things ya know! Really well played.

The Best of the Rest

This event used brackets, so scores for the rest of the top players vary from 3-5 wins, so what I’ve done is cut this after the lowest-ranked 4-1 player. This gives us 9 more players to look at:

  • 5th – Frederick Schellenberg – Chaos Daemons: Monster mash with some Beasts of Nurgle and Plague Drones in attendance.
  • 6th – Sean Clancy – Astra Militarum: Alright Sean, fine, you win. An utterly brilliant and genuinely novel Guard list with massed Sentinels and a Stormsword. I’m in love.
  • 7th – Chris Mcphee – Leagues of Votann: Double Land Fort, double Sagitaur, Bezerks and Hearthguard. Tried and true.
  • 8th – Kieran Howlett – Imperial Knights: A Cerastus, a Castellan, and plenty of Armigers.
  • 9th – Jason Wells – Astra Militarum: Some Taurox amidst the usual Tanks and Aquilons / Scions.
  • 10th – Lawrence Hill – Aeldari: Avatar / Fire Prism Aeldari.
  • 11th – Anthony Neithercut – Aeldari: Avatar/ Fire Prism Aeldari with a big block of Wraithblades.
  • 12th – Ryan Block – Space Marines (Firestorm Assault Force): Double Redeemer, double Vindicator Firestorm.
  • 13th – Sean Lengenfelder – Orks (War Horde): Mozrog leading massed Boyz and triple Kill Rig to battle.

Tournois Blackshield Tournament – Compétitif/ Competitive

42-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Montreal, Quebec, CA on November 16 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

John Winter Russell – Astra Militarum (Combined Regiment) – 1st Place

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

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Astra Militarum Mixed Arms

Thoughts

A run out for the full stack of Rough Riders here, which I have a lot of time for. This unit can counter charge, push out a big screening block ahead of the tanks, and boasts very nasty damage of it’s own to boot. A bit terrain dependant, but an awesome unit to make work, as only a faction expert like John can! Guard feel like they’re in a terrific spot where you can mix and match a wide range of tools and find a potent built to suit you, great to see. Well done on the event win!

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Franck Lortie – Adeptus Mechanicus (Skitarii Hunter Cohort): Full on Hunter Cohort jail.
  • 3rd – Sebastian Hebert – Blood Angels (Liberator Assault Group): Go-wide triple Captain and special characters BA with a Repulsor and two Impulsors for staging.
  • 4th – Robert Mailloux – Imperial Knights (Noble Lance): Canis, a Cerastus, and lots of Armigers.
  • 5th – Matt McWatters – Astra Militarum: Double Rogal Dorn and a solo Basilisk behind the usual suspects.

The Standoff 2024

38-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Portland, ME, United States on November 16 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Steven Pampreen – Genestealer Cult (Biosanctic Broodsurge) – 1st Place

Genestealer Cult Patriarch. Credit – Soggy

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Broodsurge Melee Pressure

Thoughts

A cool innovation here, as Steven packs in a 20 man Neophyte squad with Acolyte Iconward amongst the usual melee pressure tools. This gives you a stodgy, regenerating, and relatively cheap package you can secure objectives with as the rest of the army goes to work, safe in the knowledge that incidental fire is simply not going to clear it. At 130 for ten, using Neos as a tarpit is well worth exploring, and it looks like it worked wonders here! Well done on the event win.

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Cullen Burns – Astra Militarum (Combined Regiment): Triple Rogal Dorn Guard, hell yeah.
  • 3rd – Drew Salzborn – T’au Empire (Kroot Hunting Pack): Triple Hammerhead Kroot Hunting Pack, hell yeah!
  • 4th – Travis Morton – Grey Knights (Teleport Strike Force): Triple Librarian Grey Knights, HELL YEAH.
  • 5th – Casey Glynn – Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion): Triple Ophidian Destroyer Necrons, HELL YEAH!
  • 6th – Ari Chang – Drukhari (Skysplinter Assault): Triple Venom Drukhari… quite normal, but also double Voidraven!!
  • 7th – Mason Welch – Orks (War Horde): Go-wide War Horde, that does also triple up on Trukks and Grotz. The power of three is real, guys.

The Gravel Pit #3

36-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Stockport, England, United Kingdom on November 16 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Matchup & Mission – Death Guard versus Emperor’s Children (Fellhammer Siegehost)

Aiden Smalley – Death Guard (Plague Company)
Army List - Click to Expand

vs.

Ashley Parkinson – Emperor’s Children (Fellhammer Siege-Host)
Army List - Click to Expand

Thoughts

Something of a mismatch in this final, as the anti-melee of the Death Guard squares up to the bitterness and angst of the Iron Warriors. Fellhammer boasts some neat tricks, and this list is very novel, packing in a Land Raider and a Despoiler for some hard targets. Fellhammer has a few tricks of relevance here too – Siegecraft handing out a -2 to charge is pretty punishing for the slow Death Guard (and good wider anti-GSC tech too, nice!), and Persistent Assailants offering up some rerolls helps deal with the debuffing in the green camp, but most of Fellhammer’s defensive tools are for shooting, and that is not where the threat is coming from.

Mortarion’s sons have loaded up on 15 Deathshroud, absolute melee blenders supported by a bunch of Predators and Drones. They can go wider with threats than the CSM list can, and they win an attrition war one things get up close and personal. The larger knight and Land Raider will struggle to have the same impact here as the MSU threats and don’t really boast enough shooting to trouble Mortarion, who should become a runaway late game threat here with no activations in the CSM list to bother him. A storming Death Guard win looks likely, and that is how this one played out.

Result

Death Guard (Plague Company) Victory – 86 – 47

Aiden Smalley – Death Guard (Plague Company) – 1st Place

Credit: Robert “TheChirurgeon” Jones

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Death Guard Mixed Arms

Thoughts

What happens when you take one of the best units in a faction and make it cheaper? Death Guard and GSC players can attest, it sure does help. Faction specialist Aiden enjoys the rotten fruits of Nurgle’s Labour here with a very efficient list that blends Deathshroud melee push with plenty of backline shooting and scoring, as Mortarion holds it all together. Don’t sleep on the 20 Poxwalkers – you can have these with Typhus in some match ups as a very obnoxious tarpit unit to compliment all the damage. Really well done on the event win Aiden!

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Markus Hinson – Grey Knights (Teleport Strike Force): Dreadknights with Canis Rex in tow.
  • 3rd – Michael Duff – Tyranids (Crusher Stampede): The handsome, brilliant, and very huggable Mike Duff takes names with Crusher Stampede and triple Tyrannofex.
  • 4th – Ashley Parkinson – Emperor’s Children (Fellhammer Siege-Host): The Fellhammer list from the showdown.
  • 5th – James Wilson – Death Guard: Multiple Wardogs supporting the Deathshroud / Predators package.
  • 6th – Jack Ferguson – Death Guard: Another potent mixed arms Death Guard list with a single Brigand.
  • 7th – David Jones – T’au Empire (Retaliation Cadre): Ret Cadre with a Broadside brick and double Riptide alongside the Crisis Suits.

Manatorsk Open GT

33-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Västra Götalands län, Sweden on November 16 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Olof Svensson – Genestealer Cult (Host of Ascension) – 1st Place

Genestealer Cults Goliath Rockgrinder
Genestealer Cults Goliath Rockgrinder. That Gobbo

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Hosts of Ascension Mech Pressure

Thoughts

GSC have arrived as a top contender in 10th for the first time since their index was taken outside and shot, and several different builds are succeeding. This Host of Ascension list packs in some of the Rockgrinder / Flamer Acolyte trading and scoring of Outlander Claw but compliments them with a nasty drop turn in support. The Chink in their Armour Primus Neos will delete most things upon arrival, and this list has enough board presence to let it do it’s thing without surrendering too much board control. Really potent and effective, very well done.

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Simon Olsson – Adepta Sororitas (Hallowed Martyrs):  Massed Hallowed Martyrs characters with Vahl and Castigator support.
  • 3rd – Daniel Ström – Death Guard (Plague Company): Plague Marine / Deathshroud / Brigand Death Guard – strong week for the smelly lads!
  • 4th – Mikael Denoeuveglise – World Eaters (Berzerker Warband): World Eaters Eightbound spam.

The Hogtowner 2024

30-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Toronto, ON, Canada on November 16 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The missions at this event were using some special secret twists you can see here.

The TOs also sent us some cool photos from the event, including the awesome army of Best Overall player Jesse McGibney!

Hogtowner Best Overall Jesse McGibney. Credit: Hogtowner

Credit: Hogtowner

Credit: Hogtowner

Raf Brusilow – Aeldari (Battle Host) – 1st Place

Credit: Keewa

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Aeldari Mixed Arms

Thoughts

Fallen from grace for past excesses, the Aeldari continue to battle against the tide and achieve victories where they can… I always enjoy it when the lore matches the tabletop! A rare win for the Battle Host here, utilising the power of the Avatar of Khaine as an anchor whilst Falcon ferried Aspects pick off other targets. There is plenty of juice in this index, as we await fresh rules for the pointy ears, very well done on the event win!

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Shane Phillips – Necrons (Canoptek Court): A re-emerged Canoptek Court! Very spicy.
  • 3rd – Jesse McGibney – Space Marines (Astartes) (Vanguard Spearhead): Ultramarines Vanguard with an Aggressor blob and some tanks.
  • 4th – Jeremy Kingston – Adeptus Custodes (Shield Host): Mixed arms double Caladius Custodes.
  • 5th – Ciaran Kelly – T’au Empire (Retaliation Cadre): Massed Crisis Ret Cadre with two big bricks of Krootox for counter charge.

TLM x Layton November GT

27-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Altamonte Springs, FL, United States on November 16 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

David Klovstad – World Eaters (Berzerker Warband) – 1st Place

Credit: Ian Doughty

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Triple Terminator is Real

Thoughts

30 Terminators is still real, and it still wants to hurt you. Glorious all in Terminator spam with the amazing tricks and buffs of the World Eaters detachment. Extremely funny, and extremely dangerous. Really well done on the event win!

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Bryce Bennett – Orks (War Horde): Go-wide War Horde with some Kill Rigs and a big Squig brick.
  • 3rd – Todd Rix – Imperial Knights (Noble Lance): Canis, Cerastus, and lots of Armigers.
  • 4th – Riley Corbitt – Aeldari (Battle Host): MSU Ynnari with some D Cannons.

Wrap Up

There we are folks! An absolute tonne of Warhammer being played. Death Guard on the rise, lots of new builds in the mix, and successes for shooty AND combat armies, you love to see it. Get those last few weekends in, it’s almost Christmas!!!

Lowest of Men, out.

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