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.

We were out last week for that post-Adepticon fatigue but we are back with five whole events around the world this week!

Highground Brewsky GT – AOS 2K – 2 Day

61-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Milford Charter Twp, MI, US on April 12 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Mission – Close to the Chest

Paul Jetski – Stormcast Eternals
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vs.

Rob Mulshine – Ironjawz
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Thoughts

Close to the Chest is going to favor the Stormcast quite a bit here. The Ironjawz list is going to really need to rely on Kragnos to get early charges with their Gore-Gruntas, Gougers and Wrekkas. The deployment makes it so it’s easy for Stormcast to hide many of their units off in the corner while the rest are up in the air, so they can drop down on top of them after they’ve moved into a more vulnerable position. Ideally they’d be able to pop in behind them and snag the prime objecctive if needed.

Result

Stormcast Eternals Victory – 44 – 18

Paul Jetski – Stormcast Eternals – 1st Place

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Last Dance with Warhammer Legends

Thoughts

This list seems to want to go out on an interesting note, as most of it is Warhammer Legends models which are going away in June. The Castigators are a unique shooting unit that wants to try and lie in wait, as if they don’t move they get two hits on 5s. Their 15″ range isn’t much to look at, but once per game they can make that an 18 and add +1 to hit.

The Evocators are strange, they’re cav that doesn’t get a charge bonus, but they do get First Strike if theyre on an objective they don’t control. So you can either play offensive with them or get clever and redeploy onto an objective before the enemy charges. The Lord-Arcanum can play support by teleporting and healing units as needed.

The rest of the list is more standard Stormcast, Annihilators still wreck shop, both when dropping in and when charging while the Relictor shuts off wards that may try and avoid this damage. The Questors make a solid unit to pick a vital objective early and hold it, both by adding to control score and getting a Ward.

Michael Rausch – Blades of Khorne – 2nd Place (Undefeated)

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Bloodthirster and his mortal followers

Thoughts

This list is very hero centric, trying to let the heroic buffs do the job of making the Blood Warriors and Bloodthirster pull their weight.

The Bloodthirster of Unfettered fury is particularly good at taking down monsters, but with a Damage 4 weapon you can frankly take on almost anything. Blood Warriors get a lot of attacks at 3 per model, and after receiving another +1 from the Bloodsecrator these guys are a unit of blenders.

Skarr Bloodwrath is a fun little side unit who can come back after he dies on an 8+, allowing you to generate another blood tithe.  He’s also not a bad combatant himself.

The Best of the Rest

There were 6 more players in the top 8. They were:

• 3rd – Austin Thimesch – Seraphon: A Thunderquake list using Lord Kroak and Starseer but with an ecclectic group of unusual units including 2 Stegadons, a Stegadon Chief, 2 Bastiladons and an Engine of the Gods.
• 4th – Mrigank Jha – Stormcast Eternals: Lord Arcanum with Castigators, Evocators, Palladors and Longstrikes.
• 5th – Rob Mulshine – Ironjawz: See Showdown.
• 6th – Jarrad Barrick – Stormcast Eternals: Lord Celestant on Stardrake with Stormdrakes, Evocators and Palladors.
• 7th – Jack Cawood – Maggotkin of Nurgle: Soooooo many Blightkings
• 8th – Corey O’Keefe – Flesh-eater Courts: Ushoran with Knights and Beastflayers.

THE TAX MAN COMETH II

47-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Edmond, OK, United States on April 12 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Alex Cotter – Kharadron Overlords
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vs.

Daniel Patterson – Slaves to Darkness
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Thoughts

So I’m going to be real, based on the name of the KO list I assume there is an exploit involved here I’m not aware of and I can’t piece it out, so I’m hoping someone can give a shout out in the comments if they know more.

That said, didn’t seem like it helped if so. The Slaves to Darkness list here is just pure good stuff efficiency and runs absolutely roughshod over the KO. They didn’t stand a chance.

Result

Slaves to Darkness Victory – 46 – 8

Daniel Patterson – Slaves to Darkness – 1st Place

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Be’lakor and the Good Stuff

Thoughts

Even with the point hikes, this stuff is still really good. Be’lakor does his thing with The Dark Master by effectively shutting down a crucial unit once per game. The Varanguard and Chosen are you two hammers, with the Chosen rocking a Dread Banner. This locks them into the Undivided mark, but it means anything they connect with cannot use All out Defense, which really hurts. The Chaos Lord accompanies them as a cheap enhancement holder, and the fact they can fight immediately after him has some clutch usefulness (such as if the Chosen get hit by Strike Last).

The Varanguard can take the Slaanesh mark (for a bonus charge die) or Khorne die (+1 attack) depending on what is most useful in the moment. The Chaos Warriors finally help to stand on objectives.

The Best of the Rest

There were 7 more players in the top 8. They were:

• 2nd – Joe Vucic – Ironjawz: A mid range list mostly focusing on Ardboyz, with some Maw-gruntas and Brute Wrekkkaz and Rangers to bring down the hammer.
• 3rd – Tristan Dale – Stormcast Eternals: Neave and Bastian with Palladors, Prosecutors and Reclusians.
• 4th – Don Trice – Sons of Behemat: King Brodd, 2 Gatebreakers and 3 Mancrushers.
• 5th – LaRon Roberts – Stormcast Eternals: Ionus with Dracothian Concussors and Stromdrake Guard, with a mixed group of other units.
• 6th – James Matthews – Stormcast Eternals: Glutos and Syll’Esseke with Painbringers, Twinsouls, Seekers and Fiends.
• 7th – Jonathan Schlieszus – Gloomspite Gitz: Troggs and Squiggs.
• 8th – Daniel Phelps – Slaves to Darkness: A surprising Be’lakor-less list that brings Chosen, Fellriders, Warriors, two Sorcerers and a Daemon Prince.

Lost Legion – Battle for the Bay

44-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in North Shore, VIC, Australia on April 11 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Håkan Sjölin – Seraphon
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vs.

Joel Graham – Seraphon
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Thoughts

This is insane. These lists are extremely similar, Håkan went with Some Aggradon Lancers and a Bastiladon while Joel uses Kroxigors (both kinds) which more or less hashes out to the same as all of these units are excellent melee units. You could argue Joel is less defensive by giving up Saurus Guard for more Raptadon Chargers, which is a notable difference, but the general game plan is the same.

So would you be surprised to find out this turns into a tie? Yeah, two near identical lists and both score exactly the same at 44 points with 5 battle tactics each.

Result

TIE

Håkan Sjölin/Joel Graham – Seraphon – 1st Place

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Seraphon Good Stuff

Thoughts

So bear with me, I’m going to try something a little different. It seemed unfair to give either player the accolade of being “the winner”, and while I’d usually just cover both lists in this scenario the two are so similar we can really just discuss them both at once and be done with it.

Both lists utilize Kroak and the Starseer as their main forms of support. Kroak is an unparalleled caster with +2 to cast and 3 spells per turn which he can use to drop several nukes on enemy units (Comet’s Call for large units, and his warscroll spell for smaller ones) and Speed of Huanchi to make those melee heavy units get into combat sooner.

The Starseer lets Kroak cast over a larger range by casting through him, but also can shut off Wards for armies that rely heavily on them to avoid the barrage of mortal wounds while also giving them their own 5+ ward while they charge in.

Most of the work is done by each list’s respective hammers. Aggradon Lancers, Raptadon Chargers, Bastiladons and Kroxigors are all excellent hammers and you can pretty much design your lists around whichever one you like the best. Raptadon Chargers are the most mobile, while the rest are incredibly tanky if they get stuck into combat.

Hunters of Huanchi round out the list by being crowd control units, able to -1 to wound or -1 to charge depending on their loadout.

The Best of the Rest

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

• 3rd – Nathan Thompson – Ironjawz: Basically all Gore-Gruntaz led by a boss on a big pig. PIGS ARE BACK!
• 4th  – Jamie Sherlock – Seraphon: Kroak and Starseer with Bastiladons and Krox.
• 5th  – Zak Rockman – Daughters of Khaine: Morathi and Krethusa mend their feud in a Sisters of Slaughters centered list.
• 6th – Sam Sims-Bailey – Slaves to Darkness: A Legion of the First Prince list with Be’lakor leading Bloodletters, Plaguebearers and Flamers.
• 7th – Sandro Yang – Kharadron Overlords: Endrinmaster leading Thunderers. Guest starring the Horizon Seekers RoR from Stormcast Eternals.
• 8th – Patrick Neven – Blades of Khorne: A mortal centric list focused on Wrathmongers and Skullreapers.

ROSE CITY RAMPAGE 2: REXTRA-T-REXTRIAL INVADERS

33-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Beaverton, OR, United States on April 12 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Mission – Limited Resources

Michael Corbett – Sylvaneth
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vs.

Michael Bernstein – Seraphon
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Thoughts

I’d really think Seraphon would have this. They are a pretty flexible army against most comers and if they get to the showdown they usually do quite well. So what do Sylvaneth have going for them?

The big thing is their mobility, Seraphon have some nasty spells but their effective threat range is about 18″, while Raptadon Chargers and Aggradon Landers are pretty mobile they tend to not want to break away from the group. Seraphon are a turtle army and this lets Sylvaneth play keep away – the thing they’re excellent at. Their ability to charge and teleport away means with very judicious charges they can hit and run against the enemy, peeling away the layers and maybe getting a shot at Kroak.

The second aspect is the healing that Alarielle brings to the table, able to keep any wounds they do suffer topped off before sending them back in. The Kurnoth hunters especially are clutch because they can try and nail the Skink Starseer or Kroak by ignoring Guarded Hero. Overall this results in a really solid victory for the Sylvaneth.

Result

Sylvaneth Victory – 46 – 29

Michael Corbett – Sylvaneth – 1st Place

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Alarielle and Belthanos with elite troops.

Thoughts

Alarielle and Belthanos are an expensive but powerful Tag Team. Alarielle offers strong casting ability and the ability to bring models back from the dead, while also not being too shabby in combat herself. Belthanos grants run and charge to 3 units, which is crucial for Sylvaneth’s mobility.

Spirit of Durthu is the primary hammer and generally wants to charge into combat, then duck out. This list lays on the ranged units a lot more than most Sylvaneth lists do, which gives them more of a guerilla warfare feel. The Greatbox Kurnoth hunters can get into position to snipe out heroes, which can cause things to get out of hand quickly for the opposition.

The Best of the Rest

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

• 2nd – Matt Beasley – Disciples of Tzeentch (4-0-1): Kairos and Lord of Change with Horrors and Flamers
• 3rd – Oliver Standing – Slaves to Darkness: Be’lakor with Chosen and Ogroids.
• 4th – Andrew Dussault – Idoneth Deepkin: Akhelian Cav and Allopexes.
• 5th – Michael Bernstein – Seraphon: See Showdown.
• 6th – John Zoshak – Seraphon: Kroak and Starseer with Seraphon Good Stuff.

Battle to End Alzheimer’s 2025 Warhammer Age of Sigmar GT

28-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Havre de Grace, MD, United States on April 12 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Mission – Focal Points

Jeremy Veysseire – Flesh-eater Courts
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vs.

Fabien Barbusse – Disciples of Tzeentch
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Thoughts

An Ushoran-free Flesh Eater Court list is rare to see, let alone in the showdown but that really lets you run a lot of dudes in exchange.

While Tzeentch definitely has a real edge here, able to tarpit a lot of things and slow them down by turning them into Chaos Spawn and gunking up a ton of units at once the number of Beastflayers in here isn’t nothing. They can deal a fair amount of Mortal wounds between them, especially if they can somehow break the line into Kairos or the Lord of Change. An emphasis on Morbheg Knights might have paid off really well here, as they could fly over the enemy and not be bogged down by needing to retreat, but the sheer number of things is a strength that leads to a pretty close game.

Result

Disciples of Tzeentch Victory – 34 – 29

Fabien Barbusse – Disciples of Tzeentch – 1st Place

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Dual Lords of Change with Horrors

Thoughts

Taking both Kairos and a Lord of Change is a bold play but the unparalleled spellcasting can’t be denied. Kairos improves casting ability for both him and his generic brother with a +1, while also being an excellent caster himself by turning his lower casting die into the higher one. His warscroll spell is also a highly flexible debuff that can negate commands, reduce hit and wound rolls or saves. The generic Lord of Change makes everything -1 to be hit when nearby, bring back a dead unit and reign fire upon the enemy with Tzeentch’s Firestorm.

Together, the two bombard the enemy with spells and try and inflict Wyrdflame on as many targets as possible to inflict -1 to wound, and try and create a Chaos Spawn in the most frustrating spot possible to lock down as many enemy units as possible.

The infantry mostly exist to slow the enemy down. Pink Horrors are a frustrating Tarpit, especially when there is a wounded Blue/Brimstone unit for them to spawn over to, even if they don’t, the aforementioned debuffs make them hard to kill and they deal Mortal wounds on death. The Screamers round out the list by offering a highly mobile unit who can snipe key objectives or fulfill battle tactics.

The Best of the Rest

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

• 2nd – Nicholas Westervelt – Daughters of Khaine: Morathi and the Blood Sisters.
• 3rd – Alex Hamilton – Sylvaneth: Alarielle and Belthanos with elite troops.
• 4th – James O’Brien – Stormcast Eternals: Celestant Prime and Palladors.
• 5th – Jeremy Veysseire – Flesh-eater Courts: See Showdown.

Wrap Up

Thanks again, see you next week!

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