Welcome back, Dear Reader, to the sacred battlegrounds of the second BLUNDERDOME. For those of you who missed yesterday’s announcement on this year’s Blunderdome, you can find the article with more info on the event here. The short version is, this second Blunderdome is going super casual: We’re building 8 lists with none of the nonsense or complications caused by things like “FAQs,” “Balance Dataslates,” or “Points updates.” Just books used exactly as printed, for the most fun, casual 40k experience possible.
For this event, we’ve had our murderer’s row of competitive sickos build lists for our casual funhavers to play with. Each two-person group constitutes a team for the purposes of winning this team, and each competitive player is on the hook for teaching their casual how to play the list. In this article – and the next two – we’re going to cover the eight lists in this BLUNDERDOME two at a time, along with notes on the lists and the documents handed off to their pilots. If you missed part 3 of our list series, where we talked about Admech and Ork lists, you can find that here.
Today we’re talking about the final and likely strongest pair of lists for our challenge, the Tyranid and Harlequin lists.
Tyranids
The current scourge of the meta and recipient of multiple rounds of nerfs, Tyranids made a big splash when they hit the scene in April, with a Codex packed with a variety of insanely strong (and underpriced) datasheets on top of a number of just truly busted mechanics and several abilities that even still largely allow them to choose when and how they interact with an opponent, then leave before the opponent can respond in kind.
Of course, even before the new Codex released Tyranids were competitive, thanks to the Leviathan supplement in War Zone Octarius Book 1: Rising Tide, released only six months prior, and the Crusher Stampede Army of Renown released two months later in White Dwarf. When coupled with the new book these threatened to create an army so degenerate and stupid that events rushed to ban both books in competitive play right away. This in turn prompted Games Workshop to release its legality document, detailing which supplements were currently legal and up to which date, pretty much with the express purpose of saying that these two recent supplements – again only a few months old – were now obsolete.
Of course we’re not going to put up with that bullshit in our casual BLUNDERDOME! Our own Innes Wilson paid good money for his copies of Octarius and White Dwarf, and he’s going to use them. You may remember Innes as the eventual “winner” of the first Blunderdome, in which his spore mine list proved to be truly incapable of winning a game. He’s back now and ready to introduce the world to Godfucker, a truly hateful Hive Fleet Leviathan Hive Tyrant capable of dealing 40+ mortal wounds in any given turn.
The List
Tyranids – Leviathan – Crusher Stampede Army of Renown
Patrol Detachment:
Winged Hive Tyrant – Monstrous Bonesword and Lash Whip, Adrenal Glands – Hive Predator (Rampaging Beast) Rarefied Enhancements (Reaper of Obliterax) Psyker (Synaptic Barrier, Aggressive Surge) – 205
Neurothrope – Warlord (Synaptic Tendrils) Alpha Leader-Beast (Strategic Adaptation) Relic (Adaptive Neural Lobe) Psyker (Onslaught, Catalyst) – 100
3 Warriors, 3 Deathspitter and Dual Bonesword – 75
3 Zoanthrope – Psyker (Neuroparasite) – 150
Harpy – 2 Heavy Venom Cannon, Dermic Symbiosis – 195
Harpy – 2 Heavy Venom Cannon, Synaptic Enhancement – 180
Patrol Detachment:
Winged Hive Tyrant – Monstrous Bonesword and Lash Whip, Adrenal Glands – Hive Predator (Raging Influence) Rarefied Enhancements (Maw Claws of Thyrax) Psyker (Onslaught, Paroxysm) – 205
3 Warriors, 3 Deathspitter and Dual Bonesword – 75
5 Tyrant Guard, Adrenal Glands – 215
Spearhead Detachment:
Hive Tyrant – Psyker (Neuroparasite, Paroxysm) lash whip and Bonesword- 195
Carnifex – Enhanced Senses, Heavy Venom Cannon, Scything Talons – 125
3 Biovore – 135
Carnifex – Enhanced Senses, Heavy Venom Cannon, Scything Talons – 12
Innes’ Notes
- If you want something just dead, then charge, use both mortal wound charge Stratagems, do the extra damage strat in fighting, use reroll wounds, then once it’s dead overrun to move back behind some mines.
- Watch that the extra damage only affects damage rolls tho, so not the flat 3 reaper, so just don’t use that Stratagem on the Reaper Hive Tyrant. On that one instead use the +D3 Attacks power, Strat, Warlord Trait, Exploding 6s aura, spell (hive nexus for Warrior Imperative), and strat, then overrun behind some walls after dealing 9-12 mortals on the charge.
- It’s totally cool to have 5+3d3 attacks that hit on 2s rr1s at s11 ap4 damage 3 plus a mortal wound with quadsploding 6s. Tesla ain’t shit
- Harpies redeploy into reserve if you go second, otherwise just full send it.
- Biovores are your backfield and will also play havoc with melee armies trying to close on you
- Consider bubbling the point your tyrant will overrun back to with 3d3 spores. Promise drazhar won’t charge you there (spore exploding is optional raw, they can’t even bait it out by charging something else in first). Otherwise just use them to move block the shit out of stuff like land forts, Levi dreads and buggies. They can move within 1″ of them but still can’t end within 1″, so place them at the limits of movement.
- And hive tyrants are war crimes walking. Just hit them bro. If you end up in a bad spot? Encircle is right there. But you should basically never encounter a secnario that the reaper flyrant can’t overrun from.
- You might use d3a or rrW in melee occasionally, and sometimes you want to kill two things in the charge phase so non crusher charge mortals exists. And fight on death is fun
- If you’re not encircling tyrants, can always encircle Harpies — The non 4++ one especially. Reprisal is fake
- (guys this list might not be very fun)
The Casual Player
Norman gleefully stepped up to give Innes’ list a shot, probably because he likes playing the heel role at narrative events like the 2021 GHO Narrative. Although normally a Chaos Knights player, he’s excited for the opportunity to give Godfucker a spin and potentially wreck anything he comes across on the table.
Harlequins
Which brings us to our final list of the bunch. Harlequins have also been the subject of multiple nerfs in a short span, seeing both a mix of large point increases and serious adjustments to some truly bullshit mechanics, such as the Death Jester’s ability to proc extra shots and the number of fate dice they generate. Whatever you thought of Drukhari in their hayday, Harlequins are arguably worse and able to do it better.
If there’s a ringer in this event, it’s potentially Erik Nelson, a longtime Elves player who has yet to win a tournament but is probably the best overall player of the casual group. As such, we’ve handicapped him a bit by making him build his own list and play it without outside help, though given how insanely strong Harlequins are, he probably won’t need it anyways.
Erik’s list is just a regular Harlequins list from a few months ago, packed with undercosted transports and Troupe units that can take down any target. While Tyranids get to enjoy an insanely powerful list that never was, Harlequins just get to run something that was incredibly dominant for a short period of time.
The List
++ Battalion Detachment 0CP (Aeldari – Harlequins) [103 PL, 9CP, 2,465pts] ++
Saedath Characterisation: Light: Blaze of Light
+ HQ +
Shadowseer [6 PL, -1CP, 125pts]: Mirror Architect (Aura), Shuriken Pistol, Stratagem: Treasures of the Aeldari
. The Laughing God’s Eye
Troupe Master [4 PL, -1CP, 85pts]: 3: A Foot in the Future, Harlequin’s Kiss, Player of the Light, Shuriken Pistol, Stratagem: Favoured of the Laughing God, Warlord
. Cegorach’s Rose
+ Troops +
Troupe [4 PL, 90pts]
. Lead Player: Harlequin’s Blade, Shuriken Pistol
. Player: Harlequin’s Embrace, Neuro Disruptor
. Player: Harlequin’s Blade, Neuro Disruptor
. Player: Fusion Pistol, Harlequin’s Blade
. Player: Fusion Pistol, Harlequin’s Blade
Troupe [4 PL, 90pts]
. Lead Player: Harlequin’s Blade, Shuriken Pistol
. Player: Harlequin’s Embrace, Neuro Disruptor
. Player: Harlequin’s Blade, Neuro Disruptor
. Player: Fusion Pistol, Harlequin’s Blade
. Player: Fusion Pistol, Harlequin’s Blade
Troupe [4 PL, 85pts]
. Lead Player: Harlequin’s Blade, Shuriken Pistol
. Player: Harlequin’s Embrace, Neuro Disruptor
. Player: Harlequin’s Blade, Neuro Disruptor
. Player: Fusion Pistol, Harlequin’s Blade
. Player: Harlequin’s Blade, Shuriken Pistol
Troupe [4 PL, 85pts]
. Lead Player: Harlequin’s Blade, Shuriken Pistol
. Player: Harlequin’s Embrace, Neuro Disruptor
. Player: Harlequin’s Blade, Neuro Disruptor
. Player: Fusion Pistol, Harlequin’s Blade
. Player: Harlequin’s Blade, Shuriken Pistol
Troupe [4 PL, 85pts]
. Lead Player: Harlequin’s Blade, Shuriken Pistol
. Player: Harlequin’s Embrace, Neuro Disruptor
. Player: Harlequin’s Blade, Neuro Disruptor
. Player: Fusion Pistol, Harlequin’s Blade
. Player: Harlequin’s Blade, Shuriken Pistol
+ Elites +
Death Jester [4 PL, -1CP, 85pts]: 1: Favour of Cegorach, Harvester of Torment, Stratagem: Champion of the Aeldari
Death Jester [4 PL, 90pts]: Rift Ghoul
+ Heavy Support +
Voidweavers [15 PL, 390pts]
. Voidweaver: Voidweaver Prism Cannon
. Voidweaver: Voidweaver Prism Cannon
. Voidweaver: Voidweaver Prism Cannon
Voidweavers [15 PL, 390pts]
. Voidweaver: Voidweaver Prism Cannon
. Voidweaver: Voidweaver Prism Cannon
. Voidweaver: Voidweaver Prism Cannon
Voidweavers [15 PL, 390pts]
. Voidweaver: Voidweaver Prism Cannon
. Voidweaver: Voidweaver Prism Cannon
. Voidweaver: Voidweaver Prism Cannon
+ Dedicated Transport +
Starweaver [4 PL, 95pts]
Starweaver [4 PL, 95pts]
Starweaver [4 PL, 95pts]
Starweaver [4 PL, 95pts]
Starweaver [4 PL, 95pts]
++ Total: [103 PL, 9CP, 2,465pts] ++
The Casual Player: Also Erik
Next Time: The Bracket
That wraps up our look at the lists of Blunderdome but come back tomorrow for our reveal of the bracket and some thoughts on the matchups. Then next week the games begin!
In the meantime, if you have any questions or feedback, drop us a note in the comments below or email us at contact@goonhammer.com.
