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Competitive Innovations in 10th: British Slaughter Time pt.1

By James "One_Wing" Grover

You may not know this about us, but we love big Warhammer. This weekend was the LGT, now a reliable lock for the second biggest event of the year after LVO, and we’ll be kicking off with a look at the round 10 finale that closed the event. Elsewhere, we had two big US majors, and plenty of smaller events to boot, so it’s a big week all round. Love that for us. Though please, GW, give us points changes now. The Mutaliths, GW. The Mutaliths.

Anyway, here’s what we’ve got today:

  • The London Grand Tournament
  • Warzone Houston
  • GRIMDARK 22: september slaughter
  • Rooks 40k Open, September 2024
  • KönigHammer Autumn 2024
  • 2024 Wars on the Shore GT

And Friday:

  • Flying Monkey Con 40k Champs
  • VAE VICTIS 2024
  • Wettcon Höst 2024 40k
  • Traunsteincup
  • Wytch Trials 2 Heretic’s Revenge
  • The Ninja Hobo’s Extravaganza

Our Showdowns will be:

  • Orks (War Horde) vs Emperor’s Children (Veterans Of The Long War) at the LGT.
  • Genestealer Cult (Host Of Ascension) vs Leagues Of Votann (Oathband) at Vae Victis

The London Grand Tournament

813-player, 10-round Supermajor in GB on September 28 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Scorched Earth – Inspired Leadership – Search and Destroy

This game was streamed by Wargames Live.

Brian Seipp – Orks (War Horde)

Army List - Click to Expand

vs.

Liam Vsl – Emperor’s Children (Veterans of the Long War)

Army List - Click to Expand

Thoughts

Two 40K powerhouses at the top of their game clash in the finals here, a horde of Orks riding in various fancy trucks facing a brutal all-rounder Chaos Space Marine build. On the Ork side, the onus is on smashing big Infantry bricks into the foe as fast as possible, and then smashing them up. War Horde provides powerful force multiplication, and the choice to add Big Meks to both the Boyz units alongside Warbosses maximises the chance of a successful Waaagh turn. The new UKTC maps provide a lot of staging reach, and tend to have some isolated corner areas where a melee unit can rampage unchecked by fire from the rest of the board, so this is very nice for Orks.

It’s also nice for Liam’s fancy Veterans of the Long War build, which mixes some of the units commonly seen in Renegade Raiders with a different stratagem suite that works well on the new maps. These definitely favour adaptability, and Veterans being able to choose where their greatest hammer blows fall as the situation dictates, rather than letting the opponent dictate this a little as Raiders sometimes. The detachment also provides especially strong support for Obliterators, which are on the rise in general right now. On these maps, the Millenia of Experience reactive move will easily let them pop back behind a wall after poking out to murder something, and the option to have both units activate Indirect Fire on the same turn and double dunk on a Focus of Hatred target that thought it was safe behind a wall is especially strong (and you’ve still got the Armour of Contempt equivalent to synergise with the 2+ saves). Elsewhere in the list, Noise Marines give you an extra dose of cost-effective Battleline to play with, and the option to crank a doom siren (or maybe even two if you stick Lucius in a unit) to automatic six shots is cute in a pinch. Finally, Chosen with cool Characters in Rhinos is always good, and honestly better than ever on the UKTC boards.

So who wins? Obviously this event has been widely watched, so most of you know that the Chaos Space Marines took it, and I think that’s because the combination of what’s in play here just gives them far more agency to control the flow of the game. The threat of using Fights First against a Focus of Hatred can be used to judiciously prevent key Ork units from engaging, and even a basic Legionary unit with Lucius for Fights First is a bit of a headache to plan around. In addition, more guns from the Chaos side, including on relatively speedy Predators and the Indirect threat from the Obliterators puts the Orks under pressure to make something happen, and I think the chance of them swinging and missing (particularly with a top quality reactive move in play) is just too high for them to reliably control the game. Without being able to lean on rolling the foe over, that puts them in a tight spot, and though Brian put in a very strong attempt, Liam’s chaotic forces won out.

Result

Emperor’s Children (Veterans of the Long War) Victory – 81-62

Liam Vsl – Emperor’s Children (Veterans of the Long War) – 1st Place

Credit: Robert “TheChirurgeon” Jones

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Veteran Brawlers

Thoughts

Big events are always an opportunity for top players to break out a surprise curveball, and Liam’s choice of the Veterans detachment let him claim both the LGT and Invitational trophies. I really, really like this list, and I’m glad I wasn’t going completely mad when I thought Veterans had something going for it in the Codex. I also think a lot of what makes this strong on UKTC terrain applies to US Open layouts as well, and were I a Chaos Space Marine player, I’d be seriously looking at whether this is worth taking out at Tampa or the WCW. Fantastic stuff from Liam, huge congratulations.

Brian Seipp – Orks (War Horde) – 2nd Place

Battlewagon - Deathrolla and Kannon. Credit: Rockfish
Battlewagon – Deathrolla and Kannon. Credit: Rockfish

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Mechanised War Horde

Thoughts

Orks is never beaten, and even amidst the various nerfs they suffered post-Codex, War Horde remains a very serviceable detachment, providing you with the tools you need so that your go turns really hit. It does obviously help if it’s being piloted by one of the best Ork players in the world, so well done Brian on a weekend of successful krumpin’.

Alex Fowler – Thousand Sons (Cult of Magic) – 3rd Place

Credit: Robert “TheChirurgeon” Jones

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Double Mutalith

Thoughts

In third place, we’ve got one of the rising stars of the UK scene, putting extensive practice with this powerhouse faction to work. Most of this is going to be pretty familiar, though it’s worth calling out the inclusion of the Tzaangors to complement the big monsters. The new UKTC maps used at the event definitely had some places that were hard to speedily push monsters into, so being able to double move Tzaangors to cut off a key objective at the right moment is particularly useful. Mutaliths are also going to catch some fairly serious fire as they advance on some maps, so the extra protection from the Daemon Prince won’t go amiss either. Huge congratulations to Alex for third place with this well-tuned version of a top build.

Lewis Smith – T’au Empire (Kauyon) – 4th Place

Tiger Shark AX 1-0
Tiger Shark AX 1-0. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Ti-ger Shark, Ti-ger Shark

Thoughts

Tale as old as time really – a unit gets a core rules change specifically aimed at weakening it, and still soars to the top four. Somehow, it is always an Aircraft. With the Tiger Shark specifically, the fact that you can use Rapid Ingress to get round the “skip a turn” penalty on arrival means you can set up for an appallingly violent Kauyon-powered strafing run in the mid-game, and in combination with the large amount of stuff that Tau still get on the table, this can be overwhelming to deal with.

Much though I have a long and storied hatred for Forge World and its consequences for society, this was a good choice for the event. As mentioned above, UKTC has new maps, incorporating a GW-style area piece in the mid-board, with the effect that most conventional shooting was a bit easier to hide from, but Big Plane can breezily ignore that. This mitigates one of Tau’s biggest challenges (and the Breacherfish are good here too), and gives them all the tools they need to flatten foes. Good pick from Lewis, and great job taking it to fourth place.

The Best of the Rest

The rest of the players who made it to at least the shadow round (i.e. went 6-0 prior to the cut to shadow/top eight) were:

  • 5th – Nassim Fouchane – Astra Militarum: Nassim is on the list of people who liked Guard before they were cool, and unsurprisingly he’s sporting the classic 18 Bullgryn here, backed by Russes, Catachans and one unit of drop Scions with a command.
  • 6th – Jonny Simmons – Adeptus Mechanicus (Skitarii Hunter Cohort): Some mechanised Battleline units, big hammers each of Sterylizors, Ruststalkers and Ironstriders, and a unit of Breachers to finish up with big dakka.
  • 7th – Andy Quas-Cohen – Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion): Heavy Hypercrypt with a Tesseract Vault and the Nightbringer, plus a trio of Hexmarks for objective play.
  • 8th – David Gaylard – Astra Militarum: Another player who really liked guard before it was cool, also sporting Bullgryn and some Russes, but adding a Scout Sentinel squad for maximum Reinforcements value.
  • 9th – Innes Wilson – Genestealer Cults (Outlander Claw): Board presence mechanised Claw takes Innes to 9th place via Primary denial, vehicles galore and Kelermorph shenanigans.
  • 10th – Mani Cheema – Chaos Daemons: Double Rendmaster Bloodcrucher spam, with a Great Unclean One to anchor the army.

Warzone Houston

80-player, 6-round Grand Tournament in Austin, TX, United States on September 28 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Alberto Nicolas “The Carthaginian” – Blood Angels (Sons of Sanguinius) – 1st Place

Lemartes. Credit: Rockfish
Lemartes. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Jump Pack Spam

Thoughts

The old and new collide here – we’ve got some classic unit setups that are now very soon to be vanished into myth (given preorders this weekend) alongside some of the choices we’ll see more of post-Codex. Specifically, Baal Predators still absolutely whip and you need to build a bit more all-rounder (as this already does) if you can’t fall back on double VanVet brick. Tooled up foot Assault Intercessors also seem like something we’ll see more of, perhaps bigger units in a Repulsor rather than the Impulsor here, as this is where you can still stack value with a Sanguinary Priest. Anyway – this is both a fitting sendoff for the old rules and more ready for the new rules than most, great combination and great performance from Alberto!

Colin McDade – Adepta Sororitas (Bringers of Flame) – 2nd Place

Credit: Keewa

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Speedy Flame Sisters

Thoughts

They go fast, they burn things. You know this, I know this, clearly Colin knows this. I do like the Righteous Rage Jump Canoness, who can either be a nice add-on to a Seraphim squad or a solo missile, as with the extra buff she’s fully into “flatten a unit by herself” numbers. Nice to see that tried, otherwise business as usual, well done Colin.

Ethan Nolen – World Eaters (Berzerker Warband) – 3rd Place

Credit: Robert “TheChirurgeon” Jones

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

All-rounder World Eaters

Thoughts

Mostly business as usual here too, though I think adding Spawn and an extra Rhino is a sensible choice for the event, as the tables here were fairly open. That makes sacrificial units and staging Transports extra important, so this is an ideal WE build for it, which clearly paid off for Ethan.

Garrett Moore – Space Wolves (Stormlance Task Force) – 4th Place

Lieutenant with Combi-weapon (Credit: Musterkrux)

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Wolf Jail

Thoughts

Wolf Jail is also an excellent choice for open boards, as it’s a list that already plans to overwhelm the enemy even while being shot at, and not having to worry about maneuvring around terrain just makes its job easier. Doubling up on coverage from CP tax auras with Bjorn and a Callidus also helps with the plan to send the foe straight to the doghouse, as it can make breaking out from the jaws of the army exceptionally difficult. Well done to Garrett for taking fourth.

The Best of the Rest

There were 3 more players on 5-1 records. They were:

  • 5th – Mathew Tweedel – Thousand Sons: Character/Rubricae spam Thousand Sons.
  • 6th – Scott Kocian – Astra Militarum: Double Bullgryn, Double Dorn.
  • 7th – Brendan Muller – Leagues of Votann: Double fort backed by a fairly go-wide setup with lots of Hearthkyn Warriors and MSU bikes, plus one big Hearthguard hammer.

GRIMDARK 22: september slaughter

44-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Stockholms län, SE on September 28 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Kalle Abrahamsson – Thousand Sons (Cult of Magic) – 1st Place

Credit: Robert “TheChirurgeon” Jones

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Triple Mutalith

Thoughts

The parade of mutant purple pachyderms continues like an incredibly messed up version of Dumbo. Actually, on reflection, not that much more messed up than the movie scene. Much to think about. Great work Kalle.

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd (4.5-0.5) – Kaj Börjeson – Astra Militarum (Combined Regiment): 18 Bullgryn and a Dorn.
  • 3rd – Joel Larsson – Chaos Daemons (Daemonic Incursion): Bloodletters and Bloodcrushers with big Khorne Daemons plus Be’lakor and a GUO.
  • 4th – Sami Sjolander – T’au Empire (Mont’ka): Go-wide hulls (priumarily Riptides and Hammerheads) with Shadowsun in charge.
  • 5th – Johan Nicolaisen – Dark Angels: Deathwing GTF with a Gladiator Lancer instead of ICCs.
  • 6th – Sebastian Magnusson – Astra Militarum: Double Bullgryn, triple Dorn.

Rooks 40k Open, September 2024

39-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Bozeman, Montana, US on September 28 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Colin Kay – Dark Angels (Gladius Task Force) – 1st Place

Credit: Robert “TheChirurgeon” Jones

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Herohammer Dark Angels

Thoughts

That list title sure is a statement of intent, and taking that to a trophy is a hell of a power move. This build takes advantage of a mix of transports and (physically) small but deadly units to be deceptively easy to hide, and uses Combat Doctrines to project some incredibly deadly go turns, even more so than the traditional Deathwing variant. Judicious use of the Lion’s auras and the Inner Circle Companions with either invulnerable saves or Fights First (as needed) gives it some reasonable resilience on the swingback, helping it draw the foe further into a trap before finishing them off. Lots of Lone Operatives also helps it contest parts of the table or play for objectives without having to compromise on being hard to target, again helping pull the enemy forward into greatsword range. Very cool, and nice to see a different setup to the norm, great work Colin.

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – James Walsh – Dark Angels (Vanguard Spearhead): Oh no double Stormraven is back, exposing minimum attack surface via packing Redemptors and some ICCs into them.
  • 3rd – Troy Oswood – Thousand Sons (Cult of Magic): Double Mutalith.
  • 4th – John Holbrook – Chaos Space Marines (Renegade Raiders): MSU Brawler Raiders with extra Bikers.
  • 5th – Matthew Hartnett – Orks (War Horde): All-rounder MSU-skewed mechanised Orks with a Super Cybork Wartrike as a flex piece.
  • 6th – Thomas Moore – Blood Angels (Sons of Sanguinius): Double VanVet Sons. Pour one out.
  • 7th – Jayna Rubich – Space Wolves (Champions of Russ): An unusual build racking up three big melee infantry blocks in three big Transports (two Land Raiders and a Repulsor), using double Judiciar to create a strong counter to enemy melee.

KönigHammer Autumn 2024

30-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Калининград, Калининградская обл., Россия on September 28 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Степан Зотов – Chaos Space Marines (Deceptors) – 1st Place

Cultists. Credit: Rockfish
Cultists. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Sneaky Chaos

Thoughts

Not one but two previously unseen Chaos Space Marines detachments in a week. This uses big Infiltrating Legionary units to put the enemy on the back foot while Abaddon-powered shooting flenses the foe, and the neat combination of a Soul Link Sorceror and a Chaos Lord hiding in the wings to fairly flexibly decide where to deploy maximum power. Use of Scrambled Coordinates on either these units or the massive bulk of the Land Raider can also be hugely disruptive to enemy plans. Very different, all together, and cool to see something unique being tried out, congratulations!

The Best of the Rest

There were 2 more players on 4-1+ records. They were:

  • 2nd (4.5-0.5) – Mooniverse _ – Adepta Sororitas (Hallowed Martyrs): Big Repentia units in Rhinos backed by Exorcists.
  • 3rd – Олег «Кхарн» Цыкоза – World Eaters (Berzerker Warband): Lots of Eightbound MSus and Angron backed by some Forgefiends.

2024 Wars on the Shore GT

28-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Erie, PA, US on September 28 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Travis King – Thousand Sons (Cult of Magic) – 1st Place

Credit: Robert “TheChirurgeon” Jones

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Heavy Tsons

Thoughts

Oh hey Forgefiends are here too. Neat.

Well done Travis.

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Brian Horton – Tyranids (Crusher Stampede): Triple Tyrannofex Monster mash with the Swarmlord and a Tyrant up front.
  • 3rd – Josh Capece – T’au Empire (Kauyon): All-rounder Kauyon with a lot of hulls, two Fireknife units, and some Breacherfish
  • 4th – Michael Worth – Dark Angels (Inner Circle Task Force): Lots of Deathwing Knights, Hellblasters with Azrael and an Lt as a firebase, and some VanVets as flexible brawlers.
  • 5th – Jacob Newman – Chaos Daemons: Lots of Khorne stuff and a Gift GUO.
  • 6th – Matthew Worth – Adepta Sororitas (Bringers of Flame): Hull spam Bringers with max Exorcists and Castigators.

Wrap Up

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