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Competitive Innovations in 10th: Cult Classics pt.1

By James "One_Wing" Grover

Another week brings us more twists and turns in the metagame. This week Bringers of Flame players have truly locked in, achieving new heights of dominance, though Dark Angels and Thousand Sons continue to give them a run for their money. However, their ongoing efforts to purge all cultists of both heretical and xenos flavours have hit some notable snags, with two flavours of cultist unleashing some commanding performance. Amidst all of this, plenty of other armies are still putting up strong finishes – the front runners remain pretty clear, but armies in the next tier down (or even further, in the case of Genestealer Cults) can still put up a real fight.

Let’s take a closer look at what people have been getting up to, starting today with:

  • NOVA Open 2024 Grand Tournament
  • La Voz de Horus Open
  • Sunflower Showdown GT
  • Karnage at the Keep – August Royal

On Friday Lowest of Men will be taking over to review:

  • SUPER All Stars 2 – Hellstorm’s MAJOR Warhammer 40K Tournament
  • The Glasshammer GT – Wolverhampton
  • Malmö Game Week II
  • Hive City Gaming GT August 2024

NOVA Open 2024 Grand Tournament

364-player, 9-round Supermajor in Washington, DC, United States on August 30 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

The Ritual – Swift Action – Crucible of Battle

Tony Phillips – Adepta Sororitas (Bringers of Flame)
Army List - Click to Expand

vs.

Derek Apsche – Chaos Space Marines (Chaos Cult)
Army List - Click to Expand

Thoughts

First up, I should say, you’re going to get a double dose of opinions on this game – today I’ll be opining from the peanut gallery, but either later this week or early next we’re also going to have an interview with Chaos Cultist extraordinaire Derek, so check back in to see how wrong I get it.

Anyway – Cultists. Lots of them, moving fast, overwhelming the foe. Accursed Cultists are proving effective in pretty much all Chaos Space Marine lists, but the sheer speed and extra punch that Chaos Cult offers them really brings them into their own. The combination of ultra-fast movement, Advance/Charge and an uncapped number of Horde moves per turn let’s them get into the enemy, flatten a priority target then keep everything else bogged down for days, allowing the enormous depth of scoring units in the rest of the list to rack up reliable Secondary score, and in the case of Traitor Guard throw themselves onto objectives to deny Primary. Also worth highlighting here is that Fabius Bile is yet another Leader that you can actually just run as a durable lone model – between his Feel No Pain, once-per-turn shrug and reanimation ability, the effort opponents have to put in to reliably drop him is high enough that they may not bother, especially with so many Cultists to worry about.

Up against them is an iteration of the almighty Bringers of Flame, going a bit lighter on Dominions than normal in favour of more Seraphim and retaining the Warsuits, which some builds have been cutting. Plenty of armies can fold in the face of the sheer numbers that Chaos Cult unleash, but this isn’t one of them – the full Fire and Fury Seraphim Squad is a spectacular asset, the smaller units are great for making Traitor Guard cry and the presence of the Paragons as an anvil that’s borderline unkillable in the matchup (and has the numbers to flatten a unit once Vahl is factored in) is a big asset in this mission in particular.

The mission definitely helps the Sororitas relative to the default matchup between these lists. The Ritual ramps up the available scoring throughout the game, and that always helps the side that’s likely to gradually pull ahead on material, as it stops the other side countering this by pushing for an early lead/denial. The Paragons can almost certainly get one objective mostly on lockdown if they collaborate with some body-blocking tanks, and supplementing that with some bigger scores later on (or a Secret Mission) gives the Sororitas a convincing route through to a strong Primary score (though they probably can’t cap the Cultist Primary much either). That means this comes down to the Secondaries, and here again the Ritual helps. The Cultists have so many units (plus the benefits of Swift Action) that they’re always going to have some degree of advantage of positional ones, but the low number of objectives on the table at game start increases the risk of them stumbling on some early ones (and cuts off some possible Fixed choices too). Obviously the Sororitas have the same risk, and can’t afford to throw units in the trash, but I think it’s fair to say this mission ensures a real game. In the event, it was very close, but the Cult were able to overthrow the emperor’s loyal servents for the win.

Result

Chaos Space Marines (Chaos Cult) Victory – 89 – 86

Derek Apsche – Chaos Space Marines (Chaos Cult) – 1st Place

That Gobbo

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Chaos Cult

Thoughts

Given we’re going to have an interview with Derek there’s not much point in me talking about this list further – it goes very fast and swarms things, and has a level of scoring redundancy almost unparalleled in 10th. Huge congratulations to Derek on another big win.

Tony Phillips – Adepta Sororitas (Bringers of Flame) – 2nd Place

Credit: Evan “Felime” Siefring

The List

See Showdown.

Archetype

Speedy Flame Sisters

Thoughts

Another list needing no introduction – this one goes fast and burns things. It’s one of the most murderous builds out there, and is able to take on hordes and heavy hitters with equal relish. The extra hand flamer units in this variant feel especially good, and if we see more cultist uprisings, I bet we’ll see more of those two. Congratulations to Tony on a close second.

Johnny Zoo – Chaos Space Marines (Renegade Raiders) – 3rd Place

Credit: Dan “Swiftblade” Richardson

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Renegade Cultists

Thoughts

Accursed Cultitsts aren’t just for Chaos Cults any more, and this build joins the trend of just jamming three bricks into every Chaos Space Marine list and calling it good. Renegade Raiders doesn’t help them as much as the dedicated detachment does, but it’s still got an Advance/Charge, boosts to AP, and the option to Scout one of the Cultist units even with a Leader thanks to Mark of the Hound. You also get much greater killing power in the rest of the build, as Destructors are pretty much the perfect all-rounder engine of destruction with the Raider boosts. The overall combination plays a strong all-rounder game, which got it to the semi finals, but it eventually fell to the bigger fish of the overwhelming Cult horde. Well done to Johnny on the run.

TJ Lanigan – Thousand Sons (Cult of Magic) – 4th Place

Credit: Robert “TheChirurgeon” Jones

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Double Mutalith Tsons

Thoughts

Rounding out the biggest event of the weekend, we’ve got the familiar sight of TJ winning with Thousand Sons. This should not remotely surprise regular readers, and I also don’t for a second believe that any upcoming nerfs will stop it happening again in the future. Great stuff as always from TJ.

The Best of the Rest

The rest of the top eight was as follows:

  • 5th – Samuel Pope – Tyranids (Synaptic Nexus): Mega Nexus monster mash with a couple of Norns on top of the normal favourites.
  • 6th – Riley Morris – T’au Empire (Mont’ka): Two Breacherfish, triple Hammerhead and triple Riptide.
  • 7th – Travis King – Thousand Sons: Triple Mutalith Tsons.
  • 8th – Mathew Burgoon – World Eaters: No-zerker World Eaters with Forgefiends and lots of Exalted.

La Voz de Horus Open

102-player, 7-round Major in España on August 31 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Alvaro Perez – Adepta Sororitas (Bringers of Flame) – 1st Place

Credit: Keewa

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Speedy Flame Sisters

Thoughts

Flame Sisters take down out second big event of the week, sporting a build that’s even better tuned for taking down enemy hordes than the Nova one. Running two full Seraphim units gives you redundancy on flamer Stratagems, and the tech of using Flamer Dominions with a Dialogus to deliver Fire and Fury gives even more flexibility in how to unleash these tricks, plus more reach out the gate. It also protects against anyone who brings enough indirect to actually threaten a Seraphim unit, which certainly isn’t many people, but could be something people try to handle this build. All in all, an especially well-tuned version of (probably) the game’s top list, and a well-earned trophy for Alvaro as a result.

Alejandro Tortosa – T’au Empire (Mont’ka) – 2nd Place

Darkstrider. Credit: Rockfish
Darkstrider. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Mont’ka Hulls

Thoughts

In second place, Mont’ka Tau engage in their traditional activity of zipping round the battlefield blasting stuff, hitting hard enough (and with enough units to soak a counterpunch) that the foe will struggle to get a foothold. The main thing I particularly like about this version is the Starscythe/Enforcer unit with Strike Swiftly. This unit massively shores up the game against any horde-style builds, and adding the ability to Scout it and your choice of Riptide (note the burst cannon on one) helps them start dropping bodies at speed. This unit is such a bargain that I struggle to imagine leaving home without it in a Tau army, and it’s great to see Alejandro using it to good effect!

Borja FM – Blood Angels (Gladius Task Force) – 3rd Place

Blood Angels Librarian Dreadnought
Blood Angels Librarian Dreadnought. Credit: Jack Hunter

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Flying Centurions

Thoughts

Always nice to see a fringe classic get a last laugh before change sends it to the hall of fame. This spin on Gladius has popped up once or twice before, and leans on the enormous efficiency of the Baal Predator and Death Company Dreadnought datasheets in a list that can either Advance/Shoot or Advance/Charge the whole lot, then adds in Centurions/Eradicators teleporting with Wings of Sanguinius for some extra fun. Being able to launch such shockingly violent go turns in multiple ways makes this stand out from even other Gladius Task Force builds. Well done to Borja for helping it take flight once last time.

Shadowblade 40K – Dark Angels (Gladius Task Force) – 4th Place

Apothecary Biologis. Credit: Craig “MasterSlowPoke” Sniffen

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Deathwing Knight GTF

Thoughts

It’s the Deathwing Knight Gladius list. Much like the Blood Angel list above, it can launch some shockingly brutal go turns, and these tend to result in key parts of the board being occupied by large men with huge shields. THis tends to represent a challenging situation for the foe. Great work from Shadowblade.

The Best of the Rest

There were 15 more players on 4-1 records. They were:

  • 5th – Fran Bolaño – Adepta Sororitas (Bringers of Flame): Speedy Flame Sisters with a lower Character count than normal, packing in triple Exorcist and some Penitent Engines instead.
  • 6th – Ivan Andres – Orks (War Horde): Mechanised War Horde with loaded Kill Rigs and Trukks.
  • 7th – Eduardo Muñoz – Drukhari(Skysplinter Assault): Talos-tastic Skysplinter with 3×2 of them, cutting down on Venoms to afford them.
  • 8th – Jose DRAKST – Drukhari (Skysplinter Assault): More Talos, this time only two squads with a few more Venoms crammed back in.
  • 9th – Gispano – Chaos Daemons: A Slaanesh/Nurgle tag team with Rotigus, a Gift GuO and Slimux with beasts acting as anvils, 30 Nurgling bases for disruption and two Keepers as hammers.
  • 10th – César MP – Astra Militarum: Tank-heavy Guard, dialing back on the Bullgryn to pay for a second tank Commander and some Earthshaker Carriages.
  • 11th – Miguel Durá – Leagues of Votann: Lots of Sagitaurs and bikes plus a couple Land Fortresses, cutting Hearthguard to pull it off.
  • 12th – Gonzalo “Raven” de La Moneda – Death Guard: Plague Marine Rhinos, Destructors and Brigands.
  • 13th – Rafa Gálvez – Chaos Daemons: A mix of monsters and cheap go-wide tools, adding three solo Fluxmasters as cheap objective filler, plus one big unit of Bloodcrushers as a missile.
  • 14th – Jorge Tobar – Imperial Knights: A first sighting of new Imperial Agents tricks, with a squad of Sisters and an Immolator joining Canis, an Atrapos and Armigers to provide extra board presence and objective sticky-ing.
  • 15th – Arcuos – Chaos Space Marines (Chaos Cult): Lots of Accursed Communes backed by Vindicators and an allied contingent of Syll’Esske and some Daemonettes.
  • 16th – Roger Boira – T’au Empire (Mont’ka): Low Character Mont’ka with Riptides, Hammerheads and Ghostkeels plus lots of Pathfinders to soup everything up.
  • 17th – Alvaro Enciso – Astra Militarum: Double Dorn and double Bullgryn, putting in some Rough Riders instead of a third unit.
  • 18th – Hugo Barcia – Tyranids (Invasion Fleet): An all-rounder spin on Invasion Fleet with a mix of monsters and utility stuff (including some Genestealers and a full Leaper unit for pressure), plus the unexpected appearence of a full squad of shockcannon Hive Guard.
  • 19th – Sergio Littleboy – Chaos Knights: Dogs and Nurgle Daemons.

Sunflower Showdown GT

36-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Shawnee, KS, United States on August 31 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Treynor Wolfe – Adepta Sororitas (Bringers of Flame) – 1st Place

Credit: Evan “Felime” Siefring

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Speedy Flame Sisters

Thoughts

I wasn’t kidding about this faction’s players locking in, OK. Props to Treynor for being one of them.

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Larson Wiley – Adepta Sororitas (Bringers of Flame): Speedy flame sisters with added solo Mortifiers as roaming utility pieces.
  • 3rd – Bill Boysen – Tyranids (Synaptic Nexus): Heavy monster mash with double Norn.
  • 4th – Danny Gill – World Eaters (Berzerker Warband): Fairly standard all-rounder World Eaters with one extra squad of regular Eightbound.
  • 5th – John Vuchetich – Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion): Triple C’tan, triple Doomsday.
  • 6th – Dan Sammons – Leagues of Votann: Sagitaur spam backed by a bunch of bike, Beserk and Hearthguard MSUs.
  • 7th – John Indellicate – Drukhari (Skysplinter Assault): Extremely Venom-heavy Skysplinter.

Karnage at the Keep – August Royal

29-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Kent, WA, United States on August 31 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Ken Bush – Adepta Sororitas (Bringers of Flame) – 1st Place

Credit: Corrode

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Speedy Flame Sisters

Thoughts

You know it’s bad when the list titles start bargaining with the rules team.

Great stuff from Ken.

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Adrian James – Imperial Knights (Noble Lance): Extra chunky Knights with Canis and two Atrapos. Atrapi?
  • 3rd – Timothy Grant – Dark Angels (Gladius Task Force): Deathwing Knight GTF.
  • 4th – Jason Rider – Chaos Space Marines (Renegade Raiders): Terrifyingly top-heavy Raiders with two full Chosen units and two Lords of Skulls, each with a Warpsmith babysitter.
  • 5th – Koen Klein – Space Wolves (Champions of Russ): Champion-flavour Wolf Jail.

Wrap Up

…OK that was a lot of Bringers of Flame lists. I promise you that there’s more variety in part 2. Still some Bringers lists, but not *gestures upwards*. Find out who was successful in facing the fire and flames with Lowest of Men on Friday.

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