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Competitive Innovations in 10th? No, More Elves! pt.1

By James "One_Wing" Grover

Imagine a Wraithknight’s gigantic foot, stomping on the metagame forever. Shortly you will not need to imagine this as we pop open our first event. This is your weekly update – Eldar and GSC, still way too good.

In wider and happier news, this week it’s the turn of the Deathwatch (handily covered in yesterday’s Faction Focus), Orks and Tyranids to make a college try at dethroning the rulers of the metagame. Let’s find out how that went for them, as we look at:

Today: 

  • The Leeds Super-Major (supermajor)
  • Capital Clash
  • Board Room Brawl 2023
  • North Star Open

Friday:

  • Battle To End Alzheimers GT 2023 (major)
  • BMC Cup
  • War in the Fort
  • Wars on the Shore

This week we’ve got three showdowns, including one guest appearance by a Goonhammer contributor, who made the classic rookie error of getting to the top tables at an event, so thus “wins” the opportunity to do my work for me. The others, as ever, have been voted for by the tastemakers in the Goonhammer Patron discord. We’ll be looking at:

  • Tyranids vs Orks at the Capital Clash
  • Ultramarines vs Genestealer Cults at War in the Fort
  • Orks vs Thousand Sons at the Board Room Brawl

One final plug before we kick off – the Goonhammer Open UK is coming up in just under a month and we have a few tickets left, so if you think you have what it takes to outsmart the metagame and win a golden ticket, go sign up here.

The Leeds Super-Major

196-player, 7-round Supermajor in England United Kingdom on August 05 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Josh Roberts – Aeldari – 1st Place

Avatar of Khaine. Credit: Jack Hunter

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Aeldari Bigstuff

Final Round Matchup

100 – 45 Victory against John Swallow – Aeldari.

Thoughts

Ah well, at least a Goonhammer Open belt holder winning the first event of the week is on theme. Four brutal killing machines, buff Characters and three units of ultra cheap deep strike utility/pressure – a complete nightmare to shift, and appalling in the devastation it can unleash. Shamefully, Josh scored merely 698 out of a possible 700VP over the weekend. Shocking behaviour. Give that belt back.

(Congratulations Josh)

John Swallow – Aeldari – 2nd Place

Wraithknight. Credit: Rockfish
Wraithknight. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Double Wraithknights

Thoughts

Yes, that would indeed be a double Wraithknight triple Spectre mirror match on the top table. John’s build (also seen winning a major last week) dials back the brutality a little for way more objective tools, which saw him all the way to the final before falling to Josh’s more directly brutal version. An incredible set of back to back performances, well done John.

Luke Quadling – Aeldari – 3rd Place

Credit: Greg Narro

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Go-wide Aeldari

Thoughts

As if foreseeing the great psychic wound of Aeldari players trying to insist that only the Wraithknight needs changing, our third Aeldari build of the top four packs none of those, instead going wide with lots of efficient shooting platforms and lots of indirect, overwhelming opponents with threats and reliably maxing out its Secondaries. Another extremely effective list, but eventually fell to John’s Wraithknights. Great work from Luke.

Christopher Radford – Deathwatch – 4th Place

Credit: Corrode

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

All-rounder Deathwatch

Thoughts

Doing the Emperor’s work by saving us from an all-Xenos top four, Chris’s Deathwatch draw on the power of their rules and datasheets to create an extremely mobile and deadly army that can deal massive damage across multiple phases. Deathwatch Veteran squads are extremely powerful for the price, and having the Kill Team Keyword lets them interact very favourably with the army’s rules, teleporting around or unleashing massive damage as needed. I also really like the tech of the Repulsor, providing both another powerful shooting platform and a way of playing hard-to-get against powerful melee threats like Custodes and Aberrants. Add the powerhouse that is a full Desolator brick and you’ve got something that can tangle with the best, and Chris went through some powerful opposition before finally being thwarted by Josh’s brutal Aeldari concoction. Congratulations to Chris on taking fourth.

The Best of the Rest

There were 2 more players on 5-0 records after the swiss. They were:

  • 5th – Nicholas Willingale  – Genestealer Cult: Horde with Aberrants.
  • 6th – Peter Duff  – Chaos Space Marines & Daemons: Abaddon and a wall of Obliterators, plus some Daemon objective play.

Capital Clash – ‘Ere we go!

51-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Ainslie, ACT Australia on August 04 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

William Wykoff – Necrons – 1st Place

Credit: Wings

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Double Lychguard Brick

Final Round Matchup

88 – 54 Victory against Greg Maginnity – Asuryani.

Thoughts

Renewing the hostilities of the War in Heaven, William earns the Necrontyr the right to shout “scoreboard” while flipping the nearest Farseer off, taking a win with the robots and defeating the Aeldari menace on the way to doing so. As to how, the answer is/continues to be Lychguard, who alongside the super C’tan (also featuring in this list) are some of the most durable things in the entire game, giving Necrons a shot at actually rolling with the punches that the Asuryani and Genestealer Cults can throw. Add in lots of cheap ways to fill out the board, providing ample screening for matchups where it matters, and some pretty great anti-tank to kick things off against Knights. Love to see a ro-boss winning, well done William.

The Best of the Rest

There were 9 more players on 4-1 records. They were:

  • 2nd – Taylor Hill  – Genestealer Cult: Horde with Aberrants.
  • 3rd – Dale Mann  – Aeldari: Hulls galore and a squad of Wraithguard.
  • 4th – Jack Lavercombe – Aeldari: Triple Prism and a Wraithknight.
  • 5th – Joshua Brodie  – Genestealer Cult: Horde with some Jackals as backup, plus a Manticore.
  • 6th – Greg Maginnity  – Asuryani: Go-wide shooting.
  • 7th – Tim Evers – Necrons: Lychguard/Warriors with the ominious, looming bulk of a Monolith (plus three Doomsdays) behind them.
  • 8th – Ewart Searle  – Chaos Daemons: Monster Mash with all the big hits.
  • 9th – Nathan Princi  – Adeptus Custodes: Double Caladius with one big Guard brick.
  • 10th – Michael Duke  – Genestealer Cult: Pure horde.

Board Room Brawl 2023

40-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Grand Forks, British Columbia CA on August 05 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Deploy Servo Skulls – Supply Lines – Hammer and Anvil

David Burdett – Thousand Sons: Herohammer-skewed Thousand Sons, cutting back on Scarabs to squeeze in a Daemon Prince.
Army List - Click to Expand

vs.

Scott de Wynter-Wilkie – Orks: Speedy/Shooty Orks, with cavalry, bikes and some Flash Gits in a battlewagon.
Army List - Click to Expand

Thoughts

This is a mission that demands extreme aggression, because if one player isn’t careful they’re going to find victory on the Primary very quickly out of their reach. That is, obviously, very good news for Orks, as they love being aggressive and pushing into the midfield, and there are plenty of armies where this list would be a nightmare to face on this mission, as it can either widely pressure the middle itself, or brutally punish the enemy for trying to do so. The big Squighog unit with the tooled-up Smasha Nob is a particular highlight – I’ve had the dubious pleasure of facing this model on the table, and the damage-dealing capacity has to be seen to be believed.

That’s the good news for the boyz – the bad news is that this Thousand Sons list is extremely well equipped to murder them, and I’m not totally convinced there’s that much they can do about it. Seriously, Tzeentch has clearly done his homework here, because double Warpflamer brick and the unusual choice of a Daemon Prince providing Stealth, massively reducing the value of the Flash Gitz, makes this a tricky prospect to face down. One bad turn, especially if the Orks get caught without Waaagh! up, which will allow a great unit to get turbo-smoked with Twist (which is phenomenal in this matchup) and things could end up pretty much dead for them. I think they basically have to hope they go first, make a minimal commitment to start moving the objectives at the start of the game (use the Stormboyz maybe), then go for a massive all-spectrum Waaagh! turn in Battle Round 2 to try and keep the objectives moving towards the Tsons side of the table and clear as much of the Tzeentchian forces as possible.

If they go second, I think it becomes very challenging for them – the Tsons can march up, hold the objectives largely in place in their turn, then start them moving inexorably forward from there, hosing down any Orks that get in their way. This has a lot of the energy of The Scouring from the last Edition – you basically have no way to play around a confrontation here, and when one side is massively better equipped to kill the other, that favours them heavily. Sure enough, the Thousand Sons emerged victorious.

Result

Thousand Sons Victory – 100 – 25

David Burdett – Thousand Sons – 1st Place

Credit: Dylan Gould

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Techy Thousand Sons

Thoughts

Some unusual choices on show here, adding some new options for how to play out games with this faction. Cultists as early (and speedy) sacrifices provide reliable ways to pressure objectives early, while the Daemon Prince feels like a great tool to have in Knight matchups, where you’re normally at a risk of getting cleared off the board in a volley of D2 shooting. It obviously doesn’t fix the problem, but it certainly helps. The tradeoff for that is having slightly less brutal stomping power from either a full Scarab brick of multiple Beasts, but Magnus and a Beast playing tag-team is still a real challenge for many armies to handle, and there’s some definite shoring up against some ways to tackle the faction here (the Cultists are also great for screening out GSC). Nice to see some different tools used to such success, congratulations David.

Riley Carter – Imperial Knights – 2nd Place (Undefeated)

Credit: SRM

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Ultra-murder Knights

Thoughts

Hey speaking of Knights, and somehow cribbing off Tzeentch’s homework to ensure a gigantic, stealth-proof flamer was on the table, we have this list, which eschews the more Armiger and Agent-heavy double big template in favour of about the most brutal damage dealing trio you can get. What can I say – it works for double Wraithknight builds, and it worked here. Anyone up against this is on an incredibly short clock to kill one of the hefty robots or they’re going to get tabled, and that can be easier said than done. You do have to lean on that pressure if you’re piloting the army, because if things get skirmish-y you can fall behind on Secondaries, but Riley was able to pull that off consistently and take an undefeated second.

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 3rd – Scott de Wynter-Wilkie – Orks: See showdown.
  • 4th – Alex Macdougall – Genestealer Cult: Muscle beach returns, triple Aberrants, lots of hulls backing them up.
  • 5th – Peter Scott  – Thousand Sons: Magnus and the boys with some Mutaliths.
  • 6th – JT McDowell  – Drukhari: Speedy shooting with lots of Talos to anchor the line.
  • 7th – Rhys Davis – Leagues of Votann: Triple Land Fort, triple bikes, Hearthguard to fill.

North Star Open

38-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Superior, WI US on August 05 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Priority Targets – Chilling Rain – Sweeping Engagement.

Joseph Bommarito – Orks: Pressure-tastic Orks.
Army List - Click to Expand

vs.

Chase Garber – Tyranids: An array of brain bugs and objective tools.
Army List - Click to Expand

Thoughts

Friends, readers – the man, the myth, the legend – Chase would like you to Hear Him Out!

Gunum: Greetings, dear readers! It is I, Gunum, and I’m thrilled to recount my thrilling adventures in Duluth at the magnificent 38-man GT hosted by Level Up Games. Wings, my ever-supportive companion/editor, convinced me to share this riveting Showdown before my full event write-up and ATC escapades. So, without further ado, let’s dive into the heart of the matter and dissect my triumphant list!

When it comes to crafting successful Tyranid builds, I like to forge my path through the crucible of countless battles against diverse opponents. This self-reliant approach enables me to tailor strategies that suit my playstyle, undeterred by the whims of the current meta. Engaging (okay, let’s be honest, losing) against top-tier players at ATC guided me towards the perfect list that secured victory in this grand event. This caused me to land on playing triple Mawlock to help free my Zoanthropes up from melee threats. Malceptors to be my front line melee units, as well as the under used Psychophage to provide a nice 6+++ FNP for my firebase of Exocrines.

My focus was clear—devise a cunning tactic to outmaneuver those pesky Custodes, their indomitable 10-man brick formations, and the menacing melee/shooting threats that loomed over my forces such as GSC or Aeldari. Bolstering my army with high-toughness units and durable invulnerable saves ensured I weathered storms on the battlefield. Not to mention the unexpected firepower emanating from units like Exocrine, Maleceptors, and Zoanthropes, putting me in some excellent shooting positions.

At the event, I faced off against a formidable opponent named Joseph Bommarito, hailing from the Best in Tabletop team, wielding an impressive Ork force. Destiny played its part, as he had just achieved a slim victory against an Eldar player, setting up a rematch from a previous encounter for me, one in which I tasted defeat at ATC vs Matt Perry’s Orks. Armed with this valuable prior knowledge, I positioned myself to gain an early advantage, which ultimately paid off in a triumphant victory.

Let me illuminate an essential detail about the tournament—it didn’t utilize the Leviathan GT pack; instead, missions were drawn from the Leviathan cards, surprising me as I didn’t realize they were preset-predrawn missions. Additionally, the event employed a player-placed terrain. Which I was a bit out of practice with.

My opponent took the first drop, arranging a massive U-shaped terrain in the middle, while I strategically placed my terrain along the edges, leaving my side of the battlefield wide open. This clever maneuver allowed me to create a massive killing field and establish precise firing lanes toward specific points in his deployment zone. My chosen fixed objectives were “Behind Enemy Lines” and “Deploy Teleport Homers.” Concentrating my firepower on a single flank ensured that any units he deployed there would meet swift demise. My forces dominated the left flank with the mighty Maleceptor, Zonethropes, and the “formidable” Neurotyrants. Meanwhile, my opponent deployed his forces more evenly across his deployment zone.

Luck was on my side as I won the first turn roll-off, clearing out a significant section of his table edge with relentless firepower, setting the stage for my Spore Mines from the Biovores to efficiently carry out their mission of deploying Teleport Homers and claiming “Behind Enemy Lines.”. Shadows of the Warp came into play, causing him to fail 9 out of 11 Battle Shocks, effectively denting his list’s prowess and taking the teeth out of his Waaagh! turn.

From there on, the game was a fireworks display of plasma and psychic might blowing apart Orks left and right, while my opponent struggled to navigate the perilous no man’s land and inflict damage on my well-prepared forces. Despite his valiant efforts, his secondary scoring couldn’t match my relentless pace, sealing the deal with a resounding 90-64 victory for yours truly.

I hope you enjoyed this gripping tale of triumph! Until next time, may your battles be as thrilling as mine. I’ll have ATC and this event out in due course. I want to thank our hosts for doing a wonderful job running the event, and if anyone finds themselves in Duluth Minnesota, you should check them out.

Wings: Thanks Chase!

Result

Tyranids Victory – 90 – 64

Chase Garber – Tyranids – 1st Place

Maleceptor. Credit: Rockfish
Maleceptor. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Mind-melting Monster Mash

Thoughts

It’s all covered above – tonnes of giant monsters to soak up punishment (especially with the Psychophage boosting them) Barbgaunts to slow people down and great damage output, all while Biovores lock up the points. It’s a Chase classic, and well deserved the win!

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Devin Orchard  – Necrons: Double Lychguard and lots of Heavy Lokhusts.
  • 3rd – Jeremiah Petit  – Adeptus Custodes: DOuble Custodian unit, double Caladius.
  • 4th – Stephen Crawford  – Chaos Daemons: Monster mash with pink horrors in support.
  • 5th – Joseph Bommarito  – Orks: See showdown.
  • 6th – Jeremy Sweeden  – Imperial Knights: Crusader/Warden with lots of Armiger friends.

Wrap Up

Join us again on Friday as we hit the other half of the week’s events, and if you want tips for how to succeed in 10th, don’t forget to check in on our Competitive Faction Focus series as well (all available from here).

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