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Competitive Innovations in 10th: Pumpkin Spice Melee pt.2

By Lowest of Men

No brakes on the warhammer train this week, and plenty more exciting builds putting in great performances. Lowest of Men is in charge today, looking at:

  • Battle for Salvation (major)
  • Belgium GT (major)
  • GT La Laguna II Edición
  • Battle Zone Ursa 2023
  • Quebec City Open

If you’re looking for any of the following, go join Wings for part 1 from Wednesday:

  • Michigan GT (major)
  • Pantheon GT (major)
  • Broadsword Wargaming
  • Dragon Fall 2023
  • Call To Arms 40K

Battle For Salvation GT 2023

94-player, 6-round Grand Tournament in West Nyack, NY, US on October 07 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Sean Nayden – Goffs – 1st Place

Nob With Waaagh! Banner. Credit: Rockfish
Nob With Waaagh! Banner. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Orks Naydenstuff

Thoughts

Ok, Orks are having a good time at the moment. But this list demonstrates there is certainly more than one way you can take them! Ghazghkull makes an appearance, often left out of lists right now, and there are minimal Trukks in sight (though there is a Battlewagon!). Most of the list is able to get into position on its own terms – Squighog Boyz, Bikers and Stormboyz can also scoot where they want or deep strike in. Positioning Ghaz is fiddly, but with so many small units to play the mission this is very well placed to block, punch and score as it needs across the game, and when you always have access to the -1 to wound via ‘Ard as Nails the opponent will have to commitment slightly more than they want at all times to pick up even the smaller units here. Congratulations on taking first with this novel build Sean!

Sascha Alexander Edelkraut – Imperial Fists – 2nd Place (Undefeated)

Imperial Fists Captain Tor Garadon
Imperial Fists Captain Tor Garadon. Credit: Jack Hunter

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Imperial Fists Gravis Spam

Thoughts

Gravis continues to prove cost effective in a post-dataslate age, and we all know the Imperial Fists like their big slow bois. This list packs in Lysander AND Tor Garadon for the full IF special character experience. Garadon is nifty in a new Oaths world, giving his squad LETHAL HITS and IGNORES COVER to up their output, and he is very funny going into enemy vehicles with his personal Siege Captain buffs. Lysander is an exceptional durability piece, offering up -1 to wound for his squad and the option of popping a once per game 2+ invuln. The latter means you can absolutely just run him on his own as an obnoxious distraction piece. Other than that, its a lot of the familiar faces here, solid mission play via Inceptors and forward deploying marines, consistent artillery and debuffing from Whirlwinds and the Thunderfire Cannon, and a couple of hammer units in the form of amped up Aggressors and Sternguard. A very cool IF list! Well done.

Johnny Zoo – Black Legion – 3rd Place

Iron Warriors Chaos Lord and Space Marines. Credit: SRM

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Abaddon / Terminator CSM

Thoughts

CSM players are slowly but surely realising there isn’t really anybody stopping them dominating the fight phase at the moment, after Custodes ate a bullet and some of the other combat big hitters in other armies (Aberrants and Avatars for example) took points hits. This list highlights that you can cut back the heavy shooting and lean in to smashing faces on the points and still have a very good time, as it crams in three units typically seen in their own builds (Accursed, Terminators, Chosen) at the expense of Obliterators and just goes to town. Extremely scary and this is just going to body a lot of armies. Congratulations on third place Johnny!

Drew Salzborn – Leagues of Votann – 4th Place

Sagitaur. Credit: Rockfish
Sagitaur. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Leagues of Votann Land Forts

Thoughts

The kin are demonstrating that they can run pretty much anything in the index and post good results right now as long as they lean in hard to an archetype. This list from Drew goes all in on Land Fortresses, packing three alongside the more common Warriors in Sagitaurs to push a bunch of tough vehicles in the enemies face and chew up the midboard as Hearthguard drop in from the skies to counter punch. MSU Thunderkyn can shore up the flanks and keep the opponent honest, and a single Grim Demeanour Kahl keeps the oulay on characters low to help fund everything. It’s a little less equipped for secondary scoring but that doesn’t really matter if you’ve swept everything before you with heavy guns!

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 5th – David Adelman  – Ynnari: Shoot and Scoot spam with loads of Spectres and Scourges backed up by Ravagers.
  • 6th – Ronen Yair  – Death Guard: Mortarion, Triple PBC, Triple Mower Drone and a big slab of Terminators.
  • 7th – Cullen Burns  – Leagues of Votann: Double Fort, four Sagitaurs, and a truckload of Thunderkyn with Bezerks to ride forwards. No Hearthguard at all!
  • 8th – Todd Plourde  – Leagues of Votann: Triple Pioneers, a Hearthguard slab, lots of Thunderkyn and some Sagitaurs.
  • 9th – Mark Hertel  – Ultramarines: Triple Land Raider, Calgar, and Aggressor bomb and Bladeguard for brawling. Epic.

Belgium GT 40k

74-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Ath, Région Wallonne, BE on October 07 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Guillaume Dusaussois – Aeldari – 1st Place

Harlequins Troupe and Starweaver. Credit: Corrode

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Aeldari with Harlequins

Thoughts

Aeldari still good! Some small troupe squads offer screening, harassment, and trigger points for the Yncarne here to make the opponent think that little bit harder. Otherwise it’s very much the core of what keeps Aeldari at the top for the time being! Very well done Guillaume.

Gabriel Geerts – Adepta Sororitas – 2nd Place

Credit: Evan “Felime” Siefring

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Sisters Ascendant

Thoughts

Sisters are having something of a break out week, and this list highlights why. Excellent artillery from Exorcists, brawling and staying potential from Arco-flagellants, and the one-two Morvenn Vahl / Triumph combo to provide spine and punch. The latter can exploit miracle dice in some quite absurd and wonderful ways, and the former is much more palatable as a pivot for the army now that Paragons don’t feel as absurdly priced. This build can put out a withering hail of shooting whilst packing plenty of small throwaway units for the mission. We will be seeing more of it.

Bart Wasteels – Necrons – 3rd Place

The Silent King
The Silent King. Credit: Pendulin

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Silent King Necrons

Thoughts

For a hot minute the Silent King wasn’t the done thing in Necrons, but he appears to have been reinstalled in his rightful place ‘somewhere near the important bits of the board being scary’. Durable, punchy, and an excellent force multiplier, the King helps the rest of the army sing and switch away from pure durability into something that can shoot and fight back. To this end there are less bricks here, and more guns, with Doomstalkers providing swingy but cheap shooting at a decent range, on durable platforms. With the C’tan along for the ride too this build is quite close to becoming a Necron herohammer model, and I am here for it. Very nicely done!

Benjamin Menissier – Asuryani – 4th Place

Ulthwe Wraithblades. Credit: Corrode

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Aeldari Goodstuff

Thoughts

More Aeldari goodstuff here, this build packs in a couple of small squads of Wraithblades to help contest the primary and stick around, as this has increasingly been a point of vulnerability for the Eldar post-slate. The Phoenix Gem Autarch and Fuegan provide activation dilemmas, and the rest? Well you know what the rest does.

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 5th – Gautier Tremlet- Aeldari: Double Avatar, Wraithguard, Spinners. If it ain’t broke…
  • 6th – Jonathan Fagnoul  – Thousand Sons: Monster mash Tsons with Magnus and multiple Vortex Beasts alongside a Terminator brick.
  • 7th – Nicolas Jorion  – Thousand Sons: A much more MSU Tsons build with loads of Sorcerers, Rubrics and smaller mission playing units.
  • 8th – Pierre-Emmanuel Soumois- Necrons: Double C’tan Necrons with the Nightbringer in tow, some Warriors and Lychguard.
  • 9th – Guillaume Buchkremer  – Tyranids: Invasion Fleet nids with a single Norn, triple Exocrine, a Maleceptor, and lots of smaller scoring units. Oooo Raveners!
  • 10th – Antoine Givert  – Leagues of Votann: Double Forts, double Sagitaur, double Hearthguard. Lovely symmetrical stuff.

GT La Laguna II Edición

46-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in La Laguna, Canarias, ES on October 07 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Nelson WiRm – Thousand Sons – 1st Place

Credit: Robert “TheChirurgeon” Jones

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Thousand Sons Sorcerer Spam

Thoughts

Thousand Sons are definitely not going away, despite a nasty hit in the dataslate. They don’t love artillery, and they’re not quite as brimming with tricks as they were, but a build like this can still control the board extremely well via the slowing power of Exalter Sorcerers as it picks off its prey and out-janks the foe. Magnus remains the centrepiece of the army and it’s great to see they can still take down events, very well done Nelson!

The Best of the Rest

There were 7 more players on 4-1+ records. They were:

  • 2nd – Jacinto López – Aeldari: Triple Spinner Aeldari Goodstuff.
  • 3rd – Adonai Luís Martín – Tyranids: Vanguard sneakiness with multiple Norns and Neurolictors supporting a bunch of scoring units.
  • 4th – Joel Alberto Castro González – Necrons: Two big Tomb-blades slabs, and a huge number of Destroyers. Very cool list.
  • 5th – Jose Arturo Pérez Díaz  – Aeldari: Ok, a cool Eldar list, you got me, well done. TWENTY Striking Scorpions and freaking Karandras, with a Wraithknight and scoring msu. You did it Jose, you kept Eldar interesting. Hats off to you.
  • 6th – Ruyman García  – Adeptus Custodes: Custodes infantry bricks with the usual character support.
  • 7th – José Luís Moreno Macario  – Tyranids: Unending Swarm Nids with lots of Zoanthropes and a single big Gargoyle stack.
  • 8th – David Hernández López  – Chaos Space Marines: Obliterators, Forgefiends, Abaddon and Chosen. Yikes.

Battle Zone Ursa 2023

38-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Anchorage, AK, US on October 07 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Sisters versus Necrons

Jesse Dewitt – Adepta Sororitas
Army List - Click to Expand

vs.

Cameron Glodowski – Necrons
Army List - Click to Expand

Thoughts

Sisters versus Necrons! Truly, the balance slate has worked wonders. Both these factions are packing some of their best tools here, with big slabs of staying power on the Necron side supported by some heavy shooting and utility pieces in Ophidians (amazing for secondary cards) and Flayed Ones (great for sneaking in places). The Sisters list isn’t the Arco-Flagellant heavy type we’ve seen elsewhere but does pack in some of the same key pieces – Morvenn Vahl appears to be a must take these days and Castigators and other Sisters tanks are here in force to give the list some solid presence on the board.

If the Sisters have a problem here it is simply in the scale of any individual activation – dealing with the Necron list on the other side requires one or two GOD KILLING volleys or assaults to properly put down either the Warriors of Lychguard, and the faithful are packing great shooting and melee, but of a high quality, low volume kind. They can probably go toe-to-toe with the Necron heavy support, but actually pushing out on the primary might have been more of an issue. As it is it seems they didn’t quite manage to dislodge the silver tide in time, and the Necrontyr triumphed.

Thought I was unable to find out exactly what mission this showdown took place on in the event details, I’d like to briefly draw attention to some small mission card modifications made by this event, as they all seem very common sense and would make good changes to future mission packs (hits include ‘reshuffling Capture Enemy Output if you draw it turn one – can I get a hell yeah?!).

Result

Necrons Victory – 93 – 75

Cameron Glodowski – Necrons – 1st Place

Lokhust Heavy Destroyers. Credit: Rockfish
Lokhust Heavy Destroyers. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Necrons Goodstuff

Thoughts

If there is a ‘build’ for Necrons, it is still this. Warrior brick for gumming up a point, durable Lychguard slab to push the enemy back, supporting hqs to maximise their obnoxiousness, super-durable C’tan for booping around being a pest. Necrons faltered a little just as the world seemed theirs for the taking as it turned out they had some predators, but this list evidently still has legs and can find its way through to the top of an event with a little luck in the match ups when piloted well. Excellent work on the victory Cameron.

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Alex Nanez – T’au Empire: MSU Broadsides and multiple Crisis bricks with attendant scoring.
  • 3rd – Levi Chester – Cult Mechanicus: Three big Breacher slabs, lots of infantry squads and some Onager Dunecrawlers for backfield presence.
  • 4th – Jesse Dewitt – Adepta Sororitas: The Sisters list from the showdown.
  • 5th – Timothy Huebscher  – Chaos Knights: The Chaos Knights / Daemon list, you know the one.
  • 6th – Erik Rickards  – Tyranids: Extremely cool Vanguard Onslaught nids with some Leapers, loads of Lictors of different stripes, some Winged-Prime led Warrior bricks for speed and reach, and a bunch of Gargoyles.

Quebec City Open 2023 – QCO

34-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in L’Ancienne-Lorette, QC, CA on October 07 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Jeremy Atkinson – Leagues of Votann – 1st Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Votann Sagitaur Spam

Thoughts

A very mobile, go-wide build from Jeremy that exploits the cost effective power of the Sagitaur / Warrior combination. Contest the entire board, start stickying objectives, and then gut punch the opponent with Hearthguard and Thunderkyn as they come to try and deal with you. The Leagues are in an excellent spot and it was great to see Jeremy deliver on the Votann GT wins he had predicted on Stat Check by simply doing it himself… epic. Congratulations on a first GT win!!

The Best of the Rest

There were 3 more players on 4-1+ records. They were:

  • 2nd – François Lalonde – Tyranids: Full send Gaunt spam in Unending Swarm… I meant, it’s thematic as hell! You just have to break their spirit before you break your back…
  • 3rd – Kim Bouliane – Orks: Ork goodstuff with a lot of Flash Gitz, and the showpiece of a Squiggoth! Amazing stuff.
  • 4th – Jack Morris – Alpha Legion: The sneaky Alpha Legion have turned up disguised as Liam VSL CSM Goodstuff. Is there no depths to which they will not sink in their subterfuge?!

Wrap Up

That brings a very healthy looking week to a close – let’s hope this diversity continues! See you next time.

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