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Competitive Innovations in 10th: Quick on the Draw pt.2

By Lowest of Men
Lowest of Men: I’m currently holed up in a hotel at the World Championships, where ALL the Teams Warhammer is going down. But singles never sleeps, so let’s see whats topping the podiums…

Wings: He is too modest to put the link in, but please check out Tom doing commentary on the Glasshammer Team England coverage streams for the WTC, which you can find here. If you’re reading this as it releases, the Friday stream is here.

Today we’re looking at:

  • Salt Lake Open 2024 – Warhammer 40K Championships
  • ÖK-spelen GT
  • War In The Fort GT
  • Peterborough Slam GT 7!

If you’re looking for any of the following, check out part 1:

  • Palm Springs Open 40k GT III By Dicehammer
  • China Warhammer City Tournament 2024
  • Armed Forces Day 7 Warhammer 40,000 Grand Tournament
  • Gothic Games Canterbury: August 40k GT 🏆🎫

Salt Lake Open 2024 – Warhammer 40K Championships

99-player, 7-round Major in Salt Lake City, UT, United States on August 02 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Rob Gonzales – Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion) – 1st Place

The Deceiver. Credit: Wings

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Hypercrypt C’tan / Doomsday Spam

Thoughts

A novel Hypercrypt build that packs in Doomsday Arks and C’tan. The Star Gods stand on points and refuse to die, the Arks jump around slapping things down at a distance. Triple Hexmark Destroyers bring your light target removal / nonsense generators. I love the Hexmark and would definitely run three, you’re an astute young man Rob. Really well done on the event win.

Kennith! Onyeabor – Tyranids (Invasion Fleet) – 2nd Place

Neurotyrant and Neuroloids
Neurotyrant and Neuroloids. Credit: Pendulin

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Invasion Fleet Monster Mash

Thoughts

Tyranids players are simply spoiled for choice right now, with so many of their detachments singing after massive buffs. Invasion Fleet probably remains the best all rounder, and this monster heavy list takes advantage of the offensive and defensive boosts available here. The Old One Eye unit loves the detachment and creates a pressure threat that some armies really struggle to unpick. A cracking finish, very well done.

Daniel Reddehase – Death Guard (Plague Company) – 3rd Place

Blackstone Fortress Plague Marine by Craig “MasterSlowPoke” Sniffen

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Nurgle Loves You

Thoughts

Ok, this list slaps. Loads of anti-combat meta tech (Plaguecasters, combat Bloat Drones) coupled with some good Brigand shooting and Rotigus to make objective play even harder. You can go wide with Death Guard especially well if you sacrifice Plagueburst Crawlers as this build does, though it doesn’t feel right leaving the iconic tank at home. Amazing work on the podium finish.

Broc Bowman – World Eaters (Berzerker Warband) – 4th Place

Credit: Robert “TheChirurgeon” Jones

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Mixed Arms World Eaters

Thoughts

Another triumph for the Forgefiend supported version of WE, which gives you a bit of ranged threat removal and more ways to impose fight phase control via Battleshock – extremely relevant in a world of Sanguine marines looking for a scrap. Otherwise it’s business as usual with a tonne of Eightbound and Angron, though I also love the triple Spawn. Fantastic work!

The Best of the Rest

There were 2 more players on 6-1 records. They were:

  • 5th – Chase Chappell – Aeldari: Double Avatar / Fire Prism Eldar winds back the clock.
  • 6th – Jordan Gledhill – Chaos Daemons: A beautifully named Slaanesh / Souldgrinder heavy Daemons build.

ÖK-spelen GT

64-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Örebro län, Sverige on August 03 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Sebastian Larsson – Chaos Knights (Traitoris Lance) – 1st Place

War Dog - Karnivore. Credit: Rockfish
War Dog – Karnivore. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

War Dog Spam

Thoughts

CK put up a tidy finish with this whoops all War Dogs build. Battleshock is creeping up in relevance in the wider game, and CK remain a potent stat check / saturation threat army with a lot of nice little tricks and tools. That said, an event win with them these days is a hell of an achievement, really well done Sebastien!

Anders Palm – Thousand Sons (Cult of Magic) – 2nd Place

Credit: Robert “TheChirurgeon” Jones

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Triple Vortex Beast

Thoughts

WTC has confirmed the power of the Vortex Beast, as well as the importance of slamming ‘yes’ on Infernal Masters and Exalted Sorcerors in the remaining time before the new FAQs cut off some of their range indirect potency. Raw efficiency, all the best tricks and weapons in this index slammed together to create something beautiful, and awful all at once. Mutaliths are epic and three of them shuffling forwards is quite something, really well done!

Patric Wreeth – World Eaters (Berzerker Warband) – 3rd Place

Credit: Robert “TheChirurgeon” Jones

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

World Eaters Mixed Arms

Thoughts

Here is is again! As above, adding another Forgefiend shaped string to the World Eaters bow helps them navigate some of their worse match ups, without diluting what they do so much that it harms their better ones. Berzerkers have made way but this list really is all killer, no filler. Fantastic work.

Henrik Sandberg – Black Templars (Righteous Crusaders) – 4th Place

Black Templars High Marshal Helbrecht. Credit: Jack Hunter

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Black Templars Mixed Arms

Thoughts

Templar horde triumphed today at the WTC Warmasters singles, but this mixed arms list highlights that there are many ways to skin the Black Templar cat. Transports for staging with punchy Sword Brethren and some genuine dakka to keep opponents honest, with enough combat units in their to exploit the excellent Templar stratagems. Really well done on the placing.

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 5th – David Klang – Adeptus Custodes (Talons of the Emperor): Double Caladius Talons with lots of Prosecutors and Witch Seekers alongside the golden bricks.
  • 6th – Jonathan Sleigh-Johnson – Adepta Sororitas (Bringers of Flame): Celestine leading ‘Bringers of Flame Goodstuff’.
  • 7th – Alexander Singleton – Leagues of Votann: Full on Sagitaur / Fort Spam.
  • 8th – Mattias Levin – Dark Angels (Gladius Task Force): Gladius Dangels with the Lion, an Eradicator brick and their special melee infantry squads.

War In The Fort GT

53-player, 6-round Grand Tournament in Fort Smith, Arkansas, US on August 03 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Brent Simon – Space Wolves (Stormlance Task Force) – 1st Place

Credit: “Contemptor” Kevin Stillman

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

AWOOO

Thoughts

Thunderwolf Storm Lance still slaps. Big, chonky, ready to box you in and never let you out. Wolf Jail has seen a slight downward trend as marines players experiment with other, fresher builds (DANGELS), but it remains just as devastating as ever. Really well done on the event win, AWOOO.

Cody Jiru – Drukhari (Skysplinter Assault) – 2nd Place

Drukhari Archon. Credit: Corrode

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Skysplinter Beastrush

Thoughts

Drukhari master Cody continues to play whatever the heck they want, packing a Tantalus, Voidraven, AND triple Beastmaster in to rush the opponent and send them packing. To all intents and purposes Skyspliner is soaring at the moment, with players really able to experiment in all manner of ways in a marine rich, artillery light meta. It’s a good time to be bad. Really well done Cody.

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 3rd – Jason Merten – Leagues of Votann (Oathband): Yaegirs compliment a traditional transports / Hearthguard Votann list.
  • 4th – Peyton Preece – Adeptus Mechanicus (Skitarii Hunter Cohort): Massed trash bodies in Hunter Cohort with some Disintegrators in support.
  • 5th – Marc Nuessen – Grey Knights: Canis / DK Grey Knights.

Peterborough Slam GT 7!

31-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in England, United Kingdom on August 03 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Scorched Earth – Hidden Supplies – Crucible of Battle

Jack Tite – Drukhari (Skysplinter Assault)
Army List - Click to Expand

vs.

Greg Chamberlain – Tyranids (Invasion Fleet)
Army List - Click to Expand

Thoughts

A nailbiting game between two of the new meta darlings. I know both these players well so can offer some insights here! Jack Tite is newly wed to the Drukhari after his beloved Sisters got too good to be interesting. His build here shoves a nasty Court into a Tantalus to exploit the flanks and cause enormous ranged damage, throwing out a bunch of mortal wounds if needed. There are a few tech pieces missing due to production meta issues (looking at you Mandrakes!) but generally this list compensates by simply powering right through the opposition and out manoeuvring them via the Incubi brick and Court / Tantalus heroics.

Greg Chamberlain, on the other hand, has been doing some thinking about Tyranids and the Dark Kin, among other things, after a recent run on Vanguard. This list opts away from fragile but sneaky into chonky and durable, slamming the button on big assed monsters with Feel No Pains. Norns lock down points, there are so many gun bugs for bodying the opponent off objectives, and some cheeky Hormagaunts for mission (especially good in Invasion Fleet). It’s a tough prospect for any army and has more ability to absorb glasscannon attacks before punishing the failures.

In the event this was a razor tight game that was decided by a string of saves at the very death, an absolute classic. I’ve played this match up a few times now and it can be extremely close – with Synaptic Nexus perhaps the worst on paper for the Drukhari specifically. Great to see two UK heavyweights throwdown and a triumph for the Hivemind!

Result

Tyranids (Invasion Fleet) Victory – 90 – 89

Greg Chamberlain – Tyranids (Invasion Fleet) – 1st Place

Norn Emissary
Norn Emissary. Credit: Pendulin

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Invasion Fleet MONSTER Mash

Thoughts

You call that Monster Mash? THIS IS MONSTER MASH! Greg packs in huge, durable chassis and plenty of guns to go be places and score points. Nids are so capable of gutting enemy scoring for a turn via Shadows of the Warp now, that locking in their own primary and secondaries becomes crucial in order to take full advantage. All the tools to do that very ably in this list, and Norns force a degree of commitment that the other units in the list can exploit. Really well done Greg!!!

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Jack Tite – Drukhari (Skysplinter Assault): Tantalus party bus antics, welcome to the Dark Kin Jack.
  • 3rd – Harley Scully – Aeldari (Battle Host): Glorious Wraithknight based shenanigans from the 6++ thespian supreme.
  • 4th – Matthew Leverton – Adeptus Mechanicus (Skitarii Hunter Cohort): Chonky go-wide Hunter Cohort.

Wrap Up

That’s it for this week! I’ll be back with more meta news next time, and I’m just starting to put a pen to an article covering Team England’s ongoing event run at WTC too. Don’t I just spoil you eh!? Have fun out there, stay hydrated, and I’ll see you very soon.

Lowest of Men, out.

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