Patrons: click here to disable ads.

Competitive Innovations in 10th: The Lion, the Witchhunters and the Warpcoven pt.2

Lowest of Men: Guess what nerds, somebody has had enough sleep and some time to prep and that means you’re all getting a preamble, arguably the best kind of amble there is!
With the news that the arrival of Blood Angels marks the last 10th edition codex for 2024 there will be a lot of eyes on the final 2024 Dataslate (anticipated in the next month or so), to see what happens amongst the chasing pack. In the meantime, armies and players in a good spot can expect a reasonable degree of consistency for the foreseeable, which is pretty exciting! So what’s winning this week? Let’s find out…

Today we’re covering:

  • Huxley’s Open 2024
  • Ratcon 2024
  • North Star Open
  • Cardiff Carnage #1
  • Heroes Of The Mid Table, Summer, GT, 2024
  • Wasteland Wars 3

On Wednesday, Wings looked at the following in part 1:

  • Texas Open 2024 – Warhammer 40k Champs
  • CCBB 40k – Singles
  • Hammer of Wrath GT
  • ECDC Presents: The Big Sky Open
  • AZ Warhammer 40K League 2024 Summer Championship
  • Dearg Doom I
  • GREX Battle for Augustus – Legends GT

Huxleys Open 2024

100-player major in Berlin. All the lists for this event can be found in Tabletop Herald.

Marvin Petersen – Astra Militarum – 1st Place

Lord Solar. Credit: Rockfish
Lord Solar. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Guard Mixed Arms

Thoughts

Bullgryn are really, really good at standing on points and refusing to die. This list packs in fifteen professors, presumably after budget cuts at the university, to get to the middle and force the issue as supporting shooting does the work. A Rogal Dorn guards the firing lanes, and I really like the utility inclusion of Ratlings to help tick off cards and make mischief in the mid board. Guard lists feel extremely well rounded in recent times, and whilst their index definitely has some teething issues, the faction feel well suited to Pariah and ready to party, with a BOOK not far away… Very well done on the event win!

Pau Poensgen – Drukhari (Skysplinter Assault) – 2nd Place (Undefeated)

The completed Drazhar. Credit: Dan “Swiftblade” Richardson

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Skysplinter Melee MSU

Thoughts

An extremely cool combat heavy Skysplinter build that makes a few subtle tweaks to what we’ve seen elsewhere. Double Haywire Scourge shores up vehicle heavy builds (Bringers of Flame and Hypercrypt spring to mind amongst others!), and the mass of combat units and characters helps it to overwhelm the unwary. The Court of the Archon is a great unit (as alluded to in the list title), as it gives you perhaps the most efficient multi-phase option in the Index, able to shoot and fight with full rerolls to hit and wound and all the synergies that Skysplinter provides on tap. Popping [SUSTAINED HITS 2] via Skyborne Annihilation on this unit as it disembarks ready to party is one hell of a drug. A really tasty list, well done on the top placing.

Tim Schneider – Leagues of Votann (Oathband) – 3rd Place (Undefeated)

Einhyr Champion. Credit: Rockfish
Einhyr Champion. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Votann Hammertime

Thoughts

A fantastic list that highlights the direction my beloved Votann are currently moving in. Hearthguard stocks are down, but Bezerks are very much on the up! Following on from the Germany WTC list which had twenty of the hammer-toting heroes in Land Forts, this list goes for TWENTY FIVE! And I am here for it.

Extremely deadly with Warrior Pride activated for additional AP, anything judged that Bezerks connect into is going to melt, and their 5+++ makes them deceptively stodgy to remove from points too. Plenty of slowing potential via the (ever swingy) mole launcher just puts a cherry on top. Couple that with a lot of the usual suspects- Pioneers, Sagitaur, Warriors for actions, and you’ve got yourself a list. I like the solo Champions to provide some mortal wound / combat punch from the forts. A great list, very well done on the placing!

Nader Chamma – Grey Knights (Teleport Strike Force) – 4th Place

Brotherhood Librarian. Credit: Corrode

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Balanced GK

Thoughts

A balanced build for an increasingly balanced army! GK have settled down after threatening to be a problem before Pariah, which has done a lot to mitigate their power. This list is delightfully versatile, with Libbys for mortal wound sniping, Dreadknights for some ranged threat and plenty of scoring potential. It will mission like a trooper and bounce around waiting for an in. If you can’t get to grips with it, then things can get out of hand very quickly indeed! Really well done on the top placing.

The Best of the Rest

There were 13 more players on 4-1 records. They were:

  • 6th – Kayu Orellana – Tyranids (Invasion Fleet): Monster-heavy Invasion Fleet with two big full slabs of Hormagaunts, I love it.
  • 7th – Matthias Bellmann – Adepta Sororitas (Bringers of Flame): Massed hull Brings of Flame with some Paragons.
  • 8th – Manuel Wayand – Grey Knights: Lovely mixed arms GK with Draigo searching for Warpdust.
  • 9th – Stiffler Mom – Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion): Silent King / Destroyer heavy Hypercrypt.
  • 10th – Marian Ritter – World Eaters (Bezerker Warband): A very interesting list that forgoes Angron in favour of two Daemon Princes and some Predators alongside the usual Eightbound.
  • 11th – Tobias Wolf – Tyranids (Invasion Fleet): Chonky, monster heavy Invasion Fleet with a brick of melee Warriors.
  • 12th – Maximilian Köthe – Death Guard (Plague Company): Rhino rush / Bloat Drone / Brigand Death Guard.
  • 13th – Konstantin Dietze – Astra Militarum (Combined Regiment):  An identical fifteen Bullgryn build to the event winner! COLLUSION!!
  • 14th – Frank Grollmuß – Tyranids (Synaptic Nexus): Double Norn Synaptic Nexus, HELL YEAH.
  • 15th – Sami Amr – Chaos Space Marines (Renegade Raiders): Obliterators creep into an otherwise fairly conventional Rhinos / Legios / Talons RR list.
  • 16th – Denis Müller – Chaos Daemons: Belly leads TRIPLE BLOODTHIRSTERS to the fray. Absolutely epic.
  • 17th – Ben Hackländer – Death Guard: Massed Rhino / Brigand Death Guard.

Ratcon 2024

76-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Ballarat East, Victoria, AU on August 23 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Ben Coubrough – Chaos Space Marines (Chaos Cult) – 1st Place

Credit: Dan “Swiftblade” Richardson

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Chaos Cult Mixed Arms

Thoughts

A build that highlights you can plug a few guns into the Chaos Cult rush / carpet / jail list and take it up a level by giving it a few ways to answer questions that enrushing Accursed Cultists cannot. Vindicators and Forgefiends are just GOOD in CSM, whatever detachment you plug them into, and they supplement the massed idiots dying for the cause to great effect here. Really well done on the event win!

Stuart Trainer – Tyranids (Invasion Fleet) – 2nd Place (Undefeated)

Deathleaper. Credit: Rockfish
Deathleaper. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Infantry Heavy Invasion Fleet

Thoughts

A tasty infantry swarm juiced up with the offensive and defensive buffs of Invasion Fleet. Lictors anchor the midboard as Genestealers and Hormagaunts ply all sorts of mischief around them. Good use of Overrun can get these into unexpected places, and gives you some cute secret mission options as well. Zoanthropes provide some hard target removal and a particularly impressive Overwatch lane in IF. A great, well thought out list, awesome work.

Terence Drew – Space Wolves (Stormlance Task Force) – 3rd Place

Logan Grimnar Santa Mode
Logan Grimnar as Santa Claus. Credit: Kevin Stillman

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Wolf Jail

Thoughts

Wolf Jail is still very much kicking! This version plugs some Lancers in to give it more answers to Transports and enemy tanks at range, which I think is a very astute decision as if Wolf Jail has a weakness it’s that it can be a bit ‘eggs in one basket’ at times. Not so here! Very potent, and Space Wolves continue to shine as Pariah rolls on, which is great to see. Really well done on the top placing.

Jarrod Eising – Chaos Space Marines (Pactbound Zealots) – 4th Place

Cypher - one of the Fallen Angels
Photo Credit – Musterkrux

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Pactbound Mixed Arms

Thoughts

Delicious combined arms Pactbound goodness here, which shoves in Nurgle juiced tanks, plenty of Dark Commune craziness on the frontlines and Lord / Legio precision killers as well. I think in many ways this detachment remains the most versatile in the CSM arsenal, and it has kept on performing as the others ebb and flow. Really nice to see CSM continuing to hang despite a wilting win rate, really well done!

The Best of the Rest

There were 8 more players on 4-1 records. They were:

  • 5th – Josh Pope – Thousand Sons: Massed characters and Rubrics with a couple of big ten man slabs.
  • 6th – Liam Stephens – Leagues of Votann: Hearthguard heavy Votann with some Land Forts and Sagitaurs to ferry the dwarves to the lines!
  • 7th – Adam Napier – Adepta Sororitas (Bringers of Flame): An interesting mixed BoF list that packs in Mortifiers and Penitent Engines as well as Rhino mounted Sisters.
  • 8th – Jason Horne – Necrons (Canoptek Court): A rare appearance for 18 Wraith Canoptek Court – still kicking?!
  • 9th – Bryan Jeans – Chaos Space Marines (Soulforged Warpack): Vashtorr, a Discolord, and plenty of Daemon Engines in Soulforged. My heart sings.
  • 10th – Joshua McFadden – Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion): The French Hypercrypt list from WTC, very spicy.
  • 11th – Michael Lawes – Tyranids (Invasion Fleet): Big Termagant slabs, Zoanthropes and a Tyrannofex in Invasion Fleet.
  • 12th – Samuel Collins – Necrons (Awakened Dynasty): A very potent mixed Wraith / Destroyer build in Awakened.

North Star Open

66-player, 6-round Grand Tournament in Duluth, MN, US on August 24 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Ben Cherwien – Emperor’s Children (Renegade Raiders) – 1st Place

Credit: Robert “TheChirurgeon” Jones

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Emperor’s Children RR

Thoughts

Ben taps into an as of yet underexplored combo by slapping recently reformed lad rock band ‘Lucius and the Noise Bois’ into the powerful toolset of Renegade Raiders! Noise Marines pack some quality shooting and some respectable combat, making them a bit more flexible into a wider range of targets as your ‘guys yeeting out of Rhinos’. Lucius brings some Fights First to add to the ruckus, and triple Accursed is here because OF COURSE IT IS, the puzzle those mutants create is really a lot to deal with for a great many armies and they love the Scout move from Mark of the Hound. Raiders has declined somewhat but I really, really like this build which finds new ways to make the ruleset sing. Fantastic work as always Ben!

Miles Engrav – Grey Knights (Teleport Strike Force) – 2nd Place

Grey Knights Grand Master in Nemesis Dreadknight. Credit: Colin Ward

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Dreadknight Heavy GK

Thoughts

Lots of Dreadknights – still very much a thing! It has it’s better and worse match ups but super mobile, 2+ save hulls with great invulns that can redeploy at whim remains a very potent combination indeed. The Callidus skulks around helping create mischief and shut down enemy stratagems, and multiple Interceptor and Strike Squads ensure there is plenty of scoring available too. Has to be played well, but when it is it is very obnoxious to deal with! Really good work on the top placing.

Craig Parker – Tyranids (Assimilation Swarm) – 3rd Place

Psychophage – Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Assimilation Stodge

Thoughts

Tyranid players are having a wonderful moment, with a book that, whilst not the most powerful of the pack, allows you to play in a quite mind boggling range of ways with the enormous bug model range. This is ably demonstrated here by a quite innovative Assimilation Swarm list that says ‘yes’ to Tyrant Guard and Psychophage (you don’t see either of these much let alone in these numbers normally!), as both units really benefit from the combinations of this detachment. Assim Swarm lacks a bit for raw output but is durable and stodgy to put away, and packing in both Swarmy and a Hive Tyrant gives the list plenty of manipulation of stratagems to help it outmuscle opponents on the primary. Really refreshing to see such a cool list, and that takes some doing in a faction as diverse as Nids! Great work.

Patrick Meisch – T’au Empire (Retaliation Cadre) – 4th Place

Commander Farsight. Credit: Jack Hunter

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Retaliation Cadre Suits

Thoughts

An awesome Ret Cadre Tau list that parks multiple Ghostkeel in the middle, beckons the enemy to come and play, and then drops in precision strikes from Crisis Teams to 3 inch deep strike, cause havoc, and then Fire and Fade away to deny primary and cause EVEN MORE havoc. Retaliation Cadre is well suited to a meta with an awful lot of marine bodies and spindly sneaky elves running around in it, as it is so much more able to call the shots on how engagements happen than the other Tau detachments, and it also gets Farsight into the list, which I am here for. A wonderful build, really well executed.

The Best of the Rest

There were 2 more players on 5-1 records. They were:

  • 5th – Joshua Sawlaw – Grey Knights: Triple Libby, Redeemer, DK Grey Knights.
  • 6th – Alex Vian – Aeldari: Avatar of Khaine / Wraithguard Aeldari.

Cardiff Carnage #1

49-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Wales, United Kingdom on August 24 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Matchup & Mission – Dark Angels versus Adeptas Sororitas

Ben Jones – Dark Angels (Gladius Task Force)
Army List - Click to Expand

vs.

Stephen Box – Adepta Sororitas (Army of Faith)
Army List - Click to Expand

Thoughts

Two Vanguard Tactics heavyweights throw down here, and with two quite distinct takes on current meta darlings to boot! Ben continues his rampage with Dark Angels, packing in a slightly more combined arms approach that doesn’t max Deathwing Knights, instead making some space for a Redeemer to open up some control lanes and staging options. It’s a very nice tool to have in the locker against massed Sisters bodies, so I’m sure it had a significant role to play in this game, though it certainly needs to be wary of a sudden brutal death to Melta! Fire Discipline Eradicators provide an extremely potent counter punch unit that can go absolutely ham and destroy multiple vehicles quite effortlessly at a crucial moment. You can’t really push into this list without sustaining serious hurt, and it packs a real go-turn of it’s own.

I’d say the same is reasonably true of the Sisters lining up on the other side! Steve is packing a distinct Army of Faith list, but a lot of the ‘core’ ingredients of current Sisters are on display, with the Triumph, some Castigators, and Vahl Paragons anchoring the list and providing serious threat. Beyond that there are a few nice touches, with a brick of Sacrosancts for pushing out, an Exorcist to plink away and keep opponents honest, and some Rhino Repentia as counter charge (I don’t think Steve could ever bring himself to leave home without Repentia!). This list poses a very similar threat to the Dark Angels – overextend into it and you will be decapitated in short order. As such both lists have to play a cautious, cagey game, keeping things tight and trying to avoid a knockout and hope for an opening. In the end it was an INSANELY close match culminating in a narrow Sisters win, well done lads!

Result

Adepta Sororitas (Army of Faith) Victory – 93 – 90

Stephen Box – Adepta Sororitas (Army of Faith) – 1st Place

Credit: Keewa

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Army of Faith!!

Thoughts

A big thank you to Steve for stepping beyond the typical BoF and Hallowed Martyrs builds to bring us something a bit different. Army of Faith allows you to perform two acts of faith with a unit instead of one- a really nice little buff that helps units in this list like the solo Exorcist go up a level if required.

There are some great damage dealers here who really benefit from detachment tricks like Light of the Emperor (allowing a unit to pop Ignore mods or, if a jump pack unit, a small aura of it), which helps get the job done into enemy debuffs. Angelic Descent gives you some uppy downy capabilities on your jump pack units too, and the toolkit here is really well suited to add a little combat finesse to the powerful Sisters roster, something Bringers of Flame typically lacks. A very innovative list, great work Steve!

Stefan Donovan – Space Marines (Astartes) (Ironstorm Spearhead) – 2nd Place (Undefeated)

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Ironstorm Gunline

Thoughts

A rare sighting of Ironstorm, which has largely receded in recent times! Double Whirlwind, Triple Redemptor, Triple Vindicator is an extremely potent spine for any list, and that gives this a huge presence before a dice has been rolled. Scouts, Inceptors and Assault Ints with Jump Packs tick off the cards as required, but the main thing this list does well is WRECK FACE with it’s many, many guns, with Techmarines on hand to do repairs and keep the heavy hitters in the fight. Very simple, very effective, really well done on the top placing!

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 3rd – George Cocks – Thousand Sons (Cult of Magic): Massed characters and Rubrics.
  • 4th – Ben Jones – Dark Angels (Gladius Task Force): The DA list from the Showdown.
  • 5th – Andrew Lewis – Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion): Hypercrypt melee in the style of the French WTC list.
  • 6th – Jack Tite – Drukhari (Skysplinter Assault): Triple Cronos / Voidraven Skysplinter with plenty of combat.
  • 7th – Jay Seebarun – Dark Angels (Gladius Task Force): A very similar list to the Showdown DA list, with a Redeemer alongside the DWK / ICC.
  • 8th – Ieuan Bevan – Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion): Massed Destroyers in Hypercrypt.

Heroes Of The Mid Table, Summer, GT, 2024

42-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Langley Twp, BC, CA on August 24 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Ryan Burns – Dark Angels (Gladius Task Force) – 1st Place

Lion El’Jonson. Credit: Rockfish
Lion El’Jonson. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Dark Angels Mixed Arms

Thoughts

Another triumph as Dark Angels continue their break-through month, and this build very much takes the route I would were I running these bad boys myself, by getting the Azrael Hellblaster brick AND the Eradicator doom brick involved. This gives you a lot of flexibility for dealing with targets at range, multiple ways to create nasty Overwatch lanes, and you are less vulnerable to losing your shooting capacity if one of them takes casualties. You lose a little by way of melee push threat, but your capacity to just WRECK exposed enemies at a clutch moment goes up. A really cool list, great work on the event win!

Brendan McKenzie – Adepta Sororitas (Hallowed Martyrs) – 2nd Place (Undefeated)

Credit: Colin Ward

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Hallowed Martyrs and Canis

Thoughts

Sisters continue to notch up the event wins, with another ‘triumph’ (hehe) for Hallowed Martyrs, jamming in the characters. Not a tonne to say here, except that CANIS FREAKING REX has snuck along for the ride, which gives you a pure hard target removal that doesn’t depend on Miracle Dice, and can operate at greater distances. I can see the case for it, and it creates a massive headache for the opponent to deal with. Really well done on the top placing.

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 3rd – Aiden McFaull – Thousand Sons (Cult of Magic): Thousand Sons Goodstuff.
  • 4th – Stu Angel – Thousand Sons (Cult of Magic): Double Mutalith Thousand Sons Goodstuff.
  • 5th – James Jones – Space Wolves (Stormlance Task Force): Wolf Jail with some Blood Claws.
  • 6th – Lucas Sterne – Astra Militarum: Massed infantry, Leman Russ, and some MSU Bullgryn.

Wasteland Wars 3

40-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Lubbock, TX, US on August 24 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Michael Mckibben – Drukhari (Skysplinter Assault) – 1st Place

Credit: Keewa

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Skysplinter with some Coven

Thoughts

Another week of taking names for the Drukhari! This list packs a little bit of Coven tech, with Urien for some Chumba Wumba get back up energy, and some Talos for a more versatile anti-vehicle unit that can also chip in on the frontlines. There is a slight impatience with Scourge amongst the Drukhari player base at the moment, so I fully understand a desire to try different tools and scale down their involvement. All in all, vintage Skysplinter, doing what it does best. Very well done on the event win!

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Colton Havens – Dark Angels (Gladius Task Force): Mixed Arms Gladius Dark Angels with a Redeemer.
  • 3rd – Isaac Zapata – Tyranids (Invasion Fleet): Go-wide Infantry Invasion Fleet.
  • 4th – Michael Lewis – Astra Militarum (Combined Regiment): Massed Chimaera Triple Rogal Dorn guard, amazing.
  • 5th – Howdyall Donnell – Death Guard: Rhino rush / tank spam Death Guard.
  • 6th – Taylor Bivona – Thousand Sons: Double Mutalith Tsons.
  • 7th – Richard Mendoza – T’au Empire (Kauyon): Skyray / Riptide / Breacherfish Kauyon.
  • 8th – Nicholas Henry – Thousand Sons: Tsons Goodstuff with a cheeky Forgefiend.

Wrap Up

That’s it for this week folks! We march on into the final quarter of the year, with nothing but a significant Blood Angels revamp (hehe) and some balance tweaks to tide us over. However will we cope? What are we supposed to do James Workshop, finish the projects we’ve started and continue getting good at the armies we already play and own in a very balanced and diverse meta?! What madness is this! Have a great time out there, see you again next week.

Lowest of Men, out.

Have any questions or feedback? Drop us a note in the comments below or email us at contact@goonhammer.com. Want articles like this linked in your inbox every Monday morning? Sign up for our newsletter. And don’t forget that you can support us on Patreon for backer rewards like early video content, Administratum access, an ad-free experience on our website and more.