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Competitive Innovations in 10th: Variety Show pt.1

By James "One_Wing" Grover

We’re coming towards the end of the current metagame, with the activation of three new books and a Balance Dataslate all on the horizon, and with that in mind it’s impressive and encouraging how diverse the top tables are looking out there. Lots of players were at team events over the weekend, but we’ve still got a healthy crop of GTs and one big Euro major, and there’s all sorts of cool stuff out there, with some factions we haven’t seen for a while taking top spots. I do still think the arms race towards tanks and monsters is a little concerning, and hope we’ll get a bit of internal rebalancing to some books to redress that, but in general there’s been plenty to love, and I hope we get many more metagames like it.

Today I’ll be covering:

  • OPEN 40K Major – Ile de France – Aleatorium
  • Bedlam in the ‘Burgh 2024 40k GT
  • III GT-CT
  • Münsterland GT6
  • Montana Beerhammer GT
  • Double Decker Decimation GT 2024

On Friday we’ll have my esteemed co-conspirator Lowest of Men with:

  • The Los Angeles Classic GT ’24
  • Vanquish 2024
  • ADFWGA-ANZAC Cup 2024
  • Tarheel Warhammer 40k charity GT
  • Modhammer GT

The Patrons are very much on a skulls for the skull throne sort of vibe this week, and have selected the following for our Showdowns:

  • Imperial Knights vs World Eaters at Bedlam in the ‘Burgh
  • T’au vs World Eaters at Modhammer

OPEN 40K Major – Ile de France – Aleatorium

127-player event in France. All the lists for this event can be found in MiniHeadQuarters.

Players in 2nd-4th all scored 4.5-0.5.

Ashord – Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion) – 1st Place

Necron Doom Scythe
Necron Doom Scythe. Credit: Pendulin

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Immortal-heavy Hypercrypt

Thoughts

The metagame is diverse but Necrons continue to be somewhat over-represented both in absolute terms and in top finishes, this week bringing their reign of terror to France. This build sticks to far more Immortals than we’ve been seeing in some recent variants, giving it a lot of board control, and then hedges against crunch meta by bringing along a Doom Scythe, which I think is a smart choice. The Doom Scythe is in a weird place where it definitely is overcosted, but Necrons are a bit short of tools that will point at a mid-weight tank and blow one up without support, so in Hypercrypt where you can give it an Invulnerable save and reposition it to get good firing lines, it becomes a fairly decent option to bake in some extra anti-tank. It’s particularly good for picking up Guard artillery since those hulls are fairly fragile, and planes still see over ruins. Despite it having a roll in lists it’s definitely a unit I could see coming down in price as part of some internal re-balancing, so if that happens then make sure to follow Ashord’s example and start zapping people!

LamaR – Adepta Sororitas (Hallowed Martyrs) – 2nd Place

Credit: Greg Narro

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

All-rounder Sisters

Thoughts

Lots of all-rounder favourites here, skewing a bit more towards melee hammer blows than the standard by adding a full unit of Sacresants with Junith and lots of Repentia, backed by tonnes of little scoring squads. I wonder if the calculation is that too many armies can clear out Arco-flagellants fast right now, so you’re better going for a wider spread of units and some stuff that will reliably throw a big punch before it goes. Seems to have worked out here, well done LamaR

tzantukal – Grey Knights (Teleport Strike Force) – 3rd Place

Grey Knight Paladins. Credit: Colin Ward

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Shooty Grey Knights

Thoughts

A modest three Dreadknights here, with a clear intention that they don’t have to do all the heavy lifting. Instead, you’ve got additional shooting support from Purgation Squads and the big, scary Paladin brick to blow C’tan apart. I’m very much of the opinion that you get a lot more mileage out of the Sigil of Exigence when used like this than on a GMDK, because if a GMDK bugs out the opponent can just shoot another Dreadknight to a similar broad impact, whereas making the Paladins almost impossible to interact with till that defence is gone is a nightmare headache for some opponents. It also means that the list has better options for clearing out ruins than all-crunch builds, and I like the Purgation units being able to pull double duty as extra scoring pieces. If I was going to take Grey Knights to an event it would probably look a lot like this, big fan of tzantukal’s choices.

lugo – Aeldari (Battle Host) – 4th Place

Avatar of Khaine. Credit: Rockfish
Avatar of Khaine. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Avatar & Speedy/Sneaky Shooting

Thoughts

A list that doesn’t need much introduction to round out our top four, sticking to the tried and true formula of the Avatar as the only real target backed by a tonne of units that hurt stuff with minimal reprisal risk and score very reliably. Interesting to see the rise of Fate’s Messenger as a compromise option if you need a Farseer with no bodyguard and have used the gem elsewhere – it’s definitely puts you in a spot where the opponent has to commit a “real” amount of indirect to the task of killing one, which is nice. Where will Aeldari be after the dataslate? Who knows, but for now well done lugo for showing what they can do with their current tools.

The Best of the Rest

There were 15 more players on 4-1+ records. 5th-6th were all on 4.5-0.5. They were:

  • 5th – Alariell – Ynnari: Go-wide mixed shooting stuff, featuring lots of speedy shooting/scoring, and some heavier melee hitters in the form of Wyches with Lelith and a big Troupe with the Visarch.
  • 6th – Wydjaz – Black Templars (Ironstorm Spearhead): Lots of Crusader MSUs, lots of Gladiator hulls, you know the deal.
  • 7th – Killinne – Adepta Sororitas: Character-heavy Sisters bringing a lot of Epic Heroes alongside the normal all-rounder stuff.
  • 8th – Zeg – Grey Knights: Ultracrunch Grey Knights with Canis (and a Paladin MSU).
  • 9th – Nico – Necrons (Canoptek Court): Triple C’tan, Triple Doomstalker, double Wraiths.
  • 10th – Arrethas – Aeldari: Go-wide Aeldari with one big Troupe/Yvraine package in a Wave Serpent.
  • 11th – Matanza – Genestealer Cults: Go-fast GSC with max Purestrains and some Catachans alongside the usual.
  • 12th – arc_ange – Grey Knights: Three Terminator MSUs and three Dreadknights.
  • 13th – Xalma – Necrons (Canoptek Court): Triple C’tan, Triple Doomstalker, double Wraiths.
  • 14th – Larkinn – Genestealer Cults: Pure shooty horde.
  • 15th – Wigmard – T’au: 3/6 Crisis backed by Ghostkeels and Skyrays.
  • 16th – Aranwë – Astra Militarum: The standard Bullgryn/Kasrkin/Artillery setup.
  • 17th – Sowaa – Adeptus Custodes: Five Infantry blocks and one Caladius.
  • 18th – Anthanora – Blood Angels (Sons of Sanguinius): Loads of jump Death Company, a big Vanguard Veteran block, and the interesting flexible board control choice of Impulsors containing an Assault Intercessor unit with a Captain each.
  • 19th – Sorrente – Tau: Triptide, triple Ghostkeel and loaded Devilfish.

Bedlam in the ‘Burgh 2024 40k GT

50-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Coraopolis, PA, US on April 13 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Priority Targets – Chilling Rain – Crucible of Battle

Marcus Kehoe – Imperial Knights (Noble Lance)
Army List - Click to Expand

vs.

Greg Burnett – World Eaters (Berzerker Warband)
Army List - Click to Expand

Thoughts

Really, there could not be a more perfect Showdown for crunch meta. Knights vs three Titanic Khorne killing machines, Angron and a few spawn to fill out to a perfect eight-model army, including one that’s somehow escaped from the Legends list (given it’s hilariously worse than another Lord would be for more points, we’ll allow it).

I would like to talk about deep, subtle lines of play here, but it’s robot carnage on Priority Targets, they’re just going to murder each other as hard as possible. Who’s going to win? On some level, there’s an inevitable level of dice to it – both sides have deadly weaponry and invulnerable saves. However, it feels like the more dramatic failure cases here exist for the Khorne side, mostly coming in the form of Squire’s Duty to lift a bunch of Thermal Spears to a crucial S13, allowing them to gank a T13 engine pretty reliably once you factor in Knight re-rolls, and Valiant Last Stand, which ensures that if Canis Rex touches anything, it’s almost certainly going down with him. Given that the Knights also have a lot more models on the table, and great OC from Armigers, I think that puts the ball firmly in their court, as they should be able to send Helverins forward to screen from an Advance/Charge gank from the Lords, then probably do enough damage in response to seal the deal. They definitely have to make that turn work, and if their big swing misses I’d then strongly favour the Khornate forces to sweep up, but looking at the scoreline it’s pretty clear that the Knights were able to get there.

Result

Imperial Knights (Noble Lance) Victory – 91 – 60

Marcus Kehoe – Imperial Knights (Noble Lance) – 1st= Place

Armiger Warglaives. Credit: Kevin Genson

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

tigerwoodsbigdog.jpg

Thoughts

Lots of Armigers and Canis Rex, going for a Chaos-knights style plan of spamming lots of efficient datasheets. The Datasheets aren’t quite as efficient in their own right, but you get re-rolls and a Feel No Pain to even that out, Canis Rex is great, and a Callidus Assassin is always handy to have around. Definitely be mindful of the Squire’s Duty gank squad when playing against this – Helverins at S10 AP-2 are a huge nightmare that you might not see coming. Well done Marcus for upholding some amount of chivalric decorum here.

Ryan Snyder – Space Marines (Ironstorm Spearhead) – 1st= Place (Undefeated)

Classic Ultramarines Predator. Credit: SRM

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Crunchmeta Supreme

Thoughts

That’s so many Predators. This list does not require explanation – it’s all the cheap dakka tanks, two RepExes, and a couple of Storm Speeders to tee enemy big targets up to have the worst day ever. This is what crunch meta does to us, well done Ryan.

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 3rd – Greg Burnett – World Eaters (Berzerker Warband): See Showdown.
  • 4th – Malaki Fowler – Thousand Sons (Cult of Magic): Thousand Sons…crunch? Tzeentch’s dustiest get in on the hefty metagame with a triple Mutalith, double Forgefiend build that’s got Magnus and a Daemon Prince at the head.
  • 5th – Patrick Logan – Space Marines (Ironstorm Spearhead): Dreads for days, featuring three Ballistus and three Redemptors.
  • 6th – Erik Glasgow – Necrons (Canoptek Court): Double C’tan, triple Wraiths, triple Doomstalker.
  • 7th – Joshua Kovel – Space Wolves (Ironstorm Spearhead): Gladiators and Redemptors (so far so normal), but does some interesting board control stuff with individual Invader ATVs and ThunderCav MSUs.
  • 8th – Matt Tarantine – Adepta Sororitas: All-rounder Sisters with Repentia and Retributors in the mix.

III GT-CT

48-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Cartagena, MC, España on April 13 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Alejandro Mancuso Serrano – Grey Knights (Teleport Strike Force) – 1st Place

Grey Knights Nemesis Dreadknights. Credit: Colin Ward

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Fiery Grey Knights

Thoughts

We’re back to a crunchier Grey Knight build here, hopping up to four Dreadknights and a Redeemer (which provides excellent board control), but still keeping a more adaptable unit in the mix with Crowe’s Purifiers. They’re another unit that I’m a big fan of, and while I prefer the big Paladin unit in the current metagame (just because the Purifiers can be slightly underwhelming into full crunch), they clearly did good work for Alejandro here.

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Miguel Durá – Orks (Waaagh! Tribe): Aggro mechanised/MSU orks.
  • 3rd – Pedro Bollain de la Sota 🐢 – Necrons (Awakened Dynasty): Melee-heavy Dynasty, using Lychguard and a big Skorpekh brick alongside a Monolith and Immortals.
  • 4th – Teniente Lechuga – Grey Knights (Teleport Strike Force): Dreadknights and Terminator MSUs.
  • 5th – Edu Cuesta – Aeldari: Speedy Shooty Aeldari with triple Falcons and some Skyweavers added to the normal mix.
  • 6th – World Eaters: More crunchy Chaos devotees here, using Forgefiends, Maulerfiends and an actual Lord of Skulls.
  • 7th – Gispano MdE – Death Guard: Crunchy Death Guard with Predators for dakka then lots of Bloat-drones and Karnivores to run foes down.
  • 8th – Alvaro Enciso – Astra Militarum: Kasrkin-free Guard, using big units of Scout Sentinels as a recyclable instead (alongside the normal artillery/Bullgryn/character contingents, plus lots of Catachans).
  • 9th – Xandre Ramos – Death Guard: All-rounder Death Guard with Plaguebursts, Plague Marines in Rhinos and Brigands, plus Mortarion at the head.

Münsterland GT6

46-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Horstmar, NRW, DE on April 13 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Christian Breuer – Thousand Sons (Cult of Magic) – 1st Place

Credit: Robert “TheChirurgeon” Jones

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Rubricae Tsons

Thoughts

The Rubricae-heavy Tsons build continue to blaze a fiery trail across Europe here, with Christian in particular rising up from the best of the rest last week to seize power! Well, a trophy, but that makes you feel powerful. Anyway, we talked about this list trend last time, well done to Christian for being Tzeentch’s most capable lieutenant this week!

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Matthias Bellmann – Necrons (Canoptek Court): Triple Wraiths & triple Doomstalkers with a Szeras/Nightbringer core.
  • 3rd – Tim Schneider – Leagues of Votann (Oathband): Sagitaur spam.
  • 4th – Maik Schönknecht – Drukhari (Skysplinter Assault): Go-wide skewed Skysplinter with only one Raider and some extra units.
  • 5th – Thomas Büttelmann – Aeldari: Go-wide speedy shooting/scoring with a big Troupe as an objective flipping piece.
  • 6th – Ben Hackländer – Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion): Double C’tan, double Doomsday and a Monolith with Immortals.
  • 7th – Marco Klein – Aeldari: Another instance of go-wide speedy shooting/scoring with a big Troupe as an objective flipping piece, here with an added Fate’s Messenger Jester.
  • 8th – Gregor Werner – Drukhari (Skysplinter Assault): Standard 2/4 Raider/Venom Skysplinter.
  • 9th – Andreas Neugebauer – Black Templars (Ironstorm Spearhead): Crusaders, Gladiators and a Stormraven.

Montana Beerhammer GT

33-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Clyde Park, MT, United States on April 13 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Colin Kay – Adepta Sororitas (Hallowed Martyrs) – 1st Place

Credit: Evan “Felime” Siefring

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

All-rounder Sisters

Thoughts

A bit of a skew towards melta here with some Retributors (plus supporting Characters) and extra Immolators (I assume that’s what the list name refers to), but this is mostly the standard Sororitas favourites. The big exception is the full-sized Zephyrim squad with Celestine, which is definitely a rarer sight. Feels like this could be tech for Blood Angels or Skysplinter – in the former they’re a pretty decent way of putting down jump units thanks to being able to reach Wounding on 2s, while in the latter they give good mop-up capability. It could also just be that at 120pts, you’re generically happy with what you pay for, so keep an eye on them to see if they pick up in usage. Well done to Colin for taking a trophy with a new piece of tech in the mix, always love to see that.

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Mike Pestilens – Grey Knights (Teleport Strike Force): Six Dreadknights and a small Infantry contingent, with the neat choice of sticking Kyria in a Strike Squad, which is definitely one of the better places for her outside Custodes.
  • 3rd – Cody Jiru – Drukhari (Skysplinter Assault): Skysplinter with a Tantalus and extra Beastmasters.
  • 4th – Troy Oswood – Thousand Sons (Cult of Magic): Tsons with lots of Characters and double Forgefiend, skimping a bit on normal Infantry in favour of extra Enlightened.
  • 5th – Jeremy Jenks – Chaos Knights: Dogs and Nurglings.

Double Decker Decimation GT 2024

32-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Cheney, KS, United States on April 13 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Chase Campbell – Necrons (Canoptek Court) – 1st Place

Canoptek Doomstalker. Credit: Rockfish
Canoptek Doomstalker. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

All-rounder Canoptek

Thoughts

We loop back to Necrons to finish up, this time with a Canoptek Court build that’s got a fairly balanced 2/2/2 split of the big hitters, and some 5 Immortal/Plasmancer units to fill. As mentioned last week, in a crunch meta the Plasmancer is a big part of the draw, so without Szeras to turbocharge a full unit 5s make a lot of sense. Imotekh is also feeling more vital right now – you are likely going to be slamming Countertemporal Shift button every turn to keep your Doomstalkers in the game, and that ain’t cheap. I’m back in Canoptek Court mode for the Oxford GT this weekend with a build not a million miles from this one, so I’m hoping Chase’s win here is a good omen!

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Matt Neeley – Death Guard (Plague Company): Loaded Rhinos with Daemon Engine support, here including three solo Blight-Haulers.
  • 3rd – BamBam Hunter – Space Wolves (Stormlance Task Force): A mixed shooty/smashy Stormlance unit, taking two tooled units of ThunderCav then supporting them with lots of Gladiators and Inceptors.
  • 4th – Jason Mode – Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion): Quad C’tan, Triple Doomsdays.
  • 5th – Elliot McNelly – Adepta Sororitas: All-rounder Sisters.
  • 6th – Iain Chapin – Chaos Daemons: A nurgle/Tzeentch alliance here, mixing the Epic and Enhanced Greater Daemon from each with a pair of Soul Grinders and some Infantry.

Wrap Up

Give us points for the Codexes GW. You know you want to. The people want to know. I want to know.

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