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Competitive Innovations in 10th: Xenos Roulette pt.3

By Lowest of Men

Third time’s the charm as we close out our Xenos-tacular week. Lowest of Men is at the helm today, looking at:

  • 2d6 Dawn of Vår
  • From Hell Open 2 – Back into the Trench!
  • Spring Assault at the Ironweld Open
  • Thylacine Cup GT
  • Viking Games – The Battle for Vanheim

Wings covered the following in Part 1:

  • Bugeater GT
  • Southcon 2024 40K Tournament
  • PNW Warlords Clash Warhammer 40K GT
  • Broadside Bash Revived 2024
  • Wild Hunt GT: Summer

…and Part 2:

  • Wargames for Warriors 2024 – 40K Major
  • Dicehammer Open 40k GT VII
  • 90. Bedburger Scheunenkloppen
  • Hydra GT II 2024

2d6 Dawn of Vår

66-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Oslo, NO on June 01 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Kjetil Andre Liknes – Necrons (Canoptek Court) – 1st Place

Skorpekh Lord. Credit: Rockfish
Skorpekh Lord. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Canoptek Court Mixed Arms

Thoughts

A very nicely adapated Canoptek Court build here, that anticipates one of the challenges the detachment now faces (being rushed by nasty combat armies) and packs in some counter charge and blocking via Skorpekh and Acanthrites to mitigate this. The tricks keep the Wraiths shuffling about being annoying, and the Doomstalkers provide the backfield output with some Tomb Sentinels for added support. A very well designed list that goes wider than earlier iterations, I like it a lot! Well done on the event win.

Colin Power – Ynnari (Battle Host) – 2nd Place (Undefeated)

Dark Reapers. Credit: Corrode

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Ynnari MSU

Thoughts

Ynnari remains a potent force, especially are more elite melee / vehicle based lists creep into the meta game. Being able to de-mech and body these with Haywire and D Cannons is still an extremely potent game plan, and there is enough scoring nonsense zipping about to put up a great secondary score as you do so. Yvraine runs with Storm Guardians to keep costs down on the countercharge unit. All in all, a very tasty set of tools for the current game, Bully Boyz beware! Well done on the top placing.

Magnus Dæhlen – Grey Knights (Teleport Strike Force) – 3rd Place

Grey Knight
Grey Knight
Credit: Pendulin

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

GK with Canis Rex

Thoughts

The unusual Canis / Grey Knight Alliance continues, with the big stompy boi providing some much needed brutal damage to compliment the mobility, tricks and incision damage of the silver heroes. Purifiers and Purgation squads continue to make lists as ways of solving chaff and screens for the vehicles and Terminators. A well balanced list with an awful lot of guile when played well, great work.

Sveinung Nøding – Thousand Sons (Cult of Magic) – 4th Place

Credit: Robert “TheChirurgeon” Jones

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Thousand Sons Goodstuff

Thoughts

Cultist screens ahead of lots of psychic damage, with Magnus skulking around doing his thing. This is very much the model for Tsons now, and this build keeps a Rhino in there for a bit of indirect protection / staging potential as well. As opponents connect with the outer layer of Cultists, the Wizards get to work, and they often only need a turn or two of borrowed time to put the enemy away. Really nicely done.

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 5th – Alexander Bæra – World Eaters: WE Invocatus rush with plenty of Eightbound.
  • 6th – Anders Dahlen – Adepta Sororitas: Arco-heavy Sisters with the Triumph, Vahl and Celestine.
  • 7th – Lasse Tilrem – Necrons: Wraith-heavy Awakened Dynasty with some Skorpekh.
  • 8th – Truls Oskar Pedersen – Black Templars: Triple Brutalis Righteous Crusaders, yummm.
  • 9th – Robert H – Grey Knights: Double Assassins supporting characters and a big Paladin brick.
  • 10th – Geir Dutta – Aeldari: Massed MSU Aspects and Yvraine / Visarch shenanigans.
  • 11th – Mikael Westbø – T’au Empire: Pushy Mont’ka with Breachers, Ion Hammerheads and Riptides.
  • 12th – Eirik Eirik – Leagues of Votann: Loads of Hearthguard, Pioneers, and double Land Forts.

From Hell Open 2 – Back into the Trench!

All the lists for this event can be found in MiniHeadQuarters.

Wydjaz – Orks (Bully Boyz) – 1st Place

Big Mek in Mega Armour. Credit: Rockfish
Big Mek in Mega Armour. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Bully Boyz Big Meks

Thoughts

The Big Mek version of Bully Boyz drops a little by way of output in favour of the ability to bring back Meganobz in the Command Phase and protect them at range with a 4++. This throws a spanner (teehee) for armies looking to body them at range, and keeps the tarpit nightmare going that little bit long. Nobz provide a nasty counter swing from close range, and it was able to grind out the wins to take another first place finish for the Orks! Really well done.

El-Gringo – T’au Empire (Kauyon) – 2nd Place (Undefeated)

TX78 Sky Ray Gunship. Credit: Rockfish
TX78 Sky Ray Gunship. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Skyray / Riptide Kauyon.

Thoughts

Two Fireknife Crisis Teams join the party in this Kauyon build, which slams the ‘yes’ button on Sky Rays and Riptides. Once the SUSTAINED 2 party starts the output on this list is brutal and it can deliver on the Kauyon trademark of a storming mid game push. I like the Krootox Riders for cheap screening and scoring. Really well done on the top placing!

LamaR – Adepta Sororitas (Hallowed Martyrs) – 3rd Place (Undefeated)

Credit: Keewa

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Sisters Mixed Arms

Thoughts

Another strong showing for Index Sisters as their Codex looms, I really like the go wide Penitent Engines and Mortifiers here. At their points they’re cheap, obnoxious, and give you great blocking and scoring pieces amidst the damage dealers. Vahl and Celestine ply their trade as hard target removal and objective shenanigan provider respsectively, giving this build a really nice balance to out play the opponent on the primary and cards all at once. Really well done on the finish!

Immortus – Astra Militarum (Combined Regiment)- 4th Place (4.5-0.5)

Cadian Shock Troops. Credit: Rockfish
Cadian Shock Troops. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Guard Mixed Arms

Thoughts

Guard are somewhat in transition after taking hits in the last dataslate, and this build leans more into direct shooting than previous iterations, taking a Rogal Down and a Scions squad to anchor the guns and pick at the enemy from Deep Strike. Being able to recycle Scions with Reinforcements and then drop in again somewhere across a game is very powerful as space opens up, there’s a big Cadian squad for primary plays and Bullgryn and Rough Riders can counter punch as the enemy gets in close. A really nicely weighted list, well done.

The Best of the Rest

There were 10 more players on 4-1+ records. They were:

  • 5th (4.5-0.5) – Guillou – Thousand Sons: Another showing for Rubrics, Wizards and Cultists!
  • 6th – Alariell – Ynnari: Harlequin / Wave Serpent Heavy Ynnari with plenty of MSU.
  • 7th – ManX – Orks (Bully Boyz): Massed Nobz and Meganobz with Warbosses.
  • 8th – Grammaticus – Grey Knights: MSU Terminators and a smattering of Dreadknights in support.
  • 9th – Père_Kstor – Blood Angels (Sons of Sanguinius): Flamers everywhere in this Sons list that takes double Redeemer / Baal Predator and Gabriel Seth for a melee blender instead of the usual BA characters.
  • 10th – “-Seth-” – Death Guard: VSL style Mech Death Guard that packs in some Chaos Lords for mortal wound shenanigans.
  • 11th – Ashord – Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion): Silent King / Monolith antics with some Skorpekhs for the counter punch.
  • 12th – Ptit-Nico – Astra Militarum: Scion and Bullgryn make up the core of the bodies here as Earthshaker Batterys do the artillery thing behind them.
  • 13th – Cirkus – Ynnari: MSU Ynnari with a sizeable Harlequins contingent.
  • 14th – arc_ange – Grey Knights: Triple Librarian / MSU Terminator GK.

Spring Assault at the Ironweld Open

47-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Wakefield, MA, United States on June 01 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Matchup & Mission – Tyranids versus Ad Mech

Samuel Pope – Tyranids (Invasion Fleet):
Army List - Click to Expand

vs.

Sean Keaveny – Adeptus Mechanicus (Skitarii Hunter Cohort):
Army List - Click to Expand

Thoughts

A very finely poised showdown here, which pits the massed drones of the Hivefleets against the massed drones of the Forgeworlds. In the Ad Mech corner we have an awful lot of volume fire and some counter charge, with Sterilizors and front line foot troops providing a lot of small arms fire and overwatch control, with Dragoons ready to push back enemies that come too close. A single Breacher squad here packs punch but perhaps leave the list a little light on solution to high toughness targets…

Which is a shame, as the Nids are here in force packing big monsters AND a bunch of chaff. Invasion Fleet’s ability to shove a 5+++ in multiple locations via the Hive Tyrant gives it ways to blunt enemy shooting, and the big slabs of Termagants can exploit their reactive move to drag the enemy out of position or push up onto objectives. Triple Exocrines is always a good shooting threat to have, and there are plenty of big, durable monsters here that will be tough for the Ad Mech to shift even as they cut swathes through the supporting bugs. The -1 to hit from Venomthropes is also very annoying for the Ad Mech with their modest Ballistic Skill. Both armies have tonnes of assets to play the game with, but you’d back the Nids to grind it out via their big monsters as the game wears on, and that looks to be what happened here!

Result

Tyranids (Invasion Fleet) Victory – 69 – 60

Samuel Pope – Tyranids (Invasion Fleet) – 1st Place

Tervigon. Credit: Rockfish
Tervigon. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Invasion Fleet Mixed (Four) Arms

Thoughts

Another triumph with the Tyranids for Sam, who strikes a great balance here between primary choking little bugs, and supporting monsters. Maleceptors and Exocrines are just very good datasheets especially once a 5+++ is in the mix, and the Tyrannofex gives you another really durable monster to push forwards. Invasion Fleet tends to grind through into the late game by having monsters that are really hard for a lot of armies to reliably kill en masse, and when it gets to do it’s thing it remains the most damage-dealing of the Tyranid Detachments so far. Really well done on the win!

Tony Phillips – Adepta Sororitas (Hallowed Martyrs) – 2nd Place (Undefeated)

Palatine Apraxia Val
Credit: Evan “Felime” Siefring

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Sisters Goodstuff

Thoughts

Another top placing for the Index Sisters with their blend of tarpit melee brawlers (Arcos), hard target slayers (Vahl / Paragons), and solid supporting shooting (Castigators). Loads of bodies for the mission, and plenty of ways to catch the enemy out if they try to engage in response. A really effective army over the last six months, what will their book mean for them?! Well done on the top placing.

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 3rd – Drew Salzborn – Drukhari (Skysplinter Assault): A brutally direct Skysplinter build with massed Raiders, big hitting bricks of Wyches and Incubi, and loads of Dark Lances in support. I like this…
  • 4th – Ian Power – Goffs (Green Tide): Massed Boyz and Characters with Ghaz Meganobz lurking in the midst of it all.
  • 5th – Cullen Burns – Leagues of Votann: Massed Land Fort / Sagitaur Votann.
  • 6th – David LeComte – Black Templars: Four Repulsor Executioners, because why not?
  • 7th – Ian Donovan – Space Wolves: Space Wolves Ironstorm, in which the ‘Space Wolves’ bit is a pack of Fenrisian Wolves, lol.
  • 8th – Jeffrey Colpitts – Orks: Bully Boyz with slightly less Meganobz and slightly more MSU Flash Gitz and Lootas for the early exchanges.
  • 9th – Peter Melendez – Astra Militarum: Tonnes of big infantry squads and two Rogal Dorns supporting.

Thylacine Cup GT

38-player, 5-round GT in Hobart, TAS, AU on May 31 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The organizer of this event got in touch and asked us to include a tribute to Aidan Lyle, a major part of the Tasmanian scene who tragically and unexpectedly passed away shortly after this event. He was well known for his compassion, positive attitude and support for new players, and is a huge loss to the community. Our sincere condolences to all his friends and family.

Blake Jones – Orks (Bully Boyz) – 1st Place

Boss Snikrot
Boss Snikrot by Craig “MasterSlowPoke” Sniffen

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Bully Boyz with Ghaz

Thoughts

All killer, no filler here, with Ghaz leading the charge ahead of a swarm of Nob units of varying flavours. A Battlewagon and Trukks provide the staging, ready to hit like a freight train and absorb enemy damage as they roll through to victory. This build is cleaning up left and right at the moment and seems to be edging out Green Tide on popularity. Really well done on the win!

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd – Shannen Butters – Grey Knights (Teleport Strike Force): Full GK hull spam with Knights and Redeemers.
  • 3rd – Mariusz Rybak – Grey Knights (Teleport Strike Force): Gk Dreadknights with Purifiers and scoring infantry in support.
  • 4th – Ethan Armstrong – Grey Knights (Teleport Strike Force): A mixed build with a big Terminator stack, Knights and scoring.
  • 5th – Luis Dante Fantarella – Chaos Knights: A Knight Tyrant, lots of War Dogs and a small Nurgle Daemon contingent, I like this!!
  • 6th – Tyler Walsh – Chaos Space Marines: Renegade Raiders CSM with Rhinos, Havocs, lots of melee infantry and Triple Vindicators.
  • 7th – Lance Glover – Space Wolves: Storm Lance wolf jail, awoooo.

Viking Games – The Battle for Vanheim

33-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Östergötlands län, SE on June 01 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Martin Hultgren – Orks (Dread Mob) – 1st Place

Gorkanaut. Credit: Rockfish
Gorkanaut. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Dreadmob Lootas

Thoughts

Dreadmob hasn’t hit the heights of it’s peers but there is definitely something there, it just may not be massed Killa Kanz as we all hoped and prayed it might be. Lootas and Shokk Attack Big Meks provide serious volume once juiced up with the detachment buffs, a Gorkanaut provides a big tough centrepiece, and there are bucket loads of Grotz including the Zodgrod Grot A Team to cause headaches on the primary. A really innovative and interesting build, great to see the Mob claim an event win here!

The Best of the Rest

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

  • 2nd (4.5-0.5) – David Klang – Adeptus Custodes (Talons of the Emperor): Talons Custodes with lots of infantry and double Caladius.
  • 3rd – Patric Wreeth – Chaos Knights (Traitoris Lance): Massed War Dogs and some Daemon allies.
  • 4th – Andreas Holm – Drukhari (Skysplinter Assault): A Skysplinter list after my own heart with lots of Incubi, Dark Lances and utility in support.

Wrap Up

That’s it for this week folks! Orks are on the rise, but plenty of other armies are showing up to be counted in a very Xenos heavy meta game. It’s brawling season with an awful lot of melee lists doing well, and we don’t have long to wait now before we see what GSC and Sisters are bringing to the party. Waaaagh!!!

Lowest of Men, out.

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