The weekend past was another huge one for competitive 40K, with no less than four fully fledged GTs taking place across the US, bringing us an very exciting spread of lists to look at, including Necrons making multiple showings on the top tables, spicy new Sororitas and Marine builds and a list that has an actual honest to goodness Craftworlds detachment in it taking down an event. We’ve also got top finishes from not one but two members of the Goonhammer competitive crew – you love to see it folks.

With so many events to talk about, this week we’re going to split this in two. Today we’ll look at the results from Mid-Missouri Maelstrom and Warzone: The Dark Times, then tomorrow finish up with the YHP Fall Brawl and the Clutch City GT. All four events had strong fields and some exciting new brews at the top, so if you’re following the competitive scene at all you’re going to want to check both parts out so you can plan what to paint over the winter months.

On that note – after this week, we’re going to take a couple weeks off from this column. With COVID on the rise across the world again, many events are being cancelled and in most of Europe and the US it feels like we’re back over the line where even smaller events with COVID precautions should be thinking very carefully about whether to proceed (and many are chosing not to). This week has finally brought what feels like some tentatively optimistic news on the vaccine front, but we’re also entering the winter season in the northern hemisphere, where any spikes in illness could be disastrous for the healthcare system. It sucks to see things closing down again, but it’s the right call, and at least this time there’s some small glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. We’ll still have plenty of competitive content here on Goonhammer, as we’ve kicked off the process of updating Start Competing for the new edition and will have some further looks at Forge World options for a few factions just as soon as we can throw a big net over the relevant contributors.

Obviously this is not a call we love to make, but we do think it’s the right one. I’ll be keeping half an eye on lists from the few parts of the world where COVID is fully under control in case something partiularly exciting comes up, but for now let’s dive into this week’s crop.

Mid-MO Maelstrom

You can find the lists for this event in BCP. This event was not using the new Space Wolves/Deathwatch Supplements or updated Forge World Compendium.

James Kelling’s Aeldari – 1st Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

The Standout Features

• Our very own James “Boon” Kelling not only takes down an event, but actually uses some Craftworld units to do so!
• Soaring Spite Harlequins provide a reliable, proven core.
• Powerful longer-ranged shooting options from Craftworlds help dictate the pace of the game.
• Yvraine and the Farseer provide strong Mortal Wound backup.

Why it’s Interesting in 9th

First up, obviously, huge congratulations to Boon for picking up the GT win, and in a tough field no less. From my own point of view, I’m also thrilled to see that he didn’t entirely abandon Craftworlds to pull it off, though they’re obviously the smaller contingent here.

So lets talk about that. The Soaring Spite Harlequin core is a thoroughly proven list at this point, including when run entirely solo, so you have to get something out of any major changes you make to it. What the Craftworld components here do is:

• Provide the ability to take out at least a modest threat at range without having to commit the Harlequins into close range to do so.
• Provides some models that are great at hanging out on home objectives while racking up some value.
• Allow you to dictate the terms of engagement if you’re up against another melee-focused list.

I think the last point is the key one and why you might choose to go down this path rather than just pure Harlequins. By their nature, one of the things Harlequins do very best is counterattack – they wait for the opponent to make a move then hit them with overwhelming force. They’re perfectly capable of playing a proactive game too (they wouldn’t be taking down so many GTs if they weren’t) but you ideally want to be able to use a substantial part of your forces reactively (and this is part of why they have one of the highest go-second win rates).

The challenge with this is that the pure versions have nothing in the way of general-purpose long range firepower, and in particular don’t have anything that will mow down Marines in cover at a distance. If you’re up against something like White Scars who can muster both reactive threats and general mid-purpose shooting that can be to your detriment – you’re more likely to be forced to commit.

Craftworlds can help fill that gap, especially in a Marine-heavy meta. They have access to a bunch of different pieces of long-ranged, multi damage weaponry with good AP that also benefits significantly from the Expert Crafters/Masterful Shots combination. Having the War Walkers and Hornets down is going to flip those dynamics completely, as they generally outrange the shooting threats Marines use and put the power armour player on the clock – they have to commit before they’re too short on models to effectively do so.

Not all matchups are against Marines, obviously, but there’s still value in other games. Harlequins have nothing that wants to sit back but Hornets are perfectly happy doing so, and more and more lists are including at least one dedicated unit for this. In addition, against armies with a big tanky bomb like Nurgle Daemons or Thunderwolf Cavalry it’s very useful to have something that can take a big chunk out of them without opening you up to a counterattack, whereas when Harlequins commit they’re usually opening themselves for a countercharge. The final thing that having Craftworlds (and Yvraine) around does is amp up the Mortal Wound output of the list – Executioner remains extremely no joke, and Yvraine can pile on more pain.

This list will inevitably need a few changes the next time it goes out because Hornets got a shakeup in the new Forge World book – but the good news is that it was largely for the better. The Hornet pulse laser got taken down a notch, but the models got cheaper and a permanent -1 to hit slapped on making them better than ever at home objective holding, probably switching their guns out to starcannons. In my opinion (and I have been relentlessly giving Boon shit about this on the Goonhammer Discord) a Shadowseer would also do a bit more for this list than Yvraine does, as the range reduction aura is seriously good against both Plasmaceptors and other Harlequin lists. However, possession is 9/10ths of the law and in this case Boon has the GT trophy and I don’t, so I guess take that with a pinch of salt – huge congratulations to Boon again.

Nathan Bates’ Necrons – 2nd Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

The Standout Features

• Necrons reach 5-0 at a GT with a surprisingly different build to what we’ve seen thus far.
• Large contingent of Lokhust Heavy Destroyers provide a powerful counter to any mechanised lists.
• Warrior death star provides a durable core.
• Szarekh and the Skorpekh Destroyers combine with the warrior for an exceptionally powerful forward push.

Why it’s Interesting in 9th

“Where are the Necrons?” has been a big question I’ve seen in the comments of the last few week’s articles and, well, here they are! Two Necron lists made it into top fours this weekend, and surprisingly neither of them were packing the Eternal Expansionists combo that’s been getting a lot of hype. Both were using the Silent King, but while the one we’ll see in the second part was using the second most hyped build (Novokh) this version is much more unique.

So, first up – Lokhust Heavy Destroyers, and a surprisingly large number of them at that. Obviously since I build and painted 9 of the old resin conversion kit in March like a complete chump I’m delighted to see them actually doing well in lists, and this does square with my own testing – I’ve found a unit of three overperforming compared to my expectations and popping up in successful RTT lists, and there’s clearly something there given that this list made it through undefeated. Between the Skorpekh Lord and Szarekhan re-rolls they’re extremely reliable, and in a world where Gravis and Dreadnoughts are both extremely popular they tend to have good targets – Gravis because every hit near as certain pops a model, Dreadnoughts because always-on Duty Eternal looks less good against weapons averaging six damage. I still do, ultimately, think they could bear to come down like five points a model, but they can be a genuine asset, especially when used alongside other tools that will draw fire.

The Silent King is, obviously, very much one of those tools! He’s not indestructible, certainly, but he’s appreciably hard to put down and an absolute must-kill unit that forces opponents to drop everything and get on with it. If he crashes into combat he’ll do spectacular damage, and because of the way his stats are structured he keeps the most important parts of his melee output a long way into his health bar. This is even more relevant than usual here because a neat side-benefit of running as pure Szarekhan is that the Technomancer can heal Szarekh or his Menhirs, keeping him in the fight even longer. Because he makes enemies fight last and has his best melee attacks as long as he has at least five wounds, that means here he’ll be fight-phase fit the overwhelming majority of the time. Alongside the Technomancer another relatively surprising unit sneaks in, with a Plasmancer making the cut. They’re the cheapest body available to haul the Hypermaterial Ablator around, and will rack up modest damage at range so I guess I can see it, though I must confess I’d probably still put the Chronomancer in the slot (though I guess it’s possible that with the official model not out yet the event wasn’t allowing them).

The Ablator feeds into the final key part of this list’s strategy, which is to go in on a single, heavily buffed up Warrior death star. With a Technomancer and the Ablator active, plus an Overlord dedicated to keeping them buffed when the Silent King wanders off to murder stuff and the Orb of Eternity to bring them back up, this unit is going to be monstrously hard to shift, and can also leap to wherever they’re needed via the Veil of Darkness. Reaper Warriors are extremely deadly when they shoot, and with Szarekh around can at least somewhat pitch in to a melee as well, but really what they bring here is a block that’s just a nightmare to shift off wherever they choose to stand. My only concern with them as they’re present here would be running face first into one of the Lightning Claw bombs kicking around, part of the reason I’d probably sub in a Chronomancer, as a 5++ gives you that much more chance of surviving to reanimate.

Finishing out the list, we have another melee hammer in the form of Skorpekh Destroyers (a full squad to get the juicy second reap blade) and some scarabs as mobile objective grabbers/harrassers. Both of these units are basically just pretty good and will perform in any list that has a plan for them, and this one does, which is to mop up anything that circumnavigates the main thrust.

The only holistic concern I’d have playing this, and honestly it’s something I’m still feeling a bit with Necrons generally, is that as soon as it starts losing units it can feel a bit sparse. In particular, if you’re up against someone with a unit that can just evaporate the Warrior blob (and lightning claw Wolf Guard will absolutely do it, for example) you can potentially end up just not being able to contest the table for the full five turns of the game. Packing the Scarabs here definitely helps as it gives you something that can fan out and force the opponent to meet you in various parts of the board, but I can certainly imagine playing this being rather nerve racking – the transition point between a game that’s going fine and one that is wildly out of your control is quite precipitous.

Despite those concerns, overall this list should be hugely reassuring to Necron fans out there because it shows that the Codex has some real depth – the tools used to great effectiveness here were firmly in the mid tiers of peoples’ reckonings, so seeing them succeed is extremely encouraging.

Ben Cherwein’s Black Templars – 3rd Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

The Standout Features

• No super doctrine, no problem as Ben takes Black Templars to another top finish.
• A slightly smaller Terminator block is joined by a claw/shield Vanguard Veteran squad to add a mobile melee threat.
• Who needs Troops when you have Rites of War?
• The ubiquitous Bike Chaplain and Chief Apothecary help keep the list swinging at optimal efficiency.
• Ranged options are shuffled around in-line with the best options from the updated Codex.

Why it’s Interesting in 9th

Despite managing to put them on the table in the short window in which their super Doctrine had been accidentally taken away, Ben joins the double club with another strong finish from his Black Templars, revamping his second place Iron Halo list to adapt to the new Codex.

It’s clear as soon as you look at the changes that quite a few things in the book are a real gift to this kind of army, and the big standout is obviously Rites of War. With the ability to put ObSec on both the nightmare Terminator blob, Bladeguard and new arrivals Vanguard Veterans, the new iteration of the list eschews Troops entirely in favour of more damage dealers, and the result is a list that looks like a total nightmare in terms of how many lethal units it squeezes in. Having the VanVets as well significantly diversifies the threat base and avoids the risk of flat out losing if the main block gets deleted, and having large squads of Plasmaceptors and Eradicators to Chapter Master up with Helbrecht then hurl at things provides additional units that mix threat and durability. The list also benefits from several Black Templar relics: the Ancient Breviary lets the Chaplain skip on Wise Orator, removing the need for another character to carry Rites of War, while the Crusader’s Helm pushes the Apothecary’s aura out to 6″ as well as its Doctrine effect, meaning a huge swathe of the list will be operating on a 6+++ most of the time. Cenobyte Servitors also provide the cheapest objective holder/action unit you can get in Marines.

Finishing up the list, we have some multi-melta attack bikes joining the shooting contingent and a Whirlwind to close things out. Melta attack bikes are kind of just good, and I’m gonna say that honestly it’s difficult not to look at the current spread of top lists and not come to the conclusion that the multi-melta buff may have been a bit much – almost anything that can carry one is now a top tier unit. The Whirlwind fits the continuing pattern we’re seeing of wanting one dedicated unit to hold a home objective in most lists, and some ignore-LOS shooting is a good choice for the role as it can pick up some enemy Servitors or whatever. Corrode: For once I actually have to add something to Comp Innovations. It’s also a potential base for Suppression Fire, which allows you to prevent Overwatch where it might be relevant, and force units to fight last, potentially highly important against e.g. Slaanesh builds.

It was good to see the Black Templars make it into a top list pre-Codex and I’m glad to see they’re still doing well – honestly the list Ben has pulled together here looks like a total nightmare. And hey, if he takes it out again he even gets his super Doctrine, which I’m pretty sure is a rule that does something, sometimes?

Dan Sammons’ White Scars – 4th Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

The Standout Features

• White Scars play all the big hits from the new Marine book.
• Three Company Veteran units provides extremely strong secondary scoring capabilities.
• Two bladeguard blocks and some VanVets provide a very strong melee presence.
• Multi-melta attack bikes and Plasmaceptors provide shooting backup. Starting to think y’all are going to get bored of hearing that.

Why it’s Interesting in 9th

White Scars are much more of a known quantity than the three lists we’ve seen thus far, but that doesn’t make them any less scary. Layering their powerful movement tricks and late game melee burst on top of the core quality of Marine units has been a recipe for success all edition, and that strategy doesn’t seem to be going anywhere just yet – quite the opposite, in fact. Clawvets, Plasmaceptors, Attack Bikes and Bladeguard are great in almost any Marine list, but White Scars add additional incentives for all of them that let a skilled player like Dan really go to town.

Even within a heavily used faction, of course, there’s still room to innovate, and Dan’s big addition is going deep on three units of two Company Veterans with claws/storm shields. These are fantastic little objective holders/action units, and even more so in Scars than anywhere else. Encirclement lets them outflank into the opponent’s deployment zone for Deploy Scramblers, and once the super Doctrine turns on they’re actually genuinely dangerous – eight AP-3 D2 attacks that re-roll wounds starts threatening a devastator squad, never mind a lone character! Between them and the Reiver Lieutenant, being able to really reliably hit its own secondaries while denying opponents their own elevates this just that bit above the standard Scars builds.

There isn’t massively more to say here – Scars are great, we all know that, and expect to see a lot of them in the coming months!

The Rest of the Best

Four more players ended the event on 4-1 records:

• 5th Place – Joshua Thomas: Josh played a somewhat unusual Ork list, drawing on multiple successful tools by packing Deathskull buggies, a Forktress and Ghaz all at the same time.
• 6th Place – Richard Windau: Another showing for White Scars, heavy on Bladeguard and Assault Intercessors, and with a squad of VanVets who pass up on the shields for double lightning claw action.
• 7th Place – Aaron Cook: Aaron’s Shadowkeeper Custodes list is one to watch, as he was heavy on Venetari and Sagittarum Custodians, both of which get better with the new book.
• 8th Place – Jonathon Reynolds: Another Goonhammer contributor rounds out the 4-1 pack, with Guilliman leading his Ultramarines to a strong finish.

Warzone: The Dark Times

You can find the lists for this event in BCP. This event did use the new supplements and FW rules.

Damien Owen’s Adeptus Mechanicus – 1st Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

The Standout Features

• My what a lot of Kataphrons that is.
• Serberys Raiders and Archeopters help control the board to mitigate the Servitors’ lack of mobility.
• Corpuscari priests provide a powerful counter-punch unit out of Strategic Reserves.

Why it’s Interesting in 9th

A consistent theme of breakout builds over the course of 8th was someone looking at a build that was working and going “what if that but more” and this list is a prime example of that, blowing fully half its points on a gigantic brick of Kataphron Breachers ready to trundle up the table to victory. What’s more, the rest of the list really leans in to them – rather than packing other heavy firepower units, Damien has filled out the list with units that shore up their weaknesses. Serberys Raiders basically need no introduction at this point as mobile harrassment/screening units, and they’re joined by two Fusilaves. These are an increasingly popular choice for AdMech, as they offer a tonne of value in terms of controlling the game. They unlock a reliable first turn Engage on All Fronts, can slow down your opponent’s key units with their bombs, and the one with the uplink can switch off critical defensive auras like the Ironclot Furnace, allowing the Breachers to go to town on it. They’re proving vastly better than most people originally credited them for, and if you play AdMech you should think seriously about getting them.

The last unit in the list (beyond the mandatory buff characters) is an interesting one – Corpuscarii Priests. These have been lurking on my watch list since Engine War gave them access to the Electrostatic Overcharge stratagem, and this army proves a strong shell for them. it doesn’t really need melee help, but plugging in a unit that is perfectly sized to come out of strategic reserves and absolutely ruin something is a real asset, and they help deal with problems that the low rate-of-fire Kataphrons are less well equipped for. While Fulgurites fill a hole in more lists, I’m glad to see these performing in a build more suited for what they’re bringing to the table.

What the presence of a previously unseen unit in a top build helps to hammer home is just how deep the AdMech roster is in 9th. Off the back of the huge upgrade Engine War gave them they have a fantastic set of tools to put to work, and congratulations to Damien for putting together another powerful version and taking it to the top.

Thomas Byrd’s Ultramarines – 2nd Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

The Standout Features

• Thomas leads the charge as Ultramarines blast onto the scene in a big way.
• Chapter Doctrine enables foot Devastators to operate at high efficiency.
• Seal of Oath and Guilliman turbo-charge shooting.
• Full Intercessor squad takes full advantage of Rapid Fire and Tigurius’ protections.
• Victrix Guard provide great objective holders.

Why it’s Interesting in 9th

One of the emerging stories from the Marine codex is that Ultramarines suddenly seem to have a real place in the metagame. A few things seem to be driving that:

• Strong named characters – Tiggy and Guilliman are both fantastic models.
• A great shell for Devastators thanks to the Doctrine.
• The Seal of Oath letting grav Devs punch at their pre-codex weight.
• Victrix guard being the perfect cheap unit in 9th, filling the same slot as we saw from Company Veterans in Dan’s list.
• Redeploy effects being more valuable than ever now people have a handle on the missions.

That’s a bunch of real assets and this list packs the lot, squeezing in both characters, multiple devastator squads and some Victrix guard, and still finding space for a full Intercessor squad (with Ultras being some of the very best users of Rapid Fire), some Infiltrators for board control and Attack Bikes/Assault Hellblasters to finish things up. Combining that raw power with the ability to substantially alter the deployment plan once the first turn is decided, and the fact that charging the army is genuinely scary thanks to Defensive Focus and Bobby still having a full re-roll aura and you have a list that can really compete.

That’s great news – it was a real shame that for a large part of 8th Edition and early 9th Ultramarines were consistently outcompeted by other Marine builds, but the changes to who has access to what out of the codex, and the big bump to devastators in particular, finally means they have their own niche – and it looks like they mean business!

Jaime Paris’ Mixed Space Marines – 3rd Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

The Standout Features

• Jaime joins the double appearance club, taking another top spot with a lightly tweaked version of his mixed Marine build.
• The Hunter Warlord trait and the return of the Armour of Russ let the smash captain play a more potent role.
• The Savage Strike and Bestial Nature stratagems make the Wolf Guard block even more frightening.

Why it’s Interesting in 9th

Jaime’s list will look pretty familiar to regular readers, as he also took third place at a GT last weekend running a very similar build! Model-wise, in fact, the list is unchanged, but the arrival of the new Space Wolves supplement provides a significant boost to that part of the list. Notably, in a world where being able to kick the crap out of a block of 20 Necron Warriors in a single swing is suddenly quite important, being able to switch the Wolf Guard to the Assault Doctrine bonus and give them +1 to wound on demand substantially ups their already considerable value, and in this build doesn’t really lose much in exchange. The Smash Captain gets a bit more of a sidegrade – losing Touch of the Wild weakens his ability to go after really huge targets, but the addition of Hunter and the return of the Armour of Russ (plus the fact that he can also blow Savage Strike if needed) makes him a much more effective assassin, and also lets him play a flex role in helping to defend against enemy charges when needed.

In summary that means an already great list got even better, and Jaime is definitely on my list of people to watch for making the triple showing.

Andrew Gardenhire’s Adepta Sororitas- 4th Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

The Standout Features

• The ripples of the gigantic shakeup to sisters from the wargear buffs continue, with the Order of Our Martyred Lady making a showing.
• Martyred Lady Retributors draw big benefits from the presence of Junith and their order conviction.
• Bloody Rose provide melee and mid-ranged punch in the form of large Celestian and Repentia units.
• Mortifiers fill a strong flex role, able to join the push, go into Strategic Reserves or sit on home objectives as needed.

Why it’s Interesting in 9th

Sisters continue to go from strength-to-strength, having been transformed whole cloth from a powerful but one-trick army pre-wargear updates to a fully fledged and extremely deep contender. That’s shown off here by the appearance of the Order of Our Martyred Lady in a competitive list, breaking the stranglehold that the Valorous Heart and Bloody Rose have largely had on competitive play (with the odd Ebon Chalice relic carrier) since the book released.

The innovation Andrew has found that makes that order worth it is that they’re a fantastic home for multi-melta Retributors, now firmly established as one of the best units in the book. Running out full ten model squads gives you a strong chance of activating their order conviction, which gives units +1 to hit as long as they’ve lost at least one model. On multi-meltas, which will also be getting re-roll 1s on hits and wounds thanks to Junith that’s pretty terrifying, and they’re going to be even better in this list than they are anywhere else. Junith being present (alongside Celestine) also lets the army save on having to find a slot for the Indomitable Belief warlord trait, as her boost to Shield of Faith invulns works across orders, meaning all of the infantry here are getting the 4++, something you can’t do in lists mixing Bloody Rose and Valorous Heart, and overall adding up to a compelling reason to take Martyred Lady. Junith has always been fine as a model, but she’s needed a reason to bring the rest of the order – it looks like Andrew has found one. Being able to fire her heavy flamers in combat now isn’t nothing either!

While Martyred Lady has pushed out Valorous Heart in this list, the pure power of the Bloody Rose means they’re still here in force as well. Repentia make an unsurprising appearance, but the bigger story is probably the two units of Celestians. I’ve waxed lyrical about how good these are in Bloody Rose (extremely) and being great carriers for a few scattered in meltaguns is a big upside as well, making them a great all-round mid-table unit. People finally seem to be adjusting to just how potent they are, and they work especially well when you’re going wide on defensive buffs as here. The list also finds space for 8th Edition favourites Zephyrim, who while pricy in 9th can definitely pull their weight as Bloody Rose, especially now they have upgraded Power Swords. With the potential to auto-charge they’re yet another unit the enemy has to screen against, and being able to drop into the enemy’s deployment zone if Scramblers is needed is a useful backup role.

Finally, the list fills out with a couple of Mortifier units, each sporting an Anchorite and one more model. I had a quick chat with Andrew to confirm how these were being used, and sure enough they sit in the slot of something that can push onto an objective and take a moderate amount of shifting to get rid of, even if they don’t last the whole game. In theory they could go into Strategic Reserves as a harrassment unit as well, but Andrew found that wasn’t actually needed in the games – being effective throwaway objective holders that could range away from the main force was more valuable.

It’s clearly a great time to be a Sisters player right now, and they’re another army where it’s super exciting to see previously dormant tools rise to the top. Congratulations to Andrew for making it into a top four, and once again to all the other lists from today.

The Rest of the Best

One more player made it out of the pack to a 4-1 finish at this event:

• 5th Place – Bjorn Cantrell: Bjorn ran a hilariously out-there Chaos list, with Ahriman backing up a gigantic brick wall of (90) Plaguebearers and (65) Bloodletters, rounded out by the Nurgle buff characters and a Khorne Smash Prince. Daemon infantry is definitely priced to move, and it’s great to see yet another build emerge from what was a distinctly middle of the road codex in 8th.

Wrap Up

That brings us to the end of part 1 – check back in tomorrow for another 8 exciting lists. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, hit us up at contact@goonhammer.com.