It’s a nice slower week after a major event like NOVA, but the games go on. As the scourge of Lumineth Hurakan and Nighthaunt…everything is there any refugee from their continued win rate? (No)
Smite Club Open 2024 – AoS World Championships Qualifier
43-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Mesa, AZ, US on September 07 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.
The Showdown
Mission – Battle for the Pass
Thomas Guan – Lumineth Realm-Lords
Army List - Click to Expand
vs.
Camaron A Hallford – Nighthaunt
Army List - Click to Expand
Thoughts
The two most powerful lists right now, head to head. Frankly in a head to head match it could be any one’s game, but Tom is an extremely good player and Hurakan lists are tuned to target the Nighthaunt’s Weaknesses, which include lack of ranged power and reliance on Wards. Since the Windchargers can bypass Wards the Nighthaunts are basically just riding their 50-50 Saves and hoping for the best.
Result
Lumineth Realm-Lords Victory – 142 – 27
Thomas Guan – Lumineth Realm-Lords – 1st Place
The List
See Showdown
Archetype
Hurakan Lumineth with Vanari Support
Thoughts
Tom’s brought this list to a few events with minor tweaks and variations and either won or came damn close. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
Severith and the Wind Chargers can run, shoot, run again to great effect. The ability to bypass wards is especially effective in the current Nighthaunt Meta. Ellania and Ellathor are one of the best casters in the army, able to access the much missed Total Eclipse which really stings in the new edition with its more limited Command Point Economy and can also scrap decently in combat, before teleporting away.
The rest of the list is pure good stuff. The Sentinels make an excellent shield wall for the non-Hurakan stuff, and the Calligrave is one of the other best casters in the army with the Silver Wand.
The Best of the Rest
There were 8 more players on 4-1 records. They were:
- 2nd – Matt Nguyen – Beasts of Chaos: Bestigors and Bullgors, with the Nurgle Regiment of Renown.
- 3rd – Brian Horton – Seraphon: Mix of cavalry and kroxigors.
- 4th – Camaron A Hallford – Nighthaunt: See Showdown.
- 5th -Aaron Elias Newbom – Ironjawz: Mixed foot and cav, with a Maw-krusha.
- 6th – Roberto Campos-McDonald – Slaves to Darkness: An eclectic list of warriors, Varanguard, Raptoryx and Oathsworn Kin.
- 7th – Henry Simon – Gloomspite Gitz: Troggoths with the Rabble Rowza.
- 8th – Zachary Tipton – Gloomspite Gitz: Trogg and Squigs mixed force.
- 9th – Shane Lambert – Skaven: Vermintide box, plus a Verminlord Deciever and plague monks.
Crucible 2024 Age of Sigmar
33-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Orlando, FL, United States on September 07 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.
The Showdown
Mission – Battle for the Pass
Jonathan Roberts – Cities of Sigmar
Army List - Click to Expand
vs.
Joshua Bradford – Nighthaunt
Army List - Click to Expand
Thoughts
Honestly this fight goes a lot closer than you’d think. The Nighthaunt list is mostly just the Nighthaunt good stuff, but Cities of Sigmar isn’t entirely washed against it. Two reinforced squads of Hammerers is tough and even Nighthaunt’s crazy high damage can struggle to break through it. Cities do have a nice Arsenal of Buffs, Debuffs and Ranged damage to deal with Nighthaunt from a distance, and charge in if they can catch them unawares.
That said Nighthaunt scoot in with a very narrow victory.
Result
Nighthaunt Victory – 44 – 41
Joshua Bradford – Nighthaunt – 1st Place
The List
See Showdown
Archetype
Nighthaunt Good Stuff
Thoughts
It’s frankly just the Greatest Hits of Nighthaunt, it’s real good. The lack of Olynder is interesting, substituted with Mymourn Banshees which gives less casting overall but more anti-Wizard. A lot of lists do rely heavily on their key spells popping off, so being able to punish that is a smart play.
The Best of the Rest
There were 4 more players on 4-1 records. They were:
- 2nd – douglas klem – Hedonites of Slaanesh: A mixed arms approach of Glutos and Sigvald with a mix of archers, cav and melee infantry.
- 3rd – Johnathon Roberts – Cities of Sigmar: See showdown.
- 4th – Cody Saults – Seraphon: Mid-range seraphon.
- 5th – Michael Smith – Idoneth Deepkin: Heavy mix of Morrsarr Guard and Namarti
Wrap Up
Thanks for joining us again. Bit of a slower week but we’re only a few weeks out from the next GW event, and some battlescroll changes are inevitable. See you all next week!
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.
