We have a whopping five events to cover this week, but with three very large events included amongst them we are going to focus in on the showdowns for those three.
- War in the Heartlands – Act 3
- World Championships of Warhammer
- DaBoyz GT Rochester
On a personal note, I went to WITH myself and had a blast, finishing 21st with a 3-1-1 record. I make a point of going to this event each year as it’s easily one of the highlights of the tournament calendar in England. Anyway, on with the show.
War In The Heartlands – Act 3
100-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Leicester, England, GB on November 18 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.
The Showdown
Matchup & Mission – Lines of Communication
Max Barton – Maggotkin of Nurgle: Befouling Host:
Army List - Click to Expand
vs.
Kieron Bailey – Big WAAAGH!:
Army List - Click to Expand
Thoughts
Max’s Nurgle wants to dominate the midboard and dare the opponent to try and push them off – a tactic especially effective on Lines of Communication, where three central objectives are positioned within 30″ of each other. Those Plaguebearers shuffle up to stand on the circles in a semi-circle, while the GUO sits behind them and the power combo of the Glottkin & Maggoth lords go on the offensive using Blightkrieg. As mentioned in previous weeks, this style of list aims to put down a Sloppity Bilepiper as soon as possible (in order to use it’s powerful ability to shut off pile-ins for enemy models within 3″ of nearby Daemons), and Max has gone for the most efficient approach to making that happen. Between the GUO with a Bell & two trees starting on the board, Max has a roughly 87% chance of being able to summon a Sloppity Bilepiper on his first turn.
Going up against this powerful defend and counter-attack gameplan is Kieron’s take on Big Waaagh, which takes a more balanced approach than is typically seen. Rather than leaning heavily into Ironjawz units, he’s brought along Swampboss Skumdrekk (a slightly cheaper named version of the regular Sludgeraker we know and love), the basic budget Kruleboyz battleline package and 6 Boltboyz, as well as a Shaman (to make Skumdrekk/Boltboyz more potent as appropriate) and Gobsprakk (because have you seen that KB spell lore?).
Many armies would struggle would struggle to pass the damage check required to chew through as much meat as Max has brought to the table, but BW are one of the best armies in the game at just obliterating stuff, and this list is likewise capable thanks to tools like the Wurgogg’s mask, Orruk Brutes, their Rager cousins, a Megaboss with Destroyer, Skumdrekk and so on. That said, there remains a problem – BW isn’t fantastic at engaging in multiple combats at a time, as the defensive profiles for Kieron’s units are underwhelming across the board. Blightkrieg means that it’s very rarely ever going to be a case of “I’ll charge that one unit and rip it apart”, as Max will ensure it’s instead about multiple combats happening simultaneously… where the defensive abilities and the disease counters (and shutting off pile-ins…) really shine.
Result
Maggotkin of Nurgle: Befouling Host Victory – 28 – 12
Max Barton – Maggotkin of Nurgle: Befouling Host – 1st Place
The List
See Showdown
Archetype
Blightkrieg
Thoughts
As you can see from Max’s point total for the army (1980), this is a rather fragile list that could only flourish after the points drops to Nurgle in the last battlescroll. The issue with the Glottkin had always been the typical dilemma – if you included it, you never had enough points left over to hit a critical mass of stuff that would really benefit from it’s abilities to make it worth it. When the list is capable of putting down 60 Wounds on a 5+ ward that are -1 to hit from shooting as screens, while also setting up a Sloppity Bilepiper behind them on turn one to make them more obnoxious, it really sings.
Why? Well consider that Max’s shrewd list choice is also continuing to generate roughly 6-9 Contagion points a turn, meaning that by the time his opponent has exhausted their resources just chewing through those initial screens, and somehow weathered the combined might of the Glottkin & two Maggoth lords, more Plaguebearers are coming in to take back the primary objectives and deliver the knockout blow. Well done to Max on a superb finish in a very competitive field.
Dan Bradshaw – Seraphon – 2nd Place (5-0)
The List
Army List - Click to Expand
Archetype
Spells & Summoning
Thoughts
Perhaps what’s most interesting about Dan’s take on Starborne is that it’s only rocking Lord Kroak himself and no other Slann. This means that his Celestial Point generation is quite a bit slower than similar Starborne lists. That said, the tradeoff is that Dan is capable of starting with significantly more resources on the board, as the Slann’s absence basically pays for a unit of 10 Raptadon Chargers all on it’s own, a unit which is deceptively potent for its cost. Twenty Saurus Warriors further enhance the more bruiser-esque approach to list design, as while they lack the damage reducing abilities of their Coalesced equivalents, they are still a very tanky and efficient unit, especially when supported by the brutal long range spell support that Starborne is well known for.
The Best of the Rest
The rest of the top 8 were:
- Position – Player Name – Faction:
- 3rd – Seb Donley – Fuethan (5-0): Not quite maximum shark spam, but close – 9 Sharks, a Turtle, Lotann + Tidecaster (with flip the tides Command Trait and a second boat)
- 4th – Baz Norman Jnr – Fuethan: It’s the exact same list as Seb’s, only with a different grand strat choice
- 5th – Craig Namvar – Big Waaagh!: Craig is essentially playing Ironjawz masquerading as BW, with the daring decision to not even bother with a Wurgogg Prophet at all (!), instead shoving a Maw-Krusha, 12 Pigs and 15 Brutes down the board, with a minimal support package of a single Warchanter, Gobsprakk and a Weirdnob for Hoarfrost
- 6th – Christopher Nobbs – Legion of Night: A mix of Skeleton stuff (30 Skeletons, 15 Black Knights and a Wight King plus Velmorn & Sons), summonable chaff, support and Mannfred himself
- 7th – Rob Morris – Pretenders: A rather unusual list here with both a Keeper of Secrets and Shalaxi Helbane acting as a power pair. There’s some typical Blissbarb archer/seeker support as you might expect too
- 8th – Kieron Bailey – Big Waaagh: See showdown
Age of Sigmar World Championships of Warhammer
88-player, 12-round Major in Atlanta, GA, United States on November 16 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.
The Showdown
Matchup & Mission –
Tom Mawdsley – Skaventide:
Army List - Click to Expand
vs.
Nicolas Tassone – Zaitrec:
Army List - Click to Expand
Thoughts
It’s magical might versus board (and command) control as what is effectively the modern-day version of the Isle of Blood from WHFB is played out in the grand finals of the World Championships of Warhammer. As Tom was the winner of the Winner’s bracket, he needed only to win one of the two rounds, whereas Nicolas was the winner of the Loser’s bracket, and would thus need to beat Tom in two matches in order to come away the victor.
Tom’s list wants to use it’s clan-rats as batteries for the Bells that screen out front, as in doing so the Bells can absorb the hits with their 5+ ward (while benefiting from -1 to hit), or try and pass them off to the clanrats instead on a 3+. By managing how much is divvied between the bell and the clanrats, Tom can keep both units healthy, while also potentially setting up for some cheeky Verminlord summoning by cracking the bell at an opportune moment. Beyond that, the Bells themselves disrupt command ability usage, with the punch of the list coming from the many Plague Censer Bearers Tom has brought. Statistically, they are one of the most potent and efficient hammer units in the entire game.
Facing Tom down is a Lumineth list that hasn’t heard of Sentinel spam and doesn’t care to learn about it either. Nicolas has a very lean machine here, with the spellcasting might of the Lumineth led by Teclis getting supplemented with insane mobility from the Dawnriders. While it may not seem like there’s much stuff here for Nicolas, the success of the list is defined by its many debuffs.
In particular in this matchup, Nicolas can automatically unbind the crucial Death-Frenzy spell (fight on death, insanely good on PCB) from Tom for free each turn using Teclis. In addition, the list has not one but two spells that brutally punish units for having low bravery – both Darkness of the Soul & Crippling Vertigo cause a sort of bravery check each time they try and move (or in DOTS‘ case, shoot/fight too), and if Nicolas roll’s higher than their bravery on 2d6 they cannot perform that action in that phase. Those PCBs are bravery 5 and the bells have a not-much-better 6. Ouchy.
Result
Lumineth Realm-Lords Victory (2-0)
Nicolas Tassone – Zaitrec- 1st Place
The List
See Showdown
Archetype
Spells & Swords
Thoughts
For so long, Lumineth lists had survived on shooting the shit out of you while holding you at bay as long as possible with disruption effects like the Rune of Petrification, Warden screens and other spells. In 2023, the list is far more aggressive, and leans into the debuffs at the army’s disposal in order to essentially force their opponent to fight with both hands behind their back.
Dawnriders aren’t going to dazzle you with their raw efficiency, but with Speed of Hysh they can go 28″ inches with a normal move without even needing to run, meaning that they can very easily threaten isolated and fragile pockets of the opponents army, score battle tactics, or simply race down a flank and demand attention before darting back to safety. Eltharion acts as a budget Gotrek, as he costs a fraction of the points while providing much of the same utility – enemy units won’t want to be anywhere near this bad dude, as he can tank a lot of punishment, dole out a fair amount and even shoot a unit for up to d6 mortal wounds up to 18″ range away!
All this said, I want to congratulate Nicolas (and all the other competitors who made it to the top 8) on a truly amazing performance. I cannot imagine playing up to 10 rounds of top-tier competitive Warhammer in a high pressure tournament, many miles from home comforts and local support, likely dealing with jet lag and all manner of other side effects of long range travel followed by many hours of standing over a Warhammer table. Amazing stuff.
Tom Mawsdley – Skaventide – 2nd Place
The List
See Showdown
Archetype
Midboard control
Thoughts
Other tricks up Tom’s sleeve include a total of three Pestilens heroes in order to make those potent prayers very consistent, as well as triggering a lot of devastating Great Plagues. Three Masterclan heroes also means that Tom can use a Screaming Bell or some other frontline unit to do the initial charge, and if the roll is 9 or greater… great! Tom can use that result instead of making a charge roll for subsequent units charging in the phase. Why is this good? Well because those PCB hammers can jump through a gnawhole or ride the soulscream bridge and have a higher-than-normal chance of making that crucial 9″ charge.
Lastly, there is the frankly annoying as shit but glorious ability of Skabbik & his Plaguepack. If Skabbik Befouls an objective with his prayer, enemy units cannot contest that objective while the Plaguepack are contesting it. You would think it’s as simple as kill the Plaguepack right? Well what if they’re hiding behind a wall of Screaming Bells and clanrats? Not gonna happen.
The Best of the Rest
The rest of the results from the double elimination bracket were (note: I’m not sure if there was any distinction between 5th/6th and 7th/8th):
- Position – Player Name – Faction:
- 3rd – Phil Marshall – Gloomspite Gitz
- 4th – Ronya Andersson – Soulblight Gravelords
- 5th/6th – Thomas Zhennan Guan & Christoffer Karlsmose – Ossicarch Bonereapers
- 7th/8th – Benji Askelaad & Carson Whitlock – Big Waaagh/Ogor Mawtribes respectively
DaBoyz GT Rochester 2023 AoS 1v1
80-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in West Henrietta, New York, US on November 18 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.
The Showdown
Matchup & Mission –
Jordan Duncan – Mor’phann:
Army List - Click to Expand
vs.
Erich Devendorf – Khailebron:
Army List - Click to Expand
Thoughts
Morathi and the Bow Snakes is back on tour, with the interesting inclusion of Slythael & her Shadeborn. The thing to know about both units is that they both have free teleport moves in their movement phase, and both have a 4+ ward while within 9″ of each other. Primarily these two units are useful for battle tactics, with Slythael also providing extra utility as a means of shutting off commands in the Combat/Battleshock phases against units with low bravery. The rest of the list is fairly standard stuff, with a lot of pressure being applied to those 10 Bowsnakes and Morathi to do the heavy lifting, because this is a fairly fragile army.
Going up against it is another style of Idoneth army that’s been growing in popularity since the fish elves points drops. Thralls and Reavers are both fairly efficient units for their costs now, and the Soulrender in Mor’phann is putting back d3+3 models back to one Namarti keyword unit at the end of each battleshock phase to make dealing with them via chip damage futile. A unit of 30 Thralls is very difficult to outright kill when supported by a Leviadon, Mystic Shield, Cover and potentially even a ward from the shipwreck.
As you can imagine based off reading the above, those bowsnakes are not at their best here, as while they do provide significant scalpel damage, they can’t just shoot the Thralls off the board and be done with it, thanks to the Idoneth battle trait Forgotten Nightmares, meaning they’re likely forced to shoot the rather less appetising Ishlaen Guard screening them instead.
Result
Mor’phann Victory – 34 – 14
Jordan Duncan – Mor’phann – 1st Place
The List
See Showdown
Archetype
Elf-based attrition
Thoughts
Elves aren’t known for their endurance and attrition (outside of Stone Guard and cows), but Jordan defies the stereotype by achieving great success from a list that wants to grind out primary points and hold the middle with that swarm of blind Namarti.
It’s not all one dimensional however, as the Leviadon and Ishlaen Guard give the army a mobile element for battle tactics purposes, the Reavers give the army reach and thus force the opponent to engage, and the Akhelian King is capable of unspeakable acts of violence thanks to Unstoppable Fury and how well it pairs up with the King’s ability to give itself (and up to two other units) the benefits of High tide for a turn. For those unaware, if the King is fighting under the benefits of High Tide, he adds +2 to the attacks characteristic of each of his weapons for each enemy unit within 3″ of him. Get a good charge off and tag 2-3 enemy units and this king can blow up the moon… or would have if the Skaven hadn’t got to it first once upon a time.
Anyway, cracking result Jordan.
Basil Inferrera – Fangs of Sotek – 2nd Place
The List
Army List - Click to Expand
Archetype
Spells and Skinks
Thoughts
Pretty standard Starborne list here really. The Ripperdactyls are a fun inclusion, and can combo well with Hoarfrost to make for a mobile and deadly scalpel unit to go after ranged infantry, war machines or even support pieces.
The Best of the Rest
The rest of the top 8 were:
- Position – Player Name – Faction:
- 3rd – Derrek Perham – Fangs of Sotek: Kroak + Slann spells list that protects itself with 10 Raptadons, a mix of Saurus Guard & Warriors and a Bastiladon
- 4th – Owen Jackson – Darkwalkers: Wales’ own Owen travels far to put up a top 8 finish with a bunch of Bullgors and a whole lot more Ungor Raiders
- 5th – Erich Devendorf – Khailebron: See showdown
- 6th – Jean-Francois Normand – Guild of Summoners: A chicken factory style list that goes a little lighter than normal on Tzeentch heroes in order to afford Be’lakor for extra control juice and 6 Enlightened on Disc for a mobile element
- 7th – Ridge Hanna – Jaws of Mork: A blend of Bounderz and Squig Herd, with a full compliment of buff pieces in the Gobbapalooza, Snufflers, Squigboss and Skragrott
- 8th – Samuel Gould – Koatl’s Claw: 20 Saurus Warriors and 6 Aggradons anchor what is otherwise a fairly starborne esque list, with Kroak, an Astrolith and even a Celestant-Prime to give the Coalesced list some ranged oomph
RenegadeOpen2023 – Age Of Sigmar GT
46-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Minneapolis, MN, US on November 18 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.
Isaiah Ramczyk – Heartwood – 1st Place
The List
Army List - Click to Expand
Archetype
Long ranged barrage
Thoughts
This is about as ‘hold you at arm’s length’ as it gets, with Alarielle having to do a lot of work here in attacking, teleporting back to the safety of the trees in a defensive position, while a withering amount of long ranged firepower comes from the Kurnoth at the back, with the Gossamid’s screening them from harm.
The Best of the Rest
The rest of the top 8 all finished 4-1 and were:
- Position – Player Name – Faction:
- 2nd – Jackson Keeley – Helon: Sentinel spam isn’t dead! 40 of em, 10 Windchargers, Sevireth & two foxes stand back and unleash heck
- 3rd – Matt Casper – King’s Gitz: A mixed arms list of Shootas, Rockguts and Bounderz, with a mighty unit of 10 Fanatics lurking amongst the lines, ready to deliver a strike-first beatdown to whatever gets close
- 4th – Patrick Ottolino – Hammers of Sigmar: Stormdrakes, Ionus (his first appearance!), plus Longstrikes
- 5th – Corey Anderson – Host of the Everchosen: Eternus & Be’lakor apparently get lost on the way to their own legion, instead helping out this mortal heavy list that’s headlined by 20 Nurgle Chaos Warriors and 10 Slaanesh Chosen, with cultists and Furies for battle tactics and 6 Khorne Theridons for a cheap and extremely angry hammer
- 6th – Daniel Dowell – Hallowheart: Another first for CI, with the new Cities book appearing here with a total of 30 Fusiliers, two Command Corps to keep anything from every dying, a smash Griffon, two Warforgers, Pontifex to give everything a 5+ ward and finally a Battlemage on Celestial Hurricanum
- 7th – Paul Wilmes – Emerald Host: A fun and mad list, of two Torments, Awlrach, a Dreadblade Harrow… followed by NINE minimum sized Chainrasp hordes, three minimum sized Grimghast Reapers, a cheeky unit of Chainghasts and an inexplicable lone Bladegheist Revenants unit
- 8th – Nathan Vossmar – Hallowed Knights: Ionus appears once again, with Gardus, a mixture of support heroes, a total of 20 Vindictors, and Questor Soulsworn!
Lost Legion GT
40-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in North Shore, VIC, Australia on November 17 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.
Nathan Thompson – Barak-Urbaz – 1st Place
The List
Army List - Click to Expand
Archetype
Slightly more board controlly KO
Thoughts
Wasn’t sure how to define this one if I’m honest. 15 Thunderers and an Ironclad, with an Admiral & a Khemist are obviously effective and provide a great baseline of firepower, but it’s what comes after that’s a little interesting. Two units of 20 Arkanauts that can rally on a 4+ make for an army that can sit on objectives and weather a bit of aggression without completely folding like deck chairs.
The army probably falls apart if that Ironclad goes down, but can you afford to focus on it while those bodies establish a sizable lead on primary points?
The Best of the Rest
There were 5 more players on 4-1 records. They were:
- Position – Player Name – Faction:
- 2nd – Laslo Nedanovski – Befouling Host: Two Maggoth lords, the Glottkin and Sloppity, with an array of Plaguebearers, Beasts of Nurgle and even a unit of Nurglings for battle tactic/summoning point generation purposes
- 3rd – Lachlan McKenzie – King Brodd’s Stomp: Brodd, two Gatebreakers and a Kraken-eater
- 4th – Kieren Coates – Skaven: Another PCB heavy list, but bringing two Verminlords (including Skreech himself) instead of Screaming Bells, and a Hell Pit Abomination
- 5th – Aran Best – Knights Excelsior: Annihilator spam plus a few Knight-Judicators and an Imperatant, plus Everblaze Comet for extra long ranged fuck-you
- 6th – Will Knight – Barak-Zon: Brokk leads the way on this list running 3 separate Frigates and a mix of Arkanauts and Endrinriggers
Wrap Up
That’s it for this week! I don’t think any of us quite expected before the last battlescroll that we would be seeing the likes of Screaming Bells, Plaguebearers and Namarti dominating the top tables, but that goes to show you just how narrow the margins are between an army being mediocre and an army excelling in tournament play.
