Welcome back, Killteam fam! We’re back with another top 3 this week and a small update to the overall format of these articles. We’ll be doing a light check in on the overall BCP numbers in contrast with whichever tournament we’re visiting for the week! This weekend we’ll be visiting Ace’s home country for a banger of a 7-round tournament, in which Fellgor were once again out in force.
From this week’s overall win rates, we see some of the top 3’s impact into the weekly numbers. With the Chaos Cults, and Fellgor performing particularly well. However mixed teams like Blooded and Hand of the Archon are also doing well globally. Meanwhile in Spain, 56 players lined up for a 4 round tournament into a top 8 bracket cut. A different format that I’m hoping led to players getting to spectate some of the best players in the world.
We can see that Spain is no stranger to the global Waaagh, though these eight players did not convert as well as others have. Whether that is due to the terrain, or Spanish players having finding a chink in the Ork armor, remains to be seen. The big story here is the 50% conversion rate of the Fellgor players into the top 8 at this tournament.
The top 8 definitely seems pretty diverse outside of the fellgor problem. With the global 64% win rate of the Fellgor this weekend, it seems Spain was a big fan! With many of the Spanish players helping to juice those numbers. Blades of Khaine see their only player this weekend with a winning record, working overtime to get the team to its 41% win rate!
In what is seeming to be a trend, Xavier has hit the top 3 of this stacked event, with the ever reliable Novitiates. His 6-2 record saw him only losing to Fellgor, and burning down the rest of his opponents throughout the weekend. With so many lines of attack, let’s catch up and see what advice he has for his fellow trainees.
Xavier G – 3rd Place, Novitiates, Torrecollons
Congrats on third place. It seems that Fellgor was your kryptonite this weekend! What about their play style stopped the Novitiates and how do you think you’ll adjust in future matches?
- I think that Fellgor are one of the worst rivals that you can face, it is very difficult to kill them and it is easy to lose your miniatures against them, if they can cover themselves well in heavy coverage it becomes almost impossible. In my future confrontations I think I should have much more control over the whip goat, given that against ace it is the one that made me lose the game.
Are you leaning on the melee or shooting aspect more for the Novitiates? Everyone knows about their Blinding Faith gotcha, but surely you’ve got some other tricks in the tank!
- I think you need both things to be able to win your games, the most important thing is to play with the fact that you usually have more shooting or charging threats than your rivals, in addition to saving your faith to change dice and not for Blinding Faith.
Was there a specific play you recall where everything came down to a die roll, and you had little control? What happened, and did it go in your favor?
- The luck of this faction is that you can “cheat” and greatly reduce your luck in that roll. I don’t think I have ever been in such a situation in my games.
Spain has been one of the global hotspots for Killteam these last few years. Are you planning to make a push to try and go with Ace and the others to the WCW?
- I would love to go to WCW, if the opportunity arises I would not hesitate to go.
Anything else you want to shout out to our fellow readers?
- Encourage everyone to play and also to register for tournaments since we have a great community and you end up enjoying a pleasant time whether you win or lose.
It seems that Chaos Cults remain a menace, while their play rate was weak this week. Java continues to wreak havoc across his kinsmen. With a single loss to Ace, the mutating horde of devotees looked dominant from a distance. It seems that Java is sticking with the team and one wonders how he’s adjusted to the nerfs.
Alberto “Java” – 2nd Place, Chaos Cults, KTAlifornia
Congrats on second Java! It seems that melee teams have yet to weaken, with the 5 of the top 8 being mostly melee-centric teams. Is that a regional thing, or do you think the meta remains melee focused?
- Hello!!! “HAPPYRACCON” thank you for inviting me to this interview. Melee-centric teams continue to be very strong in all regions, although it is true that they are also the most difficult to manage, because they do not allow errors. Those first turns can be very spooky to learn through.
You’ve been on Chaos cults for a while now, have the nerfs affected how you approach match ups? Or are the same Horned mutations and Malefic Vortex tricks continuing to do the heavy lifting?
- They are still just as lethal charging with the horned and the Malefic Vortex chip remains useful. Devotees are weaker and good rivals don’t let you get bring the mutants up so easily because they know that they don’t fully heal. The opponent can now charge devotees safely, because you cannot mutate without an incapacitation. So opposing charges into devotees are more or less safe in combat. You need to discover newer ways to get your dangerous operatives into range.
How much longer are you expecting to play Chaos cults? Are there any other teams you’re looking forward to trying out?
- I’m already trying other factions like Exaction Squad and Veteran Guard and it won’t be long before I’m seen with them in tournaments
Are you planning to travel this year to compete in Killteam, or are you focused on preparing for the World Championships already?
- I would be lying to you if I told you that I am not preparing for WCW. But I also like to enjoy the community and travel, it is being difficult to travel to so many important events with how fast KT is growing
What are your thoughts on the exclusion of the Bheta Decima terrain at this tournament? Do you think the format has any legs for competitive play?
- Right now “bheta decima” is not prepared for a competitive format, the terrain needs to be perfected
Any last shout outs to players, supporters, or game stores that help support you?
- I want to thank “Adan” better known as @liver.eating.johnson on Instagram, who makes any Kill team really enjoy playing, thanks to his art painting them
Ace is no stranger to these articles or Goonhammer in general. It seems he’s fallen for the temptations of the mighty Fellgor Ravagers, after his World Champs run with Inquisition Agents. Frenzying through the ranks of his fellow Spaniards with an undefeated record, and joining the melee menace. It seems that the fears of melee summer have gone unabated, and one wonders if Ace has a different playstyle from USA’s Orion. Only one way to find out!
Fernando Marcos “Ace” – 1st Place, Fellgor Ravagers, MRQ3
Well done on securing first for your mighty Fellgors! It seems that you’re in good company with Orion and many other Fellgor players around the world. Do you think that Fellgor are too strong, or players have yet to adapt to their playstyle?
- I think players have to adapt to a very peculiar style when facing Fellgor, but I also think they are incredibly strong, especially at some competitive tables where there is an excess of heavy terrain and of course in ITD.
What sorts of things do you worry about as a Fellgor player, that you think players around the world need to do if they want to beat them?
- There are many factions that have several options against them, the base is to shoot and shoot, I also think you have to play a bit counter intuitive, you have to stay away from points while shooting and try to give as few bridges as possible to the enemy. Any other faction that cancels re-rolls, think Hunter Clade or Exaction Squad, also do quite a bit of damage to them.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask you about the US finally dethroning you earlier this year. You were Killteam’s #1 for two years running, is that something you’re looking to try and catch again this year? Or are you focusing on growing the Spanish scene to bigger heights?
- Of course one of my main goals is to keep growing the Spanish scene, on the other hand it has been a fortune to stay in the top for 2 years in a row, this last year has also been a great season and I am very proud to have fought until the end, with more competitive players and with the scenes of countries much larger than Spain growing it will be practically impossible to repeat the goal, of course we will give our best to try, and who knows maybe this year we can compete in Las Vegas.
You’ve played teams all across the melee, mixed, and ranged spectrum. What sort of things do you find yourself learning on Fellgor that you’ve missed?
- Above all, perfecting positioning when charging and establishing bridging charges, for the rest of the turns, losing the fear of advancing to take positions. On the other hand, I play the Fellgor a bit more defensive than other teammates, sometimes even taking Recon (in some ITD maps), so more than adapting my style to them, I have made them mine and I try to adapt them to my way of playing.
What sort of things are you looking forward to in Kill Team in the near future? Looking forward to playing a tournament on the newer terrain in the near future?
- I’ve found my motivation with the game by trying new factions, I’m really looking forward to explore what beta Decima brings us, however it’s been difficult to find tables in our tournaments due to the lack of production. And above all I’m looking forward to Mandrakes, which have been one of my favorite factions ever
Any other final shout outs to the listeners? When’s your next Killteam tactics article coming out?
- Hopefully soon, I’ve been pretty busy these past few months, but fortunately it should be over soon, not only that, but there are plans to do something new on the horizon, so stay tuned!
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