Welcome back to the weekly metagame update and UTC recap! We’ve got some fast fallers, and some melee dominance as per usual. With our beloved Space Marines remaining down in the 45% win rate, it seems that it remains difficult to succeed with only six activations. Perhaps the incoming Night Lords can break this streak?
Fellgor, Chaos Cults, and Blooded all had banner performances this weekend, with Goonhammer contributor Ace picking up third behind two Spanish Fellgor players at Major Girona- Dia de la Ascension (link). The horde of beastmen sport the highest-average first loss of 2.9, meaning most of the players who’ve joined the braying tribe are generally in contention for a 3-0 or 4-0 finish! With almost 5% meta participation, only losing to marines, and the ever-popular Orks, the beasts are loving their buffs. Hopefully a dataslate is right around the corner to shake up this melee meta!
In other surprises, the Blooded had an amazing weekend with a single undefeated streak in Paris, and mostly single losses throughout the weekend. Considering they achieved 4th at the only GT this weekend. the team seems well-positioned to battle the metagame, with retained crits for frenzied goats and an amuse-bouche of tricks for all comers.
The last couple weeks have had us keep an eye on the Hierotek Circle, sporting a near 50% win rate which has come plummeting down to earth with a 33%. It seems that as always piloting skill is just as important as a faction’s perceived position in the meta. This week does see a bevy of teams well under the 40% desired win rate, though not too many repeat week to week failures. It does seem that melee has stabilized as the winningest way to play since we started these articles, so if you’re struggling as a shooter, it might be time to choose violence!
Maple Leaf War Gaming Monthly – March (BCP)
Toronto had a small 14-person, 3-rounder tournament this weekend, attended by some of Canada’s top players — including friend of the podcast Jason taking the W with Fellgor.
- Jason L, Chimera Gaming- Fellgor Ravagers
- Matt D- Khorne/Tzeentch Legionary
- Vivek R, Maple Leaf Wargaming- Void-Dancer Troupe
The melee dominance is on full display here, with Fellgor and Legionary sporting 3-0 records. Though I suspect in a 4th round the Fellgor would end up dominating Legionary on stats alone. When you’re sporting 12 wounds, the 4 wound melee break point is incredibly hard to shake without Nurgle’s blessings. LVO’s second place Vivek is sporting the ever present Void-Dancer Troupe, the 60% menace. One wonders if he’ll be the one to crack the tournament code for VDT.
Railsplitter Ruffians – March Kill Team ITC Event (Link)
As we head to UTC’s Midwest conference, we’ve got a 4-round, 17-person tournament run by Goonhammer’s very own ArmorofContempt! He remains the biggest of the Wrymblade die-hards, and took a convincing win on the gene cults!
- Jonathan R, Railsplitter Ruffians- Wyrmblade
- Serra D- Void-Dancer Troupe
- Raymond P, Railsplitter Ruffians, Strike Force Justian
While every game on Wrymblade is hard fought, the real surprise here is Raymond P’s 3rd place finish on Strike Force Justian! While he did lose his first round, the chonky captain did a great job of recovering for a podium finish. John did express a little frustration that his finals opponent ended up in 6th place due to the nature of swiss tournament structures. Though with 4 rounds, the Rail Splitters at least had an undisputed champion.
Upcoming Events
March 16
- Kill Team Open 2024: March of Madness(St. Louis)
Notably, we are still looking to get more Kill Team events up on the UTC calendar. If you’d like to be featured, reach out and we’ll get you set up asap!
