[AOS] Competitive Innovations in the Mortal Realms: The More Things Change…

Welcome to Competitive Innovations, our weekly feature for a number of game lines across the tabletop wargame space. Each week our army list and tactics experts canvass the top tournaments for their game of specialty, looking at the weekā€™s top match-ups and how they played out on the tabletop to let you know whatā€™s hot, whatā€™s not, and what might be coming next as the competitive meta evolves year-round.

Unfortunately, this week’s major event was going to be the Games Workshop Tampa Open, which had to be cancelled due to Hurricane Milton. Thoughts and prayers to everyone affected by the devastation.

Meanwhile, we still got a few smaller events in the UK, US and Germany to go over. This is also the first CI that is fully using the Battlescroll, so let’s take a look at what’s going on as a result of that.

The GAF Jamboree 2024

36-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Kingston upon Hull, England, United Kingdom on October 12 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Mike Stewart – Lumineth Realm-Lords
Army List - Click to Expand


LRL 1980/2000 pts
—–
Grand Alliance Order | Lumineth Realm-lords | Hurakan Temple
Drops: 3
Spell Lore – Lore of Hysh
Manifestation Lore – Morbid Conjuration
—–
General’s Regiment
Sevireth, Lord of the Seventh Wind (350)
ā€¢ General
Hurakan Spirit of the Wind (250)

Regiment 1
Archmage Teclis and Celennar, Spirit of Hysh (590)
Vanari Auralan Sentinels (300)
ā€¢ Reinforced

Regiment 2
Hurakan Windmage (140)
ā€¢ Masterful Tactician
ā€¢ Silver Wand
Hurakan Windchargers (190)
Ydrilan Riverblades (160)
—–
Faction Terrain
Shrine Luminor

vs.

Hazel Moon – Slaves to Darkness
Army List - Click to Expand


Absolute 5D Chess

Slaves to Darkness
Godswrath Warband

Be’lakor, the Dark Master (440)
[General]
– 6 x Varanguard (640)
Khorne
– 6 x Varanguard (640)
Khorne
– 5 x Chaos Knights (250)
Khorne

[Lore of the Damned]
[Krondspine Incarnate]

1970/2000pts
1 drop

Generated by Listbot 4.0

Thoughts

Result

Lumineth Realm-Lords Victory – 43 – 31

Mike Stewart – Lumineth Realm-Lords – 1st Place

Teclis Credit: Joshua Saunders

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Teclis and the Hurakan Special

Thoughts

Well the cost on your Hurakan stuff and Riverblades went up so what do you do? Why cut the Vanari of course!

The point hikes on the “problem units” in Lumineth weren’t particularly big, and so it’s not surprising that the cuts where needed tended to remove the token unit of Vanari Warden or Dawnriders. As long as you keep your distance you really don’tĀ need those against most lists. So the basic strategy applies, use the Hurakan Facet of War to jump up with your Fox Spirits and Windchargers, fire then fall back. The Sentinels offer more ranged firepower if the Hurakan stuff doesn’t get the job done, while the Riverblades can jump ahead and be your primary melee force and character assassins.

Teclis of course hangs back and casts spells at the very difficult to counter auto-10, flooding the board in endless spells or buffing his allies.

The Best of the Rest

There were 6 more players on 4-1 records. They were:

  • 2nd – Dominic Stonebridge – Stormcast Eternals: Karazai the Scarred, Neave Blacktalon and Celestant-Prime with Vanguard-Raptors, Praetors and Vigilors.
  • 3rd – Tom Patton – Kruleboyz: Killaboss, Snatchaboss and Shaman with lots of Monsta-Killaz and Boltboyz.
  • 4th – Hazel Moon – Slaves to Darkness:Ā See Showdown.
  • 5th – Mikey Herbert – Ossiarch Bonereapers:Ā An odd collection of almost every unit in the book (with a particular bent toward Mortek Guard), led by Arkhan and a Soulmason.
  • 6th – Gabe Huddlestone – Skaven:Ā Thanquol and a Verminlord Deceiver with Rat Ogors and two units of Stormfiends.
  • 7th – Courtney Brightwell – Stormcast Eternals:Ā Bastian Carthalos leads an assortment of units include Stormdrake Guard, Annihilators and Liberators.

Age of Sigmar Bad Moon Rising GT 2024

32-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Coraopolis, PA, United States on October 12 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Rob Mulshine – Disciples of Tzeentch
Army List - Click to Expand


Rain makers 2000/2000 pts
—–
Grand Alliance Chaos | Disciples of Tzeentch | Wyrdflame Host
Drops: 2
Spell Lore – Lore of Change
Manifestation Lore – Manifestations of Tzeentch
—–
General’s Regiment
Kairos Fateweaver (440)
ā€¢ General
Blue Horrors and Brimstone Horrors (260)
ā€¢ Reinforced
Chaos Spawn of Tzeentch (60)
Pink Horrors (150)
Tzaangor Skyfires (340)
ā€¢ Reinforced

Regiment 1
Lord of Change (380)
ā€¢ 1 Rod of Sorcery
ā€¢ Illusionist
ā€¢ Nine-eyed Tome
Flamers of Tzeentch (120)
Pink Horrors (150)
Screamers of Tzeentch (100)
—–
Created with Warhammer Age of Sigmar: The App
App: v1.3.1 (13) | Data: v167

vs.

Preston Schlagel – Nighthaunt
Army List - Click to Expand


Bad Moon Rising 1960/2000 pts

Nighthaunt | Death Stalkers
Drops: 2
Manifestation Lore – Morbid Conjuration

General’s Regiment
Lady Olynder, Mortarch of Grief (300)
ā€¢ General
Hexwraiths (180)
Hexwraiths (180)
Lord Executioner (150)
ā€¢ Ruler of the Spectral Hosts
ā€¢ Lightshard of the Harvest Moon
Spirit Hosts (130)

Regiment 1
Reikenor the Grimhailer (220)
Bladegheist Revenants (320)
ā€¢ Reinforced
Bladegheist Revenants (320)
ā€¢ Reinforced
Dreadblade Harrows (160)

Created with Warhammer Age of Sigmar: The App
App: 1.3.1 | Data: 167

Thoughts

This does have potential to shape up to an interesting fight. Tzeentch has a solid ranged presence and decent mobility to keep Nighthaunt on their toes, especially with the Lore of Change granting them a teleport to try and keep up with the Nighthaunt, not to mention Wyrdflame Host being able to blunt many of their attacks with the -1 to wound.

We know what Nighthaunt do, they hit hard and can fly over chaff like it’s nothing. If you pin them down they just charge over you. So the question is keeping them busy long enough to score off them. The game is super close and high scoring, ending with a tight victory of Nighthaunt.

Result

Nighthaunt Victory – 44 – 39

Preston Schlagel – Nighthaunt – 1st Place

Lady Olynder, Mortarch of Grief. Credit: Rich Nutter

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Nighthaunt Good Stuff

Thoughts

It’s the same old Nighthaunt, just slightly less of them. Games Workshop has traditionally taken a more ginger route with balance so it may take a bit before they “get there” in terms of nerfs so the MO right now is generally going to be same strat, but make do with less.

Reikenor and Olynder remain the primo casters of the army, so their role is self explantory. The Executioner is a cheap generic hero that you can slap enhancements on and fits into Olynder’s detachment, so you don’t have to balloon your drop count to add them. Hexwraiths and Bladegheist Revenants are your primary hammer, while the Dreadblade Harrows are safely cut down to 1 unit from the usual two, since their nerf makes them less neccesary (though still clutch when you have to steal an objective under your opponent’s nose).

A unique addition here is the Spirit Hosts, which saw a real decline from 3rd. Like most Bodyguards, theyve been changed to give a 4+ Ward to heroes, rather than take the hit for them. It’s good for the Executioner to have bodyguards if he wades into combat, and Olynder and Reiknor appreciate the support too.

The Best of the Rest

There were 3 more players on 4-1 records. They were:

  • 2nd – Rob Mulshine – Disciples of Tzeentch: See Showdown.
  • 3rd – Ben Klos – Sylvaneth:Ā A super elite list of BelthanosĀ and Alarielle with Kurnoth Hunters and Spiteriders.
  • 4th – Nighthaunt: An actually pretty unique list with Nagash, Hexwraiths and reinforced units of Bladegheists and Harridans.

Baltic Bash GT

28-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Rostock, MV, Deutschland on October 12 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Marc Elschner – Skaventide
Army List - Click to Expand


Skaven
Warpcog Convocation

Grey Seer (120)
[Skavenbrew]
[Scurry Away]
– 40 x Clanrats (300)
– 40 x Clanrats (300)
– 20 x Clanrats (150)

Warlock Galvaneer (140)
[General]
– 6 x Warpvolt Scourgers (380)
– 6 x Ratling Gun (300)
– 6 x Ratling Gun (300)

Gnawhole

[Lore of Ruin]
[Noxious Prayers]
[Forbidden Power]

1990/2000pts
2 drops

Generated by Listbot 4.0

vs.

Moritz RĆ¶ĆŸner – Fyreslayers
Army List - Click to Expand


Faction: Fyreslayers
Battleformation: Warrior Kinband

1. Generalsregiment:
Auric Runesmiter (120)
[General]
– 10 x Auric Hearthguard (260) – Reinforced
– 10 x Hearthguard Berzerkers with Flamestrike Poleaxes (280) – Reinforced
– 9 x Vulkyn Flameseekers (160)
– 20 x Vulkite Berzerkers with Bladed Slingshields (300) – Reinforced

2. Regiment
Auric Runemaster (190)
[Ash-Cloud Rune]
[Ash-Beard]
– 10 x Hearthguard Berzerkers with Flamestrike Poleaxes (280) – Reinforced
– 10 x Vulkite Berzerkers with Fyresteel Weapons (140)

3. Regiment of Renown
Elthwin’s Thorns (260)

Faction terrain: Magmic Battleforge

Prayer lore: [Zharrgrim Blessings]
Manifestation lore: [Magmic Invocations]

1990/2000pts
3 drops

Thoughts

NowĀ this is a showdown. Two armies that really haven’t shown up much in CI, it’s a refreshing change of pace. The Fyreslayers are a resiliant lot, and although they’re slow they can hold objectives incredibly well which would force the Skaven player to force their way up – a tough proposition for a ranged army.

That Said…this isĀ a lot of shooting. Like a lot, and Fyreslayers want you to charge into them if nothing else, as it requires a really strong hammer to bring them down. Armies that simply don’t engage with that nonsense can be frustrating to deal with. If the Skaven player is willing to sacrifice some early gains they can easily melt the Duardin down with ranged fire and then scoop up points in the back half.

Result

Skaventide Victory – 1013 – 7

Marc Elschner – Skaventide – 1st Place

Warlock Galvaneer. Credit: Rockfish
Warlock Galvaneer. Credit: Rockfish

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Warpstone Guns go brrrrrrrrrr

Thoughts

First and most obvious, Ratling Guns are good, damn good. For 150 points you get 9D6 shots. While that 4+ to hit and 4+ to wound may seem unassuming, the Warpcog Convocation hands out a +1 to wound to 3 Skryre units (plus an extra rend if you’re lucky). Throw in a +1 to hit and suddenly 18D6 shots on a 3+/3+ seems a lot more terrifying.

The Scourgers benefit from these buffs as well but also get the bonus from their Galvaneer leader who pumps their attack stat to 10. So 60 shots at 2+ to hit and 3+ to wound, with an extra rend against the ever prolific cavalry is damn strong.

Rounding it all out is the basic Clan Rat, which keeps the Weapons Teams from being targeted until you weed the unit down to 5, so to even shoot them you have to work throughĀ a lot of chaff.

The Best of the Rest

There was 1 more player on 4-1 record and 5 on 4-1-1 (so many ties!). They were:

  • 2nd – EPOS one – Slaves to Darkness: Belakor and a Chaos Lord with 2 reinforced units of Varanguard.
  • 3rd – Moritz RĆ¶ĆŸner – Fyreslayers:Ā See Showdown.
  • 4th – Robert Krauzick – Disciples of Tzeentch:Ā Kairos, Lord of Change and tons of Daemons.
  • 5th – Bryce Johnston – Idoneth Deepkin:Ā Midrange list of an Eidolon, Leviadon, Morsarr Guard and Thralls.
  • 6th – Marc Krzyzek – Hedonites of Slaanesh:Ā Keeper and Shardspeaker with the Masque, tons of Daemonettes, Seekers and Twinsouls
  • 7th – nino janko – Idoneth Deepkin:Ā Very similar to Bryce’s list above, but with Ishalaen instead of Morsarr.

Wrap Up

Thanks again for tuning in and we’ll be back next week with more Competitive Innovations in the mortal realms.

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