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 week’s top match-ups and how they played out on the tabletop to let you know what’s hot, what’s not, and what might be coming next as the competitive meta evolves year-round.

I was going to do a big pre-amble because I have the day off today (yay) but I’m sadly suffering with some sort of horrible cold (boo) and have had to drag myself out of bed to finish this at all, so no big thinky thoughts. Nice diverse top sixteen at LVO, Aeldari back to 55% WR now they’re not being suppressed by UKTC terrain, AdMech looking like they’re legitimately a bit overtuned – those are the headlines you need, let’s get onto the results.

Part 1 on Wednesday:

LVO XII Warhammer 40k Champs
Denver 40K Fight Club October Open 2025
Albany Borealis GT
RoGB NW 40k Event
Palladium Games Presents “the dumpster fire gt” Fall Edition
Sonoma Con GT

Part 2 on Friday:

Michigan GT 40k Champs
Dragon Fall 40k Worlds Qualifier
Santiago Open
Battle at The Guild 4th GT
I. Würfelgötter Royal Rumble XXL Gelsenkirchen
OCB 40k Turnier am HeroFest

Part 3 on Saturday:

Hanseatic Alliance Open
Edmonton Wargaming Open 40k 2025
Sydney Supermajor – NSWTC
Bourbon City Brawl 40K GT
Grand Tournament against Cancer

LVO XII Warhammer 40k Champs

545-player, 10-round Supermajor in Las Vegas, NV, United States on October 03 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Linchpin – Tipping Point

Tyler Stice – Deathwatch (Black Spear Task Force)
Army List - Click to Expand

Rack em up Rack em up (2000 points)

Space Marines
Deathwatch
Strike Force (2000 points)
Black Spear Task Force

CHARACTERS

Captain in Gravis Armour (105 points)
• Warlord
1x Boltstorm gauntlet
1x Power fist
1x Relic chainsword
• Enhancement: Thief of Secrets

Judiciar (95 points)
1x Absolvor bolt pistol
1x Executioner relic blade
• Enhancement: Beacon Angelis

Watch Master (125 points)
1x Vigil spear
• Enhancement: The Tome of Ectoclades

BATTLELINE

Deathwatch Veterans (190 points)
• 1x Watch Sergeant
1x Astartes shield
1x Xenophase blade
• 9x Deathwatch Veterans
3x Astartes shield
2x Close combat weapon
4x Deathwatch thunder hammer
2x Frag cannon
3x Power weapon

Deathwatch Veterans (100 points)
• 1x Watch Sergeant
1x Astartes shield
1x Xenophase blade
• 4x Deathwatch Veterans
2x Close combat weapon
2x Deathwatch thunder hammer
1x Frag cannon
1x Infernus heavy bolter

Intercessor Squad (80 points)
• 1x Intercessor Sergeant
1x Astartes grenade launcher
1x Bolt pistol
1x Bolt rifle
1x Power fist
• 4x Intercessor
4x Bolt pistol
4x Bolt rifle
4x Close combat weapon

OTHER DATASHEETS

Deathwatch Terminator Squad (190 points)
• 1x Deathwatch Terminator Sergeant
1x Storm Shield
1x Thunder hammer
• 4x Deathwatch Terminator
3x Cyclone missile launcher
3x Power fist
1x Storm Shield
3x Storm bolter
1x Thunder hammer

Incursor Squad (80 points)
• 1x Incursor Sergeant
1x Bolt pistol
1x Occulus bolt carbine
1x Paired combat blades
• 4x Incursor
4x Bolt pistol
1x Haywire Mine
4x Occulus bolt carbine
4x Paired combat blades

Indomitor Kill Team (250 points)
• 4x Kill Team Heavy Intercessors
4x Bolt pistol
4x Close combat weapon
2x Deathwatch heavy bolt rifle
2x Deathwatch heavy bolter
• 3x Kill Team Heavy Intercessor with power fists
3x Flamestorm gauntlets
3x Twin power fists
• 3x Kill Team Heavy Intercessor with melta rifle
3x Bolt pistol
3x Close combat weapon
2x Melta rifle
1x Multi-melta

Infiltrator Squad (100 points)
• 1x Infiltrator Sergeant
1x Bolt pistol
1x Close combat weapon
1x Marksman bolt carbine
• 4x Infiltrator
4x Bolt pistol
4x Close combat weapon
1x Helix Gauntlet
1x Infiltrator Comms Array
4x Marksman bolt carbine

Storm Speeder Thunderstrike (150 points)
1x Close combat weapon
1x Stormfury missiles
1x Thunderstrike las-talon
1x Twin Icarus rocket pod

Vanguard Veteran Squad with Jump Packs (95 points)
• 1x Vanguard Veteran Sergeant with Jump Pack
1x Storm Shield
1x Vanguard Veteran weapon
• 4x Vanguard Veteran with Jump Pack
4x Storm Shield
4x Vanguard Veteran weapon

Exported with App Version: v1.41.0 (98), Data Version: v687

vs.

Nemo The Fish – Astra Militarum (Recon Element)
Army List - Click to Expand

How in the world do people actually enjoy playing this? (2000 Points)

Astra Militarum
Recon Element
Strike Force (2,000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Cadian Castellan (55 Points)
• 1x Plasma pistol
• 1x Power fist

Cadian Command Squad (65 Points)
• 1x Cadian Commander
◦ 1x Plasma pistol
◦ 1x Power fist
• 1x Cadian Veteran Guardsman
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Plasma gun
◦ 1x Plasma pistol
• 1x Cadian Veteran Guardsman
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Lasgun
◦ 1x Master Vox
• 1x Cadian Veteran Guardsman
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Lasgun
◦ 1x Medi-pack
• 1x Cadian Veteran Guardsman
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Plasma gun

Gaunt’s Ghosts (100 Points)
• 1x Ibram Gaunt
◦ 1x Bolt Pistol
◦ 1x Gaunt’s chainsword
• 1x Colm Corbec
◦ 1x Corbec’s hot-shot lascarbine
◦ 1x Straight silver knife
• 1x Elim Rawne
◦ 1x Rawne’s lascarbine
◦ 1x Straight silver knife
• 1x Hlaine Larkin
◦ 1x Larkin’s long-las
◦ 1x Straight silver knife
• 1x ‘Try Again’ Bragg
◦ 1x Bragg’s autocannon
◦ 1x Straight silver knife
• 1x Oan Mkoll
◦ 1x Lascarbine
◦ 1x Mkoll’s straight silver knife

Ursula Creed (85 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Duty and Vengeance
• 1x Power weapon

BATTLELINE

Cadian Shock Troops (120 Points)
• 2x Shock Trooper Sergeant
◦ 2x Close combat weapon
◦ 2x Sergeant’s autogun
• 18x Shock Trooper
◦ 18x Close combat weapon
◦ 14x Lasgun
◦ 2x Meltagun
◦ 2x Plasma gun
◦ 2x Vox-caster

Catachan Jungle Fighters (65 Points)
• 1x Jungle Fighter Sergeant
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Laspistol
• 9x Jungle Fighter
◦ 9x Close combat weapon
◦ 2x Flamer
◦ 7x Lasgun
◦ 1x Vox-caster

Death Korps of Krieg (65 Points)
• 1x Death Korps Watchmaster
◦ 1x Plasma pistol
◦ 1x Power weapon
• 9x Death Korps Trooper
◦ 9x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Death Korps Medi-pack
◦ 7x Lasgun
◦ 1x Meltagun
◦ 1x Plasma gun
◦ 1x Vox-caster

Death Korps of Krieg (145 Points)
• 2x Death Korps Watchmaster
◦ 2x Plasma pistol
◦ 2x Power weapon
• 18x Death Korps Trooper
◦ 18x Close combat weapon
◦ 2x Death Korps Medi-pack
◦ 14x Lasgun
◦ 2x Meltagun
◦ 2x Plasma gun
◦ 2x Vox-caster

OTHER DATASHEETS

Attilan Rough Riders (120 Points)
• 1x Rough Rider Sergeant
◦ 1x Hunting lance
◦ 1x Lasgun
◦ 1x Laspistol
◦ 1x Steed’s hooves
• 9x Rough Rider
◦ 9x Hunting lance
◦ 9x Lasgun
◦ 9x Laspistol
◦ 9x Steed’s hooves

Scout Sentinels (55 Points)
• 1x Close combat weapon
• 1x Hunter-killer missile
• 1x Lascannon
• 1x Sentinel chainsaw

Exported with App Version: v1.41.0 (3), Data Version: v685

Thoughts

Two rarer builds for the biggest showdown of the week – Deathwatch and Recon Element. Both, I think, are good lists held back from being a bigger part of the metagame by the challenge of putting them on the table; Deathwatch needs a fairly unique blend of Space Marine models that were briefly legendsed this Edition, while Recon Element just needs lots of Guardsman, and the stamina to move them around the table for 10 rounds of 40K.

In terms of how they play, Deathwatch can do a sort of mobile anvil setup – their stuff is durable and grindy, but can redeploy around the board with Stratagems and appear unbidden via the Beacon Angelis. They also do impressive shooting damage from the bigger Kill Teams, and have great all-rounder pieces in the Terminators, who can interact with most things without needing much help.

On the other side of the table, Recon Element is a list focused on overwhelming the scoring – it has a tonne of high OC models that can get where they need to be on the table, and the combination of the Detachment Rule and easy access to Cover from either Go to Ground or the Cadian Command Squad rule makes the units really challenging to shift. They also have a solid toolbox of tricks, several of which are great in this matchup; Scramble Field significantly reduces the value of the Deathwatch redeploy Stratagem, and the full 6″ Reactive Move can be a headache for the Indomitor teams, who are relatively slow on the table without any access to Advance/Charge. The other secret about this list is that the big Cadian units can be surprisingly deadly once they pop their Orders; Sustained Hits from the Castellan can create some nasty spikes. I have played against this build with Canoptek Necrons and watched an alarming number of Wraiths evaporate when given the full treatment, and the Deathwatch build is one where every model counts.

The Deathwatch do have a couple of potential things going for them here – they’re obviously much more deadly in melee (though the Rough Riders can potentially tidy up stragglers from a squad), and have Dragonfire Rounds to plunge the durability of a key unit at a critical moment, as stripping Cover also switches off the additional bonus from the Detachment Rule. However, even with that there’s not really anything in the Deathwatch list that’ll come anywhere close to one-rounding the big blocks, especially not through the Take Cover order.

That becomes a problem, because the Deathwatch need to do some decisive damage to stop themselves getting rolled over on Primary. Basically any unit in the guard list can cheerfully flip an objective, and they have plenty of them. The Deathwatch can certainly clear some if they commit to it, but they will get their models chipped away in response, and if they’re not quickly clearing out good units, they’re going to lose enough in response that they eventually can’t contest the table. This was streamed, so I’ve been able to go have a look at what happened and bluntly yeah – Deathwatch just ran out of units, while guard still had enough in the tank to dominate the table, taking a big victory. From the Deathwatch side, this is a game where you really want a Talonstrike Kill Team – being able to jump around with AP-2 Assault Bolters might be the kind of thing that would give you the lift to push in this game.

Result

Astra Militarum (Recon Element) Victory – 96 – 44

Nemo The Fish – Astra Militarum (Recon Element) – 1st Place

Cadian Command Squad. Credit: Campbell “SRM” McLaughlin

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

How in the world do people actually enjoy playing this? (2000 Points)

Astra Militarum
Recon Element
Strike Force (2,000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Cadian Castellan (55 Points)
• 1x Plasma pistol
• 1x Power fist

Ursula Creed (85 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Duty and Vengeance
• 1x Power weapon

BATTLELINE

OTHER DATASHEETS

Scout Sentinels (55 Points)
• 1x Close combat weapon
• 1x Hunter-killer missile
• 1x Lascannon
• 1x Sentinel chainsaw

Exported with App Version: v1.41.0 (3), Data Version: v685

Archetype

Recon Element Horde

Thoughts

Covered in the Showdown – dominates Primary, does a surprisingly good job of grinding through the enemy when they try and stop it from doing that, wins games. You need incredible firepower to try and shut this down, and the foe that ran Nemo closest was Thousand Sons with 30 Scarab Occults, which yeah checks out. Otherwise, no one could quite pin down the slippery guard, leaving them free to claim the trophy. Huge congratulations to Nemo on the win, and I hope your back is OK.

Tyler Stice – Deathwatch (Black Spear Task Force) – 2nd Place

Deathwatch Terminators by Craig “MasterSlowPoke” Sniffen

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Rack em up Rack em up (2000 points)

Space Marines
Deathwatch
Strike Force (2000 points)
Black Spear Task Force

CHARACTERS

Captain in Gravis Armour (105 points)
• Warlord
1x Boltstorm gauntlet
1x Power fist
1x Relic chainsword
• Enhancement: Thief of Secrets

Judiciar (95 points)
1x Absolvor bolt pistol
1x Executioner relic blade
• Enhancement: Beacon Angelis

Watch Master (125 points)
1x Vigil spear
• Enhancement: The Tome of Ectoclades

BATTLELINE

OTHER DATASHEETS

Storm Speeder Thunderstrike (150 points)
1x Close combat weapon
1x Stormfury missiles
1x Thunderstrike las-talon
1x Twin Icarus rocket pod

Exported with App Version: v1.41.0 (98), Data Version: v687

Archetype

Deathwatch

Thoughts

Deathwatch is a great all-rounder build, given flexibility by the setups of its Kill Teams and access to the special ammo Stratagems, and glued together by how independently all of its units can work, letting it fight on multiple fronts at once where quick hammer blows aren’t cutting it. Free Ingress on a powerful Fights First unit is also incredible at shutting down enemy melee pressure, as the Ingress being free means that you always have enough CP to Ingress then Heroic (unless you’re in a CP tax aura). Finally, the army can be tuned quite a bit for different metagames – if hordes rise up, adding a Talonstrike team here is easy. Well done to Tyler on second place!

Folger Pyles – Aeldari (Warhost) – 3rd Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Wigglehost by Cool Car Inc (1995 points)

Aeldari
Strike Force (2000 points)
Warhost

CHARACTERS

Eldrad Ulthran (110 points)
• Warlord
• 1x Mind War
1x Shuriken pistol
1x The Staff of Ulthamar and witchblade

Fuegan (120 points)
• 1x Fire Axe
1x Searsong

Jain Zar (105 points)
• 1x Blade of Destruction
1x Silent Death

Lhykhis (120 points)
• 1x Brood Twain
1x Spider’s Fangs
1x Weaverender

Maugan Ra (100 points)
• 1x Maugetar

BATTLELINE

Corsair Voidreavers (65 points)
• 1x Voidreaver Felarch
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Mistshield
1x Neuro disruptor
1x Power sword
• 4x Corsair Voidreaver
• 1x Blaster
4x Close combat weapon
3x Power sword
3x Shuriken pistol

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

Wave Serpent (125 points)
• 1x Shuriken cannon
1x Twin bright lance
1x Wraithbone hull

OTHER DATASHEETS

Dark Reapers (90 points)
• 1x Dark Reaper Exarch
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Missile launcher
• 4x Dark Reaper
• 4x Close combat weapon
4x Reaper launcher

Falcon (130 points)
• 1x Bright lance
1x Pulse laser
1x Shuriken cannon
1x Wraithbone hull

Fire Dragons (220 points)
• 1x Fire Dragon Exarch
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Firepike
• 9x Fire Dragon
• 9x Close combat weapon
9x Dragon fusion gun

Howling Banshees (95 points)
• 1x Howling Banshee Exarch
• 1x Executioner
1x Shuriken pistol
• 4x Howling Banshee
• 4x Banshee blade
4x Shuriken pistol

Rangers (55 points)
• 5x Ranger
• 5x Close combat weapon
5x Long rifle
5x Shuriken pistol

Swooping Hawks (85 points)
• 1x Swooping Hawk Exarch
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Hawk’s talon
• 4x Swooping Hawk
• 4x Close combat weapon
4x Lasblaster

Warp Spiders (95 points)
• 1x Warp Spider Exarch
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Powerblade array
• 4x Warp Spider
• 4x Close combat weapon
4x Death spinner

Warp Spiders (95 points)
• 1x Warp Spider Exarch
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Death weavers
1x Spinneret rifle
• 4x Warp Spider
• 4x Close combat weapon
4x Death spinner

Exported with App Version: v1.41.0 (98), Data Version: v687

Archetype

Keepaway Warhost

Thoughts

Folger’s powerful Warhost build takes third place, adding to the litany of successes he’s had with the list in the latest metagame. This build combines the ability to keep multiple powerful damage dealers relatively safe using re-embark/Fire and Fade with a very deep pool of cheap scoring units to keep the points rolling in, which all helpfully double as chaff clearance. Folger lost to the Guard in the semi-finals, but ran them really close, a testament to how potent this list is even into the kind of build that can sometimes roll Aeldari over. Great work from Folger as always.

Ben Jurek – Chaos Knights (Infernal Lance) – 4th Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

It isn’t broken , so not fixing it . (1995 Points)

Chaos Knights
Infernal Lance
Strike Force (2,000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Knight Despoiler (375 Points)
• 1x Daemonbreath meltagun
• 1x Despoiler gatling cannon
• 1x Despoiler gatling cannon
• 1x Heavy darkflamer
• 1x Heavy darkflamer
• 1x Ruinspear rocket pod
• 1x Titanic feet

Knight Despoiler (375 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Daemonbreath meltagun
• 1x Despoiler gatling cannon
• 1x Despoiler gatling cannon
• 1x Heavy darkflamer
• 1x Heavy darkflamer
• 1x Ruinspear rocket pod
• 1x Titanic feet

OTHER DATASHEETS

War Dog Karnivore (150 Points)
• 1x Havoc multi-launcher
• 1x Reaper chaintalon
• 1x Slaughterclaw

War Dog Stalker (140 Points)
• 1x Daemonbreath spear
• 1x Havoc multi-launcher
• 1x Slaughterclaw

ALLIED UNITS

Nurglings (40 Points)
• 3x Nurgling Swarm
◦ 3x Diseased claws and teeth

Rotigus (250 Points)
• 1x Gnarlrod
• 1x Streams of brackish filth

Exported with App Version: v1.41.0 (3), Data Version: v685

Archetype

Rotigus Gatling Despoilers

Thoughts

Gatling Despoilers remain by far the best way of playing Knights currently, head and shoulders above anything else thanks to the mix of speed and firepower. Adding Rotigus just makes it even harder for some builds to challenge it, being especially effective against Warhost Aeldari where the aura can shut off all the cheap scoring pieces. Ben lost to the Deathwatch in the semi-finals, the Marines having the punch to just deck this army before it could deplete their forces sufficiently. Congratulations Ben.

The Best of the Rest

The rest of the top 16 cut was as follows:

5th – Durante “Glynisir” Bozzini – T’au Empire (Kauyon): Triptide and hulls as Kauyon with a small Infantry toolbox supporting it.
6th – Ridvan Martinez – Drukhari (Reaper’s Wager): Extra speedy Reaper’s Wager, dispensing with Talos in favour of cheap Reavers for positional play and a Voidweaver to hold distant objectives.
7th – Donovan Sailo – Grey Knights (Banishers): Interceptor-heavy Infantry Banishers, packing 10/5/5 of the speedy boys supported by two Paladin MSUs with Librarians and Crowe’s Purifiers.
8th – Matthew Geyer – Adeptus Mechanicus (Haloscreed Battle Clade): All-rounder Haloscreed with a Destroyer brick and a full squad each of Infiltrators and Ruststalkers as centrepieces.
9th – Dan Meloro – Thousand Sons (Rubricae Phalanx): All-in 30x Scarab Occult spam with a Daemon Prince overseeing proceedings.
10th – Brian Jones – Imperial Knights (Valourstrike Lance): Shooty Knights and Sisters, using a Castellan and Crusader, two Immolators, and an Atrapos as an all-rounder piece.
11th – Kyle Grundy – T’au Empire (Retaliation Cadre): Crisis toolbox and Triptide with double Pathfinders for support.
12th – Tanner Floyd – Black Templars (Gladius Task Force): Sword Brethren and RepExes, with the addition of Grimaldus and a full Assault Intercessor unit to the normal blend.
13th – Junior Aflleje – Death Guard (Mortarion’s Hammer): Plagueburst hammer lives, albeit with only two of them, sacrificing the third to keep a good stah of direct fire engines and two Deathshroud units.
14th – Daniel Olivas – Aeldari (Warhost): Keepaway Warhost with big Dragon and Reaper units, adding the option of a a third dodge via Asurmen.
15th – Alex Smith – Aeldari (Aspect Host): Avatar Aspect Host with Asurmen, Fuegan and Jain Zar alongside him.
16th – Joshua Suarez – Adepta Sororitas (Army of Faith): Dominions, hulls, and Vahl, plus a couple of Zephyrim/Canoness squads to share around buffs and/or murder stuff.

Denver 40K Fight Club October Open 2025

54-player, 6-round Grand Tournament in Westminster, CO, US on October 04 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Trae Burnett – Chaos Space Marines (Veterans of the Long War) – 1st Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Im a meta chaser… “If a battle cannot be won, do not fight it.” -Sun Tzu probably (2000 points)

Chaos Space Marines
Strike Force (2000 points)
Veterans of the Long War

CHARACTERS

Chaos Lord (90 points)
• 1x Daemon hammer
1x Plasma pistol

Cypher (90 points)
• Warlord
• 1x Cypher’s bolt pistol
1x Cypher’s plasma pistol

Fabius Bile (85 points)
• 1x Fabius Bile
• 1x Chirurgeon
1x Rod of Torment
1x Xyclos Needler
• 1x Surgeon Acolyte
• 1x Surgeon Acolyte’s tools

Lord Discordant on Helstalker (175 points)
• 1x Baleflamer
1x Bladed limbs
1x Bolt Pistol
1x Impaler chainglaive
1x Magma cutter
• Enhancement: Eye of Abaddon

BATTLELINE

Cultist Mob (50 points)
• 1x Cultist Champion
• 1x Autopistol
1x Brutal assault weapon
• 9x Chaos Cultist
• 9x Autopistol
9x Brutal assault weapon

Legionaries (90 points)
• 1x Aspiring Champion
• 1x Chaos Icon
1x Close combat weapon
1x Heavy melee weapon
1x Plasma pistol
• 4x Legionary
• 2x Astartes chainsword
4x Bolt pistol
4x Close combat weapon
1x Heavy melee weapon
1x Lascannon

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

Chaos Rhino (75 points)
• 1x Armoured tracks
1x Combi-bolter
1x Combi-weapon
1x Havoc launcher

OTHER DATASHEETS

Chaos Bikers (70 points)
• 1x Biker Champion
• 1x Chaos Icon
1x Close combat weapon
1x Combi-bolter
1x Power fist
• 2x Chaos Biker
• 2x Astartes chainsword
2x Close combat weapon
2x Combi-bolter
2x Plasma gun

Chaos Predator Annihilator (135 points)
• 1x Armoured tracks
1x Combi-weapon
1x Havoc launcher
2x Lascannon
1x Predator twin lascannon

Chaos Predator Destructor (140 points)
• 1x Armoured tracks
1x Combi-weapon
1x Havoc launcher
2x Lascannon
1x Predator autocannon

Chosen (250 points)
• 1x Chosen Champion
• 1x Boltgun
1x Chaos Icon
1x Plasma pistol
1x Power fist
• 9x Chosen
• 6x Accursed weapon
6x Bolt pistol
3x Boltgun
4x Combi-weapon
2x Paired accursed weapons
3x Plasma pistol
1x Power fist

Obliterators (160 points)
• 2x Obliterator
• 2x Crushing fists
2x Fleshmetal guns

Warp Talons (125 points)
• 1x Warp Talon Champion
• 1x Warp claws
• 4x Warp Talon
• 4x Warp claws

Exported with App Version: v1.41.0 (98), Data Version: v687

Archetype

Veterans Goodstuff

Thoughts

Every year I am reminded that Veterans exists and I wonder why no one except Liam Vsl seems to play it, so I’m glad someone else is giving it a go to great success. Oaths of Moment is a tremendously powerful rule to stack on top of Dark Pacts, and it pushes the dakka pieces here like Predators and Obliterators into being super nasty threats. Obliterators in particular love it, as full re-rolls makes their Indirect turn extra scary. Add in the reactive move and the Fights First threat and you have enough stuff to let the general CSM core stuff really thrive, which it’s been struggling to do otherwise in recent months. Well done to Trae.

The Best of the Rest

There were 5 more players on 5-1 records. They were:

2nd – Colin Kay – Space Marines (Astartes) (Firestorm Assault Force): Adrax and Vulkan leading a mix of fiery threats and Transports, plus two squads of Bladeguard (one with a Champion of Humanity Judiciar for maximum murder).
3rd – Mason Mutz – Orks (War Horde): Ghaz mechanised horde, with two big Boyz bricks and two Battlewagons.
4th – Andrew Champion – World Eaters (Berzerker Warband): One small Berzerker unit and lots of Eightbound supported by Forgefiends and a Daemon Prince.
5th – Vinicius Cabral – Dark Angels (Wrath of the Rock): Shooty Infantry Wrath, mixing the regular Deathwing quotient with some Devastator Centurions and Desolation Marines.
6th – Adam Tricola – Salamanders (Forgefather’s Seekers): Adrax and Vulkan get a second runaround, here prioritising Infernus Marine drivebys.

Albany Borealis GT

39-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Albany, NY, United States on October 04 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Joseph Sault – T’au Empire (Retaliation Cadre) – 1st Place

Tau Coldstar Commander. Credit: Jack Hunter

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

(2000 Points)

T’au Empire
Retaliation Cadre
Strike Force (2,000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Commander Farsight (85 Points)
• 1x Dawn Blade
• 1x High-intensity plasma rifle

Commander in Coldstar Battlesuit (95 Points)
• 1x Battlesuit fists
• 3x Burst cannon
• 2x Gun Drone
• 1x High-output burst cannon

Commander in Coldstar Battlesuit (115 Points)
• 1x Battlesuit fists
• 1x Cyclic ion blaster
• 3x Fusion blaster
• 1x Marker Drone
• 1x Shield Drone
• Enhancements: Internal Grenade Racks

Commander in Enforcer Battlesuit (100 Points)
• 1x Battlesuit fists
• 1x Cyclic ion blaster
• 1x Marker Drone
• 3x Missile Pod
• 1x Shield Drone
• Enhancements: Starflare Ignition System

Darkstrider (60 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Close combat weapon
• 1x Shade

Firesight Team (60 Points)
• 1x Close combat weapons
• 1x Longshot pulse rifles
• 1x Pulse pistol

OTHER DATASHEETS

Crisis Fireknife Battlesuits (120 Points)
• 1x Crisis Fireknife Shas’vre
◦ 1x Battlesuit fists
◦ 1x Gun Drone
◦ 2x Missile pod
◦ 1x Shield Drone
• 2x Crisis Fireknife Shas’ui
◦ 2x Battlesuit fists
◦ 2x Gun Drone
◦ 1x Marker Drone
◦ 4x Missile pod
◦ 1x Shield Drone

Crisis Starscythe Battlesuits (110 Points)
• 1x Crisis Starscythe Shas’vre
◦ 1x Battlesuit fists
◦ 1x Gun Drone
◦ 1x Marker Drone
◦ 2x T’au flamer
• 2x Crisis Starscythe Shas’ui
◦ 2x Battlesuit fists
◦ 2x Gun Drone
◦ 2x Shield Drone
◦ 4x T’au flamer

Crisis Starscythe Battlesuits (110 Points)
• 1x Crisis Starscythe Shas’vre
◦ 1x Battlesuit fists
◦ 2x Burst cannon
◦ 1x Gun Drone
◦ 1x Shield Drone
• 2x Crisis Starscythe Shas’ui
◦ 2x Battlesuit fists
◦ 4x Burst cannon
◦ 2x Gun Drone
◦ 1x Marker Drone
◦ 1x Shield Drone

Crisis Sunforge Battlesuits (140 Points)
• 1x Crisis Sunforge Shas’vre
◦ 1x Battlesuit fists
◦ 2x Fusion blaster
◦ 1x Gun Drone
◦ 1x Shield Drone
• 2x Crisis Sunforge Shas’ui
◦ 2x Battlesuit fists
◦ 4x Fusion blaster
◦ 2x Gun Drone
◦ 1x Marker Drone
◦ 1x Shield Drone

Kroot Carnivores (65 Points)
• 1x Long-quill
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Kroot pistol
◦ 1x Kroot rifle
• 9x Kroot Carnivore
◦ 9x Close combat weapon
◦ 9x Kroot rifle

Pathfinder Team (90 Points)
• 1x Pathfinder Shas’ui
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Pulse carbine
◦ 1x Pulse pistol
◦ 1x Recon Drone
◦ 1x Semi-automatic grenade launcher
• 9x Pathfinder
◦ 9x Close combat weapon
◦ 6x Pulse carbine
◦ 9x Pulse pistol
◦ 3x Rail rifle

Piranhas (60 Points)
• 1x Armoured hull
• 1x Piranha fusion blaster
• 2x Seeker missile
• 2x Twin pulse carbine

Riptide Battlesuit (190 Points)
• 1x Ion accelerator
• 2x Missile Drone
• 1x Riptide fists
• 1x Twin fusion blaster

Stealth Battlesuits (80 Points)
• 1x Stealth Shas’vre
◦ 1x Battlesuit fists
◦ 1x Burst cannon
◦ 1x Gun Drone
◦ 1x Homing Beacon
◦ 1x Marker Drone
• 2x Stealth Shas’ui
◦ 2x Battlesuit fists
◦ 2x Burst cannon

Exported with App Version: v1.40.1 (1), Data Version: v675

Archetype

Crisis Toolbox and Triptides

Thoughts

T’au suit builds are having a real moment thanks to the Riptide upgrades, and this build goes all in on that plan. Lots of Crisis units combine with the Retaliation Cadre stratagems to be very versatile, and I especially like the addition of a flamer unit to the normal suite. This can cause big headaches by either using a 6″ drop or Rapid Ingress to place itself somewhere where the Overwatch threat is extremely real. Farsight’s Stratagem discount is super valuable there, letting you pull that kind of move even when the tank is fairly empty. Otherwise, Riptides are durable bully pieces, Piranhas and Stealth teams do a great job of early board presence, and the Starflare missile crisis unit (with an option of using Torchstar as well to keep them safe) is super annoying for foes to try and shut down. Congratulations Joseph on the win!

The Best of the Rest

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

2nd – Christopher Drazan – Dark Angels (Wrath of the Rock): Shooty Lion Wrath – no Deathwing Knights at all, instead just one Inner Circle Companion squad as a secondary melee threat, and lots of shooty Infantry.
3rd – Chris Martens – Aeldari (Warhost): Double dragon bus.
4th – Patrick Baillargeon – Astra Militarum (Combined Arms): Double Dorn Commander, some Russes and Kasrkin.
5th – Connor Reynolds – Astra Militarum (Hammer of the Emperor): Triple Dorn Commander, lots of Infantry threats in Tauroxes.
6th – Ryan Snyder – Adeptus Custodes (Shield Host): A wall of thirty Custodian Guard and two Land Raiders.
7th – Clarence Ellsworth – Space Wolves (Stormlance Task Force): Ultimate speedy wolves, combining maximum ThunderCav with maximum Outriders.

RoGB NW 40k Event

33-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Burnie, TAS, Australia on October 03 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Reagan Bos – Chaos Daemons (Plague Legion) – 1st Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

I tried to sneak into your DZ to score BeL but my GUO’s are dummy thicc and the clapping of their cheeks alerted the screening units (2000 points)

Chaos Daemons
Strike Force (2000 points)
Plague Legion

CHARACTERS

Great Unclean One (285 points)
• Warlord
• 1x Bilesword
1x Plague flail
1x Putrid vomit
• Enhancement: Droning Shroud (Aura)

Great Unclean One (265 points)
• 1x Bilesword
1x Plague flail
1x Putrid vomit
• Enhancement: Maggot Maws

Rotigus (250 points)
• 1x Gnarlrod
1x Streams of brackish filth

Sloppity Bilepiper (70 points)
• 1x Marotter
• Enhancement: Cankerblight (Aura)

Sloppity Bilepiper (55 points)
• 1x Marotter

BATTLELINE

Nurglings (40 points)
• 3x Nurgling Swarm
• 3x Diseased claws and teeth

Plaguebearers (110 points)
• 1x Plagueridden
• 1x Plaguesword
• 9x Plaguebearer
• 1x Daemonic Icon
1x Instrument of Chaos
9x Plaguesword

OTHER DATASHEETS

Plague Drones (110 points)
• 1x Plaguebringer
• 1x Death’s heads
1x Foul mouthparts
1x Plaguesword
• 2x Plague Drone
• 1x Daemonic Icon
2x Death’s heads
2x Foul mouthparts
1x Instrument of Chaos
2x Plaguesword

ALLIED UNITS

Knight Despoiler (375 points)
• 1x Daemonbreath meltagun
2x Despoiler gatling cannon
2x Heavy darkflamer
1x Ruinspear rocket pod
1x Titanic feet

Exported with App Version: v1.41.0 (98), Data Version: v687

Archetype

Grindy Plague Legion

Thoughts

Daemons next, going for Nurgle morale nastiness backed by a Knight Despoiler. Foes trying to extricate themselves from beneath a pile of Great Unclean Ones are generally going to be a bit distracted from trying to kill a Knight, leaving it free to rack up a tally of kills that can help run foes out of resources. It also has the volume and universality of damage output that should let it chip at least a few wounds off anything – at which point the morale tricks of the rest of the rest of the army kick in and cause problems. I feel like it does a better job than the two Soul Grinders you’d otherwise run in the slot, and is a bit easier to maneuvre around the table to boot. Always fun to see Nurgle’s finest get a look in, well done Reagan.

The Best of the Rest

There were 5 more players on 4-1 records. They were:

2nd – Tyler Walsh – Chaos Space Marines (Renegade Raiders): All-rounder Raiders with a toolbox of Chaos Space Marine favourites and a couple of Noise Marine units.
3rd – Blake Jones – Astra Militarum (Hammer of the Emperor): A Baneblade with a bunch of other tanks and a few Transports in support.
4th – Liam Grossmith – Death Guard (Virulent Vectorium): Cheap hull spam, extending the normal selection with some fleshmower Drones and Helbrutes.
5th – Shannen Butters – Aeldari (Aspect Host): Dragon Bus, Maugan in a Falcon, and a full Hawk unit with Baharroth.
6th – Adam Douglas – Orks (Taktikal Brigade): Tankbusta-heavy mechanised shooty Taktikal.

Palladium Games Presents “the dumpster fire gt” Fall Edition

31-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Phoenixville, PA, US on October 04 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Daniel Guarnaccia – Adeptus Mechanicus (Haloscreed Battle Clade) – 1st Place

Tech-Priest Manipulus and Kataphron Breachers with Heavy Arc Rifles and Arc Claws. Credit: Pendulin

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Admech (2000 Points)

Adeptus Mechanicus
Haloscreed Battle Clade
Strike Force (2,000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Belisarius Cawl (175 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Arc scourge
• 1x Cawl’s Omnissian axe
• 1x Mechadendrite hive
• 1x Solar atomiser

Sydonian Skatros (50 Points)
• 1x Mechanicus pistol
• 1x Radium jezzail
• 1x Sydonian feet

Tech-Priest Manipulus (95 Points)
• 1x Magnarail lance
• 1x Omnissian staff
• Enhancements: Cognitive Reinforcement

Tech-Priest Manipulus (70 Points)
• 1x Magnarail lance
• 1x Omnissian staff
• Enhancements: Sanctified Ordnance

BATTLELINE

Skitarii Rangers (85 Points)
• 1x Skitarii Ranger Alpha
◦ 1x Alpha combat weapon
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Galvanic rifle
• 9x Skitarii Ranger
◦ 9x Close combat weapon
◦ 8x Galvanic rifle
◦ 1x Omnispex
◦ 1x Plasma caliver

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

Skorpius Dunerider (85 Points)
• 1x Armoured hull
• 1x Cognis heavy stubber array

OTHER DATASHEETS

Ironstrider Ballistarii (150 Points)
• 2x Ironstrider Ballistarii
◦ 2x Ironstrider feet
◦ 2x Twin cognis lascannon

Kataphron Breachers (320 Points)
• 6x Kataphron Breacher
◦ 6x Heavy arc rifle
◦ 6x Hydraulic claw

Kataphron Destroyers (210 Points)
• 6x Kataphron Destroyer
◦ 6x Close combat weapon
◦ 6x Cognis flamer
◦ 6x Kataphron plasma culverin

Pteraxii Skystalkers (70 Points)
• 1x Pteraxii Skystalker Alpha
◦ 1x Flechette blaster
◦ 1x Taser goad
• 4x Pteraxii Skystalker
◦ 4x Close combat weapon
◦ 4x Flechette carbine

Sicarian Infiltrators (70 Points)
• 1x Sicarian Infiltrator Princeps
◦ 1x Flechette blaster
◦ 1x Taser goad
• 4x Sicarian Infiltrator
◦ 4x Flechette blaster
◦ 4x Taser goad

Sicarian Ruststalkers (150 Points)
• 1x Sicarian Ruststalker Princeps
◦ 1x Transonic razor and chordclaw
• 9x Sicarian Ruststalker
◦ 9x Transonic razor and chordclaw

Exported with App Version: v1.41.0 (3), Data Version: v685

Archetype

Kataphron Haloscreed

Thoughts

The AdMech ascension continues apace here, and this build is a particularly streamlined showcase of what they can now do. Breachers or Destroyers (at least with Sanctified Ordnance on the latter) should give you an alpha shooting threat into most targets, the Ironstriders will ace Knight Despoiler that might otherwise prey on this army at range, and two units of Ruststalkers are a complete nightmare for any aggressive build to plan around, as with the Cawl Oaths up they’ll slice and dice pretty much anything with the Infantry keyword, even larger units. I think this is my favourite Haloscreed setup I’ve seen so far with the changes, and it’s a true optimised killing machine. Great stuff from Daniel.

The Best of the Rest

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

2nd – TJ Lanigan – Chaos Daemons (Shadow Legion): Be’lakor and a Fadethirster, an Accursed Commune as a secondary melee hammer, and a battle cannon Despoiler to assail foees at range.
3rd – Nolan Haley – World Eaters (Possessed Slaughterband): An Eghtbound spectacular, unleashing their potential post-buffs with two Enhanced Slaughterbound, and adding a Land Raider for good measure and staging.
4th – Zach Hilts – Blood Angels (Angelic Inheritors): Toolboxy Inheritors with one big Sanguinary Guard unit as a heavier hammer.
5th – Tyler Brennan – Adeptus Mechanicus (Skitarii Hunter Cohort): Ironstrider and Ruststalker-heavy Cohort.

Sonoma Con GT

29-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Santa Rosa, CA, United States on October 04 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Jake Nelson – Ultramarines (Stormlance Task Force) – 1st Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Space Marines
Ultramarines
Strike Force (2000 points)
Stormlance Task Force

CHARACTERS

Lieutenant with Combi-weapon (70 points)
• 1x Combi-weapon
1x Paired combat blades

Marneus Calgar (200 points)
• 1x Marneus Calgar
• 1x Gauntlets of Ultramar
• 2x Victrix Honour Guard
• 2x Victrix power sword

Roboute Guilliman (340 points)
• Warlord
• 1x Emperor’s Sword
1x Hand of Dominion

BATTLELINE

Intercessor Squad (80 points)
• 1x Intercessor Sergeant
• 1x Astartes grenade launcher
1x Bolt pistol
1x Bolt rifle
1x Power fist
• 4x Intercessor
• 4x Bolt pistol
4x Bolt rifle
4x Close combat weapon

OTHER DATASHEETS

Company Heroes (105 points)
• 1x Ancient
• 1x Bolt pistol
1x Bolt rifle
1x Close combat weapon
• 1x Company Champion
• 1x Bolt pistol
1x Master-crafted power weapon
• 2x Company Veteran
• 2x Bolt pistol
2x Close combat weapon
1x Master-crafted bolt rifle
1x Master-crafted heavy bolter

Incursor Squad (80 points)
• 1x Incursor Sergeant
• 1x Bolt pistol
1x Occulus bolt carbine
1x Paired combat blades
• 4x Incursor
• 4x Bolt pistol
1x Haywire Mine
4x Occulus bolt carbine
4x Paired combat blades

Redemptor Dreadnought (195 points)
• 1x Icarus rocket pod
1x Macro plasma incinerator
1x Onslaught gatling cannon
1x Redemptor fist
1x Twin fragstorm grenade launcher

Storm Speeder Hammerstrike (125 points)
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Hammerstrike missile launcher
2x Krakstorm grenade launcher
1x Melta destroyer

Stormraven Gunship (280 points)
• 1x Armoured hull
2x Hurricane bolter
2x Stormstrike missile launcher
1x Twin heavy plasma cannon
1x Twin multi-melta

Archetype

Redemptor Stormraven Stormlance

Thoughts

The ever-potent Stormlance Ultramarines to close today, augmented after the dataslate with Redemptor Dreadnoughts instead of Ballistus. Now that they’re appreciably cheaper and crunchier, they make sense to swap in, as the addition of more melee threats shuts down one angle to try and beat this build, which is that Guilliman and Calgar can’t be everywhere at once up close. It’s also a horrific counter for anything relying on D2 weaponry such as the triple Despoiler builds, as it means nearly half the army is on -1D. Not really a list that needed any sort of shot in the arm, but it got one anyway; well done to Jake for showing off what it can do.

The Best of the Rest

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

2nd – Arthur Sarkar – Drukhari (Reaper’s Wager): Waving farewell to resin in style with double Beastmaster, double Court and a full Grotesque unit.
3rd – Charles Depew – Orks (Bully Boyz): Ghaz and Meganobz spam, with one full Beast Snagga unit in a Battlewagon.
4th – Angel Barocio – Leagues of Votann (Brandfast Oathband): Lots of Thunderkyn, triple Fort, and one big melee Steeljack unit.
5th – Joe Bisgaard – Chaos Daemons (Daemonic Incursion): Monster mash supported by Plaguebearers and Flesh Hounds.

Wrap Up

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Competitive Innovations in 10th: In Their Element pt.1

LVO XII Warhammer 40k Champs

The Showdown

Linchpin – Tipping Point

Thoughts

Result

Nemo The Fish – Astra Militarum (Recon Element) – 1st Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

Tyler Stice – Deathwatch (Black Spear Task Force) – 2nd Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

Folger Pyles – Aeldari (Warhost) – 3rd Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

Ben Jurek – Chaos Knights (Infernal Lance) – 4th Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

The Best of the Rest

Denver 40K Fight Club October Open 2025

Trae Burnett – Chaos Space Marines (Veterans of the Long War) – 1st Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

The Best of the Rest

Albany Borealis GT

Joseph Sault – T’au Empire (Retaliation Cadre) – 1st Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

The Best of the Rest

RoGB NW 40k Event

Reagan Bos – Chaos Daemons (Plague Legion) – 1st Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

The Best of the Rest

Palladium Games Presents “the dumpster fire gt” Fall Edition

Daniel Guarnaccia – Adeptus Mechanicus (Haloscreed Battle Clade) – 1st Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

The Best of the Rest

Sonoma Con GT

Jake Nelson – Ultramarines (Stormlance Task Force) – 1st Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

The Best of the Rest

Wrap Up

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