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.

As you have (hopefully) seen by now, it’s Dataslate day! If you haven’t read our review yet, go check out the details below, because as always for a Dataslate day CI, we’re going to be talking about how the changes impact some of the lists covered.

This article was written using a preview copy of the Dataslate provided to us by Games Workshop.

Dataslate Review:

Back? Great. So…probably not as optimistic as we usually. The good news (for the metagame, not Aeldari players, I assure you I feel the pain) is that Ynnari have been nuked from orbit, so if your list was being held back by an auto-loss there, time to get it on the table. The bad news is that Games Workshop have been unlucky with the timing on Death Guard, who have had enough weeks to very obviously be A Problem, but just few enough that they’ve missed the boat for changes, and they’re likely to warp the metagame around them for the next few months as a consequence (unless Thousand Sons turn out to be worse). The other bad news is that Blood Angels, who were solidly an upper-mid tier faction going into the slate, have received some huge buffs, getting a far bigger boost than many weaker armies, and are likely to be over-dominant as a result.

There are plenty of other changes, many of them very sensible, but those are the three things that are going to really shape the metagame going forward (plus the lack of movement on Imperial Knights, depending on how long the current rules stick around for). Stop planning for killing elves, start bringing anti-Marine guns, basically.

As we mull over the consequences of the Dataslate, today we’ll be looking at:

Danish Open, Singles
TORNEO INAUGURAL – ART HOBBIES CDMX
Battle for the Throne
Nailhammer 8 – 2k 2 Day Tournament

On Friday Lowest of Men will take the wheel, covering:

Route 66 Summer GT
MonsterCon 2025 GT
Warcon 1 – 40K Singles
Saffron Slam XI

This week’s Showdowns will be:

Chaos Space Marines (Creations Of Bile) vs Tyranids (Invasion Fleet) at Battle for the Throne.
Death Guard (Mortarion’s Hammer) vs Death Guard (Mortarion’s Hammer) at Route 66. The patrons think they are being clever and making my life difficult here, but they’re actually just punishing poor Lowest of Men, who doesn’t deserve such treatment.

Danish Open, Singles

60-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Køge, Danmark on May 31 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Nicklas Schmidt – Death Guard (Virulent Vectorium) – 1st Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

DG Bully boys 1.0 (2000 points)

Death Guard
Strike Force (2000 points)
Virulent Vectorium

CHARACTERS

Biologus Putrifier (45 points)
• 1x Hyper blight grenades
1x Injector pistol
1x Plague knives

Daemon Prince of Nurgle (215 points)
• Warlord
• 1x Hellforged weapons
1x Infernal cannon
• Enhancement: Revolting Regeneration

Lord of Contagion (135 points)
• 1x Manreaper
• Enhancement: Furnace of Plagues

Lord of Virulence (90 points)
• 1x Power fist
1x Twin plague spewer

Malignant Plaguecaster (60 points)
• 1x Bolt pistol
1x Corrupted staff
1x Plague Wind

BATTLELINE

Plague Marines (190 points)
• 1x Plague Champion
• 1x Plasma gun
1x Power fist
• 9x Plague Marine
• 2x Blight launcher
3x Heavy plague weapon
9x Plague knives
2x Plague spewer
2x Plasma gun

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

Chaos Rhino (85 points)
• 1x Armoured tracks
2x Combi-bolter
1x Havoc launcher

OTHER DATASHEETS

Chaos Spawn (80 points)
• 2x Chaos Spawn
• 2x Hideous mutations

Deathshroud Terminators (300 points)
• 1x Deathshroud Champion
• 1x Icon of Despair (Aura)
1x Manreaper
2x Plaguespurt gauntlet
• 5x Deathshroud Terminator
• 5x Manreaper
5x Plaguespurt gauntlet

Deathshroud Terminators (140 points)
• 1x Deathshroud Champion
• 1x Icon of Despair (Aura)
1x Manreaper
2x Plaguespurt gauntlet
• 2x Deathshroud Terminator
• 2x Manreaper
2x Plaguespurt gauntlet

Foetid Bloat-Drone with Heavy Blight Launcher (100 points)
• 1x Heavy blight launcher
1x Plague probe

Myphitic Blight-Haulers (90 points)
• 1x Bile spurt
1x Gnashing maw
1x Missile launcher
1x Multi-melta

Poxwalkers (60 points)
• 10x Poxwalker
• 10x Improvised weapon

Exported with App Version: v1.33.1 (80), Data Version: v609

Archetype

Vectorium with Extra Terminators

Thoughts

I’m going to warn you now, the phrase “stock Vectorium with <one change>” is going to feature in this column a lot over the next few months. Here we have stock Vectorium with one enlarged Terminator unit, which they should probably get looked at. The extra crunch from that (plus packing in some Blight Haulers) is leveraged with the full triple Bloat Drone for blasting enemy heavy Infantry and tanks into nothingness. This is the sound of the summer, so start working out how to beat it – for now, congratulations to Nicklas on winning the week’s only major!

Johan Toftvad – Astra Militarum (Combined Arms) – 2nd Place (Undefeated)

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ FACTION KEYWORD: Imperium – Astra Militarum
+ DETACHMENT: Combined Arms
+ TOTAL ARMY POINTS: 2000pts
+
+ WARLORD: Char1: Ursula Creed
+ ENHANCEMENT:
+ NUMBER OF UNITS: 19
+ SECONDARY: – Bring It Down: (5×2) + (2×4) – Assassination: 5 Characters
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

CHARACTER

Char1: 1x Ursula Creed (65 pts)
1 with Duty and Vengeance, Power weapon
• Warlord

Char2: 5x Cadian Command Squad (65 pts)
• 1x Cadian Commander
1 with Power fist, Plasma pistol
• Cadian Commander
• 4x Cadian Veteran Guardsman
1 with Close combat weapon, Plasma gun, Plasma pistol
• Cadian Veteran Guardsman
1 with Close combat weapon, Lasgun
• Master vox, Cadian Veteran Guardsman
1 with Close combat weapon, Lasgun
• Medi-pack, Cadian Veteran Guardsman
1 with Close combat weapon, Plasma gun
• Cadian Veteran Guardsman

Char3: 1x Commissar (30 pts)
1 with Bolt pistol, Chainsword

Char4: 1x Rogal Dorn Commander (265 pts)
1 with Armoured tracks, Heavy stubber, Coaxial autocannon, Oppressor cannon, Pulveriser cannon, 2x Multi-melta, 2x Meltagun

Char5: 1x Rogal Dorn Commander (265 pts)
1 with Armoured tracks, Heavy stubber, Coaxial autocannon, Oppressor cannon, Pulveriser cannon, 2x Multi-melta, 2x Meltagun

BATTLELINE

10x Cadian Shock Troops (65 pts)
• 1x Shock Trooper Sergeant
1 with Close combat weapon, Sergeant’s autogun
• Shock Trooper
• 9x Shock Trooper
6 with Close combat weapon, Lasgun
• Shock Trooper
1 with Close combat weapon, Lasgun
• Vox-caster, Shock Trooper
1 with Close combat weapon, Meltagun
• Shock Trooper
1 with Close combat weapon, Plasma gun
• Shock Trooper

10x Catachan Jungle Fighters (65 pts)
• 1x Jungle Fighter Sergeant
1 with Close combat weapon, Laspistol
• Catachan Jungle Fighter
• 9x Jungle Fighter
6 with Close combat weapon, Lasgun
• Catachan Jungle Fighter
2 with Close combat weapon, Flamer
• Catachan Jungle Fighter
1 with Close combat weapon, Lasgun
• Vox-caster, Catachan Jungle Fighter

OTHER DATASHEETS

10x Kasrkin (110 pts)
• 1x Kasrkin Sergeant
1 with Power weapon, Plasma pistol
• Kasrkin
• 9x Kasrkin Trooper
2 with Close combat weapon, Hot-shot lasgun
• Kasrkin
1 with Close combat weapon, Hot-shot laspistol
• Melta mine, Kasrkin
1 with Close combat weapon, Hot-shot marksman rifle
• Kasrkin
1 with Close combat weapon, Hot-shot lasgun
• Vox-caster, Kasrkin
2 with Close combat weapon, Meltagun
• Kasrkin
2 with Close combat weapon, Plasma gun
• Kasrkin

5x Krieg Combat Engineers (70 pts)
• 1x Krieg Engineer Watchmaster
1 with Plasma pistol, Power weapon
• Krieg Combat Engineers
• 4x Krieg Combat Engineer
2 with Close combat weapon, Combat shotgun
• Krieg Combat Engineers
1 with Close combat weapon, Flamer
• Krieg Combat Engineers
1 with Autopistol, Close combat weapon
• Remote mine, Krieg Combat Engineers

10x Tempestus Aquilons (110 pts)
• 1x Tempestor Aquilon
1 with Close combat weapon, Hot-shot lascarbine, Sentry flamer
• 9x Tempestus Aquilon
7 with Close combat weapon, Hot-shot lascarbine
1 with Close combat weapon, Hot-shot long las
1 with Close combat weapon, Plasma carbine

5x Attilan Rough Riders (60 pts)
• 1x Rough Rider Sergeant
1 with Lasgun, Laspistol, Steed’s hooves, Hunting lance
• Attilan Rough Rider
• 4x Rough Rider
4 with Hunting lance, Lasgun, Laspistol, Steed’s hooves
• Attilan Rough Rider

1x Leman Russ Battle Tank (175 pts)
1 with Armoured tracks, Leman Russ battle cannon, Hunter-killer missile, Lascannon, 2x Multi-melta, Heavy stubber

1x Leman Russ Exterminator (180 pts)
1 with Armoured tracks, Exterminator autocannon, Hunter-killer missile, Lascannon, 2x Multi-melta, Heavy stubber

1x Taurox (65 pts)
1 with Armoured tracks, Twin autocannon, Storm bolter

Archetype

Double Dorn Kasrkin Goodstuff

Thoughts

In second place we’ve got an undefeated Combined Arms build, which has quietly continued to be a very real contender in the metagame thanks to the mixture of quality heavy shooting and good staging threats from Transports. That hasn’t escaped the notice of the balance team, and there have been some tweaks to a few tools, so this build does lose a bit (mostly Tauroxes and Ursula not being as cheap), but there are plenty of other options in the book to pivot too. Many Kasrkin out of transports feels like it could be pretty real into Blood Angels and Sororitas, so I expect to see that aspect of Johan’s build here catch on, and well done on the strong finish here!

Jesper Grytter – World Eaters (Khorne Daemonkin) – 3rd Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Red skully chili time (1985 Points)

World Eaters
Khorne Daemonkin
Strike Force (2000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Daemon Prince of Khorne (230 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Hellforged weapons
• 1x Infernal cannon
• Enhancements: Blade of Endless Bloodshed

Khârn the Betrayer (85 Points)
• 1x Gorechild
• 1x Plasma pistol

Lord on Juggernaut (105 Points)
• 1x Bladed horn
• 1x Exalted chainblade
• 1x Plasma pistol
• Enhancements: Disciple of Khorne

Skarbrand (305 Points)
• 1x Bellow of endless fury
• 1x Slaughter and Carnage

BATTLELINE

Bloodletters (90 Points)
• 1x Bloodreaper
◦ 1x Hellblade
• 9x Bloodletter
◦ 1x Daemonic Icon
◦ 9x Hellblade
◦ 1x Instrument of Chaos

Khorne Berzerkers (180 Points)
• 1x Khorne Berzerker Champion
◦ 1x Bolt pistol
◦ 1x Chainblade
• 9x Khorne Berzerker
◦ 7x Bolt pistol
◦ 7x Chainblade
◦ 1x Icon of Khorne
◦ 2x Khornate eviscerator
◦ 2x Plasma pistol

OTHER DATASHEETS

Bloodcrushers (220 Points)
• 1x Bloodhunter
◦ 1x Hellblade
◦ 1x Juggernaut’s bladed horn
• 5x Bloodcrusher
◦ 1x Daemonic Icon
◦ 5x Hellblade
◦ 1x Instrument of Chaos
◦ 5x Juggernaut’s bladed horn

Flesh Hounds (75 Points)
• 1x Gore Hound
◦ 1x Burning roar
◦ 1x Collar of Khorne
◦ 1x Gore-drenched fangs
• 4x Flesh Hound
◦ 4x Collar of Khorne
◦ 4x Gore-drenched fangs

Forgefiend (150 Points)
• 2x Ectoplasm cannon
• 1x Ectoplasm cannon
• 1x Forgefiend claws

Jakhals (65 Points)
• 1x Jakhal Pack Leader
◦ 1x Autopistol
◦ 1x Chainblades
• 1x Dishonoured
◦ 1x Skullsmasher and mangler
• 8x Jakhal
◦ 8x Autopistol
◦ 8x Chainblades
◦ 1x Icon of Khorne

Exported with App Version: v1.33.0 (1), Data Version: v609

Archetype

Daemonkin Goodstuff

Thoughts

If you’re a World Eater’s player, thank Khorne for this build, because it’ll help tide the faction over for a few months till they get some of the internal adjustments they need (and didn’t pick up today). Happily, this build kicks ass, since Forgefiends blasting foes so hard that it fires Bloodletters into whatever was standing behind them rules both conceptually and mechanically. Forgefiends are the standout unit from the book, and perfect for the metagame we’re getting, and running as Daemonkin gives you access to the heavy hitter lift you need to properly complement them. This build also brings in one big unit of Berzerkers and Kharn, who in the mid or late game are excellent for cleaning up once the upgraded versions of Daemonic Fury and Blessing of Burning Blood are available to them. Particularly pleased to see them in this version, as the Daemonkin builds we saw last week mostly spammed more hulls – it’s important for the iconic units to get in on the fun as well. Great work from Jesper.

Anders Petersen – Emperor’s Children (Coterie of the Conceited) – 4th Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Ec (1995 Points)

Emperor’s Children
Coterie of the Conceited
Strike Force (2000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Daemon Prince of Slaanesh with Wings (205 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Hellforged weapons
• 1x Infernal cannon
• Enhancements: Pledge to Eternal Servitude

Daemon Prince of Slaanesh with Wings (180 Points)
• 1x Hellforged weapons
• 1x Infernal cannon

Lord Exultant (80 Points)
• 1x Bolt Pistol
• 1x Close combat weapon
• 1x Phoenix power spear
• 1x Rapture lash

Lord Kakophonist (60 Points)
• 1x Close combat weapon
• 1x Screamer pistol
• 1x Screamer pistol

Lucius the Eternal (140 Points)
• 1x Blade of the Laer
• 1x Lash of Torment

BATTLELINE

Infractors (85 Points)
• 1x Obsessionist
◦ 1x Plasma pistol
◦ 1x Rapture lash
• 4x Infractor
◦ 4x Bolt pistol
◦ 4x Duelling sabre

Tormentors (85 Points)
• 1x Obsessionist
◦ 1x Bolt pistol
◦ 1x Power sword
• 4x Tormentor
◦ 4x Boltgun
◦ 4x Close combat weapon

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

Chaos Rhino (80 Points)
• 1x Armoured tracks
• 1x Combi-bolter
• 1x Combi-bolter
• 1x Havoc launcher

OTHER DATASHEETS

Noise Marines (135 Points)
• 1x Disharmonist
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Power sword
◦ 1x Screamer pistol
• 5x Noise Marine
◦ 2x Blastmaster
◦ 5x Close combat weapon
◦ 3x Sonic blaster

Noise Marines (135 Points)
• 1x Disharmonist
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Sonic blaster
• 5x Noise Marine
◦ 2x Blastmaster
◦ 5x Close combat weapon
◦ 3x Sonic blaster

Exported with App Version: v1.33.0 (1), Data Version: v609

Archetype

Triple Prince Coterie

Thoughts

Rounding out our top four we have the Triple Prince version of the standard Coterie build, which by now everyone’s pretty much familiar with as a melee powerhouse with solid anti-elite shooting behind it. The good news is that anti-elite shooting is going to be high value in the new metagame, the bad news is that this army gets hit for 100pts, and so needs to make some changes. Presumably that’s dropping one Prince and adding another Rhino or something, which isn’t the end of the world, but is certainly pretty vicious. Time will tell if there’s anything else people can pivot too or if we’re just going to see a slightly diminished Coterie build, but well done to Anders for giving us a nice showcase ahead of that.

The Best of the Rest

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

5th – Alexander Mortensen – Death Guard (Virulent Vectorium): Character-heavy Mortarion Vectorium.
6th – Killi Paaske – Adepta Sororitas (Hallowed Martyrs): Immolator spam Martyrs with some heavy hitters like Vahl’s unit and a full Sacresant squad backing them up. Gets a decent chunk of extra points to play with going forward, which is nice.
7th – Daniel Fragtrup – Astra Militarum (Siege Regiment): A fairly standard double Dorn Commander/Russ setup list-wise, but running as Siege Regiment to boost the utility of a big Krieg unit, and adding Draxus and Coteaz to spice up some of the Infantry units. Draxus in particular can do some mildly amusing things with stratagems like Furious Fusillade.
8th – Thomas Alstrup – Imperial Knights (Noble Lance): Canis, Atrapos, Armigers, still a problem.

TORNEO INAUGURAL – ART HOBBIES CDMX

44-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico on May 31 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Xavier Barrera – Ultramarines (Gladius Task Force) – 1st Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

courage and honour (2000 points)

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

CHARACTERS

Captain in Gravis Armour (90 points)
• 1x Boltstorm gauntlet
1x Power fist
1x Relic chainsword
• Enhancement: Artificer Armour

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

Marneus Calgar (210 points)
• 1x Marneus Calgar
• 1x Gauntlets of Ultramar
• 2x Victrix Honour Guard
• 2x Victrix power sword

Roboute Guilliman (345 points)
• Warlord
• 1x Emperor’s Sword
1x Hand of Dominion

OTHER DATASHEETS

Ballistus Dreadnought (140 points)
• 1x Armoured feet
1x Ballistus lascannon
1x Ballistus missile launcher
1x Twin storm bolter

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

Gladiator Reaper (160 points)
• 1x Armoured hull
1x Icarus rocket pod
1x Ironhail heavy stubber
2x Tempest bolter
1x Twin heavy onslaught gatling cannon

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

Invader ATV (60 points)
• 1x Bolt pistol
1x Close combat weapon
1x Multi-melta
1x Twin bolt rifle

Scout Squad (70 points)
• 1x Scout Sergeant
• 1x Astartes chainsword
1x Bolt pistol
1x Close combat weapon
• 4x Scout
• 4x Bolt pistol
4x Close combat weapon
2x Combat knife
1x Heavy bolter
1x Scout sniper rifle

Vindicator (185 points)
• 1x Armoured tracks
1x Demolisher cannon
1x Hunter-killer missile
1x Storm bolter

Exported with App Version: v1.33.1 (80), Data Version: v609

Archetype

Bobby G Calgar Gun Club

Thoughts

Another example of a build that got targeted by the dataslate at the top here, though in this case it’s very much kid gloves – yes you have to pick between Calgar or Guilliman, and the latter is slightly weaker, but they’re also cheaper, and you have the entire Marine roster to play with replacing them. My assumption is that the “default” change for lists like this will be Calgar out, Sicarius and an Impulsor in, because Sicarius with Company Heroes is a nightmare little mid-board power piece, but who knows. Maybe cheaper VanVets? Maybe go the other way and bring Aggressors or Heavy Intercessors with Calgar now they’re extra cheap? So many options, and we’ll see which ones the Marine players go for. Good work from Xavier unleashing the dynamic duo for a final-ish ride.

The Best of the Rest

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

2nd (4.5-0.5) – Arturo Guerrero – Death Guard (Champions of Contagion): The standard Death Guard suite with a second big Plague Marine unit for all the juicy Champions tricks.
3rd – Damian Flores Díaz – Aeldari (Warhost): All-rounder Warhost built to maximise the extra speed with a big Reaper alpha strike. Gets hit for 30pts in the Ynnari crossfire, weeps.
4th – Alberto Lopez – Death Guard (Virulent Vectorium): Mortarion Vectorium going low on Deathshrouds (just one unit) to keep three Drones.
5th – Asgo the Rath – Aeldari (Devoted of Ynnead): Flexible big brick choice Ynnari, with options on Incubi or a Storm Guardian/Conclave stack for Yvraine and the Visarch. Nuked from orbit.
6th – Jose Alfredo Ku Chale – Emperor’s Children (Coterie of the Conceited): Double Prince Coterie with an extra unit of Tormentors. Not quite nuked from orbit, but definitely hit hard, probably too hard given there’s not been any movement to try and encourage other units to flourish.

Battle for the Throne

32-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Bogotá, Bogotá, Colombia on May 31 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Unknown Mission

Carlos Lopez – Tyranids (Invasion Fleet)
Army List - Click to Expand

Andrade’s exocrine party (1995 points)

Tyranids
Strike Force (2000 points)
Invasion Fleet

CHARACTERS

Hive Tyrant (250 points)
• Warlord
• 1x Heavy venom cannon
1x Monstrous bonesword and lash whip
• Enhancement: Adaptive Biology

Neurotyrant (135 points)
• 1x Neurotyrant claws and lashes
1x Psychic scream
• Enhancement: Alien Cunning

BATTLELINE

Gargoyles (85 points)
• 10x Gargoyle
• 10x Blinding venom
10x Fleshborer

Hormagaunts (130 points)
• 20x Hormagaunt
• 20x Hormagaunt talons

OTHER DATASHEETS

Biovores (50 points)
• 1x Chitin-barbed limbs
1x Spore Mine launcher

Exocrine (140 points)
• 1x Bio-plasmic cannon
1x Powerful limbs

Lictor (60 points)
• 1x Lictor claws and talons

Maleceptor (170 points)
• 1x Massive scything talons
1x Psychic overload

Neurolictor (80 points)
• 1x Piercing claws and talons

Pyrovores (40 points)
• 1x Chitin-barbed limbs
1x Flamespurt

Tyrannofex (200 points)
• 1x Powerful limbs
1x Rupture cannon
1x Stinger salvoes

Exported with App Version: v1.33.1 (80), Data Version: v609

vs.

Adam Lev – Chaos Space Marines (Creations of Bile)
Army List - Click to Expand

Too Possessed to Be Stressed (2000 Points)

Chaos Space Marines
Creations of Bile
Strike Force (2000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Chaos Lord (125 Points)
• 1x Daemon hammer
• 1x Plasma pistol
• Enhancements: Prime Test Subject

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

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

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

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

Chosen (125 Points)
• 1x Chosen Champion
◦ 1x Boltgun
◦ 1x Chaos Icon
◦ 1x Plasma pistol
◦ 1x Power fist
• 4x Chosen
◦ 3x Accursed weapon
◦ 3x Bolt pistol
◦ 1x Boltgun
◦ 2x Combi-weapon
◦ 1x Paired accursed weapons
◦ 1x Plasma pistol

Possessed (240 Points)
• 1x Possessed Champion
◦ 1x Hideous mutations
• 9x Possessed
◦ 9x Hideous mutations

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

Exported with App Version: v1.33.0 (1), Data Version: v609

Thoughts

Always great to see a Showdown from outside of Europe and the anglosphere, and from my (failed) attempts to find out the mission that was played, it looks like this was a Golden Ticket event, so hell yeah to the Colombian scene and Dice and Brush (the store that hosted it).

Anyway – the contestants. Gribbly monsters on both sides, love it. 30 Possessed surging forwards from the Chaos side, a wall of dakka bugs and a few brave speed bumps opposite them, perfect Warhammer. This is honestly pretty interesting, because while the Chaos side definitely has the advantage in aggression, the Tyranids are pretty well equipped to scythe through the elite infantry running at them, with perfect offensive statlines from the Exocrines and Maleceptors. The Tyrannofexes are maybe less good for the killing, but still have a pretty useful role to play here as speed bumps – Possessed are pretty mediocre at killing stuff that’s T12 with a 2+, especially if you layer a 5+ Feel No Pain on top. From the Tyranid side, using these big bugs to stem the tide while shooting gets things done feels like a solid route to a strong score.

From the Chaos side, you need to take account of the risk of getting bogged down, and focus on neutralising the enemy scoring/chaff pieces as fast as possible. If you can clear out all those Gaunts and Gargoyles then it doesn’t super matter if the Possessed take a while to wade through a big bug – you’re probably denying points while you do it. If the Gaunts are still alive, however, suddenly you’re at risk of points denial, and also have to account for the risk of losing some scoring to the Shadow turn.

I think I’d probably narrowly give this one to the Chaos Space Marines because they’ve got enough scoring chaff on top of the higher aggression that I think they have a chance to capitalise – but Shadow is a massive wild card. If the Tyranids can create a giant traffic jam mid board and then blow Shadow it feels like they have a great chance of winning the game on the spot, especially if they go second, so I think this is anyone’s to win. As it happens, the players scored a draw – so clearly good planning used on both sides!

Result

Draw – 77 – 77

Adam Lev – Chaos Space Marines (Creations of Bile) – 1st Place

Night Lords Possessed Squad – Credit: RichyP

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Too Possessed to Be Stressed (2000 Points)

Chaos Space Marines
Creations of Bile
Strike Force (2000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Chaos Lord (125 Points)
• 1x Daemon hammer
• 1x Plasma pistol
• Enhancements: Prime Test Subject

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

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

BATTLELINE

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

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

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

OTHER DATASHEETS

Possessed (240 Points)
• 1x Possessed Champion
◦ 1x Hideous mutations
• 9x Possessed
◦ 9x Hideous mutations

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

Exported with App Version: v1.33.0 (1), Data Version: v609

Archetype

Possessed Spam Bile

Thoughts

Bile has been the go-to CSM build in the last quarter, with aggressive builds like this thriving, and they’re likely to just keep on trucking into the new environment. I’m a fan of the choice here to include lots of Cultists to solidify scoring – genuinely, without that I think the game against Tyranids at the top would have been a bit more uphill. I genuinely don’t think this army is going to need or see much change at all, though maybe the Master of Possession is cheap enough to look at for one squad now? Anyway – congratulations to Adam, and look forward to seeing more from him in the future.

The Best of the Rest

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

2nd (4.5-0.5) – Carlos Lopez – Tyranids (Invasion Fleet): Monster mash with one big Hormagaunt unit. Takes a very mild net hit from the change to Hive Tyrants, but otherwise trucks along (and is the kind of build that can actually put +30pts to work in exchange).
3rd – Juan Ochoa – Space Wolves (Champions of Russ): Herohammer Champions with Leadered-up units of Bladeguard and ThunderCav, plus a big Chaplain-lead Outrider unit.
4th – Henry Lam – Adeptus Custodes (Lions of the Emperor): Double Caladius, triple Wardens, one bike unit.
5th – Omar León – Imperial Knights (Noble Lance): Canis and Armigers.
6th – Gonzalo Baquero – Emperor’s Children (Coterie of the Conceited): Stock triple Prince Coterie.

Nailhammer 8 – 2k 2 Day Tournament

30-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in England, United Kingdom on May 31 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Michael Glenwright – Tyranids (Invasion Fleet) – 1st Place

Tyranids Zoanthrope in Hive Fleet Leviathan — Tyranids Zoanthrope. Credit: Pendulin

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

2025 Roster (1995 points)

Tyranids
Strike Force (2000 points)
Invasion Fleet

CHARACTERS

Broodlord (80 points)
• 1x Broodlord claws and talons

Hive Tyrant (225 points)
• Warlord
• 1x Heavy venom cannon
1x Monstrous bonesword and lash whip

Neurotyrant (105 points)
• 1x Neurotyrant claws and lashes
1x Psychic scream

BATTLELINE

Hormagaunts (65 points)
• 10x Hormagaunt
• 10x Hormagaunt talons

Termagants (120 points)
• 20x Termagant
• 20x Chitinous claws and teeth
20x Termagant spinefists

OTHER DATASHEETS

Biovores (50 points)
• 1x Chitin-barbed limbs
1x Spore Mine launcher

Exocrine (140 points)
• 1x Bio-plasmic cannon
1x Powerful limbs

Genestealers (150 points)
• 10x Genestealer
• 10x Genestealers claws and talons

Lictor (60 points)
• 1x Lictor claws and talons

Maleceptor (170 points)
• 1x Massive scything talons
1x Psychic overload

Tyrannofex (200 points)
• 1x Powerful limbs
1x Rupture cannon
1x Stinger salvoes

Zoanthropes (200 points)
• 1x Neurothrope
• 1x Chitinous claws and teeth
1x Warp Blast
• 5x Zoanthrope
• 5x Chitinous claws and teeth
5x Warp Blast

Exported with App Version: v1.33.1 (80), Data Version: v609

Archetype

Monster Mash with Zoanthropes

Thoughts

Another Invasion Fleet build to close us out, this one swapping one of the Tyrannofexes out for a block of Zoanthropes. That doesn’t seem like a bad call for the upcoming metagame, as they’re much more flexible into elite infantry armies than the Tyrannofex, though obviously suffer on range. I guess we wait and see what the now-announced Chaos Knights Codex holds and then decide on that one, but I do like it a lot as a choice, and am faintly surprised we don’t see it more. Good stuff from Michael.

The Best of the Rest

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

2nd (4.5-0.5) – Kevin Davies – Tyranids (Invasion Fleet): Mostly shooty Monster Mash with two Broodlord/Genestealer untis and a Termagant brick to control the board. Drew the final!
3rd – Max DeBarr – Dark Angels (Gladius Task Force): Deathwing Gladius with the Lion.
4th – Kyle Laing – Death Guard (Virulent Vectorium): Double Plague Marine no-Mortarion Vectorium.
5th – Dave Parker – Ultramarines (Gladius Task Force): Bobby G/Calgar gun club. Kind of RIP but not really.

Wrap Up

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Competitive Innovations in 10th: Keep it Sneezy pt.1

Danish Open, Singles

Nicklas Schmidt – Death Guard (Virulent Vectorium) – 1st Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

Johan Toftvad – Astra Militarum (Combined Arms) – 2nd Place (Undefeated)

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

Jesper Grytter – World Eaters (Khorne Daemonkin) – 3rd Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

Anders Petersen – Emperor’s Children (Coterie of the Conceited) – 4th Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

The Best of the Rest

TORNEO INAUGURAL – ART HOBBIES CDMX

Xavier Barrera – Ultramarines (Gladius Task Force) – 1st Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

The Best of the Rest

Battle for the Throne

The Showdown

Unknown Mission

Thoughts

Result

Adam Lev – Chaos Space Marines (Creations of Bile) – 1st Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

The Best of the Rest

Nailhammer 8 – 2k 2 Day Tournament

Michael Glenwright – Tyranids (Invasion Fleet) – 1st Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

The Best of the Rest

Wrap Up

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