10th Edition switches to a higher gear this week, as we’ve got our first big blowout weekend with the new rules. Premier among the events of the weekend was the US Open Tacoma, but the 100-player Show Me Showdown was hot on its heels, and there’s plenty more out there besides.

I was lucky enough to fly over to Tacoma, and the fact that I was flying back over Monday/Tuesday is why this column is going out on Friday. Luckily, the sight of Genestealer Cults dominating events has lured Lowest of Men out of ambush, so we’ve got our first double header of the Edition, which we’ll get right into.

We’ll be looking at:

The US Open Tacoma
The Show Me Showdown
Denver 40K Fight Club July Open
The London Open
Winchester 40K GT
Fun-N-Games Summer GT
Metagame – Warhammer 40.000 WCQ Hungary

This week’s showdowns have been chosen by author fiat rather than democracy, mostly because I was on a plane during the window I normally run the voting, and didn’t make a backup plan. We’ll be hitting:

Custodes vs Custodes at the US Open Tacoma
Aeldari vs Aeldai at the Show Me Showdown
GSC vs GSC at the London Open
GSC vs Adeptus Custodes at the Winchester GT

Warhammer 40,000 GT: US Open Tacoma

374-player, 8-round Supermajor in Tacoma, WA United States on July 14 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Wings is covering this one.

The Showdown

Matchup & Mission – Mission E (Take & Hold/Chosen Battlefield/Sweeping Engagement)

Steve Trimble – Adeptus Custodes: Whoops all Custodian Guard – three big bricks, two with shield captains, one with Trajann, plus a few hangers on.
Army List - Click to Expand

Tacoma (2000 Points)

Adeptus Custodes
Shield Host
Strike Force (2000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Shield-Captain (150 Points)
• 1x Guardian spear
• Enhancements: Ceaseless Hunter

Shield-Captain (120 Points)
• 1x Guardian spear

Trajann Valoris (145 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Watcher’s Axe

BATTLELINE

Custodian Guard (450 Points)
• 8x Guardian spear
1x Misericordia
1x Praesidium Shield
1x Praesidium Shield
1x Sentinel blade
1x Vexilla

Prosecutors (50 Points)
• 1x Prosecutor Sister Superior
• 1x Boltgun
1x Close combat weapon
• 4x Prosecutor
• 4x Boltgun
4x Close combat weapon

ALLIED UNITS

Callidus Assassin (115 Points)
• 1x Neural shredder
1x Phase sword and poison blades

Exaction Squad (35 Points)
• 1x Proctor-Exactant
• 1x Arbites combat shotgun
1x Arbites shotpistol
1x Close combat weapon
• 4x Exaction Vigilant
• 1x Arbites Medi-kit
2x Arbites combat shotgun
1x Arbites grenade launcher
4x Arbites shotpistol
4x Close combat weapon
1x Heavy stubber
1x Soulguilt Scanner

vs.

Hank Adams – Adeptus Custodes: All-rounder Custodes with Caladius Tanks, Wardens and Allarus, and one big Custodian block.
Army List - Click to Expand

Shiny Bois (2000 points)
Adeptus Custodes
Strike Force (2000 points)
Shield Host

CHARACTER

Blade Champion (100 points)
• 1x Vaultswords

Shield-Captain (120 points)
• Warlord
• 1x Guardian spear

Shield-Captain in Allarus Terminator Armour (120 points)
• 1x Balistus grenade launcher
1x Guardian spear

BATTLELINE

Custodian Guard (405 points)
• 5x Guardian spear
1x Misericordia
3x Praesidium Shield
1x Praesidium Shield
3x Sentinel blade
1x Vexilla

OTHER DATASHEETS

Allarus Custodians (325 points)
• 5x Balistus grenade launcher
5x Guardian spear

Caladius Grav-tank (215 points)
• 1x Armoured hull
1x Twin arachnus heavy blaze cannon
1x Twin lastrum bolt cannon

Custodian Wardens (300 points)
• 6x Guardian spear
1x Vexilla

Witchseekers (75 points)
• 1x Witchseeker Sister Superior
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Witchseeker flamer
• 4x Witchseeker
• 4x Close combat weapon
4x Witchseeker flamer

ALLIED UNITS

Inquisitor (55 points)
• 1x Combi-weapon
1x Force weapon
1x Psychic Gifts
1x Psychic Shock Wave

Inquisitorial Henchmen (70 points)
• 4x Inquisitorial Acolyte
• 4x Acolyte firearm
4x Acolyte melee weapon
• 1x Gun Servitor
• 1x Acolyte melee weapon
1x Heavy bolter
• 1x Mystic
• 1x Acolyte firearm
1x Acolyte melee weapon
• 1x Daemonhost
• 1x Unholy Gaze
1x Warp grasp

Thoughts

All gold on the top table, and on one side we’ve got a list I had the pleasure of playing against in round five – Steve’s triple Custodian brick build. In an edition where most armies can struggle a bit with melee, this list is fully ready to go across the board like a lawnmower, obliterating anything in its path, and can also spike some shooting damage on a go turn thanks to the combination of double-shooting and wound re-rolls. It’s also incredibly difficult to kill – on top of the default level of durability the Custodes have access to, seeding a couple of shields into each squad significantly boosts their ability to tank flat damage three shooting, especially once you start adding models back with Vigil Unending. Very slightly vulnerable to Knights alpha striking it, but otherwise one of the most resilient builds out there.

Hank’s version of Custodes is at the opposite end of the spectrum, mixing in a unit each of Allarus and Wardens (providing great anti-horde and some clutch durability) along with Caladius tanks, providing a route to actually kill enemy Knights at range. On the US open maps, a lot of players ended up strat reserving their shooty vehicles to ensure they got angles, and Caladii are perfect for this, as they’ll reliably pick something up on arrival, then need serious attention to clear.

Who triumphs when these builds clash? On this mission, Steve’s list feels fairly heavily favoured. Hank already has the issue that his build provides lots of flexible tools to engage a wide variety of targets, and that’s just not what he’s up against, but player-placed objectives heavily compound that. It’s very difficult to stop Steve forcing their to be two no-man’s land objectives in close proximity with one another, and once that’s in place all he has to do is park his army on it and dare Hank to come get him. I assume Hank tried to do so, but from the result it looks like the golden shieldwall was comfortably able to absorb the blows.

Result

Adeptus Custodes Victory (Steve) – 85 – 47

Steve Trimble – Adeptus Custodes – 1st Place

Custodian Guard. Credit: Edwin “Lupe” Moriarty

The List

See showdown

Archetype

Whoops all Custodians

Final Round Matchup

85 – 47 Victory against Hank Adams – Adeptus Custodes.

Thoughts

One of the most durable and most choppy builds that 10th Edition offers, Steve’s list is tooled to deploy on the line and roll through opponents before they can get a grip on the situation, and that’s what he pulled off round after round. From personal experimentation, nothing squishier than the full Lychguard brick can engage a Custodian unit and expect to live, and the once-per-game double shoots from Custodians gives the list a turn of hitting pretty hard in the shooting phase as well, which people used to 9th Edition Custodes aren’t going to see coming. The selection of Imperial support also provides the list with tools to react to whatever the opponent gets up to, be it by teleporting the Assassin, hiking the cost on a key strat, or just deploying suprisingly effective police officers to impound an objective. Sometimes all you need is thirty three glorious golden heroes, and with those at his command Steve secured the first supermajor trophy of the edition for Terra.

Hank Adams – Adeptus Custodes – 2nd Place

Adeptus Custodes Caladius Grav-Tank. Credit: Jack Hunter

The List

See showdown

Archetype

Mixed Custodes

Thoughts

So sure, if you just ram this into a wall of Custodians the diversity of units doesn’t pay off, but anywhere else it gives you a bunch of flexibility. Allarus do terrible things to hordes with CHARACTERs in the unit, so are perfect in a Genestealer-heavy metagame, while Caladii are exceptionally nasty into the hull-focused parts of the scene. Wardens, meanwhile, provide you one turn of just stupendous durability to sit on a point, and the list still has access to one big brick of Custodians to throw into a key breach. Gold is apparently very in this season, well done Hank for providing a double-header for the Custodes.

Jeremiah Bergdale – Asuryani – 3rd Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

GW Open (2000 Points)

Aeldari
Battle Host
Strike Force (2000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Autarch Wayleaper (80 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Shuriken pistol
1x Star glaive

Farseer (65 Points)
• 1x Eldritch Storm
1x Shuriken pistol
1x Witchblade

Irillyth (105 Points)
• 1x Spear of Starlight

Solitaire (115 Points)
• 1x Solitaire weapons

Spiritseer (80 Points)
• 1x Shuriken pistol
1x Witch staff
• Enhancements: Fate’s Messenger

BATTLELINE

Guardian Defenders (110 Points)
• 10x Guardian Defender
• 10x Close combat weapon
10x Shuriken catapult
• 1x Heavy Weapon Platform
• 1x Bright lance
1x Close combat weapon

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

Wave Serpent (120 Points)
• 1x Twin shuriken catapult
1x Twin starcannon
1x Wraithbone hull

OTHER DATASHEETS

Hornet (80 Points)
• 2x Bright lance
1x Wraithbone hull

Shadow Spectres (100 Points)
• 5x Shadow Spectre
• 5x Close combat weapon
5x Prism rifle
• 1x Shadow Spectre Exarch
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Prism rifle

Shadow Spectres (80 Points)
• 5x Shadow Spectre
• 5x Close combat weapon
5x Prism rifle

Warp Spiders (100 Points)
• 1x Warp Spider Exarch
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Death spinner
1x Death spinner
1x Powerblades
• 4x Warp Spider
• 4x Close combat weapon
4x Death spinner

Wraithguard (310 Points)
• 10x Close combat weapon
10x Wraithcannon

Wraithknight (475 Points)
• 1x Heavy wraithcannon
1x Heavy wraithcannon
2x Starcannon
1x Titanic feet

Archetype

Aeldari double anvil

Thoughts

The Custodes were hardcore enough to chase the Aeldari away from the final, but no one else could stand up to the might of Jeremiah’s space elves. His build combines a single Wraithknight (still an unparalleled trump card for some games), a second tough and deadly (but also crucially cheaper) brick of goodness from some Wraithguard with Fate’s Messenger, then a whole bunch of high speed, moderately deadly shooting threats to lock in objectives and pick off anything that can hide from the big threats. Nothing squisher than Custodes is going to tank this, and it’s ultra-difficult to pin down, resulting in a super-strong build that Jeremiah took all the way to third place.

Matthew Geyer – Chaos Daemons – 4th Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Chaos demons
Belakor 325
Shalaxi Helbane 400
Blood thirster 300 great axe
Lord of change everstave rod of sorc 255
Lord of change dagger 230
Lord of change dagger 230
6 flamers 130
3 flamers 65
3 flamers 65

2000 points total

Archetype

Monster Mash

Thoughts

Rounding out the top four we have an example of the faction that’s been most overperforming my expectations in Daemons. A lot of Daemon stuff is overcosted, but it turns out that the big monsters absolutely aren’t, so just slamming a bunch of those into a list and salting in a few fast supporting units gives you something pretty effective. The powerful shooting of Lords of Change is particularly important, ensuring the opponent’s forces are heavily degraded even if they do manage to escape from the wrath of the melee threats, and Be’lakor’s aura allows them to avoid long-ranged counterpunches, helping massively with the Knight matchups. I’m sure that Daemon players are simply distraught that they’ll have to put a bunch of Greater Daemons on the table; hopefully they can look to Matthew for inspiration regarding how to cope in these trying times.

The Best of the Rest

There were 6 more players who went 3-1 or better in the top bracket. They were:

5th – Jamus Thayn – Necrons: Double Lychguard brick backed by a bunch of Lokhust Heavies and Doomsdays, plus three Hexmarks to punish opponents who focus fire. Jamus was undefeated other than dropping a game in the Shadow Round.
6th – Scott Darbison – Imperial Knights: Canis Rex to go forward and a Crusader to hang back, with a bunch of Armigers helping out.
7th – Ben Jurek – Aeldari: Triple Prism/Wraithknight/Yncarne shooty Aeldari.
8th – Tyler Bortel – Genestealer Cult: Another player who I had the pleasure of getting a game against (probably my favourite of the whole event, closing things out in round 8), Tyler was running horde Cult with two Demolition Acolyte bricks to obliterate whatever they look at, lots of Neophytes, and one big Aberrant unit. Like a lot of players in Tacoma, he left the bike bomb unit on the shelf, as the Acolytes provide more than enough explosions to deal with the best toys the opponent is fielding, while being less vulnerable to some kinds of counter.
9th – Noah Beddome – Imperial Knights: A teleporting Mysterious Guardian Valiant and a Mythic Hero Warden provide the heavy hitters here, creating an especially pressure-heavy Knight variant.
10th – Jordan Salamon – Aeldari: More Wraithknight/Fire Prism/Yncarne fun.

Show Me Showdown 40k Super Major

100-player, 8-round Major in Lee’s Summit, MO US on July 14 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Wings is covering this one.

The Showdown

Matchup & Mission – Mission M (Purge the Foe/Chilling Rain/Crucible of Battle)

Treynor Wolfe – Aeldari: Go-wide shooty Aeldari with the Yncarne.
Army List - Click to Expand

main (1990 points)
Aeldari
Strike Force (2000 points)
Battle Host

CHARACTER

Autarch Wayleaper (80 points)
• Warlord
• 1x Dragon fusion gun
1x Howling Banshee Mask
1x Star glaive

Farseer Skyrunner (100 points)
• 1x Eldritch Storm
1x Shuriken pistol
1x Twin shuriken catapult
1x Witchblade
• Enhancement: The Phoenix Gem

The Yncarne (270 points)
• 1x Swirling soul energy
1x Vilith-zhar, the Sword of Souls

OTHER DATASHEETS

Fire Prism (150 points)
• 1x Prism cannon
1x Shuriken cannon
1x Wraithbone hull

Hornet (80 points)
• 2x Bright lance
1x Wraithbone hull

Night Spinner (170 points)
• 1x Doomweaver
1x Shuriken cannon
1x Wraithbone hull

Shadow Spectres (80 points)
• 5x Close combat weapon
5x Prism rifle

Support Weapons (105 points)
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x D-cannon
1x Shuriken catapult

War Walkers (95 points)
• 2x Bright lance
1x War Walker feet

Warp Spiders (100 points)
• 1x Warp Spider Exarch
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Death spinner
1x Death spinner
1x Powerblades
• 4x Warp Spider
• 4x Close combat weapon
4x Death spinner

vs.

Ben Cherwien – Aeldari: Double Anvil Aeldari
Army List - Click to Expand

Ben Show Me (1995 Points)

Aeldari
Battle Host
Strike Force (2000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Autarch Wayleaper (80 Points)
• 1x Dragon fusion gun
1x Howling Banshee Mask
1x Star glaive

Farseer (65 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Eldritch Storm
1x Shuriken pistol
1x Witchblade

Illic Nightspear (65 Points)
• 1x Aeldari power sword
1x Shuriken pistol
1x Voidbringer

Spiritseer (80 Points)
• 1x Shuriken pistol
1x Witch staff
• Enhancements: Fate’s Messenger

BATTLELINE

Guardian Defenders (110 Points)
• 10x Guardian Defender
• 10x Close combat weapon
10x Shuriken catapult
• 1x Heavy Weapon Platform
• 1x Bright lance
1x Close combat weapon

OTHER DATASHEETS

Night Spinner (170 Points)
• 1x Doomweaver
1x Shuriken cannon
1x Wraithbone hull

Rangers (55 Points)
• 5x Close combat weapon
5x Ranger long rifle
5x Shuriken pistol

Shadow Spectres (80 Points)
• 5x Shadow Spectre
• 5x Close combat weapon
5x Prism rifle

Warp Spiders (100 Points)
• 1x Warp Spider Exarch
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Death spinner
1x Death spinner
1x Powerblades
• 4x Warp Spider
• 4x Close combat weapon
4x Death spinner

Wraithguard (310 Points)
• 10x Close combat weapon
10x Wraithcannon

Wraithknight (475 Points)
• 1x Heavy wraithcannon
1x Heavy wraithcannon
2x Starcannon
1x Titanic feet

Thoughts

Custodes may have shown the Aeldari up in Tacoma, but elsewhere they were still very much in charge. Here we’ve got the two different ends of shooty Aeldari facing off – one going dense with the Wraithknight/Wraithguard combo, the other eschewing those big hitters in favour of going as wide as possible and packing the Yncarne. On armies alone, I’d probably favour the go-wide option here, as the change to Strands of Fate impacts it a lot less than it does the Wraithknight variant, and although the Knight is ultra deadly it is going to die here. However, the mission smoothes things out a bit, because although I expect the Knight to get taken out at some point, if that costs Treynor two turns of Kill More on this mission then Ben could still build up a decent lead, though of course Treynor has an easier time scoring Hold More in turn.

This is, ultimately, going to turn a lot on exactly how quickly Ben’s biggest toys die, as they probably only need to last one turn longer than expected to make this a win, but I think the balance of probability ends up favouring Treynor. That’s particularly true because I think he can better capitalise on the first turn – not only does a turn of extra shooting hurt Ben more, the higher unit count (and the Yncarne) in Treynor’s army gives him more of a shot of still defending Hold More if he’s on the play, whereas if Ben goes first I think Treynor takes it every turn. Either player can definitely win, but Treynor feels like he has the edge, and that played out in the result.

Result

Aeldari Victory (Treynor) – 89 – 78

Treynor Wolfe – Aeldari – 1st Place

The List

See showdown

Archetype

Go-wide shooty Aeldari

Final Round Matchup

89 – 78 Victory against Ben Cherwien – Aeldari.

Thoughts

Do you fancy trying to pin this down and kill it? I thought not. Supplementing the core Aeldari units with Hornets and Shadow Spectres provides a critical mass of stuff that can be everywhere, shoot anything and turn into the Yncarne if the opponent is foolish enough to kill them at the wrong time. Very much an illustrative example of how deep the Aeldari well of power is at the moment, and less vulnerable to getting alpha struck than the Wraithknight builds to boot. Well done to Treynor on taking down the event.

Dan Sammons – Aeldari – 2nd Place

Wraithguard with Wraithcannons. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Eldar Bad Stuff (1995 points)
Aeldari
Strike Force (2000 points)
Battle Host

CHARACTER

Autarch Wayleaper (80 points)
• Warlord
• 1x Dragon fusion gun
1x Howling Banshee Mask
1x Star glaive

Farseer Skyrunner (100 points)
• 1x Eldritch Storm
1x Shuriken pistol
1x Twin shuriken catapult
1x Witchblade
• Enhancement: The Phoenix Gem

Spiritseer (80 points)
• 1x Shuriken pistol
1x Witch staff
• Enhancement: Fate’s Messenger

The Yncarne (270 points)
• 1x Swirling soul energy
1x Vilith-zhar, the Sword of Souls

OTHER DATASHEETS

Hornet (80 points)
• 2x Bright lance
1x Wraithbone hull

Night Spinner (170 points)
• 1x Doomweaver
1x Shuriken cannon
1x Wraithbone hull

Shadow Spectres (80 points)
• 5x Close combat weapon
5x Prism rifle

Support Weapons (105 points)
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x D-cannon
1x Shuriken catapult

War Walkers (95 points)
• 2x Bright lance
1x War Walker feet

Warp Spiders (100 points)
• 1x Warp Spider Exarch
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Death spinner
1x Death spinner
1x Powerblades
• 4x Warp Spider
• 4x Close combat weapon
4x Death spinner

Wraithguard (310 points)
• 10x Close combat weapon
10x Wraithcannon

Archetype

Go-wide Aeldari with Wraithguard (though to be honest I could just steal Dan’s name of Aeldari Badstuff).

Thoughts

An interesting mix of the two Aeldari archetypes here, avoiding the Wraithknight but still taking a big Wraithguard brick, which I can definitely dig. Wraithguard are horrendous in units of ten, and provide Wraithknight-style omni-murder without introducing the vulnerabilities that a single Towering model gives a list. Add the threat of them arriving out of deep strike to the now-regular Aeldari threat of a million small, fast shooting units and you’ve got yet another powerful elf concoction, congratulations Dan for taking second.

Austin Howald – Aeldari – 3rd Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

WG + Fire Prisms (2000 points)
Aeldari
Strike Force (2000 points)
Battle Host

CHARACTER

Autarch Wayleaper (80 points)
• Warlord
• 1x Banshee blade
1x Fusion pistol
1x Mandiblasters

Farseer (90 points)
• 1x Eldritch Storm
1x Shuriken pistol
1x Witchblade
• Enhancement: The Phoenix Gem

Illic Nightspear (65 points)
• 1x Aeldari power sword
1x Shuriken pistol
1x Voidbringer

Spiritseer (80 points)
• 1x Shuriken pistol
1x Witch staff
• Enhancement: Fate’s Messenger

OTHER DATASHEETS

Fire Prism (150 points)
• 1x Prism cannon
1x Twin shuriken catapult
1x Wraithbone hull

Hornet (80 points)
• 2x Bright lance
1x Wraithbone hull

Night Spinner (170 points)
• 1x Doomweaver
1x Twin shuriken catapult
1x Wraithbone hull

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

Support Weapons (105 points)
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x D-cannon
1x Shuriken catapult

Voidweaver (100 points)
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Prismatic cannon
2x Shuriken cannon

Warp Spiders (100 points)
• 1x Warp Spider Exarch
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Death spinner
1x Death spinner
1x Powerblades
• 4x Warp Spider
• 4x Close combat weapon
4x Death spinner

Wraithguard (310 points)
• 10x Close combat weapon
10x Wraithcannon

Archetype

Go-wide Aeldari with Wraithguard

Thoughts

Ring up a second placing for the go-wide/Wraithguard combo, locking in an all-Aeldari podium. Well done Austin on third place.

Mitch McGill – Tyranids – 4th Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

fun times and gun times (1995 points)
Tyranids
Strike Force (2000 points)
Invasion Fleet

CHARACTER

Deathleaper (80 points)
• 1x Lictor claws and talons

Hive Tyrant (235 points)
• Warlord
• 1x Monstrous bonesword and lash whip
1x Monstrous scything talons
• Enhancement: Perfectly Adapted

BATTLELINE

Gargoyles (75 points)
• 10x Blinding venom
10x Fleshborer

OTHER DATASHEETS

Biovores (65 points)
• 1x Chitin-barbed limbs
1x Spore Mine launcher

Exocrine (135 points)
• 1x Bio-plasmic cannon
1x Powerful limbs

Lictor (75 points)
• 1x Lictor claws and talons

Maleceptor (165 points)
• 1x Massive scything talons
1x Psychic overload

Pyrovores (30 points)
• 1x Chitin-barbed limbs
1x Flamespurt

Trygon (180 points)
• 1x Bio-electric pulse
1x Trygon scything talons

Tyrannofex (200 points)
• 1x Acid spray
1x Powerful limbs
1x Stinger salvoes

Zoanthropes (180 points)
• 1x Neurothrope
• 1x Warp Blast
1x Xenos claws and teeth
• 5x Zoanthrope
• 5x Warp Blast
5x Xenos claws and teeth

Archetype

Shooty Monster Mash

Thoughts

Similar to Daemons, Tyranids seem to be thriving the most right now when they go hard on monsters (and supplement with Zoanthropes for all-rounder firepower). Big bugs are tough and the fact that Biovores give you an extremely easy route to scoring Secondaries means that anything which bogs the opponent down and leaves them with few tools for a late-game fight back is very powerful for the nids. Deathleaper and the Lictor further amplify that, forcing cagey play from the opponent, and the ability of the Trygon to sneakily steal an objective at a key moment completes the recipe. Great to see the occasional breakthrough from the more mid-tier armies, big props to Mitch for assimilating fourth place into the Hive Mind.

The Best of the Rest

There were 8 more players on 6-2 records. They were:

5th – Peyton Preece – Genestealer Cult: Acolyte/Neophyte horde with an Aberrant brick.
6th – Aaron Hermstedt – Chaos Knights: A Valiant-build Tyrant with a whole bunch of Dogs and some utility Daemons as backup.
7th – Ben Cherwien – Aeldari: See showdown.
8th – Brent Simon – Aeldari: Triple Prism/Spinner and a Wraithknight.
9th – John Indellicate – Tyranids: Monster mash with a Scythed Hierodule and a bunch of friends.
10th – Kyle McCord – Astra Militarum: High-firepower Militarum with lots of Carriages and triple Dorn.
11th – Matthew Doughman – Imperial Knights: Double Crusader.
12th – Gregory Brewer – Imperial Knights: The two ends of the Knight spectrum on show – a Castellan and a Gallant.

Denver 40K Fight Club July Open

66-player, 6-round Grand Tournament in Westminster, CO US on July 15 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Wings is covering this one

Ben Neal – Imperial Knights – 1st Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Lance (2000 Points)

Imperial Knights
Noble Lance
Strike Force (2000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Cerastus Knight Lancer (495 Points)
• 1x Cerastus shock lance

Knight Crusader (475 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Avenger gatling cannon
1x Heavy flamer
1x Questoris heavy stubber
1x Questoris heavy stubber
1x Rapid-fire battle cannon
1x Stormspear rocket pod
1x Titanic feet

BATTLELINE

Armiger Warglaive (140 Points)
• 1x Meltagun
1x Reaper chain-cleaver
1x Thermal spear

ALLIED UNITS

Callidus Assassin (115 Points)
• 1x Neural shredder
1x Phase sword and poison blades

Archetype

Aggro Knights

Final Round Matchup

54 – 50 Victory against Colin Kay – Night Lords.

Thoughts

Full points for style here – no mucking about, just a clarion cry of “Charge” and half an army’s worth of Knights Advancing/Charging into the opponent’s face. While Knights are generally leaning a bit more on shooting this time around, being able to put opponent’s on an absurd clock before being overrun has always been a Knight strength, and that’s something that Ben has very much gotten back in touch with here (and the Callidus only adds to the effect).

Michael Mann – Orks – 2nd Place

Ork Beast Snagga Beastboss by Crab-stuffed Mushrooms

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Orks draft 2 (1995 Points)

Orks
Waaagh! Tribe
Strike Force (2000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Beastboss (80 Points)
• 1x Beast Snagga klaw
1x Beastchoppa
1x Shoota

Beastboss on Squigosaur (185 Points)
• 1x Beastchoppa
1x Slugga
1x Squigosaur’s jaws
• Enhancements: Headwoppa’s Killchoppa

Kaptin Badrukk (95 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Choppa
1x Da Rippa
1x Slugga

Mozrog Skragbad (195 Points)
• 1x Big Chompa’s jaws
1x Gutrippa
1x Thump gun

Warboss (95 Points)
• 1x Attack squig
1x Kombi-weapon
1x Power klaw
1x Twin slugga
• Enhancements: Follow Me Ladz

BATTLELINE

Beast Snagga Boyz (105 Points)
• 1x Beast Snagga Nob
• 1x Power snappa
1x Slugga
• 9x Beast Snagga Boy
• 9x Choppa
9x Slugga

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

Trukk (50 Points)
• 1x Big shoota
1x Spiked wheels
1x Wreckin’ ball

OTHER DATASHEETS

Flash Gitz (190 Points)
• 1x Ammo Runt
• 1x Kaptin
• 1x Choppa
1x Snazzgun
• 9x Flash Git
• 9x Choppa
9x Snazzgun

Gretchin (45 Points)
• 1x Runtherd
• 1x Grot-smacka
1x Slugga
• 10x Gretchin
• 10x Close combat weapon
10x Grot blasta

Nobz (230 Points)
• 2x Ammo Runt
• 1x Boss Nob
• 1x Power klaw
1x Slugga
• 9x Nob
• 9x Power klaw
9x Slugga

Stormboyz (65 Points)
• 1x Boss Nob
• 1x Choppa
1x Slugga
• 4x Stormboy
• 4x Choppa
4x Slugga

Archetype

Trukk Spam

Thoughts

Speaking of pressure – Orks are not miles behind Custodes as far as armies that can do serious work in melee go, and being able to encase all their killers in Trukks at bargain prices frequently allows them to connect in sufficient numbers to make an impact. Beastbosses are a big part of that lift – seeding a bunch of Devastating Wounds in the infantry units makes them good all-purpose killers, and that’s even more true of a Squigboss upgraded with the Killchoppa. It’s also delightful to see that finally, finally Flash Gitz are worth taking again, the ability to drop them in place and unleash a spectacular volley with Badruk’s buffs making them extremely real. I got my first game against 10th Edition Orks in at the weekend, and came away with the feeling that people are sleeping on them a bit – so warbosses out there pay close attention to what Michael has been getting up to.

Joel Davis – Aeldari – 3rd Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

aeldari (1995 points)
Aeldari
Strike Force (2000 points)
Battle Host

CHARACTER

Autarch Wayleaper (80 points)
• Warlord
• 1x Howling Banshee Mask
1x Reaper launcher
1x Star glaive

Farseer Skyrunner (75 points)
• 1x Eldritch Storm
1x Shuriken pistol
1x Singing spear
1x Twin shuriken catapult

Spiritseer (80 points)
• 1x Shuriken pistol
1x Witch staff
• Enhancement: Fate’s Messenger

OTHER DATASHEETS

Dark Reapers (75 points)
• 1x Dark Reaper Exarch
• 1x Tempest launcher
• 4x Dark Reaper
• 4x Reaper launcher

Fire Prism (150 points)
• 1x Prism cannon
1x Shuriken cannon
1x Wraithbone hull

Hornet (80 points)
• 2x Bright lance
1x Wraithbone hull

Shadow Spectres (80 points)
• 5x Close combat weapon
5x Prism rifle

Shroud Runners (80 points)
• 3x Close combat weapon
3x Ranger long rifle
3x Scatter laser
3x Shuriken pistol

Support Weapons (105 points)
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x D-cannon
1x Shuriken catapult

Warp Spiders (100 points)
• 1x Warp Spider Exarch
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Death spinner
1x Death spinner
1x Powerblades
• 4x Warp Spider
• 4x Close combat weapon
4x Death spinner

Wraithguard (310 points)
• 10x Close combat weapon
10x Wraithcannon

Wraithknight (475 points)
• 1x Heavy wraithcannon
1x Heavy wraithcannon
2x Starcannon
1x Titanic feet

Archetype

Double Anvil Aeldari

Thoughts

Shroud Runners – also very good. You know, just in case you were worrying. Otherwise, the Wraithguard/Wraithknight tag team takes another podium placing in Joel’s hands.

Colin Kay – Night Lords – 4th Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

New take (v1.2) CSM (2000 Points)
Cry Havoc! 😈

Chaos Space Marines
Slaves to Darkness
Strike Force (2000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Abaddon the Despoiler (280 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Drach’nyen
1x Talon of Horus

Cypher (105 Points)
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Cypher’s bolt pistol
1x Cypher’s plasma pistol

Haarken Worldclaimer (120 Points)
• 1x Helspear
1x Herald’s Talon

Sorcerer in Terminator Armour (90 Points)
• Mark of Chaos: Nurgle
• 1x Chaos Familiar
1x Combi-weapon
1x Force weapon
1x Infernal Gaze

BATTLELINE

Cultist Mob (55 Points)
• Mark of Chaos: Nurgle
• 1x Cultist Champion
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Cultist firearm
• 9x Chaos Cultist
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Close combat weapon
1x Close combat weapon
6x Close combat weapon
6x Cultist firearm
1x Cultist grenade launcher
1x Flamer
1x Heavy stubber

OTHER DATASHEETS

Chaos Predator Annihilator (135 Points)
• Mark of Chaos: Nurgle
• 1x Armoured tracks
1x Combi-bolter
1x Havoc launcher
2x Lascannon
1x Predator twin lascannon

Chaos Predator Destructor (130 Points)
• Mark of Chaos: Chaos Undivided
• 1x Armoured tracks
1x Combi-bolter
1x Havoc launcher
2x Heavy bolter
1x Predator autocannon

Chaos Vindicator (210 Points)
• Mark of Chaos: Chaos Undivided
• 1x Armoured tracks
1x Combi-weapon
1x Demolisher cannon
1x Havoc launcher

Forgefiend (165 Points)
• Mark of Chaos: Nurgle
• 1x Armoured limbs
2x Ectoplasma cannon
1x Ectoplasma cannon

Raptors (95 Points)
• Mark of Chaos: Chaos Undivided
• 1x Raptor Champion
• 1x Plasma pistol
1x Power fist
• 4x Raptor
• 2x Astartes chainsword
2x Bolt pistol
2x Close combat weapon
2x Plasma gun

ALLIED UNITS

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

The Changeling (75 Points)
• 1x Infernal Flames
1x The Trickster’s Staff

Archetype

Abaddon Gunline

Thoughts

Gonna admit, a list featuring a bunch of classic Marine tanks hitting a top four was not on my bingo card, but I guess Abaddon providing one of the very few full re-roll auras that remain in the game makes it pretty appealing. You get fairly reliable all-rounder firepower, and can back it up with some great utility units between the Haarken/Raptor unit and the Changeling. Colin’s run through the event was no joke too, taking out multiple Aeldari players and a powerful Custodes list, suggesting that there’s something extremely real here. I guess the massive infusion of Devastating Wounds from the Forgefiends helps a lot, and in the end it was only Knights that could narrowly take this list down. Great work to take some classic big guns to the top four.

The Best of the Rest

There were 3 more players on 5-1 records. They were:

5th – Zaak Kerstetter – Aeldari: Go-wide with Wraithguard.
6th – Aaron Tremback – Thousand Sons: Magnus and the boys with a big Scarab brick and some Daemonic backup from the Changeling and Flamers.
7th – Bryan Gorny – Aeldari: Pure go-wide shooting.

The London Open July

All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Genestealer Understander has logged on – Lowest of Men is in charge here.

The Showdown

Matchup & Mission: Purge the Foe/Crucible of Battle/Chilling Rain

Boris Michev – Genestealer Cult: Neophyte/Acolyte horde.

Army List - Click to Expand

Genestealer Cults
Ascension Day
Strike Force (2000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Clamavus (70 Points)
• 1x Autopistol
1x Close combat weapon
• Enhancements: Inscrutable Cunning

Nexos (50 Points)
• 1x Autopistol
1x Close combat weapon

Primus (70 Points)
• 1x Cult bonesword
1x Scoped needle pistol
1x Toxin injector claw

Reductus Saboteur (95 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Autopistol
1x Close combat weapon
1x Demolition charges
1x Remote explosives
• Enhancements: Meticulous Planner

Reductus Saboteur (55 Points)
• 1x Autopistol
1x Close combat weapon
1x Demolition charges
1x Remote explosives

BATTLELINE

Acolyte Hybrids (150 Points)
• 1x Acolyte Leader
• 1x Hand flamer
1x Leader’s cult weapons
• 9x Acolyte Hybrid
• 1x Cult Icon
9x Cult claws and knife
4x Demolition charges
4x Hand flamer

Acolyte Hybrids (75 Points)
• 1x Acolyte Leader
• 1x Hand flamer
1x Leader’s cult weapons
• 4x Acolyte Hybrid
• 1x Cult Icon
4x Cult claws and knife
2x Demolition charges
1x Hand flamer

Neophyte Hybrids (160 Points)
• 1x Neophyte Leader
• 1x Autopistol
1x Close combat weapon
1x Hybrid firearm
• 19x Neophyte Hybrid
• 19x Autopistol
19x Close combat weapon
1x Cult Icon
4x Grenade launcher
11x Hybrid firearm
4x Seismic cannon

OTHER DATASHEETS

Achilles Ridgerunners (75 Points)
• 1x Heavy mortar
1x Ridgerunner wheels
1x Spotter
1x Twin heavy stubber

vs.

Nassim Fouchane – Genestealer Cult: Crunchier Cult with Aberrants and lots of Ridgerunners.

Army List - Click to Expand

Genestealer Cults
Ascension Day
Strike Force (2000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Biophagus (80 Points)
• 1x Autopistol
1x Chemical vials
1x Injector goad
• Enhancements: Inscrutable Cunning

Clamavus (40 Points)
• 1x Autopistol
1x Close combat weapon

Nexos (50 Points)
• 1x Autopistol
1x Close combat weapon

Primus (70 Points)
• 1x Cult bonesword
1x Scoped needle pistol
1x Toxin injector claw

Reductus Saboteur (95 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Autopistol
1x Close combat weapon
1x Demolition charges
1x Remote explosives
• Enhancements: Meticulous Planner

BATTLELINE

Acolyte Hybrids (150 Points)
• 1x Acolyte Leader
• 1x Hand flamer
1x Leader’s cult weapons
• 9x Acolyte Hybrid
• 1x Cult Icon
9x Cult claws and knife
4x Demolition charges
4x Hand flamer

Acolyte Hybrids (75 Points)
• 1x Acolyte Leader
• 1x Hand flamer
1x Leader’s cult weapons
• 4x Acolyte Hybrid
• 1x Cult Icon
4x Cult claws and knife
2x Demolition charges
1x Hand flamer

OTHER DATASHEETS

Aberrants (330 Points)
• 1x Aberrant Hypermorph
• 1x Heavy power weapon
1x Hypermorph tail
• 9x Aberrant
• 9x Heavy power weapon

Achilles Ridgerunners (150 Points)
• 2x Heavy mining laser
2x Ridgerunner wheels
2x Spotter
2x Twin heavy stubber

Achilles Ridgerunners (150 Points)
• 2x Heavy mortar
2x Ridgerunner wheels
2x Spotter
2x Twin heavy stubber

Achilles Ridgerunners (150 Points)
• 2x Heavy mining laser
2x Ridgerunner wheels
2x Spotter
2x Twin heavy stubber

Thoughts

It turns out the plan generation in the making was getting binned for most of 9th, finishing strong in the final year, and then unleashing a wave of dominance at the start of 10th. The Genestealer Cults have been extremely successful in the first events of the edition thanks to endless regenerating troops, extremely pushed damage profiles and stratagems, and avoiding the first round of nerfs which targeted almost all of their direct competitors. As such it’s no surprise to see an all GSC final here in London, the result of which paved the way for a THIRD GSC list to jump to a deserved first place on points at the expense of both the finalists here. A complete GSC wash in the capital. There are a few key differences on display here and some tech that is definitely worth commenting on, so here we go.

First up, GSC veteran Boris spares us any major unit variety in favour of going all in on the sugary high that is GSC Battleline, stacking the army with Acolytes and Neophytes. Both units can slap extremely hard with the right stratagem support (Acolytes coming in close via Tunnel Crawlers to unleash a hail of Demo-charges, and Neos dropping in and souping up their cannons via Coordinated Trap or A Perfect Ambush). This army can absolutely flood the board, and Boris has eschewed any forward deploying melee in favour of a Clamavus equipped with Inscrutable Cunning riding with a full pack of Neophytes. This is some very nice top table tech, as it enables him to occupy a substantial chunk of the board with the unit whilst also screening out any enemy efforts to drop in and clear the squad with the 12 inch deep strike denial from the Clamavus. Brutally effective, and maddening to play against.

In the other camp, Nassim joins the cult with a list that brings many of the same tools- Acolytes and Neophytes are here in abundance, the double stacking of Primus and Nexos ensures maximum efficiency and cost effectiveness on stratagems and shooting, and Ridgerunners can offer an AP boost to units that are dropping in. Nassim also has a forward deploying stack of Aberrants with the Biophagus – a deceptively powerful tarpit unit that can actually slap in combat, and forces harder enemy commitment to the mid board for the drop turn to then counter-punch into. I’m very curious how the Aberrants played in the Mirror, as it feels like they’d struggle to find anything meaningful to bully but would also require a fair bit of GSC shooting to remove in their own right, especially when shielding them via One with the Darkness is an option. As it was this was a narrow win for Boris. Multiple key rolls, including first deployment drop (to screen out a greater chunk of no man’s land), and the first turn (to get the jump started before the opponent) are likely to have played a role here, and it looks like it was a classic hard fought final of overpowered nonsense versus overpowered nonsense. I’m sure Jokull is very grateful to you both… petition for the three of you to self-refer as ‘the Broodcoven’ from now on?

Result

Boris GSC 90 – 83 Nassim GSC

Jokull Johannsson – Genestealer Cult – 1st Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Genestealer Cults
Ascension Day
Strike Force (2000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Clamavus (70 Points)
• 1x Autopistol
1x Close combat weapon
• Enhancements: Inscrutable Cunning

Nexos (50 Points)
• 1x Autopistol
1x Close combat weapon

Primus (70 Points)
• 1x Cult bonesword
1x Scoped needle pistol
1x Toxin injector claw

Reductus Saboteur (95 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Autopistol
1x Close combat weapon
1x Demolition charges
1x Remote explosives
• Enhancements: Meticulous Planner

Reductus Saboteur (55 Points)
• 1x Autopistol
1x Close combat weapon
1x Demolition charges
1x Remote explosives

BATTLELINE

Acolyte Hybrids (150 Points)
• 1x Acolyte Leader
• 1x Hand flamer
1x Leader’s cult weapons
• 9x Acolyte Hybrid
• 1x Cult Icon
9x Cult claws and knife
4x Demolition charges
4x Hand flamer

Acolyte Hybrids (75 Points)
• 1x Acolyte Leader
• 1x Hand flamer
1x Leader’s cult weapons
• 4x Acolyte Hybrid
• 1x Cult Icon
4x Cult claws and knife
2x Demolition charges
1x Hand flamer

OTHER DATASHEETS

Achilles Ridgerunners (75 Points)
• 1x Heavy mortar
1x Ridgerunner wheels
1x Spotter
1x Twin heavy stubber

Archetype

GSC Battleline Spam

Final Round Matchup

80-62 Win over Aldaeri

Thoughts

I love the Genestealer Cults. I’m not going to waste too much time pretending to love this particular iteration of them. As things stand, GSC Battleline units come back indefinitely unless you can break through to their blips, and can cover incredible ground even as they do so. They shoot extremely hard, they have excellent primary play with a horde of OC 2 models, and at the moment they can simply jam in multiples of all of their key buffing characters safe in the knowledge they’re playing the game several hundred (sometimes thousands) of points up on the opponent by game end.

This IGNITE version of the GSC (Jokull and Boris ran identical builds), taking it to probably it’s ultimate form in the current unadjusted index, hammers home that point by drowning you in Acolytes and Neophytes. The Clamavus tech alluded to in the showdown is a really smart way of compounding the board control nightmare that the cult already pose. Saboteurs skulk in the midboard threatening mortal wounds on those who dare to come and clear them (particularly effective in the Eldar match up, which Jokull won decisively in his final game to take first place). There’s no way this build continues to exist in it’s current form indefinitely, but until then you absolutely need a plan for it if you are intending to push through the latter rounds at events, it is a nightmare to face and it laughs in the face of the anti-tank arms race taking place elsewhere in 10th at the moment. Long term I think all Cults players (and their foes!) would like to see the power balance between Battleline and the rest of the book addressed to push a wider range of options and choices. Congratulations to long time Cult player and 40k wizard Jokull for delivering on the raw power of this index!

Boris Michev – Genestealer Cult – 2nd Place

The List

See showdown

Archetype

GSC Battleline Spam

Final Round Matchup

Showing Nassim who the Patriarch is

Thoughts

I’ve unpacked it above, but I’ll reiterate my congratulations to Boris for this excellent run with one of his favourite armies.

The Best of the Rest

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

3rd – Nassim Fouchane – Genestealer Cults: Battleline spam with sneaky Aberrants.
4th – Celement Tournade – Aeldari: Artillery heavy craftworlds with the Yncarne and a Wraithknight, geared up for shenanigans into the other top lists. It worked pretty well.
5th – Daniel Whitaker – Aeldari: Another anti-meta elf list pushing Dark Reapers and some Voidweavers for cheap and flexible punch and reach. Really like this build!
6th – Will Whitaker – Thousand Sons: Magnus and a tonne of sorcerors lead MSU Tsons chaff into battle. Cheeky Changeling in the trunk for utility and accidental thematic flavour.
7th – Jack Tite – Adeptus Astartes: Jack Tite shows Marine players the way with a tonne of plasma, some meta-suited grav bikers, Sternguard, and a Callidus for mission play and Vect. Double Impulsor helps things get where it needs to be.
8th – David Gaylard – Necrons: Triple Hexmarks, double Lychguard bricks, Warriors and an array of sneaky supporting characters. Punchy, and durable as all hell.

Winchester 40K GT

36-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Winchester, England GB on July 15 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Lowest of Men is covering this one.

The Showdown

Matchup & Mission – Vital Ground

Nicholas Willingale – Genestealer Cult: Horde plus Aberrants
Army List - Click to Expand

behold mortals for the downtrodden shall arise and reap vengeance on the false idols!! 2k (2000 points)
Genestealer Cults
Strike Force (2000 points)
Ascension Day

CHARACTER

Biophagus (80 points)
• 1x Autopistol
1x Chemical vials
1x Injector goad
• Enhancement: Inscrutable Cunning

Clamavus (40 points)
• 1x Autopistol
1x Close combat weapon

Nexos (50 points)
• 1x Autopistol
1x Close combat weapon

Primus (70 points)
• Warlord
• 1x Cult bonesword
1x Scoped needle pistol
1x Toxin injector claw

Primus (70 points)
• 1x Cult bonesword
1x Scoped needle pistol
1x Toxin injector claw

Reductus Saboteur (95 points)
• 1x Autopistol
1x Close combat weapon
1x Demolition charges
1x Remote explosives
• Enhancement: Meticulous Planner

Reductus Saboteur (55 points)
• 1x Autopistol
1x Close combat weapon
1x Demolition charges
1x Remote explosives

BATTLELINE

Acolyte Hybrids (150 points)
• 1x Acolyte Leader
• 1x Hand flamer
1x Leader’s cult weapons
• 9x Acolyte Hybrid
• 1x Cult Icon
9x Cult claws and knife
4x Demolition charges
4x Hand flamer

Neophyte Hybrids (160 points)
• 1x Neophyte Leader
• 1x Autopistol
1x Close combat weapon
1x Hybrid firearm
• 19x Neophyte Hybrid
• 19x Autopistol
19x Close combat weapon
1x Cult Icon
4x Grenade launcher
11x Hybrid firearm
4x Seismic cannon

OTHER DATASHEETS

Aberrants (330 points)
• 1x Aberrant Hypermorph
• 1x Heavy power weapon
1x Hypermorph tail
• 9x Aberrant
• 9x Heavy power weapon

Achilles Ridgerunners (75 points)
• 1x Heavy mortar
1x Ridgerunner wheels
1x Spotter
1x Twin heavy stubber

vs.

Louis Ballington – Adeptus Custodes: Custodians and Wardens galore.
Army List - Click to Expand

(1995 Points)

Adeptus Custodes
Shield Host
Strike Force (2000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Blade Champion (130 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Vaultswords
• Enhancements: Ceaseless Hunter

Blade Champion (100 Points)
• 1x Vaultswords

BATTLELINE

Custodian Guard (180 Points)
• 4x Guardian spear

OTHER DATASHEETS

Allarus Custodians (130 Points)
• 2x Balistus grenade launcher
2x Guardian spear

Custodian Wardens (300 Points)
• 6x Guardian spear
1x Vexilla

ALLIED UNITS

Callidus Assassin (115 Points)
• 1x Neural shredder
1x Phase sword and poison blades

Thoughts

The current top dog meets one of the nastier threats lurking just below the top set at the moment. Nick’s GSC build packs in threats unpacked elsewhere- forward deploying Aberrants, hordes of Battleline, and supporting characters and Ridgerunners to help them sing. On the other side, Louis has leant hard into the things that make Custodes strong at this moment in time, bricks of Guard and Wardens supported by Allarus and juiced up by Blade Champions for reach and punch. Exaction squads and a Callidus help shore up board presence and scoring, and the in-game redeploy potential and deep striking options here can keep the opponent under constant pressure. In this particular match up it comes down more often than not to whether the Custodes can make an unreasonable number of 4++s during the GSC go turns. If they can there is a chance, especially with the durability buff of Arcane Genetic Alchemy, which hurts the GSC damage profiles considerably if applied at the right moment.

The mission here was Vital Ground, which removes the central objective and offers higher rewards for holding the middle flanks and your opponent’s deployment. This probably hinders the Custodes more, as it denies them the chance to steam through the middle whilst scoring primary on their way to the GSC backlines. Forcing the play wide is a typical GSC strategy and this plays into that beautifully. As it is the Cults were able to muscle their way past the golden boys despite a solid showing on their part. Well done both!

Result

Genestealer Cult Victory – 80 – 66

Nicholas Willingale – Genestealer Cult – 1st Place

The List

See showdown.

Archetype

Final Round Matchup

80 – 66 Victory against Louis Ballington – Adeptus Custodes.

Thoughts

More of the usual suspects here, with Nick splashing out on THREE Primus to make sure Rerolls are applied wherever he wants them. This combos so well with the SUSTAINED HITS that GSC units get when they come in from reserve and takes their output up to 11. A first place performance from another GSC veteran that has left me feeling some considerable FOMO for not being out there making the most of their nonsense this weekend myself! Great work Nick.

The Best of the Rest

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

2nd – Michael Murrell – Sons of Medusa: Iron Hands aren’t finished just yet, with this Redemptor and Repulsor heavy list firing through to second place. Lovely stuff.
3rd – David Bannister – Aeldari: Aeldari Goodstuff with a bunch of Skyweavers for reach and utility.
4th – Louis Ballington – Adeptus Custodes: The Custodes build from the showdown. Blade Champions are the future, tell yer friends.
5th – James Shapiro – Adeptas Sororitas: MSU, Exorcists, the Triumph, and some War Dogs. Awesome list.
6th – Joseph Kiddle – Thousand Sons: Magnus and the boys backed up by a brick of Scarab Occult, a Predator, and another thematic daemons plug in in the form of the Blue Scribes.

Fun-N-Games Summer GT

34-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Blacksburg, Virginia US on July 15 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Wings is back at the helm for this.

Andreas Hofmann – Necrons – 1st Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Sokari Dynasty Competition Force
Necrons
Awakened Dynasty
1995/2000pts

Characters:

100pts – Hexmark Destroyer
x1 Close Combat Weapon
x1 Enmitic Disintegrator Pistols
Enhancement: The Sovereign Coronal (Aura)

85pts – Overlord (Warlord)
x1 Resurrection Orb
x1 Voidscythe

85pts – Overlord
x1 Resurrection Orb
x1 Voidscythe

60pts – Technomancer
x1 Canoptek Cloak
x1 Staff of Light

290pts – Transcendent C’tan
x1 Crackling Tendrils
x1 Seismic Assault
Enhancement: Sempiternal Weave

Other Datasheets

95pts – Canoptek Reanimator
x2 Atomiser Beam
x1 Reanimator’s Claws

40pts – Canoptek Scarab Swarms
3x Feeder Mandibles

40pts – Cryptothralls
x2 Scouring Eye
x2 Scythed Limbs

185pts – Doomsday Ark
x1 Armored Hull
x1 Doomsday Cannon
x2 Gauss Flayer Array

135pts – Lokhust Heavy Destroyers
x3 Close Combat Weapon
x3 Gauss Destructor

190pts – Lychguard
x10 Dispersion Shield
x10 Hyperphase Sword

Archetype

Double Lychguard with Shooting

Final Round Matchup

100 – 81 Victory against Zach Point – Aeldari.

Thoughts

Andreas takes a trophy for the Dynasties here, helping cement double Lychguard with shooty backup as one of the builds of choice for Necrons. There’s really not much in the game as tough as a fully operational Lychguard phalanx, and backing that with the relatively powerful shooting that Necrons now have access to is a recipe for success. Definitely interesting to see Scarabs making an appearence here too – the combination of being cheap Secondary pieces and being able to tank opposing Battleline’s OC stats when the Lychguard need to control a point is presumably enough to earn a place. We love to see a robot winning here at Competitive Innovations, so well done to Andreas!

The Best of the Rest

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

2nd – Joshua Campbell – Necrons: More robots? Oh you do spoil me. Joshua’s build substitutes a Warrior blob with Orikan in place of a second Lychguard unit, helping out in games where OC is the big decider (at the cost of introducing a mild Blast vulnerability). The shooty toys and super Transcendant provide the usual backup, creating a very potent hammer and anvil build.
3rd – Charles Morrow – Genestealer Cult: Bike spam, going for the full 3×10, with Aberrants, Acolytes and Neophytes backing them, lots of Kelermorphs embedded among the Battleline stuff.
4th – Zach Point – Aeldari: A Wraithknight with lots of small shooting units.
5th – Matt Townsend – Aeldari: Go-wide Aeldari with a bit of extra melee crunch from some Scorpions.

Metagame – Warhammer 40.000 WCQ Hungary

29-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Budapest, undefined Magyarország on July 15 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Lowest of Men rounds out this week.

Adam Pusztai – Asuryani – 1st Place

Avatar of Khaine. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Craftworld – 2K (2000 Points)

Aeldari
Battle Host
Strike Force (2000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Autarch Wayleaper (80 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Howling Banshee Mask
1x Reaper launcher
1x Star glaive

Avatar of Khaine (295 Points)
• 1x The Wailing Doom

Illic Nightspear (65 Points)
• 1x Aeldari power sword
1x Shuriken pistol
1x Voidbringer

OTHER DATASHEETS

Fire Prism (150 Points)
• 1x Prism cannon
1x Shuriken cannon
1x Wraithbone hull

Night Spinner (170 Points)
• 1x Doomweaver
1x Shuriken cannon
1x Wraithbone hull

Rangers (55 Points)
• 5x Close combat weapon
5x Ranger long rifle
5x Shuriken pistol

War Walkers (95 Points)
• 2x Bright lance
1x War Walker feet

Warp Spiders (100 Points)
• 1x Warp Spider Exarch
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Death spinner
1x Death spinner
1x Powerblades
• 4x Warp Spider
• 4x Close combat weapon
4x Death spinner

Wraithknight (475 Points)
• 1x Heavy wraithcannon
1x Heavy wraithcannon
2x Starcannon
1x Titanic feet

Archetype

Aeldari Goodstuff

Final Round Matchup

80 – 78 Victory against Dávid Mátyus – Aeldari.

Thoughts

Adam piles in every deadly tool that the Aeldari have to offer to take the first place trophy here. We have Night Spinners for the Artillery war, a Wraithknight to delete stuff in your turn, their turn, and every turn for the rest of time, and the Avatar because Adam is a man of taste. Warp Spiders score the cards, the rest tables the opponent. Beautiful, deadly, and effective, and a build you have to be ready for to get far in the game at the moment! Congratulations on a hard fought first place including a nail-biting win in the mirror Adam.

The Best of the Rest

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

2nd – Dávid Mátyus – Aeldari: Go-wide MSU Eldar with no Wraithknight in sight!
3rd – Mate Csaszar – Chaos Daemons: Glorious monster mash with Belakor, a Great Unclean One, Kairos, a Lord of Change, and Shalaxi. Absolute hero.
4th – Zoltan Sipos – Adeptus Custodes: Flexible Custodes with Bricks of Golden Dudes supported by two Calladius.
5th – Veber Akos – Salamanders: Desolators, Hellblasters, Sternguard, and supporting utility.
6th – Levente Ivanka – Chaos Space Marines: Abaddon and Fabius Bile head up some Possessed, Obliterators, and Forgefiends. Rubrics, Nurglings and the Changeling bring shenanigans and utility as allies.

Wrap Up

What a week! The first supermajor in the books, and momentum that now shows no sign of stopping – we’ve got plenty more massive events to come over the summer, and we’ll be here every week to bring you the hottest news about the spiciest builds.

Competitive Innovations in 10th: Showdowns and Supermajors

Warhammer 40,000 GT: US Open Tacoma

The Showdown

Matchup & Mission – Mission E (Take & Hold/Chosen Battlefield/Sweeping Engagement)

Thoughts

Result

Steve Trimble – Adeptus Custodes – 1st Place

The List

Archetype

Final Round Matchup

Thoughts

Hank Adams – Adeptus Custodes – 2nd Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

Jeremiah Bergdale – Asuryani – 3rd Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

Matthew Geyer – Chaos Daemons – 4th Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

The Best of the Rest

Show Me Showdown 40k Super Major

The Showdown

Matchup & Mission – Mission M (Purge the Foe/Chilling Rain/Crucible of Battle)

Thoughts

Result

Treynor Wolfe – Aeldari – 1st Place

The List

Archetype

Final Round Matchup

Thoughts

Dan Sammons – Aeldari – 2nd Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

Austin Howald – Aeldari – 3rd Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

Mitch McGill – Tyranids – 4th Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

The Best of the Rest

Denver 40K Fight Club July Open

Ben Neal – Imperial Knights – 1st Place

The List

Archetype

Final Round Matchup

Thoughts

Michael Mann – Orks – 2nd Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

Joel Davis – Aeldari – 3rd Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

Colin Kay – Night Lords – 4th Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

The Best of the Rest

The London Open July

The Showdown

Matchup & Mission: Purge the Foe/Crucible of Battle/Chilling Rain

Thoughts

Result

Jokull Johannsson – Genestealer Cult – 1st Place

The List

Archetype

Final Round Matchup

Thoughts

Boris Michev – Genestealer Cult – 2nd Place

The List

Archetype

Final Round Matchup