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.

The new metagame is now in full swing, so we can start getting a flavour of how it’s shaping up, and whether our predictions are on point. Broadly, things are playing out as anticipated, with the one exception that thus far, Blood Angels haven’t exploded in performance to quite the extent we expected (though did rack up some good showings, making their way into multiple Showdowns).

Death Guard are still dominant in terms of volume of event wins (pushed up by a high play rate), Imperial Knights (still trucking along on their Index rules, entirely untouched) are thriving, and Thousand Sons continue to look very hot out of the gate. Alongside them, Necrons are continuing to exploit their exceptional positioning as the only army with good volume answers to Deathshrouds, and if I do an imprecise gut feel aggregate across the various performance metrics we track in our dashboard, I think it’s a broadly even four way-clash between those armies on top of the metagame, though the good news is that there seem to be realistic challengers that have taken the odd event win from quite a few other factions.

Let us did in deeper, starting today with:

Warhammer 40,000 GT – Warhammer Open Edmonton
Branson Brawl 2025-40K
Rubicon Grand Tournament III
WestCoast Wargames 40k 2025 June
The Gulf GT

On Friday we’ll have Lowest of Men looking at:

AC Champions Cup 2025 – Warhammer 40k Champs (Singles)
Battle Ready Wargaming’s Road To NOVA Hosted by Away Games
III Iberian Ham GT AEPDA 2025
Adeptus Bastardes I

…then I’ll be back on Saturday with:

Fal-Con 2025: Live Free or Fly Hard 40k Event
Old Guard Games Grand Tournament
Dutch Masters Mid Season GT
Sunshine Coast Open III

Our Patrons have voted on which Showdowns they want to see, and this week have selected:

Grand Coven Thousand Sons vs. Aspect Host at the Rubicon GT.
Newly empowered Angelic Inheritors vs. Vectorium Death Guard at Battle Ready Wargaming.
Recon Element Militarum vs. Liberator Blood Angels at Old Guard Games

Warhammer 40,000 GT – Warhammer Open Edmonton

250-player, 8-round Supermajor in Edmonton, AB, Canada on June 13 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

John Lennon – Emperor’s Children (Coterie of the Conceited) – 1st Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

The consequences of my own conceit (1995 Points)

Emperor’s Children
Coterie of the Conceited
Strike Force (2,000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Daemon Prince of Slaanesh with Wings (230 Points)
• 1x Hellforged weapons
• 1x Infernal cannon
• Enhancements: Pledge of Unholy Fortune

Daemon Prince of Slaanesh with Wings (200 Points)
• Warlord
• 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 (150 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
◦ 1x Icon of Excess

Tormentors (85 Points)
• 1x Obsessionist
◦ 1x Plasma pistol
◦ 1x Power sword
• 4x Tormentor
◦ 2x Boltgun
◦ 4x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Icon of Excess
◦ 1x Meltagun
◦ 1x Plasma gun

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

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

OTHER DATASHEETS

Maulerfiend (130 Points)
• 2x Magma cutters
• 1x Maulerfiend fists

Noise Marines (145 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 (145 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: v1.35.0 (1), Data Version: v629

Archetype

Maulerfiend Coterie

Thoughts

Damn the nerfs and full speed ahead here, kind of. John sticks to the melee power of Emperor’s Children, but tweaks the pre-Dataslate build a bit to adapt to the point changes. Most notably, you pretty much have to lose a Prince, and once you’ve done that you need to make sure you have the heavy lifting to take on big threats when operating with slightly reduced forces. For that purpose, enter Maulerfiends, which are an inexpensive way of ensuring that you can actually handle big chunky threats, and I’m told they came in clutch in the finals against the Great Unclean One-heavy Daemon build below that John faced in the finals. They also have particularly good synergy with Coterie, since the first Detachment ability pip synergises with their +1 to Hit when they’re wounded to make them very reliable. Great to see that Emperor’s Children are still viable, if now slightly eclipsed by their cult legion brethren, and well done John for piloting them to a big win.

Jake Chalmers – Chaos Daemons (Daemonic Incursion) – 2nd Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

“Death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back.”
(1995 Points)

Chaos Daemons
Daemonic Incursion
Strike Force (2,000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Great Unclean One (295 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Bileblade
• 1x Bilesword
• 1x Putrid vomit
• Enhancements: The Endless Gift

Great Unclean One (250 Points)
• 1x Bileblade
• 1x Bilesword
• 1x Putrid vomit

Rendmaster on Blood Throne (165 Points)
• 1x Attendants’ hellblades
• 1x Blade of blood

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

BATTLELINE

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

OTHER DATASHEETS

Beasts of Nurgle (65 Points)
• 1x Putrid appendages

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

ALLIED UNITS

War Dog Karnivore (140 Points)
• 1x Havoc multi-launcher
• 1x Reaper chaintalon
• 1x Slaughterclaw

Archetype

Hammer and Anvil Daemons

Thoughts

In second place we have a very hammer and anvil-style Daemon build, using Great Unclean Ones as an ultra-durable brick wall, then a mixture of Khorne Daemons and Karnivores to crack back. It’s a combo we’ve seen surprisingly little of this edition, but the power on GUOs now makes the setup really work. It’s also helped by being able to do a lot of Mortals in the charge phase, which is very valuable against Death Guard plus anything leaning on Fight First to ward off other melee armies. Daemons look to be continuing their solid positioning just outside the top builds, so look forward to the sight of plenty of big warp beasts out and about, and congratulations to Jake for showcasing what they can do in second place.

Jon McAfee – Necrons (Starshatter Arsenal) – 3rd Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

(1995 points)

Necrons
Strike Force (2000 points)
Starshatter Arsenal

CHARACTERS

C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer (305 points)
• 1x Gaze of death
1x Scythe of the Nightbringer

C’tan Shard of the Void Dragon (300 points)
• 1x Canoptek tail blades
1x Spear of the Void Dragon
1x Voltaic storm

Technomancer (80 points)
• 1x Staff of light

The Silent King (420 points)
• 1x Szarekh
• Warlord
• 1x Sceptre of Eternal Glory
1x Staff of Stars
1x Weapons of the Final Triarch
• 2x Triarchal Menhir
• 2x Annihilator beam
2x Armoured bulk

OTHER DATASHEETS

Canoptek Scarab Swarms (40 points)
• 3x Canoptek Scarab Swarm
• 3x Feeder mandibles

Canoptek Wraiths (220 points)
• 6x Canoptek Wraith
• 6x Particle caster
6x Vicious claws

Doomsday Ark (200 points)
• 1x Armoured bulk
1x Doomsday cannon
2x Gauss flayer array

Lokhust Destroyers (40 points)
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Gauss cannon

Triarch Stalker (110 points)
• 1x Heat ray
1x Stalker’s forelimbs

Exported with App Version: v1.35.0 (83), Data Version: v629

Archetype

Heavy C’tan Starshatter

Thoughts

Up next we’ve got another heavy-duty build, this time from Necrons. Double C’tan with Doomsday backup is quite the hammer to drop on foes, and Wraiths provide a very durable way to bait foes into position if you aren’t ready to unleash the power quite yet. While the point drops this build received are only a modest 15pts on the Wraiths/Technomancer, I know from bitter experience that Necron builds could often end up just a handful of points short of what you really wanted to do, and this build shows off how with a few compromises (like using Scarabs for backfield screening) you can now get a lot of power pieces on the table. Well done to Jon for taking a list that’s very much after my own heart to third place.

Ridvan Martinez – Drukhari (Reaper’s Wager) – 4th Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Edmonton Adventures (2000 Points)

Drukhari
Reaper’s Wager
Strike Force (2,000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Archon (100 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Blast pistol
• 1x Huskblade
• Enhancements: Archraider

Beastmaster (120 Points)
• 1x Beastmaster
◦ 1x Agoniser
◦ 1x Splinter pods
• 1x Clawed Fiend
◦ 1x Clawed Fiend fists
• 2x Khymerae
◦ 2x Khymerae talons
• 3x Razorwing Flock
◦ 3x Razorwing feathers

Drazhar (85 Points)
• 1x The Executioner’s demiklaives

Lelith Hesperax (95 Points)
• 1x Lelith’s blades

Urien Rakarth (80 Points)
• 1x Casket of Flensing
• 1x Haemonculus tools and scissorhands

BATTLELINE

Kabalite Warriors (100 Points)
• 1x Sybarite
◦ 1x Blast pistol
◦ 1x Phantasm grenade launcher
◦ 1x Sybarite weapon
• 9x Kabalite Warrior
◦ 1x Blaster
◦ 9x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Dark lance
◦ 1x Shredder
◦ 1x Splinter cannon
◦ 5x Splinter rifle

Wyches (80 Points)
• 1x Hekatrix
◦ 1x Blast pistol
◦ 1x Hekatarii blade
◦ 1x Phantasm grenade launcher
• 9x Wych
◦ 9x Hekatarii blade
◦ 9x Splinter pistol

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

Venom (65 Points)
• 1x Bladevanes
• 1x Splinter cannon
• 1x Splinter cannon

OTHER DATASHEETS

Cronos (50 Points)
• 1x Spirit syphon
• 1x Spirit vortex
• 1x Spirit-leech tentacles

Grotesques (80 Points)
• 3x Grotesque
◦ 3x Liquifier gun
◦ 3x Monstrous weapons

Hellions (150 Points)
• 1x Helliarch
◦ 1x Hellglaive
◦ 1x Phantasm grenade launcher
◦ 1x Splinter pods
• 9x Hellion
◦ 9x Hellglaive
◦ 9x Splinter pods

Incubi (85 Points)
• 4x Incubi
◦ 4x Klaive
• 1x Klaivex
◦ 1x Demiklaives

Mandrakes (65 Points)
• 1x Nightfiend
◦ 1x Baleblast
◦ 1x Glimmersteel blade
• 4x Mandrake
◦ 4x Baleblast
◦ 4x Glimmersteel blade

Ravager (100 Points)
• 1x Bladevanes
• 3x Dark lance

Scourges (130 Points)
• 1x Solarite
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Shardcarbine
◦ 1x Solarite weapon
• 4x Scourge
◦ 4x Close combat weapon
◦ 4x Dark lance

Scourges (130 Points)
• 1x Solarite
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Shardcarbine
◦ 1x Solarite weapon
• 4x Scourge
◦ 4x Close combat weapon
◦ 4x Drukhari haywire blaster

ALLIED UNITS

Death Jester (90 Points)
• 1x Flip Belt
• 1x Jester’s blade
• 1x Shrieker cannon

Exported with App Version: v1.35.0 (1), Data Version: v629

Archetype

Go-wide Wager

Thoughts

Drukhari mastermind Skari rounds out our top four here, unleashing a newly re-tooled Reaper’s Wager build. The improved version of the Detachment rule combines with points drops on Venoms to make go-wide builds very rewarding, and we see that here. Lots of different pieces give you tools to unpick many situations, as well as excellent scoring, and re-rolling 1s to hit all the time lets you save your pain tokens for big slams with Lelith’s unit, Scourges, or the Hellions, the latter being conspicuously nasty if you turn on Malicious Frenzy with full re-rolls and go fishing. As with all Drukhari builds, it’s extremely brittle if the opponent comes in hard, but gets so many pieces on the table that it will often be possible to flow around the foe and keep scoring. Very on-brand, and it’s good to see Drukhari getting an outing on a big stage, well done Skari.

The Best of the Rest

There rest of the top eight were as follows:

5th – Frasier Parry – World Eaters (Berzerker Warband): Double Berzerkers and Forgefiends with lots of Spawn, some Eightbound units, and a single Exalted Eightbound/Slaughterbound bomb.
6th – Liam Bath – Necrons (Awakened Dynasty): A tweaked version of the Herohammer Awakened lists, packing lots of nasty Characters (including a couple of Skorpekh Lords), the Nightbringer and Szeras, backed by Doomsdays and a Wraith block.
7th – Stu Angel – Death Guard (Virulent Vectorium): Extra crunchy Vectorium with Mortarion and some Blight-haulers instead of Plague Marines.
8th – Richard Anderson – Chaos Daemons (Daemonic Incursion): A sticky tarpit and shooty combo, using Lords of Change to blast stuff and Great Unclean ones and Screamers to control the board.

Branson Brawl 2025-40K

53-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Branson, MO, United States on June 14 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Dick Johnson – Imperial Knights (Noble Lance) – 1st Place

Armiger Warglaives. Credit: Kevin Genson

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

branson knights (2000 points)

Imperial Knights
Strike Force (2000 points)
Noble Lance

CHARACTERS

Canis Rex (450 points)
• Warlord
• 1x Chainbreaker las-impulsor
1x Chainbreaker multi-laser
1x Freedom’s Hand

BATTLELINE

Armiger Helverin (130 points)
• 2x Armiger autocannon
1x Armoured feet
1x Questoris heavy stubber

Armiger Warglaive (140 points)
• 1x Questoris heavy stubber
1x Reaper chain-cleaver
1x Thermal spear

ALLIED UNITS

Callidus Assassin (100 points)
• 1x Neural shredder
1x Phase sword and poison blades

Sisters of Battle Immolator (115 points)
• 1x Armoured tracks
1x Heavy bolter
1x Hunter-killer missile
1x Immolation flamers

Sisters of Battle Squad (115 points)
• 1x Sister Superior
• 1x Bolt pistol
1x Close combat weapon
1x Combi-weapon
1x Power weapon
• 9x Battle Sister
• 9x Bolt pistol
7x Boltgun
9x Close combat weapon
1x Meltagun
1x Multi-melta
1x Simulacrum Imperialis

Exported with App Version: v1.35.0 (83), Data Version: v629

Archetype

Canis, Armigers and an Immolator

Thoughts

Not much to say about this build – it was one of the best before the Dataslate, it didn’t change at all, and wouldn’t you know it it’s now one of the best afterwards. Shocking stuff. I do think the Immolator build is preferable due to the fairly heavy threats that are popular, but you really can’t go wrong with Canis, Armigers, a few flex pieces if you feel like it. Good job Dick.

Nicholas Rupel – Chaos Daemons (Scintillating Legion) – 2nd Place (Undefeated)

Credit: Liebot – https://instagram.com/liebot_pics

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

I Ii
II I_

Chaos Daemons
Scintillating Legion
Strike Force (2,000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Be’lakor (375 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Betraying Shades
• 1x The Blade of Shadows

Fluxmaster (70 Points)
• 1x Arcane Fireball
• 1x Herald combat weapon
• Enhancements: Inescapable Eye

Kairos Fateweaver (270 Points)
• 1x Infernal Gateway
• 1x Staff of Tomorrow

Lord of Change (270 Points)
• 1x Bolt of Change
• 1x Rod of sorcery
• 1x Staff of Tzeentch
• Enhancements: Infernal Puppeteer

Lord of Change (290 Points)
• 1x Bolt of Change
• 1x Rod of sorcery
• 1x Staff of Tzeentch
• Enhancements: Improbable Shield (Aura)

BATTLELINE

Pink Horrors (140 Points)
• 10x Pink Horror
◦ 10x Coruscating pink flames
◦ 1x Daemonic Icon
◦ 1x Instrument of Chaos
◦ 10x Pink claws

OTHER DATASHEETS

Beasts of Nurgle (65 Points)
• 1x Putrid appendages

Burning Chariot (115 Points)
• 1x Fire of Tzeentch
• 1x Flamer mouths
• 1x Screamer bites

Flamers (65 Points)
• 1x Pyrocaster
◦ 1x Flamer mouths
◦ 1x Flickering flames
• 2x Flamer
◦ 2x Flamer mouths
◦ 2x Flickering flames

Screamers (80 Points)
• 3x Screamer
◦ 3x Lamprey bite

Exported with App Version: v1.35.0 (1), Data Version: v629

Archetype

Shooty Scintillating Legion

Thoughts

A mind-warping Tzeentch build packed with firepower in second place, unleashing terrible and (thanks to Be’lakor and Infernal Puppeteer) unanswerable firepower early on, then when the foe gets close dancing away with Stratagems or grinding them out with Pyrogenesis-buffed Pink Horror shooting as they struggle with Kairos’ CP tax. Improbable Shield also means that if the foe was planning to rely on Mortal Wounds to catch up on damage once they got into threat range, there’s a good chance of just falling flat on their faces. A very cool build here for players who want something a little different out of Daemons, good job Nicholas.

The Best of the Rest

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

3rd – Cass Watkins – Blood Angels (Liberator Assault Group): Liberator Goodstuff with Ballistus Dreads and four nasty melee blocks (a full Assault Intercessor/Priest unit, Bladeguard with a Fight First Lt., and two big Sanguinary Guard units).
4th – Skyler Williamson – Adeptus Custodes (Lions of the Emperor): Two tanks, four Infantry blocks (including the essentially mandatory at this point Drazus), you know the drill.
5th – Lukas Stitt – Aeldari (Warhost): All-rounder Warhost with full units each of Hawks and Dragons with their Lords to maximise Infantry Stratagem value.
6th – Lee Prost – Death Guard (Virulent Vectorium): Non-Mortarion Vectorium with loads of Blight-Haulers.
7th – Will Norman – Thousand Sons (Grand Coven): Grand Coven goodstuff, yes that descriptor is back, and if you don’t like it look at this list, look me in the eye and tell me I’m wrong to call it.
8th – Jacob Meyer – Imperial Knights (Noble Lance): Canis and an Atrapos with Armigers.

Rubicon Grand Tournament III

41-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Kissimmee, FL, United States on June 14 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Terraform – Crucible of Battle

Mike Muzeni – Thousand Sons (Grand Coven)
Army List - Click to Expand

No magnus (2000 Points)

Thousand Sons
Grand Coven
Strike Force (2,000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Ahriman (100 Points)
• 1x Black Staff of Ahriman
• 1x Inferno bolt pistol
• 1x Transmogrifying Blast

Daemon Prince of Tzeentch with Wings (195 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Dark Blessing
• 1x Hellforged weapons
• 1x Infernal cannon
• Enhancements: Eldritch Vortex of E’Taph

Exalted Sorcerer on Disc of Tzeentch (115 Points)
• 1x Arcane Fire
• 1x Force weapon
• 1x Inferno bolt pistol
• 1x Prosperine khopesh
• Enhancements: Incandaeum

Sorcerer (95 Points)
• 1x Force weapon
• 1x Inferno bolt pistol
• 1x Pandaemonic Delusion
• Enhancements: Umbralefic Crystal

Sorcerer (75 Points)
• 1x Force weapon
• 1x Inferno bolt pistol
• 1x Pandaemonic Delusion

BATTLELINE

Rubric Marines (100 Points)
• 1x Aspiring Sorcerer
◦ 1x Force weapon
◦ 1x Malefic Curse
◦ 1x Warpflame pistol
• 4x Rubric Marine
◦ 4x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Icon of Flame
◦ 1x Soulreaper cannon
◦ 3x Warpflamer

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

Chaos Rhino (90 Points)
• 1x Armoured tracks
• 1x Havoc launcher
• 1x Inferno combi-bolter
• 1x Inferno combi-bolter

OTHER DATASHEETS

Chaos Predator Annihilator (130 Points)
• 1x Armoured tracks
• 1x Havoc launcher
• 1x Inferno combi-bolter
• 2x Lascannon
• 1x Predator twin lascannon

Chaos Spawn (65 Points)
• 2x Chaos Spawn
◦ 2x Hideous mutations

Mutalith Vortex Beast (160 Points)
• 1x Betentacled maw
• 1x Mutalith claws
• 1x Warp vortex

Sekhetar Robots (90 Points)
• 2x Sekhetar Robot
◦ 2x Close combat weapon
◦ 2x Heavy warpflamer
◦ 2x Hellfyre missile rack
◦ 2x Power claw
◦ 2x Warpflame projector

Tzaangor Enlightened with Fatecaster Greatbows (50 Points)
• 1x Aviarch
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Fatecaster greatbow
• 2x Enlightened
◦ 2x Close combat weapon
◦ 2x Fatecaster greatbow

Tzaangors (70 Points)
• 1x Twistbray
◦ 1x Tzaangor blades
• 9x Tzaangor
◦ 1x Brayhorn
◦ 1x Herd banner
◦ 9x Tzaangor blades

Exported with App Version: v1.35.0 (1), Data Version: v629

vs.

Chris “Elfy” Garcia – Aeldari (Aspect Host)
Army List - Click to Expand

A change in the wind (2000 points)

Aeldari
Strike Force (2000 points)
Aspect Host

CHARACTERS

Autarch (100 points)
• Warlord
• 1x Reaper launcher
1x Star glaive
• Enhancement: Shimmerstone

Avatar of Khaine (300 points)
• 1x The Wailing Doom

BATTLELINE

Storm Guardians (100 points)
• 10x Storm Guardian
• 8x Close combat weapon
2x Flamer
2x Fusion gun
2x Power sword
6x Shuriken pistol
• 1x Serpent’s Scale Platform
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Serpent shield

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

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

OTHER DATASHEETS

Dark Reapers (90 points)
• 1x Aspect Shrine Token
• 1x Dark Reaper Exarch
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Tempest 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)
• 2x Aspect Shrine Token
• 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 Aspect Shrine Token
• 1x Howling Banshee Exarch
• 1x Executioner
1x Shuriken pistol
• 4x Howling Banshee
• 4x Banshee blade
4x Shuriken pistol

Shining Spears (110 points)
• 1x Shining Spear Exarch
• 1x Shuriken cannon
1x Star lance
• 2x Shining Spear
• 2x Laser lance
2x Twin shuriken catapult

Striking Scorpions (85 points)
• 1x Aspect Shrine Token
• 1x Striking Scorpion Exarch
• 1x Biting blade
1x Shuriken pistol
• 4x Striking Scorpion
• 4x Scorpion chainsword
4x Shuriken pistol

Vypers (65 points)
• 1x Starcannon
1x Twin shuriken catapult
1x Wraithbone hull

War Walkers (85 points)
• 2x Bright lance
1x War Walker feet

Exported with App Version: v1.35.0 (83), Data Version: v629

Thoughts

War in the Webway here as the Aeldari face a wicked incursion from the Thousand Sons. On the Aeldari side there’s a definite grim determination to make the most of a bad Dataslate by cramming in three MSUs of Shining Spears, which to be fair are OK in Aspect Host, and have plenty of good targets in the current metagame, including in this Thousand Sons build. They’re backed up by the now common sight of a god-killing Fire Dragon unit, and the less common appearence of the Avatar of Khaine. The former is good here, as it forces the Mutaliths to be more cautious than they’d like, but the latter isn’t fantastic, as the Thousand Sons have access to both lots of chip damage and can still unleash the hated double Doombolt that the Avatar has always feared.

On the Thousand Sons side, we see plenty of the expected pieces from the new book. Rubricae are still a fantastic Battleline core, and the improved output of the regular Sorcerer now makes them extra threatening. Disk-bound Characters are now more likely to hover around with Tzaangor Enlightened for big damage, and both Ahriman and the Exalted’s units are disproportionately nasty threats. Speaking of extreme threats, now that the Winged Daemon Prince has a ranged Psychic Attack, they’re incredibly dangerous when given the Arcane Vortex, especially because they can use Aetherstride to set up lines on stuff even when the opponent is being careful, and can do an exceptionally nasty Devastating Sorcery alpha strike on your Devastating Wounds turn, unleashing Magnus-levels of threat (many builds are also bringing Magnus, but this is a good way to cheap out).

In terms of how this one goes down, I can salute the Aeldari build for being pretty well tooled for the other pieces of the top metagame, but there’s way too much depth and chip damage on this Thousand Sons list for them to handle it. That’s especially true because of how well it handles the Avatar – not only is double Doombolt here, but the Daemon Prince Aetherstride go turn will make a substantial dent into it as well, because of how +1D and half damage interact. The mission is the final nail in the coffin, as the Thousand Sons build has way more stuff that’s willing to sit around and play Terraform than the Aeldari one. A valiant attempt was clearly made by the Aeldari, but in the end the Thousand Sons shut them out.

Result

Thousand Sons (Grand Coven) Victory – 97 – 70

Mike Muzeni – Thousand Sons (Grand Coven) – 1st Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

No magnus (2000 Points)

Thousand Sons
Grand Coven
Strike Force (2,000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Ahriman (100 Points)
• 1x Black Staff of Ahriman
• 1x Inferno bolt pistol
• 1x Transmogrifying Blast

Daemon Prince of Tzeentch with Wings (195 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Dark Blessing
• 1x Hellforged weapons
• 1x Infernal cannon
• Enhancements: Eldritch Vortex of E’Taph

Exalted Sorcerer on Disc of Tzeentch (115 Points)
• 1x Arcane Fire
• 1x Force weapon
• 1x Inferno bolt pistol
• 1x Prosperine khopesh
• Enhancements: Incandaeum

Sorcerer (95 Points)
• 1x Force weapon
• 1x Inferno bolt pistol
• 1x Pandaemonic Delusion
• Enhancements: Umbralefic Crystal

Sorcerer (75 Points)
• 1x Force weapon
• 1x Inferno bolt pistol
• 1x Pandaemonic Delusion

BATTLELINE

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

Chaos Rhino (90 Points)
• 1x Armoured tracks
• 1x Havoc launcher
• 1x Inferno combi-bolter
• 1x Inferno combi-bolter

OTHER DATASHEETS

Chaos Predator Annihilator (130 Points)
• 1x Armoured tracks
• 1x Havoc launcher
• 1x Inferno combi-bolter
• 2x Lascannon
• 1x Predator twin lascannon

Chaos Spawn (65 Points)
• 2x Chaos Spawn
◦ 2x Hideous mutations

Mutalith Vortex Beast (160 Points)
• 1x Betentacled maw
• 1x Mutalith claws
• 1x Warp vortex

Sekhetar Robots (90 Points)
• 2x Sekhetar Robot
◦ 2x Close combat weapon
◦ 2x Heavy warpflamer
◦ 2x Hellfyre missile rack
◦ 2x Power claw
◦ 2x Warpflame projector

Tzaangors (70 Points)
• 1x Twistbray
◦ 1x Tzaangor blades
• 9x Tzaangor
◦ 1x Brayhorn
◦ 1x Herd banner
◦ 9x Tzaangor blades

Exported with App Version: v1.35.0 (1), Data Version: v629

Archetype

No Magnus Coven Goodstuff

Thoughts

Welcome to our new psychic overlords, who at least in this build look a little different to the old Psychic overlords thanks to no Magnus (though as we look elsewhere, we’ll find he’s still live and kicking too). Mostly all covered in the Showdown, just be particularly careful to watch for the Daemon Prince and Sorceror spikes, especially if one unit of Rubricae is coming out of a Rhino. Well done to Mike for bringing the new toys to bear in style.

Riley Corbitt – Imperial Knights (Noble Lance) – 2nd Place (Undefeated)

Imperial Knight Lancer. Credit: Jack Hunter

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ FACTION KEYWORD: Imperium – Imperial Knights
+ DETACHMENT: Noble Lance
+ TOTAL ARMY POINTS: 2000pts
+ ALLIED UNITS: Agents of the Imperium
+
+ WARLORD: Char1: Canis Rex
+ ENHANCEMENT:
+ NUMBER OF UNITS: 11
+ SECONDARY: – Bring It Down: (7×2) + (2×6) – Assassination: 3 Characters
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

CHARACTER

1x Canis Rex (450 pts)
• 1x Canis Rex
• 1x Chainbreaker las-impulsor
• 1x Chainbreaker multi-laser
• 1x Freedom’s Hand
• Canis Rex, Chainbreaker, Legendary Freeblade, Invulnerable Save (5+*), Damaged: 1-7 Wounds Remaining
• 1x Sir Hekhtur
• 1x Close combat weapon
• 1x Hekhtur’s pistol
• Sir Hekhtur, Using Sir Hekhtur, Warlord

1x Cerastus Knight Lancer (430 pts)
• 1x Cerastus shock lance

BATTLELINE

1x Armiger Helverin (130 pts)
• 2x Armiger autocannon
• 1x Armoured feet
• 1x Questoris heavy stubber

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

ALLIED UNITS

1x Callidus Assassin (100 pts)
• 1x Neural shredder
• 1x Phase sword and poison blades

1x Sisters of Battle Immolator (115 pts)
• 1x Armoured tracks
• 1x Heavy bolter
• 1x Hunter-killer missile
• 1x Immolation flamers

10x Sisters of Battle Squad (115 pts)
• 1x Sister Superior
• 1x Bolt pistol
• 1x Close combat weapon
• 1x Power weapon
• 1x Inferno pistol
• 9x Battle Sister
• 9x Bolt pistol
• 7x Boltgun
• 9x Close combat weapon
• 1x Multi-melta
• 1x Meltagun
• Simulacrum Imperialis

Archetype

Canis, Lancer, Immolator

Thoughts

Canis, Armigers, flex pieces, you know the drill, we’ve seen it all before. At least the Lancer is the coolest flex piece, so there’s that. Good job Riley.

The Best of the Rest

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

3rd – Chris “Elfy” Garcia – Aeldari (Aspect Host): See Showdown
4th – Michael Mann – Thousand Sons (Rubricae Phalanx): Lots of MSUs of Rubricae and a small Scarab squad, backed up by Predators and Sekhetars.
5th – Richard Parise – Necrons (Starshatter Arsenal): Double Wraith double Doomsday Starshatter with added Nightbringer.
6th – Christopher Herron – Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion): Tesseract Vault Hypercrypt with the Nightbringer and Silent King as well.
7th – Dan Monsalve – World Eaters (Berzerker Warband): Double Berzerkers and walker hulls.

WestCoast Wargames 40k 2025 June

32-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Tjæreborg, Danmark on June 14 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Marcus LESCOURET – Death Guard (Mortarion’s Hammer) – 1st Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ FACTION KEYWORD: Chaos – Death Guard
+ DETACHMENT: Mortarion’s Hammer
+ TOTAL ARMY POINTS: 2000pts
+
+ WARLORD: Char4: Tallyman
+ ENHANCEMENT: Shriekworm Familiar (on Char2: Lord of Contagion)
& Tendrilous Emissions (on Char3: Lord of Virulence)
+ NUMBER OF UNITS: 17
+ SECONDARY: – Bring It Down: (7×2) – Assassination: 4 Characters
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Char1: 1x Lord of Contagion (110 pts): Manreaper
Char2: 1x Lord of Contagion (125 pts): Manreaper
Enhancement: Shriekworm Familiar (+15 pts)
Char3: 1x Lord of Virulence (110 pts): Power fist, Twin plague spewer
Enhancement: Tendrilous Emissions (+20 pts)
Char4: 1x Tallyman (40 pts): Warlord, Close combat weapon, Plasma pistol

5x Plague Marines (95 pts)
• 4x Plague Marine
1 with Icon of Despair, Boltgun, Plague knives
1 with Plague knives, Plague spewer
2 with Heavy plague weapon, Plague knives
• 1x Plague Champion: Plasma gun, Power fist

6x Deathshroud Terminators (300 pts)
• 1x Deathshroud Terminator Champion: Icon of Despair, Manreaper, Plaguespurt gauntlet
• 5x Deathshroud Terminator: 5 with Manreaper, Plaguespurt gauntlet
6x Deathshroud Terminators (300 pts)
• 1x Deathshroud Terminator Champion: Icon of Despair, Manreaper, Plaguespurt gauntlet
• 5x Deathshroud Terminator: 5 with Manreaper, Plaguespurt gauntlet
3x Deathshroud Terminators (140 pts)
• 1x Deathshroud Terminator Champion: Manreaper, Plaguespurt gauntlet
• 2x Deathshroud Terminator: 2 with Manreaper, Plaguespurt gauntlet
10x Poxwalkers (60 pts): 10 with Improvised weapons
10x Poxwalkers (60 pts): 10 with Improvised weapons
1x Foetid Bloat-drone (90 pts): Plague probe, Fleshmower
1x Foetid Bloat-drone (90 pts): Plague probe, Fleshmower
1x Foetid Bloat-drone with heavy blight launcher (100 pts): Heavy blight launcher, Plague probe
1x Foetid Bloat-drone with heavy blight launcher (100 pts): Heavy blight launcher, Plague probe
1x Foetid Bloat-drone with heavy blight launcher (100 pts): Heavy blight launcher, Plague probe
1x Myphitic Blight-hauler (90 pts): Bile spurt, Gnashing maw, Missile launcher, Multi-melta
1x Myphitic Blight-hauler (90 pts): Bile spurt, Gnashing maw, Missile launcher, Multi-melta

Archetype

Deathshrouds and Daemon Engines

Thoughts

More Death Guard at the top here, combining cheap, wallhacking Daemon Engines with lots of Deathshrouds, who are very much securing themselves in the hall of fame of units that are so good they don’t care what detachment they’re in. Here one squad does bring the gruesome gift of free Overwatch, which is an extra headache for foes to consider, but mostly they’re just the standard sticky ceremite brick wall for foes to slam against. Congratulations Marcus.

The Best of the Rest

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

2nd – Paul Bridge – Death Guard (Mortarion’s Hammer): Massed Daemon Engines and three units of Deathshrouds.
3rd – Morten Troelsen – Chaos Space Marines (Renegade Raiders): Brawler Raiders with some heavier hammers from a Possessed unit and a newly-unleashed Dread Reaver Discolord.
4th – Simon Darre – Thousand Sons (Grand Coven): Grand Coven goodstuff with Magnus.

The Gulf GT

29-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on June 14 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

James Phillips – Death Guard (Virulent Vectorium) – 1st Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Mortys Virulent Vomit (1995 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)
• 1x Hellforged weapons
1x Infernal cannon
• Enhancement: Revolting Regeneration

Foul Blightspawn (85 points)
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Plague sprayer
• Enhancement: Arch Contaminator

Lord of Contagion (110 points)
• 1x Manreaper

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

Mortarion (380 points)
• Warlord
• 1x Lantern
1x Rotwind
1x Silence

BATTLELINE

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

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

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

OTHER DATASHEETS

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

Defiler (165 points)
• 1x Battle cannon
1x Combi-bolter
1x Defiler claws
1x Defiler scourge
1x Twin lascannon

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: v1.35.0 (83), Data Version: v629

Archetype

Mortarion Vectorium

Thoughts

A fairly stock Mortarion Vectorium list to close, using a Defiler as the only flex piece, suggesting that on some tables you can maybe handle one around the board even with the base change. Not much else to cover here – this is the list you must have a plan to handle if you want to win events right now. Great work from James.

The Best of the Rest

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

2nd – Luca Binz – Imperial Knights (Noble Lance): Canis and an Errant with Armigers.
3rd – Matt Ed – Genestealer Cult (Host of Ascension): All-rounder Host with some big Neophyte and Acolyte blocks, a full squad of Aberrants, and a couple of MSU Genestealer squads for early utility and to take advantage of the cheaper respawns on them.
4th – Kasper Wennerby – Thousand Sons (Grand Coven): More top-heavy Grand Coven with double Mutalith and two big Enlightened units.
5th – Jai Hill – Leagues of Votann (Oathband): An elite Votann build with lots of Hearthguard and Thunderkyn, including a small unit of the latter now able to team up with a Brokhyr and deploy from a Land Fortress.
6th – Geoff Legg – Blood Angels (Liberator Assault Group): Lots of jump MSUs of Death Company, Sanguinary Guard and Assault Intercessors, backed by some all-rounder shooting from Destructors and a Ballistus.

Wrap Up

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Competitive Innovations in 10th: Winds of Change pt.1

Warhammer 40,000 GT – Warhammer Open Edmonton

John Lennon – Emperor’s Children (Coterie of the Conceited) – 1st Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

Jake Chalmers – Chaos Daemons (Daemonic Incursion) – 2nd Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

Jon McAfee – Necrons (Starshatter Arsenal) – 3rd Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

Ridvan Martinez – Drukhari (Reaper’s Wager) – 4th Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

The Best of the Rest

Branson Brawl 2025-40K

Dick Johnson – Imperial Knights (Noble Lance) – 1st Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

Nicholas Rupel – Chaos Daemons (Scintillating Legion) – 2nd Place (Undefeated)

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

The Best of the Rest

Rubicon Grand Tournament III

The Showdown

Terraform – Crucible of Battle

Thoughts

Result

Mike Muzeni – Thousand Sons (Grand Coven) – 1st Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

Riley Corbitt – Imperial Knights (Noble Lance) – 2nd Place (Undefeated)

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

The Best of the Rest

WestCoast Wargames 40k 2025 June

Marcus LESCOURET – Death Guard (Mortarion’s Hammer) – 1st Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

The Best of the Rest

The Gulf GT

James Phillips – Death Guard (Virulent Vectorium) – 1st Place

The List

Archetype

Thoughts

The Best of the Rest

Wrap Up

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