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.

Welcome back everyone. It’s a pretty big week for AOS, with five decently sized events to cover. In the past few weeks we’ve gotten two new books which are finally legal (Nighthaunt and Flesh-eater Courts) and some surprise emergency patches, some major (Blades of Khorne Gorechosen) and some less so (KO Frigates). Will they make a difference? Let’s find out!

This week will be covering:

• Flying Monkey Con AOS Champs 2025
• Montreal GT
• BAYERN MAJOR #2 2025 AoS
• Port Plunder 2025
• Sunshine Coast Open 25-26

Flying Monkey Con AOS Champs 2025

65-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Wichita, KS, United States on September 13 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Mission – Surge of Slaughter

Derick Senter – Daughters of Khaine
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vs.

Thomas Burgett – Ogor Mawtribes
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Thoughts

This is a wild matchup for the headliner this week. Both armies have been doing well but we don’t usually see them in the showdown.

In short, it’s a big slow mallet vs a fast glass hammer. The Daughters of Khaine have a lot more movement tricks, which allow them to play objectives well. They get a ton of low rend attacks, which do pretty well against the Ogors given their poor saves. Meanwhile the Ogors are a lot of wounds, which means charging them can be really risky especially if they’re going in at -1 to Hit thanks to their spell.. If they catch the Aelves, they can probably squash them really good, so they need to kill them quickly.

The match is super close, but Ogor Mawtribes take a narrow victory.

Result

Ogor Mawtribes Victory – 63 – 58

Thomas Burgett – Ogor Mawtribes – 1st Place

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Foot Ogors

Thoughts

The name of the game with Foot Ogors is that there is a a lot of wounds to chew through. Every model is 4-5 wounds depending on the unit, and they can be made even more difficult to kill with Greasy Deluge spell granting a -1 to be hit. They also hit hard, so if given the opportunity to strike they can usually come out ahead in units lost, despite their poor saves.

The KO Regiment of Renown is an interesting addition, but not an unwelcome one. The number of high wound units means their healing power can be very effective, and of course, compensate for the army’s poor speed by teleporting a unit onto an objective.

Tristan Dale – Stormcast Eternals – 2nd Place (Undefeated)

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Ruination Chamber

Thoughts

Ionus leads the pack here as both a strong beat stick who can do excellent damage from range and close (and a DoT that cannot be removed). He’s also a priest, which means he can teleport the slow Stormcast around or buff their Attacks. Tornus helps buff most of the units in the list by giving them better Rally, healing or -1 to be hit and Gardus gives a 5+ Ward.

All the troops in this army are great beat sticks. Prosecutors are very mobile, and can drop in and charge 3D6″ while Reclusians hit hard with their Crit Mortals. Both are ruination chambers which means one can be given a 5+ ward if theyre not near Gardus.

The only non Ruination chamber is the Questors, who are very mobile and can pick one objective to hold the line on, in which they become very difficult to dislodge.

The Best of the Rest

The rest of the top 8 includes:

• 3rd – Wyatt Moran – Flesh-eater Courts: Ushoran with a Zombie Dragon and lotsa Crypt Horrors.
• 4th – Alex Cotter – Gloomspite Gitz: Skragrott with Troggs.
• 5th – Derick Senter – Daughters of Khaine: See Showdown.
• 6th – Luke Springett – Cities of Sigmar: Freeguilders.
• 7th – Ben Bauman – Kharadron Overlords: KO Good Stuff.
• 8th – Shawn Freed – Nighthaunt: Olynder with Glaivewraiths and Pyregheists.

Montreal GT

54-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Montréal, Québec, CA on September 13 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Loic Gosselin Delort – Kharadron Overlords
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vs.

Oli Morin – Skaven
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Thoughts

This one is quite a surprise. While Skaven have been doing well, they certainly weren’t putting up KO numbers. The Skaven player wins this one incredibly handedly, which is impressive. Most likely a huge benefit is the huge numbers they have to shield themselves from the assault of the KO, especially since most of the list is Infantry so they can use Obscuring to great effect. The Skaven also have access to a lot of Mortal Wound generation, making it easier to clip through the KO’s high saves.

Result

Skaven Victory – 75 – 20

Oli Morin – Skaven – 1st Place

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Skaven Good Stuff

Thoughts

The (Un)Holy trinity of the Rat Ogors, Brood Terror and Screaming Bell appear again. The SoG warscrolls were very generous for Skaven and has really bumped up their numbers in the past few months.

The Screaming Bell functions as the support if the list, being able to add +2″ to movement allies or -1 to hit to the enemy, depending on the round. Since they’re a wizard they can combine that with the Bell of Doom endless spell for -1 to wound and Warpgale to give Strike Last to the enemy.

The Rat Ogors are the primary damage dealers of the army, with an impressive five attacks per model, the Brood Horror can buff that up by 1, and the Screaming Bell can improve their Rend thanks to their Heroic Trait. The Brood Horror isn’t bad in combat either, giving another strong unit to work with.

This list integrates a lot more Plague Monks, which can be surprisingly effective for their cost. Near the Furnace they receive a 6+ Ward and thanks for the Skaven prayer lore they can either get +1 to wound and Crit Mortals or -1 to be wounded and +1 to save giving some strong offense and defensive versatility.

Rounding things off is the trusty Ratling Guns which while a bit expensive now are still really good at laying down fire from afar, usually able to pick up at least one juicy threat before being taken out in retaliation. If the target is worth enough points, its a good trade.

The Best of the Rest

There rest of the top 8 includes:

• 2nd – Jean-François Normand – Daughters of Khaine: Krethusa and Aelves
• 3rd – Alexis Boucher – Kharadron Overlords: KO Good Stuff.
• 4th – Vincent-Pierre Martineau – Flesh-eater Courts: Ushoran and Ghoul King on Terrorgheist with Knights and chaff.
• 5th – Anthony Bouchard – Sylvaneth: Alarielle and Belthanos with Drycha.
• 6th – Loic Gosselin Delort – Kharadron Overlords: See showdown.
• 7th – Frederic Bigras-Burrogano – Soulblight Gravelords: Prince Vhordrai with Askugan Trueblades.
• 8th – Amaury Rospars – Kruleboyz: Killaboss on Corpse-rippa with tons of infantry.

BAYERN MAJOR #2 2025 AoS

53-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Regensburg, BY, Deutschland on September 13 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Mission – Bountiful Equinox

Dario Grohmann – Cities of Sigmar
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vs.

Alexander Spörl – Skaventide
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Thoughts

This is a real surprise. Cities of Sigmar have been tearing up the top tables for a few weeks now, and Skaven across the table feels like a foregone conclusion, and yet the Skaven put up a fantastic fight.

Skaven’s largest benefit is the number of models the Skaven have to spare, they can put up a strong Shield wall with Plague Monks and Clan Rats to only put the Rat Ogors in at the right time. The flamethrowers on the Rat Ogors and Brood Terror can help pick up the Command Command Corps early to avoid the CP tax, and then go into the Cavaliers and Great Cannons to shut off their damage early. Since most of the list is Infantry they can exploit the obscuring terrain to avoid the Great Cannons until the time is right.

Result

Skaventide Victory – 53 – 47

Alexander Spörl – Skaven – 1st Place

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Skaven Good Stuff

Thoughts

Like the Skaven list from the last event, this leans on the best warscrolls in the book right now, foresaking the ranged support fire for more Rat Ogors. As a recap, The Screaming Bell is a defensive powerhouse for the army, while the Rat Ogors and Brood Horror are the hammers of the list, able to do some serious damage into whatever they get close to.

The Pestilen detachment creates a strong second pillar, with Plague Monks being surprisingly durable and strong for their cost, with the Plague Furnace granting a lot of versatility based on what prayer it uses.

The Best of the Rest

The rest of the top 8 includes:

• 2nd – Jan Schweers – Fyreslayers (4-0-1): Magmadroths with Callis and Toll.
• 3rd – Dario Grohmann – Cities of Sigmar: See Showdown.
• 4th – Tristan Paffenholz – Kharadron Overlords: KO Good Stuff.
• 5th – David Demmel – Nighthaunt: Lady Olynder with Pyregheists.
• 6th – Matthias Knöchel – Ironjawz: Kragnos and Gordrakk with Pigs of Various Sizes.
• 7th – Miklos Müller – Kharadron Overlords: KO Good Stuff.
• 8th – Peter Häring – Flesh-eater Courts: Ushoran and Ghoul King on Terrorgheist with Cryptguard.

Port Plunder 2025

48-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Port Macquarie, NSW, Australia on September 12 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Matthew Campbell – Stormcast Eternals
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vs.

Sam Swinson – Kharadron Overlords
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Thoughts

Now this is a bit more expected. In case you were worried we wouldn’t see the KO winning an event, they’re still here. This isn’t a bad match up though, the Stormcast list here is very mobile and has a decent model count, which gives them some sacrificial fodder for the KO’s guns. Unfortunately the bulk of the hammers in this list have flying, meaning they cannot use terrain to their advantage. To win here, the Prosecutors would need to really leverage that Flying 3D6 charge to inflict significant damage before they are hit in turn by Skywardens.

The expected outcome does occur however, and KO win this one.

Result

Kharadron Overlords Victory – 50 – 33

Sam Swinson – Kharadron Overlords – 1st Place

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

KO Good Stuff.

Thoughts

We’ve talked about this list and variants thereof for a few weeks now. It did get a not insignificant nerf where a rule reading allowed Skywardens to charge again after charging with the Frigate but it’s still really strong. Frigate is the main damage dealer, both hosting a solid gun platform and then charging in so the Skywardens can fall out and all swing in with First Strike.

The rest of the army is no slouch either, the Gunhaulers are a pretty brutal mobile gun platform that can actually melee pretty well should you need to. The Characters drop tons of powerful buffs and debuffs including +1 to attacks from Brokk and and the Thunderers shutting off Wards or reducing Control.

The Best of the Rest

There were 7 more players on 4-1 records (or better). They were:

• 2nd – Qifan Zhu – Kharadron Overlords: KO Good stuff.
• 3rd – Adam Brady – Stormcast Eternals: Relcusians and Stormdrake Guard with some foot infantry chaff.
• 4th – Gary Chen – Kruleboyz: Kruleboyz good stuff.
• 5th – Matthew Campbell – Stormcast Eternals: Karazai with Prosecutors and Concussors.
• 6th – Jacob Meers – Blades of Khorne: Bloodthirster with legions of Fleshhounds, Bloodletters and Bloodreavers.
• 7th – Jacob Gallagher – Kharadron Overlords: KO Good stuff.
• 8th – Andrew McNally – Skaven: Most of the usual Skaven good stuff, but a neat inclusion of a reinforced unit of Stormfiends.

Sunshine Coast Open 25-26

30-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in East Dean, England, United Kingdom on September 13 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Yanish Jogoo – Flesh-eater Courts
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vs.

Darren Watson – Nighthaunt
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Thoughts

We haven’t seen the new Death books since they came out so this finally gives us a chance to see what’s good in both books.

The Nighthaunt’s clutch advantage here is their ranged fire. It’s not very long, but it’s solid and they have a lot of movement tricks such as the ability to retreat and shoot. The advantage of the FEC is they have a lot of bodies more than the Nighthaunt, so the Nighthaunt need to avoid unneccesary battles. The Nighthaunt have some strong melee hammers, like Kurdross and the Bladegheists, but they need to time their attacks well. The final match is quite close, but Nighthaunt with the Death-off.

Result

Nighthaunt Victory – 70 – 61

Darren Watson – Nighthaunt – 1st Place

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Crossbows pew pew

Thoughts

Kurdross is the surprise leader of this list, despite him getting second billing. He is a strong beat stick who can wade into combat, but once he charges he can mark one of the 3 Crossbow units to fire away to soften the unit up before he fights. Once Kurdross is in combat, he can shut off Commands on a 3+, which makes using All out Defence/Attack more risky. If the Crossbow units get caught up in combat they can retreat and shoot safely thanks to the subfaction.

Supporting them is the Scriptor Mortis who can grant Crit Mortals to anything in the list while in combat, particularly the Bladegheist Revenants. Lady Olynder cements herself as one of the best support characters in the army, both a strong source of healing and a spellcaster.

The Best of the Rest

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

• 2nd – Yanish Jogoo – Flesh-eater Courts: See Showdown.
• 3rd – Daniil Osudin – Skaven: Usual Skaven good stuff (SoG Bell, Rat Ogors, Brood Terror) and some interesting other additions like Globadiers, Nightrunners and a WLC.
• 4th – Matthew Gouldesbrough – Nighthaunt: Olynder with Bladegheist Revenants and Pyregheists.
• 5th – Sebastian Del Monte – Sylvaneth: Sylvaneth big boys with Alarielle, Belthanos, Drycha and a Spirit of Durthu.

Wrap Up

Another big week in Sigmar as we shift decidedly closer to LVO and probably another Battlescroll update. Thanks for stopping by and we’ll see you next time!

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