Competitive Innovations – More Like Competitive Incarnations

Another slow week, we have 3 smaller GTs on display from this past weekend. 2 in the United States and 1 in England. Don’t worry, Atlantic City Open is this weekend, which means we will have a major event to cover next week on Competitive Innovations.

What do we have this week? Honestly, more than you’d expect. There’s a lot of variety on display Slaanesh and Khorne duke it out in Washington, while Ossiarch Bonereapers stand up to an off-shelf Thunder Lizard list.

But the real exciting part is the rise of the Incarnate of Ghur. Every finals match in this week’s Competitive Innovations has a list using it. While not technically legal, as Thondia is not on the list of books used in General’s Handbook 2021, pretty much every TO has allowed it in because while unusual it doesn’t disrupt the flow of the game or really break anything in Matched Play. As a result there’s a lot of debate about how good it might be, as a mercenary for hire Behemoth any army can take. It can never die on turn 1 and has some serious bite in combat, but its wound mechanic is very swingy and its lack of a ward can be easy pickings for certain armies. How does it stack up? Let’s find out.

Rivals Of Sigmar

28-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Bellingham, WA, US on June 04 2022. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings. Note that this event uses a score differential, so the scores are a quite a bit different than usual:

Rivals of Sigmar Point Scoring (From Event Packet) - Click to Expand

ROUND SCORING

Each round is scored based on the outcome of the battleplan (as defined by the battleplan), plus bonus points for scoring and denying battle tactics and the grand strategy.

Major Victory: 500 points
Minor Victory: 350 points
Draw: 200 points
Minor Loss: 100 points
Major Loss: 0 points

Score own Battle Tactic: 3 points
Deny opponent Battle Tactic: 1 point
Score own Grand Strategy: 5 points
Deny opponent Grand Strat: 3 points

The Showdown

Hedonites of Slaanesh vs. Blades of Khorne – Power Struggle

Hedonites of Slaanesh – Matt Beasley – Hedonites of Slaanesh in the finals is a worthy feat in and of itself. This list cobbles together a lot of the sorta-good stuff from the book including Sigvald, Synessa and Blissbarb Archers. Joining the party are a Chaos Sorcerer Lord and our first Krondspine of the day.

Matt's List - Click to Expand

Army Faction: Hedonites of Slaanesh
– Army Type: Invaders
– Army Subfaction: The Lurid Haze
– Grand Strategy: Beast Master
– Triumphs: Inspired

LEADER

Chaos Sorcerer Lord on Manticore (270)*
– Artefacts: Oil of Exultation
– Spells: Flaming Weapon
– Bonding: Krondspine Incarnate of Ghur

Sigvald (265)*
– General

Synessa (260)*
– General
– Spells: Pavane of Slaanesh

BATTLELINE

Blissbarb Archers (170)*

Blissbarb Archers (170)*

Hellstriders with Hellscourges (135)*

BEHEMOTH

Krondspine Incarnate of Ghur (400)*

ENDLESS SPELL

The Burning Head (20)

TERRAIN

Fane of Slaanesh (0)

OTHER

Blissbarb Seekers (220)*

Centigors (90)*

CORE BATTALIONS:

*Battle Regiment

TOTAL POINTS: (2000/2000)

Created with Warhammer Age of Sigmar: The App

Blades of Khorne – Ricky Manz – Another commendable accomplishment, Blades of Khorne shares a similarly low tier with Slaanesh. This list throws in 2 Bloodthirsters, Skarbrand and a Bloodsecrator with coalition’d in Be’lakor and the beloved Khorne Daemon Prince.

Ricky's List - Click to Expand

Army Faction: Blades of Khorne
– Army Subfaction: Bloodlords

LEADER

Bloodthirster of Unfettered Fury (295)
– Artefacts: The Crimson Crown

Skarbrand (380)

Be’lakor (360)

Bloodsecrator (125)*

Bloodthirster of Insensate Rage (280)*
– General
– Command Traits: Slaughterer’s Thirst
– Artefacts: Halo of Blood

Slaves to Darkness Daemon Prince (210)*
– Daemonic Axe and Malefic Talons

BATTLELINE

Flesh Hounds (105)**

Flesh Hounds (105)**

Flesh Hounds (105)*

CORE BATTALIONS:

*Warlord
**Hunters of the Heartland
TOTAL POINTS: (1965/2000)

Triumph: Bloodthirsty
Grand Strategy: Master of Monsters

Created with Warhammer Age of Sigmar: The App

Thoughts

This is a tough match up to call, as both armies are rather notorious as bottom tier. Slaanesh is lifted up a fair bit by the Incarnate, and they do have some decent heroes like Synessa and Sigvald. Khorne is, meanwhile lifted up by the Bloodthirsters are still pretty nasty even without strong faction traits to back them up. The downside to this is the Krondspine has an all you can eat buffet here with 4 different Monsters on the opponent’s side to potentially eat.

Both players have fast moving units to run out and snag units, but Power Struggle is unique in that it requires you to stand your ground for at least a turn to start scoring, which favors bruisers like Khorne a bit more than Slaanesh, but Slaanesh doesn’t lack bite. Between the Incarnate and Sigvald, many of these Bloodthirsters are going in the meat grinder.

Result

Major Victory – Hedonites of Slaanesh (Matt): 522 – 10

1st Place – Matt Beasley – Hedonites of Slaanesh

Credit: Silks
Matt's List - Click to Expand

Army Faction: Hedonites of Slaanesh
– Army Type: Invaders
– Army Subfaction: The Lurid Haze
– Grand Strategy: Beast Master
– Triumphs: Inspired

LEADER

Chaos Sorcerer Lord on Manticore (270)*
– Artefacts: Oil of Exultation
– Spells: Flaming Weapon
– Bonding: Krondspine Incarnate of Ghur

Sigvald (265)*
– General

Synessa (260)*
– General
– Spells: Pavane of Slaanesh

BATTLELINE

Blissbarb Archers (170)*

Blissbarb Archers (170)*

Hellstriders with Hellscourges (135)*

BEHEMOTH

Krondspine Incarnate of Ghur (400)*

ENDLESS SPELL

The Burning Head (20)

TERRAIN

Fane of Slaanesh (0)

OTHER

Blissbarb Seekers (220)*

Centigors (90)*

CORE BATTALIONS:

*Battle Regiment

TOTAL POINTS: (2000/2000)

Created with Warhammer Age of Sigmar: The App

Why It’s Interesting

Well, it goes without saying that Slaanesh winning a GT is a pretty big accomplishment, regardless of the size of the event. While Slaanesh is burdened by some really bad units and allegiance abilities there’s a few choice units that make it in a lot of lists for players dedicated to playing them. Sigvald is excellent at dispatching enemy Heroes, if he can get there. Lurid Haze allows him to go into reserves and pop back in on his opponent’s side of the field to jump any Hero not suitably protected. Synessa is an excellent caster, knowing all the spells and able to hit enemy units with debuffs from range, not to mention her +1 to cast due to the Krondspine. Their ranged attack is also worth noting, able to do a decent amount of mortal wounds, especially to units with poor saves. The coalitioned Chaos Sorcerer Lord on Manticore is kitted out to be a pretty deadly beat stick, giving the punch a lot of Slaanesh Heroes lack.

The Krondspine lifts this faction up a lot, as it lacks a deadly monster outside the Keeper of Secrets, and unfortunately since the nerf to Depravity points they dont quite rack em up like they used to. The final units, Blissbarb Archers, Blissbarb Seekers and Hellstriders fill roles as ranged attacks and outriders for snagging objectives. They aren’t great compared to their contemporaries, but they’re what you got to work with.

2nd Place – Mason Nox – Maggotkin of Nurgle

Mason's List-Click to Expand

– Army Faction: Maggotkin of Nurgle
– Subfaction: Drowned Men
– Grand Strategy: Hold the Line
– Triumph: Bloodthirsty
LEADERS
Lord of Afflictions (210)*
– General
– Command Traits: Overpowering Stench
– Artefacts of Power: The Splithorn Helm
Be’lakor (360)*
BATTLELINE
Pusgoyle Blightlords (440)*
Pusgoyle Blightlords (440)*
Pusgoyle Blightlords (220)*
Pusgoyle Blightlords (220)*
OTHER
Pusgoyle Blightlords (Single) (110)*
TERRAIN
1 x Feculent Gnarlmaw (0)
CORE BATTALIONS
– *Battle Regiment
TOTAL POINTS: 2000/2000
Created with Warhammer Age of Sigmar: The App

Why It’s Interesting

You know it and I know it, Lord of Afflictions with Overpowering Stench and tons of Pusgoyle Blightlords? It’s good. It’s decently fast, shuts off command abilities and is tough to boot. The interesting thing here is Be’lakor who adds a bit of punch to the list and can really mess up an opponent’s hero trying to take down your General.

The Best of the Rest

All of these players went 4-1.

  • 3rd – Ricky Manz – Blades of Khorne – See showdown.
  • 4th – Chris Lamoy – Soublight Gravelords – A real herohammer list of Mannfred, Belladamma, Prince Vhordrai, a Necromancer and Radukar the Beast with 40 zombies and 20 wolves.
  • 5th – James Love – Idoneth Deepkin – An Akhelian King and Soulscryer with 2 turtles and our secret hidden Krondspine.

Quest of Champions Heat 3

34-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in England, GB on June 04 2022. It is the third Heat of the Quest of Champions series, with the top 12 of each event going to the finals. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings. This event also used a point differential, though the exact methodology is not explained on the BCP posting.

The Showdown

Sons of Behemat vs. Slaves to Darkness – Mission Unknown

Sons of Behemat – Daniel George – Triple Gatebreakers team up with a Krondspine

Daniel's List - Click to Expand

The Gargants of Shiverclaw Mountains

Allegiance: Sons of Behemat
– Tribe: Breaker Tribe (Fierce Loathing: Idiots with Flags)
– Grand Strategy: Beast Master
– Triumphs: Inspired

Leaders –
Luther Kraken Botherer (525)*
Gatebreaker Mega-Gargant

Threeshanks (525)*
Gatebreaker Mega-Gargant
– General
– Command Trait: Master of Magic
– Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact)
– Universal Spell Lore: Flaming Weapon

Dirk Bumscrounger (525)*
Gatebreaker Mega-Gargant
– Artefact: Vial of Manticore Venom (Universal Artefact)

Battleline –

Behemoths –
Krondspine Incarnate of Ghur (400)
– Allies

Core Battalions
*Bosses of the Stomp – Magnificent

Total: 1975 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 0 / 4
Allies: 400 / 400
Wounds: 105
Drops: 4

Slaves to Darkness – Samuel Kimbly – Slaves to Darkness good stuff, Archaon, Chaos Lord and Sorcerer Lord lead Varanguard and Untamed Beasts.

Samuel's List - Click to Expand

Allegiance: Slaves to Darkness
– Damned Legion: Host of the Everchosen (Sixth Circle)
– Mortal Realm: Ghur
– Grand Strategy: Prized Sorcery
– Triumphs: Inspired

Leaders
Archaon the Everchosen (860)*
– Aura of Chaos: Tzeentch
– Spell: Binding Damnation
Chaos Sorcerer Lord (135)*
– Mark of Chaos: Tzeentch
– Spell: Mask of Darkness
Chaos Lord (120)*
– Reaperblade & Daemonbound Steel
– Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact)
– Mark of Chaos: Tzeentch
– Spell: Mask of Darkness

Battleline
3 x Varanguard (280)*
– Mark of Chaos: Tzeentch
3 x Varanguard (280)*
– Mark of Chaos: Tzeentch
5 x Chaos Knights (170)*
– Cursed Lance
– Mark of Chaos: Tzeentch

Units
9 x Untamed Beasts (70)*
9 x Untamed Beasts (70)*

Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment

Total: 1985 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 0 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 95
Drops: 1

Thoughts

Athough we don’t know the mission, this is a pretty intense matchup for both sides. Both have some hard hitters: Daniel has the Gatebreaker, the nastiest of the 3 Megagargants in melee along with the Krondspine fitting in as a cheap 4th, rather than the Mancrusher Gargants that might usually occupy this slot. Samuel has Archaon and 6 Varanguard along with a Chaos Lord which can do their fair share of damage themselves.

Result

Major Victory – Sons of Behemat (Daniel): 630-20

1st Place – Sons of Behemat – Daniel George

Veteran of the Sole Wars
Gorlagg Knight-Kicker, Gatebreaker Gargant. Credit: Raf Cordero
Daniel's List - Click to Expand

The Gargants of Shiverclaw Mountains

Allegiance: Sons of Behemat
– Tribe: Breaker Tribe (Fierce Loathing: Idiots with Flags)
– Grand Strategy: Beast Master
– Triumphs: Inspired

Leaders –
Luther Kraken Botherer (525)*
Gatebreaker Mega-Gargant

Threeshanks (525)*
Gatebreaker Mega-Gargant
– General
– Command Trait: Master of Magic
– Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact)
– Universal Spell Lore: Flaming Weapon

Dirk Bumscrounger (525)*
Gatebreaker Mega-Gargant
– Artefact: Vial of Manticore Venom (Universal Artefact)

Battleline –

Behemoths –
Krondspine Incarnate of Ghur (400)
– Allies

Core Battalions
*Bosses of the Stomp – Magnificent

Total: 1975 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 0 / 4
Allies: 400 / 400
Wounds: 105
Drops: 4

Why It’s Interesting

I mean what is there to say? These are the nastiest of the 3 giants, and rather than shore up those remaining point with Mancrushers, it uses the Krondspine which is definitely going to be far more effective. It’s a lot of damage and a lot of wounds that most lists will struggle to cut through.

What is interesting is the choice of Artefacts. The Arcane Tome to get access to flaming weapon is not unusual, though many favor the Amulet of Destiny or Enchanted Portcullis for the 6+ ward to increase survivability – but the really interesting one is the Vial of Manticore venom which I don’t think I have ever seen used. 2+ to wound on the Footcrusha Flail does take some of the pain out of needing to clear a base level 4+ hit check to get there, so I totally get it. Good work Daniel!

2nd Place – Big WAAAGH! – Alex Tubb

Weirdboy Warphead or Warchanter – Credit Beanith
Alex's List - Click to Expand

Allegiance: Big Waaagh!
– Grand Strategy: Dominating Presence
– Triumphs: Indomitable

Leaders
Orruk Megaboss (140)
– General
– Command Trait: Master of Magic
– Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact)
– Lore of the Weird: Da Great Big Green Hand of Gork
Orruk Warchanter (115)
– Warbeat: Fixin’ Beat
Orruk Warchanter (115)
– Warbeat: Get ‘Em Beat
Breaka-Boss on Mirebrute Troggoth (180)
– Artefact: Mork’s Eye Pebble
– Mount Trait: Fast ‘Un
Swampcalla Shaman with Pot-grot (105)
– Lore of the Swamp: Nasty Hex
Wurrgog Prophet (150)
– Artefact: Glowin’ Tattooz
– Lore of the Savage Beast: Gorkamorka’s War Cry

Battleline
15 x Orruk Ardboys (255)*
– Reinforced x 2
10 x Orruk Ardboys (170)*
– Reinforced x 1
5 x Orruk Brutes (160)
– Jagged Gore-hackas

Units
3 x Orruk Gore-gruntas (170)*
– Jagged Gore-hackas
3 x Orruk Gore-gruntas (170)
– Jagged Gore-hackas
6 x Man-skewer Boltboyz (240)
– Reinforced x 1

Core Battalions
*Hunters of the Heartlands
**Warlord
***Warlord

Total: 1970 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 4 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 151
Drops: 12

Big WAAAGH! is starting to make a bit of a showing in events when it didn’t before, the versatility of taking what you want is starting to pay out. This list is like a hybrid of what makes Ironjawz and Kruleboyz great. The Megaboss took the Arcane tome to get the Great Green Hand of Gork, bypassing the need for a Weirdnob Shaman, and is accompanied by the trusty dual Warchantas for Fixin’ Beat and Get ‘Em Beat. Finally they bring the big hitting infantry with 25 Ardboys, 5 brutes and 6 Gore-Gruntas.

Over on the Kruleboyz side we get the Man-Skewer Boltboyz and Swampcalla combo, doing a ton of mortal wounds before the charge and a Breakaboss on Troggoth which is a surprisingly useful disruptive piece.

Finally the poor lone Bonesplitters representative, the Prophet, drops in the always useful Fights Last on enemy unit for a pittance at 150 points.

The Best of the Rest

3rd, 4th and 5th place went 4-1, while 6th and 7th went 3-1-1.

  • 3rd – Michael Wilding – Cities of Sigmar – 2 Flamespyre Phoenixes and 80 Phoenix Guard. Think you can cut through all those Wards?
  • 4th – Samuel Kimbly – Slaves to Darkness – See Showdown.
  • 5th – Liam Alford – Lumineth Realm Lords – a Teclis lead Sentinel list, but with a twist. Only 20 sentinels here, picking up the slack with some less popular Stoneguard and Dawnriders.
  • 6th -Toby Meadows – Maggotkin of Nurgle – 8 Pusgoyle blightlords, but a surprisingly different take on characters with no Lord of Affliction to be seen. Instead we get a Great Unclean One, Bloab and Orghotts.
  • 7th – Chris Green – Nighthaunt – A herohammer list with the happy couple Olynder and Kurdoss, Dreadblade Harrow, Cairn Wrath and Spirit Torment, all leading a ton of Bladegheist revenants.

Smash & Bash GT – Feral Foray

40-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Bastrop, TX, US on June 04 2022. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Seraphon vs. Ossiarch Bonereapers

Seraphon – Thomas Guan – Yes it’s a Thunder Lizard list…no wait come back! This one’s different I swear! You got Kroak and the Engine of the Gods, but then it goes off the deep end with a Celestant Prime and 3 Bastiladons, this time with the Ark of Sotek!

Thomas's List - Click to Expand

Army Faction: Seraphon
– Army Type: Coalesced
– Army Subfaction: Thunder Lizard
– Grand Strategy: Beast Master
– Triumphs: Inspired

LEADER

Bobby the Engine of the Gods (265)**
– General
– Command Traits: Prime Warbeast
– Artefacts: Incandescent Rectrices
– Mount Traits: Beastmaster
– Prayers: Curse

Lord Kroak (430)***
– Spells: Stellar Tempest

Saurus Astrolith Bearer (150)***
– Artefacts: Fusil of Conflagration

Celestant-Prime (325)***

BATTLELINE

Saurus Guard (115) **

Skinks (75)**
– Boltspitter, Celestite Dagger and Star-buckler

Skinks (75)**
– Boltspitter, Celestite Dagger and Star-buckler

BEHEMOTH

Bastiladon with Ark of Sotek (165)*

Bastiladon with Ark of Sotek (165)*

Bastiladon with Ark of Sotek (165)*

TERRAIN

Realmshaper Engine (0)

ENDLESS SPELL

Horrorghast (65)

CORE BATTALIONS:

*Alpha-Beast Pack

** Battle Regiment

***Command Entourage

TOTAL POINTS: (1995/2000)

Created with Warhammer Age of Sigmar: The App

Ossiarch Bonereapers – Jonathan Schlieszus – “The Big Three” of Ossiarch Lists, Katakros, Arkhan and a Liege-Kavalos, with a total of 40 Mortek Guard and accompanied by the final Krondspire of the weekend.

Johnathon's List - Click to Expand

Allegiance: Ossiarch Bonereapers
– Legion: Petrifex Elite
– Mortal Realm: Ghur
– Grand Strategy: Hold the Line
– Triumphs: Bloodthirsty

Leaders
Katakros, Mortarch of the Necropolis (Prime Hunter)(450)
Arkhan the Black, Mortarch of Sacrament (Prime Hunter)(360)
Liege-Kavalos (Prime Hunter)(185)
– General
– Command Trait: Mighty Archaeossian
– Artefact: Godbone Armour

Battleline
20 x Mortek Guard (Prime Hunter)(280)*
– Nadirite Blade and Shield
– Reinforced x 1
10 x Mortek Guard (Prime Hunter)(140)*
– Nadirite Blade and Shield
10 x Mortek Guard (Prime Hunter)(140)*
– Nadirite Blade and Shield

Behemoths
Krondspine Incarnate of Ghur (400)
– Allies

Core Battalions
*Hunters of the Heartlands

Total: 1955 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 1 / 4
Allies: 400 / 400
Wounds: 78
Drops: 7

Thoughts

Under normal circumstances I’d say Thunder Lizards have this in the bag. Solid shooting is basically a Hard Counter for the Ossiarchs. This is…different though. The Thunder Lizard list here is more melee focused, which tips things back more toward balance as Ossiarchs excel quite well at tanking hits other armies cannot shrug off as easily and then getting back up again. The final Krondspine also brings a heavy hitter OBR often struggle to find.

Make no mistake though, as weird as the Thunder Lizard list may be, what is there hits pretty hard. The Arks of Sotek have a lot of attacks, if they can get there, and OBR lack the maneuverability to avoid it. Feral Foray also favors the Thunder Lizard list immensely, as they have a lot more units to move around and snag the back line while the tanky stuff fights.

Result

Major Victory – Seraphon (Thomas): 72-18

1st Place – Seraphon – Thomas Guan

Credit: JarloftheMoose
Thomas's List - Click to Expand

Army Faction: Seraphon
– Army Type: Coalesced
– Army Subfaction: Thunder Lizard
– Grand Strategy: Beast Master
– Triumphs: Inspired

LEADER

Bobby the Engine of the Gods (265)**
– General
– Command Traits: Prime Warbeast
– Artefacts: Incandescent Rectrices
– Mount Traits: Beastmaster
– Prayers: Curse

Lord Kroak (430)***
– Spells: Stellar Tempest

Saurus Astrolith Bearer (150)***
– Artefacts: Fusil of Conflagration

Celestant-Prime (325)***

BATTLELINE

Saurus Guard (115) **

Skinks (75)**
– Boltspitter, Celestite Dagger and Star-buckler

Skinks (75)**
– Boltspitter, Celestite Dagger and Star-buckler

BEHEMOTH

Bastiladon with Ark of Sotek (165)*

Bastiladon with Ark of Sotek (165)*

Bastiladon with Ark of Sotek (165)*

TERRAIN

Realmshaper Engine (0)

ENDLESS SPELL

Horrorghast (65)

CORE BATTALIONS:

*Alpha-Beast Pack

** Battle Regiment

***Command Entourage

TOTAL POINTS: (1995/2000)

Created with Warhammer Age of Sigmar: The App

Why It’s Interesting

Simply because its not the same Thunder Lizard we see on an almost weekly basis. No Solar Engines, minimal Skinks and no Hand of Glory. Kroak and the Engine of the Gods is still there but you can’t shirk everything right?

The Ark of Sotek isn’t bad, it’s 4+/6+ no rend is bad but at full health it’s doing that 18 times. Throw three of them at something and well, your opponent’s gonna roll 1s eventually. It’s a lot of hassle for something that struggles to move up the board, which is why people tend to just stick to shooting. I admire the Chutzpah here to try something different, Thomas is a very skilled player who sees the podium at many GTs and you have to admire the craft.

2nd Place – Cities of Sigmar – Randal Brasher

Randal's list - Click to Expand

Allegiance: Cities of Sigmar
– City: Tempest’s Eye
– Mortal Realm: Aqshy
– Grand Strategy: Dominating Presence
– Triumphs: Inspired

Leaders
Baba Bugman’s Haulercanum
Celestial Hurricanum with Celestial Battlemage (280)*
– General
– Command Trait: Hawk-eyed
– Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact)
– Lore of Eagles: Strike of Eagles
Aetheric Navigator (95)*

Battleline
5 x Freeguild Pistoliers (105)*
5 x Freeguild Pistoliers (105)*
5 x Freeguild Pistoliers (105)*
10 x Ironbreakers (115)**

Units
4 x Stormdrake Guard (680)** PRIORITY TARGET
– Drakerider’s Lance
– Reinforced x 1

Behemoths
Arkanaut Ironclad (490)*
– Main Gun: Great Volley Cannon

Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment
**Hunters of the Heartlands

Total: 1975 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 1 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 110
Drops: 3

Why It’s Interesting

Cities of Sigmar is a fascinating book to me. You see some of the most broken meta combos in the game, inevitable with an army with so many units and who can coalition with even more armies, but every week I also see something that tries to be a little different.

This plays Tempest Eye more or less how it feels like its meant to be played. The Ironbreakers and Coalitioned Aetheric Navigator and Ironclad give it a distinctly shooty dwarf feel, with the Freeguild Pistoliers offering some cheap back up fire. The Stormdrake guard get to absorb the brunt of the charge, taking on the tougher targets so the softer ranged units can fire with reckless abandon.

The Best of the Rest

All of these players went 4-1.

  • 3rd – Jacob Mathias – Ogor Mawtribes – Only one Stonehorn here, with lots of foot troops and some beast riders. Really unique list.
  • 4th – Christopher Schelling – Stormcast Eternals – Karazai and the Celestant Prime with Stormdrakes.
  • 5th – Estaban Santos – Idoneth Deepkin – Hero heavy list: Akhelian King, Tidecaster, Lotann, Soulrender and a Thrallmaster. Which is good because there are 30 thralls and 20 reavers. Plus, of course, a turtle.
  • 6th – Bryan Lofton – Ossiarch Bonereapers – Arkhan, Katakros and a Soulmason lead 20 Mortek and 10 Deathriders with both Stalkers and Harbingers offering backup.
  • 7th – Johnathon Schlieszus – Ossiarch Bonereapers – See Showdown
  • 8th – James West – Kruleboyz – Gobbsprakk, Killa Boss, Sludgeraker and Swampcalla with 40 Gutrippaz and 9 Man Skewas for spice.

Conclusion

Another week of rotating meta, where even the predictable Thunder Lizards are doing something different. Smaller events can be of interest too, lower numbers often mean that stranger or off brand lists get to thrive more than they do at bigger events, where many of the meta staples are dominating the top tables. It’s not every week we see Khorne and Slaanesh fight for the top spot, it’s even less common to see Slaanesh win!

The rise of the Krondspine also cannot be denied, it popped up 4 times here. Is this just a fluke, or are we going to see just about every list try and shove it in there with their precious 400 allied points? What do you think?

Until then, see you next time when we cover our first major event in a while: The Atlantic City Open!

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