Goonhammer at LVO

Frontline Gaming’s Las Vegas Open event represents the end of the 2021 ITC season for Warhammer 40k and Age of Sigmar and if you’ve been following along during the year, this season promises several exciting storylines and potential finishes. Thanks to Omicron we have fewer people than we’d like at the event this year but we’ve still got some boots on the ground participating in various events at LVO. If you haven’t been following along or are just interested in what the key storylines are as a casual observer, here’s a good recap of what to watch for going into the event.

Goonhammer Staff at the Event

Let’s start with our lads: We’ve got three key players at LVO, each participating in different events, and they’re cataloging their experiences:

  • James “Boon” Kelling is currently 12th in the ITC standings for 40k and looking to finish the season strong and earn a spot in the top 5. Hell, 1st isn’t completely out of reach, but it’d take a lot of help from other top names basically bowing out in the early rounds for James to have a real shot. A strong finish in the top 8 of LVO could easily see Boon finish in the top 5, though. He’s bringing a new take on Thicc City Drukhari to the event.
  • Josef “JoeK” Krier is currently sitting at 20th in the ITC standings for Age of Sigmar and stands a similar shot at finishing first overall, but could easily finish in the top 5 with a win at LVO. He’s been on a dragons kick recently and has been feverishly working all week to prepare his Stormcast Eternals army for the event.
  • “Contemptor” Kevin Stillman isn’t really concerned with all of that ITC nonsense; he’s just there to have a good time at his first ever LVO. He’s bringing his Space Wolves to the 40k Narrative event.

We’ll be cheering our crew on as they attempt to underdog their way to top finishes in each event, and there’s a good chance you’ll see James and Joe on stream at some point. They’ve both got strong Midwest Goober energy so be sure to cheer them on if you’re in a Twitch chat while they’re on the screen.

Friends of Goonhammer

In addition to our regular staff a few of our good friends are at the event as well, and we’ll be cheering them on:

  • Don Hooson is bringing his Death Guard and a strong showing with Mortarion’s boys could catapult him to a top 5 finish in the faction standings (he’s currently 17th).
  • Michael Pestilens of Warphammer is bringing Chaos Space Marines, fighting the good fight. That said, it’s a rough uphill battle and the new point drops looming have drained his will to grind out 6+ difficult games.
  • Peter “The Falcon” Colosimo will be on hand to help commentate. He always does great work for 40kstats and brings a ton of great insight to the table.

Credit: Robert “TheChirurgeon” Jones

Three Big Storylines

Alright let’s close out talking about three huge storylines that will be playing out at the event.

1. 40k: The Field is Wide Open

It’s an interesting time for 40k for a number of reasons. After a brutal 8 months of Drukhari dominance and four nerfs to the faction, we’ve started to see the field open up a bit more, with Crusher Stampede and Hive Guard Tyranid builds showing real chops, Grey Knights putting on good performances, Iron Hands showing signs of life, Orks continue to lurk on the periphery, and two new books – Genestealer Cults and Adeptus Custodes – will be making their debut at LVO, squeaking in just under the wire to make the deadline. This all makes for a much more interesting meta, where the idea that Drukhari are a foregone conclusion may be premature.

From a competitor standpoint, we’ve also been informed that Richard Siegler will most likely not be attending the event, which is kind of a “Michael Jordan goes to play minor league baseball” type development for the ITC. Sitting at 28th with only five events recorded this season (out of 6), the chances of Siegler winning the ITC with a win at LVO were almost 100%. And as the best player in the game by a country mile, if you felt that LVO and the ITC were Siegler’s to lose well, you wouldn’t have been making a bad bet. With Siegler gone, the field looks way more open, and we wouldn’t be shocked to see Brad Chester, Malik Amin Rubio, Jack Harpster, or Anthony Vanella make a big push and win the whole thing. That said, if we had to bet, we’d bet on…

Credit: Robert “TheChirurgeon” Jones

2. 40k: John Lennon vs. Mani Cheema for the ITC Crown

LVO is going to be a massive event, and that means something like 300+ points are up for grabs for the winner. Right now the top two players in the ITC are Glasshammer’s Mani Cheema, coming fresh off a win at the Nottingham GT that secured his current place atop the ITC, and The Art of War’s John Lennon, who most recently won the FLG New Orleans Open event.

John Lennon is running Adeptus Custodes at the event, using a list built with the brand-new codex. AoW’s Jack Harpster recently wrote about Custodes for Goonhammer – you can find that article here.

John's List - click to expand

++ Battalion Detachment 0CP (Imperium – Adeptus Custodes) [99 PL, 1,998pts, -1CP] ++

+ Configuration +

Detachment Command Cost

Detachment Type / Shield Host: Adeptus Custodes, Emperor’s Chosen

+ Agents of the Imperium +

Voidsmen-At-Arms [2 PL, 40pts]: Voidmaster
. 4x Voidsman: 4x Lasgun, 4x Laspistol

+ HQ +

Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike [10 PL, 195pts, -2CP]: (Emperor’s Chosen): Auric Exemplar, 3. Superior Creation, Castellan’s Mark, Misericordia, Salvo Launcher, Stratagem: The Emperor’s Heroes, Stratagem: Victor of the Blood Games, Tip of the Spear

Trajann Valoris [9 PL, 170pts, 1CP]

+ Troops +

Prosecutors [3 PL, 60pts]: Prosecutor Sister Superior
. 4x Prosecutor: 4x Boltgun

Sagittarum Custodians [7 PL, 159pts]
. 3x Sagittarum w/ Misericordia: 3x Adrastus Bolt Caliver, 3x Misericordia

Sagittarum Custodians [7 PL, 159pts]
. 3x Sagittarum w/ Misericordia: 3x Adrastus Bolt Caliver, 3x Misericordia

+ Elites +

Contemptor-Achillus Dreadnought [9 PL, 160pts]: 2x Lastrum Storm Bolter
Contemptor-Achillus Dreadnought [9 PL, 160pts]: 2x Lastrum Storm Bolter

Custodian Wardens [7 PL, 150pts]
. 3x Warden w/ Castellan Axe: 3x Castellan Axe

+ Fast Attack +

Vertus Praetors [12 PL, 270pts]
. 3x Praetor w/ Salvo Launcher: 3x Interceptor Lance, 3x Salvo Launcher

Vertus Praetors [12 PL, 270pts]
. 3x Praetor w/ Salvo Launcher: 3x Interceptor Lance, 3x Salvo Launcher

+ Heavy Support +

Caladius Grav-tank [12 PL, 205pts]: Twin Arachnus Heavy Blaze Cannon

++ Total: [99 PL, -1CP, 1,998pts] ++

The cheeky thing about John’s list is that unit of Voidsmen-at-arms, a unit of Imperial Agents found in Octarius Book 2: Critical Mass. The Voidsmen give Jon a 40-point unit of action-performing, objective-holding goobers who don’t break Martial Ka’tahs. That’s 20 points cheaper than a unit of Prosecutors, helping John pack as many golden lads into the army as possible.

Mani’s List on the other hand, is the Drukhari list he cobbled together two days before winning the Nottingham GT. Its main gimmick is “170 goddamn wracks,” all juiced up with -1 damage and feel no pain saves. They have a ton of mobility thanks to standard Drukhari bullshit like Power from Pain, tons of Obsec bodies, and they’re a nightmare to chew through, particularly for armies that rely on 2-damage melee attacks and shooting. It’s not a list so much as a hate crime. You can read more about it in Wings’ write-up on it in this week’s Competitive Innovations in 9th.

Mani's List - click to expand

Battalion Detachment -2CP (Drukhari) [84 PL, 1,115pts]

Obsession: Artists of the Flesh

-HQ-

Drazhar [8 PL, 145pts] Warlord, Warlord Trait: Hatred Eternal
Master Succubus [4 PL, 95pts, -2CP] Combat Drug: Grave Lotus, Tolerated Ambition: Competitive Edge, Prizes from the Dark City: Triptych Whip

-Troop-

Wracks [12 PL, 170pts] x20, Wrack Blades x19, Electrocorrosive Whip x1, Ossefactor x1, Acothyst
Wracks [12 PL, 141pts] x17, Wrack Blades x16, Electrocorrosive Whip x1, Acothyst
Wracks [12 PL, 141pts] x17, Wrack Blades x16, Electrocorrosive Whip x1, Acothyst
Wracks [12 PL, 141pts] x17, Wrack Blades x16, Electrocorrosive Whip x1, Acothyst
Wracks [12 PL, 141pts] x17, Wrack Blades x16, Electrocorrosive Whip x1, Acothyst
Wracks [12 PL, 141pts] x17, Wrack Blades x16, Electrocorrosive Whip x1, Acothyst

Battalion Detachment -5CP (Drukhari) [64 PL, 881pts]

Obsession: Artists of the Flesh

-HQ-

Master Archon [5 PL, 90pts, -2CP] Tolerated Ambition: Ancient Evil, Prizes from the Dark City: The Djin Blade
Haemonculus [4 PL, 70pts] Free Relic: The Animus Vitae

-Troop-

Wracks [12 PL, 141pts] x17, Wrack Blades x17, Ossefactor x1, Acothyst
Wracks [12 PL, 141pts] x17, Wrack Blades x17, Ossefactor x1, Acothyst
Wracks [12 PL, 141pts] x17, Wrack Blades x17, Ossefactor x1, Acothyst
Wracks [3 PL, 50pts] x5, Wrack Blades x4, Electrocorrosive Whip x1, Ossefactor x1, Acothyst
Wracks [3 PL, 45pts] x5, Wrack Blades x4, Electrocorrosive Whip x1, Acothyst
Wracks [3 PL, 45pts] x5, Wrack Blades x4, Electrocorrosive Whip x1, Acothyst

-No Slot-

Court of the Archon [10 PL, 158pts] x9, Sslyth x4, Ur-Ghul x4, Medusae

There’s just a ton of bodies here, and that’s a double-edged sword in some ways: The army is as much a nightmare to chew through as it is to move around, and it’s worth legitimately asking whether Mani will run out of time or have to worry about the clock as he plays. Three of his games at the Nottingham GT timed out before ending and that’s something Mani will be looking to shore up heading into LVO now that he’s had more time to play and practice with the army.

Of course, this is all academic – there’s every chance, a high one even, that Mani and John never actually face off at the event. It’s a big field and there are a lot of games to play and it’s very likely either player could be ousted early by another top competitor at the event.

Credit: Robert “TheChirurgeon” Jones

3. AoS: Dragon Dominance in Age of Sigmar

On the Age of Sigmar side we’re potentially looking at the rise of the game’s own Aeldari. In our December meta analysis we talked about where the factions sat and recognized Seraphon as the game’s top faction, but JoeK pointed out that delays in shipping and assembly had prevented another faction from rising to the top. Well, that time is behind us and now we’re staring at a field that’s loaded with Stormcast dragons. Of the 85 Order armies at LVO, nearly one fourth (20) are running Stormcast Eternals and 21% are running Stormdrakes, with a total of 106 dragons between them. Those are some rough numbers for a unit that people expected to see eat a nerf in the most recent round of FAQs. From a matchup standpoint, the army does almost everything well, and packs enough mortal wounds and rend to power through even Seraphon defenses.

How this will shake out is still anyone’s guess but we expect to see Stormdrakes in the finals on at least one side of the table. They may potentially have some rough matchups against Ironjawz but if you’re a Stormdrake player right now your biggest concern is having fewer dragons than the player across the table.

 

More to Come

That does it for our preview but there’s more to come in the next week – we’ll be covering all of the previews from GW’s late-night preview event, plus we’ll be following and analyzing the results in next week’s Competitive Innovations, and we’ll have post-event writeups from our authors. And if that wasn’t enough, Sunday kicks off the LVO RTT, the first event of the 2022 season, and we’ll have tons of content around the new War Zone Nachmund season of 40k. Stay tuned!

Have any questions or feedback? Drop us a note in the comments below or email us at contact@goonhammer.com.