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Competitive Innovations in 9th: Guns and Goffs pt.2
Today we'll be looking at:
- The Rocky Mountain Open (supermajor)
- Ordo Fanaticus Presents: Rosehammer (major)
- 'Ere We Go Again Ladz GT
- BFS Competitive GT
- The Southampton GT (supermajor)
- Warhammer World GT (major)
- Grimdark Grand Tournament
- Mighty Meeple GT
Frontline Gaming Rocky Mountain Open 2023 Warhammer 40K Champs
144-player, 6-round Grand Tournament in Brighton, CO US on March 11 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.Tom is in the lead here.
The Showdown
Matchup & Mission - The Scouring
Michael Mann - Goffs: Go-fast Horde Orks with Stormboyz.vs.
Nicolas Wenker - Daemons & Dreadblades: Go-wide Daemons with some Executioners for shooting.
Thoughts
Ok, kicking things off we have an absolute barnstormer. Two armies that strongly adhere to the 'cuddle club' philosophy facing off on perhaps the greatest cuddling based mission, The Scouring. Claustrophobic central objectives, a ropey action based mission tertiary, and a bunch of units that want nothing more than to run screaming into each other. So how does it all shake out?Nicholas brings the increasingly popular 'Chaos + War Dogs' combo with a daemonic spin. He's got a huge brawling monster in the phase-capped Indomitable Onslaught Bloodthirster, the usual infantry choices of Daemonettes and Bloodletters, and solid Flamer and Flesh Hound incision and board coverage. Kairos does magical shenanigans and there is a niche inclusion for the Tormentbringer too. This little HQ punches deceptively hard with access to the Slothful Claws, and it's really good to see it out and about. The Daemons have the ability to close quickly, pop up around the board, and make trouble. Going without Bel'akor slightly reduces the mobility options, but the War Dogs can hang around further back securing objectives and throwing down fire which frees up everything else to get stuck in.
Facing off with them is a horde of Goffs that sees the Daemon pressure game and raises them EVEN MORE PRESSURE. Michael has scaled down the transport components of the classic Goff pressure builds we have seen in favour of more bodies. This slightly reduces mobility (though the enormous number of Kommandos and Stormboyz can still project threat extremely well), but makes scoring secondaries like Green Tide and Get Da Good Bitz even more rudimentary and reliable. Ghaz brings a mini-game monster challenge that requires careful handling, and I can imagine this showdown was a spectacularly bloody affair.
As far as the outcome goes, in this match up the Orks just have so many T5 infantry trading pieces to play with that its hard to see the Chaos forces being able to chew through them in time, and the speed on the Stormboyz gives them a way to reach the War Dogs from the safety of cover if required. This, combined with the tight confines of The Scouring and the quicker speed with which the Daemons will lose units with which to tick off their best secondary (Reality Rebels), should mean that unless some serious plays get made the Greenskins will edge it with weight of numbers in the ruckus, and that looks to be what has happened here.
Result
Goffs Victory - 92 - 70Michael Mann - Goffs - 1st Place
Sky Kaptin Snodgrin, Goff stormboy nob (plus wingboyz & Tattlegit Bommsnik). Credit: Charlie Brassley
The List
See ShowdownArchetype
Goff Pressure (on foot!)Final Round Matchup
92 - 70 Victory against Nicolas Wenker - Chaos.Thoughts
As discussed in the showdown, this is a really infantry heavy take on the Goffs pressure builds, swapping out staging transports for even more coverage and punch. These lists are taking names at the moment and the secondary utility of this list is even greater than in the lists which go heavy on Kill Rigs or Wagons. Well done Michael on piloting it to a well earned first place finish!Scott Rumple - Space Wolves Successors - 2nd Place (Undefeated)
Flying Wolf Guard. Credit: Kevin Stillman
The List
Archetype
Space Wolves InfantryThoughts
Space Wolves were one of the big winners in the marines points changes, gaining a lot of wargear options across the board to really maximise their trading potential and threat. This list from Scott highlights the range of tools they can access, with a mass of Long Fangs packing serious firepower and the option to ramp up the efficiency via Keen Senses. The drop pod stays home here and you'd imagine that astute use of strategic reserves is a part of the game plan to get the most from these. As successors with exploding sixes, the Skyclaws do tremendous work, with each sergeant punching like a mini character at the heart of the squad. Scott has ample fight phase control via two fight lasts - the Belt of Russ and the Judiciar ensuring that if an enemy gets too close he can simply lock up multiple units and batter them to turn the tide of the game in an instant. Melta Wolfguard and the Wulfen ensure that this list is simply brimming with combat options and the opponent is really going to struggle to make a decisive dent without taking out a whole swathe of enemy units at once. An utterly terrifying build, excellent stuff!William Abilez - T'au Sept - 3rd Place
The List
Archetype
Mixed Arms Tau SeptThoughts
This list is awesome. With a wide range of tools and units of all shapes and sizes, William has reached into the Tau grab bag and brought together a really dynamic looking list. The list looks built to maximise mission and secondary play, with loads of infantry bodies, speed and Behind Enemy Lines potential in the Pirahnas, and a Ghostkeel to anchor the backfield and throw down fire. Eschewing the raw damage output of the Crisis Teams is an unusual move, but the sheer width of options, used well, can present a wider range of challenges to the opponent, especially with good use of reserves and well timed strikes. I've only played against a Tidewall once but it is a deceptively useful fortification, shielding the troops inside a durable and speedy little vessel without sacrificing their shooting capabilities. Congratulations to William on the placing.Nicolas Wenker - Daemons and Dreadblades - 4th Place
Credit: Robert "TheChirurgeon" Jones
The List
See showdown.Archetype
Daemon Board ControlThoughts
Wings: Tom's covered most of this in the showdown - this list can apply plenty of pressure, but uses mobility tools and the sprinkling of shooting to play a much more all-rounder game than some Daemon flavours. This one definitely does appeal to the Aeldari brain in me, and I'm glad to see a toolbox-style list doing so well.The Best of the Rest
There were 10 more players on 5-1 records. They were:- 5th - Jamie Beaton - Dark Angels: It's just 44 Deathwing Terminators and some Characters. Don't worry about it. It's fine.
- 6th - Zaak Kerstetter - Tzeentch Daemons: The ultimate anti-shooting tech list, packing a wide selection of the Tzeentch tools from the book, with a particular emphasis on Flamers. Ran afoul of Jamie's Terminator list in the end.
- 7th - Joel Davis - Craftworlds: Alarmingly chunky skew Ulthwe, packing the Avatar, five big Wraiths and six D-cannons.
- 8th - Travis Armstrong - Adeptus Custodes: Solar Watch Warden brick, with a bit of extra character support.
- 9th - Calvin Smith - World Eaters & Dreadblade: Invocatus Eightbound, plus a unit of Terminators and a single War Dog Stalker, adding a few ways to take stuff out at range.
- 10th - Jeffrey Stenquist - Death Guard: All-rounder Wretched, with a unit of three Blight Haulers as a centrepiece.
- 11th - Ben Jurek - Goffs: Goff pressure with lots of Squighogs, Stormboyz and Kill Rigs, plus a big unit of Trukk Boyz Nobz.
- 12th - Kyle Lamperez - Iron Hands: Hull-heavy Hands with three Redemptors, the super Contemptor and some Reapers.
- 13th - Stephen Bourque - Dark Angels: Mixed Ravenwing/Deathwing.
- 14th - Russell Tassin - Black Legion: Black Legion with a big Rubric unit and some Decimators.
Ordo Fanaticus Presents: Rosehammer
95-player, 6-round Grand Tournament in Portland, Oregon US on March 11 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.Tom is also in charge for this one.
Lukas Troller - Goffs - 1st Place
Kill Rig. Credit: Rockfish
The List
Archetype
Goff PressureFinal Round Matchup
94 - 70 Victory against Alex Pina - Adepta Sororitas.Thoughts
Triple Kill Rig Goffs is an amazing build at this moment in time, packing an energy I like to describe affectionately (and more than a little bit wistfully) as 'Green Drukhari', with added psychic punch. Squighog Boys are here in force too, and the mortal wound sniping they offer via bomb squigs is a really versatile tool for troubleshooting different match ups. A scary and proactive take on the Goffs, who seem to have locked in their place as the very biggest and best of the Orks in Arks of Omen. Great work Lukas!!Linton Rowan - Space Wolves - 2nd Place
Credit: Robert "TheChirurgeon" Jones
The List
Archetype
Space Wolves and Gulliman!Thoughts
Another take on go wide Space Wolves infantry, this one spices things up by bringing a certain straight laced Primarch along for the ride. I guess it'll do until Russ returns, eh Linton? In a combat marines army Roboute brings some mini-game energy in the same way that Abaddon has done for CSM earlier in the edition, and adds to the enormous threat that this list already poses. The maxed out packs of Wulfen are absolutely devastating, and help to ensure that this list has plenty of answers in a brawl for the centre. Melta for days, exploding 6s to hit, and fragile but hard hitting units all over the shop. It's one thing to have a fairly clear sense of what the marines playbook is at the moment, but it's another thing entirely stopping it, or out trading it. Very nicely done.Tyler Bortel - Genestealer Cult - 3rd Place
Neophyte Hybrids. Credit: Rockfish
The List
Archetype
Industrial Affinity Neophytes and Atalan JackalsThoughts
Tyler builds on the power of the Industrial Affinity custom cults, bringing most of the classic units but adding a few important bits of tech for the current meta. A single Scout Sentinel is something I've dabbled in myself, offering a way to interfere with enemy forward deployment plans and keep a channel open for bikers to cross the board if you go first. The tooled up Reductus Saboteur with Oppressor's Bane helps make sure that you can get Crossfire tokens where you need them, and can also do a job as a sneaky objective holder alongside the Sanctus by providing two characters who can't be shot outside of 12 inches if you set them up correctly. GSC continue to dominate the Arks meta, and Tyler has put in a lot of work in in recent months in leading the way with the Affinity builds. Great stuff.Steve Trimble - Adeptus Custodes - 4th Place
Credit: Crab-stuffed Mushrooms
The List
Archetype
Solar Watch Golden SlabsThoughts
Another take on the double brick Solar Watch list, a break out star in Arks that maximises the Custodes threat range and threatens the board with a moving wave of obsec that is extremely difficult to shift with the right debuffs applied at the right moments. Some Venatari offer a bit of extra speed and ranged punch to round things out. It's coming at you quickly, and it will absolutely body you off the board if you can't shift those Wardens pronto. Well done on the placing Steve!The Best of the Rest
There were 5 more players on 5-1 records. They were:- 5th - Alex Pina - Adepta Sororitas: Bloody Rose Goodstuff with thr Triumph of St. Katherine.
- 6th - Ryan Cherewich - World Eaters & Dreadblade: Invocatus Eightbound with a couple of Rapier Carriers and a Dreadblade for shooting.
- 7th - Hank Adams - Astra Militarum: Dorn Soldiers with a couple units of Bullgryn in support.
- 8th - Jason Rider - Black Legion: Abaddon, two massive Biker units, and a Brass Scorpion. Cruise control for cool.
- 9th - Harry Gieringer - Salamanders & Freeblades: Melta Sternguard for days, plus Helverins in support.
BFS - 2 Day Competitive Warhammer 40000 Tournament
30-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in England GB on March 11 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.Wings is coming in hot for BFS.
The Showdown
Matchup & Mission - Death and Zeal
Sam Squires - Genestealer Cult: Melee-focused Industrial Cult with a big Aberrant block.vs.
David McG - Orks: Goff Pressure with Kill Rigs.
Thoughts
It's easy to see Industrial Affinity in a GSC list and just assume it's standard shooty /tanky bikes and Neophytes, but Sam's build here is very unusual. Rather than the usual choices, he adds Impassioned to his Cult Creed, ensuring that everything in this list hits like an absolute monster truck on the turn it connects. Very unusual and very cool, and he also back-fills durability by taking a big brick of upgraded Aberrants, who are extremely tough to shift between damage reduction, 5+ to ignore wounds and the option of Monstrous Vigour.All cool, but I must admit on seeing that it was up against Orks I was a bit apprehensive - a Horde build can give this real trouble, because the hammer blows might not find good targets to land on, and volume Ork melee will sweep this off the table at speed. Luckily, Kill Rigs are a much more tractable problem for this build, ensuring this is a fairly even game. From David's side of the table, I think the trick here is probably not to lead with the Kill Rigs, as that makes it too easy for the Cult to get big swings. What the Orks want to do is push downwards in force to secure a position to score Get Da Good Bitz, then use the small Kommando units and Squighogs to bait some Genestealer tools to going for the centre. From there, I'd try to use the Kill Rigs one at a time to push the centre each turn, as the Cult isn't going to kill them in shooting, and if they die in the Fight Phase and drop out ObSec Snaggas, they can potentially secure the objective and flip the primary. There's also potentially the option to use some of the Characters and a bigger Stormboy unit to go for a lunge at the top at some point, as you do have to factor for the Cult having pretty strong passive scoring.
Broodswarm and Ambush are going to be great on that front, and with three rigs and melee characters, Assassinate is going to be great too. I think that probably does end up tilting things slightly towards the Cult - the way that the Orks ideally want to play this doesn't stymie the Cult scoring that much, potentially forcing them to go for big, risky plays. GSC are great at finding ways of exploiting that, and the extra crunchy hitters here only enhance that capability. This ended up very close, but the insidious GSC were able to take the win.
Result
Genestealer Cult Victory - 84 - 76Sam Squires - Genestealer Cult - 1st Place
Kelermorph. Credit: Rockfish
The List
See showdownArchetype
Melee Industrial CultThoughts
Covered in the showdown - very unusual as Cult builds go, favouring extreme melee hammer blows over volume of bodies or shooting. Going a bit off-piste can very much wrong-foot opponents (which Cults love to do anyway), and while I think there's a bit of vulnerability to Guard shooting here, I really like the build overall - well done to Sam.The Best of the Rest
There were 4 more players on 4-1 records, and the player in 6th got paired up in the final. They were:- 2nd - Thomas Whybrow - Chaos Daemons: Ultra monster mash with Be'lakor and three Greater Daemons (Bloodthirster, Big Bird, Shalaxi).
- 3rd - Oliver Pickett - World Eaters & Dreadblades: Invocatus, a tag team of Masters of Execution, lots of Eightbound MSUs and some War Dog Stalkers.
- 4th - Adam Brown - Adeptus Custodes: Emperor's Chosen Dreadnought fiesta - three each of VenCons, Achillus and Telemons.
- 5th - Patrick Fearis - Votann: Urani-Surtr Regulates with T9 Land Fortresses.
- 6th - David McG - Orks: Goff Pressure with Kill Rigs.
‘Ere We Go Again Ladz 40K Store Championship
28-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Oviedo, FL US on March 11 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.Wings is finishing things off here.
Kevin Heddle - Leagues of Votann - 1st Place
Trans-Hyperian Alliance Hekaton Land Fortress. Credit: Colin Ward
The List
Archetype
Ymyr 2FortFinal Round Matchup
49 - 43 Victory against Alex Dieppa - Iron Hands.Thoughts
Votann's unit roster is short enough that I'm rapidly running out of things to say about them - this is pretty much a perfect example of a standard 2Fort build, and is a reliably strong way to play Votann. I do think grinding out a win against triple Iron Hands Astraeus with it in the final is pretty impressive though!The Best of the Rest
There were 5 more players on X-1 records. They were:- 2nd - Mike Muzeni - Adeptus Custodes: Emperor's Chosen with lots of MSU infantry.
- 3rd - Jon Sweet - Nurgle: Crunch-tastic, with Death Guard engines, Mortarion and Be'lakor, with some Beasts of Nurgle for even more durability. Does lose Nurgle's Rot, because the Daemon detachment is >25% of PL, but also doesn't super care.
- 4th - Kameron Calabro - Adeptus Custodes: Emperor's Chosen with big Warden units.
- 5th - Morgan Timpy - Tau: Farsight with Riptides and Crisis teams.
- 6th - Alex Dieppa - Iron Hands: Three *clap* big *clap* tanks *clap*.
