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Competitive Innovations in 9th: Our Metagame Yearns for Freedom pt.2
- Down Under 40K Major (major)
- Fools Errand 2023
- Perils of the Geekery
- Open War GT
- Midgard April
- Firebug Open 2023 (major)
- Gameology Pasadena Battle for Los Angeles GT (major)
- GT Logroño
- Bristol Vanquish
- Tabletop Republic presents Warzone: Wycombe 2023
Down Under 40k Major
98-player, 6-round Grand Tournament in Medowie, NSW AU on March 31 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.Erik Lathouras - Genestealer Cult - 1st Place
GSC Rockgrinders. Credit - Soggy
The List
Archetype
Rusted Claw VehiclesFinal Round Matchup
98 - 72 Victory against Christopher Wright - Space Wolves.Thoughts
The pioneer himself, Erik Lathouras continues to show GSC players the way forwards by leaning in to my favourite sub faction, the Rusted Claw. I've been back experimenting with this again myself in recent weeks as it offers some answers (or at least mitigating assistance) for the current meta game. Rusted Claw reduces enemy ap 1 and 2 by one to help limit enemy artillery fire, and also offers advance and charge shooting.With the cult specific Drive By Demolitions stratagem those small squads of Jackals can also double tap at range with demo charges, helping you to squeeze the most out of a unit that can no longer rely on durability in numbers in a shooting and artillery rich environment. That They Came Below, usually entrusted to ten purestrains, has been given to one of these squads highlights the thinking - sneak a demo charge toting squad up the board, and nuke something important, be that a tank, or a big squad of guys with T-shirt launchers... or hide them if you go second! The Patriarch makes an appearance here because Erik is a hero, and with the Rusted Claw trait Entropic Touch he really does go up a level in terms of melee output.
Having relied heavily on the ap 2 of Seismic Cannons for quite awhile now, GSC are struggling a little with the return of marines and storm shields, and the Inescapable Decay psychic power of Rusted Claw once again has a fix, increasing the ap of your attacks against a target unit by 1. In a marine and artillery heavy meta Rusted Claw is more viable and useful than it has been for some time, and I am quietly relieved to see a player of Erik's calibre vindicating my own thoughts on the subject. Expect to see more of this, especially if the Custom Cults take a deserved hit in the dataslate. Great work Erik, and thanks as ever for your guiding contribution to the faction!!
Will Milton - Dark Angels - 2nd Place
Credit: Greg Chiasson
The List
Archetype
Dark Angels DesolationThoughts
Dark Angels good. Desolation Marines good. Both together, strong! This self proclaimed 'Unga Bunga' list from Will hits all the right notes by offering a balanced and flexible game plan without diluting the things that make the 1st Legion so strong at this moment in time. Talonmasters and Desolators make Codex Warfare trivial to score, and multiple spare Land Speeders ensure that mobility secondaries like Behind Enemy Lines remain accessible as the sheer durability of the Terminators and the raw output of the vengaboys do the rest. This list can score high and demolish opponents, and Will has piloted it to perfection here. Great work.Matt Morosoli - Chaos Daemons - 3rd Place
Credit: Svbfloorvg
The List
Archetype
Daemons Combined ArmsThoughts
Matt continues his fantastic recent run with Chaos Daemons here, combining a couple of tastefully chosen big monsters with all the right supporting utility. Skarbrand and the phase-capped Thirster continue to present enormous challenges for armies dependent on a limited number of phases to do damage, and trapping tricks to buy their smaller and squishier brethren some breathing space. It's nice to see that Seekers and their innate +1 to charge continue to find a place in the army here, with the minimum squad with an icon a nice way of having another good delivery piece that can find an opening and get stuck in with full rerolls. Flamers seem to have been scaled back in favour of raw melee potential, but this is an army that, played well, can put the complete shut down on the unwary. Awesome stuff!!Christopher Wright - Space Wolves - 4th Place
Rainbow Warriors Judiciar by Craig "MasterSlowPoke" Sniffen
The List
Archetype
Go-Wide Space WolvesThoughts
Chris builds on the break out success of MSU Space Wolves that has come to prominence in recent weeks, amalgamating a lot of the units we've seen elsewhere with some astute tech pieces that have worked well for other Astartes factions. Land Speeder Storms offer reach and the means to punk things from round corners, and the two small squads of Aggressors bring brawling potential but also a nice shooting option to outflank and pick up exposed positions from as the faster melee units stage and do the heavy lifting. It feels like Space Wolves are extremely strong right now as long as you spread the threats wide and play a focused, agressive game, with Keen Senses giving them just enough of a shooting buff to slug it out at range as they close in on the place they really like to be- in the opponents lines, hitting them repeatedly in the face. Well done on the placing Chris!The Best of the Rest
There were 6 more players on 4-1 records. They were:- 5th - Adam Napier - Astra Militarum: Born Soldiers goodstuff with some Scions and a Taurox.
- 6th - Alexander Englezos - Adeptus Mechanicus: Mars Ad Mech with a range of vehicles, some melee troops, a bunch of Dragoons and some Helverins support. Lovely entry in the empty troops section where Alexander has just said 'none lol'. None lol indeed.
- 7th - Taylor Hill - Tau: Tau Sept with two Crisis teams, double Breacher Devilfish squads and the usual Commanders and Hammerhead.
- 8th - Oliver Johnson - Leagues of Votann: A rare outing for the Urani-Surtr Regulates, with two tooled up Einhyr Champions for punting stuff into the sun. EPIC.
- 9th - Joshua Brodie - Chaos Daemons: Go-wide Daemons with loads of bodies and no big monsters, and Daemon Prince with Corruption for slapping hard targets.
- 10th - Jack Blanche - Adeptus Custodes: MSU Emperor's Chosen with three squads of bikers.
Fools Errand 2023
56-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Calgary, AB CA on April 01 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.The Showdown
Matchup & Mission - Tyranids vs. Custodes - Unknown Mission
Ozzie Meloche - Hive Fleet Gorgon: Gorgon death by a thousand cuts.vs.
Thomas Walker - Adeptus Custodes: Emissaries Sagittarum and Dreads.
Thoughts
Tyranids eh? I'll allow it. Hive Fleet Gorgon have steadily become a favourite of the Tyranid community in recent times, with a playstyle centred around amping up some Hormagaunts via the mortal wounds of Poisonous Influence and the Adaptive Toxins Gorgon offers, and yeeting them in to trade efficiently and block up space. Double shooty Tyrants bring up the rear and lay down fire, protected by their cute little turtle mates. Ozzie has thrown in a lot of nasty supporting shooting in the form of Tyrannofexes and Pyrovores to ensure that enemy forces that manage to push through the 'gaunt screening are met with a hail of lovely burny goop. Nids are in a rough spot with some drastically overcosted units and many of their best tools trimmed down or errata'd away, but underestimate them at your peril, especially when they get first turn to work their magic with this build.On the Custodes side, I imagine it will have crossed Thomas's mind at least once during this game that he wished he had Emperor's Chosen. This Emissaries Imperatus build throws out a lot of fire from the Saggitarum and Dreadnoughts, but mortal wounds are more of an issue for it than they would otherwise be. It's one of those sad cases where experimenting away from the done thing probably hurts it, and there is a reason EC were so dominant during the Tyranid heyday.
This event used player placed terrain, and the mission was chosen just before the round which sadly means I don't know what it was. Player placed is nice for both factions, who like to build staging positions for themselves to get up the board safely. Both sides have the melee punch and guns to hurt the other in this match up, so it becomes a little bit about who can cut angles and use reserves most astutely, but the extra speed, reach, and psychic output of the Tyranids gives them an edge into a foe that isn't as able to absorb it and protect their low wound count army from taking a battering, and that looks to have carried the day here.
Result
Hive Fleet Gorgon Victory - 98 - 64Ozzie Meloche - Hive Fleet Gorgon - 1st Place
Hive Tyrant. Credit: Rockfish
The List
See ShowdownArchetype
Final Round Matchup
98 - 64 Victory against Thomas Walker - Adeptus Custodes.Thoughts
As unpacked in the showdown, Gorgon bring mortal wounds, forward pressure, and the means to pin in the opponent as the slower monsters get into position. It's an excellent choice for Tyranid players looking to maximise board presence and spoil opposing schemes, and it gets the absolute most out of previously under-utilised Hormagaunts, who remain far too cool to leave out. Great work Ozzie!!Gord Weppler - Aeldari - 2nd Place (Undefeated)
Guardian Defenders. Credit: Rockfish
The List
Archetype
Hail of DoomThoughts
Eldar are a cerebral, multi-faceted army. Hail of Doom, not so much. This excellent list from Gord throws millions of Shuriken at you from every conceivable angle, drowning you in auto-wounding, high ap shooting on cheap, disposable platforms. 27 Shuriken Cannon Wind Riders bring an absurd gut punch, but playing around their fragility is key to success and I'd anticipate at least some of these start in reserves to make sure they do their job. Triple Farseers ensure all of the very best powers are represented here and every bit of efficiency and mortal wound output is squeezed out on the path to victory. Congratulations on the placing and going undefeated Gord!The Best of the Rest
There were 8 more players on 4-1 records. They were:- 3rd - Riley Tremblay - Asuryani: A techier, Ulthwe build with undeniable powers, amped up D-Cannons and a lot of Aspect Warriors.
- 4th - Thomas Walker - Adeptus Custodes: The Shooty Imperatus build from the showdown.
- 5th - Adam Green - Astra Militarum: Born Soldiers goodstuff with a slab of Bullgryn as counter-punch.
- 6th - Brandon Powell - Adeptus Mechanics: Mars with a couple of Breacher slabs, and lots of supporting shooting. Let us know how core is working out for the Breachers Brandon, our ratio of long Goonhammer articles written about Breachers to people actually using them is still about 1:1!
- 7th - Morgan Smerek - Ultramarines: Triple Volkite Contempors, Triple Desolation Squads, Gulliman. Fricking yikes.
- 8th - Shawn Ford - World Eaters: Kharn, some War Dogs, tonnes of Eightbound, and three Rapier Carriers for some added shooting.
- 9th - Nathan Sgrazzutti - Black Legion: Abaddon and the Terminators reunite for a comeback gig, with a big slab of Bikers for forward pressure.
- 10th - Barrett Gibb - Emperor's Children: An innovative EC build with triple Decimators, plenty of Noise Marines and two Warpsmiths to fix stuff up on the fly.
Perils Of The Geekery
40-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Shawnee, Kansas US on April 02 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.Dan Sammons - Iron Hands - 1st Place
Reiver LT. Credit: Corrode
The List
Archetype
Iron Hands DesolationFinal Round Matchup
99 - 87 Victory against Kyle McCord - Astra Militarum.Thoughts
Iron Hands good. Desolation Marines good. Both together, strong! A brutal take on Iron Hands that marries the artillery threat of the Desolation Squads to seal up one of the few weaknesses they previously had, and clean up accordingly. No fat on this at all, with only a solitary Lieutenant to compliment the innate rerolls to hit. All killer, no filler. Great work on the top placing Dan!The Best of the Rest
There were 6 more players on 4-1 records. They were:- 2nd - Broc Bowman - World Eaters: Lord Invocatus rush with supporting War Dogs.
- 3rd - Kyle McCord - Astra Militarum: Born Soldiers Goodstuff with TWO ROGAL DORNS AHHH.
- 4th - Jeremy Capko - Iron Hands: Iron Hands Goodstuff with a solitary Brutalis getting a run out cause he's neat.
- 5th - Calvin Smith - World Eaters: Lord Invocatus rush with supporting War Dogs 2.0
- 6th - Matt Neeley - Orks: Goff pressure with a lot of Trukks and Kill Rigs to get the boyz to da good bits.
- 7th - Kyle Lamperez - Iron Hands: Iron Hands goodstuff with THREE Techmarines for fixing stuff.
Open War GT 2-day
36-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Memphis, TN US on April 01 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.Wings Note: Despite the title this was not, in fact, an Open War event - it was using the Arks pack. Don't worry, we checked. TOs who want to purchase event name SEO services, our rates are very
Steven Crawley - Astra Militarum - 1st Place
Rogal Dorn Battle Tank. Credit: Scott Horras "Heresy"
The List
Archetype
Born Soldiers Rogal DornstuffFinal Round Matchup
100 - 91 Victory against Andy Patton - World Eaters.Thoughts
I got very excited about a guard list with two Rogal Dorn tanks about 5 seconds ago, and then Steven goes and one ups it immediately with three! Rogal Dorns are a bit like busses- they're massive and I wish the current meta would get run over by one. This list has guns for days, all the right supporting notes to make them sing, and three T9 tanks to just roll forwards and cause nightmares for the opponent as the rest gets to work. Its a beautiful thing and I'd love to see some photos of Steven trying to navigate these bad boys through ruins. Very well done on the first place!The Best of the Rest
There were 6 more players on 4-1 records. They were:- 2nd - Andy Patton - World Eaters: Lord Invocatus rush with some rhinos and spawn alongside the infantry.
- 3rd - Pedro Reyes - Genestealer Cult: Pauper Princes Neophyte horde with Biophagus support for the bikes.
- 4th - Jeremy Stan - Adeptus Custodes: Emperor's Chosen with two Caladius!
- 5th - Marcus Glowczak - World Eaters: Lord Invocatus rush with War Dog support. Love the solitary Blood Slaughter for harpoon action.
- 6th - Michael Black - Black Templars: Michael may presently wish his surname had been 'Dark', or 'Iron', but he soldiers on with his namesakes, smashing it with Impulsor rush Templars.
Midgard April 2023 40k ITC GRAND Tournament
29-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Derry, NH US on April 01 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.The Showdown
Matchup & Mission - Tau vs. Aeldari on Abandoned Sanctuaries
Drew Salzborn - T'au Empire: Tau Sept Tanks.vs.
Cullen Burns - Aeldari: Ulthwe Shroud Runner/Phoenix Lord spam.
Thoughts
Alright then! No marines or guard in sight here, but a smattering of artillery makes an appearance regardless, highlighting just how meta warping the past few months have been in pushing Xenos of all stripes to adopt new strategies and weapons in the fight to stay relevant. On the Tau side we have a truckload of Pathfinders, Firewarriors and Kroot in Tau Sept ready to go and die on the line or pop up from reserves as requried. Behind that is a frankly staggering gunline of vehicles, with triple Hammerheads, Longstrike, and Skyrays throwing out an enormous amount of firepower. For all the threat these pose, they are fragile, and I am very curious what the delivery strategy here was, as it feels at least some of it has to come in from reserves to ensure the rest can be safely hidden turn one. It shoots hard, it completely ditches Crisis Teams, and it packs plenty of bodies for playing the mission. Nice to see such an unusual build!On the Aldaeri side, it turns out that Shroudrunners are really good, and enjoying a belated rise to tabletop glory just as their Atalan Jackal cousins did for GSC thanks to pre-game move shenanigans and an absolutely deluge of scatter laser shots. A one-two punch of Striking Scorpions on the line and Dire Avengers from reserves can follow these up, and the presence of multiple Phoenix Lords ensures that Wrath of Khaine is a viable secondary choice (indeed, into the many fragile Tau units and the mono-phase nature of the opposition the Phoenix Lords start to look very, very crucial in this tie). Ulthwe still boasts the greatest versatility of the Aldaeri factions, bringing added resilience, mortal wound protection and additional offence, very relevant here on the D-Cannons.
The mission was Abandoned Sanctuaries which absolutely wrecks the Aldaeri game plan of throwing a terrifying amount of stuff at you from turn one, but it looks like the fragility of the Tau infantry and Vehicles simply wasn't able to stand up to the speed and ability to cut angles that the Aldaeri possess even with the added time that this bought them.
Result
Aeldari Victory - 90 - 43Cullen Burns - Aeldari - 1st Place
Eldar Support Weapon - D-Cannon. Credit: Rockfish
The List
See ShowdownArchetype
Final Round Matchup
90 - 43 Victory against Drew Salzborn - T'au Empire.Thoughts
Explored above, Cullen's list has tonnes of Shroudrunners and all the best supporting characters in the form of D-Cannons and Aspect Warriors. It packs an enormous alpha strike, has weapons for all of the current meta favourites, and a strong secondary game to boot. Really well done!The Best of the Rest
There were 5 more players on 4-1 records. They were:- 2nd - Drew Salzborn - T'au Empire: See showdown.
- 3rd - Todd Plourde - Dark Angels: Dark Angels Terminators with Desolation Marines.
- 4th - William York - 'Catachan Jungle Fighters': One for the archive of 'cunning clever players who mislabel what they're bringing', William brought Born Soldiers Goodstuff but pretended they were Catachans. Not so much as Sly Marbo in sight, booooo.
- 5th - Casey Glynn - Adeptus Astartes: A very scary Iron Hands Goodstuff list.
- 6th - Cary Gould - Chaos Daemons: Absolutely glorious Chaos Daemon monster mash with colour coding for the Greater Daemons in the list itself. Amazing. You deserve nice things Cary.
