Annnnd we’re back for round 2 of “Why did we let Falcon write this?” The game where we let Falcon write BOTH parts of competitive innovations to give Wings a break and instead of doing that he just made up bad song lyrics in the middle of the night while drinking cognac and koolaid like a responsible adult. I’m sure at least half of this is coherent and insightful and only a little bit rude or belittling. He definitely still tried to do the song thing so take from that what you will.

Today we'll be looking at:

• Atomic City Warzone
• 2D6 GT
• Corsair Open GT
• Lightly Salted Fall GT
• Bunker Down GT

If you're looking for any of the following events, go check out Part 1 from Wednesday:

• Baltic Cup X (Major)
• Warhammer World Matched Play Event (Major)
• The San Antonio Shootout (Major)
• Denver Fight Club
• Team Stonehammer’s Protect Ya Neck GT

Atomic City Warzone

41-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Pasco, Washington, US on November 12 2022. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Ryan Lynn - Forces of the Hive Mind - 1st Place

Zoanthropes. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Archetype

Bad Blood - Taylor Swift

Final Round Matchup

95 - 40 Victory against Max Schwarzer - Chaos Daemons.

Thoughts

Take a look at what you’ve done. Just when we thought that everyone had put their masses of Tyranid Warriors away where we would never have to see them again, Ryan Lynn comes out from under the ring with a steel chair labeled ‘Hive Fleet Behemoth Bitches’ and just starts laying out the competition.

That’s right, Hive Fleet Behemoth, the other other white meat in the Tyranids codex, starts to really get its due in a list meant to take advantage of the Unparalleled Ferocity stratagem and a series of psychic tools to mortally wound and punch its way to victory, even in death. Direct Guidance, combined with Hyper-Aggression means 1 big unit of beefy bois is always punching up and swapping in Synaptic Ganglia, throwing Voracious Ammunition on the Sporocyst and tossing in a small GSC patrol with a Magus carrying the unwilling orb means that this list is more psychically proficient than one would expect just walking up to the table. ‘Slaps hood’ This baby can dish out a very respectable amount of targeted mortals.’ Now we got problems, and I don’t think we can solve them…baby now we’ve got bad blood. Gosh I love Taylor Swift.

The Best of the Rest

There were 7 more players on 4-1 records. They were:

• 2nd - Max Schwarzer - Chaos Daemons: Monster Mash with Be'lakor, a Lord of Change and two upgraded Bloodthirsters.
• 3rd - Joel Rodgers - Grey Knights: Rapiers with max Interceptors and a couple of Dreadknights.
• 4th - Donald Plummer - T'au Empire: Heavy Tau Sept with two Riptides and two Sun Sharks, a big Crisis unit, and lots of Commanders.
• 5th - Lukas Troller - Dogwalker: Herpetrax Dogwalker.
• 6th - Tyler Bortel - Hive Mind: Naturalised Camouflage Behemoth aiming at making a bunch of Tyrant Guard a complete nightmare to shift, then to use GSC units for harrassment and one big swing with a rock drill squad.
• 7th - Danny McDevitt - Leagues of Votann: Ymyr goodstuff with two mean beam machine Land Fortresses.
• 8th - Nicholas Ohlsen-Johnson - Leagues of Votann: Ymyr goodstuff with *looks down* two mean beam machine Land Fortresses.

2D6 GT

40-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Oslo, NO on November 12 2022. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Sveinung Nøding - Hive Fleet Kraken - 1st Place

Old One Eye. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Archetype

Old One Eye One Horm 2 Flying Purple People Eaters

Final Round Matchup

86 - 58 Victory against Eirik Kristoffersen - Adepta Sororitas.

Thoughts

This is just too perfect, the archetype writes itself. Yes, we have more Kraken. Who would have thought that Tyranids would still be this good with such varied lists after what feels like 600 years since their codex dropped. This list takes Kraken’s extra speed and flies with it. Harpies, Raveners, Gargoyles, and Flyrant make for threats from turn 1 forward that mean that Sveinung is able to dictate the pace of the game immediately. Sprinkle in Old One Eye as a fullback that can hold the midboard should you need to be more aggressive with the ever-present Reaper Hive Tyrant and you have a tasty stew that will run through you faster than a Tim Horton’s coffee in the wee hours of the morning.

Jonathan Arkin - Adeptus Custodes - 2nd Place

Custodes Contemptor-Achillus Dreadnought. Credit: Pendulin

The List

Archetype

Duel of the Fates

Thoughts

Shadowkeepers Custodes centered around 2 characters kitted to duel to the death. The Emperor’s Champion here is a great character/elite killer strutting around with Lockwarden to ignore the opponent’s invulnerable saves and Eagle’s Eye to live through that 1 crucial round of combat while combining Radiant Mantle, Superior Creation, and Stasis Oubliette on your Jet Bike Captain gives you a character that just FEELS like a true Custodian. Top the list off with a handful of Bikes and 1 lone Caladius Grav Tank and you have a great tempo army that can disrupt opponents JUST long enough to pull off wins.

The Best of the Rest

There were 7 more players on 4-1 records. They were:

• 3rd - Rasmus Valand Fredriksen - Tau: Farsight Enclave all-in on three big Crisis blocks.
• 4th - Eirik Kristoffersen - Adepta Sororitas: Bloody Rose Goodstuff going slightly more durable than normal, packing two full Sacresant units, three Rhinos and some Paragons.
• 5th - Peter Pay - Chaos Daemons: A Bloodthirster and Be'lakor in charge of a bunch of Flamers and troops.
• 6th - Eirik Eirik - Adeptus Mechanicus: Agripinaa Veteran Cohort with two big Skitarii Ranger units and ten Ironstriders to ruin people's days with Verse of Vengeance, with various small-medium melee units to fill.
• 7th - Sondre Skår - Creations of Bile & Daemons: A full Possessed brick with the Black Rune and lots of Chosen/Flamers.
• 8th - Lasse Ulven Pedersen - Blood Angels: Go-wide Blood Angels with some Scouts in a Storm for early objective play.
• 9th - Patrick Woods - Creations of Bile: Creations of Bile going a bit wider than normal, cutting the Terminator unit in favour of Chosen to free up points to squeeze in an extra Daemon Prince.

Corsair Open GT

31-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in München, BY, DE on November 12 2022. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Matchup & Mission - The Scouring

Jens Gottfried - Genestealer Cult

vs.

Christoph Jäcksch - Harlequins

Thoughts

Close combat GSC vs Light Harlies. In the land before dataslates I would say that this match was one that our poor unionized friends would find impossible to keep up with, starweavers would easily outmaneuver the massed acolytes, but in a world where the clowns of light have had their wings clipped ever so slightly there is a chance. If the Ridgerunners and Rockgrinders can pick off enough starweavers early in the game while the Harlies set in position there is a world where GSC can dictate the flow of the game and use the no man’s land to their advantage to properly apply drills to face. That said, Christoph has gone all in on troupes here and 40 flippy lads and lasses are a LOT for this GSC list to chew through effectively and it is very limited in its tools it can use to pick up multiple troupes in a turn.

Result

Harlequins Victory - 97 - 66

Christoph Jäcksch - Harlequins - 1st Place

Credit: Ben Hampshire

The List

Archetype

Send in the Clowns

Final Round Matchup

97 - 66 Victory against Jens Gottfried - Genestealer Cult.

Thoughts

The Clowns are dead, long live the Clowns. When Light gives you lemons, just take more of them, or something. There isn’t much to say about this list that hasn’t been said a hundred times before. Where are the clowns? Send in the clowns. Don’t bother, they’re already here

The Best of the Rest

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

• 2nd - Manuel Wayand - Hive Fleet Kraken: Pressure build with 3x3 Zoanthropes and two units of Raveners for the Swarmlord to send into battle souped up with ObSec.
• 3rd - Jens Gottfried - Genestealer Cult: See showdown.
• 4th - Thomas Kroemmer - Craftworlds & Harlequins: Small Aspect units and Psykers backed up by a fairly hefty Light Saedath Harlequin contingent with two Troupes, some Characters and some bikes.
• 5th - Thomas Urban - Necrons: Shooty Eternal Expansionists with Scarabs and Wraiths screening two Lokhust units with Doom Scythes soaring overhead.

PCG Hosts Lightly Salted’s 40K Fall GT

29-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Sandy, UT, US on November 12 2022. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Matchup & Mission - Tide of Conviction

Marshall Peterson - Leagues of Votann

vs.

Chris Vaughan - Emperor's Children

Thoughts

Well well well, how the turn tables. An interesting match-up here as the now fully powered and practically untested Leagues of Voltann are set to go toe-to-toe with a list that has made its mark repeatedly on the competitive scene. We’ve all seen what this EC list is capable of in the right hands, Noise Marines provide ample firepower and incredible backfield potential, while Lucius, Abaddon and the incredible strength of Flawless Perfection make manipulating melee a breeze.

That said, this Votann list is absolutely built around doing similar things. Going Kronus Hegemony instead of the so far more popular Ymyr Conglomerate means every swing is going to count when the short kings and queens get up close and personal. Multiple Mole Launchers allow Marshall to comfortably apply Fight Last and slow the movement of key units with Subterranean Explosives so that his juiced up Einhyr Champion with Exemplary Hero and High Kahl with Flayre can get their hits in, while all those beautiful Beserks just ignore the problems entirely. Tide of Conviction really helps Voltann here as it feels like it would lower the clock on the Beserk problem by a full round. This is a matchup that feels amazing on paper but can easily get out of hand for either player. The last thing Chris would want is for his Terminators to either be slowed into obscurity or struck by a squad of Beserks at the wrong time

Result

Leagues of Votann Victory - 97 - 37

Marshall Peterson - Leagues of Votann - 1st Place

The List

Archetype

Short People

Final Round Matchup

97 - 37 Victory against Chris Vaughan - Emperor's Children.

Thoughts

The short kings make their first real mark on competitive four tee kay with a real slobberknocker of a list. You can see the showdown for my highlights on what makes it tick. Marshall made his list and I am sure he checked his codex twice. He found out what was naughty and nice and then chose to run it this way anyway. While having 0 Hekaton Siege Potatoes in the list does make this bird sad, they are a costly addition that really shapes the way the rest of the army plays. By taking Sagitaurs instead, Marshall does open more points for the utility of a Hearthguard squad that can fill a number of roles. May this be the start of a revolution.

The Best of the Rest

There were 3more players on 4-1 records. They were:

• 2nd - Derek Holder - Adeptus Custodes: Emissaries Imperatus with a big of everything - Sagittarum, Achillus Dreads and Bikes, the Fulminaris Aggressor to switch off enemy defences, and a Caladius to finish.
• 3rd - Thomas Knight - Imperial Knights: Freeblade Lance with an Errant leading lots of Armigers.
• 4th - Chris Vaughan - Emperor's Children: See showdown.

Bunker Down GT

28-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Red Bluff Battle Reports, Red Bluff, CA, United States on November 12 2022. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Adam Dye - Chaos - 1st Place

Be'lakor - Credit: RichyP

The List

Archetype

Ring of Fire

Final Round Matchup

90 - 54 Victory against Chris Forkner - Emperor's Children.

Thoughts

Well I fell into a burning ring of Flamers. I went down, down, down, and the Flamer numbers went higher. And it burns, burns, burns, that ring of Flamers.

It makes sense that we’d end this article talking about a list that evidently wants to watch the world burn. Belakor, Ahriman, Flamers, Deathshroud and Plagueburst crawlers, just a weird Mark Perry wet dream with all of the nuance of an old diaper tied to a stick and swung around your head with reckless abandon. It makes me both enraged that I didn’t get to play it yet and excited to not be in range of the repercussions. Just breathe it in everyone, let it soak into your bones. I don’t want to go into any details of the strategy behind this because there is none that you can’t make out for yourselves.

The Best of the Rest

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

• 2nd - Forrest Phanton - Space Wolves Successors: Lots of Wulfen and Wolf Guard to smash through the enemy.
• 3rd - Treynor Wolfe - Ynnari: Big Foot Troupes with a Webway Gate, then a bunch of melee Aspects and Shroud Runners to pick targets off, the Yncarne, and two full D-cannon blocks to annihilate stuff.
• 4th - Larry DeTomasi - Harlequins: Dark Saedath with a big troupe and lots of Voidweavers to blow the enemy up if they try and stay at arm's reach.
• 5th - Chris Forkner - Emperor's Children: Noise Marines, Terminators and Venomcrawlers.

Wrap Up

That’s all for this week. It’s been a treat. See you next time when I valiantly try to make CI into an extended metaphor for the fall of western civilization by alluding to episodes of Big Bad Beetle Borgs. Buh-bye.

Wings: Thanks Falcon for stepping up, and readers see you next week.