Welcome to Competitive Innovations, our weekly feature for a number of game lines across the tabletop wargame space. Each week our army list and tactics experts canvass the top tournaments for their game of specialty, looking at the week’s top match-ups and how they played out on the tabletop to let you know what’s hot, what’s not, and what might be coming next as the competitive meta evolves year-round.

Apologies for the long wait on this one, hopefully it's worth it. The reason is the sheer number of events, first we have two major Games Workshop official events: the GW Open in Tacoma and then the Sigmar Grand Tournament at Warhammer World. Even after than there's four more events all over the world. That's a lot of Sigmar!

Age of Sigmar GT - Warhammer Open Tacoma

98-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Tacoma, WA, United States on July 19 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Mission - Grasp of Thorns

James Terwilliger - Soulblight Gravelords

vs.

Kamran Swanson - Disciples of Tzeentch

Thoughts

Tzeentch is in a bit of a difficult position at the moment. With Obscuring now protecting from offensive spells, good players can exploit that advantage to make it hard for Tzeentch to be effective. But hey, Matt is very good too.

His list goes heavy on Birds, so they can take the fight to the frontlines. Since James' list is so Cav heavy, a lot of it is going to be catching them ahead of a charge or weathering the storm and biting back. This is a hard task against a Soulblight list going full tilt, certainly easier said than done. It's a huge blowout for the Vampires.

Result

Soulblight Gravelords Victory - 80 - 38

James Terwilliger - Soulblight Gravelords - 1st Place

Prince Vhordrai. Credit: Matthew 'chimp' Ward

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Prince Vhordrai and Blood Knights

Thoughts

Prince Vhordrai is, obviously, the big man in this list. When a Vampire unit near him kills a unit, they can get a buff of +1 to attacks, Damage or +2 to move. All very good buffs, and the more opponents they have the better this can pop off. He's an excellent Hammer himself,  with an eyewatering number of high rend and damage attacks and a spell to give him First Strike.

The Vampire Lord, naturally, also helps this by adding +1 to rend, and also reroll charges (or even charge alongside him during a counter-charge). The Deathrattle Skeletons and Vargheists round off the list with sturdy objective grabbers and screens.

Frederick Schmidt - Daughters of Khaine - 2nd Place (Undefeated)

Credit: Dan Richardson

The List

Archetype

Kruthesai and the Witch Aelves

Thoughts

This is pretty close to the standard template for Daughters of Khaine right now. Witch Aelves and Sisters of Slaughter are pretty mediocre on their own but can be buffed to insane levels that make them outdo their point cost. +1 attack from the Slaughter Queen, boosting of the round for Blood Rites from a Priest, +1 Rend from the Bloodwrack Shrine, these all add up. And thanks to Krethusa, killing them just brings them back.

The Lifetakers make excellent Screens and can drop in on objectives. They probably won't survive a fight if they get jumped, but they'll keep the enemy from going after your Witch Aelves that you actually care about.

Carson Whitlock - Ogor Mawtribes - 3rd Place (Undefeated)

photo credit: keewa

The List

Archetype

Foot Ogors

Thoughts

Foot Ogors are deceptively strong right now,  while in general their saves are terrible, it's a lot of wounds to cut through, especially the Gluttons, Ironguts and Mawpack. The Mages make them -1 to be hit and boost their attack by 1. While their 4+ to hit isn't great, they usually can pick up what they need to.

The Gnoblars act as a speed bump to keep the enemy at bay, and they actually can do a fair number of mortal wounds themselves. The bloodpelt Hunter and Ironblaster round out the list by picking off anything that remains stuck out in the open.

The Best of the Rest

There were 5 more players in the top 8. They were:

• 4th - Dylan Therriault - Cities of Sigmar: Freeguild centered list with Command Corps, Fusiliers and Cavaliers.
• 5th - Adam Beautement - Soulblight Gravelords: Radukar and Prince Vhordrai with Vargheists and Barrow Knights.
• 6th - Matthew Davison - Soulblight Gravelords: Lauka Vai with Vargheists, Barrow Knights and Blood Knights.
• 7th - Matt Beasley - Disciples of Tzeentch: See Showdown.
• 8th - Leo Rautonen - Nighthaunt: Guardian of Souls and Awlrach with Mymourn Banshees, Bladegheists and Hexwraiths.

Age of Sigmar Grand Tournament

58-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in England, GB on July 19 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Phil Marshall - Daughters of Khaine

vs.

martin feingold - Skaventide

Thoughts

Skaven usually lean on the Moulder stuff right now, with Rat Ogors and a Brood Horror or two so such a diversion from that is interesting. The Daughters list is also using a lot more Shadowstalkers than usual so it does give quite a bit more mobility.

The primary challenge of assessing these lists is both have a lot of chaff to chew through, and both can bring back dead units. Which means a lot of the game is going to come down to trading objectives chewing through each other's line.

The big pros for the Skaven that probably help push things over the edge is that Stormvermin are ever so slightly hardier  than Witch Aelves, and Slaven have a spell to inflict Strike Last. They also have a number of debuffs to help counter-act the Blood Rites that push them to the stratosphere. Even then a 17 point difference is a lot closer than I'd expect.

Result

Skaventide Victory - 67 - 50

martin feingold - Skaventide - 1st Place

Clanrats. Credit: Rockfish

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Verminus Horde

Thoughts

Stormvermin are a very underrated unit. Even their base statistics aren't even bad, 3 attacks at 3+/4+ Rend -1 Damage 1, that adds up when thrown in large enough numbers. Once you add the buffs available, the brewing really starts kicking in. The Claw-horde subfaction makes them Rend -2, and then even Clanrats can get a few hits in at that point. With Krittok Foulblade you can add +1 to wound with the Filth-Crust Prayer, which really fixes up the only glaring hole in that statblock. The Skavenbrew artefact? That's another attack once per game, when you really need something dead.

Lord Skreech supports the list with spells (most importantly Skitterleap to teleport units, and Warpgale to inflict Strike Last on an enemy unit) and the Plague Monks help slow down a unit to give you time to get in there with the Stormvermin. The Warp Lightning Cannon, of course, helps soften up units from a distance before the charge.

Jean-Baptiste Aymes - Kruleboyz - 2nd Place (Undefeated)

Murknob with Belcha-banna. That Gobbo

The List

Archetype

Kruleboyz Midrange

Thoughts

Pure Kruleboyz are a rare sight, usually dipping into the Ironjawz Regiment of Renown, so this is a nice sight to see!

Obviously the big draw here is all those Gutrippaz. An underated unit (though I would agree still cost too much for what they do), a Reinforced unit gets 40 Crit Mortal attacks and are -1 to be hit, so they can get themselves stuck in for a while as long as the opposition isn't something like a Monster Hero. The boosted Redeploy from the Killaboss and the +1 to charge from the Sloggoth mean they get to pick their battles when it benefits them.

The bows exist to plink at anyone who foolish stays out in the open. They aren't as good as they were, but they can be scary enough to keep opponents from getting too bold. The Vulcha boss is the primary hammer, able to take down most things once the Gutrippaz and Bows soften them up.

The Best of the Rest

There were 6 more players in the top 8. They were:

• 3rd - Yanish Jogoo - Flesh-eater Courts: Ushoran with Morbheg Knights and Crypt Horrors.
• 4th - Phil Marshall - Daughters of Khaine: See Showdown.
• 5th - Benjamin Savva - Stormcast Eternals: Iridan the Witness leads Ruination Chamber.
• 6th - Nicolas Tassone - Daughters of Khaine: Morathi and Krethusa with a mix of Khinerai and Aelves.
• 7th - Mike Martin - Ossiarch Bonereapers: Katakros with Deathriders and Morghast with a Crawler.
• 8th - George Elton - Fyreslayers: Mostly Magmadroths, with a few foot heroes for support.

Feud on the Fens 2025

48-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Brampton, England, United Kingdom on July 19 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Russell Taylor - Daughters of Khaine

vs.

Dan Bradshaw - Sylvaneth

Thoughts

Daughters of Khaine are going to struggle against this one due to the Sylvaneth's ability to gain Strike First relatively easy from the Branchwych. Due to the Elite nature of the list, it's impossible for the Blood Sisters to counter-act this with their Crystal Touch, either. Sylvaneth also have a lot of debuffs to hit and to wound, and since the baseline stats of Aelves are not great that hurts them more than most units.

About the only advantage is number, which is cold comfort when a giant tree man comes in and wrecks your shit.

Result

Sylvaneth Victory - 80 - 31

Dan Bradshaw - Sylvaneth - 1st Place

Sylvaneth Spirit of Durthu. Credit: chimp

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Sylvaneth Hyper Elite

Thoughts

So the first thing to get out of the way is that Scourge of Ghyran Drycha is cracked. Just incredible glow up. 10 Rend 2, Damage 2, crit 2 hit attacks at 3+/2+ base. It even bypasses ward rolls. Killing her is hard too, since your opponent has to choose to either reroll their charge with a -D3 or take a -1 to hit, neither is ideal. Her Warscroll spell is also incredibly powerful, giving +1 to wound and +1 to attack (to most things at least) The new Revenant Seekers can even give her a 5+ ward if she wasn't tanky enough.

Spirit of Durthu and Alarielle are also incredibly strong beat sticks, with Alarielle bringing back dead units (even Monsters!). The Gossamid Archers round things off with a screen that gets a free redeploy after shooting and the Branchwych being a cheap caster that also hands out First Strike to the aforementioned beat sticks.

The Best of the Rest

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

• 2nd - Alex Bruce - Cities of Sigmar: A Freeguild exclusive list with a ton of Command Corps.
• 3rd - Russell Taylor - Daughters of Khaine: See Showdown.
• 4th - Jack Armstrong - Cities of Sigmar: Another Freeguild exclusive list with a ton of Command Corps.
• 5th - Kieron Allender - Nighthaunt: Kurdross leading some dual Black Coaches and Banshees.
• 6th - Mike Stewart - Stormcast Eternals: A ruination Chamber list lead by the new Iridan the Witness.
• 7th - Krzysztof Zylawy - Blades of Khorne: Foot hero centric mortal list.
• 8th - Max Barton - Maggotkin of Nurgle: New Rotigus with Blightlords.

Thunderstrike GT 3!

34-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Estevan, SK, Canada on July 19 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Mission - Roiling Roots

Michael Nonomura - Seraphon

vs.

Michael Simeon - Nighthaunt

Thoughts

As with all fights with Nighthaunt, the Seraphon's chances come down to two things: outplaying (or tanking) their charges, and successfully rolling hot on the dice (or they roll poorly). The saves on most of the dinos aren't great, save for the bastiladon of course, but they do have a lot of wounds so tanking a few hits isn't off the table, but you don't want to push your luck.

The real trick here is just how many mortal wounds they can dish out, the one thing Nighthaunt cannot easily deflect. While they can give a 5+ ward, the Starseer can shut that off their warscroll spell, which probably is a major reason for their success. the Seraphon just kill it here with one of the widest points gaps we've seen.

Result

Seraphon Victory - 75 - 32

Michael Nonomura - Seraphon - 1st Place

Saurus Scar Veteran on Carnosaur. Credit: Becklespinax

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Stompy Dinos

Thoughts

Ever since AOS launched, man has had a dream: To play Stompy Dinos in the Stompy Dino faction. There have been flirting with it (remember 1+ Save Bastiladons?) but ever since 3rd they haven't been quite as good as their heyday and most settle for a Spellslinger build.

Scourge of Ghyran did the impossible and made possibly the first ever actually good Carnosaur warscroll. This thing is a unit. 4 Damage claws and 5 damage jaws when going into injured units, support for Aggradon Lancers (one of the best hammers in the army) and old school Roar because why not?

Most of the rest of the list continues the theme, with the Skink Oracle on Troglodon, Ark of Sotek Bastiladon, Stegadons and Engine of the Gods being different variety of Beat Stick. The Starseer may seem like an odd man out but it is key to shutting off Ward Saves, the only thing that stops those Mortal Wounds from going Straight through high defense units.

The Best of the Rest

There were 5 more players on X-1 records. They were:

• 2nd - Cameron Tataryn - Fyreslayers: All Magmadroths (oh and one unit of Berzerkers)
• 3rd - Daytond Obre - Slaves to Darkness: Legion of the First Prince with Be'lakor and Eternus with a collection of demons.
• 4th - Karl Munro - Hedonites of Slaanesh: Glutos with Seekers and Blissbarb Seekers.
• 5th - Michael Simeon - Nighthaunt: See Showdown.
• 6th - Brennan Hepner - Kruleboyz: Gobbsprakk with a midrange list that uses practically every part of the book.

La classique d'été (AOS)

32-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Sherbrooke, Québec, CA on July 19 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Loic Gosselin Delort - Kharadron Overlords

vs.

Anthony Bouchard - Sylvaneth

Thoughts

Sylvaneth are one of those armies with a high skill ceiling but also a high skill floor. If the player isn't very good, the army won't last long. If they are good, you will never get the chance to do any real damage to them. If you're in the showdown, chances are you're pretty good.

While KO tend to struggle against all the obscuring in the new season, this one has enough melee and movement shenanigans of their own to stand up to the Sylvaneth's teleportation. So in both cases we're looking at very technical-minded players using their army's movement capabilities to their fullest to outmaneuver each other. It really could go either way and it certainly seems to get there. A huge nailbiter, the difference came down to a single point!

Result

Kharadron Overlords Victory - 54 - 53

Loic Gosselin Delort - Kharadron Overlords - 1st Place

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Mid-range Dwarves

Thoughts

We've seen KO scrap close to a 5-0 but usually fall short on the last round. In short they're surprisingly good against many armies right now, they just often get shuttered out in the last round against something that trumps them. So now we have a chance to talk about them.

KO lost a bit of an advantage with shooting this season, since the abundance of Obscuring terrain (and the changes to how the rule works) means a volley of just shooting struggles. However, the army has good melee, it just often has to be set up well. Like a Frigate with the new Battle Ram upgrade doing Mortal Wounds on the charge and then a unit of Arkaunauts or Sky Company is dumped out into melee range. The Thunderers still exist to offer some shooting support, because hey, they can't hide forever.

The Aether-Khemist is a powerful buff machine that adds +1 to rend for shooting attacks and -1 to be hit to a unit, which further pushes their danger. Brokk also adds +1 to attacks which is huge for Sky Companies trying to finish off a wounded unit.

The Best of the Rest

There were 5 more players on 4-1 records. They were:

• 2nd - Frederic Bigras-Burrogano - Soulblight Gravelords: Radukar and Prince Vhordrai with Foot and Cavalry vampires.
• 3rd - Anthony Bouchard - Sylvaneth: See Showdown.
• 4th - Justin Lapointe - Kruleboyz: Kragnos and oh lord that's a lot of Monsta Killaz.
• 5th - Gabriel Samson - Maggotkin of Nurgle: Rotigus with Blightkings and a Demon Prince.
• 6th - Guillaume Caza - Lumineth Realm-lords: A Vanari focused list with Ellania and Ellathor with Bladelords, Sentinels and Dawnriders. Plus an Enlightener and Light of Eltharion. Callis and Toll guest star.

Age of Sigmar Grimnir's Revenge GT 2025

29-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Coraopolis, PA, US on July 19 2025. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Preston Schlagel - Cities of Sigmar

vs.

Jake Myers - Flesh-eater Courts

Thoughts

Honestly had you asked me blind, I would have assumed COS had this handedly, not get blown out by a rather large margin. Cities have a lot more tricks to pull in opponent's movement phases to constantly shift the board, and FEC are far from bad but while they have their own tech tricks they tend to be a bit more straightforward.

That said, both armies are very Cav heavy which probably gives a clue to where things went here. Morbheg knights are strong Cavalry and importantly, cannot be locked down in combat, as they can retreat and charge. They also can fly, allowing them to maneuver into position against the Hurricanums attempting to ping them from behind enemy lines.

In short, this list matchup primed FEC to be able to outflank the normally unflankable COS and secure a huge victory.

Result

Flesh-eater Courts Victory - 75 - 45

Jake Myers - Flesh-eater Courts - 1st Place

Ushoran, Mortarch of Delusion. Credit: chimp

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Ushoran and his Entourage

Thoughts

Ushoran is the locus of this army, obviously. With Feeding Frenzy being extended to 24", that's pretty much just a board Wide +1 attack. On the heavy hitters like Morbheg Knights, Crypt Horrors and the Courtiers, they can shred through most units like paper. This is even before getting into some of the excellent Spell and Prayer buffs like Deranged Transformation for +1 to wound.

The Best of the Rest

There were 6 more players on 4-1 records. They were:

• 2nd - Preston Schlagel - Cities of Sigmar: See Showdown.
• 3rd - Michael Rausch - Blades of Khorne: That is um, a lot of Exalted Deathbringers.
• 4th - Ben Klos - Maggotkin of Nurgle: New Rotigus with Blightkings and Blightlords with a Demon Prince.
• 5th - Walter Brock - Lumineth Realm-lords: Avalenor with Alarith themed troops
• 6th - Rob Mulshine - Disciples of Tzeentch: Lord of Change with a menagerie of demons.

Wrap Up

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