A great number of tournaments happened over the weekend, including an especially large event in Canada. Three tournaments made our normal 28-player cutoff, and Alice has also joined in this week to take a look at Warpstone Wars, since although it only had 25 players, it had some high-profile attendees. Let's crack on.

Grand Clash

A two-day, five-round event which took place in Shawinigan, Canada. It was a 117 player event and you can find the lists for this event at BCP. 

The Showdown

Idoneth Deepkin VS Blades of Khorne - Battleplan Unknown

Deepkin - Lou Bergeron - Who cares about Eels or Sharks or Akhelian King cruise missiles, Lou longs for the simpler things in life - to see the enemy driven before him and a big ass turtle.



Khorne - Kevin Lemieux-Gagnon - Skarbrand and the boys have come to party, as this is all about the Bloodthirsters and buffing them up to do the business. Potentially activating one BT from 6" away and another one fighting twice, this can be a handful for many armies that rely on the combat phase to function - particularly when the Khorne DP is here to disrupt enemy charges.

Thoughts

A rather atypical matchup of elven wits against chaos brawn, as both bring tricks and tech that makes them more than meets the eye. Kevin can really punish Lou with strong charges, as many of his units are capable of doing fantastic damage to low armour save units (something Lou is almost entirely consisting of) and he has the mortal wound output to handle the turtle. He can also dictate combat engagements as long as he can keep his Khorne DP alive, as Bloodslicked Ground will make it a nightmare for the brick of Thralls to make a successful charge. If Kevin can keep enough of his big Daemons alive round one, he can make a good go of it. It helps that Kevin has loads of anti magic going on, with the Bloodsecrator forcing rerolls for successful casts within 16".

On the other side of the equation, Lou has the aforementioned Thrall deathstar that will utterly destroy whatever it touches, if he can get the unit to where it needs to go. To accomplish this, he'll need to kill the Khorne DP; and luckily he has 30 Reavers and the Eidolon who are more than capable of doing just that. The Eidolon has a huge magic package with Endless Seastorm meaning he can potentially cast up to 8 spells before he runs out of valid options! Khorne's spell save, excellent unbinding tools and other disruption will mean he can't lean on this as much as he would like, but provided he can take apart Khorne's support pieces he can pin cushion pretty much anything he wants with the Reavers, as Khorne is many things but it is not happy about getting shot.

Result

Deepkin (Lou Bergeron) Victory - Major Win

Lou Bergeron – Idoneth Deepkin – First Place

Credit: Silks

Lou's List - See Above

Notable Features

• A brick of Thralls that are deceptively difficult to kill
• Enabling the Namarti menace is a suite of support heroes and a big ol' Turtle

Why it’s Interesting

It's telling about how good the internal balance of the book is that we're seeing so many different takes on an army that doesn't exactly have a deep roster. Lou's opted for Mor'Phann here, which let's his Soulrender bring back at least D3+3 models at the end of each Battleshock phase. Lotann and the Turtle means they'll be hitting and wounding on 2s and they're stacking on the armour saves early, with cover round one and an additional +1 save from being near the turtle.

It's a death star, and the excellent IDK battle traits mean it's going to be hard to disrupt before it sees combat. To help ensure that he can deal with any shenanigans, he's also bringing an Eidolon for some exceptional magical might, which can teleport around, nuke units with mortals, reduce their save, reduce their charges, heal his own units, pretty much anything you need really. He's lacking a little in speed compared to more cavalry heavy Idoneth lists, but it's got some serious centre field play here.

Jordan Duncan – Idoneth Deepkin – Second Place

Credit: Silks

Notable Features

• Just when you thought it was safe to get back in the ocean - ANOTHER TURTLE!
• Access to High Tide at battle round two makes for a very aggressive list

Why it’s Interesting

Speaking to my earlier point, Jordan drops the Eidolon in favour of a whole bunch of Sharks, and opts for Nautilar so his turtle can really throw down with a bunch of rend 3 attacks. His artefact choice means a second Shipwreck can be put down to create choke points and control space as well as give his Namarti a 5+ ward outside of his own territory.

Whereas the first list can play patiently and grind out their opponent with value, this list wants to set up a devastating turn two where everything is fighting first, and can deliver a respectable amount of shooting prior to that to soften things up. Potentially capable of a disgusting double from round one to two, a not unlikely event as this list is just four drops. Worth noting this also went 5-0!

The Rest of the Best

Loads of 4-1's so let's round out the top 8.

• 3rd – James O'Brien – Sylvaneth: A rather unusual list, sporting two Durthus, a Warsong Revenant, Drycha AND a Treelord Ancient.
• 4th - Simon Cote-LEcuyer - Slaves to Darkness: Archaon, his requisite buff pieces, 6 Varanguard and a bunch of cultists in Everchosen.
• 5th – Oliver Dempsey - Daughters of Khaine: Morathi and the Bowsnakes.
• 6th - Ridge Hanna - Seraphon: Standard Thunder Lizards with Stormdrake Guard and a brick of Skinks.
• 7th - Patrick East - Seraphon: More Thunder Lizards, this time with a Stegadon Skink Chief.
• 8th - Loic Gosselin Delort - Kharadron Overlords: The new and improved KO airdrop into a top 8 with an Admiral and 10 Thunderers in an Ironclad (with Warp Lightning Vortex) making for a crushing ranged punch.

Georgia Warband Grand Tournament

A two-day, five-round event which took place at the Giga-Bites Cafe in Georgia, America. It was a 47 player event and you can find the lists for this event at BCP. Looks like scores for individual games were taken into account for overall tournament score, meaning winning big is important.

The Showdown

Maggotkin of Nurgle vs Maggotkin of Nurgle - Battleplan Unknown

Nurgle - Tobias Kempf - A summoning Daemon list that leans heavily on Beasts of Nurgle with Be'Lakor being the sneaky lil git he's become known for, allying his services to disrupt the opponent's plans.



Nurgle - Branden Voss - In a rather appropriate twist to make the mirror interesting, Branden has gone for an almost entirely Mortal based list, adding speed with the Pusgoyles and LoA, while also getting down with the thiccness, bringing 10 Blightkings and Bloab Rotspawned.

Thoughts

My first thought is this game will go to time - I've seen a number of Nurgle mirrors play out and that's a whole host of busywork required to keep track of all of the disease, healing rolls and trying to figure out exactly what nonsense has been shut off that round. Tobias has a bit of a controlling edge with Be'lakor here, but he's actually less effective than you might think as Branden's list doesn't really have one key piece here, a trait Nurgle has become rather known for in 3rd edition. Bilepiper starting on the board means shutting off pile ins can help control space, and he will be getting more value from summons as the game progresses thanks to the extra Gnarlmaw.

Branden is playing a more traditional game here, as he will be reliant on killing what he's engaged with to get out of combat, but has a far higher damage output list than Tobias as everything is throwing a shitload of rend 1 attacks. The trump card up the Mortal Nurgle's sleeve however is that he's a 1 drop list, meaning he can take first turn and establish early board control, making things difficult for Tobias as Nurgle is not very good at going on the offensive without Maggoth Lords to lead the charge.

Result

Mortal Nurgle (Branden Voss) Victory - 25-19

Branden Voss – Maggotkin of Nurgle – First Place

Branden's List - See Above

Notable Features

• 10 Blightkings and 6 Pusgoyles make a strong argument for Mortal heavy lists going forward
• Double Lord of Afflictions and some Nurglings mean this list has sneaky good herohammer and objective play

Why it’s Interesting

One of Nurgle's weaknesses is that it wants to have board control early as it lacks the concentrated punch to clear tough units off points quickly, which has made Drowned Men a popular subfaction because of it giving pregame moves to the Pusgoyles and LoAs, meaning even in situations where you're going second you still have reasonable midboard presence. Branden has effectively two waves here, as the Blightkings will follow up the initial spearhead with the help of Bloab Rotspawned, helping pin in place what the Pusgoyles have engaged with and ensuring that disease counters keep wracking up.

Dalton Kahle – Disciples of Tzeentch – Second Place

Credit: Silks

Notable Features

• Facing a number of nerfs to it's Daemon contingent, a change in course towards Mortals is embraced to good success
• That said, double chicken means it's still no slouch in the spellcasting department

Why it’s Interesting

Because we thought Tzeentch was dead, mostly. Repeated nerfs to the faction because of it's power when combined with Tzeentch, and then follow up nerfs to Horrors due to their strength in Legion of the First Prince meant that it's been rough for the servants of Change to really have a pro-active gameplan as they lack direct punch compared to other factions.

That said, by going budget on the battleline, Dalton is able to afford Kairos and a Lord of Change, dramatically boosting his magical supremacy and when combined with the suite of Endless Spells he has something approaching a plan. Control space with the chaff (including a free unit of Screamers thanks to Hosts Arcanum) while the spellcasting engine gets going. Key threats are picked apart through the spell portal from a safe distance, and as LRL's indirect shooting has waned, suddenly Prismatic Palisade is a compelling choice to protect his core castle from enemy shooting.

The Rest of the Best

Loads of 4-1's so let's round out the top 8.

• 3rd – Tommy Miklos – Ogor Mawtribes: A total of four Stonehorns in Boulderhead bring the beef - WHO NEEDS KRAGNOS.
• 4th - Jason Sanders - Kharadron Overlords: A Zilfin list with Warp Lightning Vortex, 2 Frigates, an Ironclad and 2 Stormdrake Guard being the notable features.
• 5th – Tristan Detweiler - Ossiarch Bonereapers: A Petrifex Elite list that brings Arkhan (but no Katakros), loading up on a shit load of Mortek, a Harvester and some Necropolis Stalkers (!)
• 6th - Tobias Kempf - Nurgle: See showdown
• 7th - Michael Schlegelmilch - Fyreslayers: No Magmadroths in sight, just an oldschool Hearthguard Berzerkers list with 2 Stormdrake Guard to add mobility
• 8th - Alec Steele - Cities of Sigmar: A living cities list tha- WAIT COME BACK! There's no Fulminators or Stormdrake here, just a Phoenix, 50 Phoenix Guard and a load of shooting provided by Irondrakes and Sisters of the Watch.

Renegade Wargaming - Spring Up GT

A two-day, five-round event which took place in Minnesota, US. It was a 38 player event and you can find the lists for this event at BCP. 

The Showdown

Legion of the First Prince VS Maggotkin of Nurgle - Battleplan Unknown

LoFP - Corey Anderson - Pretty standard LOFP fare here - A boomthirster to add some melee punch, with 10 Pinks and some Flesh hounds making up the initial bodies.



Maggotkin of Nurgle - Devon Mohn - Leaning heavily into summoning is Devon, who brings Horticulus and Befouling for a total of 3 trees, and a bell on the GUO adds EVEN MORE summoning points. 2 LoAs helps provide some enemy territory hero presence and a total of four beasts plus 20 Plaguebearers make up the lists initial forces

Thoughts

Oh dear - I don't see this going well for Nurgle here. The Khorne DP is a devastating unit to be faced with as Nurgle, as Bloodslicked Ground will really slow down what this Nurgle list is trying to do, and the Legions of Be'lakor won't be too fussed to lose chaff to disease rolls when they excel at dumping Plaguebearers on the board. Nurgle has some play here if they're able to establish early board control as LOFP doesn't like to be on the offensive, but this is frankly a poor matchup for Devon as he lacks any appreciable ranged punch.

Result

Legion of the First Prince (Corey Anderson) Victory - 32-18

Corey Anderson – Legion of the First Prince – First Place

Be'lakor, The Dark Master. Credit: Skails

Corey's List - See Above

Notable Features

• It doesn't particularly care that it's giving up loads of priority target points?

Why it’s Interesting

I've discussed a list largely the same as this before, so let's focus on what's different. The Changeling is a fun bit of tech as it can teleport 3" away from your opponent and drop 5 Pink Horrors down, providing an initial irritating roadblock while the rest of the forces shuffle up to take control of the centre board.

I think a list like this, which is giving up a TON of priority target points, is a strong indicator that the Battlescroll: The Hunt update may not have had quite the same impact as some (including myself) may have hoped for certain factions. It's not that this list is particularly oppressive in the meta, as it's difficult to play and requires an extensive model collection and struggles in some meta matchups... but it's also disgustingly good against 'fair' combat orientated armies thanks to it's exceptional access to chaff summoning. What good does a couple of bonus VP do for the player if they just lose on objectives anyway?

Alex Langer – Sons of Behemat – Second Place

Realm of Beasts Giant. That Gobbo

Notable Features

• I wrote the previous bit before I saw that this came second... yet more proof the Battlescroll doesn't necessarily mean prior meta menaces are dead and buried
• Double Kraken-Eater for double the objective kicking

Why it’s Interesting

THIS SPACE IS LEFT INTENTIONALLY BLANK

The Rest of the Best

The top 8:

• 3rd – Pat Ottolino – Lumineth Realm Lords: Teclis, a Cathallar, 30 Sentinels and some Wardens. Spellportal and Rune of Petrification help Teclis provide punch from range.
• 4th - Sean Troy - Cities of Sigmar: 4 Stormdrakes and a Celestant-Prime lend their aid to a Living Cities list bringing a Frostheart Phoenix to make the death star that much tougher to kill.
• 5th – Devon Mohn - Maggotkin of Nurgle: See showdown.
• 6th - Roarke Engelhardt - Sylvaneth: Gnarlroot means a Warsong Revenant with Spellportal, but Roarke brings Alarielle and 6 Scythe Hunters for some serious punch.
• 7th - Walter Duncan - Kruleboyz: KRULEBOYZ MADE A TOP 8! Gobsprakk and a Sludgeraker lend some Monstrous might to a list that goes lighter on Boltboyz than many, bringing only 9.
• 8th - Nate Ebertowski - Soulblight Gravelords: Standard Vyrkos goodstuff. Lil Radukar, Mannfred and Belladama, add Zombies and Graveguard to taste.

Warpstone Wars GT

The Warpstone Wars GT was a big event, though not because of its size - at only 25 players, it didn't quite make our usual cutoff for GT events (28 players, 5+ rounds), though it's interesting because of the names who were there - a lot of high-profile players made it to Warpstone, and that means that the smaller size actually made it a much more competitive (and brutal) event.

You can find lists for this event in Best Coast Pairings.

1st Place: Bill Souza - Lumineth Realm-Lords

Vanari Lord Regent and Wardens Credit: Joshua Saunders

Standout Features

• Triple foxes make a return.
• Loreseeker with Lambent Light to drop the pain from anywhere turn 1
• Zaitrec for all but guaranteed casting.

Why it's Interesting

Triple foxes used to be a much bigger deal and then dropped off in recent months. They didn't get bad it's just that things shifted around them that they weren't as much of a showstopper as they used to be. Notably, Stormdrakes permitting a Hero-Phase move and charge made it much more difficult for them to try and get away. Them now being worth a VP also makes them a bit of a liability, if you can catch them, which is still no small feat for many lists to pull off. Finally, it's also exceedingly technical and more hassle than many want to put up with.

Well Bill was not to be deterred and brought it back with fire, the only 5-0 list at this event. With 3 foxes ping ponging across objectives, difficult to lock down without very good shooting, and 30 Sentinels supporting them, this list fires off so many mortal wounds at range that are almost impossible to hide from.

The Loreseeker is a cheeky addition that shouldn't be ignored either. About the only downside to Lambent light is its 18" range limits where it can go turn 1, not a problem on the Loreseeker which can drop in pretty much anywhere it damn well feels like and paint a target on the most dangerous thing in his opponent's list before lighting it up. Even if dies immediately after, the wardens got their back for turn 2 onward.

2nd Place: Thomas Guan - Seraphon

Credit: Matthew Herrington

Standout Features

• A thunder lizard list without any Bastiladons (wait what?)
• The Incarnate makes a showing!
• A bona fide reliquary of relics.

Why it's Interesting

Oh man, finally something fresh out of Thunder Lizards. Very little of this list fits the norm, you got your Skink Priest with Curse (stacked multiple times for redundancy), a Starpriest with Hand of Glory and a Slann plus Engine of the Gods for support, it starts going off the rails pretty fast.

No Bastiladons is basically unheard of,  I'd almost say it was trying to avoid the expected. Instead Thunder Lizards would be used to get another roll on the Engine of the Gods slot machine if needed and of course the -1 to damage from Coalesced that's good no matter what you run.

This list is also incredibly artefact heavy, showing off some stuff not usually used. Incandescent Retricies on the Engine of the Gods can potentially keep it alive for another round of fighting to keep the buffs flowing, Cloak of Feathers lets the general get to places it otherwise might not be able to with Fly.

And of course, we can't avoid the appearance of the Incarnate at a GT. The Slann benefits heavily from the +1 to casting and unbinding, and the All Out Attack buffs helps the melee units in the list fight better. Not to mention the raw damage output it does itself. Glad to see this thing might have some value, it's very cool!

The Best of the Rest

Three other players finished 4-1.

• 3rd: Emma Mangels - Maggotkin - Dual Maggoth Lord and a menagerie of Heroes lead Blightkings and Plaguedrones.
• 4th: Ben Klos - Cities of Sigmar - Fulminators and Stormdrake Guard drop in, shoot and charge with Fire and Fade while supported with archers.
• 5th: Bob Pizzano - Sons of Behemat - 2 Gatebreakers and 2 Warstompers with 2 extra artefacts to pass around.

Wrap-up

Proving that I know less about Age of Sigmar than I sometimes suggest with my words, two turtles headline the biggest tournament of the weekend. The presence of 500 point monsters with zero mortal wound defence suggest more than anything that the Mortal Wound meta has calmed down a bit, likely due to the rise of Nurgle who loves to walk straight into those scalpel style lists and shrug it off. I'm continuously impressed at how varied the AoS meta has been lately, and you'll note that I didn't even have to write about Thunder Lizards in the top two this week! Will wonders ever cease. Until next time.