CHAOS KNIGHTS Get Into Top 4 At FORT PALOOZA GT

Matt Castro

3 years ago

Continuing on from yesterday’s article on the state of the meta for 40k and what’s going on in the tournament circuit.

**Thought for the Day**

Foolish are those who fear nothing, yet claim to know everything

In the second half of the meta article we will be completing our coverage of last week’s events with the following:

Nottingham GT
Fort Palooza GT

You can also check out yesterday’s article covering the other main event of the week here:

Nottingham GT

	Player	Faction
1	Mani Cheema	Drukhari
2	Malik Amin-Rubio	Tyranids
3	Andrew Bourbon	Grey Knights
4	Chris Paterson	Iron Hands
5	Giulio Cesare Ghermandi	Drukhari
6	Ben Allen	Harlequins
7	Michael Costello	Deathwatch
8	Alex Fowler	Custodes
9	Kyle Grundy	Tau
10	Ryan Kerr	Grey Knights

Lists

First Place – Mani Cheema (Drukhari)

Expand for Army List

++ Battalion Detachment 0CP (Aeldari – Drukhari) [84 PL, 1,115pts, 10CP] ++

+ Configuration +

Battle Size [12CP]: 3. Strike Force (101-200 Total PL / 1001-2000 Points)

Detachment Command Cost

Obsession
. *Custom Coven*: Artists of the Flesh (All-Consuming)

+ Stratagems +

Stratagem: Prizes from the Dark City [-1CP]

+ HQ +

Drazhar [8 PL, 145pts]: Hatred Eternal, Warlord

Succubus [4 PL, 95pts, -1CP]: 2 – Grave Lotus (Combat Drug), Competitive Edge, Stratagem: Tolerated Ambition, The Triptych Whip, Wych Cult of Strife
. Agoniser & Archite Glaive
. Show Stealer (Strife): Show Stealer

+ Troops +

Wracks [12 PL, 170pts]: As Detachment (Coven)
. Acothyst: Electrocorrosive Whip
. Wrack w/ Special Weapon: Ossefactor
. 18x Wracks: 18x Wrack Blade

Wracks [12 PL, 141pts]: As Detachment (Coven)
. Acothyst: Electrocorrosive Whip
. 16x Wracks: 16x Wrack Blade

Wracks [12 PL, 141pts]: As Detachment (Coven) . Acothyst: Electrocorrosive Whip . 16x Wracks: 16x Wrack Blade

++ Battalion Detachment -3CP (Aeldari – Drukhari) [64 PL, 881pts, -5CP] ++

+ Configuration +

Detachment Command Cost [-3CP]

Obsession . *Custom Coven*: Artists of the Flesh (All-Consuming)

+ Stratagems +

Stratagem: Prizes from the Dark City [-1CP]

+ No Force Org Slot +

Court of the Archon [10 PL, 158pts]: Kabal of the Black Heart . Medusae . Sslyth . Sslyth . Sslyth . Sslyth . Ur-Ghul: As Detachment (Kabal) . Ur-Ghul: As Detachment (Kabal) . Ur-Ghul: As Detachment (Kabal) . Ur-Ghul: As Detachment (Kabal)

+ HQ +

Archon [5 PL, 90pts, -1CP]: Ancient Evil, Huskblade, Kabal of the Black Heart, Overlord, Splinter Pistol, Stratagem: Tolerated Ambition, The Djin Blade . Splintered Genius (Black Heart): Splintered Genius

Haemonculus [4 PL, 70pts]: As Detachment (Coven), The Animus Vitae

+ Troops +

Wracks [12 PL, 141pts]: As Detachment (Coven) . Acothyst: Wrack Blade . Wrack w/ Special Weapon: Ossefactor . 15x Wracks: 15x Wrack Blade

Wracks [3 PL, 50pts]: As Detachment (Coven) . Acothyst: Electrocorrosive Whip . Wrack w/ Special Weapon: Ossefactor . 3x Wracks: 3x Wrack Blade

Wracks [3 PL, 45pts]: As Detachment (Coven) . Acothyst: Electrocorrosive Whip . 4x Wracks: 4x Wrack Blade

++ Total: [148 PL, 5CP, 1,996pts] ++

Key Features

That’s a lot of wracks, 171 provided I counted correctly (note I may not have counted correctly). In an Artisans of Flesh detachment, so lots of -1 damage to make those FNPs against D2 or DD3 weapons easier for the player. And at T5 they’re quite the pain to shift with most anti-horde weapons.
Not only that, but two amazing and one reasonable combat threat in the form of characters. Drazhar generally lifts a lot for lists especially when you give him full rerolls to hit and wound via Hatred Eternal, the Comp Edge/Triptych Whip succubus as always remains entirely capable of decimating whole squads or monsters (so long as they don’t have -1 damage) and essentially turning all 10 hits into 10 wounds into all but the most durable of opponents.
The Archon also provides useful utility via fight last and if necessary can fight twice and use the Djin Blade to reap his own tally in melee with 7 attacks (or 14 if you decide to fight twice) at flat damage 3. He probably won’t pull down a knight, but anything under T7 is a viable target.
The haemonculus has the animus vitae, which is especially dangerous in this army as it allows you to turn 1 charge or alternatively shift to +1 to hit on Turn 2 making the first wave of wracks hit much harder and more efficiently.

TLDR

Waves upon waves of Wracks make Thinn city a brutal opponent for most lists. Especially with potent combat characters lurking behind them.

Mani Cheema Q&A

*LOST IN THE WARP*

Second Place – Malik Amin-Rubio (Tyranids)

Expand for Army List

Army of Renown: Crusher Stampede

++ Super-Heavy Auxiliary Detachment -1CP (Tyranids) [35 PL, 700pts, -1CP] ++

+ Configuration +

Detachment Command Cost [-1CP]

Hive Fleet: Leviathan

+ Lord of War +

Harridan [35 PL, 700pts]

++ Patrol Detachment 0CP (Tyranids) [70 PL, 1,299pts, 10CP] ++

+ Configuration +

Battle Size [12CP]: 3. Strike Force (101-200 Total PL / 1001-2000 Points)

Detachment Command Cost

Hive Fleet: Leviathan

+ Stratagems +

Progeny of the Hive [-1CP]

+ HQ +

Hive Tyrant [12 PL, 230pts, -1CP]: 2x Monstrous Scything Talons, Adrenal Glands, Power: Catalyst, Power: Paroxysm, Power: Smite, Relic: Biomorphic Carapace, Stratagem: Alpha Leader-Beast, Synaptic Link: Malicious Direction, Toxin Sacs, Warlord, Warlord Trait: Rampaging Beast, Swarm Leader, Wings
. Adaptive Physiology: Murderous Size

The Swarmlord [14 PL, 240pts] Power: Synaptic Barrier, Aggressive Surge

+ Troops +

Tyranid Warriors [5 PL, 66pts]: Synaptic Link: Bioweapon Bond
. Tyranid Warrior: 2x Scything Talons
. Tyranid Warrior: 2x Scything Talons
. Tyranid Warrior: 2x Scything Talons

+ Elites +

Hive Guard [12 PL, 270pts]
. 6x Hive Guard (Impaler): 6x Impaler Cannon

Lictor [2 PL, 37pts]

+ Heavy Support +

Scythed Hierodule [12 PL, 235pts]

+ Flyer +

Harpy [8 PL, 155pts]: 2x Stranglethorn Cannon

++ Total: [105 PL, 1,999pts, 9CP] ++

Created with BattleScribe (https://battlescribe.net)

Key Features

Crusher Stampede as usual provides huge boosts to monsters by making them have a 5++ and – 1 damage and having them count as a number of models equal to their wounds remaining. Alongside a bunch of useful stratagems that let your monsters punch efficiently or just crush things with mortal wounds.
What’s really interesting here is there’s a Harridan, that’s right the big bad Trogdor himself features in this list and honestly he’s really good in it (Note: this tournament did allow the Harridan to move and act turn one even when it didn’t fit entirely in deployment zones). Harry the Harridan provides an excellent ranged platform with 16 S 10 -3 D3 shots, and can wreck in melee if needed with 6 flat 6 damage scything talon attacks. In the synaptic bonds rules you can boost his efficiency by giving him +1 to hit via Weapon Bond on the warriors and when you combine that with things like thunderous impact you can make the Harridan effective in melee as well with +1 to hit, +1 to wound, and +1 to the damage roll when going into monsters. Everyone likes flat 7 damage especially if you’re facing a lot of Talos or Cronos.
Harpy Assassin is back again and I think I just need to accept it, the perfect flying mechanism for delivering 6 mortal wounds to your opponent if they leave a character imperfectly screened. Basically fly over, use breaking through and roll 12 dice and each 3+ is a mortal wound into most targets (don’t try to crash it into a tank or knight as the dice roll goes to 4 and then a 5 if your strength is equal to and then lower then you opponents toughness).
Hive Guard of course continue to provide effective artillery support especially when buffed with +1 to hit or full re-rolls to hit via Swarm Leader. You can also give them exploding 6’s via a Leviathan stratagem and make them shoot twice via the single-minded annihilation stratagem.
Oh, lord the Harridan got me so excited this section is really long. Lictors provide a great ROD platform (until the changes to RND). Swarmlord can shoot units across the board and a scythed hierodule rounds out the monsters in the list.

TLDR

Harry the Harpy and his monstrous friends go on a rampage thanks to Leviathan and Crusher stampede force multipliers.

Malik Amin-Rubio Q&A

What is the general Strategy for your list?

Honestly, I can’t pretend there’s too much subtlety when you bring a 700-point model to the table. In reality the list only functions in certain tournaments depending on the interpretation of the large models faq. (Or if you’re brave enough to have basically half your army doing nothing for a turn sometimes).

The list works by providing severe damage output whilst being extremely resilient in return. The hive guard and harridan quickly remove anything that is likely to threaten monsters and then the avalanche starts from there. Through turns 3 onwards the opponent has likely lost their ability to destroy monsters at which point the harridan lands and starts adding combat punch to its significant ranged output. As a titanic aircraft it’s so ludicrously versatile, that it’s broadly good in almost all settings. The crusher stampede stratagems are all dialed up to a maximum and alongside those found in the leviathan supplement, you are able to compete in every phase of the game. Whether it’s movement obsec shenanigans or sheer destructive output, the list delivers it all. You may easily assume that a list with such little board presence would struggle to play the mission, but amongst the strongest things in crusher stampede (alongside the -1 damage) is the ability for monsters to count as the number of wounds they have remaining for the sake of holding objectives. Invaluable when an 18 wound monster Is sat on an objective and your opponent wants to try and sneak a single model on to contest it.

What was the most challenging matchup of the weekend and why?

Besides the final for very obvious reasons, the most challenging matchup was definitely the mirror round 4. Unfortunately, I was paired against my teammate (and flat mate) who was piloting broadly the same list. Whilst most people had this down as the common first turn wins game, in reality it was brutally tactical. Alex and I had agonised over wether the right choice was to go for the opposing harridan or just focus on removing the rest of the army sooner. I actually changed my mind just in the last moment and thankfully it paid off. That said Alex made huge plays to try get back into the game despite having suffered critical damage to his own harridan turn one and was a few failed wounds from pulling it off! A small swing in Alex’s favour and I would have been left starting my second turn with just a harridan operational and some tagged hive guard at the mercy of a rampaging hive tyrant. Alex is always a pleasure to play against and whilst I’m always gutted to have to play against my teammates, it was definitely one of the more enjoyable games.

What was your MVP unit for the event?

My MVP was definitely the Harridan when it came to pure output, but I have to give it up to my tyranid warriors who just persistently turn on all the threats in the army whilst still doing the actions I need them to do to win the game.

Was there anyone or anything you wanted to give a shoutout for?

My shoutout is just to my team Dice Down. I’ve only been able to achieve what I have in tournaments because of the awesome support they give me. We have endless chats about Warhammer, everyone contributes to testing and the team are good friends first and foremost. If you’re looking to succeed in competitive 40k, make sure you surround yourself with some great people.

Third Place – Andrew Bourbon (Grey Knights)

Expand for Army List

+ Patrol Detachment 0CP (Imperium – Grey Knights) [39 PL, 805pts, -1CP] ++

+ Configuration +

Brotherhood: Swordbearers

Detachment Command Cost

+ HQ +

Brotherhood Librarian [6 PL, 105pts]: 4: Purifying Flame, 4: Vortex of Doom, 6: Psychic Epitome, Warlord
. Nemesis Warding Stave

Grand Master in Nemesis Dreadknight [11 PL, 235pts, -1CP]: 1: Gate of Infinity, 2: Empyric Amplification, 3: Unyielding Anvil, Dreadfist, Dreadknight teleporter, Gatling Psilencer, Heavy Psycannon, Nemesis Greatsword, Servant of the Throne, Shield of Humanity

+ Troops +

Strike Squad [6 PL, 115pts]
. Grey Knight (Psycannon): Psycannon
. 3x Grey Knight (Sword): 3x Nemesis Force Sword, 3x Storm Bolter
. Grey Knight Justicar
. . Nemesis Force Sword

+ Heavy Support +

Nemesis Dreadknight [8 PL, 175pts]: Dreadfist, Gatling Psilencer, Heavy Psycannon, Nemesis Greatsword

++ Outrider Detachment -3CP (Imperium – Grey Knights) [65 PL, 1,195pts, 8CP] ++

+ Configuration +

Battle Size [12CP]: 3. Strike Force (101-200 Total PL / 1001-2000 Points)

Brotherhood: Prescient Brethren

Detachment Command Cost [-3CP]

+ HQ +

Castellan Crowe [5 PL, 90pts]: 5: Warp Shaping

Grand Master in Nemesis Dreadknight [10 PL, 210pts, -1CP]: 1: Gate of Infinity, 4: Vortex of Doom, Divination, Dreadfist, Dreadknight teleporter, Gatling Psilencer, Heavy Psycannon, Nemesis Daemon Greathammer, Shield of Humanity, Sigil of Exigence

+ Fast Attack +

Interceptor Squad [14 PL, 240pts]
. 4x Interceptor (Falchions): 8x Nemesis Falchion, 4x Storm Bolter
. 4x Interceptor (Sword): 4x Nemesis Force Sword, 4x Storm Bolter
. Interceptor (Warding Stave)
. Interceptor Justicar
. . Nemesis Force Sword

Interceptor Squad [14 PL, 240pts]
. 8x Interceptor (Halberd): 8x Nemesis Force Halberd, 8x Storm Bolter
. Interceptor (Warding Stave)
. Interceptor Justicar
. . Nemesis Force Sword

Interceptor Squad [14 PL, 240pts]
. 8x Interceptor (Falchions): 16x Nemesis Falchion, 8x Storm Bolter
. Interceptor (Warding Stave)
. Interceptor Justicar
. . Nemesis Force Halberd

+ Heavy Support +

Nemesis Dreadknight [8 PL, 175pts]: Dreadfist, Gatling Psilencer, Heavy Psycannon, Nemesis Greatsword

++ Total: [104 PL, 2,000pts, 7CP] ++

Created with BattleScribe (https://battlescribe.net)

Key Features

It’s hard to go wrong with any Dreadknights, let alone 3 regular ones and 2 Grandmaster Dreadknights. Especially, once you start adding on psychic powers like Empyric amplification (+1 damage to psi weapons) your Dreadknight weapons start to pump out serious amounts of damage at range. Teleporters on those dreadknights mean they can also pop up in unexpected places or get out of sticky situations.
The swordbearers stratagem means if you need something dead it’s likely going away
The Prescient Brethren stratagem lets you add little efficiencies to your shooting and in melee by letting a Prescient Brethren unit reroll 1’s to hit and 1’s to wound.
Divination lets you generate CP basically at will via a WC6 psychic action
Interceptors provide mobile board control and strikes provide a reasonable infantry unit that can engage if needed
Also, don’t discount the Swordbrethen psychic epitome librarian who does extra mortal wounds with his damage focused psychic powers.
It’ll be interesting to see how lists like this one will change with limits placed on sub-faction soup moving forward. Will that just mean 4 Dreadknights (including one GMDK)? will we see Prescient Brotherhood and Wardmakers anymore?

TLDR

Five Dreadknights is a lot of firepower and a lot of melee to get through, especially when it teleports out of trouble, even more so when it’s supported by force multipliers and board control.

Fourth Place – Chris Paterson (Iron Hands)

Expand for Army List

++ Battalion Detachment 0CP (Imperium – Adeptus Astartes – Iron Hands) [95 PL, 6CP, 2,000pts] ++

+ Configuration +

**Chapter Selector**: Born Heroes , Custom Chapter, Iron Hands Successor, Whirlwind of Rage

Battle Size [12CP]: 3. Strike Force (101-200 Total PL / 1001-2000 Points)

Detachment Command Cost

+ Stratagems +

Bequeathed by the Iron Council [-1CP]

+ HQ +

Lieutenants [4 PL, -1CP, 75pts]
. Lieutenant in Reiver Armour: 2. Lord of Deceit, Stratagem: Hero of the Chapter

Techmarine [4 PL, -1CP, 70pts]: Boltgun, Omnissian power axe, Rites of War, Servo-arm, Stratagem: Paragon of Iron, Target Protocols, The Tempered Helm, Warlord

+ Troops +

Incursor Squad [5 PL, 105pts]
. 4x Incursor: 4x Bolt pistol, 4x Frag & Krak grenades, 4x Occulus bolt carbine, 4x Paired combat blades
. Incursor Sergeant

Infiltrator Squad [6 PL, 120pts]
. 4x Infiltrator: 4x Bolt pistol, 4x Frag & Krak grenades, 4x Marksman bolt carbine
. Infiltrator Sergeant

+ Elites +

Company Veterans [3 PL, 47pts]
. Company Veteran: Astartes Chainsword, Storm shield
. Company Veteran Sergeant: Astartes Chainsword, Lightning Claw

Redemptor Dreadnought [9 PL, 185pts]: 2x Storm Bolters, Icarus Rocket Pod, Macro Plasma Incinerator, Onslaught Gatling Cannon

Relic Contemptor Dreadnought [8 PL, -3CP, 175pts]: Cyclone missile launcher, Merciless Logic, Stratagem: Hero of the Chapter, Stratagem: March of the Ancients, 2x Twin volkite culverin

Vanguard Veteran Squad [14 PL, 309pts]: Jump Pack
. Vanguard Veteran: Lightning Claw, Storm shield
. Vanguard Veteran: Lightning Claw, Storm shield
. Vanguard Veteran: Lightning Claw, Storm shield
. Vanguard Veteran: Lightning Claw, Storm shield
. Vanguard Veteran: Lightning Claw, Storm shield
. Vanguard Veteran: Lightning Claw, Storm shield
. Vanguard Veteran: Lightning Claw, Storm shield
. Vanguard Veteran: Lightning Claw, Storm shield
. Vanguard Veteran: Lightning Claw, Storm shield
. Vanguard Veteran Sergeant: Storm shield, Thunder hammer

Vanguard Veteran Squad [7 PL, 159pts]: Jump Pack
. Vanguard Veteran: Lightning Claw, Storm shield
. Vanguard Veteran: Lightning Claw, Storm shield
. Vanguard Veteran: Lightning Claw, Storm shield
. Vanguard Veteran: Lightning Claw, Storm shield
. Vanguard Veteran Sergeant: Storm shield, Thunder hammer

Vanguard Veteran Squad [7 PL, 195pts]: Jump Pack
. Vanguard Veteran: Storm shield, Thunder hammer
. Vanguard Veteran: Storm shield, Thunder hammer
. Vanguard Veteran: Storm shield, Thunder hammer
. Vanguard Veteran: Storm shield, Thunder hammer
. Vanguard Veteran Sergeant: Storm shield, Thunder hammer

+ Heavy Support +

Devastator Squad [8 PL, 165pts]: Armorium Cherub
. Devastator Marine Sergeant: 2x Astartes Chainsword
. Devastator Marine w/Heavy Weapon: Multi-melta
. Devastator Marine w/Heavy Weapon: Multi-melta
. Devastator Marine w/Heavy Weapon: Multi-melta
. Devastator Marine w/Heavy Weapon: Grav-cannon

+ Dedicated Transport +

Drop Pod [4 PL, 70pts]: Storm bolter

Land Speeder Storm [3 PL, 55pts]

++ Total: [95 PL, 6CP, 2,000pts] ++

Key Features

Iron Hands! But this time Born Heroes and Whirlwind of Rage, which means the army gets +1 to hit on the charge and exploding 6’s in melee on the charge (or heroic or being charged) as well, which means that this Iron Hands army can defend itself in melee when necessary and that those Vanguard Veterans hit on 2’s (3’s for the Hammer) and put out an absolutely ludicrous number of attacks.
A drop pod that can be filled with devastators as always provides the opportunity to drop in a a pile of meltas turn one to deal with a problem. Don’t like those Talos? Throw down a drop pod and watch them go away thanks to 10 melta shots per squad (and some grav shots as well).
A Relic Contemptor upgraded to be a character with Merciless Logic and Vulkite Culverins will continue to put out just an absurd amount of firepower with exploding 6’s and the potential for rerolling hits and wounds via stratagem support.
A techmarine of course buffs the firebase of vehicles and keeps them in working order. Oh, and the Tempered Helm means getting some extra CP regeneration to help keep your stratagems flowing.
Incursors and infiltrators also provide either early upfield board presence and screens, alongside the ability to redeploy if necessary via guerilla tactics

TLDR

Vanguard Veterans provide impressive melee prowess, Phobos units screen, and character dreadnoughts go brrrrr.

Fort Palooza GT

	Player	Faction
1	Quinn Kotecki	Grey Knights
2	Kevin Leonard	Chaos Knights
3	Jeremiah Petit	Custodes
4	Oliver Smith	White Scars
5	Matt Root	Tyranids
6	Tarzan	Orks
7	Hugh Murphy	Death Guard
8	Jordan Rakow	Tau
9	Eric Forsman	Genestealer Cult
10	James Kelling	Drukhari

Lists

First Place – Quinn Kotecki (Grey Knights)

Expand for Army List

++ Patrol Detachment -2CP (Imperium – Grey Knights) [57 PL, 9CP, 1,080pts] ++

+ Configuration +

Battle Size [12CP]: 3. Strike Force (101-200 Total PL / 1001-2000 Points)

Brotherhood: Prescient Brethren

Detachment Command Cost [-2CP]

+ HQ +

Brotherhood Techmarine [6 PL, -1CP, 110pts]: 5: Warp Shaping, Aetheric Conduit, Boltgun, Divination, Foretelling of Locus, Omnissian Power Axe, Shield of Humanity
. Servo Arms

Grand Master in Nemesis Dreadknight [10 PL, 215pts]: 1: Gate of Infinity, 3: Sanctuary, Dreadfist, Dreadknight teleporter, Gatling Psilencer, Heavy Psycannon, Nemesis Greatsword

+ Troops +

Strike Squad [6 PL, 110pts]
. 4x Grey Knight (Halberd): 4x Nemesis Force Halberd, 4x Storm Bolter
. Grey Knight Justicar

. . Nemesis Force Halberd

Strike Squad [6 PL, 110pts]
. 4x Grey Knight (Sword): 4x Nemesis Force Sword, 4x Storm Bolter
. Grey Knight Justicar
. . Nemesis Force Sword

+ Fast Attack +

Interceptor Squad [7 PL, 120pts]
. 4x Interceptor (Halberd): 4x Nemesis Force Halberd, 4x Storm Bolter
. Interceptor Justicar
. . Nemesis Warding Stave

Interceptor Squad [14 PL, 240pts]
. 8x Interceptor (Halberd): 8x Nemesis Force Halberd, 8x Storm Bolter
. Interceptor (Warding Stave)
. Interceptor Justicar
. . Nemesis Force Halberd

+ Heavy Support +

Nemesis Dreadknight [8 PL, 175pts]: Dreadfist, Gatling Psilencer, Heavy Psycannon, Nemesis Greatsword

++ Patrol Detachment 0CP (Imperium – Grey Knights) [47 PL, -1CP, 920pts] ++

+ Configuration +

Brotherhood: Swordbearers

Detachment Command Cost

+ HQ +

Grand Master in Nemesis Dreadknight [11 PL, -1CP, 235pts]: 2: Empyric Amplification, 2: Hammer of Righteousness, 3: Unyielding Anvil, 4: Vortex of Doom, Dreadfist, Dreadknight teleporter, Exemplar of the Silver Host, Gatling Psilencer, Heavy Psycannon, Nemesis Greatsword, Servant of the Throne, Warlord

+ Troops +

Strike Squad [6 PL, 110pts]
. 4x Grey Knight (Halberd): 4x Nemesis Force Halberd, 4x Storm Bolter
. Grey Knight Justicar
. . Nemesis Force Halberd

+ Fast Attack +

Interceptor Squad [14 PL, 240pts]
. 8x Interceptor (Halberd): 8x Nemesis Force Halberd, 8x Storm Bolter
. Interceptor (Warding Stave)
. Interceptor Justicar
. . Nemesis Force Halberd

+ Heavy Support +

Nemesis Dreadknight [8 PL, 175pts]: Dreadfist, Gatling Psilencer, Heavy Psycannon, Nemesis Greatsword

Nemesis Dreadknight [8 PL, 160pts]: Dreadfist, Dreadfist, Gatling Psilencer, Heavy Psycannon

++ Total: [104 PL, 8CP, 2,000pts] ++

Created with BattleScribe (https://battlescribe.net)

Key Features

Five Dreadknights are still good, obviously because this list won at a GT. Especially when you start adding on stratagem support and psychic power support to give them extra efficiencies like +1 damage to their psy weapons (Empyric Amplification)
The SWORDBEARERS detachment continues to provide impressive support that makes your dreadknights and other units much more efficient via Marked For Death
Prescient brethren punishes your opponent for moving via their psychic power Fatal Precognition and Foresight provides extra efficiencies for ranged and melee combat
Strikes and Interceptors continue to provide objective holders, action monkeys, and when necessary combat support. With the squads having warding staves to help keep them alive
And the Techmarine helps keep the firebase of dreadknights running through repairs, which is convenient. He also has a pocket redeploy you know just in case you want to select three Grey Knights units and put them into an inconvenient spot for your opponent or into reserves.
It’s also good to not forget that the Grandmasters are not just dreadknights, but also have several useful warlord traits. Servant of the throne means once per game you can trigger a 3++ making one of those GMNDK much hardier

TLDR

Lots of angry psykers in baby carriers bring death and destruction while their smaller power armored friends play the mission.

Quinn Kotecki Q&A

What is the general Strategy for your list?

The overall strategy of this list is board control. Just spam them and hope for the best! Going into this event and LVO I knew I needed to make room for 2 more Nemisis Swords on the Dreadknights since Thicc City, Nids, and Orks are my rough matchups. So I shaved 2 Teleporters from non GM Dreads and downgraded 5 interceptors to strikes giving me the 30pts needed for 2 swords! Weirdly enough having a natural 3rd obsec unit worked out VERY well!

I feel like my deployment tactics are pretty solid. I like to deploy very evenly across my zone. I notice a lot of people will stack slightly or heavily to one side. This allows to have both of my sides covered with the middle units able to go left or right at any time.

Play to your secondary points as much as possible. Purifying Ritual is your best friend. Then I feel you’re either on Rod (in which case you’ll wanna reserve 2 units of interceptors), or Engage since you have a lot of fast guys. Lastly I went mainly for Banners or bring it down seeing as I played 2 knights and nids.

While using multiple dreadknights I would generally seperate the 2 that were in the Precient Brotherhood as flanking units, while sending the 3 swordbearers up the middle as a death ball.

Be sure to keep that tech marine well hidden, but within 3 inches for that +1 to hit in the command phase.

You need to be to very precise on your psychic phase, purely because that’s going to make or break your turn. Do you smite? do you hammerhead? Etc. I will say that ethereal castigation is a very good and undervalued power by interceptors. Being able to move 24 in a turn and shoot up to 20 bolters (potentially rerolling 1s due to 6″ Aura on a GM) really let’s you shoot across the board to nab Stranglehold, engage, or flee from pesky nearby threats.

Baiting out a poorly placed transhuman effect can really catch your opponent off guard. Maybe place a “debuff” power on a sudo threatening unit, and shoot your farthest DK at it and see if they pop Transhuman. If they do then cool, easy CP and now you take the other 48 Psilencer and 24 psycannons and murder another threat. So be sure to have accurate priority targeting.

Lastly, I love taking warding staves on 3 interceptor units. That 5+ invuln for 1cp saved me SO MANY GUYS that maybe backed up by truesilver armor can make or break your primary for a turn, which then allows you to move thise guys either farther in to bait, or leave them still to Ritual and make them waste more shots into it to finish them off.

What was the most challenging matchup of the weekend and why?

I’d would say the hardest match up was Round 3 vs Chaos Knights. My opponent was Brian Hunter, and his list was MEAN. Our final score being 89-76 (my lowest scoring/cloestest in points game hense why I’m labeling it my hardest matchup). This was my first interaction with CK since I started playing Warhammer last year so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. This was also my first ever player placed terrain event. We met on Vital Intelligence (my favorite mission!), but I wasn’t sure how to deploy my terrain on this one. I ended up deploying a couple small units in poor places and with him going first. Thankfully Tide of Shadows is a great early game effect against that! He went straight for all of my little guys in order to keep me off of points, and it was working! I didn’t score any Engage until turn 4! His downfall ended up being (and this was true for the Chaos Knights player in the final with me), they stacked too many units on one side of the board. What that allows me to do its pick off the ones hovering on the weak side and now they’re slipping on primaries and fore power, all while I’m hiding behind buildings. Now I have all your remaining threats in one nice spot and I can just kite you from there. I learned quite a lot from that game!

What was your MVP unit for the event?

I feel like everyone is waiting for me to say a Grandmaster or Dreadknights in general, but listen to this! My 2nd and 3rd Strike Squad units were amazing! Pretty much all of the GK lists I’ve seen are playing the mandatory 1 squad for a patrol and no more. I found myself in testing being out obsec and would miss put on primary and secondary points. The GM Dread having the 6″ obsec bubble is amazing, but nothing beats those good home base units! Having 3 units of them allowed me to Banner and Ritual up to 3 objectives in a single turn! That’s insane points for a turn 1 play, which also plays into the idea of sending the dreads up the field and saving your small guys (as mentioned way above)!

Was there anyone or anything you wanted to give a shoutout for?

I am very excited that I was able to win this event. I needed all the confidence I can get going into LVO. This was amazingly only my second GT and second tournament in general for Warhammer seeing as I started playing in January of 2021. My first event being Dragonfall just a few months ago where I also played GK. I went 4-1 with my only loss coming to Eric Forsman who was playing the insane prenerf Ork Freebootaz.

I stayed in contact with Eric, which led me to meet a few great people such as Oliver Smith, and Jon Miller. They actually came down from Madison to my gamestore/brewpub that I own and operate Faklandia Gaming and Faklandia Brewing in Milwaukee. I fell in love with 40k so fast that I decided to start a tournament series of my own this year! 10 RTTs and 1 GT all leading up to the Championship 4k GT in December! So needless to say, I’m looking forward to joining a fantastic community!

Second Place – Kevin Leonard (Chaos Knights)

Expand for Army List

++ Super-Heavy Detachment 0CP (Chaos – Chaos Knights) [72 PL,1215] ++

+ Configuration +

Detachment Command Cost

Dread Household: Abominable Constitution, Custom Household, Pride-fuelled Fury

+ Lord of War +

War Dogs [24 PL,405pts]
. War Dog: 3. Knight Diabolus, Character (Traitoris Lance), Khornate Target,Heavy stubber, Thermal spear and Reaper chain-cleaver, Warlord
. War Dog: Heavy stubber, Thermal spear and Reaper chain-cleaver
. War Dog: Heavy stubber, Thermal spear and Reaper chain-cleaver

War Dogs [24 PL, 405pts]
. War Dog: Heavy stubber, Thermal spear and Reaper chain-cleaver
. War Dog: Heavy stubber, Thermal spear and Reaper chain-cleaver
. War Dog: Heavy stubber, Thermal spear and Reaper chain-cleaver

++ Super-Heavy Detachment -3CP (Chaos – Chaos Knights) [32 PL, 620pts, 9CP] ++

+ Configuration +

Battle Size [12CP]: 3. Strike Force (101-200 Total PL / 1001-2000 Points)

Detachment Command Cost [-3CP]

Dread Household: Custom Household, Dark Forging, Harrying Packs

+ Lord of War +

War Dogs Moirax [16 PL, 310pts]
. War Dog Moirax: Character (Traitoris Lance), 2x Lightning lock
. War Dog Moirax: 2x Lightning lock

War Dogs Moirax [8 PL, 155pts]
. War Dog Moirax: 2x Lightning lock

++ Total: [104 PL, 9CP, 1835pts] ++

165 summoning points available

Key Features

Armigers, Armiger- I mean War Dogs… War Dogs everywhere. Now that War Dogs have obsec and count as 5 models they can play the mission quite well and provide serious firepower to boot (which they already did).
Abominable Constitution gives you +1 to movement and means even when bracketed your War Dogs move at full speed across the map, then if you tack on pride-fuelled fury you get +1 attack while under half wounds and you get +1 to hit in melee on top of that as well. This is really good on melee War Dogs who happen to all be in this detachment, letting them brawl until they die.
A second detachment with Dark Forging means your weapons have an additional 6” of range (if it was already 24”) and add 2” of range to other weapons, then harrying packs means you can charge or shoot on a turn that you fall back albeit at -1 to hit. This is really good on the fire support detachment of moirax, letting them stay safe and get out of sticky situations without needing to sacrifice any of their firepower to do so.
One of the War Dogs having the Khornate Target relic means you can get stuck in and turn off invulnerable saves during a key combat against something like a Dread Knight whose 4++ (or if they’ve got the 3++ up) is what helps keep them in the fight
Lightning Locks are really good folks, tesla for exploding 6’s, solid range, solid strength, all something to watch out for
Also summoning points makes sure that as the units move forward they can drop little packs of daemons to hold objectives or perform actions or be screens for the war dogs

TLDR

13 Armi- I mean, War Dogs are a force in melee as well as in shooting with summoned daemons providing some much needed flexibility

Third Place – Jeremiah Petit (Custodes)

Expand for Army List

++ Battalion Detachment 0CP (Imperium – Adeptus Custodes) [99 PL, 8CP, 2,000pts] ++

+ Configuration [12CP] +

Battle Size [12CP]: 3. Strike Force (101-200 Total PL / 1001-2000 Points) [12CP]

Detachment Command Cost

Detachment Type / Shield Host: Adeptus Custodes, Emperor’s Chosen

Gametype: Matched

+ Stratagems [-2CP] +

Stratagem: Open the Vaults [-2CP]: 2x Additional Relics [-2CP]

+ HQ [27 PL, -2CP, 505pts] +

Shield-Captain in Allarus Terminator Armor [8 PL, -1CP, 140pts]: 4. Impregnable Mind, Balistus Grenade Launcher, Castellan Axe, Misericordia [5pts], Praetorian Plate, Stratagem: The Emperor’s Heroes [-1CP], Unstoppable Destroyer [1 PL, 10pts]

Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike [10 PL, -2CP, 195pts]: (Emperor’s Chosen): Auric Exemplar, 3. Superior Creation, Castellan’s Mark, Interceptor Lance, Misericordia [5pts], Salvo Launcher [5pts], Stratagem: The Emperor’s Heroes [-1CP], Stratagem: Victor of the Blood Games [-1CP], Tip of the Spear [1 PL, 15pts]

Trajann Valoris [9 PL, 1CP, 170pts]: Misericordia, Watcher’s Axe
. Warlord: 1. Master of Martial Strategy, 2. Champion of the Imperium

+ Troops [17 PL, 360pts] +

Custodian Guard Squad [7 PL, 150pts]
. 3x Custodian w/ Sentinel Blade & Praesidium Shield [150pts]: 3x Praesidium Shield [15pts], 3x Sentinel Blade

Prosecutors [3 PL, 60pts]
. 4x Prosecutor [48pts]: 4x Boltgun
. Prosecutor Sister Superior [12pts]: Boltgun

+ Elites [7 PL, 120pts] +

Vexilus Praetor in Allarus Terminator Armor [7 PL, 120pts]: Balistus Grenade Launcher, Misericordia [5pts], Obliteratum, Vexilla Magnifica

+ Fast Attack [36 PL, 810pts] +

Vertus Praetors [12 PL, 270pts]
. 3x Praetor w/ Salvo Launcher [12 PL, 270pts]: 3x Interceptor Lance, 3x Salvo Launcher [15pts]

+ Heavy Support [12 PL, 205pts] +

Caladius Grav-tank [12 PL, 205pts]: Twin Arachnus Heavy Blaze Cannon, Twin Lastrum Bolt Cannon

++ Total: [99 PL, 8CP, 2,000pts] ++

Created with BattleScribe (https://battlescribe.net)

Key Features

New Custodes? Nice! The detachment is Emperor’s Chosen which means they’ve got a nice 4+++ against mortal wounds and you get to reroll either one hit roll or wound roll whenever one of your units shoots or fights, which gives you an extra layer of efficiency for an otherwise already efficient army. Katah’s also let you set the terms of engagement with your opponent and can be set for each game.
9 Bikes each armed with 3 salvo launches means your fast moving bikes are each firing a S8 D3+3 damage shot at BS 2+ providing a very reliable way to take care of hard targets like say Talos or Grotesques or Dreadnoughts
Custodian guard still provide reliable objective holders and midtable brawling units by having a 4++ and +1 to their armor save from their shields making them difficult to shift.
A relatively inexpensive sisters of silence prosecutor unit provides some psychic defense and also some useful action monkeys or screens for your valuable custodes combat units.
Alright, lets talk about some characters. First up is the Praetorian Plate Allarus terminator Shield Captain, the impregnable mind trait means he can deny a psychic power and counts as two additional models when determining who controls an objective. The really sneaky bit though is the Praetorian Plate relic, which adds 1 to the captain’s toughness and lets him Heroically Intervene wherever he wants once per phase within 3” of a friendly model and within engagement range of an enemy unit. This means his threat range is only limited by your ingenuity.
Trajann is still Trajann providing reroll support to Custodes units and with a new moment shackle ability that lets you fight twice, make the damage of an attack 0 or interrupt for free once per battle. His two warlord traits also make him a terror in combat with rerolls to hit alongside a 5+ to recoup CP, and a 6” Heroic Intervention range
Finally the Bike Captain, Superior Creation gives a 5+++, Tip of the spear gives him reroll 1’s to wound and hit when he charges, and finally he gets a maximum of 4 extra attacks depending on how many models he kills with his normal attacks. He also has a pocket redeploy from Castellans Mark, you know just in case he didn’t have enough going for him.

TLDR

True golden heroes for some herohammer, golden firepower, golden blades, and fast-moving elements

Fourth Place – Oliver Smith (White Scars)

Expand for Army List

++ Spearhead Detachment -3CP (Imperium – Adeptus Astartes – White Scars) [101 PL, 7CP, 2,000pts] ++

+ Configuration +

**Chapter Selector**: White Scars

Battle Size [12CP]: 3. Strike Force (101-200 Total PL / 1001-2000 Points)

Detachment Command Cost [-3CP]

Gametype: Matched

+ Stratagems +

Strategem: Relics of the Chapter [-1CP]: Number of Extra Relics

+ No Force Org Slot +

Apothecary [4 PL, 75pts]

Company Veterans [3 PL, 40pts]
. Company Veteran: 2x Astartes Chainsword
. Company Veteran Sergeant: 2x Astartes Chainsword

+ HQ +

Captain on Bike [8 PL, 140pts]: 2x Astartes Chainsword, Chapter Command: Chapter Master, Plume of the Plainsrunner, Warlord

Lieutenants [5 PL, -1CP, 100pts]
. Lieutenant: Jump Pack, Lightning Claw (Pair), Master-Crafted Weapon, Stratagem: Hero of the Chapter, The Imperium’s Sword

+ Elites +

Terminator Assault Squad [18 PL, 395pts]: Teleport Homer
. Assault Terminator Sergeant
. . Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield: Thunder hammer
. 5x Assault Terminator w/THSS: 5x Storm shield, 5x Thunder hammer
. 4x Assault Terminator w/x2LC: 4x Lightning Claw (Pair)

Vanguard Veteran Squad [14 PL, 340pts]: Jump Pack
. Vanguard Veteran: Storm shield, Thunder hammer
. Vanguard Veteran: Astartes Chainsword, Lightning Claw
. Vanguard Veteran: Storm shield, Thunder hammer
. Vanguard Veteran: Storm shield, Thunder hammer
. Vanguard Veteran: Storm shield, Thunder hammer
. Vanguard Veteran: Lightning Claw, Storm shield
. Vanguard Veteran: Lightning Claw, Storm shield
. Vanguard Veteran: Lightning Claw, Storm shield
. Vanguard Veteran: Lightning Claw, Storm shield
. Vanguard Veteran Sergeant: Storm shield, Thunder hammer

+ Heavy Support +

Devastator Squad [8 PL, 165pts]: Armorium Cherub
. Devastator Marine Sergeant: Astartes Chainsword, Boltgun
. Devastator Marine w/Heavy Weapon: Grav-cannon
. Devastator Marine w/Heavy Weapon: Multi-melta
. Devastator Marine w/Heavy Weapon: Multi-melta
. Devastator Marine w/Heavy Weapon: Multi-melta

Eliminator Squad [5 PL, 75pts]: Bolt sniper rifle
. Eliminator Sergeant: Instigator Bolt Carbine
. 2x Eliminators: 2x Bolt pistol, 2x Camo cloak, 2x Frag & Krak grenades

+ Dedicated Transport +

Land Speeder Storm [3 PL, 55pts]

Rhino [4 PL, 80pts]: Storm bolter

++ Total: [101 PL, 7CP, 2,000pts] ++

Created with BattleScribe (https://battlescribe.net)

Key Features

Oh man, finally the last list of the week. This time White Scars who if you’re not familiar are incredibly mobile with advance and charge and get a massive combat boost with +1 damage in the assault doctrine.
Lots of Vanguard veterans is a staple of white scars lists and this list brings that in spades with a large squad of 10 that can be combat squadded as needed pre-game. A mix of lightning claws and thunder hammers means that most any target is something they can break open in melee
Oh, boy the fire support here. There are three devastator squads with meltas for dealing with vehicles or pain engines each with a cherub in case something really needs to die by providing extra shots. There’s also a Rhino just in case you want a couple squads to get somewhere quickly.
The list also features several interesting tech pieces, Land Speeder Storms are great at providing board presence as they move very quickly. Eliminators are also excellent board control units especially when the Sergeant has the bolt carbine letting them move again after they shoot. This means they can move a much more impressive distance to control objectives or box in your opponent.
You also don’t want to forget the assault terminators who provide quite the hammer unit (get it?) with both thunder hammer and light claw equipped models who can deep strike in and with White Scar stratagem support much more reliably make charges.
The bike captain provides a mobile buff base with Plume of the Plainsrunner providing all units within 6” +1 to advance and charges. The LT also provides useful rerolls and with Imperium’s Sword for extra attacks and master crafted lightning claws he can put out a high-volume of damage 2 attacks that turn into damage 3 attacks once the army hits the assault doctrine.

TLDR

Lots of combat units that move quickly supported by a few tech pieces that can play the mission and a base of fire support for softening up the opponent before the melee units get stuck in.

That’s all for this week! This weekend is LVO the ITC capstone that will anoint the ITC champion for this last season. This Weekend I’ll provide a daily recap of LVO’s meta situation as it evolves and then during the week I’ll give you the recap along with some player Q&As.

And remember, Frontline Gaming sells gaming products at a discount, every day in their webcart!