Look, what can I say, Gregbot's auspicator was on the blink (or possibly it overloaded when Dark Angels won an event) and we missed the biggest non-team event of the week, CaptainCon. For my part in these crimes, I have been sentenced to another evening in the content mines, and having now done that time, I emerge blinking into the sunlgiht with a bonus Friday Competitive Innovations feature, showcasing some more exciting Arks armies making a play for the top spot.

CaptainCon 2023 40k Tournament

63-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Warwick, Rhode Island US on February 04 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Matchup & Mission - The Scouring

Daniel Wohlmuth - Ynnari: Melee-heavy Ynnari, featuring lots of Aspect Warriors and two big Troupes. Shuriken Cannon bikes provide a reliable, easily protectable clip of backing firepower.

vs.

Tyler Russo - Orks: Goff Pressure with Kill Rigs and Ghaz, alongside plenty of Stormboyz, and a squad of Trukk Boyz Nobz as a power play.

Thoughts

I can't be too mad about having to cover an extra event, because here we get to see two factions that are serious Arks contenders in the hands of two players who know how to use them. On the Ynnari side, the combination of massive army construction freedom, access to Scout the Enemy (not relevant in this game, but in general good for this list) and a significant weakening of some previously dominant factions leaves them as a serious threat, with their only major weakness being that they're not great at scoring 100pt victories (though once you're on the top table, that's not such an issue). Orks, conversely, are very good at scoring big wins these days thanks to how thoroughly they can bowl unprepared opponents - Tyler's list here can use a Waaagh turn to get in the opponent's face at speed, and scores rapidly enough that it can be difficult for the opponent to come back from that initial bodying, even if they do manage to whittle down the Orks over time. He's also making use of some hot new Arks tech in the form of Trukk Boyz Nobz - now that you can only have one Specialist Mob you need to make sure you're getting bang for your buck, and some cost reductions on this unit makes them extremely efficient in that role.

On the face of it, The Scouring plays very well into the Ork plan of bowling the enemy over - there's no "safe" Primary scoring for the opponent, and both the nearby objectives are eligible for Get Da Good Bitz. What stymies this here is that Ynnari are hard to bowl over if your plan relies on melee. Army-wide Fights First, it turns out, presents quite a challenge to an Ork list that wants to do most of its damage in melee (so, an Ork list), as engaging on a wide front is going to result in far too many losses, especially as judicious use of the Howling Banshees when the Aeldari counter-attack means that their kills will be far cleaner. That also creates a bit of a Secondary problem - normally Stomp 'Em Good should be a lock into Eldar, but here if the Orks go first there's a huge risk of fumbling it. Green Tide is also hard work on this map, and that accumulates to a big problem, because the sneaky elves have a very good passive Secondary game just by taking No Prisoners, Assassinate and a Psychic Option.

So what are the Orks to do? I think, probably, the answer is to lead with the Kill Rigs, as that's something that the Eldar list is notably bad at dealing with, outside of the Yncarne themselves (and I guess Mortal Wound nonsense, but you're going to have to deal with that at some point). Pushing the Rigs up first, with the threat to disgorge ObSec (but expendable) Beast Snaggas onto the Eldar's home objectives might be a route to locking in enough early Primary swings to stop the Eldar being able to dominate the game (and bonus points if you can interfere with them scoring the new, easier version of the mission Secondary).

This still isn't foolproof, because with a high roll on a few things the Eldar can still clear out the Rigs, and it feels like the Orks need Gork and/or Mork to be with them to get over the line here - their normal plan is a bust, and their alternative has some serious risks. On this occasion, the inevitable yawning maw of Ynnead claimed any chances of Orkish victory.

Result

Ynnari Victory - 84 - 51

Daniel Wohlmuth - Ynnari - 1st Place

The Yncarne. Credit: Wings

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Melee Ynnari

Thoughts

This list rules, it's got mobility, massive melee damage dealing potential, and strong emergency Mortal Wound game between the Bikeseer, Shadowseer and Yncarne. The inclusion of cannon bikes is notable, because even without access to Doom, just having that amount of threat operating with impunity appears to be very worth it - they're very much stepping into the role Swooping Hawks used to play in older Ynnari builds. 100% going on my list of armies I'm going to play once my luck runs out with my Wraithknight nonsense.

Alex Ing - Adepta Sororitas - 2nd Place

Credit: Keewa

The List

Archetype

Bloody Rose Goodstuff

Thoughts

Yeah, they're still here. Some nerfs? Yes, but also plenty of juicy new prey in the form of a resurgence of Marines - which Bloody Rose are excellent at killing. There probably is a concern that Sisters could have a very rough time if Guard lists packing 3x3 Mortars with buffs become a serious metagame factor, but even then with free Strategic Reserves and maybe the addition of some more Rhinos, there should be ways to keep them viable. Well done to Alex on taking second place (on four wins and a draw).

Tyler Russo - Orks - 3rd Place

Credit: Tom Alexander

The List

See showdown

Thoughts

Go fast and krump things. I like quite a few of the choices here - the Trukk Nobz are a great package, and it feels like free Strategic Reserves really opens up the value of Kill Rigs, because now if you hit a matchup where you can't hide them and they're just going to get shot off the board, you can just reserve them. In other matchups, like the Showdown, having big crunchy Ramshackle models can give you an alternative angle of attack, and that feels very valuable. There's still enough early pressure here to bowl people over when they're vulnerable to it, but a crunchier core waiting if they can mount a counterattack. Great stuff from Tyler, as always.

Nicholas Rose - Genestealer Cult - 4th Place

Primus. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Archetype

Horde GSC

Thoughts

Cult horde, relying on good Secondaries (even better in Arks) and loads of bodies is an increasingly popular strategy, but Nicholas' build here has one major wildcard compared to the standard version - running as Pauper Princes instead of Industrial custom cult. That gives you two key things - a bit of extra punch from the Jackals in melee (which since they essentially have to take the power weapons now, why not), and access to the extremely powerful Reliquary of Saint Tenndarc, making an already tough-to-shift army even more durable. That feels at least plausible as an option in a metagame where you're going to face some brutally nasty Marine shooting builds, and I do like that it also makes the small Acolyte squads with one saw quite a bit scarier. Some versions of this list risk folding if they get tagged on too broad a front, but the choices made here ensure that's less likely to happen. Definitely some food for thought, and interesting to see whether this becomes an enduring contender against the power of Industrial Cult, congratulations to Nicholas on rounding out the top four.

The Best of the Rest

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

• 5th - Casey Glynn - Iron Hands: Brutal all-rounder shooty Iron Hands, with Devastators, Gladiator Reapers and the super Contemptor.
• 6th - Paul Woodman - Dark Angels: Deathwing and Herohammer Dark Angels, with lots of big Terminator blocks and some Black Knights snuck in thanks to being Inner Circle.
• 7th - Todd Plourde - Leagues of Votann: An unusual all-mechanised Ymyr list, with five Sagitaurs and bikes riding alongside.
• 8th - Tony Phillips - Adeptus Custodes: Emperor's Chosen with a big Warden brick as a solid core, and lots of picy shooting backing them up (Caladius Tanks and Helverins).
• 9th - Samuel Pope - Tyranids: Mortal Wound-heavy Leviathan, using a pair of Maleceptors and lots of herohammer to wither the opponent away.

Wrap Up

OK, that's actually it for this week now - hope to see lots of UK readers at Beachhead Brawl this weekend. i'm the idiot with the Wraithknight.

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