As you may have seen last week, Games Workshop decided that the output of Immortals in the new Canoptek Court detachment was maybe a little too Devastating, and dropped a hammer on the combo. That, of course, was too late to be adopted by events on the weekend, meaning that Phaerons across the globe (including me) got to unleash its full power for one tournament.

The results from the weekend strongly suggest GW were right to banish this particular interaction back to the crypts, but Canoptek Court wasn't the only Necron build excelling on the tabletops, with C'tan heavy Hypercrypt builds putting in numerous fantastic performances as well. Necrons have come in super hot, and even in my capacity as OVERLORD WINGS, I'm hoping GW have kept the option of some small final tweaks to the Dataslate open, as although the metagame might manage to adapt to this latest threat, C'tan are looking like they're probably a bit too cheap after all the buffs they picked up in the book. Equally, maybe some buffs for underperforming factions will provide new challengers - we'll have to wait and see. The changes to the Court did make the rules cutoff for LVO, so at this weekend we'll get a full showcase of where they sit relative to other top factions.

That's for the future though - this week we've got eight events to look at, and today I (Wings) will be covering:

Unified Tournament Circuit 40K Finals
New Years Knockout 2024
Critical Hit Grand Clash
German Finals 2023

On Friday we'll have Lowest of Men looking at:

The Nottingham 40k Super-Major
Münsterland GT5
Torino Open Qualifier
Mekabrew Mania

Unified Tournament Circuit 40K Finals

41-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Westminster, MD, US on January 13 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Take and Hold - Search and Destroy - Chilling Rain

Derek Apsche - Chaos Space Marines (Slaves to Darkness): Abaddon leading waves after waves of Accursed Cultists to war, plus some Forgefiends and utility Daemons.

Army List - Click to Expand

accused cultists (2000 points)

Chaos Space Marines Strike Force (2000 points) Slaves to Darkness

CHARACTERS

Abaddon the Despoiler (310 points) • Warlord • 1x Drach’nyen 1x Talon of Horus

Dark Commune (55 points) • Mark of Chaos: Chaos Undivided • 1x Cult Demagogue • 1x Autopistol 1x Commune stave • 1x Mindwitch • 1x Close combat weapon 1x Warp Curse • 1x Iconarch • 1x Autopistol 1x Chaos Icon 1x Close combat weapon • 2x Blessed Blade • 2x Commune blade

Dark Commune (55 points) • Mark of Chaos: Chaos Undivided • 1x Cult Demagogue • 1x Autopistol 1x Commune stave • 1x Mindwitch • 1x Close combat weapon 1x Warp Curse • 1x Iconarch • 1x Autopistol 1x Chaos Icon 1x Close combat weapon • 2x Blessed Blade • 2x Commune blade

Dark Commune (55 points) • Mark of Chaos: Nurgle • 1x Cult Demagogue • 1x Autopistol 1x Commune stave • 1x Mindwitch • 1x Close combat weapon 1x Warp Curse • 1x Iconarch • 1x Autopistol 1x Chaos Icon 1x Close combat weapon • 2x Blessed Blade • 2x Commune blade

BATTLELINE

Cultist Mob (55 points) • Mark of Chaos: Nurgle • 1x Cultist Champion • 1x Autopistol 1x Brutal assault weapon • 9x Chaos Cultist • 6x Autopistol 6x Brutal assault weapon 1x Close combat weapon 1x Close combat weapon 1x Close combat weapon 1x Cultist grenade launcher 1x Flamer 1x Heavy stubber

Cultist Mob (55 points) • Mark of Chaos: Nurgle • 1x Cultist Champion • 1x Autopistol 1x Brutal assault weapon • 9x Chaos Cultist • 6x Autopistol 6x Brutal assault weapon 1x Close combat weapon 1x Close combat weapon 1x Close combat weapon 1x Cultist grenade launcher 1x Flamer 1x Heavy stubber

Legionaries (90 points) • Mark of Chaos: Chaos Undivided • 1x Aspiring Champion • 1x Chaos Icon 1x Close combat weapon 1x Heavy melee weapon 1x Plasma pistol • 4x Legionary • 2x Astartes chainsword 4x Bolt pistol 4x Close combat weapon 1x Heavy melee weapon 1x Lascannon

OTHER DATASHEETS

Accursed Cultists (190 points) • Mark of Chaos: Nurgle • 10x Mutant • 10x Blasphemous appendages • 6x Torment • 6x Hideous mutations

Accursed Cultists (190 points) • Mark of Chaos: Chaos Undivided • 10x Mutant • 10x Blasphemous appendages • 6x Torment • 6x Hideous mutations

Accursed Cultists (190 points) • Mark of Chaos: Chaos Undivided • 10x Mutant • 10x Blasphemous appendages • 6x Torment • 6x Hideous mutations

Chaos Bikers (85 points) • Mark of Chaos: Nurgle • 1x Biker Champion • 1x Chaos Icon 1x Close combat weapon 1x Combi-bolter 1x Plasma pistol • 2x Chaos Biker • 2x Astartes chainsword 2x Close combat weapon 2x Combi-bolter 2x Plasma gun

Forgefiend (180 points) • Mark of Chaos: Nurgle • 1x Armoured limbs 2x Ectoplasma cannon 1x Ectoplasma cannon

Forgefiend (180 points) • Mark of Chaos: Chaos Undivided • 1x Armoured limbs 2x Ectoplasma cannon 1x Ectoplasma cannon

ALLIED UNITS

Nurglings (35 points) • 3x Nurgling Swarm • 3x Diseased claws and teeth

Nurglings (35 points) • 3x Nurgling Swarm • 3x Diseased claws and teeth

Nurglings (35 points) • 3x Nurgling Swarm • 3x Diseased claws and teeth

Seekers (85 points) • 1x Heartseeker • 1x Lashing tongue 1x Slashing claws • 4x Seeker • 1x Daemonic Icon 1x Instrument of Chaos 4x Lashing tongue 4x Slashing claws

Syll’Esske (120 points) • 1x Axe of Dominion 1x Cacophonic choir 1x Scourging whip

Exported with App Version: v1.8.1 (33), Data Version: v319

vs.

Matt Lorah - Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion): Teleporting Immortals galore, complete with Monolith and Szeras, plus two C'tan to murder stuff.

Army List - Click to Expand

Immortal hypercrypt (2000 Points)

Necrons Hypercrypt Legion Strike Force (2000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Chronomancer (60 Points) • 1x Chronomancer’s stave • Enhancements: Dimensional Overseer

Chronomancer (70 Points) • 1x Chronomancer’s stave • Enhancements: Osteoclave Fulcrum

C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer (255 Points) • 1x Gaze of death 1x Scythe of the Nightbringer

C’tan Shard of the Void Dragon (270 Points) • 1x Canoptek tail blades 1x Spear of the Void Dragon 1x Voltaic storm

Illuminor Szeras (160 Points) • 1x Eldritch Lance 1x Impaling legs

Imotekh the Stormlord (100 Points) • Warlord • 1x Gauntlet of Fire 1x Staff of the Destroyer

Plasmancer (80 Points) • 1x Plasmic lance • Enhancements: Arisen Tyrant

BATTLELINE

Immortals (140 Points) • 10x Immortal • 10x Close combat weapon 10x Gauss blaster

Immortals (140 Points) • 10x Immortal • 10x Close combat weapon 10x Gauss blaster

Immortals (140 Points) • 10x Immortal • 10x Close combat weapon 10x Tesla carbine

OTHER DATASHEETS

Canoptek Scarab Swarms (40 Points) • 3x Canoptek Scarab Swarm • 3x Feeder mandibles

Canoptek Scarab Swarms (40 Points) • 3x Canoptek Scarab Swarm • 3x Feeder mandibles

Deathmarks (65 Points) • 5x Deathmark • 5x Close combat weapon 5x Synaptic disintegrator

Lokhust Destroyers (30 Points) • 1x Close combat weapon 1x Gauss cannon

Lokhust Destroyers (30 Points) • 1x Close combat weapon 1x Gauss cannon

Lokhust Destroyers (30 Points) • 1x Close combat weapon 1x Gauss cannon

Monolith (350 Points) • 4x Death ray 1x Particle whip 1x Portal of exile

Exported with App Version: v1.8.1 (26), Data Version: v319

Thoughts

A classic Showdown here, pitting a well-established metagame tyrant against a particularly unusual build from the new Codex on the block. Accursed Cultists with Abaddon providing a 4++ are even more of a nightmare to clear off the table than they normally are, providing the Chaos side of things with overwhelming pressure that threatens to bowl lots of armies clean off the table on Search and Destroy. Adding some speedy utility units like the Seekers and Bikes is great on this map too, helping reach out and cause problems whenever needed, and I think more lists should be running solo Syll'Esske in general. All good stuff - so do the Necrons have the tools to answer it?

They certainly look ready to have a crack at it, and just in general here I think Matt's list rules. Between the Monolith, Chronomancers and the Hypercrypt stratagems those Immortals are going to be bouncing around like nobodies business, and for general purposes I think the choice to go with Gauss on two of the units is pretty sharp. With Szeras, that gives you a juicy AP-2, which means they'll reliably clip some wounds off sturdier targets than normal. Here that's obviously a bit less good - you really want all Tesla all the time into the cultists, but at least you have the one Arisen Tyrant Plasmancer unit to go full re-roll sicko mode and obliterate the hordes. They can't do everything by themselves, but at least there are some fairly considerable speed bumps kicking around in the form of the C'tan. A full Undivided Cultist unit might threaten one of these on their go turn, but nothing else has an efficient story into them, and killing-wise the Necrons clearly have this.

Where they might have issues is just on suffering full-bore Primary denial. The Chaos side can play a pretty efficient Homers/Engage Fixed Secondary plan, easily reaching 30-35VP, so if they do that, lock in some early 10s and stick the Necrons on 5s for most of the game, they might be able to build an insurmountable lead. Heavy pressure will also reduce the Necrons room for maneuvre with their deep striking - Cosmic Precision and the Monolith both give them a bit more ability to work around a board flood than normal, but if they get boxed in it's still very bad for them. Assassinating Abaddon is their key route to making their lives far easier - after that, the Deathmarks or Epic Challenge can plausibly snipe out Dark Commune leaders, after which the Cultist blocks will melt instantly. I think you quite genuinely go for trying to Cosmic Precision the Nightbringer right next to Abaddon here, and hope he can't run away fast enough to avoid the following turn's charge, as if he goes down the entire tenor of the game changes.

That's easier said than done of course, and this feels like a game where the Necrons are the side that has to make something happen - if they try and play safely, they'll get ground out. It looks like the Chaos forces did a good job of suppressing the scoring at least partially, but in the end the Necrons were just able to eke out enough of a score to take the title.

Result

Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion) Victory - 79 - 76

Matt Lorah - Necrons (Hypercrypt Legion) - 1st Place

Monolith with Death Rays. Credit: Rockfish

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Hypermobile Hypercrypt

Thoughts

Covered in the Showdown, but I really do need to stress again how much I love this build - it can do some absurd tricks on the table, it has all my favourite toys in it, and it has me seriously wondering if I need to paint 20 more Immortals. Major props to Matt on the big win!

The Best of the Rest

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

2nd (4.5-0.5) - Joshua Campbell - Necrons (Canoptek Court): Triple C'tan, double Wraiths and the Immortal bomb.
3rd - Derek Apsche - Chaos Space Marines: See Showdown.
4th - Mark Hertel - Ultramarines (Gladius Task Force): Land Raider spam continues, and given Mark only dropped a game to the Immortal bomb (incredible into Raiders) expect even more of this to come.
5th - Scott Horras - Astra Militarum: A medium tank masterclass - three Dorns, some Bullgryn to protect them, and a mixture of cheap transports, Cyclops and Gaunt's Ghosts for objective play.
6th - Andrew Gonyo - T'au Empire: Heavily mechanised Tau with three Breacherfish plus an extra Devilfish with Pathfinders, supported by a full Crisis bomb, Longstrike and a Hammerhead.
7th - Zach Comeau - T'au Empire: Even more Breachers here, some forced to footslog, and a bunch more infantry to boot, backed by some small troubleshooting Crisis units.

New Years Knockout 2024

49-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Raytown, MO, United States on January 13 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Dan Sammons - Leagues of Votann (Oathband) - 1st Place

Sagitaur. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Judgement Day (1995 points)

Leagues of Votann Strike Force (2000 points) Oathband

CHARACTERS

Einhyr Champion (60 points) • 1x Autoch-pattern combi-bolter 1x Mass hammer 1x Weavefield Crest

Grimnyr (85 points) • 1x Grimnyr • 1x Ancestral Wrath 1x Ancestral ward stave • Enhancement: Appraising Glare • 2x CORV • 2x Autoch-pattern bolter 2x Close combat weapon

Grimnyr (90 points) • 1x Grimnyr • 1x Ancestral Wrath 1x Ancestral ward stave • Enhancement: Wayfarer’s Grace • 2x CORV • 2x Autoch-pattern bolter 2x Close combat weapon

Kâhl (70 points) • Warlord • 1x Mass gauntlet 1x Rampart Crest 1x Volkanite disintegrator

BATTLELINE

Hearthkyn Warriors (110 points) • 1x Theyn • 1x Close combat weapon 1x EtaCarn plasma pistol 1x Kin melee weapon 1x Weavefield Crest • 9x Hearthkyn Warrior • 9x Autoch-pattern bolt pistol 7x Autoch-pattern bolter 9x Close combat weapon 1x Comms Array 1x HYLas auto rifle 1x Magna-rail rifle 1x Medipack 1x Pan Spectral Scanner

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

Sagitaur (100 points) • 1x Armoured wheels 1x HYLas beam cannon 1x Twin bolt cannon

Sagitaur (100 points) • 1x Armoured wheels 1x HYLas beam cannon 1x Twin bolt cannon

Sagitaur (100 points) • 1x Armoured wheels 1x HYLas beam cannon 1x Twin bolt cannon

Sagitaur (100 points) • 1x Armoured wheels 1x HYLas beam cannon 1x Twin bolt cannon

Sagitaur (100 points) • 1x Armoured wheels 1x HYLas beam cannon 1x Twin bolt cannon

Sagitaur (100 points) • 1x Armoured wheels 1x HYLas beam cannon 1x Twin bolt cannon

OTHER DATASHEETS

Brôkhyr Thunderkyn (75 points) • 3x Brôkhyr Thunderkyn • 3x Close combat weapon 3x Graviton blast cannon

Brôkhyr Thunderkyn (75 points) • 3x Brôkhyr Thunderkyn • 3x Close combat weapon 3x Graviton blast cannon

Cthonian Beserks (100 points) • 5x Cthonian Beserk • 5x Concussion maul 1x Mole grenade launcher

Cthonian Beserks (100 points) • 5x Cthonian Beserk • 5x Concussion maul 1x Mole grenade launcher

Einhyr Hearthguard (300 points) • 1x Hesyr • 1x Concussion hammer 1x Exo-armour grenade launcher 1x Teleport Crest 1x Volkanite disintegrator • 9x Einhyr Hearthguard • 9x Concussion gauntlet 9x Exo-armour grenade launcher 9x Volkanite disintegrator

Einhyr Hearthguard (150 points) • 1x Hesyr • 1x Concussion hammer 1x Exo-armour grenade launcher 1x Teleport Crest 1x Volkanite disintegrator • 4x Einhyr Hearthguard • 4x Concussion gauntlet 4x Exo-armour grenade launcher 4x Volkanite disintegrator

Hernkyn Pioneers (90 points) • 3x Hernkyn Pioneer • 3x Bolt revolver 3x Bolt shotgun 1x Comms Array 1x HYLas rotary cannon 3x Magna-coil autocannon 1x Pan Spectral Scanner 3x Plasma knife

Hernkyn Pioneers (90 points) • 3x Hernkyn Pioneer • 3x Bolt revolver 3x Bolt shotgun 1x Comms Array 1x HYLas rotary cannon 3x Magna-coil autocannon 1x Pan Spectral Scanner 3x Plasma knife

Exported with App Version: v1.8.1 (33), Data Version: v319

Archetype

Sagitaur Spam

Thoughts

Dan has appeared in this esteemed column many times, and it's usually when he's devised some new and improved method to blast all his opponent's models off the table at speed. Votann are extremely good at this, because they have ranged outputs to cater for most targets, with Sagitaurs providing a nice mix of anti-tank and volume fire, Hearthguard being one of the very best anti-horde choices in the entire game, and Thunderkyn adding some very cost-efficient additional shots into vehicles or elite infantry. Only 2+ save tanks give the guns real pause, and there you have the excellent fallback plan of double-stacking them with Judgement tokens and unleashing Beserks with Warrior Pride, ready to hammer them into next week.

The only challenge with assembling this army is finding enough stuff to put in the Sagitaurs, and I like the choice of adding a couple of Grimnyrs - they're cheap, their shooting is surprisingly efficient, and because of their pet CORVs they can't just get punked by a single big shot like some Characters. Wayfarers Grace on one of them also makes them extra sticky, providing a pseudo Lone-Op experience for a key turn if they're far from the foe. I have developed a healthy respect for Votann after some recent encounters with them, and this looks like a particularly well optimised version, well done to Dan on the win.

Joe Guzowski - Orks (Waaagh! Tribe) - 2nd Place (Undefeated)

Battlewagon - Deathrolla and Kannon. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Fax (1995 Points)

Orks Waaagh! Tribe Strike Force (2000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Big Mek in Mega Armour (85 Points) • 1x Grot Oiler 1x Kustom Force Field 1x Kustom mega-blasta 1x Power klaw

Big Mek in Mega Armour (85 Points) • 1x Grot Oiler 1x Kustom Force Field 1x Kustom mega-blasta 1x Power klaw

Boss Snikrot (85 Points) • 1x Mork’s Teeth 1x Slugga

Mozrog Skragbad (195 Points) • 1x Big Chompa’s jaws 1x Gutrippa 1x Thump gun

Warboss (80 Points) • Warlord • 1x Attack squig 1x Kombi-weapon 1x Power klaw 1x Twin slugga • Enhancements: Supa-Cybork Body

Warboss (65 Points) • 1x Attack squig 1x Big choppa 1x Kombi-weapon 1x Twin slugga

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

Trukk (60 Points) • 1x Big shoota 1x Spiked wheels 1x Wreckin’ ball

OTHER DATASHEETS

Battlewagon (185 Points) • 4x Big shoota 1x Deff rolla 1x Grabbin’ klaw 1x Killkannon 1x Lobba 1x Wreckin’ ball 1x ’Ard Case

Deff Dread (130 Points) • 3x Dread klaw 1x Kustom mega-blasta 1x Stompy feet

Gretchin (40 Points) • 1x Runtherd • 1x Grot-smacka 1x Slugga • 10x Gretchin • 10x Close combat weapon 10x Grot blasta

Kommandos (135 Points) • 1x Bomb Squig 1x Distraction Grot • 1x Boss Nob • 1x Power klaw 1x Slugga • 9x Kommando • 1x Breacha ram 1x Burna 4x Choppa 1x Close combat weapon 1x Close combat weapon 2x Close combat weapon 1x Rokkit launcha 4x Slugga 2x Speshul Kommando shoota

Meganobz (150 Points) • 5x Meganob • 3x Kustom shoota 3x Power klaw 2x Twin killsaw

Meganobz (150 Points) • 5x Meganob • 3x Kustom shoota 3x Power klaw 2x Twin killsaw

Nobz (210 Points) • 2x Ammo Runt • 1x Boss Nob • 1x Big choppa 1x Slugga • 9x Nob • 4x Big choppa 5x Power klaw 9x Slugga

Nobz (210 Points) • 2x Ammo Runt • 1x Boss Nob • 1x Big choppa 1x Slugga • 9x Nob • 4x Big choppa 5x Power klaw 9x Slugga

Stormboyz (65 Points) • 1x Boss Nob • 1x Power klaw 1x Slugga • 4x Stormboy • 4x Choppa 4x Slugga

Stormboyz (65 Points) • 1x Boss Nob • 1x Power klaw 1x Slugga • 4x Stormboy • 4x Choppa 4x Slugga

Exported with App Version: v1.8.1 (26), Data Version: v319

Archetype

Ork Pressure

Thoughts

The tried and true orky plan of rolling people over (both metaphorically and literally, see the Battlewagon) gets another excellent outing here. This build feels particularly good into Necrons, saturating them with targets and packing enough volume melee to plausibly cut down C'tan, and since the forces of the Dynasties are looking very strong even after the Immortal changes that's definitely a valuable feature. I think if the meta is going to adapt to Necrons Orks are one of the factions that can potentially do it, so watch this space, and well done to Joe for upholding Orky honour with an undefeated finish.

The Best of the Rest

There were 8 more players on 4-1 records. They were:

3rd - Chase Campbell - Necrons (Canoptek Court): Triple C'tan, Double Wraiths, Immortals.
4th - Howard Watts - Ultramarines (Gladius Task Force): All-rounder Ultramarines with a Deep Striking Calgar/Apothecary/Aggressor brick as the centrepiece.
5th - Tyler Devries - Necrons (Canoptek Court): Immortal-free Court, going for Double C'tan, triple Wraiths and triple Doomstalkers to maintain that ranged threat.
6th - Aaron Hermstedt - Death Guard: Crunchy Death Guard, presenting a mixture of Rhino-riding Plague Marines, Plaguebursts and War Dogs to the foe.
7th - Tim Royers - Black Templars (Righteous Crusaders): MSU Mechanised Sword Brethren riding a mix of a Redeemer and an Impulsor, supported by a fairly all-rounder mix of tools.
8th - Peyton Preece - Adeptus Mechanicus (Skitarii Hunter Cohort): 18 Ironstrider/Sydonian bodies supported by some mechanished infantry and tonnes of MSU Pterazii and Infiltrators.
9th - Ben Cherwien - Black Templars (Firestorm Assault Force): MSU Crusaders and Sword Brethren ready to make use of the Detachments transport shenanigans, and a big unit of Aggressors with flamers to roast stuff.
10th - Josh Lewis - Necrons (Canoptek Court): Only one Wraith unit here, backed by two Immortal squads, two C'tan and three Doomstalkers.

Critical Hit Grand Clash - 2 Day GT

30-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Courtice, ON, Canada on January 13 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Nicholas Redford - Chaos Space Marines (Slaves to Darkness) - 1st Place

Iron Warriors Chaos Lord and Space Marines. Credit: SRM

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

accursed chosen (2000 points)

Chaos Space Marines Strike Force (2000 points) Slaves to Darkness

CHARACTERS

Chaos Lord (75 points) • Mark of Chaos: Chaos Undivided • Warlord • 1x Daemon hammer 1x Power fist

Chaos Lord (75 points) • Mark of Chaos: Chaos Undivided • 1x Daemon hammer 1x Power fist

Chaos Lord (75 points) • Mark of Chaos: Chaos Undivided • 1x Daemon hammer 1x Power fist

Dark Commune (55 points) • Mark of Chaos: Chaos Undivided • 1x Cult Demagogue • 1x Autopistol 1x Commune stave • 1x Mindwitch • 1x Close combat weapon 1x Warp Curse • 1x Iconarch • 1x Autopistol 1x Chaos Icon 1x Close combat weapon • 2x Blessed Blade • 2x Commune blade

Dark Commune (55 points) • Mark of Chaos: Nurgle • 1x Cult Demagogue • 1x Autopistol 1x Commune stave • 1x Mindwitch • 1x Close combat weapon 1x Warp Curse • 1x Iconarch • 1x Autopistol 1x Chaos Icon 1x Close combat weapon • 2x Blessed Blade • 2x Commune blade

BATTLELINE

Cultist Mob (55 points) • Mark of Chaos: Nurgle • 1x Cultist Champion • 1x Close combat weapon 1x Cultist firearm • 9x Chaos Cultist • 6x Close combat weapon 1x Close combat weapon 1x Close combat weapon 1x Close combat weapon 6x Cultist firearm 1x Cultist grenade launcher 1x Flamer 1x Heavy stubber

Legionaries (90 points) • Mark of Chaos: Slaanesh • 1x Aspiring Champion • 1x Chaos Icon 1x Close combat weapon 1x Heavy melee weapon 1x Plasma pistol • 4x Legionary • 2x Astartes chainsword 4x Bolt pistol 4x Close combat weapon 1x Heavy melee weapon 1x Lascannon

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

Chaos Rhino (75 points) • Mark of Chaos: Nurgle • 1x Armoured tracks 1x Combi-bolter 1x Combi-weapon 1x Havoc launcher

Chaos Rhino (75 points) • Mark of Chaos: Nurgle • 1x Armoured tracks 1x Combi-bolter 1x Combi-weapon 1x Havoc launcher

OTHER DATASHEETS

Accursed Cultists (190 points) • Mark of Chaos: Chaos Undivided • 10x Mutant • 10x Blasphemous appendages • 6x Torment • 6x Hideous mutations

Accursed Cultists (190 points) • Mark of Chaos: Nurgle • 10x Mutant • 10x Blasphemous appendages • 6x Torment • 6x Hideous mutations

Chaos Predator Destructor (130 points) • Mark of Chaos: Nurgle • 1x Armoured tracks 1x Combi-weapon 1x Havoc launcher 2x Lascannon 1x Predator autocannon

Chosen (110 points) • Mark of Chaos: Chaos Undivided • 1x Chosen Champion • 1x Boltgun 1x Chaos Icon 1x Plasma pistol 1x Power fist • 4x Chosen • 3x Accursed weapon 3x Bolt pistol 1x Boltgun 2x Combi-weapon 1x Paired accursed weapons 1x Plasma pistol

Chosen (110 points) • Mark of Chaos: Chaos Undivided • 1x Chosen Champion • 1x Boltgun 1x Chaos Icon 1x Plasma pistol 1x Power fist • 4x Chosen • 3x Accursed weapon 3x Bolt pistol 1x Boltgun 2x Combi-weapon 1x Paired accursed weapons 1x Plasma pistol

Chosen (110 points) • Mark of Chaos: Chaos Undivided • 1x Chosen Champion • 1x Boltgun 1x Chaos Icon 1x Plasma pistol 1x Power fist • 4x Chosen • 3x Accursed weapon 3x Bolt pistol 1x Boltgun 2x Combi-weapon 1x Paired accursed weapons 1x Plasma pistol

Forgefiend (180 points) • Mark of Chaos: Chaos Undivided • 1x Armoured limbs 2x Ectoplasma cannon 1x Ectoplasma cannon

Forgefiend (180 points) • Mark of Chaos: Nurgle • 1x Armoured limbs 2x Ectoplasma cannon 1x Ectoplasma cannon

Warp Talons (100 points) • Mark of Chaos: Slaanesh • 1x Warp Talon Champion • 1x Warp claws • 4x Warp Talon • 4x Warp claws

ALLIED UNITS

Nurglings (35 points) • 3x Nurgling Swarm • 3x Diseased claws and teeth

Nurglings (35 points) • 3x Nurgling Swarm • 3x Diseased claws and teeth

Exported with App Version: v1.8.1 (33), Data Version: v319

Archetype

CSM Goodstuff

Thoughts

Lots of the standard Chaos Space Marine toys on show here, fielding the regular mix of Chosen, Accursed Cultists and Forgefiends to unleash terrible destruction and mayhem. I do really like the Nurgle Predator as an extra shooting unit when points are a bit tight - Nurgle Pacts give it some surprisingly nasty spike potential, and it being pretty small makes it fairly easy to either hide or sneak on from Strategic Reserves when some extra oomph is needed. A nice little tech piece added to a classic setup, and the Dark Gods rewarded Nicholas well for his choices.

The Best of the Rest

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

2nd - Ryan Bell - World Eaters: A slightly tweaked version of the standard World Eaters formula, cutting back on Berserkers for a few extra Eightbound and some extra Jakhals and Spawn for backfield babysitting.

3rd - Adrien Mindjimba - Black Templars (Righteous Crusaders): Two full Primaris Crusader bricks supported by small shooting units, Invictors and a unit of Sword Brethren in an Impulsor. With lots of Infiltrators in the metagame, Invictors can be quite a potent punish if they reach out and trap something with No Escape, or even just bait something crunchy for the Sword Brethren to murder.

4th - Dan Bruce - Space Wolves (Ironstorm Spearhead): Big crunchy vehicles and one large ThunderCav unit as a very violent counter-charge threat.

German Finals 2023

This event was the finals of a series of tournaments bringing together all the top-ranked players in Germany, so although there were only 12 players in this event, they'd been through several previous challenges to get there!

All the lists for this event can be found in Tabletop Herald. The event used 20-0 scoring.

Matthias Bellman - Necrons (Canoptek Court) - 1st Place

Imotekh the Stormlord. Credit: Wings

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

40 Shades of Assassination

Detachment Choice: Canoptek Court

C'tan Shard of the Nightbringer [255pts]: Gaze of death, Scythe of the Nightbringer

Illuminor Szeras [160pts]: Eldritch lance, Impaling legs

Imotekh the Memelord [100pts]: Gauntlet of Fire, Staff of the Destroyer, Warlord

Chronomancer [50pts]: Chronomancer's stave

Chronomancer [50pts]: Chronomancer's stave

Hexmark Destroyer [70pts]: Close combat weapon, Enmitic disintegrator pistols

Overlord with Translocation Shroud [85pts]: Overlord's blade, Resurrection orb

Plasmancer [55pts]: Plasmic lance

Technomancer [80pts]: Dimensional Sanctum, Staff of light

Technomancer [75pts]: Hyperphasic Fulcrum, Staff of light

Immortals [140pts] . 10x Immortal: 10x Close combat weapon, 10x Tesla carbine

Immortals [140pts] . 10x Immortal: 10x Close combat weapon, 10x Tesla carbine

Immortals [140pts] . 10x Immortal: 10x Close combat weapon, 10x Tesla carbine

Canoptek Acanthrites [85pts] . 3x Canoptek Acanthrite: 3x Cutting beam, 3x Voidblade

Canoptek Wraiths [220pts] . 6x Wraith w/ claws and particle caster: 6x Particle caster, 6x Vicious claws

Canoptek Wraiths [220pts] . 6x Wraith w/ claws and particle caster: 6x Particle caster, 6x Vicious claws

Canoptek Reanimator [75pts]: 2x Atomiser beam, Reanimator's claws

++ Total: [2,000pts] ++

Archetype

Canoptek Wraith/Immortal Spam

Thoughts

Another Canoptek Court build to round us out today, here going fairly all-in on using Immortals to get stuff done. Adding Chronomancers for some units and packing a Reanimator and Szeras to castle them round means they can actually hold a position (or dance around for objective shenanigans), and bringing Imotekh along for the ride as well means that there's a ready supply of Command Points to allow for double-dipping on Cynosure when needed. Two units of Wraiths and the Nightbringer is more than enough to hold up the opponent while all that devastation is unleashed, and although Tyranid monster mash was able to narrowly bring it down in one game, Matthias emerged from the bloodbath of top players with the only 4-1 record, and thus took the trophy!

The Best of the Rest

The rest of the top four were:

2nd - Kevin Zöllinger - Black Templars (Ironstorm Spearhead): The classic Black Templars combo of cheap board presence from Crusader squads plus a bunch of hulls (Reapers and Predators), some of which have extra multi-meltas strapped to them.
3rd - Arne Zerndt - Chaos Space Marines: Triple Accursed Commune pressure, with some Warpflamer Rubricae as extra overwatch threats.
4th - Leif Westermann - Aeldari: Spinners, Wraithguard, Yncarne, with the only unusual inclusion being some Fire Dragons to babysit Fuegan.

Wrap Up

Make sure to check back on Friday for the rest of this Canop-tastic week, and make sure, of course, to come back next week as we break down the LVO results.