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

Well we have a big Competitive Innovations in the Mortal Realms this week, the largest we've ever done. It's so big, we couldn't contain it to one article! Today we'll cover half the tournaments, and the rest tomorrow. So today you got:

• Cherokee Open 2026 - Age of Sigmar Champs - United States
• Heartrender (At Wizard's Alley) - United States
• Old Man Gaming Open 2026 - United States
• La Classique d'hiver 2026 - Canada
• Age of Sigmar: Winter War 2026 - Finland

Cherokee Open 2026 - Age of Sigmar Champs

62-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Cherokee, NC, United States on February 21 2026. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Matchup & Mission - Creeping Corruption

Fabien Barbusse - Cities of Sigmar

vs.

Tobias Kempf - Maggotkin of Nurgle

Thoughts

This is a really close game. Nurgle is starting to settle in and people are seeing some really strong results from Herohammer lists with a touch of Sloven Knights, Plaguebearers and Rotswords.

Cities of Sigmar doesn't really have a ton of ways to deal with Wards. They mostly win by grinding out the opponent with strong anvils, and outmaneuvering them on objectives and denial pieces (like the Command Corps). Nurgle is probably better at playing the grind game, but definitely not at movement abilities.  The game very narrowly goes to Cities of Sigmar, likely thanks to the Sky-Port Profiteers able to teleport their troops onto objectives to pull ahead.

Result

Cities of Sigmar Victory - 51 - 49

Fabien Barbusse - Cities of Sigmar - 1st Place

Conner Tolbert

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Freeguilder Command Corps

Thoughts

Wow, that's a lot of Command Corps! Wonder who's in charge?

The Command Corps are a surprisingly decent all around unit. Their main draw is that they can tax your opponent for opponent's command point usage at a critical juncture once per battle, and issue an order to multiple units. They're surprisingly tanky too, with the Freeguild Marshal giving them a 5+ ward.

The Cavaliers are the major hammer, able to switch hit as both a hammer and an anvil if necessary. The Fusil-Major hangs back and tags units so everything gets +1 to hit when they charge in (and the Ironweld Cannon can barrage them).

The Sky-Port profiteers is a nice bit of tech, able to pick up the Command Corps and drop them back down anywhere, so they can easily snag objectives with their surprisingly high control score.

McKenzie Ewing - Soulblight Gravelords - 2nd Place (Undefeated)

Neferata, the Mortarch of Blood. Credit: chimp

The List

Archetype

Nefereta Midrange

Thoughts

Nefereta is a General we don't see a lot of lately so this list is pretty neat. Her main draw is the -1 to be hit aura wholly within 12" of her, which is pretty substantial on such a big base. Her other abilities, like the ability to merc a hero on a 5+, a spell to give a unit Ethereal and a pre-move for the chaff units is also quite nice.

There's so many different units its hard to cover them all, but the Vengorian lord is a very strong Monster that helps blunt enemy rend, Radukar makes those Zombies and Skeletons actually scary, and then most of the infantry seeks to overwhelm the enemy with sheer numbers.

Vargheists are a nice little tech piece that can deep strike and then get a decent fly speed once they touch down, and Nightguard help Bodyguard Radukar.

The Best of the Rest

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

• 3rd - Tobias Kempf - Maggotkin of Nurgle: See Showdown.
• 4th - Scott Pfaff - Maggotkin of Nurgle: Rotigus and Belga with Plaguebearers, Sloven Knights and Rotswords.
• 5th - Damien Lopez - Nighthaunt: Lady Olynder with Grimghast Reapers and Pyregheists.
• 6th - Robert Colt - Maggotkin of Nurgle:Glottkin and various supporting heroes with Rotswords and Sloven Knights.
• 7th - Logan Young - Slaves to Darkness: Chaos Warriors, Chosen and Knights.
• 8th - Calvin Rarie - Flesh-eater Courts: Dual Ghoul Kings on Zombie Dragon and Terrorgheist, leading yet more Dragons and Terrorgheists.
• 9th - Cody Bates - Stormcast Eternals: Bastian with Palladors and Questors.
• 10th - Hugh Vogt V - Skaventide:Grey Seer on Screaming Bell leading Moulder.

Heartrender (At Wizard's Alley)

48-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Wichita, KS, United States on February 21 2026. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Mission - Creeping Corruption

Joe Vucic - Ironjawz

vs.

Joel Follmeyer - Flesh-eater Courts

Thoughts

This is a hard judgement call to make as both armies have a lot of bodies they can sacrifice. Ardboyz are pretty tough, and Cryptguard are deceptively scary to charge, since they get a 3+ strike first and anti-charge. This means both want the other to charge them so the winner is likely going to be who can force the issue and make the other charge, springing the trap and destroying their hammers.

The winner is the FEC by a fair margin, though it could have gone either way.

Result

Flesh-eater Courts Victory - 68 - 50

Joel Follmeyer - Flesh-eater Courts - 1st Place

Ushoran by Mildnorman

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Ushoran and his royal guard

Thoughts

This is a solid all around list. Ushoran has a very strong delusion that improves charges for them, and reduces charges for the enemy, while giving Anti-Charge as a perk. He also helps manipulate the delusion roll so you almost always get what you want, and should he have to fight he swings hard and inflicts Strike Last, giving him free reign to smack the enemy around.

The Ghoul King on Royal Terrorgheist is a menace who can shred through units by buffing his attacks and his mount hits with very punishing Crit mortals attacks. He also has a delusion to help the Royal Zombie Dragon be even more dangerous by buffing its attacks.

The Cryptguard mostly work as a screen, they're stronger than they look. Despite the 6+ Save they can get a 5+ ward and get strike first, with anti charge that lets them pick up a few models before they get hit, reducing the incoming damage. Rounding it out are the Crypt horrors, which are just a solid hammer. Really good into Cavalry, but they can box most anything.

The Best of the Rest

There were 8 more players on 4-1 records (or better). They were:

• 2nd - Anthony Hubbell - Stormcast Eternals (4-0-1): Bastian and Karazai lead Annihilators.
• 3rd - Ashlee Hayden - Sylvaneth: Alarielle and Belthanos with Sylvaneth Big Boys.
• 4th - Matt Kahle - Cities of Sigmar: Steeeeeeeeeeam tanks (and one Ironweld cannon)
• 5th - Carter Babbs - Lumineth Realm-Lords:Herohammer Ellania and Ellathor, Light of Eltharion and Sevireth, protected by Bladelords.
• 6th - Joe Vucic - Ironjawz: See Showdown.
• 7th - Carson Serzyski - Ogor Mawtribes: Foot Ogors.
• 8th - David Westphall - Sylvaneth: Durthu and Drycha with lots of chaff.
• 9th - Walker Snapp - Helsmiths of Hashut: Uruk Tarr Artillery Barrage.

Old Man Gaming Open 2026

48-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Monroe, MI, United States on February 21 2026. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Alex Dent - Maggotkin of Nurgle

vs.

Dan Sasala - Stormcast Eternals

Thoughts

Well, as the list name implies here, the Stormcast do have a weakness to mortal wounds, and Nurgles got a lot of em.

The Nurgle book is pretty new, and a lot of players are still feeling it out. This is the first time we're really seeing it in the top bracket since the new book came out and that means sometimes opponents don't know how to deal with it, but also people are finally figuring out its strengths and how to leverage those.

Nurgle is, as on the tin, a slow and plodding army that tries to take it on the chin and grind it out with their opponent. Stormcast tend to like to charge in and take out crucial pieces early with their deep strikes, while weathering the hit back. Nurgle is probably one of the few armies that can stand their ground against the old Teleport and charge

Result

Maggotkin of Nurgle Victory - 56 - 48

Alex Dent - Maggotkin of Nurgle - 1st Place

Belga the Cystwitch Credit: MildNorman

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Nurgle Midrange

Thoughts

This is a rather different approach, hitting a bunch of different units to be adaptable to multiple armies.

Pestigors are your vanguard, able to be sent out first while the rest of the army catches up. In enemy territory, in tandem with Felhoof, they're actually a pretty strong infantry unit for their cost, able to punch above their weight thanks to Felhoof's +1 attack to them and -1 to rend on enemy units.

Belga is a primary support piece, giving the army's priests and wizards a little more oomph, and her warscroll prayer isn't bad either, both handing out mortal wounds to diseased units and even bringing back Plaguebearers if supercharged. The Blightkings are an interesting choice, but they make a solid anvil since the Lord of Blights shuts off negatives to saves. Rotswords fill the roll of a more traditional anvil, with a 3+ save, Shut off Commands if charged and the Lord of Plagues grants them +1 to attacks if charged too!

Slimex helps plant trees to increase the range of your army's abilities, and the beast of nurgle is a solid hammer that moves faster than you think and can charge for free in your opponent's charge phase.

The Best of the Rest

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

• 2nd - Dan Sasala - Stormcast Eternals: See Showdown.
• 3rd - Jack Cawood - Maggotkin of Nurgle: Rotigus and Belga with a mix of infantry and Sloven Knights.
• 4th - Chris Fuentes - Sylvaneth: Drycha with Revenant Seekers and various infantry.
• 5th - Brian Newstone - Cities of Sigmar: Freeguilders.
• 6th - Emmett Morton - Ironjawz: Gordrakk leads a mix of different infantry and a Tuskboss.
• 7th - Andrew Lach - Blades of Khorne: Mortal Infantry with Blood Warriors, Blood Reavers and Wrathmongers.
• 8th - Gabriel Cobaugh - Skaven: Hybrid of Moulder and Pestilens good stuff.
• 9th - Andrew Schauer - Disciples of Tzeentch: Kairos and Lord of Change with a cavalcade of Daemons.

La Classique d'hiver 2026 (aos)

42-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Sherbrooke, Québec, CA on February 21 2026. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Philippe Mongeau - Slaves to Darkness

vs.

Jordi Lerou - Ironjawz

Thoughts

Both some absolutely insane lists and it's cool when such a matchup is a close one too. A lot of it is going to come down to who gets to swing first, the Ironjawz list really wants that alpha Kragnos charge, and while the Ogroids don't necessarily care as much, they do not want to be on the receiving end of that.

Be'lakor will be crucial in denying Kragnos and chance to give out the early alpha charge, or Gordrakk from being able to hand out +1 to hit after a WAAAGH!, even then, they're still going to have to carve up a lot of wounds on each model, and their not exactly impotent just because they got charged.

It's a very close game, but the Ironjawz squeak ahead.

Result

Ironjawz Victory - 54 - 52

Jordi Lerou - Ironjawz - 1st Place

Megaboss on Maw-Krusha. Credit: Rich Nutter

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Herohammer

Thoughts

An interesting list here, simple and effective. The list is all Heroes, a true Herohammer list. Kragnos helps make the entire engine work by giving everything within 12" of him 3D6 charge, Gordrakk gives +1 to hit wholly within 18" when declaring a WAAAGH! and then basically everything in this list just hits like a truck. Since everything in the list is a Hero you can always declare a WAAAGH! every turn, so just keep charging in and turning stuff into paste before the opponent can act.

Danick Gagne - Skaventide - 2nd Place (Undefeated)

Credit: Jeremy Paul

The List

Archetype

Skaven Midrange

Thoughts

This is an interesting "bit of everything" list, headed by Screech Verminking. He can hand out a buff to a different clan each round, so why not throw in a bit of everything to get your money's worth? In addition to being a strong buff piece, he's also quite good in combat, shutting off commands for enemy infantry and swinging for Damage 3 attacks.

The primary damage dealers here are the Rat Ogors and Brood Terror. The Rat Ogors can stab themselves for an additional attack, while the brood Terror gives them +1 to hit for subtracting one of their own attacks (generally speaking, fair trade).

The Clanrats and Plague monks make effective chaff, while the Nightrunners can dash out early game and snatch up an objective in the middle, forcing your opponent to deal with that before turning their attention toward you. The Screaming Bell, of course, is the centerpiece of the army, giving a +2 to move or -1 to be hit buff depending on the round.

The Best of the Rest

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

• 3rd - Philippe Mongeau - Slaves to Darkness: See Showdown.
• 4th - Gabriel Samson - Maggotkin of Nurgle: Rotigus and various heroes with Rotswords and Sloven Knights.
• 5th - Yann Le Corff - Ogor Mawtribes: Beastclaw Raiders with Da Hurtlin Hogz for support.
• 6th - Francois Gabriel Leblanc-Vézina - Sylvaneth: Belthanos and Drycha lead Kurnoth and seekers.
• 7th - Amaury Rospars - Maggotkin of Nurgle: Rotigus leads Plaguebearers and Rotswords.

Age of Sigmar: Winter War 2026

38-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland on February 21 2026. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Anttu - - Stormcast Eternals

vs.

Max Müller - Ironjawz

Thoughts

Stormcast really got the edge here, straight up. Thanks to their ability to put themselves into reserves and to teleport, they can keep their crucial pieces safe from the early charges. Meanwhile, Palladors and Bastian can quite easily sweep through Brutes and Wrekkaz without a second thought, while the Questors snag objectives and the Longstrikes fire from a distance.

Result

Stormcast Eternals Victory - 80 - 41

Anttu - - Stormcast Eternals - 1st Place

Vanguard Palladors. Credit: Jonathan Sutcliffe

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Palladors and Questors

Thoughts

The Vanguard units here are the main damage dealers, with the Vanguard Raptors, of course, being one of the best ranged units in the game. Palladors, meanwhile, have a mean deep strike, shoot and charge. With Bastion Carthalos leading them, it's a free All Out Attack each round, not to mention he swings really good himself.

Running triple Questors gives much better coverage for objectives, letting them nominate three separate objectives to teleport on top of, and they're solid tanky units in and of themselves to boot.

The Best of the Rest

There were 4 more players on 4-1 records (or better). They were:

• 2nd - Simo Suonmaa - Sons of Behemat (4-0-1): 2 Gatebreakers and a lot of Mancrushers
• 3rd - Max Müller - Ironjawz: see Showdown.
• 4th - Markus Hyytiä - Blades of Khorne: Baleful Lords.
• 5th - Aasa Timonen - Hedonites of Slaanesh: Glutos, Sigvald and Lord of Pain with lots of Twinsouls.

Wrap Up

Whew! That was a lot, but we're still not done. We'll be back with 5 more events tomorrow so check in again!

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