Nova is later this week but we still got stuff to look forward to, with 4 events this week all over the world.

Sigmar at the Arena

42-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Coburg North, VIC, Australia on August 23 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Mission - The Vice

Kieren Coates - Skaventide

vs.

Thomas Smart - Nighthaunt

Thoughts

Both these lists are very unique for their faction and in another matchup the skaven list has some legs. Unfortunately many of the strengths of it are neutered in the way this specific Nighthaunt list is set up.

Thanquol faces one of the few wizards who can go toe to toe with him in the form of Nagash, and the Jezzails don't have many really good targets as the Knight of Shrouds is the only hero that could be hiding anyway. An infantry heavy list like this is a feast for cav heavy lists to run them over, and the Deceiver is probably the only thing that can scrap really well.

In the end the Nighthaunt have a crushing victory.

Result

Nighthaunt Victory - 44 - 24

Thomas Smart - Nighthaunt - 1st Place

Credit: Swiftblade

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Nagash and friends

Thoughts

It is refreshing to see a different Nighthaunt list at least. This list still uses a lot of the Nighthaunt good stuff but Nagash changes how they are used.

With Nagash's warscroll spell he can bring back models, more than even Olynder and hand out 5+ Wards. He also can get up and fight with the rest of the ghosts pretty well, too.  The cost of bringing Nagash is far fewer units, but he can at least bring them back to compensate.

I wouldn't say this is better than the usual list, but it's definitely an interesting one that makes some clever compromises to adjust for its shortcomings.

The Best of the Rest

There were 7 more players on 4-1 records. They were:

• 2nd - Kieren Coates - Skaventide: See showdown.
• 3rd - Sam Sims-Bailey - Blades of Khorne: Bloodthirster and lots of Bloodletters.
• 4th - Nathan Thompson - Ossiarch Bonereapers: Nagash with deathriders and morghast.
• 5th - Anthony Rowe - Nighthaunt: Mostly good stuff but a few oddities, like grimghast reapers.
• 6th - Daniel Trotter - Stormcast Eternals: Yndrasta and Karazai with a mix of infantry.
• 7th - Michael Szarek - Nighthaunt: Nighthaunt Good Stuff.
• 8th - Sam Morgan - Sylvaneth: Oh god, so many auxiliary Spite Revenants. So many.

Aqshy Summerfest '24 ITC GT

38-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Manchester, Connecticut, US on August 24 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Mission - Border War

Adam Weinstein - Ironjawz

vs.

Boris Poletaev - Nighthaunt

Thoughts

Something that can stand up to Nighthaunt! With Kragnos and the Rabble-Rowz, basically everything in the Ironjawz list can do a 3D6 run and charge which gives it a fair leg up in trying to catch these ghosts teleporting all over the place. Being so many wounds and so few targets, they have a harder time charging away from them on later turns whether that be by abusing Power Through or Wave of Terror when they're properly spread out. They also do a fair amount of damage on the charge which can punch through quite thoroughly.

The game ends with a solid victory to Ironjawz.

Result

Ironjawz Victory - 14 - 6

Adam Weinstein - Ironjawz - 1st Place

Maw-Grunta Gouger. Credit: Rich Nutter

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Kragnos and Big Pigs

Thoughts

A fascinating list that somehow managed to pull off a 5-0 but the way it all works together is quite clever. Kragnos, naturally grants everything a 3D6 charge and with the included Rabble-Rowza they play very nice together by putting him in some far flung corner and granting a run and charge.

This also means the Maw-Gruntas can rack up 3 momentum points turn 1 which lets the tusks do a crazy amount of damage. Kragnos himself is no slouch in combat either, able to box alongside the rest of the list when joining the charge.

All in all a very solid Monster mash list that overlaps a bunch of synergies to make an excellent steamroll engine.

Jiwan noah Singh - Daughters of Khaine - 2nd Place (Undefeated)

Blood Stalkers, Daughters of Khaine (Photo courtesy of Musterkrux)

The List

Archetype

Warlocks and Snakes

Thoughts

Most Daughters of Khaine lists have been very Witch Aelf heavy so it's interesting to see something else, especially in the 5-0 category.

Blood Sisters are pretty scary in combat, since they can fairly reliably make infantry strike last. Their weakness is trying to do the same to anything much bigger than that, so there has to be support.

Blood Stalkers offer decent ranged support, clearing out chaff that might try and slow them down while Khinerais operate as chaff of their own. The Warlocks are pretty versatile outriders, able to sling spells, shoot a few crossbow bolts, Power Through any chaff in the way and reliably redeploy away with their guaranteed 4 or better.

The Best of the Rest

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

• 3rd - Eddie Korando - Slaves to Darkness: Varanguard and Chosen.
• 4th - Basil Inferrera - Seraphon: Midrange Seraphon.
• 5th - Boris Poletaev - Nighthaunt: See Showdown.
• 6th - Tucker Barco - Stormcast Eternals: Krondys and Ionus with a mix of infantry.
• 7th - Jam Gould - Nighthaunt: Nighthaunt good stuff.

ARMED FORCES DAY 7 Age of Sigmar

33-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Lockport, Illinois, US on August 24 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings. There actually were no perfect win records here and there are 2 4-0-1s.

The Showdown

Jake Cachey Muhr - Ossiarch Bonereapers

vs.

Jon Anderson - Nighthaunt

Thoughts

Unfortunately, the Nighthaunt just really have this one in the bag here. The Ossiarch list is an interesting one, with Vokmortion able to effectively lock down a unit that drifts too close and the mass Cav and the squad of Morghast able to ping units and leave there are ways here to clean stuff out.

But the Nighthaunt are just far more mobile, flexible and lethal and they can keep the game tempo going at whatever speed they want.

Result

Nighthaunt Victory - 60 - 0

Jon Anderson - Nighthaunt - 1st Place

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Nighthaunt Good Stuff

Thoughts

This is just textbook Nighthaunt. Lady Olynder and Reikenor are the magic support heroes able to cast spells to buff their units and debuff the enemy while also healing. Bladegheist Revenants are your main hammer, able to cut down most forces rather easily, while the Dreadblade Harrows teleport around the board in both turns.

The Best of the Rest

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

• 2nd - Austin Thimesch - Ossiarch Bonereapers: Also scored 4-0-1, tying with the Champion on round 3 and going on to win 2 more games as well. Katakros with Mortek Guard, Morghast and a Harvester.
• 3rd - Patrick Dugan - Slaves to Darkness: S2D good stuff.
• 4th - Joel Came - Nighthaunt: Nighthaunt Good stuff.
• 5th - Jake Cachey Muhr - Ossiarch Bonereapers: See showdown.

Dwellers Below AoS GT

30-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in St. Catharines, ON, CA on August 24 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Mission - Focal Points

Levan Sichinava - Gloomspite Gitz

vs.

Michael Sabetti - Lumineth Realm-Lords

Thoughts

These are both top tier meta lists. Trogg spam brings a lot of powerful swings to the table and a bucket of hit points that is hard to carve through. The Lumineth list is Hurakan skew, with Severith and the Spirit of the Wind being able to shoot up the field and even scrap pretty well.

The most important tool here is the Windchargers, which get to ignore wards. Trogg lists will attempt to remain in the light of the bad moon as much as possible to get that 5+ ward and when that is instantly negated they're suddenly a lot more manageable. Focal Points is also a more mobile game, requiring you to be able to ping pong between lateral objectives to keep score up.

Troggs still put up a good fight but Lumineth pull a close victory.

Result

Lumineth Realm-Lords Victory - 34 - 31

Michael Sabetti - Lumineth Realm-Lords - 1st Place

Scinari Cathallar. Credit: Rich Nutter

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Hurakan skew

Thoughts

While I do call this Hurakan skew I want to give credit where it's due because there is a bit more going on here. The Hurakan part of this list is based around Sevireth, his Spirit of the Wind companion and the Windchargers. Sevireth and the spirit of the wind allow themselves and the windchargers to run and charge and the Hurakan Temple allows them to move twice or move, shoot and move.

The Riverblades make excellent character assassins with their ability to teleport, skip past chaff in the fight face and have Anti-Hero.

Callis and Toll are interesting additions, they can be placed into deep strike and have anti-Wizard, so they make a solid assassin unit if any Wizards are left unprotected or to drop on any objectives left unattended.

The Best of the Rest

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

• 2nd - Jordan Duncan - Slaves to Darkness: Belakor, Eternus and a Sorcerer Lord with Knights and Chosen
• 3rd - Yury Sichinava - Nighthaunt: Went 3-0-2, which is still pretty impressive. Nighthaunt good stuff with Reikenor and a Lord Executioner.
• 4th - Mitch Khwaja - Slaves to Darkness: Chaos Warriors, Chariots and Chosen.

Wrap Up

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