Lists of the Week: Top Performers Roundup 5/13/2024

 Hello battle brothers! Another week has come, and with it I have another Ironstorm Spearhead to write about. Two, actually, and they both rose to the top at the same event. At the Midwest Conquest GT 2024 in Independence MO, Dark Angels Ironstorm Spearheads took 1rst and 5th place out of a field of 32 players. 

The first place player was Jeremy Capko of Macragge's Crabshack. As you may have surmised from the photo I chose for the article, his list did not include the Stormravens that so commonly appear in high scoring Ironstorms. You can check out Jeremy's list on BCP here. However, for all of our convenience, here's the short version of his list.

I'm a stupid marine player (That's legit the name of the list)

Lieutenant with Combi Weapon: Master of Machine War

Techmarine: Adept of the Omnissiah

Techmarine:  Target Augury Web

Inceptor Squad: 6 plasma boys

Inceptor Squad: 3 bolter boys

Inceptor Squad: 3 bolter boys

Infiltrator Squad: 5 sneaky boys

Ravenwing Darkshroud
Redemptor Dreadnought
Redemptor Dreadnought
Redemptor Dreadnought
Repulsor Executioner
Scout Squad: 5 sneaky lads
Scout Squad: 5 sneaky lads

Right off the back Azrael is remarkable by his absence. One of the strengths of the Ironstorm is it has excellent stratagems, so not having Azrael's CP generation seems like it would hold the list back, but Jeremy took 1rst place without it.

Also absent are the usual Stormraven Gunships. They did go up in points, but lists based around Repulsor Executioners have also been popping up in top spots, just not as prominently as those built around Stormravens.

I was also interested to see a big squad of plasma Inceptors. I'm not arguing with the utility of the unit in a vacuum, but it is unusual to see in an Ironstorm. I'd more expect to see them in a Vanguard. Also, their 3 damage profile seems a little redundant in a list that also has 3 Redemptors with macro plasma incinerators. However, they do afford Jeremy a heck of an alpha strike, and their guns being twin linked allows them to punch up against tougher targets. Clearly it worked out for Jeremy.

One more thing remarkable about this list is the abundance of utility units. Two squads of bolter Inceptors and two squads of Scouts give him a lot of units to score secondaries with. I've seen a lot of lists that have gotten by with just a single squad of Scouts. The four units would open up the possibility of scoring almost max points on Deploy Teleport Homers as a fixed objective, with the Darkshroud performing the action in the table center first turn, and then throwing a unit a turn into the opposing backfield for the rest of the 4 turns. I don't think Jeremy did that, but it's handy to have the option.

Jeremy went 98-48 against Raven Guard, 100-57 vs Black Templars, 100-59 against Necrons, 65-44 against World Eaters, and 63-58 against Grey Knights.

The other Dark Angels list that rose to the upper echelons over the weekend was also played at Midwest Conquest. Alex Vian of Midwest Murdersports took 5th place with an Ironstorm. His list was much more typical, as you can see here on BCP. Here's the short version for your convenience.

You've been Thunderstruck

Azrael
Lieutenant with Combi-weapon: Master of Machine War
Techmarine: Target Augury Web

Techmarine: Adept of of the Omnissiah
Intercessor Squad: 5 bolter boys
Gladiator Reaper
Infiltrator Squad: 5 sneaky boys
Ravenwing Darkshroud
Redemptor Dreadnought
Redemptor Dreadnought
Scout Squad: 5 sneaky lads
Storm Speeder Thunderstrike
Stormraven Gunship
Stormraven Gunship

I'm tempted to call this the netlist. It has pretty much everything we'd expect to see in the typical Dark Angels Ironstorm. The only things that might be worth commenting on are the inclusion of the Gladiator Reaper instead of a third Redemptor, and the Infiltrator Squad. However, this is not the first time we've seen the Reaper pop up. It provides Devastating Wound output, so it's providing a unique capability, whereas a third Redemptor would be redundant. The Infiltrators' ability to zone out a huge chunk of the board from enemies coming in from Reserves is also a natural value-add.

Alex's game track include wins against Tau (97-73), Necrons (79-76), and Astra Militarum (99-70). He lost in the 4th round to Grey Knights (49-95), and won his final game against World Eaters (70-51).

It's a little hard to tell if the points adjustments from the recent Munitorum Field Manual are making much of a dent. Jeremy omitted Stormravens entirely, but I'm not certain if that was a response to the MFM changes or if he developed the list that way independent of it. For his part, Alex retained the Stormravens, and it doesn't really look like his list is significantly different from what it would have been before the MFM went live.

I'd also feel remiss not pointing out that, with 32 players, Midwest Conquest GT was a pretty small event. It was not like LVO or Adepticon, where one can reasonably expect the top players in the world to attend. The relative strength of the field may have been a factor in these lists rising to the top. That said, I applaud both Jeremy and Alex on their performance. While I'd like to see more of a variety of lists rising to the top, I'm always happy to see a Dark Angels list do well.