Lists of the Week: Top Performers 11/4/2024
Beginning with our event winners, I'll start with Jak Payne, who took a Stormlance Task Force to go 5-0 and take first place at the Dark Sphere November GT, a 5-round, 64-player event held in England. You can see Jak's list on BCP. The short version is below.
Dark and Stormy
Lion Dad
Azrael
Judiciar
Lieutenant with Combi-weapon
Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs: 5 flying choppy boys
Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs: 5 flying choppy boys
Deathwing Knights: 5 awesome chonky macey boys
Deathwing Knights: 5 awesome chonky macey boys
Deathwing Knights: 5 awesome chonky macey boys
Infiltrator Squad: 5 sneaky boys
Inner Circle Companions: 6 spooky awesome swordy boys
Inner Circle Companions: 6 spooky awesome swordy boys
Scout Squad: 5 sneaky lads
This list just goes all-in on assault, with Lion Dad to throw at anything that Damage 2 would bounce off of. The Stormlance definitely makes sense for this list, removing the need to spend points on transports by granting army-wide advance and charge. The only units that won't mess a fool up in bloody melee are the Infiltrators, Combi-weapon Lieutenant, and the Scouts.
Jak rode the win train nonstop to 1st place. 1st round he showed Ultramarines who are the better Astartes with a 75-69 win. 2nd round he beat another Dark Angels Stormlance of all things, 97-62. Jak's opponent included a 10-man Hellblasters squad and made what I now consider the mistake of including a Thunderstrike to buff their shooting. 3rd round he decisively showed Ultramarines who are the better Astartes with a 99-44 drubbing. 4th round he finally played a non-Astartes army, getting a 78-56 win against Adeptus Mechanicus. 5th round he prevailed over Astra Militarum 94-78.
Our other event winner is identified on MiniHeadquarters.com as Khal, who took a Gladius to the Orchidoclastes Wargame Tournament #6 – GT held in Les Essarts-Le-Roi, France. This was a 5-round, 42 player event that Khal rose to the top of. You can see Khal's list (I think) on MiniHeadQuarters.com. The short version is below.
sgt2
Azrael
Librarian
Lieutenant: Fire Discipline
Lieutenant with Combi-weapon
Impulsor
Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs: 5 flying choppy boys
Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs: 5 flying choppy boys
Deathwing Knights: 5 awesome chonky swordy boys
Deathwing Knights: 5 awesome chonky swordy boys
Deathwing Knights: 5 awesome chonky macey boys
Hellblaster Squad: 10 plasma boys
Infiltrator Squad: 5 sneaky boys
Inner Circle Companions: 6 spooky awesome swordy boys
Outrider Squad: 3 biker boys
Scout Squad: 5 sneaky lads
Scout Squad: 5 sneaky lads
It looked like this event used the now out-of-date points, so Khal may have had to cut things since this event took place. It's a variation on the Lennon List, with Hellblasters instead of Eradicators. There are upsides and downsides to this choice. The upside is that Hellblasters have more range than Eradicators and inherently have Assault on their plasma incinerators, so they have a bigger threat envelope. The downside is they don't solve the same problems that Eradicators solve, but that appears to have not hindered Khal at this event.
Khal went with a Librarian instead of Judiciar for the ICCs, granting them a 4++ invulnerable instead of Fights First. I think both Azrael and the Fire Discipline Lieutenant went with the Hellblasters. Fire Discipline does seem a little redundant on a unit with Azrael attached, but it does make Sustained Hits pop on 5's in Dev Doctrine, which will also make Lethal Hits pop on 5's as well. Khal only went with 2 squads of Jump Intercessors, but also included an Outrider Squad, which can be put to similar uses, and can have quite a threat range in Assault Doctrine, so they can motor around and pick up tech pieces.
This event used WTC scoring. As a quick reminder, 20-0 is a blowout, 10-10 is a draw, 0-20 is a crushing defeat. 1st round Khal went 13-7 against Drukhari. 2nd round he went 12-8 against Daemons. 3rd round he went 14-6 against Custodes. 4th round he went 16-4 against T'au. Round 5 he went a decisive 18-2 against Astra Militarum.
Since I have MiniHeadQuarters open (effing French events!), the next list I'm covering was played at Open d’Occitanie held in Leguevin, France. This was a 5-round 118 player event. The player identified as Toorop went an interesting 3-0-2, so technically undefeated, scoring 7th place. You can see Toorup's list on MiniHeadQuaters.com. The short version is below.
DA glad Golden
Azrael
Judiciar
Assault Intercessors: 5 choppy boys
Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs: 5 flying choppy boys
Deathwing Knights: 5 awesome chonky macey boys
Deathwing Knights: 5 awesome chonky macey boys
Deathwing Knights: 5 awesome chonky macey boys
Inner Circle Companions: 6 spooky awesome swordy boys
Scout Squad: 5 sneaky lads
Scout Squad: 5 sneaky lads
Scout Squad: 5 sneaky lads
Vindicator
Vindicator
Vindicator
Triple-Vindicator (Tripicator?) is a build we've been seeing in high-performing lists for a bit. It appeared occasionally before the Lennon list points hikes, and it seems to be appearing more. The Vindicators provide a solution similar to Eradicators to problems DWKs and ICCs would struggle with. They have the additional advantages of being Toughness 11 and 2+ save, making them difficult to pick up, and being able to advance and shoot with them certainly helps get them close enough to blast things with their casino cannons. Falling back and shooting isn't as important to Vindicators, but it doesn't hurt to fall them back so opposing units can't bang on them on your turn. Between the triple Vindicators and triple DWKs, that sure is a lot of 2+ save to get through.
Again, WTC scoring. 1st round Toorop went 11-9 against Death Guard. 2nd round was a convincing 15-5 against Grey Knights. 3rd round was 10-10 against Genestealers Cult. 4th round was a tight 11-9 against Necrons. 5th round was 10-10 against Aeldari.
As a point of interest, those ties would have been losses using straight battle points. The round 3 battle point score was 86-90, and the round 5 score was 73-76. The event used WTC scoring though, so a less than 5-point difference in battle point score is a tie.
Next we go to the MID-MO Maelstrom held in Ashland, MO, a 5-round, 61 player event. Repeat offender Kyle McCord of Midwest Monstars went 4-1 with his Gladius to take 9th place. You can see Kyle's list on BCP. The short version is below.
Eradication Angels
Azrael
Apothecary Biologis: Fire Discipline
Lieutenant with Combi-weapon
Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs: 5 flying choppy boys
Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs: 5 flying choppy boys
Deathwing Knights: 5 awesome chonky macey boys
Deathwing Knights: 5 awesome chonky macey boys
Eradicator Squad: 6 chonky melta boys
Infiltrator Squad: 5 sneaky boys
Repulsor
Vindicator
Vindicator
Not quite Tripicator, but 2 Vindicators are appearing here to supplement the Eradicator brick and the Repulsor they ride around in. That is a much bigger lean towards shooting than previous versions of the competitive list have had in the past. The list is a little light on utility units, with just the Combi-weapon Lieutenant and the Jump Intercessors, but that doesn't appear to have hampered Kyle too badly. There remains a pretty solid assault component with the 2 squads of DWKs.
Kyle started strong with a 1st round 85-75 win against Blood Angels. 2nd round was his loss, a squeaker 90-93 against T'au Empire. 3rd round Kyle decisively beat World Eaters 93-58. 4th round Kyle avenged himself against T'au Empire with a 58-35 win. He ended strong with a 94-71 win against Orks.
There's a bit of a discrepancy with the Meta Monday overview. It lists a Dark Angels Gladius as going 5-1 and scoring 4th place at The Risky Rollers Open 2024 held in Bulleen, Australia. That event was actually an 8-round event, and the best performing DA list went 5-3 and took 8th. It did go 5-1 over the first two days though, so I'll list it here. It was played by Dylan Cowan of Gentleman Gamers. You can see Dylan's list on BCP. The short version is below.
da one off
Azrael
Judiciar: Artificer Armour
Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs: 5 flying choppy boys
Ballistus Dreadnought
Deathwing Knights: 5 awesome chonky macey boys
Deathwing Knights: 5 awesome chonky macey boys
Hellblaster Squad: 10 plasma boys
Inceptor Squad: 3 chonky flying bolter boys
Inner Circle Companions: 6 spooky awesome swordy boys
Scout Squad: 5 sneaky lads
Scout Squad: 5 sneaky lads
Scout Squad: 5 sneaky lads
Vindicator
Vindicator
Again we're looking at a list that has a lot more than just 1 strong shooting unit. In this case it features the Ballistus, a brick of Hellblasters, and 2 Vindicators. Vindys definitely seem to be emerging as a meta choice in lists. Assault duties are assigned to the 2 squads of DWKs and the ICCs. It's interesting to not see Infiltrators, so one of the Scout Squads must be sitting on the backfield objective. Personally I'd have taken a second squad of Jump Intercessors instead of the Inceptors to upgrade my backfield-objective-minders to Infiltrators, but the next time I go 5-1 in the first 2 days of an event will be the first time, so take my opinion for what it's worth.
Dylan started strong, drubbing Grey Knights in the 1st round 98-39. 2nd round he similarly battered Necrons, 100-42. 3rd round he bodied Imperial Knights 98-50. 4th round he squeaked out a 77-75 win against World Eaters. 5th round he took a 61-78 loss against Adeptus Sororitas. 6th round he beat Blood Angels 84-63. 7th round he took a 60-88 loss against Tyranids. In the 8th and final round he lost 61-83 against Drukhari.
I had to open up MiniHeadQuarters again because the next event was Normandy’s Trophy 2nd edition. Held in Boos, France, it was a 37-player, 5 round event. Player Detrakor of Wargame X went 4-1 with their Gladius to score 2nd place. You can see Detrakor's list on MiniHeadQuarters. The short version is below.
Detrakor's list
Lion Dad
Azrael
Callidus Assassin
Intercessor Squad: 5 bolter boys
Deathwing Knights: 5 awesome chonky macey boys
Deathwing Knights: 5 awesome chonky macey boys
Deathwing Knights: 5 awesome chonky swordy boys
Inner Circle Companions: 6 spooky awesome swordy boys
Scout Squad: 5 sneaky lads
Scout Squad: 5 sneaky lads
Vindicator
Vindicator
Nice to see Lion Dad in a list that did well. This list leans back into being primarily an assault list, but it does feature a pair of Vindicators. Azrael must be getting attached to the ICCs, which gives him a more exciting role than he often has. The Intercessors are likely the backfield objective holders, with Scouts and the Callidus doing the uppy-downy-for-secondary-points dance.
Again, WTC scoring. Detrakor spanked World Eaters 20-0 in the 1st round. 2nd round he handed out a 17-3 drubbing against Thousand Sons. 3rd round he took his loss, 9-11 against Grey Knights. Round 4 he had a close 12-8 win against Orks. 5th round he handed Necrons a savage 19-1 beating.
Our last list this week comes from the Geek Shack Anniversary GT held in Las Cruces, NM, a 5-round, 29-player event. Jack Kosidowski of Certified Zynners went 4-1 with a Gladius and took 4th place. You can see Jack's list on BCP. The short version is below.
Glad Infiltrators
Azrael
Apothecary Biologis: Fire Discipline
Intercessor Squad: 5 bolter boys
Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs: 5 flying choppy boys
Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs: 5 flying choppy boys
Deathwing Knights: 5 awesome chonky macey boys
Deathwing Knights: 5 awesome chonky macey boys
Deathwing Knights: 5 awesome chonky swordy boys
Eradicator Squad: 6 chonky melta boys
Infiltrator Squad: 5 sneaky boys
Infiltrator Squad: 5 sneaky boys
Inner Circle Companions: 6 spooky awesome swordy boys
Repulsor
This list is the closest to the Lennon List of the ones we've seen this week. It dispensed with the Judiciar and tasks Azrael to join the ICCs. Two squads of Infiltrators are an interesting choice, doubling down on board control. Jack took the 2nd squad of Infiltrators instead of a Callidus for uppy-downy shenanigans. I guess he really wants to tell opponents to stay off his lawn.
Jack won his 1st round 67-59 against Black Templars. 2nd round he took a 34-86 drubbing against Death Guard. 3rd round he spanked Orks 100-27. 4th round he drubbed Adeptus Sororitas 100-35. 5th round he avenged himself against Death Guard with an 87-80 win.
Statistics
Collectively Dark Angels had a 47% win rate over the weekend. 33 players played 164 games and won 77 of them.
The most played detachment was the Gladius, with 23 players and a 50% win rate. 5 of the X-0/X-1 lists and 1 of the event winners were Gladius lists.
The next most played detachment was the Stormlance, with 4 players getting a 60% win rate. 1 event win and 1 X-0/X-1 being Stormlances.
Next most played was the Inner Circle Task Force with 3 players getting a 23% win rate. The ICTF just continually refuses to be good.
One person played a Vanguard Spearhead and got a 60% win rate.
One person played a Company of Hunters and got a 20% win rate. I feel that.
Finally one person played a 1st Company Task Force and got a 0% win rate.
Vindicators appear to be the new hotness in lists, with 4 of this weekend's lists taking them, and all of those taking at least 2.
That's all I've got. If you enjoy my work, do me a solid, open up the sidebar on the main page, and scroll down to click on the Follow button. And check out Dank List Wargaming for more content by genuine enthusiasts!
Congratulations to our event winners and high performers! May we all rise to your excellent examples. For the Lion!
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