Lists of the Week: 4/7/2025
As of this writing, Meta Monday hasn't updated yet, so I'm going with the simple expedient of going through BCP's event listings in order, and much to my surprise and delight, I got a hit on the first one. Not only that, but a Dark Angels list won the event, the USA Charity Cup played in Boulder City, NV, a 6-round, 40 player event. Evan Stump of Xenos Petting Zoo went 5-1 with a Gladius Task Force and took 1st place, breaking like a 3-month streak of no event wins for Dark Angels! You can see Evan's list on BCP, and we'll discuss it below.
2x repex
Azrael - Warlord
Lieutenant with Combi-weapon
Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs: 5 flying choppy 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
Inner Circle Companions: 6 spooky awesome swordy boys
Invader ATV: melta buggy
Invader ATV: melta buggy
Invader ATV: melta buggy
Repulsor Executioner wt heavy laser destroyer
Repulsor Executioner wt heavy laser destroyer
Scout Squad: 5 sneaky lads
Scout Squad: 5 sneaky lads
Callidus Assassin
This is a pretty conventional Gladius list. The most interesting choices to me are the Repulsor Executioners, only having 2 squads of DWKs, the ATVs, and the Callidus Assassin.
We'll start with what's on the label of the list, the pair of Repulsor Executioners. Obviously, they're in the list because of the profusion of guns they bring to the table. They have the heavy laser destroyers to make big things want to stay out of LOS, and can also throw a bucket of dice at anything else on the table, what with their heavy onslaught cannon, twin heavy bolter, Icarus pod, heavy stubber, and twin Ironhail heavy stubber. Their datasheet ability is kind of underwhelming, but with this much firepower at a reasonable 220 points on a T12, 16-wound platform, it doesn't need a great datasheet ability. They have a modest transport capacity too, which enables Evan to use the Gladius' reactive move strat to have the ICCs hop into one out-of-sequence, and then hop back out to stick a charge and wreck face.
As Deathwing Knights are widely regarded as our best datasheet, seeing a list that doesn't take 3 squads of them bears some remark. Ethan probably didn't feel the need for 3 squads with the work 2 Repexes can do. Plus the points for those Repexes have to come from somewhere. Between the 2 squads of DWKs, the ICCs with Azrael, and 3 squads of Jump Intercessors, Evan doesn't lack for units that can punch things.
It's interesting to see 3 ATVs, but I don't think there's any mystery as to why Evan used them. They're cheap, relatively tough, and fast. They can zoom around the board scoring Secondaries and occasionally their multimeltas will make something have a bad day.
When I see a Callidus Assassin in a list, I'm inclined to think it's in the list for scoring Secondaries. However, this list has 2 Scout Squads, a Combi-Lieutenant, the 3 ATVs we just discussed, and 3 squads of Jump Intercessors. That seems like a lot of Secondary-scoring potential. This leads me to think the Callidus may be in the list as a bit of anti-Aeldari tech. It can drop in, neurally shred some Incubi or Howling Banshees, and then Fights First if charged. Or, maybe Evan really does want a lot of redundancy in his secondary scoring. Personally, I'd have spent those 100 points on Infiltrators to mind the backfield objective, or at least Intercessors who could leave it stickied and come off it after my opponent has committed his reserves assets, but it's hard to argue with 1st place results.
Evan rode the win train to the 2nd to last stop, then walked the rest of the way to 1st place. He handily won the 1st round against Oathbound Leagues of Votann 87-60. 2nd round he had a convincing 100-71 win against Hallowed Martyrs Sororitas. 3rd round he crushed Combined Arms Astra Militarum 100-42. 4th round he similarly drubbed Berserker Warband World Eaters 100-47. He finally lost against Dakka Orks in the 6th round, 58-73, but he was the only player who went undefeated the first 5 rounds, and his Battle Point score carried him across the finish line. Way to go Evan!
Carrying on doing it the hard way, I came across The Phuket Open, held in Tambon Kamala, Thailand, a 5-round, 60-player event. Joe Soon went undefeated with a Stormlance Task Force and took 4th place! You can see Joe's list on BCP, and we'll discuss it below.
WE JUST WANT SOME HUGS 😘
Lion Dad - Warlord
Azrael
Librarian
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 stay-off-my-lawn boys
Inner Circle Companions: 6 spooky awesome swordy boys
Inner Circle Companions: 6 spooky awesome swordy boys
Scout Squad: 5 sneaky lads
Ministorum Priest
I may start referring to units running up and punching things as First Legion Hugs now, because Joe went all-in on running up and punching things. It's not too unusual to have 3 units of Deathwing Knights in a Stormlance, but two units of ICCs is one more unit than we usually see, and all those AND Lion Dad is really leaning into the First Legion Hugs. What little shooting this list has is incidental - whatever pistols a punchy (or huggy) unit may be carrying. Arguably the second-best gun in the list is carried by that Ministorum Priest - his Zealot's Vindicator is a Torrent weapon in the Shooting phase.
I know a lot of people consider Lion Dad too many points for what he brings to the table. I'm part of the subset of a lot of people who consider Lion Dad to be too many points for what he brings to the table. That said, he does bring capabilities that more Deathwing Knights or Inner Circle Companions aren't bringing. For one thing, he can one-shot 3-4 wound models, which will be helpful against things like Exalted Eightbound or Deathshroud Terminators. Having a significant Fights First threat is also a useful thing to have in a list, as opponents have to worry about having him make a Heroic Intervention into whatever they're having charge some Deathwing Knights. The aura of protection against Mortal Wounds is going to be helpful, as opponents are likely to look to do Mortals against the DWKs and ICCs. Finally, sometimes you're going to spike those 3++ Invulnerable saves, making an opponent dump resources into trying to get him off the table that maybe could have been better used picking up DWKs, ICCs, or some of the tech pieces.
Speaking of ICCs, Joe paired one squad with Azrael and the other with a Librarian, giving both a 4++ invulnerable save. That incurs an opportunity cost of not having the Fights First a Judiciar would convey, but it does mean an opponent has to chew through a whole pile of 4++ models with supplementary protective rules and a considerable aptitude for delivering First Legion Hugs.
Joe was maybe a little light on utility units, though he does have 2 units of Jump Intercessors and a unit of Scouts to run around and score objectives, plus the Infiltrator squad to mind the backfield as well. There's also that Ministorum Priest, who I think is mostly in the list because Joe had 40 points left to spend and that can be an awkward amount of points to be left with, especially when you only have one character who isn't an Epic Hero. The Priest isn't bringing much to the list beyond being a distinct unit that only costs 40 points, but he does have a Torrent weapon, and once per game he can go nutso for Nuka Puffs and wale on some poor sinner with extra nuttery. Joe probably just sticks him in Strat Reserve until he can come out and score a Secondary, then doesn't really care what happens to him. Maybe he even occasionally gets some glory popping out and Torrenting a careless opponent's backfield objective unit.
Curiously, Joe started off with a tie, scoring 70-70 in the 1st round against Berserker World Eaters, which sounds like an oxymoron, but GW named the detachment the Berzerker Warband. Joe then hopped onto the Win train and did not get off the whole rest of the event. 2nd round scored a convincing 82-47 against Haloscreed Mechanicus. 3rd round he crushed Hypercrypt Necrons 100-56. 4th round he had a solid 79-41 against Shadow Legion Daemons. He ended strong with a 5th round 87-33 drubbing of Combined Arms Militarum.
Next let's go to the East Anglian Grand Tournament 2025 April, held in England, a 5-round, 34 player event, where our man Toby Bennet subcontracted out winning glory for our beloved chapter to his Black Crow Gaming teammate Sam Dickinson, who went 4-1 with a Stormlance and took 3rd place. You can see Sam's list on BCP, and we'll discuss it below.
Look I can play Deathwing Knights too! also, the lion is a DILF
Azrael - Warlord
Lieutenant with Combi-weapon
Assault Intercessor Squad: 5 choppy boys
Intercessor Squad: 5 bolter boys
Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs: 5 flying choppy 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 macey boys
Incursor Squad: 5 spotty choppy boys
Predator Destructor
Predator Destructor
Predator Destructor
Scout Squad: 5 sneaky lads
Scout Squad: 5 sneaky lads
If this list looks familiar, it's because it's the Tobinator's list that we saw a couple weeks ago when he went 5-1 and took 5th at the South Coast 40k Super-Major. I'm going to be lazy and link you to that article, because the list hasn't changed and it's the first list discussed.
Sadly Sam started the event off with 1st round loss, a tight 62-66 against one of the boogeymen of the meta, Ynnead Aeldari. 2nd round he scored a convincing 100-70 against Warpbane Grey Knights. 3rd round he avenged himself 98-70 against Aeldari, but this player was trying to innovate with a Spirit Conclave. 4th round Sam had a solid 82-65 win against Lions Custodes. He ended strong in the 5th round, albeit by squeaking it out 88-86 against Realspace Drukhari.
Our last two lists came from the Sheffield 40K Super Major, a 5-round, 214 player event held in England. Though no Dark Angels lists made the top cut, two did go 4-1, which is no mean feat. Placing 27th was Matt Pocock of Flatcaps and Flakcannons, accomplishing this feat with a Stormlance Task Force. You can see Matt's list on BCP, with the discussion below.
In A Circle ⭕️
Azrael - Warlord
Lieutenant with Combi-weapon
Ravenwing Command Squad
Intercessor Squad: 5 bolter boys
Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs: 5 flying choppy boys
Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs: 5 flying choppy boys
Ballistus Dreadnought
Deathwing Knights: 5 awesome chonky macey boys
Deathwing Knights: 5 awesome chonky swordy boys
Deathwing Knights: 5 awesome chonky macey boys
Inner Circle Companions: 6 spooky awesome swordy boys
Invader ATV: melta buggy
Outrider Squad: 6 choppy biker boys
Scout Squad: 5 sneaky lads
Scout Squad: 5 sneaky lads
This is another very punchy list. It lacks Lion Dad and only has one squad of Inner Circle Companions, but it includes a Ravenwing Command Squad and a brick of 6 Outriders to attach it to. They can do some serious work on the charge, and they give Matt a pretty significant unit to exploit the detachment's tasty Mounted-keyworded strats with. I'm a little surprised the Champion doesn't have Fury of the Storm, but that is a pricey enhancement.
There's also the ATV for a backup Mounted unit to have some fun using the Mounted-keyworded strats on.
The only significant shooting unit is the Ballistus Dreadnought, and a single Ballistus is so underwhelming I'm a little surprised Matt bothered with it at all. I suppose it makes it possible to dump a transport at range, particularly a squishier one like an Ork Trukk or an Aeldari Venom. They are also a T10 2+ save 12-wound unit, and that can be handy to park on an objective.
We're already pretty familiar with all the other units in the army. Azrael doubtless gets paired up with ICCs to wreck face in assault. DWKs march forward, punch things, and stay on the table longer than opponents would like. Jump Intercessors run around, score, and skirmish. Scouts and the Combi-Lieutenant score points.
1st round Matt trashed Cult Thousand Sons 99-57, leaving 1 point on the plate to be polite. 2nd round he scored a comfortable 86-70 win against Liberator Blood Angels. 3rd round he crushed Warpbane Grey Knights 100 53. 4th round he squeaked out a 75-72 win against Vessels of Wrath World Eaters. Sadly, he took a rough loss in the 5th round, 52-99 versus Warpbane Grey Knights.
The other list that went 4-1 at Sheffield was a Company of Hunters (Yay!) played by ELG's Ben Owen, who took 32nd place with it. You can see Ben's list on BCP, with our discussion below.
Company of munters
Azrael - Warlord
Chaplain on Bike: Recon Hunter
Chaplain on Bike: Master of Manoeuvre
Ravenwing Command Squad
Sammael
Intercessor Squad: 5 bolter boys
Outrider Squad: 6 choppy biker boys
Outrider Squad: 6 choppy biker boys
Outrider Squad: 6 choppy biker boys
Outrider Squad: 6 choppy biker boys
Outrider Squad: 3 choppy biker boys
Outrider Squad: 3 choppy biker boys
Ravenwing Black Knights: 6 awesome plasma biker boys
Ravenwing Darkshroud
Scout Squad
Scout Squad
Storm Speeder Thunderstrike
My hat is off to Ben. Talk about going all-in on bikes! That's 30 Outriders! Opponents would have laughed if they'd seen that this time last year. With the list almost entirely Mounted units, Ben has exceptional freedom to act with the vast majority of his units, which no doubt served him well. He's got 2 Bike Chaplains, the Ravenwing Command Squad, and Sammael, who I'm sure usually all get attached to the big Ourider squads, which gives eacy squad a Damage 3 weapon on the charge. There may be occasions when it makes sense to attach the RWCS to the Black Knight squad, but generally they will probably do pretty well without the accompaniment.
Ben took both the Recon Hunter and Master of Maneouvre enhancements, which are important to making sure the bike bricks don't get in each other's way. He can also pick up a squad 1st turn with Rapid Reappraisal and put it back on the table his following Movement phase if it helps him get out of his deployment zone. The Chaplains help the Outriders punch up in melee, and make their twin bolt rifles a more significant shooting threat by granting them Dev Wounds against a target within 12". Being twin-linked, Dev wounds are more likely to proc. Sammy, of course, is a beast all on his own. When charging with attached Outriders, he's really going to give someone a bad day.
There's the Thunderstrike, which I don't ordinarily like, but a list like this needs it to help its guns punch up into tougher targets. It's also occasionally handy to have a unit with Fly in your list. The Darkshroud will help debuff shooting into Ben's squads. I'm uncertain it's worth the points, with so many ways to get Ignores Cover and to mitigate a -1 on To Hit rolls, but it seems to have worked for Ben, and it is very thematic.
The only non-Ravenwing elements in the list are Azrael, the Intercessors, and the two Scout Squads. The Scout Squads' most important role is probably keeping Ben's bikes from getting hemmed into his deployment zone, because he's got a couple extra small Outrider Squads that can zoom around and score points for him. Azrael and the Intercessors are certainly the backfield objective holders, and maybe they come out late game to riddle things with bolter shells. They won't do any adventurous units droppping into Ben's deployment zone any good either.
Ben started the event with a comfortable 1st round 81-76 win against Ascension Genestealer Cult. 2nd round he took his loss, 65-80 agaisnt that boogeyman of the meta, Ynnead Aeldari. 3rd round he scored a close 81-72 win against Liberator Blood Angels. An opponent is not listed for Round 4, which is weird because an even number of players are listed as participating in the event, and you'd think a player who is 2-1 going into the 4th round wouldn't get the bye. Regardless, it was counted as a 100 point win for Ben. 5th round he proved he earned it with a close 72-62 win against Cult Thousand Sons.
Statistics
It was a decent week for our faction. 25 players played 123 games and won 59 of them, giving us an overall 48% win rate. There were 5 X/0-X/1 results, and finally 1 event win!
The Stormlance Task Force was our winningest detachment, with 5 players racking up a 68% win rate and 3 of the X-results.
That one Chad who travels around the world going 3-2 with an Unforgiven Task Force is at it again, being the only player who took it and giving it a 60% win rate.
The Gladius Task Force was the most played, with 11 players who racked up a 48% win rate and the event win, which also accounts for one of the X-results.
The Company of Hunters had 3 players who scored a 47% win rate, but did manage to rack up an X-result.
One optimist took an Inner Circle Task Force and wound up with a 20% win rate.
Two diehards took the Lion's Blade and wound up with a 17% win rate. Ouch.
Factions To Be Aware Of
Necrons were the top of the heap this week, with 53 players, a collective 57% win rate, 17 X-results and 2 event wins. 23 of those players used the Awakened Dynasty detachment, accounting for 8 of the X-results and both event wins, and 21 players used the Shatterstar Arsenal detachment and scored 7 of the X-results. Between them they represented the vast majority of the Necron lists and successes.
Imperial Knights had 51 players, with 50 of them playing the Noble Lance detachment, earning a 54% win rate, 11 X-results, and 1 event win.
There were 75 Aeldari players, with 35 playing the Devoted of Ynnead detachment. Those players earned a 59% win rate, 11 X-results, and 2 event wins.
I'm going to mention Dakka Orks in passing, because they had a ridiculous weekend, but just took a big nerf so we probably don't need to be as concerned about them anymore.
That, battle brethren, is what I have for you. Follow me if you like my work, and for similar content check out Dank List Wargaming over on YouTube. May you play your upcoming games with skill and luck, and acquit yourselves as credits to the legion chapter. For the Lion!
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