We’re going to be watching the meta very closely over the next few weeks as we might have our first look at the “OP” army of 9th Edition 40k.
Jumping right in, there have been tournaments starting back up running 9th Edition 40k rules as well as some talk on the competitive 40k Reddit. It seems like a Salamanders Successor list is the most fast-growing option among players out there.
While we’ll be talking mainly about a Space Marine list, it’s also important to note that there is a very strong Custodes presence lurking around out there. It’ll be interesting to see which one overpowers the other in a head-to-head match.
Meta Watch: Do We Have the First OP Space Marine List of 9th Edition?
In one thirty man tournament, a Salamanders list managed to fight its way up to 1st place. Running a Salamanders successor Chapter (stealthy and longe-range marksmen), this list was almost always counted as being in cover as well as having +3″ to their weapons. On that note, Salamanders also have the Tactical Doctrine bonus called Promethean Cult which gives them +1 to wound on melta and flamer weapons. Just keep those two things in mind… Here’s the list.
We’ve done a full breakdown of the list here if you’re curious about the details. But pulling out one of the star units for the Salamanders, we’ve got the Eradicators.
This list made use of 3 squads of Eradicators, which all have melta weapons that they can shoot twice. But combining the rules we talked about from above, a single squad of three is getting six shots at 27″ wounding a Knight on 3’s. Now multiply that by three and you’ve got a single Spearhead detachment’s worth that is able to completely counter a Knight list.
Reddit Is Talking About the Problem
Some folks like u/Vanacken over on Reddit are even beginning to question the fact that the Salamander Eradicators may tip the scales of the meta back to one-wound model spam.
This is a list that you may want to put on your radar for coming tournaments. It’s probably a little too soon for a major FAQ to hit but the way things are going, those Eradicators may be at the first of the line to get nerfed.
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What’s the best way to counter a Salamanders list running three squads of these guys? Are Ork and Tyranid horde lists laughing right now?
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