Three more 40k Army lists have finished at the top of the leaderboards at the YHP Labor Day GT, and none were Space Marines!
Space Marines took the back seat at this tournament. With nearly forty people coming under one roof to play at the Your Hobby Place GT, these three players clawed their way to the top of the leaderboards- let’s see what 40k army lists they brought!
Top 3 40k Army Lists: Labor Day GT
Thanks to Best Coast Pairings we are able to look back at the event as if we were there ourselves.
3rd Place: Charles Craig- Chaos Marines
Starting off with a Battalion of Alpha Legion mixed in with some Nurgle goodness, a Chaos Lord and Sorcerer led some CSMs and three squads of 10 Poxwalkers. These guys were all probably taken for solely finding an objective and never coming off of it. Moving into two units that took up nearly half of the list’s points, there were two 15-man Possessed squads.
These guys needed to get into melee to begin making their points back. But with two squads taken and Mortarion flying at the frontline at break-neck speed, the Possessed were pretty well-protected. To help cover the advance of Morty and the Possessed, two Plagueburst Crawlers also hung out in the deployment to sit on an objective or two and give some indirect fire support. Sweet list.
2nd Place: Shane Watts- Orks
We’ve seen Orks do pretty well in 9th Edition but never with a list like this before. Starting off, a Big Mek in Mega Armor along with Gazghkull and a Weird Boy led a Battalion of four Slugga/Chopps Boys Squads. Each one of these guys had a CP paid to put them up to S5 via Skarboyz Stratagem. It’s also worth noting that the Nob in each squad was also given a Killsaw to one-shot most Primaris and eat right through power armor.
Two Kommando squads were brought along so that they could cover mid-board objectives and secure some points in the early game. A Painboy was also most likely seeded into the huge crowds of Boyz to help keep them alive a bit longer. You can never really expect to get too far with a T-shirt save.
Finally, two Trukks were loaded up with Meganobz all with paired killsaws. These guys were more than likely primaris-seeking units that would go after unsupported dudes on objectives. They were slow but could melt anything with a 3+ save. Awesome list!
(includes the Primaris Lietantant or Necron Overlord)
1st Place: Stephen Henry- Custodes
Starting with a Patrol, a simple Shield-Captain in Allarus armor led a Custodian Squad with two spears and a sword/shield. Pretty straight forward.
Beyond that, however, a Spearhead was taken with Trajann at the helm. He led a squad of Aquilon Termies all with bolters and gauntlets with them being supported by the 8th Edition fan-favorite Caladius Tank. Except for this time now in 9th they were all given Twin Illiastus Accelerator Cannons to spam 2-damage -3AP firepower (and you know why).
For air support, Stephen took an Ares Gunship which is pretty much a Flying Knight that has a relatively low shot output but very high damage weapon profiles.
Shadowkeepers can be exceptionally resilient with thier own stratagem, relic, and warlord trait if you work them into the list. We can’t see what items Stephen took here but the Oubliette is a character wrecker, and don’t be afraid to use Grim Responsibility (1cp) along with Arcane Genetic Alchemy (2CP) to keep units in the game way longer.
To add bodies ready to grab objectives as soon as the opportunity arose, a Vanguard of Sisters of Silence was taken bringing along some cheap-o Prosecutors.
Definitely one of the most unique Custodes lists we’ve seen in 9th Edition and it even came in first place! Way to go.
What do you think about these lists? Are these top 3 armies not what you expected to be a part of the 9th Edition meta?
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About the Author: Wesley Floyd
Wesley Floyd
Job Title: Staff Writer
Joined: 2018
Socials:@RealmbrushPainting
About Wesley Floyd: Wes has been in the Warhammer hobby since 2015 and joined the Spikey Bits writing team in 2018. He is known for his satirist takes on trending topics and imaginative yet amazingly affordable hobby solutions to painting Warhammer miniatures.
Imperial fanboy, tabletop fanatic, and the self-proclaimed King of Sprues. He knows for a fact that Mephiston red is the best-tasting paint and is the commission painting equivalent of a Wendy’s 4 for $4. If you like what he writes and want to contact him or have your tabletop minatures painted (to a mostly okayish standard), message him on Instagram.
