These are the best troops to hold objectives in Warhammer 40k, as it’s arguably even more important in 9th Edition 40k than in 8th!
Objective holding is very important in 9th Edition. But it’s also gotten a lot harder to score. Since you don’t score points until the start of your next Command Phase, you essentially have to spend a turn sitting (possibly in the open) and holding your ground. Now before we dive into Troops, we also have to cover the question of “WHY Troops?”. Well, because Objective Secured is still very much a thing and can be the slight edge you have over your opponent when it comes to ground control.
These Are The Best Troops To Hold Objectives in 40k Now
One final note to make is that we’ve seen most competitive lists run four Troops these days. Which is probably so that they can dedicate one for each objective on the board.
So what are some of the best troop objective holders and why?
Cultists & Abaddon
Abaddon plus a ton of Cultists can really get the job done. Abaddon makes them all fearless if they stand within his aura. While you lack serious damage output, you can always pop Tide of Traitors to have a chunky squad come back full strength. Chewing through 90+ fearless T3 bodies is a lot for some lists to deal with. Especially the popular anti-tank Salamander list that’s been running around.
Boyz & A Warboss/Ghazghkull
In a similar theme, you can use Ghazghkull or any kind of Warboss and some Boyz to achieve roughly the same output. While a Warboss doesn’t make anybody outright fearless, you just have to take D3 mortal wounds onto the unit that’s about to fail morale. But if you’re running blobs of thirty Boyz, taking D3 mortal wounds in the grand scheme of things is negligible.
(includes the Primaris Lietantant or Necron Overlord)
Nurglings & Plague Marines/Poxwalkers
For Nurgle fans, you’ll probably want to run some combination of either Nurglings and Plague Marines or Nurglings and Poxwalkers. Let’s talk about why you’ll want to take Nurglings always first. Nurglings are pretty much an auto include if you’re running a Nurgle faction. Just because they’re cheap, they get a 5++/5+++ (usually), their bases are super small, and they can infiltrate. What that all boils down to is a unit that’s hard to spot that can start the game on mid-board objectives AND is deceptively tough to kill.
Next, there’s Poxwalkers which can be taken in big squads and buffed up to be super hard to kill. For example, they can be -2 to hit which is terrifying when you see a thirty-strong squad sitting in the middle of the board. Although, with the recent 9th Edition rules capping things at a +1/-1 modifier, these guys are a little less good.
On the flipside, Plague Marines are also great because they can be taken in Transports to get around the board faster, come with a 5+++ FNP, and are eventually going to get buffed to two wounds.
Scouts Squads & Infiltrator/Incursors
These three squads can all infiltrate, which is a big selling point, although Space Marines probably have the worst Troop-choice objective holders out of this list. But they have to “bad” at SOMETHING right? Anyway, Scouts are great economy options. They only have one wound so they cost less and can still put up a decent fight in melee, especially if you’re running them as Blood Angels. Incursors are also great because they have exploding 6’s to hit which also make for a great Blood Angels option.
Finally Infiltrators are still an option on the table because they deny any deepstriking within 12″ of themselves. If you can get these guys in cover and have them hold position all game, they can deny a pretty large footprint of the map which can shut down factions like GSC.
While this isn’t the complete list of solid objective holders in 9th Edition, you at least get the idea of what to look for.
What do you think about these options for holding down the board? How many Troops do you run in your game?
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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.
