Jasper Lange’s 5-0 Leagues of Votann took the Münsterland Major 5 army lists crown while Angron and Guilliman fought each other on table 1.
The final round in Rheine came down to one table canceling itself out as Christian Lücker’s World Eaters and Alessandro Liessem’s Ultramarines fought each other to a 10-10 standstill. One table over, Jasper Lange’s Votann did what they’d done all weekend, ground out another win and walked out as the only 5-0 player in the building.
That’s a much different ending from last year’s Münsterland Major, when Thousand Sons ran the room. The tournament also doubled as a WCW Qualifier on the road to the World Championships of Warhammer, with 91 players, five rounds, and every game scored out of 20. So these 40k army lists had some more incentive to bring their best.
Münsterland Major 5: Top 3 Warhammer 40k Army Lists
- Jasper Lange’s Votann went 5-0 without a single 20-0, never winning by fewer than six: Scores of 14-6, 18-2, 13-7, 15-5, and 13-7 were plenty once the two lists chasing him drew each other.
- Angron and Guilliman drew 10-10 on table 1, leaving both armies stuck at 4-0-1: Lücker’s World Eaters took 2nd, and Liessem’s Ultramarines took 3rd, with Thomas Brutscher’s Orks also 4-0-1 in 4th.
- Two of the top three took Priority Assets as their Force Disposition this weekend: Lücker was the one on Purge the Foe, and his three 20-0 wins make a pretty loud case for it.
Thanks to Best Coast Pairings, we can walk back through the whole event with real pairings and battle point data.
Hearthguard Covenant Votann Won Every Game
Lange’s Leagues of Votann army list paired Hearthguard Covenant with Needgaârd Oathband for 3 Detachment Points, took Priority Assets, and handed the Warlord role to Ûthar the Destined. If you’ve looked at the 11th Edition Votann detachments before, a double-detachment Kin list at the top of a qualifier shouldn’t surprise you.
Hearthguard Covenant Roster Breakdown
The biggest hitter is a Kâhl with the Oathbound Speculator Enhancement, riding in a full ten-man brick of Einhyr Hearthguard, each packing an EtaCarn plasma gun, with a second five-man Hearthguard squad right behind. That’s a lot of plasma walking up the board in Exo-armor!
Behind it, a Memnyr Strategist leads six Ironkin Steeljacks, so Lange has a second tough block that can sit on an objective once the Hearthguard have cleared it.
Two units of Brôkhyr Thunderkyn (a three-man and a six-man) plus a Hekaton Land Fortress put out a steady stream of chip damage, while Buri Aegnirssen and Ûthar round out the characters and ten Hearthkyn Warriors hold the home objective.
Then there are the fast elements of the list. A Sagitaur, a Kapricus Carrier, and two Kapricus Defenders give the Kin four fast chassis, and two squads of Hernkyn Pioneers plus ten Yaegirs pick up the scoring on the flanks.
How Hearthguard Covenant Wins the Long Game
Lange opened 14-6 over Sascha Prinz-Wagner’s Emperor’s Children, then posted his biggest score of the weekend, 18-2, against Philipp von Wussow’s Space Wolves. Round 3 was a Votann mirror against Martin Niederstein, which he took 13-7, and round 4 brought a second Emperor’s Children list, Kevin Thompson’s, which he beat 15-5.
That set up round 5 on table 2 against Christian Menge’s Custodes, and Lange closed it out 13-7 while the two lists above him drew.
Berzerker Warband World Eaters Put Up Three 20-0 Wins
Lücker’s World Eaters army list is what you get when a Khorne player builds for speed. He ran Berzerker Warband for 3 Detachment Points on Purge the Foe, with Angron as the Warlord, and for four rounds it played out about how you’d expect from a list that points every model at the enemy.
Berzerker Warband Roster Breakdown
Sure, Angron gets the attention, but the infantry does the grinding. Khârn the Betrayer leads one ten-man Khorne Berzerker squad, and Lord Invocatus leads the other, which puts twenty Berzerkers on the table with a pair of eviscerators and plasma pistols in each unit. A single Chaos Rhino can also give one of those squads a ride up the board.
Behind them comes a wall of demented strength. A Slaughterbound with Battle-lust leads three Exalted Eightbound, and a second Exalted squad plus two more units of regular Eightbound follow it in. Plus, two Forgefiends hang back with Hades autocannons, which gives an otherwise all-melee list a bit of reach.
Goremongers and a ten-man Jakhal pack fill the cheap scoring slots, and that’s the whole army. It’s a whole lot of chainblades, and all of them are pointed the same direction.
How Berzerker Warband Wins the Scoreboard in a Hurry
Lücker’s first two games ended 20-0 over Tobias Weber’s Orks and 20-0 over Tim Busse’s Custodes. Round 3 was the scare, an 11-9 squeaker against Nils Waldhecker’s Orks, and he answered it with a third 20-0 over Niklas Kreuzheck’s Chaos Space Marines.
That put him on table 1 against Liessem in the final round, where the game finished 10-10. So Lücker left Rheine without a loss and with more 20-0 results than anyone else in the top three. But fortunately, second place is what a top-table draw costs you.
Blade of Ultramar Ultramarines Parked Four Predators Behind Guilliman
Liessem’s list name spells out the plan: one last oath, Uriel, and a lot of Predators. He ran Blade of Ultramar with Mastered Doctrines on Priority Assets, and Roboute Guilliman took the Warlord slot. With Guilliman’s new datasheet making him a full-time threat, we’d guess this is how a lot of Ultramarines army lists will look for a while.
Blade of Ultramar Roster Breakdown
Uriel Ventris leads six Victrix Honour Guard with the Banner of Macragge, and that unit plus Guilliman handles the melee end of the army. It’s a small punch that hits hard, so opponents have to hold something back for it the whole game.
Everything else is armor. Two Predator Annihilators and two Predator Destructors form a four-tank gun line (RIP), and a Repulsor Executioner with a Heavy Laser Destroyer anchors it. Two Techmarines tag along to keep the tanks running, and a pair of three-man Heavy Bolter Eradicator squads add even more firepower.
Five Intercessors and two Scout squads handle the objective work. Basically, it’s a gun line with a hammer attached, and those cheap bodies do a lot of the scoring while the Predators trade shots.
How Blade of Ultramar Wins the Firefight
Liessem opened 19-1 over Franz Hempel’s Adepta Sororitas, then beat Constantin Doumat’s Custodes 12-8. Round 3 was his big one, a 20-0 over Jamil Seif’s Chaos Daemons (Seif still recovered to finish 8th), and round 4 went 12-8 over Patrick Philipp’s T’au, who ended up 5th.
Then came the 10-10 draw with Lücker on table 1. Two of Liessem’s wins came by four points, so he was never running away with this event, but he never lost a game either, and 4-0-1 put him 3rd.
Final Thoughts on the Münsterland Major 5 Army Lists & the Warhammer 40k Meta
What we’ll be watching next is whether more Votann players copy Lange’s double-detachment build, because a list that wins every game by those margins is the kind of thing people bring to their next GT. Sure, one event is one event, but Votann, World Eaters, and Ultramarines all technically went unbeaten across 91 players, and none of them leaned on a tricky army to get there.
Keep an eye on Force Dispositions as well. Two of the top three took Priority Assets here, and if that holds at the next few events, expect a lot more 40k army lists built to score across the whole board instead of just killing whatever’s in front of them.
🔗 Related Reads:
- How to Play Leagues of Votann
- How to Play World Eaters
- How To Play Space Marines: Codex Review
- Top Warhammer 40k Army Lists
- More Top Warhammer 40k Army Lists
- 40k Tournament Guide
- Warhammer 40k Factions Guide
- Latest 40k Balance Dataslate
- Munitorum Field Manual Points Updates
Would you rather take Lange’s Votann, Lücker’s World Eaters, or Liessem’s Ultramarines into your next event?
