Don’t miss the top Warhammer 40k army lists featuring Chaos Daemons, Drukhari, and Adeptus Custodes from the There Is Only War IV tournament.
The There Is Only War IV is over, and now we can look at which 40k factions’ playstyles and army lists managed to secure a place at the top! Check out what these winners brought in their armies, with our expert commentary on their selections.
Final Tournament Standings:
Studying these winning army lists for their tactical synergies can provide great insights for playing your army since the latest balance dataslate rules changes and points updates. If you want to elevate your game even further, consider applying to Team USA to compete at the World Team Championships each year!
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1st Place: Jason McKenzie – Chaos Daemons (Demons) Army Lists
Jason’s Chaos Daemons didn’t just win There Is Only War IV—they arrived, screamed in eight dimensions at once, and broke the laws of physics for fun and profit. Let’s take a look at the list:
Front and center was Be’lakor, the original edgy boy of Chaos. His statline is great, his powers are scary, and his wingspan is matched only by his flair for the dramatic. He’s the kind of unit you don’t ignore unless you really enjoy watching your best models evaporate.
Backing him up was a Bloodthirster—because nothing says “subtle strategy” like a skyscraper-sized daemon launching itself across the battlefield with an axe big enough to count as terrain. This guy doesn’t play objectives; he plays “Who wants to get deleted this turn?”
The Lord of Change brought some brains to the party. It’s got good stats, nasty psychic tricks, and enough feathers to make any bird-themed craftworld jealous. Meanwhile, the Rendmaster zips around supporting the rest of the force like a daemonic hype man—offering a touch of extra speed, some buffs, and the occasional murder.
The troops are a chaos sampler platter: Bloodletters for stabbing, Plaguebearers for sticking around, and Nurglings for being tiny nightmares that show up early and ruin deployment zones. They don’t need to sparkle—they just need to exist in the right places at the right time, which they do very well.
Two Beasts of Nurgle made an appearance too. They’re slow, sticky, and annoyingly hard to kill. They don’t move fast, but if they make it into your lines, they’ll gum up your plans like a cosmic hairball.
Need charges that hit like a freight train? Bloodcrushers filled that role. Mounted Khorne daemons don’t wait to be asked twice—they hit hard, look great doing it, and can turn a mispositioned squad into a red smear.
Flamers took care of infantry screens, barbecuing anything too fragile to resist warp-fueled fire. Basically, they’re Chaos’s version of a clean-up crew—with flamethrowers.
And just when you think the madness is over, in come the Flesh Hounds. Three units. They’re fast, they’re mean, and they’re the “get there first and tear it apart” part of the army. Whether it’s holding ground or running something down, they’ve got it covered.
2nd Place: Wyatt Harris – Drukhari (Dark Eldar) Army Lists
3rd Place: Collin Watson – Adeptus Custodes Army Lists
Final Thoughts on Army Lists:
To sum it all up, There Is Only War IV showcased the glorious chaos of Jason McKenzie’s Daemons, who turned the battlefield into a surreal carnival of horrors. Meanwhile, Wyatt Harris’s Drukhari swooped in like fashionably late party crashers, and Collin Watson’s Adeptus Custodes reminded us that sometimes, all you need is a golden suit of armor and a good strut to claim victory
So, whether you’re planning to play in the next big tournament or just looking to spice up your games at home, take a page from these winners and remember: every unit counts, and sometimes, all you need is a good plan and a whole lot of golden armored bodies.
See the Top Warhammer Army Lists & 40k Tournament Schedule for 2025
What do you think of the results and top Warhammer 40k There Is Only War IV army lists for Chaos Daemons, Drukhari, and Adeptus Custodes?
