Steal the winning tech from the Uprising Adelaide 2026’s top Warhammer 40k army lists for Ultramarines, Tau, and Grey Knights.
Want “unbeatable” energy? The Uprising Adelaide 2026 had a very interesting top 8 placing of Warhammer 40k factions, tested under the kind of mission pressure that makes bad builds fold fast.
This breakdown of the latest top 40k army lists highlights the tech worth stealing for Tau Empire, Space Marines, and Grey Knights.
Uprising Adelaide 2026: Top 40k Army Lists
Checking out these winning army lists and their tactical synergies can really help you sharpen your strategy, especially with the latest updates to the balance dataslate rules and points.
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1st Place: Michael Pappin, Ultramarines Army Lists (Space Marines)
This “Red Hawt Ultramarines” Gladius Task Force list is basically a rolling castle that can suddenly turn into a fistfight.
The plan is all about bullying mid-board with durable bodies and flamers, deleting the one thing that matters each turn with real guns, and keeping enough fast pieces around to steal points while the opponent is busy dealing with the brick.
Captain with Jump Pack (Honour Vehement)
This is the list’s “go time” button in human form. A jump Captain already wants to start a fight, and The Honour Vehement makes that first punch actually matter. His job is to take a small, fast melee unit and turn it into a piece that trades up, then hop off to the next mess.
Captain Sicarius
Sicarius is the sneaky tech pick. He is not here to be the biggest hammer, he is here to make the army more annoying and more flexible. He helps a midfield unit play like it has a plan, either by tightening up a trade or making an objective play stick longer than it has any right to.
Marneus Calgar + Victrix Honour Guard
This is the anchor, and it forces the opponent to answer a question they usually cannot answer cleanly. Calgar brings premium aura value and real punch, the Victrix bring durability and bodyguard headaches, and together they let you take the center without immediately folding.
Intercessors
The boring unit that wins games anyway. They sit home, tag a nearby objective, or ride up to do the unglamorous “be there” job. No fireworks, just points.
Two Impulsors
Delivery tools and tempo pieces. They keep scoring bodies safe, get Marines to mid-board without donating them early, and force the opponent into a bad choice: waste shots into a transport, or accept that Marines are standing on an objective next turn.
Inceptor Squad
The “delete that” guys. Plasma Inceptors show up at the right moment, find angles ground units cannot, and erase a key target that is messing with the plan. The real threat is not just damage, it is damage from somewhere inconvenient, especially into opponents hiding behind screens.
Infernus Marines
Mid-board insurance. They punish light infantry, punish swarms trying to sit on objectives, and fit the “push the center” plan perfectly. If the opponent’s answer to Calgar is “fine, I will flood the middle,” the pyreblasters politely explain why that is a terrible life choice.
Land Raider Redeemer
The big bully wagon. The Redeemer does three jobs at once: it is tough enough to demand real anti-tank, it clears infantry off objectives with flamestorm cannons, and it delivers something nasty right into the scrum. Ignore it and you lose the middle. Focus it and the rest of the list gets room to breathe.
Scouts
They are pure utility, and that is exactly the point. Early objective work, screening deep strikes, and annoying little speed bumps that buy you time.
Vanguard Veterans with Jump Packs
The Captain’s dance partner. Vanguard Vets with inferno pistols are a classic trade piece: they show up, pick a target, and make sure something expensive has a very bad day.
Victrix Honour Guard brick (Ancient + Champion package)
This is where the list goes full Ultramarines pageantry, and it is not just for the drip. It is a mid-board bully and durability engine that plants itself somewhere important and makes trades inefficient. The Ancient and Champion add that “fine, come fight then” energy, and the whole package exists to make the opponent work for every inch.
It also layers perfectly with the rest of the army’s pressure. While they are chewing through elite bodyguards, the Redeemer and Vindicator are still out here doing crimes.
Vindicator
The blunt instrument. It exists to remove whatever the opponent is relying on, especially the kind of unit that thinks it can sit in the open and bully even Marines back.
Callidus Assassin
The utility dagger. She appears where the opponent did not want to deal with her, messes with backfield plans, and threatens characters or fragile units that thought they were safe. Opponents can build their whole turn around solving Calgar and the vehicles, and the Callidus punishes that tunnel vision by stealing points or picking off something key.
How This Ultramarines Army List Scores
It scores by turning the mid-board into a problem the opponent cannot cleanly solve. The durable Calgar and Victrix presence, backed by the Redeemer’s board control and the Vindicator’s threat, lets the army sit on primary and dare opponents to shift it.
Meanwhile, Scouts handle early positioning and screening, Intercessors and Impulsors keep the “boring” objectives locked down, and the fast pieces (Inceptors, Vanguard Vets, Callidus) swing out for secondaries and clean-up kills. It is a steady primary game with sharp, timed trades that stop the opponent from ever getting comfortable.
2nd Place: Jono Bishop, T’au Empire Army Lists
How This Tau Army List Scores
If a T’au player ever wanted to roleplay a highlight reel, this is the list.
It opens with Pathfinder and Stealth pressure to set the angles, then cashes those spots in with missile pods and ion fire until the mid-board stops being a safe place to stand. The heavy guns keep armor honest, the double Riptides control lanes like bouncers at a club, and the fast annoyances (Ghostkeel and Piranhas) spend the whole game forcing bad choices.
It even packs the usual clean-up crew, with Kroot doing the unglamorous mission jobs and Vespid showing up late to swipe points or finish something that almost got away.
3rd Place: Rhys Cunningham, Grey Knights Army Lists
How This Grey Knights Army List Scores
If a Grey Knights player ever says, “It’s just a few Librarians,” do not believe them. This Warpbane build stacks triple Vortex of Doom, so it can tag multiple targets, force awkward positioning, and turn “tanky” into “why is it already gone.” Crowe and the Purifiers bring the real kitchen heat with Purifying Flame and incinerators, bullying the mid-board and daring infantry to step onto objectives.
Interceptors handle the annoying, game-winning chores like angles, screens, and last-second steals, while the Dreadknights do the honest work of making trades feel unfair.
Then the Stormraven shows up like a flying problem, and the Callidus does the classic assassin routine: appearing at the worst time and making someone’s plan fall apart.
Final Thoughts From Us On The Uprising Adelaide Army Lists
Uprising Adelaide showed the same ugly truth good events always reveal: the top tables are not won by cute unit picks, they are won by plans that stay intact after the first punch lands.
Ultramarines Army Lists bullied the mid-board with a real anchor and timed trades, then used fast pieces to cash secondaries without letting the opponent breathe. T’au Army Lists turned the table into a shooting gallery with angles, lane control, and just enough mission muscle to keep the points ticking.
Finally, Grey Knights army lists played the classic teleport shell game, stacking mortal pressure and “wrong place, wrong time” threats until the opponent ran out of safe squares to stand on.
Build your army lists for pressure, bring pieces that actually finish jobs, and make sure the list still functions when “Plan A” gets punched in the mouth.
See the Top Warhammer Army Lists & 40k Tournament Schedule for This Year
What do you think of the results and top Warhammer 40k army lists at the Uprising Adelaide 2026 for Ultramarines, Tau, and Grey Knights?
