Six more army lists go undefeated in June. Looking at the most recent events, we can get a bird’s eye view of where the 40k meta is going…
Coming from multiple tournaments across American and Canada, these 40k lists managed to emerge from their events unscathed. After checking out what these lists brought, tell us if your list looks anything like these!
Thanks to Best Coast Pairings, we can look back at the events as if we were there ourselves.
Master’s City Major: Tau- Richard Siegler
Tau brought in a unique list sporting Darkstrider and some Pathfinder teams. Of course, these guys weren’t meant to do damage, rather, they were there to light up a target with Markerlights and let the Riptides go to work. The Drones in this list’s main job were to hover around some Burst-Tides and tank all the high-damage shots.
Like we were saying from above, these Riptides are a classic choice for competitive Tau players. With the three being the main damage output source in the list, Really, all of the other leftover points went into some way of cramming another markerlight/shield drone into the force.
For example, tying the army up with a supreme command detachment, three Fireblades brought Markerlights and all of the other characters spammed as many shield drones as they could.
Windy City GT: Orks- PJ Pants
Orks made the most of their detachments by filling every slot. The first was a Battalion based solely around CP generation from some Gretchin. However, the next Battalion was full of Bad Moons Orks with two squads of thirty slugga/choppa Boyz. They also had a few Tankbusta bombs with them in case they ran into any trouble with armor after they got jumped up the board by the Weirdboy. Of course, the main tank-popping firepower came from a big squad of Tankbustas that we can only imagine were screened by some of those Deathskulls Gretchin.
Lastly. another Battalion was made and fleshed out with some Gretchin squads. However, all the stuff we talked about earlier was supported by five Mek Gunz. This is a classic Ork strategy that we’ve seen from the start of 8th edition. But one unique thing about the list that we’ve never seen in a competitive format was Badrukk and some Flash Gitz! Great job showing us that there are still some “untouched” competitive units out there.
Flying Monkey GT: Chaos- Treynor Wolfe
Chaos may be reigning supreme but this is a new list (basically). Making full use of Forge World, they brought five Dreadnoughts total in a Purge Legion. The rules for these guys is that basically, everyone else gets to shoot better if they all pick on the same target. Altogether, the Deredeos and Contemptors formed a gunline popping key targets while the Plaguebearers and Horrors screened. The Khorne Daemon Prince would just melt through armor like butter.
And lastly, your favorite Chaos HQs to hit the scene formed a Supreme Command Detachment and moved around the board wherever they needed to. They’re just too much value at this point to not take them.
Throne of War: Space Marines- Fred Fortman
This is easily the most unique Space Marine list we’ve seen in a while. Basically built from the ground up, this player brought a bunch of off-meta units. A Spearhead was taken with a Servitor leading three total Predators (probably for the Kill Shot stratagem) as well as a Relic Whirlwind and some Black Templar Servitors.
Next, was an Ultramarines Spearhead detachment with another Techmarine leading three squads of three Eliminators. These are the new Primaris sniper guys that have different ammo they can load for whatever situation. Turns out, they’re pretty good. Of course, for some dakka and interference, two Repulsors were brought along to clear any chaff and add some Toughness to this list.
But to round everything up, Robbie G stepped onto the field and helped everybody reroll all their shots and wounds. This list is straight forward and lacks a serious number of models, but it is so refreshing to see unique armies like this do so well. Great job, Brrrrrrrrrt!
Stay In Your Lane GT: Tau- Brian Pullen
This list built off of the classic Riptide package and threw a little Crisis Suit spice into the mix. Starting off, a Battalion of Fire Warriors brought some CP to the table and helped to defend the three Burst Cannon Riptides.
For a second detachment, this list brought a ton of Crisis Suits. With XV8 Suits hitting the field with Cyclin Ion Blasters, they had plenty of quality firepower to knock wounds off of just about anything. To make matters worse, this list brought a whopping thirty-seven Drones. These guys hovered around the Riptide with Drone Controller for max buffs. Great list!
Basement Open: Tau- Devin Swann
Looking at Tau again, this is a totally unique list from what we’ve normally been seeing. A cheap Battalion of Fire Warriors were mainly taken for the bodies and CP (along with some Firesight Marksman). But this list actually brought an Air Wing detachment with three Sun Shark Bombers. These guys are on the squishy side, but they’re fast and offer a decent amount of high-strength firepower for 148 pts.
Now onto the real powerhouse of the force, a Spearhead was taken with the Longstrike/ Hammerhead package. Longstrike is a monster himself but he also buffs other Hammerheads closeby. Instead of the Railgun loadout, however, this player loaded them up with the Ion Cannons for flexibility. And finally, three Sky Ray Gunships were also brought getting the list over damage 0utput “hump” against enemy armor. Each tank brought six Seeker Missiles that are doing a whopping D6 damage a pop. All in all, this list was completely unique to what we’ve normally been seeing. There wasn’t a single Riptide in sight! Great job.
Overall, Tau are looking to reclaim the meta from the hands of Chaos. With three unique Tau lists under our belt, it’s going to be exciting to see how other factions will deal with their shenanigans. What do you think about these lists? Do you play Tau? How do you counter shield drone spam? Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group.
About the Author: Wesley Floyd
Wesley Floyd
Job Title: Staff Writer
Joined: 2018
Socials:@RealmbrushPainting
Bio: Imperial fanboy, tabletop fanatic, and the self-proclaimed King of Sprues. Wes has been in the Warhammer hobby since 2015 and joined the Spikey Bits writing team in 2018. 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 reach out or get your models painted (to a mostly okayish standard), message him on Instagram.
