Space Marines are still reigning supreme in the 40k meta. Check out the top 3 40k army lists from the Blood & Glory GT Championship!
The Blood & Glory 40k Championship had nearly one-hundred unique players come under one roof to roll dice. Coming alongside a plethora of GW previews, these were the three top placings from the event!
Note that it used ITC scoring along with any codexes and FAQs released on or before October 26, 2019. Thanks to Best Coast Pairings, we can look back at the event as if we were there ourselves. With all this said, let’s jump into the top three lists!
3rd Place: Imperial Fists- Nick Counsell
Imperial Fists got to keep their Siegebreaker Cohort formation out of Vigilus and this list capitalized on it. Bringing a Battalion, A Phobos Captain was turned into a Chapter Master for the rerolls while Devastator Centurions were the major points-sink. Being loaded down with heavy bolters and missiles, these guys were a serious source of multi-damage firepower topped with mortal wounds. To bring the attention off of the Centurions and to add more bodies to the list, thirty total Intercessors also hit the field with Stalker Bolt Rifles. These things hit like lower-strength autocannons, but with the doctrines and Chapter Tactic, they have increased AP and can even explode into multiple hits per shot.
For the rest of the force, this served as indirect/supporting fire. Coming from two Whirlwinds, a Thunderfire, and Eliminators, these shot at the tricky targets like characters and things hiding behind cover. It’s also important to note that a relic banner was taken to give the models a chance to attack one last time if removed.
2nd Place: Iron hands- Alex Petford
For this Iron Hands list, it brought a unique composition secondary to the FAQ that nerfed them back to understandable limitations. A Lieutenant with the Ironstone relic led a Spearhead coming with a single autocannon Warsuit and invulsave Deredeo Dread in the Elites slot. For the Heavy Support section, a Mortis Dread with four lascannons served as a cheap chassis to bring tank-busting firepower. A single Repulsor Executioner hit the field as well with three Thunderfire Cannons.
For the rest of the points, they were thrown into an Air Wing detachment full of five total Flyers. Each unit was loaded with twin assault cannons and acted as cheap dakka platforms to make the most of the Iron Hands Devastator Doctrine Heavy Weapon bonus. This let all the units ignore heavy and reroll any hits of 1! Overall, this list spammed Heavy Weapons to proc the Devastator Doctrine’s rerolls (acting as if a Captain was nearby at all times). A single HQ was taken and Alex only had five CP to work off of all game! This list counters the Raven Guard pretty hard by not having any juicy characters to snipe off the table.
1st Place: Space Marine Soup- Mani Cheema
Space Marine soup looks to be back on the menu for Space Marines. Pulling from two different Chapters, this list made use of two different codex’s Stratagems. Starting off an Imperial Fist Spearhead served as supporting firepower. The Warlord took the +D3 CP at the start of the game. Bonus Lieutenant rerolls came from the nifty Eye of Kurnoth relic. This Captain probably stood next to three Thunderfires and three Whilrwinds all-game. This gun line laid down the heat for the rest of the force to move in close.
For the rest of the army, two detachments of Raven Guard Successors were taken. Using the McPick Two Chapter Tactics, Mani gave them Stealthy and Longe Range Marksmen. Scouts started up the table to secure any objectives at the very beginning of the game. Meanwhile, a Vanguard loaded with three squads of Assault Centurions hit the table to close the gap and mulch the front line units with all the Raven Guard mobility Stratagems.
Finally, a chunky six-man Devastator Centurion squad also came with grav-cannons. These guys are a hard counter to anything with a 3+ or better armor save. Which, in the Space Marine meta, there’s a lot of… Plus, this made full use of the underplayed Grav Stratagem out of the Space Marine codex. Great job overall!
What do you think about these lists? Are Imperial Fists going to be the next top Chapter? Where do Salamanders sit? Have you experimented with Space Marine soup?
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