The Githammer December RTT delivered some great new factions to the podium. Check out some of the top Adepta Sororitas, Grey Knights, and Orks army lists in 40k now.
The Githammer December RTT brought the heat, and we’re not talking about plasma guns.
So, if you want to see which lists ruled the tables and what tricks they used to crush their foes, you’re in the right place.
Let’s break down the top 40k army lists from the weekend, shaking up the meta right now.
Top 40k Tournament Army Lists: Githammer December RTT
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.
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1st Place: Michael Georges, Adepta Sororitas Army Lists (Sisters of Battle)
This Hallowed Martyrs Adepta Sororitas Army List is built to win the trade game, not the “stand still and stat check” game. It pressures early with tanks and fast pieces, then gets nastier as units start taking losses.
The whole vibe is simple: force the opponent to commit, punish the commit, then use Miracle dice and reactive tricks to keep the pressure on while the board slowly turns into a shrine to bad decisions.
The first leader, a Canoness (with Saintly Example), sets the tone for the army’s resource plan. She’s there to make stratagem timing cleaner with that once-per-battle round discount, and Saintly Example turns her into a very practical “fine, kill her then” moment that kicks out extra Miracle dice.
With more speed, the Canoness with Jump Pack is the list’s fast problem-solver. She wants to be attached to the Zephyrim later in the list, turning that unit from “annoying skirmishers” into a real threat that can pick up something important on the charge. Through Suffering, Strength pushes her output up as she gets roughed up, which is very on brand for this detachment.
The Hospitaller is the glue that keeps the mid-board from collapsing. She turns chip damage into wasted effort, helps a key unit stick around an extra turn, and generally makes the opponent work harder than they want to for every cleared objective. In a list that expects to trade units, getting one more activation out of a squad is basically free points.
Junith Eruita is the “CP and durability, all in one floating pulpit” pick. She helps keep the CP flowing, and she makes whichever unit she joins harder to shift. Junith is also one of the big reasons the list can afford to play reactive. When the opponent tries to line up the perfect turn, Sisters just keep finding the resources to say “nope” at the worst time.
Morvenn Vahl is the obvious centerpiece and the list’s biggest “this dies now” button. She spikes damage with Miracle dice, she feeds the Miracle engine when she destroys units, and she wants to bully the board with the Paragon Warsuits. Morvenn’s job is to take a key enemy piece off the table, then dare the opponent to trade into her unit and survive the clap back.
Moving into the transports, the Immolator with twin multi-melta is a direct threat that also makes the rest of the army better. It picks a target, strips away the safety net of cover, and sets up melta follow-through. It’s also a classic Sisters utility piece because of the Immolator split trick, turning one squad into two smaller mission tools without spending extra points on another unit.
The Immolator with Immolation flamers does the same support job, just with a different kind of bullying. It clears screens, pushes light infantry off angles, and still enables the army’s “cover does not save you” plan.
For the cheap utility trade, Arco-flagellants are the low-investment nuisance unit. They’re there to stand somewhere awkward, do a small job, and force the opponent to waste real activations cleaning them up.
Then the list rolls out the artillery support with the first Castigator (battle cannon). The guns matter, but the real value is how they set up the rest of the shooting by improving AP into whatever it tags.
The second Castigator (autocannons) keeps the same plan but leans into steady pressure. It’s there to keep tags going, chip targets down, and help the melta units finish what they start without bouncing. Two Castigators also means the list can split fire support across the board and still threaten the “this target is about to get punished” AP boost on demand.
Celestian Sacresants are the brick that wants to stand in the mid-board and make the opponent miserable. With a character attached, they get that annoying defensive layer that makes elite melee and mid-strength shooting feel less consistent.
The first Dominion Squad (flamers) is one of the list’s early-board tools. Dominions plus an Immolator is classic tempo play, scout pressure, split the unit, get bodies on the table doing missions while the embarked half threatens a shove.
The second Dominion Squad (meltaguns) is the sharper version of that same delivery idea. Split them with an Immolator, keep the melta package ready to jump out, and suddenly the list has another compact anti-tank punch that does not need a ton of help to trade up.
Paragon Warsuits are Morvenn’s ride-or-die crew and one of the list’s biggest damage dealers. They are built to bully vehicles and monsters, and they become a real nightmare once Morvenn is leading them and the army starts spending Miracle dice to force key results.
The Retributor Squad with Meltas is the other headline damage package. Four multi-meltas are already scary, but in this list, they also feed the Miracle economy and threaten nasty return plays when the opponent tries to remove them. Retributors are a “respect this lane or lose something expensive” unit, and they stack perfectly with the Castigator tagging plan and the Immolators stripping cover.
Sanctifiers bring the messy utility the list wants in the mid-game. They brawl, they do actions, they exist as another unit that does not mind trading bodies while the detachment buffs kick in. They are also great for turning awkward board states into points, because they can scrap on a mid-board objective or slip into a corner to handle mission work while the big pieces keep fighting.
Finally, the Zephyrim Squad is the fast-scoring knife that also threatens real melee output. They show up where they’re needed, threaten a charge that matters, and pair cleanly with the jump Canoness to turn that arrival into actual pressure instead of a token deep strike.
How This Adeptus Sororitas Army List Scores
Primary points come from planting a tough unit on a mid-board objective and making the opponent overpay to clear it, while the rest of the army keeps flipping side objectives through pressure. Sacresants with character support are the “hold this and suffer” anchor, while Dominion splits, Sanctifiers, and even the tiny Arco unit can help with the constant action economy and board coverage.
Secondaries and tactical play come from mobility and trading. The Zephyrim package gives fast reach, the Immolators create extra flexible unit footprints, and the army’s Miracle dice and reactive tricks let it turn bad-looking exchanges into “cool, now it’s even, and the opponent is out of resources.”
In a detachment that rewards getting hit and refusing to fold, that’s exactly where Sisters want the game to live.
2nd Place: Kassie Heitman, Grey Knights Army Lists (Space Marines)
Grey Knights Win By Making the Midboard Miserable
This Grey Knights list is basically a teleporting pressure machine: Dreadknights kick the door in, Purifiers mop up whatever is left on the objectives, and the small squads do the unglamorous work that actually wins games.
Crowe and the Librarian keep the psychic output nasty and make midfield trades feel like your opponent is paying retail while you’re shopping clearance. Interceptors and Strike Squads steal tempo by hopping onto points, screening out problems, and setting up swaps that keep scoring ticking even when the opponent tries to punch back.
The end result is a list that hits hard, scores clean, and turns turn four into the part where your opponent starts counting “outs” and realizing they ran out two turns ago.
3rd Place: Patrick Brown, Orks Army Lists
This Orks List Wins by Playing the Mission Like a Bully With a Stopwatch
This is not an Orks list that’s trying to table people. It’s built to get on points early, clog the mid-board with bodies that were never supposed to survive, and force your opponent into miserable trades just to stop the primary bleeding.
The trick is the pacing: a fast, cheap first wave grabs space and messes with movement, then the transports and tougher melee core roll in right when the objective flip actually matters.
Toss in enough shooting and anti-vehicle pressure to punish anyone trying to play keep-away, and you’ve got Orks doing what Orks do best, winning while your opponent is busy “solving” problems that already scored.
Final Thoughts From Us: Githammer December RTT
Well, that is the Githammer December RTT in a nutshell: Adepta Sororitas Army Lists turning trades into profit, Grey Knights playing teleport tag with a stack of angry baby-carriers, and Orks proving that “mission first” still wins games even when the table is on fire.
The Balance Dataslate fallout is already showing up in real lists, too. No gimmicks, just tight plans, redundant threats, and scoring tools that do not fall apart the second a key unit eats a bad roll. If this event is any hint, the next stretch of tournaments is going to be full of lists that hit early, trade smart, and keep scoring even after the first punch lands.
Now the real question: which of these builds is getting copied into local group chats first, and which one is getting “fixed” by someone who has not played it yet, lol?
See the Top Warhammer Army Lists & Latest 40k Tournament Schedule
What do you think of the results from the Githammer December RTT Warhammer 40k Adeptus Sororitas, Grey Knights, and Orks army lists?
