Don’t miss the top Warhammer 40k army lists featuring Craft World Aeldari and Space Marines from the Vault Hammer RTT.
The Vault Hammer 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: Vault Hammer 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. 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: Allan Davidson, Aeldari Army Lists
This Aeldari Aspect Host list mixes Phoenix Lords with fast Aspects that slice the board apart before the opponent can focus.
Asurmen starts things off by giving Dire Avengers real backbone and steady shuriken fire. The Avatar of Khaine marches up the middle, pulls every gun his way, and deletes anything that tries to hold midboard.
Fuegan leads the Fire Dragons and turns their melta output into pure tank vapor. Jain Zar pairs with the Banshees, shutting down counterattacks and ruining elite infantry. Lhykhis boosts the Spider wing with extra angles and movement tricks.
Their Storm Guardians take early utility duties. Flamers burn screens, fusion guns threaten armor, and the Serpent’s Scale Platform keeps the squad alive long enough to score.
The Wave Serpent moves key units into range and adds twin bright lance pressure from the backfield. Dire Avengers hold ground and lay down consistent fire with Asurmen nearby.
The Falcon itself adds bright lance punch and pulse laser support while delivering a unit onto an objective when needed. Fire Dragons will always erase anything with a hull, and Fuegan only makes the damage nastier.
Howling Banshees attack soft targets, tie up guns, and open lanes for the faster elements. Rangers do their thing, safely screening and chipping wounds.
Three units of Swooping Hawks own the skies, grabbing objectives, harassing flanks, and scoring secondary points with ease.
Two units of Warp Spiders add teleport pressure, burst fire, and late-game objective steals.
How It Scores
This list takes the board through speed and precision. Hawks and Spiders grab points early, the Avatar anchors the center, and the Aspect shrines collapse enemy units with specialized firepower. Once the opponent gets pinned between Phoenix Lords and teleporting Aspects, the mission points start piling up fast.
2nd Place: Peter Grady, Space Marines Army Lists (Ultramarines)
This Ultramarines Gladius list is basically a celebrity parade wrapped in a shield wall. It is heroes on heroes on heroes, backed by one furious tank and a missile sled.
It plays like classic Ultras: steady board control, layers of buffs, and a stubborn refusal to die on schedule.
Captain Sicarius starts the show with a frontline melee punch and handy buffs. Marneus Calgar and his Victrix Guard march into the midboard like armored royalty, tanking fire and holding ground through sheer spite. Roboute Guilliman is the centerpiece. His aura pushes everything, his blades flatten anything that gets close, and his rules keep bad rolls from ruining your plan.
Uriel Ventris adds flexible scoring and rerolls where you need them, and the Lieutenant rounds things out with accuracy boosts for your shooting blocks.
Troops come in layers. Intercessors babysit home objectives and provide steady bolter support. Incursors scout ahead, block deep strike, and harass with the haywire mine. Scouts screen, trade cheaply, and provide early chip fire before the heroes show up.
The real backbone is three Victrix Honour Guard squads. They bodyguard your characters, hold midboard space, and chip away with master crafted bolter fire. Anyone charging into this many Victrix models learns about regret quickly.
Your ranged punch comes from the Repulsor Executioner, which deletes armor and clears infantry with its laser and Gatling barrage. The Storm Speeder Hammerstrike adds fast anti-tank pressure, giving you extra angles to crack open problem targets.
How This Space Marine Army List Scores
This list scores by parking Guilliman, Calgar, and a Victrix carpet in the center and daring the opponent to step into it. Scouts and Incursors grab early points, the tanks peel off threats, and your characters grind through anything that wanders too close.
Once the midfield turns blue, the mission is usually already yours.
3rd Place: Lewis Davie, Space Marines Army Lists (Iron Hands)
This Iron Hands Hammer of Avernii list is a walking steel grinder. Every unit slots into a clear job, the characters tune the engines, the dreadnoughts crush anything that moves, and the infantry keeps the points flowing.
The Ancient in Terminator Armour props up the Terminator brick with Steel Font, making that squad an anvil. Caanok Var roams and adds flexible midboard fire.
Iron Father Feirros is the core of the army. He repairs, buffs, and turns a dreadnought into a monster every turn. The Lieutenant brings accuracy support, keeping key guns reliable.
The Techmarine adds more repairs and targeting boosts, meaning your dreadnoughts stay alive far longer than opponents want.
Heavy Intercessors hold home objectives and chip fire from the back while soaking early pressure. The two Ballistus Dreadnoughts handle long-range anti-tank duty, forcing cautious opponent movement. Infiltrators block deep strike and lock down key lanes so nothing sneaks past the robot wall.
Right behind them, the two Ballistus Dreadnoughts act as long-range snipers, picking off vehicles, monsters, or elite units while the rest of the army advances.
The biggest threat on the table is the triple Redemptor core. Three walking blast furnaces pump out plasma, flamers, and fists while the detachment rules push their output even higher. They want midboard fights because nothing trades efficiently into them once they are buffed.
Two Scout Squads screen, grab early points, and offer cheap board presence with a few extra weapon angles. The Assault Terminator Squad is the closer. Ten storm shields and thunder hammers follow behind the dreads and clean up whatever survives the shooting.
How It Scores
The plan is simple. Push up with the dreadnoughts, plant the Terminators behind them, lock the center, and let your supporting infantry hold the edges. By the time your opponent finishes trying to break through Iron Hands’ durability, the mission points have already slipped out of their hands.
Final Thoughts From Us: Vault Hammer RTT Army Lists
In a weekend where Aeldari whirlwind tactics and Space Marines’ steadfast heroism clashed, it was the Eldar’s Aspect Host that ultimately sliced through the competition. Whether you prefer the swift elegance of Eldar blades or the relentless resolve of a Space Marine wall, the Vault Hammer RTT had a little something for everyone!
Each faction showed off exactly why they belong at the top tables, and now players are scrambling to tweak lists, sharpen combos, and keep up with a 40k meta that just won’t sit still.
See the Top Warhammer Army Lists & Latest 40k Tournament Schedule
What do you think of the results from the Vault Hammer RTT Warhammer 40k Aeldari and Space Marines army lists?
