Steal the winning tech from the Las Vegas Teams Tournament and check out the top 40k army lists for Adeptus Custodes, Space Marines, and World Eaters.
Want “unbeatable” energy? Start with the factions that survived teams play, target priority, and the kind of mission pressure that makes bad builds fold fast.
This breakdown grabs the top 40k army lists from theLas Vegas Teams Tournament, then points out the tech worth stealing for Adeptus Custodes, Space Marines, and World Eaters.
Las Vegas Teams Tournament: Final 40k Army Lists & Tournament Standings
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.
If you’re looking to level up your game even more, think about applying to Team USA to compete in the Warhammer World Team Championships!
Plus, thanks to Best Coast Pairings, we can look back at the event as if we were all there ourselves. Click this special promo link to save $20 on a year’s subscription to BCP.
Editor’s Note: This was a teams tournament, meaning matchups were controlled, and these results are in a vacuum! Still, these are great lists, so let’s check them out!
1st Place: Folger Pyles, Adeptus Custodes Army Lists
Adeptus Custodes in Talons of the Emperor wants to win the boring way. Take the middle, refuse to leave, and make every trade feel unfair. It is a wall of Custodian Guard bodies backed by cheap Sisters for chores, with triple Venerable Land Raiders doing the heavy lifting on delivery, angles, and anti-tank.
Then the allies show up to be annoying in all the right places, so opponents never get to play a clean, comfortable game.
A five-man unit of Custodian Guard with spears is the straightforward “walk forward and fight” brick. This unit is the cleanest damage dealer of the bunch, and it likes being the squad that actually commits first, since it has no shield or vexilla tax. It goes where the real fight is, plants itself, and dares something to step onto that objective.
Two five-man Custodian Guard units with shield and vexilla are where the list starts leaning into “try shifting this.” The shield and vexilla build pushes this unit toward objective holding and attrition trades. It is still plenty lethal, but the job is more about surviving a swing, staying on the point, and making the opponent waste a second activation to finish the job.
Three four-man Custodian Guard units with shield and vexilla are smaller bricks, and that matters. Four bodies are easier to hide, easier to stage, and cheaper to throw into a midboard scrap without feeling like the whole plan is on the line. These units are the flex pieces: they can hold a side objective, counterpunch something that overextends, or hop out of a Land Raider to steal a point and force the opponent to respond.
Two units of Prosecutors are the list’s little unpaid interns. They sit on a home objective, screen out annoying deep strike angles, and generally make sure the Custodes do not have to waste a two-hundred-point unit babysitting. They are also handy for holding something out of line of sight while the real units go punch faces elsewhere.
Three Venerable Land Raiders are the first big “this list actually has reach” piece. Triple Land Raiders is a choice, and the choice is “delivery plus guns plus durability.” They give you a way to project pressure without exposing the Guard too early. Additionally, they bring real anti-tank firepower to a faction that can otherwise get stuck playing chicken with enemy armor.
Witchseekers are the spicy utility add-on. The flamers are perfect for clearing cheap objective campers, punishing light infantry that tries to screen, and generally making the midboard feel unsafe for anything that is not a real unit. They also help with board control because nobody loves charging flamers, and that little hesitation can buy the Custodes the one turn they need to lock in primary scoring.
Callidus Assassin is here to be an absolute menace, not a hero. She is the classic utility piece: pops into awkward spots, threatens backfield objectives, and messes with the opponent’s plan by forcing them to keep resources at home. She is also great at hunting small scoring units or lone support characters who thought they were safe. The real value is that she makes opponents play honestly. Perfect, because this list loves honest games since those turn into fistfights on objectives.
Inquisitor Draxus as Warlord is the model that glues the whole annoyance package together. She brings extra layers of utility and disruption that Custodes normally do not get, and he is a cheap warlord compared to handing that job to a premium Custodes character. H
How This Adeptus Custodes Army List Scores
This list scores by sitting on primaries like it is glued down, then making the opponent overcommit to shift it.
Custodian Guard bricks take the midboard and side points and refuse to move. While Prosecutors and Witchseekers handle the action work and cheap objective touches.
The Land Raiders keep up the pressure all game, picking off enemy vehicles and creating traffic jams. They drop Custodians onto key objectives at the moment it hurts most.
The Callidus steals late-game points and punishes unattended corners. While Draxus adds disruption, so opponents cannot just run a clean secondary game in the background. The end result is a scoreboard that looks “close” for a turn or two, until the opponent realizes there are still too many Custodes alive, and not enough turns left to fix it.
2nd Place: Conor Tomalty, Space Marines Army Lists (Ultramarines)
How This Ultramarines Army List Scores
This Gladius Ultramarines build looks fair right up until it parks a Victrix wall in the mid-board. Then it starts asking awkward questions with three Dreadnoughts behind it.
Calgar does the heavy lifting as the army’s momentum button. The Victrix squads turn objectives into a hostage situation. While Sicarius plus Ventris keep the plan flexible when the game gets weird.
The Redemptors bully anything that steps up, and the Ballistus pair stays on “delete armor and big targets” duty.
The list never has to overextend just to solve a problem. The troops and Incursors handle the unglamorous chores, and the rest of the army cashes in on that clean setup.
3rd Place: Anthony Vanella, World Eaters Army Lists
How This World Eaters Army List Scores
This World Eaters build is all gas, no brakes. Angron is the big flashing warning sign that forces mistakes. While Khârn and a juiced Slaughterbound mop up whatever survives the first punch.
A Rhino-delivered Berzerker squad starts the mid-board brawl on cue. The twenty-strong Berzerker blob floods objectives and wins trades the hard way.
The Lord on Juggernaut keeps the charge momentum rolling into the next problem. Toss in triple Spawn to clog lanes and ruin movement. Then let Eightbound and Exalted Eightbound swing wide and finish the job.
It is a simple recipe: pressure early, trade up, and never hand the opponent a calm turn.
Final Thoughts From Us On The Las Vegas Teams Tournament Army Lists
Teams events like the Las Vegas Teams Tournament strip away the excuses and leave you with one question: can your list still score when the pairings get ugly, and the missions get tight? These three builds answered “yep” in three completely different ways.
Adeptus Custodes win by turning the midboard into a no vacancy sign, then using triple Land Raiders and a pocket full of nuisance pieces to keep the other player guessing. Ultramarines play it cleaner, setting a hard screen with Victrix and stacking Dreadnought threat behind it so every push feels like a bad trade. World Eaters army lists skip the small talk, slam the gas, and dare you to survive long enough to start scoring back.
Steal the parts of these lists that match how you like to play. More durable midfield? More layered threat? More speed and violence? Pick your poison, test it, tweak it, then run it into real opponents until it either breaks or becomes your new favorite problem for everyone else.
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 Las Vegas Teams Tournament for Custodes, Space Marines, and World Eaters?
