Jack Murphy’s 5-0 T’au Empire took the 2026 US Goonhammer Open 40k GT crown, while two very different Ork armies used Freebooter Krew to finish in the top three.
Two Ork players brought lists that barely resemble each other, ran the same new detachment, and both finished on the podium. That was the big story at the 2026 US Goonhammer Open. The Orks attacked the event from two completely different angles, but neither could get past an undefeated T’au gunline.
Freebooter Krew is the newest free Orks detachment, and this was one of its first major US GT tests. Anyone following the newest Orks rules and detachments already knows the basic plan: loot objectives and keep moving. Tyler Principio built around Trukks and Beast Snaggas. Wiley Pappas leaned into characters and Squighogs, and they both did well.
Jack Murphy, however, stopped them from taking first, with his Mont’ka T’au also finishing 5-0 and winning the event on tiebreakers.
Compare that with last year’s Goonhammer Open, and the players may be different, but the basics haven’t changed. Shooting and objective play still win tournaments and here’s what the top three brought.
2026 US Goonhammer Open 40k GT: Top 3 Warhammer 40k Army Lists
- Jack Murphy’s 5-0 Mont’ka T’au gunline beat another undefeated army on tiebreakers: both lists went unbeaten, so secondary scoring decided the winner.
- Two very different Freebooter Krew Ork armies finished in the top three: one used a Trukk-heavy horde, while the other stacked Squighogs and characters.
- The new free Orks detachment claimed two podium spots in one weekend: that’s a strong first showing at a major event.
Thanks to Best Coast Pairings, we can review the full event using real pairings and battle point data.
7th place is 3-1-1, not 3-2
Jack Murphy’s Mont’ka T’au Never Stopped Shooting
Jack brought the kind of T’au army that wants to settle every game in the shooting phase, and well, that’s exactly what it did. He won all five rounds, scored a perfect 100 three times, which never seemed to give the rest of the field a real opening.
Mont’ka Roster Breakdown
The battlesuits do most of the work in this list overall, with a Stormsurge anchoring the backfield alongside two Riptides and a three-model Broadside unit, putting heavy firepower into nearly every useful lane. Crisis Starscythes and two Stealth teams provide the mobile shooting, moving into better angles and removing exposed targets.
Three ten-model Pathfinder Teams hold the army together. They screen, mark targets, and improve the accuracy of the battlesuits. Darkstrider then helps weaken priority targets, the drone-loaded Twin Lance piece adds another threat, and an Ethereal with the Strike Swiftly enhancement serves as the warlord.
For a closer look at the units and rules behind the list, our T’au Empire Codex breakdown covers the tools Jack used.
How Mont’ka Wins the Shooting Phase
The scores tell the story here, as Jack posted 100 points in three rounds, then finished the last two games with 86 and 95. He won every game.
Mont’ka depends on choosing the right turn to commit its firepower, and Jack got that decision right throughout the event. When the lowest score in a five-round run is still an 86-point win, the army is pretty much doing exactly what it was built to do.
Tyler Principio’s Freebooter Krew Orks Went Undefeated Too!
Tyler was the only other player to finish 5-0, but tiebreakers kept him out of first place. His Freebooter Krew army is a mixed horde carried by Trukks, with enough bodies and pressure to keep control of the objectives until the game ends.
Freebooter Krew Roster Breakdown
Ghazghkull Thraka and Makari form the army’s central warlord unit because once they reach the middle of the table, they’re difficult to move off it. Two Beastbosses on foot lead Beast Snagga Boyz, giving Tyler several melee units that can hit back hard after taking an objective.
Three Trukks move the army into position, and two Big Meks with Shokk Attack Guns support Tankbustas, giving the list mobile anti-tank firepower wherever it’s needed. Mozrog Skragbad adds another hard-hitting threat, while Flash Gitz handle ranged damage.
Warbikers, Stormboyz, Boyz, and Gretchin provide the speed, screening, and objective bodies that keep the list scoring.
How Freebooter Krew Grabs and Holds
This list played Take and Hold exactly as intended. Tyler scored 100, 98, 85, 96, and 95 points without losing a game. That’s what Freebooter Krew is built to reward: taking objectives, looting them, and getting the value from them throughout the game.
Tyler’s army reached all the right places every round and stayed there, but after five undefeated games, the only thing that couldn’t beat it was the tiebreaker.
It’s the same basic lesson we saw when Orks won the Rocky Mountain Open: putting enough bodies on objectives will unshockingly beat most armies.
Wiley Pappas Rode a Squighog Wall to Third
Wiley Pappas used the same detachment as Tyler, but the list works very differently. Instead of going wide with Trukks and Beast Snaggas, Wiley loaded up on characters and placed them behind a large Squighog screen, which did well, finishing 4-1 and taking third.
Freebooter Krew Roster Breakdown
The character lineup is packed. Ghazghkull and Makari return, joined by Wazdakka Gutsmek, Mozrog Skragbad, Zodgrod Wortsnagga, a Painboy, a Bigboss, and a Big Mek with a Shokk Attack Gun and the Git-Spotter Squig.
Two eight-model units of Squighog Boyz do most of the frontline work. They move quickly, hit hard, and can pressure the board from the opening turn, while Kommandos, Lootas, and Tankbustas provide scouting and shooting support.
A unit of Boyz and large Gretchin mobs hold the home objectives and screen the deployment zone, helping protect the army’s characters from early attacks.
How Freebooter Krew Grinds Out the Late Game
Wiley’s only loss came in the final round as he opened the event with scores of 90, 100, 83, and 91, then scored 75 in his round five loss. Four wins were still enough to finish third, though.
Overall, the Squighogs let the army fight and score simultaneously. They threaten objectives, force opponents to deal with them, and give the characters enough time to contribute without the list falling behind on the primary points.
Final Thoughts on the 2026 US Goonhammer Open Army Lists & the Warhammer 40k Meta
Freebooter Krew looks like a truly competitive detachment, not just a free set of rules for a few casual games. Two top-three finishes at the same event make a strong case for the detachment too, especially since the armies used completely different builds.
Tyler used Trukks, Beast Snaggas, and a wide board presence, meanwhile Wiley relied on Squighogs and a large group of characters. So, when one detachment supports both approaches, it probably has more depth than a single solved tournament build.
The event still went to the army that shot better than everyone else, though. As Jack Murphy’s Mont’ka T’au proved that objective tricks only go so far when an army can remove your units before they score.
We’ll see whether the Orks can close that final gap at the next major. So, until then, there are more top 40k tournament army lists to check out.
🔗 Related Reads:
- How to Play T’au Empire
- How to Play Orks
- Top Warhammer 40k Army Lists
- More Top Warhammer 40k Army Lists
- 40k Tournament Guide
- Warhammer 40k Factions Guide
- Latest 40k Balance Dataslate
- Munitorum Field Manual Points Updates
What do you think of the top army lists from the 2026 US Goonhammer Open?
