Here are our picks for the top 5 undefeated Warhammer 40k army lists from 2020 that still have an impact on the meta going into spring!
The 2020 LVO brought people from all around the world under one roof to compete for the same thing. With so many players and such a high spirit of competitiveness, we saw some armies change the way the meta looks now. After FAQs and players doing exceptionally well with surprising units, here are some of the top lists we’ve seen since the start of the year.
The Top Undefeated 40k Army Lists In 2020 (so far)
NOTE: We aren’t going to be talking about any Iron Hands lists because they’ve been covered so much. Plus, with the latest FAQ changing the way Doctrines work, pretty much all the Iron Hands lists are dated right now and we haven’t gotten a clear enough picture of how their lists will look post-FAQ.
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Thanks to Best Coast Pairings, we can look back at the event as if we were there ourselves. Now let’s check out these dope lists.
Battle For Valhalla 1st Place: Imperial Knights- Raymond Fain
At the Battle for Valhalla GT, we saw a Knight list with weapons loaded perfectly to go against what everyone was taking. Thermal cannons for the armor and avenger gatling cannons for the Primaris.
For this list, the tried-and-true Knight Crusaders stomped onto the table in full force. These were armed with thermal cannons to pop enemy armor and avenger gatling cannons to shred Primaris (because it turns out there’s a lot of them running around in the meta right now). One Warden also came to the table bringing another gatling cannon while also acting as the response to something like an enemy Knight trying to charge his friends for melee.
Because Knights are CP hungry, the leftover points went into a cheap Battalion of Admech and were mainly used to camp objectives while the Knights carried the game! Great job.
Dicehead GT 3rd Place: Ryan Snyder- Adeptus Custodes
Coming from Dicehead 40k Major GT, this was another event where Iron Hands held firm on the top of the leaderboards. Looking at the next best unique army, we saw Custodes roll in with their armor.
Custodes rolled out a VERY low model count list with the parking lot strat. Bringing three Caladiuses, three Pallases, and an Ares, the average toughness of this list was decently high… And everything packed a major punch. Only two Shield Captains hit the field for rerolls: one on a jetbike and the other in termie armor. And for a little melee razzle-dazzle, a Contemptor Achilles with his lascannon spear also hit the table. His job may have been to make the most of his shooting and protect the gunline from anyone trying to get close.
Overall, these lists were definitely unique and proved that even in a meta so heavily influenced by Iron Hands, other army compositions can still win. Awesome job!
Past Present & Future Tourney 1st Place: Tyranids- Jeff Dickens
Coming from the Past Present & Future tourney, we’ve got a dope bug list that should encourage Tyranid players to keep up the pressure in the current meta. Their rules might’ve been lacking in Psychic Awakening but they can still do some damage.
This list is definitely an interesting one with anti-psyker and re-roll ones tech from Kronos to start. As one of the most expansive army compositions we’ve seen for Tyranids in a while, Jeff pulled all sorts of different units together to make a soup of a Tyranid swarm. Two smart bugs were at the helm of a Battalion with Hive Guard and Biovores making up the majority of the firepower. But wait, it’s about to get really interesting…
Over three Hundred points were thrown into Sporocysts (a fortification) which we’ve never seen in a 1st place Nid list since 8th edition began. To break down the overall rules of the Sporocyst, they can be set up anywhere more than 9″ away from the enemy deployment and can spawn Spore Mines to dish out mortal wounds whenever they explode. They’ve also got a decent amount of shooting, but with a 5+ BS, that’s not the real reason why you take these.
In the ITC ring, Sporocysts actually have some decent use. They can basically Infiltrate and start the game on an objective or just hang out behind some cover in different table quadrants, spawn some nodes, and help score Recon.
To reinforce the shooting and add a little speed, two Hive Tyrants with wings and deathspitters made the cut for the army and helped a squad of seventeen Genestealerrs find their target. And last but not least, along with a crowd of Ripper Swarms and Termagants, some Meiotic Spores also made it to the field. These spores are ones you actually have to pay points for, but are a bit tougher and can explode to do D3-D6 mortal wounds depending on how hot the roll is.
Plus from slingshotting the Genestealers up the field to falling back and recharging, Kracken seems to be the way to go with this detachment for sure. Outstanding job pulling a 1st place win for Tyranids using units that have never appeared in a game-winning list!
Courage & Honour Tourney 1st Place: Jim Orr- Blood Angels
Moving into a Blood Angels top list, this army used Space Marines like angry little fire ants. Spamming the board with almost thirty Intercessors armed with a thunder hammer each, these guys could lay down some fire and leave the enemy bruised and bloodied in melee.
To create a little space for the army and make sure the Blood Angels almost always threw the first punch in melee, Scouts were used for zoning. These dudes could infiltrate and stand in the way of enemy units to help protect the Intercessors for a turn or two against aggressive melee armies.
But where all the damage REALLY mattered came from a Vanguard detachment. Dumping almost half the army’s points into three squads, two Death Company units were the blender force of the army.
Once the enemy had their warm nuggety center exposed from screens getting demolished by black rage psychos, the Sanguinary Guard stepped and made the killing blow. Awesome job!
Two Rivers Open GT 1st Place: Nicolas Weiss- Imperial Soup
Coming from the Two Rivers Open GT, This Sisters/GK list surprised everyone once it finished at the top!
We’ve seen a lot of soup lists ever since 8th edition began. With recent updates to the game, soup sort of fell off for Imperium… The extent of soup was mainly Knights and Guard. However, this list is probably the heaviest amount of soup we’ve seen in a while and it managed to climb its way to first place!
Starting off, this list was decked-out with Scions all kitted with either Plasma guns or Meltaguns. Using the Lamdan Lions rule for Scions out of Psychic Awakening, everything in the list had a bonus -1 AP, bringing non-overcharged Plasma to -4 AP and Meltaguns to a whopping -5 AP.
Basically, just take your invuln if you’ve got it.
Moving on from the anti-armor save army, some Sisters were brought using Celestine and really, just a bunch of Sister bolter spam. Two Imagifiers were seeded into the list, but these girls’ main job was probably just to pepper enemy targets in S4 firepower.
Finally, a Supreme Command of Grey Knights hit the table with Kaldor Draigo, a Champion, and a Brother-Captain. Draigo has always been Draigo. No real need to explain the 2+/3+++ Grey Knight version of a Smash Captain.
The other two characters were also great at combat… One specializing in taking out the tough nuts to crack with a Daemon Hammer and the other, more designed for mulching characters and elites with the Blade of the Forsworn. Awesome list.
As we’ve said before, it’s been such a fluid meta for 40k lately. It seems like every couple of tourneys we’re watching another brand new army composition take the lead!
Of these top 5 army lists, which one is your favorite? Has this inspired you to bust out some unlikely models from your collection to your next event?
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About the Author: Wesley Floyd
Wesley Floyd
Job Title: Staff Writer
Joined: 2018
Socials: @RealmbrushPainting
About Wesley Floyd: Wes has been in the Warhammer hobby since 2015 and joined the Spikey Bits writing team in 2018. He is known for his satirist takes on trending topics and imaginative yet amazingly affordable hobby solutions to painting Warhammer miniatures.
Imperial fanboy, tabletop fanatic, and the self-proclaimed King of Sprues. He knows for a fact that Mephiston red is the best-tasting paint and is the commission painting equivalent of a Wendy’s 4 for $4. If you like what he writes and want to contact him or have your tabletop minatures painted (to a mostly okayish standard), message him on Instagram.
