These 3 40k army lists took the Maelstrom Massacre 40k tournament meta by surprise. It’s fun to bring homebrews that give top armies a run for their money.
Jumping into the Maelstrom Massacre GT, this was an ITC event that brought over thirty players under a single roof. While meta lists were definitely there, some players decided to surprise their opponent with uncommon factions and units. And they didn’t do too bad either!
Thanks to Best Coast Pairings, we can look back at the event as if we were there ourselves.
James Hemstock- Grey Knights
Not only did James surprise everybody with a Grey Knight list, but he also spent over 500 points of it on two Land Raiders! With the brunt of his army also going into a Paladin squad and supporting characters, this list also came in 7th place with 3/5 wins. That’s not too bad with a faction that was considered unplayable by many. Paladins were a melee blender that bought time for the Land Raiders in the back to pop enemy armor with their lascannons.
Meanwhile, Draigo stood around for the rerolls and the Apothecary was tasked with pulling his fallen brothers from the brink of death. Awesome job, doing what so many others are afraid of doing!
Ron Taylor- Armiger Spam
This is a list that uses a popular faction. However, we’ve never seen a build quite like this. Ron brought a total of eighteen Moiraxes armed with two Lightning Locks. If you didn’t know, these were the new Forge World variant of Armiger weapons that are Heavy 6 S6 AP-2 1 damage with exploding 6’s to hit. That’s 12 shots per model as well, totaling to be 216 S6 shots a turn. That would devastate any screens, Orks, Tyranids, GSC, you name it.
Plus, with the help of a Valiant’s turbo flamer and harpoon, this list was able to walk on the board and claim some serious ground.
Ryan Reynolds- Death Guard
As for Death Guard, would you believe a list was taken without Mortarion showing up? This list mainly operated off of a pretty fluffy playstyle. A bunch of longe-range/indirect fire was taken in the form of Plagueburst Crawlers and Myphitic Blight-Haulers. Three Plagueburst Crawlers lined the backfield and pelted enemy lines while sitting on objectives while the Blight Haulers devastated armor that got too close with six multi-meltas and missile launchers focus-firing its position. A few Plaguebearers and other units were sprinkled in for screens, objective capping, etc. Great job!
Overall, these lists definitely go against the grain of the meta. So with these under our belt, what are your thoughts on them? Will Grey Knights just get even better now that Chapter Approved is out? Can Death Guard still pull off wins without Mortarion?
Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group, and sign up to get your free hobby updates newsletter (with discount coupon codes) each morning as well!
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.
