Don’t miss what rose to the top of the leaderboards at the Black Hole Wars GT as we look at 3 more top 40k Army lists for 9th Edition.
The Black Hole Wars 40k GT is over and now we’re able to look at which lists managed to secure a place at the top! Check out what these winners brought in their army.
It does appear that they are NOT using the new Space Marines (or Necron) codexes. It’s understandable as many people still need to get used to the new rules, and some events vary on when new books are “legal”.
Top 3 40k Army Lists: Black Hole Wars GT
Thanks to Best Coast Pairings we are able to look back at the event as if we were there ourselves.
3rd Place: Jens Berger- Imperial Fists
Starting off with the Imperial Fist list, we can immediately see that they went for a single Battalion, with a Chapter Master and a Primaris Lieutenant. The Chapter Master is here thanks to the Stratagem that allows you to upgrade a captain for 2cp (in 8th). The also opted to spend a 3rd CP on the model by giving them Sentinel of Terra.
As for nearly half the list, it’s all troops. Four 10 man Intercessor squads equate to 844 points out of the 2k list. They are mostly stock but with a few varying weapon options and one squad taking Marksmen bolt rifles for each model. There are also two 5 man stock scout squads just to help grab those early objectives (these are now elites in the new 9th Edition book).
Moving onto Elites and Fast Attack we see that he upgraded his Apothecary to Chief Apothecary for 1 CP giving him to re-roll dice when reviving models. There’s a Primaris Ancient for the chance to fight or shoot when a model within 6 inches dies. Then there’s a squad of three attack bikes and have bolters, allowing for a little speed to harass units.
For Heavy support, there are two eliminator squads to pick off valuable targets and an Eradicator squad to take care of any armor. Lastly, there are two Land Speeder Storms to assist the Assault bikes in zooming around the field and harassing/scoring/cleaning up stray squads.
2nd Place: João Barata- Tau Empire
With the Tau list, we can see that they also opted to go for a single Batallion as well. We also see he went the signature Commanders in Battlesuits to get that super-efficient body with a punch. The Coldstar suit has the benefit of very good mobility as well as 3 fusions landing on 2s to hit.
The troops are very standard as they are all min squads of 2 strike teams and 2 breacher teams. These are only here because they have to be, this list is aiming to get a super-elite battlesuit force, not a gun line of tau soldiers.
Moving onto the real meat and potatoes, we’ve got the elites. Three riptides, two of which are taking the heavy burst cannon to help cull enemy squads of troops, and the third is taking the Ion Accelerator for just a tad bit more of anti-armor power. Follow those up with two squads of stealth suits and a Ghostkeel to be threats that are hard to shoot at due to their -1 to hit from further than 6 inches away ability.
Lastly, this wouldn’t be a battlesuit list without a “few” drones! They opted to take 12 extra drones to help keep their main damage dealers alive as long as possible.
1st Place: Clemente Berrios- Salamanders
In a new move, this Salamander list opted to take two captains of bikes! The warlord is taking a Storm Shield and Thunder Hammer forming a sort of mini smash captain on a bike. Apparently, it must be decent to see as they found success at this event with it.
The extra speed on your buffing characters to help be in optimal positions must be the driving force here. Question is, how will it translate to the new book?
For Troops, there are 2 Incursor squads offering some decent melee and ranged troops for a little more points and an assault intercessor squad for some extra melee force.
If you didn’t notice already this list really wants to get into melee and the elites exemplify that. The two Aggressor squad offers a little bit of ranged power, while not sacrificing nearly anything in the way of melee. Whereas the Bladeguard Veterans and he Centurion squad put all their chips into melee. they almost demand your enemy to avoid them if they don’t want these units to punch up.
For Fast Attack, there is only a single unit of Inceptors with the Plasma Exterminators, which may be one of the hardest-hitting ranged weapons you can take on a fast attack. Heavy Support brings in Devastators loaded up with Grav-amps for some anti-armor. Follow that up with 2 squads of Eradicators and you’ve got a decent anti-armor force to deal with the things your melee can’t. Lastly, there’s a single Drop Pod to help deliver your Devastators to take out high priority targets while preventing them from getting alpha struck.
Congrats to Clemente on the win!
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What do you think about these 40k army lists from the Black Hole Wars? Do you play something similar? Are Space Marines going to stay at the top in 9th Edition?
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About the Author: Andrew Schrank
Andrew Schrank
Job Title: Miniatures & Warhammer Hobby Staff Writer
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About Andrew Schrank: Over the past 15 years, Andrew has played all the games, including tabletop and video games, and immersed himself in the associated lore. Andrew joined the Spikey Bits team in 2018 and covers the Warhammer hobby and tournament scene, along with the latest in tabletop miniatures, each week.
Aspiring diplomat, Lord of Fluff, and Master of Ice Hammer, He loves Star Wars, Chaos Undivided, and Gundam. During his free time, he hunts Platinum trophies on PS5 and reads international news. On weekends, Andrew plays commander and cEDH games, often with unique strategies that push the limits.
He believes each day presents a new opportunity to grow and be challenged.
