Have you been wondering what will be next for some of 40k’s most popular lists? The way players interact with them is certainly going to change.
You’ve probably heard by now that 40k had their massive FAQ finally hit with only a day to spare before the end of April. With that FAQ, there came tons of changes with FLY being brought back up to where it should have always been. But that’s another story. Let’s go over a few of the most popular archetypes in the meta and see what’s changing.
Magnus & Mortarion
The brothers have been one of the most popular lists for a while. They were eclipsed by the nine Daemon Prince list for a short time but we could see a resurgence of these two back on the tabletops. Thanks to FLY getting a buff they’ll be able to sling psychic powers right up until it’s time to fly over the Guard screen and melt through armor.
The major win that these guys have at their disposal are two points. One is that Magnus can have a 3++ and Mortarion can have a 4++/5+++ in all phases of the game. We will definitely be seeing more melee combat happening on high-value targets so any kind of invuln that’s half decent in melee is huge. But this brings us to point two. The brothers have some of the best troops in the game at their disposal. We’re talking about Plaguebearers. If a person wanted to play more passively, they can put 30 Plaguebearers to each Primarch and have a Plaguebearer touching every inch of their base at all times. This would stop any kind of Smash Captain from crashing the party. However, when you sacrifice speed like that, you open the door for an unholy amount of shooting to come their way.
This list will definitely be good but it’ll have its drawbacks. You’ll have to ask “Should I just roll with the punches and let Mortarion soak up a Smash Captain’s hate?” or “Should I take my chances with shooting and creep up the board?”. If you’re against Tau/Guard, get down the board as quick as possible. However, if you’re playing something like Orks (without Lootas) or a melee-focused Space Marine army you might be able to take your time a bit more.
Eldar Flyer Spam
All Aircraft got a rules change but the army that this effects the most is the Eldar Flyer spam. Players would get 6-8 different Eldar Flyers and control the board just from base size and movement alone. Plus the Eldar have unique Flyers that are unlike anybody else’s in the game. Some are Psykers and others can pivot again after they move. Essentially, they could bully ground-heavy lists by denying enemy units the ability to get past them, throw out a couple smites, and utterly shut down any kind of deepstrike.
Now, players will be able to come within 1″ of their base and not be considered in melee combat. On top of this, they can move over the base and continue on. You just won’t be able to end your movement on top of their base. This means that ground forces won’t be bullied by three Flyers adjacent to each other effectively making a wall that’s too big for them to get around. They can just walk right under them and go along their merry way. This actually makes A LOT of sense viewing it from a realistic standpoint. Thanks GW.
There won’t be any change in firepower for this list so players should still take this archetype as a big threat. But for the horde armies out there that like to deepstrike and cover ground on-foot, you should be able to maneuver better than before.
Castellan & Screens
The Castellan is under a lot of scrutinies right now. It seems like the community is divided on “not worth it” and “still viable”. While it did go up in points and had its invulnerable save nerfed we can still expect to see lists running this guy for a short while at the very least.
The way things used to be in a mirror match, the Castellans with their Stratagem support would never be able to kill each other. From a 3++, to being able to reroll everything, then acting as normal regardless of wounds taken, the Castellans would just throw everything they’ve got at each other and really only shave a few wounds off. However now, we’re thinking that Castellans will be able to alpha strike each other. Whoever gets the first turn may be able to take down the other Castellan. (This is a big maybe as we haven’t seen the way things play out on the tabletop just yet but the difference in a 3++ and a 4++ is strikingly huge).
Looking at the Castellan against a list running Smash Captains, It’s going to come down to the screen’s job to stay as tight as possible to prevent any charges. With the Castellan going up in points, it’ll be a more devastating hit if you lose it during the game. To be honest, it was way too point efficient for what a player paid for it. At the end of the day, the Castellan is still usable but we think a lot of the players that jumped aboard the OP T8 bandwagon are going to move on to the next hottest thing.
While there are still a bunch of popular lists out there, we feel like these are the one’s that we’ve been seeing the most of. How do you think the FAQ will change the meta? Do you have a list in-place to capitalize on all the changes? Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group.
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.
