In Search Of: The Perfect 40K List

There is more than one way to build a list in 40K… But there may be a best one FOR YOU!

Understanding the “list” is an important concept in 40K. Selecting models that work well together, can achieve mission goals, and are fun to play based on your narrative are a good starting point, but what about developing a list that suits your play style?

Generally many of us focus on either building a very specialized list or one that is capable of handling a variety of situations on the gaming table. With my own 40K armies a specialized list can be found in my Berserkers of Skallathrax Chaos Space Marine army- it is specialized in that its build and design is to overwhelm you in the assault phase and win the game based on my opponent not being able to deal with the maximum overload in this phase of the game. Psychic support, heavy shooting, flyer support, and all that have been minimized to pump the maximum amount of points into the assault. On the other hand in my Dark Angels list I have a little bit of everything, tactical support, psychic support, air support and all that. It’s not the best in any one area but at least I’ll go into the game with the main points of the game covered (in theory).

The Specialist List
With a highly focused list there is definitely a plan to playing it, other than just setting up your models and auto-wining like many deathstar type lists like to do. For starters its takes a certain kind of player to enjoy playing such a list- everything is put into the concept and the delivery of that concept so there is no backup plan if your opponent is able to stop your one direction list either though their own command of the game or just the luck of the dice on that die- such lists tend to either win big or lose big. Often by turn two or three one has a good feeling as to how the game is going to go, and if you are losing can your ego handle playing the game out till the bitter end and allowing your opponent to have fun blasting you off the table and cutting down your charge? So why play such a list? For me, it’s that turn 2 or 3 moment when everything hangs heavy in the balance- stall my advance and I’m done, allow me to overpower you and you are done- the allure of the extreme is quite seductive in what sometimes becomes a very predictable game.

In such a focused list it is not about delivering all your content at once, but rather having a layered approach. Cinematically it looks cool to drive all my spikey-rhinos, maulerfiends, spawn, and hellbrute led cultists across the field, but too much focus is easy to stop.

Whatever you are looking to achieve with your focused list you never lead with it on the table, there is always an expendable first wave to keep your opponent busy with or try to capture the momentum of the game with. If you enjoy playing a jacked-up deathstar units, how well will it work just running it across the table? Not well- something needs to happen first.

If my berserker list is about getting scores of World Eaters, spawn, maulerfiends, and my juggernaut-lord into your ranks, then that needs to happen after an expandable wave of cultists and hellbrutes march ahead first. This gives my opponent a choice in simplified terms to either deal with the advancing cultists and war-machines and allow my second wave of heavy hitting assault units in, or deal with the World Eaters, etc. and then be drowned in the model count of the cultists- its either one or the other, and both are overwhelming.

The Generalist List
Take all comers, (TAC) or a little-bit-of-everything lists tend to play in the exact opposite and a bit more passive on the table. That’s not to say you can’t have a fast and hard hitting unit for fun, but the momentum of the game is more on what your opponent is planning to do to you, as opposed to what you are going to do to your opponent.  

TAC lists tend to hang back a bit and see what areas their opponent is weak in- either in a specific area of the game- movement, shooting, assault, etc. or weak as in based on the mission. Then once identified, the resources that the TAC list has to counter this moves to overwhelm that area of the opposing list. TAC type lists tend to be about stalling or slowing down the other army, over wiping it off the table, and in that moment that the opposing army is slowed down or stopped, the rest of the TAC army moves to accomplish the mission goals.

Of course if your model count is high enough one could build numerous lists based on these templates and play each version on and off over a number of games, but what about from the perspective of the new player?  

Always go with what fits your play style first- with what you will enjoy playing on the table over just deciding based on what could win/loose. Playing what you enjoy will trying your best to win will make those wins more exciting, and the losses more bearable…