40K: Boy Golly Competitive 40K Looks Fun
Competitive 40K is totally a great environment for fun and fruitful games.
This past weekend serous players from around the country had the opportunity to take place in Warzone: Atlanta, a major 40k tournament in, I presume, Atlanta. In preparation for the event the organizers had put out the full lists submitted for the event. Combing through the lists, and a break down of them, one thought was clear in my mind “Boy these lists seem super fun to play against”. Let take a look at why I think this.
Warzone Atlanta Army List Archive
The List Break Down
So I have to say that I really hate variety. When I go to a tournament I don’t want to have to think of a bunch of different rules. So I was really happy to see that out of 104 lists at the event 37 of them were playing Chaos of some sort (it all blends together). Another 14 were playing Elder and a full 11 took Astra Militarum lists. With about half the lists being from these three armies there wasn’t a ton of representation from other armies, with only t’wo T’au player and a lone Necron. Good! Those armies are boring and bad, and I certainly would rather face the same thing over and over again than them.
Forgeworld
Now while I hate variety in army types I love variety in models, so I was super happy when I saw how many armies were taking Forgeworld units. Overall about half the armies took Forgeworld units, which is great! I love seeing new and interesting things. Eldar proportionally (of any of the armies that had real representation) took the fewest, with only 4 out of 14 players using Forgeworld. Just goes to show how solid their book is I guess. Chaos meanwhile drew deep from the well with with 26 of their 37 players using Forgeworld. And hey, knowing these players I bet that almost none of them took Malefic Lords as support. Nope, I am sure it all some really crazy and fun stuff.
Primarchs
One of my favorite things in 40K these day is Primarchs. These are some of the coolest models in the game and are just amazing to see on the table top. The only thing more fun than fighting them: using them. And hey, it seems like the guys playing at Warzone: Atlanta agreed with me, since they took Primarchs in spades. Over the various lists Magnus was taken 12 times, Mortarion 13 times and old Bobby G a mere 9 times. That’s 36 Primarchs! And here I though there were only 18. Its fun to note that 7 out of the 9 Space Marine lists took Bobby G, while some Chaos lists took both Primarchs. Boy those both sound like some fun lists to fight! I wonder how they did??
The Winner
So since the event has come and gone we also get a nice look at who won. Now first place was an Astra Militarum list, and I have to say boooooo! This list is soooo boring and plain. Infantry Squads? Las/Plas Vets? Death Riders? Only ONE pysker? What the heck is going on here? And don’t be fooled either: this list is a hit list designed to take out the coolest models in the game – Primarchs! The whole idea of the list is clearly to pop the Relic of Cadia Lost and hit either Morty or Magnus with 4 Manticore shots that re-roll misses and failed wounds. Yes, this should kill a Primarch on turn one, but gosh is that boring. Other than that its just guys with guns and some horses, doesn’t seem very fun. What a boring normal list. I don’t know why people look at this and say there is hope for the game.
Runner Up
Looking at second place I see a list MUCH more to my liking. We’ve got Morty AND got Magnus! We’ve got 3 daemon princes, Malfic Lords, crazy Giant Chaos Spawn. This list has the benefit of being super original and easy to remember. You’ve got a bunch of smiting and then a handful of “close combat beats” to finish things off with. On top of all that there are almost no useless troops to clog stuff up – just a few Brimstone Horrors. And this is totally awesome! Who wants troops or like “armies” in the game. I came here to see team ups between the handful of most powerful beings in the galaxy, not balance. Looking at this list I see something that looks like just a ton of fun to fight against.
3rd Place
We wanted to put a picture of a Malefic Lord here, but as they don’t make a model for it, this is what you get.
The third place list also just really makes my soul sing with joy. It’s starts off strong with a bunch of Cultists, an under used unit, and then adds in some super sneaky Alpha Legion Khone Berzerkers for fun. Now, it’s always great to see old friends, so I was real happy to see that after adding some additional CSM units the list brought in a full 5 Malefic Lords, some more Brimstone Horrors and Mortarion for a little flavor. Again, man this is just a list full of stuff I love to fight. Infiltrating Berzerkers that can get turn one charges. Loads of smite. An awesome Primarch. This is everything I love about 40K.
A Great Bunch of Lists
I was really happy with the list I saw from the event. Variety and originality are boring and overrated. Seeing similar lists over and over again is were all the fun is at. After all, netdecking was great for other games like Magic: The Gathering, so I’m super glad to see it really finding itself at home in 40K. I’m also really glad to see Primarchs totally dominating the meta like they are. Its great to see events were only lists that take Primarchs and lists designed to beat Primarchs win. (A sort-of normal list won, but its a list really designed to fight Primarch lists, and it was played by a very good player.)
So yes, overall looking at these lists I see a bunch of match-ups that look like a ton of fun to play. I mean, playing combinations of most like the same 10-20 units over and over again is fun. Fighting Primarchs all the time is even more fun! Can’t you see just how glad I am that this seems to be the direction that 40K is moving in more and move!? It’s clear that competitive 40K is in a really healthy place, and is giving us some fun and complex events out there. I see no problems at all.
Let us know just how much fun you think competitive 40K is, and how much you love all these lists, down in the comments!
