Warhammer 40K: The Unbeatable List – Lone Star Open 2024 Edition
Derek Apsche took home the gold at the Lone Star Open 2024. Here’s his Warhammer 40K list that went all the way!
Goatboy here with the list that won LSO 2024 this year. We saw a great deal of players at the Lone Star Open, and the winner, Derek Apsche, took the top prize, knocking out everyone. His list showed up at Cherokee and it continues to show how an army that can “control” the board space and block your opponent can easily win games in 40K 10th Edition. What we have here is a CSM Cultist spam army and good job on Derek for using a “subpar” detachment – and rocking with it!
While the Accursed Cultists did take a hit in the new codex – they sure seemed to have a lot more friends to mess with. If I remember correctly, one of the Accursed blobs are in reserves – ready to come out with Rapid Ingress to cause some issues in a bad place for the opponent. Mixed with so many bodies on the ground and so many units to chew through it gets really hard for any army to efficiently “remove” enough threats to build some board space. I am sure there is an army out there designed to throw enough damage into these units – but all of these Cultist guys are just hard to chew through in time.
Check out the list and see what you think.
Derek Apsche’s CSM Cultists
Chaos Space Marines
Strike Force (2000 points)
Chaos Cult
CHARACTERS
Cypher (90 points)
• 1x Cypher’s bolt pistol
1x Cypher’s plasma pistol
Dark Apostle (95 points)
• 1x Dark Apostle
• 1x Accursed crozius
1x Bolt pistol
• Enhancement: Amulet of Tainted Vigour
• 2x Dark Disciple
• 2x Close combat weapon
Dark Commune (80 points)
• 1x Cult Demagogue
• Warlord
• 1x Autopistol
1x Commune stave
• Enhancement: Incendiary Goad
• 1x Mindwitch
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Warp Curse
• 1x Iconarch
• 1x Autopistol
1x Chaos Icon
1x Close combat weapon
• 2x Blessed Blade
• 2x Commune blade
Dark Commune (75 points)
• 1x Cult Demagogue
• 1x Autopistol
1x Commune stave
• Enhancement: Warped Foresight
• 1x Mindwitch
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Warp Curse
• 1x Iconarch
• 1x Autopistol
1x Chaos Icon
1x Close combat weapon
• 2x Blessed Blade
• 2x Commune blade
Fabius Bile (85 points)
• 1x Fabius Bile
• 1x Chirurgeon
1x Rod of Torment
1x Xyclos Needler
• 1x Surgeon Acolyte
• 1x Surgeon Acolyte’s tools
BATTLELINE
Cultist Mob (50 points)
• 1x Cultist Champion
• 1x Bolt pistol
1x Brutal assault weapon
• 9x Chaos Cultist
• 9x Autopistol
9x Brutal assault weapon
Cultist Mob (50 points)
• 1x Cultist Champion
• 1x Autopistol
1x Brutal assault weapon
• 9x Chaos Cultist
• 9x Autopistol
9x Brutal assault weapon
Cultist Mob (50 points)
• 1x Cultist Champion
• 1x Autopistol
1x Brutal assault weapon
• 9x Chaos Cultist
• 9x Autopistol
9x Brutal assault weapon
Cultist Mob (50 points)
• 1x Cultist Champion
• 1x Bolt pistol
1x Brutal assault weapon
• 9x Chaos Cultist
• 9x Autopistol
9x Brutal assault weapon
Cultist Mob (50 points)
• 1x Cultist Champion
• 1x Autopistol
1x Brutal assault weapon
• 9x Chaos Cultist
• 9x Autopistol
9x Brutal assault weapon
Traitor Guardsmen Squad (70 points)
• 1x Traitor Sergeant
• 1x Corrupted pistol
1x Power weapon
• 9x Traitor Guardsmen
• 9x Close combat weapon
1x Cultist grenade launcher
1x Flamer
6x Lasgun
1x Plasma gun
Traitor Guardsmen Squad (70 points)
• 1x Traitor Sergeant
• 1x Corrupted pistol
1x Power weapon
• 9x Traitor Guardsmen
• 9x Close combat weapon
1x Cultist grenade launcher
1x Flamer
6x Lasgun
1x Plasma gun
Traitor Guardsmen Squad (70 points)
• 1x Traitor Sergeant
• 1x Corrupted pistol
1x Power weapon
• 9x Traitor Guardsmen
• 9x Close combat weapon
1x Cultist grenade launcher
1x Flamer
6x Lasgun
1x Plasma gun
Traitor Guardsmen Squad (70 points)
• 1x Traitor Sergeant
• 1x Corrupted pistol
1x Power weapon
• 9x Traitor Guardsmen
• 9x Close combat weapon
1x Cultist grenade launcher
1x Flamer
6x Lasgun
1x Plasma gun
Traitor Guardsmen Squad (70 points)
• 1x Traitor Sergeant
• 1x Corrupted pistol
1x Power weapon
• 9x Traitor Guardsmen
• 9x Close combat weapon
1x Cultist grenade launcher
1x Flamer
6x Lasgun
1x Plasma gun
Traitor Guardsmen Squad (70 points)
• 1x Traitor Sergeant
• 1x Corrupted pistol
1x Power weapon
• 9x Traitor Guardsmen
• 9x Close combat weapon
1x Cultist grenade launcher
1x Flamer
6x Lasgun
1x Plasma gun
DEDICATED TRANSPORTS
Chaos Rhino (75 points)
• 1x Armoured tracks
1x Combi-bolter
1x Combi-weapon
1x Havoc launcher
OTHER DATASHEETS
Accursed Cultists (180 points)
• 10x Mutant
• 10x Blasphemous appendages
• 6x Torment
• 6x Hideous mutations
Accursed Cultists (180 points)
• 10x Mutant
• 10x Blasphemous appendages
• 6x Torment
• 6x Hideous mutations
Accursed Cultists (180 points)
• 10x Mutant
• 10x Blasphemous appendages
• 6x Torment
• 6x Hideous mutations
Chaos Spawn (70 points)
• 2x Chaos Spawn
• 2x Hideous mutations
ALLIED UNITS
Daemonettes (100 points)
• 1x Alluress
• 1x Slashing claws
• 9x Daemonette
• 1x Daemonic Icon
1x Instrument of Chaos
9x Slashing claws
Nurglings (40 points)
• 3x Nurgling Swarm
• 3x Diseased claws and teeth
Seekers (80 points)
• 1x Heartseeker
• 1x Lashing tongue
1x Slashing claws
• 4x Seeker
• 1x Daemonic Icon
1x Instrument of Chaos
4x Lashing tongue
4x Slashing claws
2000 points
Chaos Cultist Tactics
The big rule the Chaos Cult has, is the ability to pass a Dark Pact and gain +2″ to their move characteristic and +2″ to their charge. This lets these blobs of Chaos idiots move fast across the table. You mix in the Accursed units having their 6″ scout move, the ability to Howling Horde move if shot at, and then just having a 6+ FNP with 5+ invulnerable save. Yes, the unit can’t regenerate like they used to (well, one unit can with the relic). But, they can move extremely fast. You have a Stratagem for an advance and charge so with the Dark Pact addition to movement, a Scout move, an Advance, and then a Charge you can see how you just can’t escape these jerks. Heck, with one coming from Rapid Ingress and having a +2 to their charge, it gets hard to dig yourself out of this mess of mutant Chaos rabble.
It is a pretty awesome list if you think about it and while it isn’t shooting you, it is just oppressive to see it shimmy across the table at you. The final round had this army facing Daemons and since this is just full of “cheap” jerks that can gum up the table, hold objectives easily, and just be an issue to chew through with Daemon attacks, you can see how it would be an uphill battle for that army.
What About ME – at the LSO 2024?
I had a lot of fun, played some great opponents and got beat by the ever-lovely Clifton Russel with another horde Dreadmob army you might see me write about in the future. That is an insane lis,t and might have done well against this mutant horde – but we didn’t get to see that match up. Great job to all the winners, and just looking at the Top-8 you see a crap ton of innovation to their armies. The Top 8 had only one duplicate army – Orks – and they were very different lists. Right now is probably the most interesting the 10th Edition 40K meta has been in a while – with the tactical card draw changing things as well as the feeling the armies are not to far from each other.
So give it up for Derek, on a well deserved victory, and have fun out there on the tabletop everyone!
