Why One Type of Army List Is Starting To Dominate The Warhammer 40K Meta
A number of recent events have been dominated by a similar type of list, lets take a look at whats going on.
Warhammer 40,000 is a massive and diverse (at least in terms of units) game. Dozens of armies and hundreds of units, couple with thousands of options and a wide variety of play styles should lead to a meta filled with diverse lists. However recently we’ve started to see one particular type of list really dominate the meta. Let’s take a look.
A Tale of Two Armies
I want you to take a look at the following two armies, one used by Logan Heath to win the Socal Open and one used by Malik Amin Rubio to win the London GT.
Logan Heath- Socal
Ork Outrider Detachment (-3CP)
Kultur – Freebootaz
-HQ-
Defkilla Wartrike – Warlord – Junkboss – 120pts
-FA-
Megatrakk Scrapjets – 90pts
Megatrakk Scrapjets – 90pts
Megatrakk Scrapjets – 90pts
Rukkatrukk Squigbuggies – Nitro Squigs – 115pts
Rukkatrukk Squigbuggies – 90pts
Rukkatrukk Squigbuggies – 90pts
-Heavy Support-
Mek Gunz – Kustom Mega Kannon – 45pts
Mek Gunz – Kustom Mega Kannon – 45pts
-Flyer-
Dakkajet – Additional Supa Shoota X 2 – 120pts
Dakkajet – Additional Supa Shoota X 2 – 120pts
Ork Outrider Detachment (-3CP)
Kultur – Freebootaz
-HQ-
Big Mek in Mega Armor – Relic – Da Krushin Armour, Kustom Force Field, Kustom Mega-Blasta – 115pts
-FA-
Kustom Boosta Blasta – 80pts
Shokkjump Dragstas – 85pts
Shokkjump Dragstas – 85pts
Warbikers X 3 – 75pts
Warbikers X 3 – 75pts
Warbikers X 3 – 75pts
-Heavy Support-
Mek Gunz – Kustom Mega Kannon – 45pts
-Flyer-
Dakkajet – Additional Supa Shoota X 2 – 120pts
Wazbom Blastjet – Teleport Mega-Blastas X 2, Blastat Force Field, Supa Shoota X 2 – 230pts
Pts: 2000 CP: 6
Malik Amin Rubio- London
++ Patrol Detachment 0CP (Imperium – Adeptus Mechanicus) [33 PL, 700pts, 8CP] ++
+ Configuration +
Forge World Choice: Forge World: Lucius
Gametype: Matched
+ Stratagems +
Stratagem: Archeotech Specialist [-1CP]: Archeotech Specialist
Stratagem: Host of the Intermediary [-1CP]: Host of the Intermediary
Stratagem: Host of the Intermediary [-1CP]: Host of the Intermediary
Stratagem: Mechanicus Locum [-1CP]: Mechanicus Locum
+ HQ +
Skitarii Marshal [3 PL, 45pts]: Mechanicus Locum, Relic (Lucius): The Solar Flare, Warlord Trait (Codex 5): Firepoint Telemetry Cache
Tech-Priest Manipulus [6 PL, 105pts]: Logi, Magnarail lance, Relic: Raiment of the Technomartyr, Warlord, Warlord Trait (Lucius): Luminescent Blessings
+ Troops +
Skitarii Rangers [8 PL, 180pts]: Enhanced Data-Tether, Omnispex
. Ranger Alpha: Galvanic Rifle, Host of the Intermediary, Warlord Trait (Codex 1): Multitasking Cortex
. 18x Skitarii Ranger: 18x Galvanic Rifle
. Skitarii Ranger (Plasma caliver): Plasma Caliver
Skitarii Rangers [8 PL, 180pts]: Enhanced Data-Tether, Omnispex
. Ranger Alpha: Galvanic Rifle
. 18x Skitarii Ranger: 18x Galvanic Rifle
. Skitarii Ranger (Plasma caliver): Plasma Caliver
Skitarii Rangers [8 PL, 190pts]: Enhanced Data-Tether, Omnispex
. Ranger Alpha: Galvanic Rifle, Host of the Intermediary, Warlord Trait (Codex 3): Programmed Retreat
. 17x Skitarii Ranger: 17x Galvanic Rifle
. 2x Skitarii Ranger (Plasma caliver): 2x Plasma Caliver
++ Patrol Detachment -2CP (Imperium – Adeptus Mechanicus) [39 PL, 775pts, -2CP] ++
+ Configuration +
Detachment Command Cost [-2CP]
Forge World Choice: Forge World: Mars
+ HQ +
Tech-Priest Manipulus [5 PL, 95pts]: Artisans, Magnarail lance
+ Troops +
Skitarii Rangers [8 PL, 170pts]: Enhanced Data-Tether, Omnispex
. Ranger Alpha: Galvanic Rifle
. 19x Skitarii Ranger: 19x Galvanic Rifle
+ Fast Attack +
Ironstrider Ballistarii [4 PL, 75pts] . Ironstrider Ballistarius: Twin Cognis Lascannon
Ironstrider Ballistarii [4 PL, 75pts] . Ironstrider Ballistarius: Twin Cognis Lascannon
+ Flyer +
Archaeopter Stratoraptor [9 PL, 180pts]: Chaff Launcher
Archaeopter Stratoraptor [9 PL, 180pts]: Chaff Launcher
++ Patrol Detachment -2CP (Imperium – Adeptus Mechanicus) [27 PL, 525pts, -2CP] ++
+ Configuration +
Detachment Command Cost [-2CP]
Forge World Choice: Forge World: Mars
+ HQ +
Skitarii Marshal [3 PL, 45pts]
+ Troops +
Skitarii Rangers [6 PL, 125pts]: Omnispex
. Ranger Alpha: Galvanic Rifle
. 14x Skitarii Ranger: 14x Galvanic Rifle
+ Elites +
X-101 [2 PL, 25pts]
+ Flyer +
Archaeopter Fusilave [7 PL, 150pts]: Chaff Launcher
Archaeopter Stratoraptor [9 PL, 180pts]: Chaff Launcher
++ Total: [99 PL, 2,000pts, 4CP] ++
On the face of it these seem pretty different lists, they aren’t even from the same army, but in fact, they are pretty similar and work off of a similar set of principles.
Important Factor One- They Don’t Care of LoS
In 8th Edition Terrain often felt unimportant. In order to make it feel meaningful events had to resort to using massive walls to block LoS, leading to the infamous Foam ‘L’s. 9th tried to fix that with terrain becoming a lot more important and hiding a bit easier. GW has also attempted to up the amount of terrain in events. Being able to hide stuff is of course pretty important. So one thing both these armies do is effectively ignore LoS and terrain when they want to.
Both armies make use of a large amount of aircraft. These aircraft effectively don’t care about terrain. With their speed on the newer smaller tables, they can get where they want to be and see whatever they want pretty much anytime they feel like it. Having 4 deadly flyers effectively means you don’t have to care about LoS – the enemy can’t hide from you. Not only can’t they hide but in some cases it means you can ignore penalties from terrain, or range. The speed of these good flyers means you can concentrate a lot of firepower against any target. Of course, both Orks and Admech also have access to good tanks with weapons that ignore LoS and both use them to great effect.
Important Factor Two – Damage Mitigation
In 40K it’s generally best to hit first and hit hard. However, sometimes you don’t get to go first. In these cases, another really important aspect of an army is having ways to mitigate damage. Both of these armies are experts at it. Both armies place a lot of emphasis on their flyers. One of the things that makes them better than other flyers, aside from damage output, is that both sets of flyers get both a -1 to be hit and reduce incoming damage by -1. This is a super powerful combo, making them both harder to hit and making what hits them have less effect. The Orks tend to spread this around by using more units with Ramshackle, while Admech uses infantry that you can heap defensive buffs on. In both cases, they have great options for mitigating incoming firepower. It’s for similar reasons that Marine Dreadnoughts are seeing a lot of play these days.
The Same Army
Ultimately at the end of the day, these armies share the same archetype. They are fast and aggressive armies that are based around close-range firepower. They work, using flyers and special weapons to ignore LoS and target whatever they want. They throw out a ton of offensive firepower, and have… non-traditional ways to mitigate return firepower. They play by being fast and getting in your face and they are winning the biggest events.
Takeaway 1 – Flyers Are Becoming an Issue
Flyers are a unit type that probably shouldn’t be in 40K. They’ve swung back and forth from being either extremely overpowered or next to useless. What we are seeing now is a swing back to the too-good zone. These recent books have put out more firepower, more accurately than ever before. Their speed and agility mean they don’t really have a lot of drawbacks and with smaller tables, they can be anywhere and shoot anything. On top of that, they are getting amazing always to mitigate damage, not only with a -1 to be hit, but with ways to straight-up ignore damage. It’s gotten to the point where top lists are using them a lot. What’s really scary however is we’ve really just seen lists that traditionally haven’t had amazing flyers, aren’t you excited for Eldar?
Takeaway 2 – Alpha Strike Is Alive And Well
Alpha strike is another issue that has plagued 40K for a long time. Some editions have handled it a lot better, than others. In earlier editions larger tables, with shorter movement and weapon ranges often helped negate it. However, it’s been a pretty major worry in 9th, with a massive increase in firepower, combined with shorter tables leading to more chances to do damage early. At the start of the edition, there was a lot of hope that things like better and more impactful terrain and more resilient troops would help deal with this issue. But that doesn’t really seem to be the case. Lists like the two above are built to capitalize on an alpha strike, ignoring terrain, and distance to deal massive amounts of damage. Both these lists won their final games, what we could consider about as tip-top tier 40K as you can get, effectively on turn one with hyper destructive alpha strikes, and that’s another issue GW will have to address going forward.
Let us know what you think about these kinds of lists, down in the comments!
