The competitive 40k community is kicking off the new year with tournaments once again! And with another GT behind us we can look at the top 3 lists!

Coming from the Critical Hit GT, this event brought almost thirty players. Being a competitive ITC event, players brought some powerhouse lists for sure. Here are the top 3 that clawed their way to victory.

Thanks to Best Coast Pairings we are able to look back at the event as if we were there ourselves.

3rd Place: Raven Guard Successor- Derek Deraiche

Bringing up 3rd place is a Raven Guard Successor Brigade going for the McPick Two strategy. Scouts infiltrated everywhere up the field to grab objectives, zone, and create early pressure while the majority of the damage from the force came from Centurions.

And when we say Centurions we mean A LOT of Centurions. Twelve Centurions to be exact, using different Stratagems, the Master of Ambush Warlord Traits, etc. to get these guys up the board quickly.

Attack Bikes served three solid purposes for just 49 pts a pop. They could nab objectives, pop a little armor, and also (probably most importantly), fill the Fast Attack slot for the Brigade.

And finally, another Centurion Squad of Grav-Cannons were brought for the crazy reroll everything Strat while still keeping the possibility open to redeploy these guys via Raven Guard shenanigans mentioned above. The T-Fire cannon is an auto-include because its Stratagems are just bonkers and the Eliminator was a cheap space filler. Great job overall.

2nd Place: Dark Eldar- Ridvan Martinez

Taking a semi-elite list for Dark Eldar forces, this was a happy mix between Flyer spam and other Drukhari good stuff. The first Battalion brought Kabal of the Black Heart for a Counter to crazy Stratagem shenanigans as well as massing Venoms for speed and board control. Two Voidravens were also brought and flew with the Razorwings from the other Battalion.

Interestingly enough, Drahzar was brought with fifteen Wyches filling out the Troops Choice for more CP. And finally, a Vanguard was taken with a Haemonculus bringing in Mandrakes and Wracks for deceptively tough ground forces to act as a speed bump against enemy units like infiltrating Scouts. Awesome unique list!

1st Place: Blood Angels- Devin Swann

Jumping into first place, two Smash Captains led a Battalion of Scouts mainly for the CP. These were all given combat Knives to shank anyone who tried stepping on their toes in the early game.

Second, Astorath, Mephy, and another Smash Captain led a second Battalion of Scouts and a random Tac Squad. However, a fourteen-man Death Company Squad also hit the field all geared with Jump Packs and Chainswords. If needed, these guys could wipe out a huge chunk of just about any kind of screen the enemy might have had.

And finally, for the firing platform of the list, a Spearhead was brought using three Thunderfire Cannons as well as three Whirlwinds! We usually see one T-Fire Cannon hit every Space Marine list, but rarely three. And how often do you see a Whirlwind help take the first-place trophy? Awesome job incorporating some unique indirect firepower with a melee-heavy list.

What are your thoughts on these top three lists? Are Whirlwinds secretly an amazing unit to spam? How does your list compare to the ones above?

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