At the end of January, the largest Warhammer 40,000 tournament in the universe came back with a vengeance. The Las Vegas Open has returned, and against expectations – and more recent Codexes – the Adeptus Mechanicus were victorious.
When their Codex was released last year, everyone’s favourite post-human techno-dogmatists made a big splash on the competitive scene, but they’ve been somewhat tuned down since then, especially in the first Balance Dataslate last October.
This did not deter Richard Siegler, who made a clean sweep at LVO at the head of an indomitable cadre of Martians. He also won all three US Open events in 2021, and he’s rapidly establishing himself as the unstoppable force in competitive Warhammer 40,000.
Pre-tournament expectations had been especially high for two factions – the golden gods of the Adeptus Custodes and the big beasts from the new Tyranids Crusher Stampede Army of Renown.* Both armies did well in many cases, but they were not unassailable.
For instance, two finalists at last year’s US Open Series jumped factions for LVO, with John Lennon joining the Custodian Guard and Brad Chester assimilating into the hive mind. Both are big names on the tournament scene, and both of them lost on Day One – proving that at an event this big, anything can happen.
Players needed to win with the highest possible scores to dodge the dreaded Shadow Round – an extra game for players ranked 5th to 12th, which guarantees that the eventual top eight end up undefeated before they face off against each other.
Adeptus Custodes, Tyranids, and Drukhari dominated the second day. Somewhat surprisingly, not a single Orks or Space Marines player made it through the two days without at least one loss, so none reached the Shadow Round or the top eight.
Breaking Down the Top Eight
The end of Day Two brought us a spicy top eight. The faction breakdown is unsurprising given the state of the meta – but it does contain new faces. Newer players have been sharpening their skills on smaller circuits over the past few years, and the final standings of this event (below) show the shape of things to come.
Adeptus Custodes were tipped to win the event with their new codex. The most common lists featured Vertus Praetors, Trajaan Valoris, Shield Captains on bikes, with Wardens, Dreadnoughts, Caladius Grav-tanks, and Terminators used as optional units.
In the end, however, they fell just short, finishing in 2nd and 3rd.
Evan Tomchin ran six Vertus Praetors with salvo launchers, which gave him a ton of mobility and firepower. Matt Lorah went with a more objective-focused list featuring small units to cover more ground but still fell to eventual winner, Richard Siegler.
As for the perennially powerful Drukhari, Anthony Vanella and Rafael Jaffre had very different takes, finishing 6th and 8th respectively. Alongside the tournament-obligatory Talos and Grotesques, Rafael went with two Ravagers for long-range anti-tank/anti-Custodes firepower. Anthony’s list was more varied, including several Cronos, a Court of the Archon, and eight Haemoxytes.
Ben Neal helmed the sole Grey Knights list to make the cut, finishing 7th overall. He opted for two maximum-sized squads of Interceptors and one Strike Squad in a Rhino. His army was extremely mobile, with three Nemesis Dreadknights and one Grand Master Dreadknight, which may be why he outperformed the other Space Marines armies.
Second and third spots were claimed by two very different flavours of Tyranids, the only faction to make it to the top tables without a new codex. These chitinous beasties have a new codex on the way – will they still be in contention for the top spot when it drops? Seems likely.
You’ll note that only one Crusher Stampede made it to the top eight, played by David Gaylard. As it’s composed of only a few large Monster units, it’s more susceptible to variance. If a few dice rolls go poorly and you lose a Monster earlier than expected, or if you fail a key charge or psychic power, it can be that much more difficult to recover.
Alex MacDougal shone with a more balanced list from the Forces of the Hive Mind. He’s a faction specialist, having consistently played these chittering hordes for years. This time he brought 54 Termagants with devourers and six Hive Guard, combined with Atalan Jackals and Purestrain Genestealers from the new Codex: Genestealer Cults.
The Flesh Really Is Weak
Richard Siegler has played Adeptus Mechanicus for most of this ITC season, and despite the ebbs and flows of popular trends or new codex releases, he has stayed loyal to Mars.
He picked a balanced Mars faction list with a mix of close-combat and shooting units. When an opponent is more capable of handling shooting threats, he presents his close-combat elements, like Sicarian Ruststalkers. When opponents are itching for melee, he leverages his shooting units, such as Ballistari and Rangers.
It just goes to show that faction mastery and balanced list design can still prevail even when the meta shifts under your faction. Adaptability wins games, but consistency wins tournaments. Richard has both of these qualities in spades, proving that familiarity and preparation can win the day at any level. Well done, Richard!
* The Crusher Stampede featured in White Dwarf 471 and is an army that makes the most of Monstrous Creatures to overwhelm your foes. Make sure you’re subscribed to White Dwarf so that you don’t miss any of the exclusive rules.
An earlier version of this article went live with the eventual top eight in the wrong order. This has now been amended.