The Las Vegas Open is the first major Warhammer tournament of the year, and the Warhammer Age of Sigmar contingent was out in force. Lead Game Designer Matt was there to see how things went, and in today’s Metawatch, we’re looking at the armies our top four commanders took into the final stages of the tournament.
But first, star commentator Paul got hold of Matt for a run-down of the weekend’s action.
The sheer number of different factions represented in the top 10 – nine, with only Cities of Sigmar appearing twice – speaks to a very level playing field in Warhammer Age of Sigmar. Even armies that had previously made less impact in tournament gameplay, like the Kruleboyz and Stormcast Eternals, put in a very strong showing this time around, with both reaching the top tables in the wake of targeted improvements.
After a huge refresh and unit expansion last year, the Cities of Sigmar have hit the ground running, with two very different lists making it to the top table. The overall champion, Jeremy Lefebvre, made great use of many new units from Freeguild Steelhelms and Cavaliers to a pair of Freeguild Command Corps and even Hexbane’s Hunters from Warhammer Underworlds.
The wide selection of new Cities of Sigmar heroes proved popular with many lists this year – the Alchemite Warforger in particular. Taking several Command Corps units was also common throughout the tournament, as this small unit regularly punches far above its weight with a variety of effective skills and weapons.
The runner-up was commanded by Gavin Grigar and made ample use of Steam Tanks to run rough-rimmed over infantry and monsters alike in earlier brackets.
Gavin’s focus on a small number of singular, high-value units was a marked contrast to his opponent, although both styles of list showed up several times throughout the rest of the Cities of Sigmar players. Steam Tanks, in particular, showed up at least once in many more armies, with reliable heroes from the aforementioned Warforger to Pontifex Zenestra also being popular.
In third place, Fabien Barbusse’s Khorne list featured a fascinating mix of units with many characterful inclusions from Warhammer Underworlds and Warcry. Magore’s Fiends, the Claws of Karanak, and the Godsworn Hunt all showed up for the party, alongside a terrifying complement of champions.
Not only was a Bloodthirster of Unfettered Fury in charge of the army, but Skarbrand himself took to the field, with four more Khornate lords in tow. With just two units of Bloodletters taking care of more menial duties, this was an elites-heavy list that did exactly what Khorne wanted – spilt blood and reaped skulls.
Finally, the top four was rounded out by a classic airborne list of Kharadron Overlords captained by Jeremy Veysseire. The mix of Grundstock Thunderers and Arkanaut Frigates will be familiar to many longstanding Kharadron players, led by the quintessential Leader trio of an Arkanaut Admiral, Aetheric Navigator, and Aether-Khemist.
Though this list may tick many of the Kharadron Overlord’s traditional boxes, it was by no means hamstrung by outdated tactics, and battled past a string of capable opponents to reach the top eight. It also took a decidedly more elite approach than the other high-placing Kharadron Overlords list – piloted by Ian McAleese who narrowly missed out in 9th place – which opted instead for a large number of Arkanaut Company and Skywarden units to cover the battlefield.
The sheer variety of lists appearing on the top tables is clear evidence of the Warhammer Age of Sigmar community’s ingenuity, and will no doubt be wildly different from the next major tournaments to come. The learned minds in the video above chat about some of their favourites, and a particularly excellent moment from a Khorne player you won’t want to miss.
And finally, we know you’re all keen to get a proper update from the next Battlescroll. From what we’ve heard it’s coming soon – potentially at some point next month – as the Warhammer Age of Sigmar team are working hard on final adjustments based on what they saw at LVO.
We’ll be back next week to look over the results from the Warhammer 40,000 tournament at the Las Vegas Open. See you then!