Updates: these lists and point values reflect the state of the game PRIOR to the errata and points update from May 09, 2024. Note that many of the lists here would have to be slightly altered – likely fielding 1 fewer model each – due to the new higher points cost of various units.
Here it is – a complete compilation of all 8 warbands who were present at the Golden Troll Warcry Tournament in Montreal back on March 2nd.
I pulled together the tournament lists, a photo of each warband, their tallies at the tournament, and a couple of thoughts on each roster.
Note: I’ve previously written a couple of posts about this tournament, such as an overall view and recap of the tournament, and a more in-depth look at my Scions of the Flame warband that tied for top place.
Ossiarch Bonereapers – Calcified Cruelty
One of the two lists to tie for first place was this one below using the Ossiarch Bonereapers and a couple of thralls.
Roster:
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Warband Roster
1,000pts | 11 fighters
- Mortek Hekatos (105pts, Hero)
- Necropolis Stalker with Spirit Blades (200pts)
- Necropolis Stalker with Spirit Blades (200pts)
- Dire Wolf (85pts, Thrall)
- Dire Wolf (85pts, Thrall)
- Mortek Guard with Nadirite Spear (55pts)
- Mortek Guard with Nadirite Spear (55pts)
- Mortek Guard with Nadirite Spear (55pts)
- Mortek Guard with Nadirite Spear (55pts)
- Mortek Guard with Nadirite Spear (55pts)
- Mortek Guard with Soulcleaver Greatblade (50pts)
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Generated on Warcrier.netTournament Points: 15 (3-0-0)
Kill Points: 1600
Thoughts on List: As I know the owner of the Warband, I’ve managed to play a couple of games against them before and it always struck me as being a powerful list.
The Bonereapers have clear advantages and disadvantages as far as teams go. They have a lot of good (and cheap) chaff options which gives some versatility for list building and for pumping up their numbers, while their elites typically have good damage profiles.
Their main weakness is speed, as majority of the units in the faction and this list have a 3″ move range. In this case, the two Dire Wolves fill in the gap giving them some speedy units that (in the past) I’ve seen swoop in and steal points at the end of rounds.
Their 11 bodies also gives them the ability to play the waiting game which, as some of this list’s opponents told me, the player used to great effect in the Tourney – forcing them to make moves they didn’t want to take, and then having a few units to spare at the end of each round.
Overall, I wasn’t surprised to see this list take home 3 wins with an experienced player at the helm.
Scions of the Flame – The Azure Arsonists
This was my list that tied for top place with the Bonereapers. To pad out my roster I included divine blessings that granted me 1 more attack die for the Fomoroid and 4 more hit points for my Blazing lord.
Roster:
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Warband Roster
955pts | 8 fighters
- Blazing Lord (200pts, Hero)
- Lord of Plagues (170pts, Hero)
- Fomoroid Crusher (260pts, Ally)
- Initiate with Morning Star (65pts)
- Initiate with Morning Star (65pts)
- Initiate with Morning Star (65pts)
- Initiate with Morning Star (65pts)
- Initiate with Morning Star (65pts)
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Generated on Warcrier.netTournament Points: 15 (3-0-0)
Kill Points: 1600
Thoughts on List: I’ve already written about my list elsewhere, so I’ll just quickly recap that I was a little surprised to have come in first place with them – especially as my list was mostly and excuse to use a Fomoroid Crusher and to motivate me to repaint my units.
I do think, in all honesty, that my draw of opponents helped as I didn’t end up facing off against any of the other top players (in my opinion) who were there – and the dice gods were certainly on my side as well.
Kruleboyz – The Green Meanies
Among the runner-ups we have this Kruleboyz list with two allies from the Iron Jaws. With 20 points leftover, the boosted the crit damage for the Ardboy and the Killaboss.
Roster:
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Warband Roster
980pts | 9 fighters
- Orruk Megaboss (225pts, Hero)
- Killaboss with Boss-Hacka and Rusting Flail (190pts, Hero)
- Ardboy Boss with Ardboy Choppas (135pts, Hero)
- Gutrippa with Wicked Stikka (75pts)
- Gutrippa with Wicked Stikka (75pts)
- Gutrippa with Wicked Stikka (75pts)
- Gutrippa with Wicked Stikka (75pts)
- Gutrippa with Wicked Stikka (75pts)
- Shank (55pts)
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Generated on Warcrier.netTournament Points: 11 (2-1-0)
Kill Points: 1490
Thoughts on Roster: Going in, this was my top pick for the strongest warband in the tournament.
Gutrippas make up the bulk of the models and are incredible pieces for their cost – with lots of tankiness and strong crits with their Wicked Stikkas.
It’s also supported by a Megaboss who is another near perfect piece at 225 points. His 3-6-4/8 damage profile means he can smash anything out there and his slow speed is almost a non-issue thanks to his ability that can grant him a free move.
To top it all off, he also had what is arguably the strongest netter in the game with Shank.
That this list didn’t take top place is likely only because they went up against the Bonereapers in a Rumble Pack scenario during their third and final game. While that match could have gone either way, from what I gathered, the Bonereapers had a strong first two turns snagging points and the Kruleboyz (even at 9) didn’t have the bodies to catch up over the next two turns.
Against anyone else, in any other scenario, I think they would have taken the top spot.
Hunters of Huanchi – The Black Mambas
The following runner up (and also winner of “favourite player” at the tournament is this optimized list from the Hunters of Huanchi with some Starblood Stalker allies.
Roster:
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Warband Roster
1,000pts | 11 fighters
- Kixi-Taka, The Diviner (125pts, Hero)
- Chameleon Skink Alpha with Moonstone Club (90pts, Hero)
- Klaq-Trok (190pts)
- Otapatl (80pts)
- Huanchi's Claw (75pts)
- Huanchi's Claw (75pts)
- Huanchi's Claw (75pts)
- Huanchi's Claw (75pts)
- Huanchi's Claw (75pts)
- Huanchi's Claw (75pts)
- Xepic (65pts)
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Generated on Warcrier.netTournament Points: 11 (2-1-0)
Kill Points: 515
Thoughts on Roster: Definitely the most meme list at the tourney.
Hunters of Huanchi have a bit of a bad rap as being a sort of “unwinnable” warband, so I think the player was dead set on proving people wrong. That they could snag two wins with such a remarkably low kill score (lowest at the tourney) is impressive and really speaks to the advantage of speed and numbers in Rumble Pack Missions (the two that they won).
I think as far as a Hunters of Huanchi list goes, you can’t really do better than this, with the bulk of the list being composed of Huanchi’s Claw (their best value unit) and some decent ally picks.
I would be curious to see what it would be like with a single Questor Soulsworn in there somewhere for meat and damage, but all in all I think this list did what it was intended to do at the event – and then some.
Seraphon – Coldblooded Carnivores
Amongst our “third place” finishers we have a pure Seraphon list. With 30 points for blessings, the Knight received + 1 toughness while the guard gained +1 strength.
Roster:
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Warband Roster
970pts | 9 fighters
- Skink Starpriest (145pts, Hero)
- Saurus Knight with Celestite Warspear (165pts)
- Razordon (145pts)
- Saurus Guard (120pts)
- Saurus Warrior with Celestite Club (85pts)
- Saurus Warrior with Celestite Club (85pts)
- Saurus Warrior with Celestite Club (85pts)
- Skink Handler (70pts)
- Skink Handler (70pts)
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Generated on Warcrier.netTournament Points: 7 (1-0-2)
Kill Points: 1010
Thoughts on Roster: Going in, I might have pegged this list as being one of the two lists I was not particularly afraid of (the other being the Gitz). Not that it’s a weak list, but compared to the others I felt it tried to do a lot of things at once. It has some range, some armour, some movement, and some damage, but the Skinks + Razordon stood out as the only real combo.
In any event, they took home a win in their first game (versus the Nurgle Daemons, no less) in their first game, followed by two losses (to both myself and the other winning list). So perhaps it was more a victim of circumstance that the list – and in the case of my matchup, they fully committed to taking down the Fomoroid (which they surprisingly did at the end of turn 2), but it cost them valuable time while I was gobbling up objectives and moving onto other ones.
Gloomspite Gitz – The Mycelial Menace
Our other third place team was a “Gitz and friends” warband – also known as a tasty, but mild Destruction Soup.
Roster:
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Warband Roster
1,000pts | 9 fighters
- Bounder Boss (245pts, Hero)
- Rockgut Troggoth (185pts, Thrall)
- Rockgut Troggoth (185pts, Thrall)
- Boggleye (70pts, Ally)
- Brewgit (70pts, Ally)
- Sneaky Snuffler (65pts)
- Sneaky Snuffler (65pts)
- Sneaky Snuffler (65pts)
- Prog Da Netter (50pts)
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Generated on Warcrier.netTournament Points: 7 (1-0-2)
Kill points: 565
Thoughts on List: This is a good roster on paper – instead of an Ogor ally, we have 2 Troggoths here for damage. The netter is a smart addition to locking up enemies and a Bounder Boss, in theory, is a great piece for either snatching up objectives or being a complete missile.
In practice, I find that Gitz warbands never do as well as they should. So much can go wrong with a few bad dice rolls for these guys that a promising turn can end in calamity.
Snufflers are probably one of their points point value units, but without them dealing crits, and being dealt crits in return, they’re quickly used up and blown away. As well, missing a snare with the netter can be devastating (and something I heard happened more than once at the tourney).
They took home a win which makes sense, but from what I heard, they got chopped to pieces by the Krulboyz in a near complete wipe with maybe 1 kill of their own. They defeated the Nurgle Daemons in their final round, but I believe their other matchup was against the Hunters who they spent the whole game chasing and never truly catching.
Nurgle Daemons – Order of the Canker
In the first of our two bottom placed, we have a pure Nurgle Daemons list. With their leftover points, they blessed the Scrivener with + 1 attacks and the Beast with + 1 might.
Roster:
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Warband Roster
955pts | 13 fighters
- Spoilpox Scrivener (135pts, Hero)
- Sloppity Bilepiper (130pts, Hero)
- Plagueridden (90pts, Hero)
- Beast of Nurgle (150pts)
- Plaguebearer (50pts)
- Plaguebearer (50pts)
- Plaguebearer (50pts)
- Plaguebearer (50pts)
- Plaguebearer (50pts)
- Plaguebearer (50pts)
- Plaguebearer (50pts)
- Plaguebearer (50pts)
- Plaguebearer (50pts)
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Generated on Warcrier.net
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Tournament Points: 3 (0-0-3)Kill Points: 815
Thoughts on Roster:
Overall, this is a good list. At 13 units, it’s utterly terrifying. It’s got damage, bodies, and some abilities to make up for its weaknesses (such as abilities to improve the move of all those slowpoke Plaguebearers).
That it suffered 3 losses in a row isn’t quite due to the list itself but (speaking from experience) a lot to do with bad luck on the player’s part.
Their first game against Seraphon was a close match that resulted in few kills from either side, and the Seraphons taking it thanks to the slow speed of Nurgle (it was a 6 control point Rumble Pack Mission). In their second game against me, I personally saw their Beast largely whiff not once but twice on a Rampage two turns in a row against my own Lord of Plagues (who took under 20 damage from 6 full attack actions – 24 dice – hitting on a 3+). It was one of those moments where you come close to seeing a grown man cry.
On their last game, it was also a Rumble Pack brawl that saw them against the Gitz who also outmaneuvered them with the Bounder and crushed them with the Trolls.
Stormcast Eternals: Thunderstrike – The Tin Cans
The final list that we have is a pure SCE Thunderstrike called the Tin Cans.
Roster:
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Warband Roster
1,000pts | 7 fighters
- Vindictor-Prime (170pts, Hero)
- Annihilator with Grandhammer (145pts)
- Annihilator with Grandhammer (145pts)
- Vindictor (135pts)
- Vindictor (135pts)
- Vindictor (135pts)
- Vindictor (135pts)
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Generated on Warcrier.netTournament Point: 3 (0-0-3)
Kill points: 1375
Thoughts on List: The main disadvantages of the roster, as are typically the case with SCE, are speed and low numbers. This warband, while simple in design, really did the best it could to compensate for these.
Stormcast are no slouches on the battlefield and it’s always extra intimidating to see 7 Stormcast in a roster – especially since most pure Stormcast lists typically cap out at 6. (There are some exceptions, such as with the Sacrosanct where you can get up to 8 units if you bring a hound).
The list also benefits from every unit in there having a 2″ range, which certainly helped give a bit of an added threat range to their slow overall speed (especially for the Annihilators).
That this warband was three straight losses, however, probably has less to do with its design and more to do with the opponents it went up against. As the luck of the draw would have it, the Tin Cans 3 games were fought against the top 3 placed warbands. Against any of the other opponent and we might have seen things go down different with one or more wins.
In any event, that this was one of the warbands with the highest kill points at the tourney I think also says quite a bit about its power on the table even if the wins ultimately didn’t go towards it.
To Wrap Things Up
The tournament was a blast. Even though it was a competitive event, the atmosphere was mostly casual (if a little tense at times).
If you’re interested in other posts about it:
- I’ve put together a Battle Report for my first match at the event.
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