With the success I had at the Midwest ConQuest, I bought a ticket for the Showme Showdown 2022 Warhammer 40k Grand Tournament. I went 2-3 at the ConQuest, but with two games lost by a single point, I would probably have been on the final table (two points!) I was so close to a top finish I could taste it, and with my Dark Angel Deathwing list scoring a lot of points, I wanted to keep my momentum going to earn a podium finish.
Just before the Showme Showdown, GW dropped a couple of bombs with Chapter Approved Nephilim, point corrections, and FAQs that dramatically changed the competitive scene of Warhammer 40k. The tournament organizers wanted to run the Nephilim missions and list building format (6 CPs, pay for Warlord Traits and Relics, new secondaries, etc.) and there wasn’t much time to playtest a new army or even adjust my current list. The FAQ for Nephilim hasn’t been released yet and I was a little annoyed about adopting the new format so quickly, but I had to soldier on.
The SMSD is a large tournament in Kansas City that has an excellent draw from across the Midwest. There were 120 tickets sold with about 110 showing, including a lot of top players in the Lord Marshal Conference and US ITC.
I brought my usual Dark Angels Rampant Lions list. I built a new list that had a landspeeder storm so that I could move quickly enough to secure an objective to help score primary points early in the game. However, in Nephilim, dedicated transports without troops in them are destroyed, so that scuttled my plan. The other changes to mission secondaries through a big wrench in my plans as well. Since To the Last was removed and Stubborn Defiance changes only allow me to score 10 points (since I can’t start on an objective outside my deployment zone,) I was struggling to find secondaries that I could score. Banners is a good option for about 12 points, and if Abhor the Witch was in play if I faced a psyker heavy list, but I was grasping at straws to pick secondaries.
To top it off, my stomach problems flared up in round 2 and I had a headache most of day 1 so I was less that enthusiastic to play that day.
Here’s a round by round breakdown:
Round 1:
I played against a tournament judge from another tourney and his Black Templar list. I really like his list and is similar to a list I’m considering building as well. Helbrecht, Grimaldus, Crusader Squads… all of the hits. He’s a great player and a lot of fun to square off against and I won 65-49.
Round 2:
This round paired me against the Grey Knights, commanded by James. Grey Knights have traditionally been my bane but I was able to get a lot of shots off with my cyclone missile launchers and use my obsec terminators to hold key objectives. Not to forget that Abhor the Witch was a great secondary for me and I won 91-78.
Round 3:
In this battle, I faced off against an off-meta Sisters of Battle list. It contained the usual batch of character spam, lots of Zephyrim, and used the Valorous Heart Order. I picked secondaries very poorly and was constantly outnumbered on objectives in a “hold 2, hold 3, hold more” mission. My dice were ice cold (one missile launcher had 14 shots, hitting on 3s, and I hit once…) and I played like mouth breather most of the game. I was thumped 94-37. Oof.
Day 2:
Round 4:
I was paired with another Grey Knights player in round 4. He was from a rival local game store in my area and was a super nice player. I felt a little bad, but we used a game clock and he unfortunately ran out of time early in turn 4 and I was able to keep executing my game plan. Abhor the Witch scored max points for me again and I grabbed a 93-52 victory.
Round 5:
I had a fantastic game against Joe and his Genestealer Cult in round 5. It was a back-and-forth battle with Joe grabbing an early lead and my slow termies trundling across the field to try to catch is vehicle heavy (and expertly converted and painted) cultists. It was a slobber knocker, but Raise the Banners High pulled me ahead in the final turn and I won by a whisker, 75-73. I voted for Joe for best player and he won favorite opponent overall!
Round 6:
Vanguard Tactics team member, Nick brought a nasty, nasty Necron list that benefits greatly from the Nehpilim secondaries. He had two C’tan and a Silent King. He didn’t give up any obvious secondaries and played like Stephen Box throughout the battle, although, I had to remind him about my transhuman nearly every roll. It was a long couple of days and I was pretty foggy-headed too. I made lots of armor saves, but failed to get Nick won 86-68 in an enjoyable battle.
In the end, I finished 4-2 and I was pleased with myself. Except for the Sisters game, I feel like I played well and made good choices. I finished 34th with 429 points, almost made the painting cut (I didn’t have many conversions,) won best in faction for Dark Angels, and I won a battlemat from GameMat.Eu as a door prize!
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