This is the Top Three AoS Lists for the Invasion AOS 22 Tournament that took place in Kristiansand, Norway, on the 17th and 18th September. It involved 44 players vying to be crowned champion in a 5 game tournament.

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The Top Three AoS Lists

Army Faction: Seraphon
– Army Type: Starborne
– Army Subfaction: Fangs of Sotek
– Grand Strategy: Show of Dominance
– Triumphs: Inspired

LEADER
1 x Saurus Astrolith Bearer (140)**
– Artefacts: Serpent God Dagger
1 x Slann Starmaster (265)**
– General
– Command Traits: Master of Magic
– Artefacts: Arcane Tome
– Spells: Stellar Tempest
1 x Skink Priest (90)**
– Prayers: Heal
1 x Skink Starpriest (130)***
– Spells: Hand of Glory

BATTLELINE
30 x Skinks (225)*
– Skink Alpha
– Boltspitter and Moonstone Club
5 x Saurus Guard (115)***
– Saurus Guard Alpha
– Wardrummer
– Stardrake Icon Bearer
10 x Skinks (75)***
– Skink Alpha
– Boltspitter
– Celestite Dagger and Star-buckler
10 x Skinks (75)***
– Skink Alpha
– Boltspitter
– Celestite Dagger and Star-buckler

BEHEMOTH
1 x Bastiladon with Ark of Sotek (165)***

ENDLESS SPELL
1 x Purple Sun of Shyish (70)
1 x Horrorghast (40)

OTHER
8 x Salamander Hunting Pack (280)*
8 x Salamander Hunting Pack (280)*

CORE BATTALIONS:
*Bounty Hunters
**Command Entourage – Magnificent
***Battle Regiment

TOTAL POINTS: (1950/2000)

Comments: Fangs of Sotek continues it’s long run as a great list taking another 5/0 and 1st. This time there is no Kroak and only one Bastilidon but there are two terrifyingly large Salamander Hunting Packs. Otherwise it’s a fairly conventional list with one large (30) Skink unit and 2 x 10 skinks, 5 Saurus Guard (bodyguards), Astrolith, Starmaster, Starpriest and priest. 2 Endless Spells to take advantage of the strong spell casting – Horrorghast and Purple Sun. Noted elsewhere this works well as a combination with Fangs but increasing rend (for the Ark and Skinks) and making battleshock tests terrifying. Back to the Salamanders, each has 2 Salamanders with their 7 attacks, 4 ranged, all hitting/wounding on 3s with -2 rend and D3 damage, 6s do D3 mortal wounds. For each pack that’s an average of 8 damage + 3 MWs. But that could spike as high 21 MWs (extremely unlikely).

Again another list that really wants to make you come to them, the salamanders will stay behind Skinks where feasible to limit charges. Mostly avoid the 30 Skink block. For the most part Tom’s opponents had either limited shooting or limited range leaving them exposed to the Skinks/Salamanders. KO might have had the best of it but Skinks can be teleported or summoned aiding scoring and blocking ships. Good result.

Allegiance: Skaven
– Grand Strategy: Take What’s Theirs
– Triumphs: Indomitable

Leaders
Grey Seer (125)**
– Universal Spell Lore: Levitate
Verminlord Deceiver (405)**
– Artefact: Shadow Magnet Trinket
– Universal Spell Lore: Flaming Weapon
Verminlord Warbringer (395)*
– General
– Command Trait: Devious Adversary
– Artefact: Warpstone Charm
– Universal Spell Lore: Flaming Weapon
Warlock Bombardier (115)**
– Lore of Warpvolt Galvanism: More-more-more Warp Power!

Battleline
6 x Stormfiends (640)*
– 2x Windlaunchers
– 2x Ratling Cannons
– 2x Doomflayer Gauntlets
– Reinforced x 1
20 x Clanrats (100)*
– Rusty Blade
– 1x Standard Bearers
– 1x Standard Bell Ringers
20 x Clanrats (100)*
– Rusty Blade
– 1x Standard Bearers
– 1x Standard Bell Ringers

Units
1 x Warp-Grinder (65)**

Endless Spells & Invocations
Chronomantic Cogs (40)

Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment
**Warlord

Additional Enhancements
Artefact

Total: 1985 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 1 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 115
Drops: 5

Comments: Skaven in 2nd place with a rational list, still has a Warlock for humor but staying safe with solid heroes and clanrat/stormfiend battle line. The only endless spell is Cogs, that leaves point to run 2 x Verminlords and a Grey Seer with the now standard battleline. No Gnawholes listed but I assume some were taken. The Warpgrinder works as a Gnawhole for a single unit that can be placed in reserve with the Warpgrinder and placed at the end of a movement phase. You place the extra unit within 13″ of the Warpgrinder and 9″ from the enemy. Stormfiends to the rear? Like most Skaven lists there is a lot going on, the Grey Seer brings a mini Purple Sun (MWs and -1 to hit rolls for 1 unit).

The Deceiver has his dreaded skitterleap for a teleport that leaves him 6″ from enemies and Warbringer can grant fight on death for 3 units. This is a great combo, you can be aggressive with both the Stormfiends and Deceiver while holding the centre with the Warbringer and granting the Clannrats fight on death. The Warpgrinder teleport, with clanrats also gives some exciting options for scoring. He’s won qgainst very stiff competition with the 3 hammers and his options. That includes beating both flavours of DoK and an Annihilator SCE list.

Allegiance: Soulblight Gravelords
– Lineage: Kastelai Dynasty
– Mortal Realm: Ghur
– Grand Strategy: Take What’s Theirs
– Triumphs:

Leaders
Prince Vhordrai (455)
– Lore of the Vampires: Amethystine Pinions
Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon (435)
– General
– Deathlance
– Command Trait: A Craving for Massacre
– Artefact: Fragment of the Keep
– Mount Trait: Foetid Miasma
– Lore of the Vampires: Amethystine Pinions
Mannfred von Carstein, Mortarch of Night (380)**
– Lore of the Deathmages: Decrepify

Battleline
5 x Blood Knights (195)*
5 x Blood Knights (195)*
10 x Deathrattle Skeletons (80)**
10 x Deathrattle Skeletons (80)**

Units
10 x Grave Guard (140)**
– Great Wight Blades

Core Battalions
*Bounty Hunters
**Battle Regiment

Total: 1960 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 0 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 100
Drops: 5

Comments: Really solid SBGGL effort, running 3rd after a 3rd round loss to Benjamin (2nd) and his evil Skaven. Who has the moral high ground between Chaos and Death? A selection of the best units in the codex with Blood Knights, Grave Guard, 3 really nasty Vampire Lords and a zombie dragon. 3 Behemoths, all dragons, are the primary hammers. The list doesn’t need to castle though – Mannfred works well with the Blood Knights with Vigour of Undeath (12″ aura of +1 to hit and wound). Prince Vhordrai works with the Vampire Lord giving the Vampire Lord the ability to fight in the hero phase. They massive movement (starts at 14″) so it’s hard to screen them out. All of the units gain a ward near a gravesite, try to fight them further than 12″ from gravesites if possible.

As always with SBGL controlling the gravesites becomes increasingly important. They can summon units back through them or use them to summon reserves. The 2 units of Skeletons and the Grave Guard can all be returned at half strength making it a bit like whack a mole trying to keep them down. I feel the 6″ charge from the Deceiver and the Warbringer’s fight on death for adjacent units would have been the keys to bluntening the impact of the dragons. It’s a remarkable list and 4/1 is a good result, in line with similar SBGL performances we’ve seen recently.

Allegiance: Beasts of Chaos
– Greatfray: Gavespawn
– Grand Strategy: Take What’s Theirs
– Triumphs: Inspired,Inspired

Leaders
Great Bray-Shaman (100)**
– General
– Command Trait: Unravelling Aura
– Lore of the Twisted Wilds: Vicious Stranglethorns
Great Bray-Shaman (100)**
– Lore of the Twisted Wilds: Wild Rampage
Tzaangor Shaman of Beasts of Chaos (135)**
– Lore of the Twisted Wilds: Tendrils of Atrophy
Dragon Ogor Shaggoth (155)***
– Artefact: Mutating Gnarlblade
– Lore of Dark Storms: Sundering Blades

Battleline
20 x Bestigors (250)*
– Reinforced x 1
20 x Bestigors (250)*
– Reinforced x 1
10 x Ungors (65)
– Mauls & Half-Shields

Units
10 x Ungor Raiders (80)***
10 x Ungor Raiders (80)***
10 x Ungor Raiders (80)***
1 x Chaos Spawn (55)**

Behemoths
Krondspine Incarnate of Ghur (400)
– Allies
– Bonded to Tzaangor Shaman
Cygor (125)

Endless Spells & Invocations
Chronomantic Cogs (40)
Ravening Direflock (30)

Core Battalions
*Bounty Hunters
**Warlord
***Vanguard

Additional Enhancements
Triumph

Total: 1945 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 2 / 4
Allies: 400 / 400
Wounds: 125
Drops: 13

Comments: A genuine horde list, makes me wonder why Expert Conquerors wasn’t one of the battalions. 87 models altogether with 4 small heros and a Krondspine. The spells are a mix of MWs and buffing spells (special mention to Wild Rampage – reroll melee wound rolls but -1 to your saves). Cogs and Ravening Direflock are the chosen endless spells, Cogs is interesting, most of the chosen spells have casts around 5 and 6 but this list is short on buffs for casting. Ravening Direflock prevents non BoC units within 12″ from using Rally or Inspiring Presence. That’s not bad for 50 points. I’m assuming that there is a Herdstone in the list but not shown.

This is a list that seeks to outlast it’s opponent,then clap back from Turn 3 onwards. Board wide they are -1 rend until Turn 3 when it becomes -2 rend. Bestigors from Turn 3 are -3 rend total. The play here then is to screen using the Ungors (both kinds) while the Bestigors stay close to the Herdstone for Rally on 4+ (starts at 12″ and increases 6″ per turn). The leaders can pray on the Ungor for additional Primordial Points that allowing summoning more units. Krondspine plays really well into this strategy – your opponent can’t ignore it and sometimes will concentrate early damage on Krondspine. That increases the number of other units that make it to Turn 3.

It worked really well here against armies that had smaller units with good saves. Against -3 rend even a 3+ save looks weak. Then there is the Skaven. Their hammer units would be removing 3 units from this list in a turn. The fight on death is really punishing as well, BoC have few wounds and poor saves so their increased rend most likely leads to their quicker death. Clever build and a deserving 4/1.

Final Tournament Placings