The Bay Area Open took place in California, USA on 28th and 29th May. It involved 47 players vying to be crowned champion in a 5 game tournament.

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Allegiance: Stormcast Eternals
– Stormhost: Hammers of Sigmar (Stormkeep)
– Grand Strategy: Pillars of Belief
– Triumphs: Inspired

Leaders
Vandus Hammerhand (205)*
Lord-Relictor (145)**
– General
– Command Trait: High Priest
– Artefact: Mirrorshield
– Prayer: Translocation
Runelord (100)*
– Universal Prayer Scripture: Heal

Battleline
5 x Vindictors (130)*
5 x Vindictors (130)*
5 x Vindictors (130)*
5 x Vindictors (130)*

Units
2 x Stormdrake Guard (340)**
– Drakerider’s Warblade
2 x Stormdrake Guard (340)**
– Drakerider’s Warblade
2 x Stormdrake Guard (340)**
– Drakerider’s Warblade

Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment
**Battle Regiment

Additional Enhancements
Holy Command: Call for Aid

Total: 1990 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 0 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 114
Drops: 2

Danny: What a weekend it’s been for Stormcast. After taking 1st and 2nd at Misty Mountains, they also took down the Bay Area Open with a slightly different if not hard to parse list.

Three squads of dragons form the super fast, potentially damage-spiking core that, depending on the matchup can pin most of an army in their own deployment, or if the enemy is pesky and sneaky, the big lizzies can just screen out objectives while the rest catches up. The fact they have warblades instead of the lances gives them that flexibility to remain more reliable if they GET charged. An ever reliable MSU bunch of Vindictors form the rear-guard – and with mortals on 6s, 20 of them are no joke – are backed up by a cheap runelord ally for a cheap source of healing. Simple but obviously very effective one-two punch of a list.

Army Faction: Sons of Behemat
– Army Type: Breaker Tribe
– Grand Strategy: Beast Master
– Triumph: Inspired

LEADERS
Kragnos (720)
Gatebreaker (525)*
– General
– Command Traits: Louder than Word
– Artefacts of Power: Enchanted Portcullis
Gatebreaker (525)*
– Artefacts of Power: Amulet of Destiny

BATTLELINE
Mancrusher Gargant (170)

CORE BATTALIONS
*Bosses of the Stomp

TOTAL POINTS: 1940/2000

Danny: The Sons of Behemat seem to need Kragnos to really punch through the gatekeeper armies these days, and this looks to be the new meta list – 2 gate-breakers for killin’, and a smaller fella for…fitting into the remaining points. I mean, it’s not clever but it is big. Say what you will about their rules design, they’re clearly doing the business even while giving out bonus points for being on priority targets and you better have a plan for this new flavour of them if you don’t want to be caught unawares.

Allegiance: Seraphon
– Constellation: Thunder Lizard
– Mortal Realm: Ghur
– Grand Strategy: Beast Master
– Triumphs: Bloodthirsty

Leaders
Slann Starmaster (265)*
– Artefact: Fusil of Conflaguration
– Spell: Celestial Apotheosis
Engine of the Gods (265)*
– General
– Command Trait: Prime Warbeast
– Artefact: Cloak of Feathers
– Mount Trait: Beastmaster
– Universal Prayer Scripture: Curse
Skink Priest (80)*
– Universal Prayer Scripture: Heal
Celestant-Prime, Hammer of Sigmar (325)
– Allies

Battleline
10 x Skinks (75)*
– Boltspitters Celestite Daggers & Star Bucklers
10 x Skinks (75)*
– Boltspitters Celestite Daggers & Star Bucklers
5 x Saurus Guard (115)**
Stegadon (265)**
– Weapon: Skystreak Bow
Stegadon (265)**
– Weapon: Skystreak Bow

Behemoths
Bastiladon with Solar Engine (250)

Endless Spells & Invocations
The Burning Head (20)

Core Battalions
*Warlord
**Hunters of the Heartlands

Additional Enhancements
Artefact

Total: 2000 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 0 / 4
Allies: 325 / 400
Wounds: 91
Drops: 10

Danny: Coming in at 3rd, having dropped only one game, are the plucky, scaly, bitey lizards. Their Great Plan is a riff on the Celestant-Prime list – a great ally for them due to his ability to either contribute to their overwhelming ranged MW output, OR to hide in the sky and drop down at some point, guarantee a charge (because, y’know, he’s the boss) and put the hurt on something sticky – the kind of targeted missile that Seraphon are otherwise missing. To its credit, it also takes a normal stegadon, who are cool but not actually that great, and it’s at least a nod to the intended theme of the army!

Allegiance: Ossiarch Bonereapers
– Legion: Petrifex Elite
– Mortal Realm: Shyish
– Grand Strategy: Hold the Line
– Triumphs: Bloodthirsty

Leaders
Arkhan the Black, Mortarch of Sacrament (360)
Katakros, Mortarch of the Necropolis (450)
– General

Battleline
30 x Mortek Guard (420)*
– Nadirite Blade and Shield
– Reinforced x 2
20 x Mortek Guard (280)*
– Nadirite Blade and Shield
– Reinforced x 1
5 x Kavalos Deathriders (190)
– Nadirite Blade and Shield

Behemoths
Gothizzar Harvester (215)
– Weapon: Soulcrusher Bludgeons

Endless Spells & Invocations
Soulsnare Shackles (65)

Core Battalions
*Hunters of the Heartlands


Total: 1980 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 3 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 106
Drops: 6

Danny: OBR are not seen as competitive darlings at the moment but those boney bois are the apotheosis of tankiness. Sure they’re a little slow and vulnerable to MW spam (what isn’t?) but much like Nurgle, turns out sitting stubbornly on objectives and scoring points is kinda a big deal.

Arkhan and Katakros are key pieces here, both providing some great warscroll spells, a bevy of buffs and no dearth of debuffs – such as +1 attack, giving out -1 to hit to enemies and healing/bringing back the horrifically survivable 30 and 20 blob of Mortek Guard. I mean, the combined scrolls of Arkhan and Katakros are enough to make you not even want to bother attacking in the first place – and if you do manage to kill any, the Harvester is bringing them back on a 4+ anyway!

It’s a lot to remember and so requires skill to position and sequence correctly – and it’s awesome to see it still getting the job done.

Final Tournament Placings (Top 10)