Vault Wars took place in Missouri, USA on 14th and 15th May. It involved 39 players vying to be crowned champion in a 5 game tournament.

Vault Wars differs in that each player takes two lists with so 250 points being changed between the lists. The idea being that each player can choose the list yet think most suits their opponent. For the purpose these top three we will only look at their first lists.

Before I jump into the Top Three, I wanted to remind everyone of our friendly Discord server where you can join in the conversation with the Woehammer crew and suggest articles or series for the website.

1st Place – Tom Lyons

Tom won all five games over the weekend. Along the way they beat Sons of Behemat/Breaker Tribe in round 1, Maggotkin of Nurgle/Drowned Men in round 2, Idoneth Deepkin/Dhom-Hain in round 3, Maggotkin of Nurgle/Befouling Host in round 4 and Lumineth Realm-Lords/Syar in Round 5.

Allegiance: Nighthaunt
– Procession: Reikenor’s Condemned
– Grand Strategy: Prized Sorcery
– Triumphs: Bloodthirsty

Leaders
Dreadblade Harrow (100)**
– General
– Command Trait: Ruler of the Spirit Hosts
– Artefact: Pendant of the Fell Wind
Guardian of Souls with Nightmare Lantern (135)**
– Artefact: Corpse Candle
– Lore of the Underworlds: Shademist
Guardian of Souls with Nightmare Lantern (135)
– Lore of the Underworlds: Shademist
Krulghast Cruciator (120)***
– Artefact: Midnight Tome – Reaping Scythe
Reikenor the Grimhailer (145)***
– Lore of the Underworlds: Soul Cage
Spirit Torment (115)***

Battleline
30 x Chainrasp Horde (285)*
– Reinforced x 2
20 x Chainrasp Horde (190)*
– Reinforced x 1
10 x Chainrasp Horde (95)

Units
2 x Chainghasts (75)**
10 x Dreadscythe Harridans (160)*
4 x Myrmourn Banshees (75)
2 x Chainghasts (75)***

Behemoths
Black Coach (200)

Endless Spells & Invocations
Mortalis Terminexus (85)

Core Battalions
*Hunters of the Heartlands
**Warlord
***Warlord

Additional Enhancements
Artefact
Artefact

Total: 1990 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 3 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 127
Drops: 14

Danny: What have these Nighthaunt players got to prove, with all this big wins on the eve of the new book! Reikenor’s Condemned is an interesting sub-faction that requires a wide variety of units – the tl;dr is that it offers re-roll hits to Chainrasps and Stalkers, can bring even more models back, and gives Stalkers +6″ movement. So it’s a tight list of requirements but offers a lot of utility. With 5 heroes and a Black Coach there’s an awful lot of overlapping synergy going on in general – but a key piece is the Cruciator who buffs the death ward of 6 to a 5 if he inflicts a wound on anything – with 12″ range, 4 attacks 3/3/-2/1 that’s not usually TOO hard. Beware folks – all of this has just got much, much better…

2nd Place – Justin Newman

Justin managed four wins over the two days and lost a fifth. Along the way they beat Fyreslayers/Greyfyrd in round 1, Hedonites of Slaanesh/Lurid Haze in round 2, Soulblight Gravelords/Legion of Blood in round 3, then lost against 1st placed Tom in round 4 before beating Sylvaneth/Gnarlroot in round 5.

Allegiance: Maggotkin of Nurgle
– Subfaction: Befouling Host
– Grand Strategy: Hold the Line
– Triumphs: Bloodthirsty

Leaders
Horticulous Slimux (225)**
Sloppity Bilepiper, Herald of Nurgle (130)**
Lord of Afflictions (210)*
– General
– Command Trait: Overpowering Stench
– Artefact: The Splithorn Helm
Orghotts Daemonspew (300)*

Battleline
1 x Beasts of Nurgle (110)**
1 x Beasts of Nurgle (110)**
2 x Pusgoyle Blightlords (220)*
1 x Beasts of Nurgle (110)**
1 x Beasts of Nurgle (110)**
1 x Beasts of Nurgle (110)**
1 x Beasts of Nurgle (110)*
1 x Beasts of Nurgle (110)*
1 x Beasts of Nurgle (110)*

Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment
**Battle Regiment

Total: 1965 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 0 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 117
Drops: 2

Danny: Maggotkin with Befouling Host is emerging as the premier alternative to Drowned Men – Gnarlmaws are pretty darn sweet and offer lots of synergy (and contagion points!) now, so the ability to take 2 offers flexibility. This list is a semi-creative take on the Beast of Nurgle spam list – with two of the funniest characters in the game (who also happen to offer a tonne of buffs and synergy) – Sloppity and Horticulous – and Daemonspew for a nice single-model hammer. Beasts are basically a nightmare to pin down – they can run retreat/charge, put disease points on units they retreat from, and do d3 mortals on a 2+ when they make a charge. You can probably see how the list functions now.

3rd Place – Bryce Wickline

Bryce finished the weekend with one loss and four wins. His path saw him beat Idoneth Deepkin/Nautilar in round 1, Sylvaneth/Gnarlroot in round 2, Maggotkin of Nurgle/Blessed Sons in round 3, Soulblight Gravelords/Legion of Blood in round 4. This was followed by a loss to Idoneth Deepkin/Nautilar in round 5.

Allegiance: Sons of Behemat
– Tribe: Breaker Tribe (Fierce Loathing: Idiots with Flags)
– Grand Strategy: Beast Master
– Triumphs: Inspired

Leaders
Kragnos, The End of Empires (720)
Gatebreaker Mega-Gargant (525)*
– General
– Command Trait: Louder than Words
– Artefact: Enchanted Portcullis
Gatebreaker Mega-Gargant (525)*
– Artefact: Amulet of Destiny (Universal Artefact)

Battleline
1 x Mancrusher Gargants (170)

Core Battalions
*Bosses of the Stomp – Magnificent

Additional Enhancements
Artefact

Total: 1940 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 0 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 100
Drops: 4

Danny: Sons are in an interesting place – they’re still great, but in certain matchups the Priority points they give up handicap more than perhaps is fair. Still, 2 Gate-breakers (the hardest hitting ones) with a 3d6 charge next to big ol’ Chadnos, and a more ‘throwaway’ (it’s all relative with Sons…) Mancrusher offers a nice hierarchy of pain, and kinda gives each warscroll a more dedicated role than the usual 4 big’uns. Sons aren’t going anywhere despite having a big crosshair painting on their enormous butts!

Wildcard – Brendan Melnick

Brendan won three games and lost two, ending his weekend in a very respectful 11th. Along the way he beat Bonesplitterz/Icebone in round 1, then lost against 3rd placed Bryce in round 2. This was followed by wins against Maggotkin of Nurgle/Drowned Men in round 3 Legion of the First Prince in round 4. In the last round he lost against Maggotkin of Nurgle/Befouling.

Allegiance: Sylvaneth
– Glade: Gnarlroot
– Grand Strategy: Prized Sorcery
– Triumphs: Bloodthirsty

Leaders
Warsong Revenant (275)*
– General
– Command Trait: Nurtured by Magic
– Artefact: Chalice of Nectar
– Deepwood Spell: Throne of Vines
Treelord Ancient (280)*
– Deepwood Spell: Treesong
Branchwraith (95)*
– Deepwood Spell: Regrowth

Battleline
20 x Dryads (190)*
– Reinforced x 1
5 x Tree-Revenants (80)*
5 x Tree-Revenants (80)*

Units
3 x Kurnoth Hunters with Kurnoth Greatswords (225)*
6 x Kurnoth Hunters with Kurnoth Scythes (430)*
– Reinforced x 1

Behemoths
Treelord (180)*

Endless Spells & Invocations
Chronomantic Cogs (45)
Umbral Spellportal (70)
Spiteswarm Hive (40)

Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment

Total: 1990 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 2 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 111
Drops: 1

Danny: Gotta love those plucky murder-trees juicing the old…so very old… book for all its worth. This version revolves (as does any competitive build now) around the Warsong Bomb – that’s what all the endless spells are for essentially, to add cast attempts and extend range for fully loading up on the Warsong’s scroll spell. It also brings two Treelord (and ancient and normal) for save stacking, synergy, and durable monsters, and rounds it off with a killer tree blob – 6 sycthes (great value, good rend) and 3 swords (can spike mortals on 6s to wound) offering play into both hordes and tankier, high save stuff. Doesn’t look like 3-2 is going to be the best this kind of list can do for long – but congrats for the result on hard-mode in the meantime!

Final Tournament Placings