This last weekend we were joined by a great group of 20 guys for our Twin-Linked Team Tournament! We did our best to adapt 8th Edition to team tournament format. At 2,000 pts a team, each player brought a 1,000pt list that operated mostly as independent armies. Overall we learned a lot and will be making some changes to our format in the future. Now are you ready to hear about the Best Armies at the Twin-Linked! Team Tournament?
The Data
| Faction | Average Battle Points | Player Count |
| Daemons | 53* | 3 |
| Imperial Guard | 36.8 | 5 |
| Grey Knights | 32 | 2 |
| Tau | 30.5 | 2 |
| Space Wolves | 29 | 1 |
| Death Guard | 25 | 3 |
| Harlequins | 24 | 1 |
| Space Marines | 24 | 1 |
| Chaos Space Marines | 19 | 2 |
Analysis
Before we get right into it, I need to mention that one of the top Daemon lists snuck in an extra detachment that both we as TO’s, and their opponents missed until after the tournament. That extra detachment was a Supreme Command Detachment of 5 Malefic Lords. So yes, Daemons were the top army at this event but they’re getting a hard * this time. It’s just a little hard to deal with Magnus, Big Bird, and a ton of Malefic Lords.
The Top
The updated Imperial Guard came in at a clear second place. You can see that the Guard was the most played army and performed consistently well. Remember, however, that this tournament took effect the day before the FAQ was released. This meant we still had vehicles like Baneblades using the Take Cover! stratagem for a +1 cover. We’ll see if the Good Ole’ Guard can stay on top after the release of the FAQ.
Also at the top were Grey Knights, Tau, and surprisingly Space Wolves. The Grey Knights benefited from Astra Militarum allies and were played by mostly veteran Grey Knight players. One Tau army was also helped by Guard while the other Tau player teamed up with the Space Wolves. Possibly the best outing for Space Wolves yet, that army consisted of terminators backed up by characters and an extremely well painted flyer. Looks like several armies benefit from being teamed with long range firepower.
The Bottom
At the bottom of the rankings, we have Space Marines and Chaos Space Marines. The Chaos Space Marines player had to leave in the third round and played very few models. The only Space Marine list in the tournament was Guilliman and squads of missile launcher devastators. Against so many T8 guard vehicles and with a little less punch than the full 2,000 pts it looks like the Ultramarine gun line just wasn’t as effective.
Moving Forward
Overall I think I we did a pretty good job running our first team tournament in 8th Edition. We didn’t allow one army’s auras, special abilities, stratagems, or psychic powers to affect their teammate. There was also no requirement for a shared faction keyword on a team. This brought out some really interesting pairings that we normally wouldn’t get to see like Space Wolves and Tau. Our goal was to let people play their favorite army with whatever their friends wanted to play and I think we made that possible while not getting too crazy.
We did have our first major issue this tournament. Usually we award a bonus 1VP for submitting lists ahead of time which we can pre-approve. With the change up from our normal 3 detachment limit to only 2 detachments per 1,000pt list we missed a 3rd detachment in one player’s army. All of their opponents appear to have missed this as well until after the tournament. It didn’t help that the 3 detachment list took home the overall champion award.
After talking to several people in our gaming group it was suggested that we publish lists electronically on a Drop Box when the tournament starts. This should help TO’s and players have more transparency on lists. It’ll also mean that as codex get more specific, complex, and unique, we can get some help from the community on checking lists. At large events we just can’t know every single rule in every single army so we’ll still be checking lists but ask opponents to help out as well.
Our Own FAQ?
Finally, we are going to be looking forward to more direction from GW. If we don’t see significant FAQ’s or rule changes in Chapter Approved, we will be considering publishing our own FAQ similar to 7th Edition’s ITC rulings.
One example is that Smite has been so powerful at our events we are considering how to limit Malefic Lord and Primaris Psyker spams. We are considering that each successful cast of Smite adds +1 to the warp charge level needed in order to get it off in the same psychic round. The first Smite would be at warp charge 5, the second would then be at a 6, and then the third would be at a 7, etc. We’ll be playtesting this and would certainly appreciate any feedback you have.
We’re always looking for input to keep our events fun but also as competitive as possible! Feel free to contact us at [email protected] or comment on our Facebook Page!