This is the Slaanesh tournament winning list that was used to win the GH 500 in March 2020!
I had the privilege of sitting down with Georg Bobkov to talk in-depth about his Slaanesh tournament winning list. It was amazing talking to him and I hope to face him in a tournament sometime soon!
Texas Tournament Season has started early this year with the GH 500. The Gamer’s Hollow hosted a GT the 29th of February and 1st of March as an ITC event. As an early GT in the 2020 ITC season, the Tournament Organizer decided on using the 2019 Champions Missions pack. The new FAQs and Erratas in regards to Space marines were in effect.
Thirty-four players came to get a head start on points this season. One such player, Tyler Parker, managed to jump into the top 10 worldwide. Later he placed first with the Asuryani army after his second-place showing. The one player he failed to conquer was his round three opponent representing She Who Thirst, Georg Bobkov, and his Slaanesh army.
Slaanesh List Introduction:
Georg’s Slaanesh tournament winning list (check out the rules set from Games Workshop) is a Chaos soup army. The list features the possessed bomb with extra seasonings and different spices. To be a Slaanesh army in the ITC faction breakdown every unit that is not unaligned must have the Slaanesh keyword so his Possessed bomb isn’t your typical Nurgle adherents and rather than be Alpha legion they are played as Night Lords.
This leads to a more active playstyle of the possessed bomb as they can’t be concealed and they are safer in combat versus shooting.
Taking it further…
With Nights Lords stratagems to prevent a unit from falling back as well as the Contorted Epitome, he can ensure that his units are nice and safe in cc. The latter mechanism also benefits greatly from the Night Lords leadership reduction.
Further utility tools are in his list in the form of the warp talons and Demon prince, which provide possibilities to deny overwatch. His Emperor’s Children Terminators are likely to make key charges due to the stratagem Honor the Prince, which allows him to turn any of the charge dice into a 6. The Greater Possessed is a field commander with Shepherd of the True faith field commander trait that allows for mortal wounds on an unmodified 6s.
Georg’s Slaanesh Winning List:
I interviewed Georg to try and understand his Slaanesh tournament winning list but let me preface this with his list as the combos can be a bit much and command point intensive.
- Emperor’s Children Battalion
- Daemon Prince with wings Malefic Talon, Warp bolter Warlord
- Sorcerer: Combi-bolter, Force staff
- 10 man cultist squads with autoguns x3
- Terminators 2 Power fist, 5 Chainaxe, all combi-bolter
- Night Lords Demonkin Ritualist Battalion
- Dark Apostle
- Master of possession
- 10 man Cultist squads with autopistols x3
- Greater possessed Shepherd of the True Faith
- 20 Possessed: Icon of excess
- 6 Warp Talons with paired Lightning Claws
- 3 man Obliterator squad
- Slaanesh Daemons Supreme Command
- Herald of Slaanesh
- Infernal Enraptures
- The Contorted Epitome
Georg and his Slaanesh Tournament Winning List Interview:
Georg, why did you go with Slaanesh Daemons?
“First of all, I love their speed, as charging after having advanced is huge. In several situations, I actually think they can be a bit more stable than the Nurgle ones. They lack the minus one to hit from the miasma of pestilence but have in exchange the Slaanesh psychic power that gives a 5+ feel no pain. This helps the Possessed a lot to survive versus multiple damage weapons. I do get more attacks as Slaanesh.
I could potentially get to exploding 2s to hit for Death to the False Emperor. This is from the Slaanesh Icon for a 5+ rather than a 6. Prescience for the +1 to hit brings it to a 4+. Night Lords have two 1 command point stratagems for an additional +1 to hit. Prey on the Weak bringing it to a 3+ and From the Night for a max of a 2+. All these extra attacks give you more chances to get the unmodified 6 to wound that deals a mortal wound in addition to the normal damage. I’ve never actually pulled off the 2+ to explode but I regularly get the 3+ Death to the false emperor.”
Well, what do you do versus non-Imperial Armies?
“Versus non-imperial units. Using the Herald of Slaanesh I play the stratagem Locus of Grace on it which gives additional attacks on a 6+ to wound for Slaanesh daemons. I then use Veterans of the Long War for a +1 to wound. If I don’t take the -1 to hit prayer from the Dark apostle, I can take the prayer Soul Terror Portent for another +1 to wound. This means on a 5+ from Veterans and possibly a 4+ to wound I can still get extra attacks.”
“Its very Slaaneshy with so much excess.”
“Against An imperial knight player at LVO, I charged 2 gallants at the same time with the possessed so that every 3+ exploded to hit and every 4+ exploded to wound. I was hitting and wounding on 2s re-rolling 1s through a spell from the Master of Possession. With their d3+2 attacks each because of hateful assault and the Daemonkin Ritualists stratagem. I rolled a 2 for the d3 and the 4 attacks per model together with all the mortal wounds was enough to kill both knights without the extra attacks. Its very Slaaneshy with so much excess.”
So the Toughness of Knights didn’t help?
“Possessed start at strength 5 but the greater possessed is +1 strength, the Heralds have their aura for a for another +1strenght and the Daemonkin Ritualists stratagem for +1 strength and attack. So I was strength 8 and plus 2 to wound from veterans of the long war and soul tearer portent.”
From your perspective what army gave you the most to worry about as far as abilities and builds that you thought would hurt your winning chances?
The Blood Angels with their Heroic Intervention on units that would make wrapping difficult. Especially against opponents also running a close combat army as they know what I am trying to do. Tremor shells and hammer anvil deployments definitely make it difficult as I can reliably advance and charge but get reduced so much by that stratagem. Going second against the Imperial Fist artillery list is nearly a guaranteed loss.
Space Marine Nerf…
After the Space Marine re-balancing, AKA nerf, how do you feel about the meta?
I managed to beat a Broviathan list at the LVO and that list was stupid, but space marines are not going away. They have troop units that can really do something, but I need to use a lot of CP on my units so am forced to take my troop units, though they hardly ever do something. I do worry that more Grey Knights will enter the meta which are hard for my list because of the 4 damage smite. As large portions of them come down via deep strike, I can hardly hide from all of them.
Looking forward!
What is your goal for the new ITC Season?
I want to be the highest-ranked Slaanesh player for 2020.
What changes did you make for the new season?
I was naturally really happy with the way my list worked in Nacogdoches as I already dropped a Contemptor and Daemon Prince for the 2020 season.
You’re not from around here, originally hailing from the Deutschland. What differences do you notice about the Texas meta and player base? Less beer or perhaps more English speaking?
I never played in Germany but rather in Scotland and Italy. Compared to Scotland there is more terrain which helps me as an assault army. But we would go to the bar more often in Scotland after playing especially on Tuesday evening League Night.
What are you painting right now?
Daemonettes, hopefully, they will get good in Psychic Awakening.
What are your future tournament plans?
My next big event will be at Dallas Open along with the rest of the Texas Championship Circuit because I am sponsored by Atomic Hobby Shop as an FNPro Team member.
It was great catching up with Georg and he definitely runs an interesting Slaanesh tournament winning list that takes a skilled pilot. I joked with him at the event that he lucked out because he didn’t have to face me. Never mind that I went 2-2-1 because I killed a Knight in overwatch with a drop pod and walked away a winner as far as I am concerned.
If you want to check out a Slaanesh Battle Report that I filmed previously, and that Georg remembered me from you can see that in the link above. And if you want to check out an older Slaanesh Battle Report check that out here.
This is how you get a free army list designed for you!
If you’d like the Nights Team to give you a free Army List designed for you free of charge click this link to schedule a time with one of our team members: https://nights-free-army-list.youcanbook.me
If you want to talk to the Nights at the Game Table team and discuss this Battle Report with them join Game Talk For Gamers.
If you already know how to play the game and you’d like a free guide that teaches you how to paint professional-looking miniatures, advanced tournament tips from a 40k World Champion, how to find more time to play, and simple methods to get cheap miniatures go here: http://bit.ly/40k-free-guide-fb
If you don’t know what Warhammer 40k is and how to play it check out the video that we made here just for you: https://youtu.be/mxLZ2GqN4R0
If you’d like a breakdown of the advanced tactics and strategies for all 40k armies, painting tutorials from a Golden Demon winner, secret battle reports and tons more consider becoming a Nights at the Game Table Member today. Click on this link to learn more: http://bit.ly/nights-40k-members-fb
As always thanks for reading!
Special thanks to Games Workshop for the use of their images and for making the best game ever!
