After a true clash of TLAOK Titans at Michigan GT last week and an incredible 1st place finish by Ben Rislove (Spires), it’s time to sit back and review the top 3 lists! I am Leo, Rules Designer for Conquest TLAOK and First Blood and I’ll be your guide into the state of the game!
1st Place Ben Rislove (Spires)
Biomancer: Warlord, Ablative Flesh, Unstable Enhancement, Fleshcarver, Tier 2 Flesh
- Force-Grown Drones (7)
- Force-Grown Drones (3)
- Abomination (1)
- Abomination (1)
High Clone Executor: Double Time
- Vanguard Clone Infiltrators (4): Leader
- Vanguard Clones (3): Standard Bearer, Leader
Lineage Highborne:
- Avatara (5): Leader
- Avatara (3): Leader
- Incarnate Sentinels (3): Leader
Ben brought a Spires staple list, the utility of the Avatara combined with the sheer staying power a Biomancer can provide, makes this an incredibly difficult force to dislodge from Objectives. The Biomancer is well protected in a crowd of Drones whilst the Abominations take the flanks! An excellent list with excellent board coverage!
2nd Place Justin Bingham (Spires)
Lineage Highborne: Warlord, Pheromantic Override, Command Pheromones, Adaptive Evolution
- Avatara (3): Superior Creations, Leader, Standard Bearer
- Avatara (3): Superior Creations, Leader, Standard Bearer
High Clone Executor: Marksmanship, Fire and Advance, Burrowing Parasites
- Force-Grown Drones (3): Catabolic Node
- Vanguard Clone Infiltrators (5): Leader
Biomancer: Tier 2 Flesh, Fleshcarver, Unstable Enhancement
- Force-Grown Drones (5): Catabolic Node, Pheromonic Node
- Abomination (1)
Biomancer: Tier 2 Flesh, Biomantic Plague Node, Unstable Enhancement
- Force-Grown Drones (4): Pheromonic Node
- Abomination (1)
Much like Ben, Justin brought us his version of the Avatara & Biomancer combo! This time the Lineage Highborne takes the lead and brings its Superior creations with it along with multiple powerful upgrades, this Highborne is ready to go toe-to-toe with pretty much everything their opponent can throw at them!
3rd Place Jeff Warner (W’adrhŭn)
Matriarch Queen: Apex Master, Touched by the Goddess, Death
- Hunters (3) Leader
- Warbred (3)
- Apex Predator (1)
Matriarch Queen: Warlord, Wasteland Adder, Conquest Tier 1, Death’s Gaze, Death
- Braves (8): Champion, Standard Bearer, Leader
- Warbred (3)
- Warbred (3)
- Apex Predator (1)
Scion of Conquest: Focused, Arcane Tier 2, Cacophony, Beast Drums, Death
- Blooded (4): Champion, Leader
Jeff went thematic with this one having 9 Warbred following his two Matriarch Queens. Double Apex’s is a staple of W’adrhŭn lists exerting a ton of pressure whilst the Braves can make it incredibly difficult to take Objectives from them especially when they cannot be Broken.
Designer’s Thoughts
The Biomancer/Avatara combo is a really hard nut to crack, the Biomancer’s incredible healing potential makes chip damage on the Avatara completely inconsequential and forces the opponent to overcommit. Taking out the Biomancer first seems to be the only way to go and any Spire player worth their biomass will hide them behind tons of force grown flesh.
Having faced a similar list myself playing in the London GT, a post about this coming next week, it took the combined effort of some very hard working Dragonslayers and Thanes to overcome the Avatara and ultimately achieve victory over my Spires opponent.
Jeff, one of the best W’adrhŭn players, brought a very thematic and powerful list to this GT. Combining Death’s Gaze with 8 Stands of Braves is bound to put any Enemy Regiment into a world of pain, not to mention what can happen under the influence of the Cult of Death.
How do you approach list building? Would you build any of these lists differently and how would your list compare to them? Make sure to join our Discord here and join our international Conquest Community! Coming up next the London GT lists!
