Fireside 40K Meta Discussion | Nov‘6

Warning- this one is quite visual :)

Recap of the ITT :)

November meta update and discussion

Liam VSL Interview

New Ultramarines Datasheets Breakdown — Marneus Calgar, Cato Sicarius, and the new Victrix Honor Guard (are they actually upgrades?)Back from Coventry and Raven Guard testing, and today we're talking ULTRAMARINES.Games Workshop just dropped new datasheets for:- Marneus Calgar (new version),- Cato Sicarius (Terminator armour profile),- Victrix Honor Guard (as a standalone unit).These have been rumoured for a while, and now that we’ve had time to think instead of just reacting, I’m walking through:- what actually changed,- how they compare to the current/old datasheets,- what combos they unlock in actual lists,- and whether they’re real competitive tools or just flavour.This is not hype, this is “would I take this to a tournament?”Topics in this episode:00:00 Intro / why Marines always get new toys 01:05 Ultramarines as a “character chassis” faction 02:05 Marneus Calgar (new profile) - No more 4+++ feel no pain (thank you) - Gains Deep Strike + Terminator keyword - Loses the built-in Victrix “bodyguard package”, becomes more modular - Fall back + shoot/charge AND advance + shoot/charge aura - Why I think he’s ~110–120pts and what that means for list design - Which hosts he actually makes scary (Bladeguard, Eradicators, Stern Guard, Terminators) - Why flexibility - raw stat brick now10:50 Cato Sicarius - Terminator armour, 2+/4++, 5W - Reworked melee kit: strike / sweep / coup de grâce - His heroic intervention aura is cleaner (unit, not just himself) - BUT: loses Scout + Assault from the old datasheet (which was huge) - Can basically only join Victrix now - Does that actually beat just running old Sicarius or a different captain?18:40 Victrix Honor Guard (now their own unit) - Now a standalone choice (you can run multiple squads) - 2+ save, 4W, OC2 bodies with “minus 1 to wound” when led by a Captain/Chapter Master - Banner gives +1 Str / +1 AP once per game - Blood Surge exists, but I explain why blood surge is easier to play around at high skill levels - Twin-linked precision beatstick inside the squad - Why they start overlapping with/possibly replacing Terminators and Company Heroes in a lot of shells25:20 Are these TRUE upgrades? - New Marneus vs old Marneus: trades raw durability (no 4+++/FNP brick) for list freedom and CP utility. This is probably a win. - New Sicarius vs old Sicarius: weapon glow-up, but losing Scout + Assault and being basically glued to Victrix might be a net downgrade. - Victrix vs Terminators/Company Heroes: 4W OC2 minus-one-to-wound infantry with decent guns and melee… feels like “better Terminators” in a lot of lists.31:10 List concepts - Cheap Marneus “CP battery + mobility aura” instead of the full Gilman/Calgar/Victrix bus - Victrix + a budget Lieutenant in a Rhino to create a mobile OC brick that can reactive move / blood surge onto points - Eradicators + Marneus for advance-shoot-charge vs Combined Arms style Guard - Terminators + Marneus using 1CP -1 Damage in melee in First Company Task Force for combat mirror work / teams formats34:15 What I’m doing next - I’ll be building some prototype Ultramarines lists assuming reasonable points costs (I’m benchmarking Victrix at -40ppm and “lean Marneus” at ~110–120) - I’ll show which shells feel like real event lists vs win-more fluffIf you’ve already theorycrafted something disgusting with the new datasheets (especially Victrix bricks or Rhino-delivery ideas), drop it in the comments. If you’ve got an archetype you want me to build on video, tell me and I’ll include it.Also live right now:- Coventry recap (7-1, Raven Guard in practice, Sisters tech, Guard jail setups)- Grey Knights Warp-Bane Task Force masterclass with Innes (Stormraven abuse, macro, matchups)- Guard Combined Arms masterclass with Naim (3 terrain formats, 3 lists, role-by-role breakdown)

🔥 Welcome back to Fireside! In this episode, Dave and Vik dive deep into the London Grand Tournament (LGT) 2025 – now officially the largest singles Warhammer 40K tournament in history with over 1,050 players!We cover:The rise of the LGT vs. LVO as the world’s biggest singles eventMeta breakdown: most popular factions, sleeper picks & underdogsWhy World Eaters top the charts, the surprise surge of Aeldari, and the combat-heavy shakeup with Blood AngelsHow elite players like Liam, Innis, Brian, and Skari are approaching the tournament with Chaos Space Marines, Space Marines, Orks, and DrukhariOur honest predictions on who might take the crown and which “underdog” factions could overperformIf you’re curious about the current 40K competitive meta, the LGT scene, or want insights into list choices from some of the best players in the world, this is the breakdown you don’t want to miss.⚔️ Who’s your pick to win LGT 2025? Drop it in the comments!👉 Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the bell for more Fireside deep dives on competitive Warhammer 40K.00:00 Introduction to the Podcast00:26 Overview of the London Grand Tournament01:50 Meta Breakdown and Popular Armies04:35 Discussion on World Eaters and Other Armies14:11 Low Representation Factions20:28 Interesting Lists and Strategies30:01 Analyzing Fuegan and Fire Dragons30:25 Black Templars Deep Dive31:22 Space Marines in the Meta32:05 Raven Guard Strategy Discussion36:54 Orks and Battle Wagons42:24 Drukhari Reaper's Wager Breakdown48:51 Tournament Predictions and Final ThoughtsCheck out our E-courses for competitive Warhammer at https://40kfireside.com

Check out our bespoke collection of Fireside Gaming Aids (shipping worldwide!): https://fatdwarf.co.uk/collections/fireside-gamesJoin YouTube Membership for access to our Members-only videos and join at the 'Discord-Level' for access to our amazing Discord community, open-coaching with top players and TTS tournaments:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyYYtA8JdF-04NKO7ZmORkQ/joinCheck out our Competitive 40K Masterclasses:https://40kfireside.com/Welcome to 40K Fireside! In this video, we deep dive into the current Warhammer 40,000 meta and rank every faction in the game in our definitive Tier List. Whether you play Space Marines, Tyranids, Adepta Sororitas, or Knights — we’ve got insights, stats, and analysis to help you understand which armies are dominating, which are viable, and which lag behind in this balance window.👉 Don’t forget to:Like & Subscribe if you enjoy content breaking down the current metaHit the notification bell so you don’t miss our future faction guides, army reviews, and strategy videos

Hey there everyone,Vik and I have both been LONG TIME Knight players, absolute power houses and veterans of the faction!So we're here to discuss some of the two more powerful Knight detachments and the new Knight Defender. We've got movement examples, and discuss a lot about hwo this impacts the game.We cover our thoughts on how design spaces like this impact the wider philosophy of the game we all love, and question some of the impacts it might have in the meta directly ahead.This IK book does seem to be quite strong, with a lot of powerful abilities, and buffs in places like thunderstomp that really cover a lot of flaws in the previous book.Let us know what your thoughts are, do you think the ALPHA STRIKE potential of the new knights is problematic? Or will you be able to counter punch hard enough?

Mr Votann is here guys!Earlier in the week Tim and I recorded the Votann Masterclass :) It was an absolute blast! Tim has over 30+ games with Votann already.So we sat down to evaluate all of the Votann units and the detachments!We decided to rank each datasheet with regards to its best detachments, some units like Yeigars are just super auto include, whereas others, like berserks are more applicable in Delve Assault :)In addition, Tim's thoughts on what the best detachments are for a WTC singles perspective, we're quite confident Bandfast will be getting changed(?) and Delve looks very good too!Some really interesting takes here, contrary to the meta opinion!

Hey everyone,I had a really fun time putting this together, I asked my friends and other players if they had any pre-turn things they do. I've come back and distilled it down to 5 key rules that you can take away to implement a stronger game plan.They are:THE POITNS:You win games of Warhammer... by having the most amount of points.PRE-MEASURING:"Hey, can you put a dice where you maximum movement is?”MACRO STRATEGY:"What's the current primary differential, am I behind where my macro strategy says I should be?"LINKING TURNS:"What is the destination this unit wants to get to, how can I link 2 movement turns to achieve that?"THREAT PRIORITY:"What are the top 3 threats on the board this turn, and how can I use non-killing ways to nullify them?"Enjoy, and let me know what your effective beginning of turn rituals are :)