The 2023 Las Vegas Open is coming in hot with 7 rounds and 100 attendees! Some of killteam’s biggest and brightest stars are in attendance, with the #2 worldwide spot up for grabs for a select few. We’ve got 4 out of 5 of the US’s top teams headed into the fray, with the potential for Plasma Spam to break into the top slot for the 2022 season. Lusters Workshop is also unveiling the new terrain to break up the worries of last year’s block city debacle! Who’s going to come out on top in Games Workshop’s most competitive game!
The path to ITC #1
As far as the race for #1 on ITC is concerned the race is over, and Goonhammer contributor Ace has won. The now second-largest event, Madrid Major – a 90 person, 10-round tournament in Spain was worth 224 points, which means the top US spots can only hope to gain 40-70 points from their lowest tournaments being replaced with 220+.
Chris B., from California, has 919.09 points and can replace a 170.13 point tournament meaning they’d be roughly projected to end around 970 putting him at the #2 spot over Carlos D. Meanwhile New Mexico champion Orion W, of Plasma Spam fame, has 853.66 points, and could replace 145.14 points. This would catapult Orion to 930~ points which could end up making Orion the US #1, if Chris B misses the mark this weekend.
Unfortunately for the rest of the US field even a 200-point jump in score wouldn’t allow them to surpass Chris B at the top of the US leaderboards. So barring some big surprises we’d expect Chris B to remain the #1 US player for the 2022 season.
Who’s the best team?
The race for the #1 team worldwide slot is again fully locked up in the Spanish warchest. 2022 saw the Spanish take to Killteam in glorious fashion running a gauntlet of tournaments and solidifying the region as the kings of Killteam. Meanwhile the battle for US #1 rages on with Plasma Spam, Bay Area Tournament Squad, and FlybyKnights all putting members into the arena. Plasma Spam heads in with the largest team, and by all accounts should keep a stranglehold on #1 with a current lead of 200 points over FlybyKnights. If Alex Squires, and co can soar over the plasma fire there remains an avenue for them to leave LVO as US’s #1 team! However, the Bay Area Tournament Squad is going out in full force, and I’m sure their team selections will play a big part in the LVO meta.
Metawatch
Post December patch most competitive players were aghast at Navy Breachers remaining unchanged with their high win rate, and I’d expect them to continue doing well. Intercession and Legionaries will remain competitive elite rosters stat checking folks in force. Since the format is Open we should see the boogeymen of horde teams out in full force, I’d expect strong showings from Pathfinders, Veteran Guard, and the newly buffed Farstalker Kinband. The real crux of the format will be those players who can rise to the top and score well, and I’m hoping for a good spread post day 1.
Some teams who really benefit from the additional CP and flexibility during set up like Kommandos, could also lead to some surprises. The ability to forward deploy 3 boys on tp1 on Open terrain is a fear, mostly forgotten by the meta. Some across the stars look for Elucia Vane to strike out to new heights. In the end it’s all about the players not the teams, especially post December changes.
Players to Watch
If we’re following the bright stars of the Killteam scene we’ve got Chris B. coming out to cement his status as top dog in the US circuit, will he continue playing Blooded, or bring out some new toys? His team Bay Area Tournament Squad has recently picked up new members including Auston, a budding Pathfinder player from SoCal I’m expecting to do well!
Meanwhile from the East Coast Plasma Spam is rolling deep with Orion W, Janis G, Nick C and crew, each a distinguished player in their own rights. Their games will be the ones to keep an eye on, piloting Gellerpox, Intercession and Veteran Guard respectively (I suspect). Also from Brooklyn hails the champion of the New York Open Adrian B. fielding his wonderfully customized deathwatch, if you spot him be sure to check out his kit bashes!
SoCal’s finest Alex Squire heads out into the Las Vegas desert seemingly alone to fly to the top tables. We’ll see if the Hunter Clade specialist can shrug off GW’s recent nerfs and navigate the field. While the nerfs might affect the team, Hunter Clade remains a dangerous team full of good weapons, equipment and ploys. I’ve also heard good things about James R on Gellerpox, Rob M on Corsairs, and Anthony M. piloting Wyrmblade.
Season’s End
All in all it’ll be a glorious conclusion to the first full year of Killteam 2022, and we’re sure to see some interesting results in a wide open field of 100. Will Chris B take the #2 spot from Carlos? Can Plasma Spam remain the #1 US team? Will the preview for another 10-man team, and murderous elves turn the meta on its head? Only time and dice will tell the tale, and I’m glad you took the time to hang out with me and take a peep.
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