Top 10 40K Lists

Top 10 Competitive Warhammer 40K Lists October 2025

Welcome to another Top 10 Warhammer 40K Lists article, the monthly overview from Grimhammer Tactics covering the top performing Warhammer 40K lists for the month.

See all previous versions and the current edition of my Top 10 Warhammer 40K lists here.

Welcome again to another edition of my Top 10 Competitive Warhammer 40K lists this time for the month of October. This month was quite eventful seeing a few very large events to include the Las Vegas Open, Coventry GT, Tennessee Elite Open and the Paris Wargame Expo. These events boasted hundreds of players and was by far the busiest month for competitive 40K we have seen in a while. With that said, let’s dive right into the top 10 competitive Warhammer 40K lists for October 2025.

top 10 competitive warhammer 40k lists October 2025

1. Wesley St Hines – Astra Militarum – LVO Warhammer Champs

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If you have ever wanted to suffer through exhausting back pain from pushing around 200+ models over 3 days and 10 rounds of Warhammer 40K then this is the list for you! Ever wonder what it would be like to have to shoot at that many models all with a 3+ save after all modifiers including your AP? Sounds miserable doesn’t it? That’s because it is. This list is pure torture to play against and perhaps the only more agonizing thing than having to play against this list is actually piloting it over a weekend. If you’re into rage-inducing nightmare fuel then yeah this is probably the army list for you. Just bring the ibuprofen because you’re going to need it.

2. Trae Burnett – Chaos Space Marines – Denver Fight Club October Open 2025

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An alternate version to Liam vsl’s CSM list that won the London GT back in September which I featured in last month’s Top 10 Competitive 40K Lists article, this build continues to prove it’s value winning yet another major event. Turns out Fabius Bile with a Chosen brick is pretty dang impressive being able to boost their Strength on their melee attacks and Toughness by 1 and setting one damage to 0 per turn on the unit. This makes for a tanky unit that is difficult to remove. In this version of the list we see a smaller squad of Warp Talons and the addition of a Disco Lord with the Eye of Abaddon enhancement to gain a CP on a 4+ when the Focus of Hatred target is destroyed. All in all a powerful build that seems to be continuing to gain momentum in the competitive scene.

3. Samuel Pope – Tyranids – Battle for Salvation GT 2025

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Sam Pope rocks a horde Tyranids army to an undefeated finish. Pushing out 80 Termagants with a Tervigon to replenish casualties, this list makes use of some great tools in the old standby Invasion Fleet detachment. It’s not fancy, it’s not pretty but Sam makes it work. Battle for Salvation GT is a long-standing event and this year boasted over 140 players. Tyranids seem to be gaining a bit of steam post-Q3 Balance Dataslate and Invasion Fleet has proven it can still stand up to the test in competitive 40K events.

4. Hunter Nichols – Space Wolves – Mobtown Mayhem

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Speaking of old faithful, Space Wolves seem to be continuing to ride the Stormlance wave post-codex. While Saga of the Beastslayer seemed to be the detachment players were leaning into after the codex was released, it seems Space Wolves players have circled back to what works. An aggressive Stormlance build that takes advantage of full army Advance and Charge rules and that ever-important full reactive move stratagem. I know Hunter personally and have played him before at events. He’s a solid dude and a remarkable player. Kudos to him for taking this army to an undefeated finish and a GT win.

5. Ken Edwards – T’au Empire – Tennessee Elite Open 2025

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Another 100+ player event the Tennessee Elite Open is quickly becoming one of the southeastern United States’ premier super majors. Boasting amazing quality tables and awesome trophies with a truly professional staff of judges, this event is quickly rising to become one of the best in the country. Ken Edwards takes a T’au Kauyon list all the way to the top with an undefeated finish. With triple Riptides complimented by powerful shooting from Skyrays, this build is becoming increasingly popular in this new meta and I expect to see a similar build see a lot of success at the World Champs event in Atlanta in November.

6. Alban de Polignac – Death Guard – Paris Wargame Expo 2025

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Wait…no! Death Guard were supposed to be DoA after the Q3 Balance Dataslate! What are they doing here?! Turns out they are still a force to be reckoned with in the hands of the right general. The Paris Wargame Expo was the 2nd largest event of the month of October boasting nearly 400 players. Alban took the traditional Virulent Vectorium build all the way to an undefeated finish beating legendary Mani Cheema and his Aeldari in the finals. Death Guard aren’t done yet so don’t sleep on them!

7. T Chambliss – Adeptus Sororitas – Dragons Lair Open 2025

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Yet again the Sisters bring the pain to win another major competitive 40K event since the Q3 Balance Dataslate. Sitting now at the 2nd highest win rate at 56% as of October 15th via the data on Stat-Check, Adeptus Sororitas continue piling up the Ws. And it’s not all locked into one build either. Multiple variations of Sisters detachments are seeing success in the tournament scene which bodes fairly well for their internal balance. I’m interested to see how well they perform in the World Champs event next month.

8. Jack Tite – Adeptus Sororitas – The Coventry GT 3-Day 2025

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Again, the Sisters continue to rock picking up another major event win. I wrote about this build earlier this week in my Meta Monday Review article. The Coventry 3-Day event featured nearly 200 players. This time the Bringers of Flame take the top spot.

9. James Walsh – Dark Angels – Rooks 40K Open

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Company of Hunters is quickly rising to become Dark Angels most notable build since the Q3 Balance Dataslate having now won another major event. This list is an interesting take on the typical build leaning into 3 squads of Centurion Devastators and 2 Redemptor Dreads. Being able to Advance and shoot really ramps up the power of those Centurions who are quickly becoming a popular marine pick in detachments that offer that ability and Company of Hunters is just that.

10. Manuel Wayand – World Eaters – Corsair Open GT

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Heading over to Germany for the Corsair Open GT, we see an interesting take on the World Eaters Berzerker Warband build. Manuel opts not to take the 20 man bricks of Berserkers that have become increasingly popular World Eaters meta staples and instead uses those points to drop in 2 Forgefiends. Despite their recent huge points hike in the Q3 Balance Dataslate, they still pose a serious threat to MSU style builds and at 170 points are serviceable to take still. This list is pretty straightforward as it’s looking to get into your face as fast as possible with some of the best melee units in the game presently…as it should be. Congrats to Manuel for taking this to an undefeated finish and a major victory.

Final Thoughts

There seems to be a lot of variation of armies and builds winning these major events which is great to see. I think the meta is probably the healthiest it’s been in all of 10th edition which bodes well going into the World Championships of Warhammer next month. Sadly although I did earn a golden ticket to the event myself I will be unable to attend due to a prior family obligation. But maybe in 2026 if the stars align properly I can make it! October was a huge month for events boasting several major and super major level events across the globe and gives us a good indication of the current state of the meta.

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See you on the tabletop.