Steel City RTT – First Tournament of 2026 with Houndpack Lance

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I recently attended my first tournament of 2026 at Steel City Gaming Club.




The event was very slickly run and packed with strong players. The overall standard felt noticeably higher than my local club, which is still relatively new to running events. That’s not a criticism at all—just an observation—but it did mean I was walking into a tougher environment than usual.

My main goal going in was simple: learn as much as I could from high-calibre opponents and, as always, have a positive day of gaming.

I covered my list in detail in the previous blog post, so I won’t repeat everything here. In short, I took Houndpack Lance:

My List – Houndpack Lance

  • 3 Brigands (1 Character – Final Howl)
  • 4 Stalkers (1 Character – Preyslayer’s Mantle)
  • 6 Huntsmen (1 Character)
  • 2×3 Nurglings
  • 1× Beast of Nurgle

Game 1 – Deathwatch (Blackspear Task Force)

Mission: Hidden Supplies – Search and Destroy
Terrain: UKTC

Opponent’s List (Highlights):

  • Watchmaster (double Oath enhancement)
  • Gravis Captain (extra Strength and Damage)
  • Lieutenant (Combi-bolter)
  • Techmarine
  • 2× Indomitus Kill Teams (Eradicators, Aggressors, Heavy Intercessors)
  • Kill Team with Heavy Hammers
  • 2×5 Terminators (3 Cyclone Launchers)
  • 2×5 Reivers
  • 5 Intercessors
  • 2 Ballistus Dreadnoughts

Pre-game Thoughts

This list had an intimidating amount of firepower backed by Oath of Moment, plus serious melee threats in the form of hammers, power fists, and a Gravis Captain who could comfortably pick up a War Dog. A very nasty round1.

Deployment and turn1


The Game

I won the roll-off and went first.

I pushed out along both flanks, using Nurglings aggressively up front to slow movement and dictate space. The game largely came down to whether my opponent could land his key charges. He made one, but failed two critical charges, which allowed me to start grinding the game back.

Late game:


Because he had staged aggressively for those charges, several units were left exposed. My shooting was inconsistent and, at times, frustrating, but it did just enough, eventually removing an Indomitus Kill Team, a Terminator unit, and a Reiver squad.

End game:


Both armies were close to being tabled by the end, but I was able to deny primary scoring at the right moments. The margin was comfortable early, but it tightened rapidly in the final turns.

Result: Win 60–55

After a quick lunch break, we jumped straight into Round 2.

Game 2 – Dark Angels (Gladius)

Mission: Linchpin – Crucible of Battle
Terrain: UKTC

Opponent’s List (Highlights):

  • The Lion
  • Azrael with 6 Inner Circle Companions
  • Gravis Captain
  • Lieutenant (Combi-bolter)
  • 5 Intercessors
  • 5 Scouts
  • 5 Jump Pack Intercessors
  • 3×5 Deathwing Knights
  • Landspeeder Vengeance
  • 3 Plasma Inceptors

I won the roll-off again and went first.

My opponent held a significant portion of his army in deep strike, including the Plasma Inceptors, Gravis Captain, and a unit of Deathwing Knights.


Deployment and turn1


I pushed early to pressure the Scouts, leaving two alive, and deliberately chose not to charge them to avoid being pulled into Heroic Intervention range of the Deathwing Knights. The right flank was played very cautiously, with deliberate War Dog trades to deny scoring rather than overextend.


From the outset, this was a grind. It took multiple War Dogs working together to bring down even a single unit of mace-wielding Deathwing Knights.

The game ultimately came down to two pivotal moments:

  • Could an Intercessor squad in cover survive my shooting and Overwatch?
  • Could the Lion make a long charge to swing the primary?

The Intercessors lost one model to shooting and another to Overwatch, just enough to survive. The Lion popped Advance and Charge doctrine, rolled a 5" advance, and then made the 7" charge to delete a War Dog.

The end game:


On Linchpin, that swing was decisive. With a single midfield objective and his home field secured, my opponent scored 8 on primary, retained Defend Stronghold, and drew Overwhelming Force, resulting in a massive 15-point turn and an 8-point overall win.

Looking at the sheer amount of anti-vehicle, plus the Lion and Azrael’s unit, I was satisfied to keep the game close. It was frustrating to lose on such a late swing, but I’m not convinced there was a dramatically better line available to me.

Perhaps playing more aggressively on the right flank could have drawn resources away from my home objective—but even there, the denial came down to a very tight pile-in move.

Result: Loss 64-72

Game 3 – World Eaters (Berzerker Warband)

Opponent’s List:

  • Khârn the Betrayer + 10 Berzerkers (Rhino)
  • Lord on Juggernaut + 20 Berzerkers
  • Master of Executions + 10 Berzerkers
  • Slaughterbound + 3 Exalted Eightbound
  • 3 Exalted Eightbound
  • 2×3 Eightbound
  • 10 Jakhals
  • 2×2 Spawn

On paper, this was probably my worst matchup of the event: an extremely infantry-heavy list that could stage well, flood objectives, and bog down War Dogs indefinitely.

I won the roll-off again and went first, three games, three first turns.

Turn1:


I pushed aggressively on the extreme flanks, forcing long charges and limiting how many Berzerker units could meaningfully engage early. My opponent responded with a huge advance down my right flank, reducing a War Dog to just two wounds.

Turn 2 was where the game effectively ended. I drew Recover and Establish, and with Slaughterbound and Exalted Eightbound in deep strike, Rapid Ingress was inevitable. I tried to screen with a single War Dog centrally to score Establish, Nurglings and another Dog screened my other flanks, but it wasn’t enough.


The Exalted Eightbound came in behind the Berzerkers on my right flank. I failed to clear the Berzerkers in front of me, and from that point onward I was pinned in and going first, I was cornered.



I fought it out as best I could, scoring where possible, but my opponent played exactly the kind of aggressive, relentless pressure game that I myself have enjoyed running over the past few months. The War Dogs were overwhelmed one by one.

Result: Loss 92–51

Event Wrap-Up

That wraps up another RTT with Houndpack Lance.



I didn’t hit my target of a 2-1 finish, but I was largely happy with how I played. This event really highlighted the limits of Houndpack Lance at this level. I played cleanly overall, one minor mistake in the Dark Angels game (I could have blocked a primary denial on my home objective to give me 5pts and two against World Eaters resulted in a brutal loss, i should have screened better with Nurglings but I never truly felt able to express player skill in the way I wanted.

That’s a tough feeling, but also a valuable lesson.

I’ve loved playing Houndpack, and I still have it locked in for my local teams league, but since before Christmas I’ve been building other up armies and I’m keen to explore different factions before 11th edition arrives.

For now, a final note on the list: the Nurglings and Beast of Nurgle were excellent. My home objective came under pressure multiple times across the day, and they held firm every time. I’m a big fan, and they’ll be staying in the list for the league’s final rounds.

More reports to follow soon.

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