Let’s hear it for Peter Kreitl aka ORKMANN, making his PC debut with this article. You can read more about Peter K and his background and achievements here.
Welcome to our first TTS Dispatch, which will be a regular column presented by Peter Kreitl, aka ORKMANN moving forward. A lot of the world’s best players lock horns regularly on TTS, and the aim of this series will be to keep those of us who aren’t plugged in to that world updated on what’s happening:
- What’s been winning on TTS that could be seen at your local GT in the near future?
- What solutions people have found to tackle builds that are bullying the meta?
- Whether certain spam / meme lists are actually a thing (since they can hit the table there so much quicker and cheaper)
- Which lists or meta developments might be relevant only to TTS only, and which might have more relevance on the physical tabletop
Over to you mate. ~Peter A
“This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill – the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill – you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.”
Welcome to the rabbit hole
Tabletop Simulator (TTS) is a computer program that allows you to play your favourite tabletop and wargames online. The base game simply provides a virtual 3D tabletop, and you can access individual games like AOS via free user-made mods.
TTS saw a surge in popularity during the Covid era. The first online AOS tournaments were mostly one-day events, but since the world has reopened the scene quickly shifted to a league format, where you typically have 1-2 weeks to arrange your games. While in the dark days of lockdown playing on TTS was a necessity, nowadays it is much more of a tool used by competitive players to test lists and practice.
It’s an old debate how relevant TTS results are to real-life gaming, or just in general how useful it is practicing in a virtual environment instead of grinding games on the tabletop. As much as it’s a cliché, you have to find the golden middle. Playing games in real life is important, especially if you struggle with time management. On the other hand, once you have developed a solid tabletop routine, practicing online can be very rewarding. Stepping out of your local meta is always a good idea, and TTS gives you access to the thriving international filth chaser Warhammer community.
In this series I will cover the TTS scene, focusing on major tournaments, trends and popular lists. I will show you the good and the ugly, the brilliant and the jank, and give you my expert guesstimates on how likely those lists are to make it to the tabletop.
Event Coverage: Release the Beast (RTB) 11
Over the last few years TTS has become a prime practice space for Team tournaments. Among these, RTB stands out as the most popular and high-profile, featuring a four-round, eight-player Team format organized by none other than former Team Australia captain and legendary content creator, Stuart “Irongutsman” McCowan.
The latest event in the series just concluded with a record-breaking 34 teams and 272 players participating. The tournament was won by Team Onwards, led by Team Germany’s captain Toby Schwarz. Congratulations to them on an amazing performance!
You can see the full set of lists right here, and they reflect the state of the TTS meta at the end of June 2025. Cities of Sigmar, Skaven, and Sylvaneth were among the most popular armies. However, when looking at the results, Kruleboyz and pre-Battletome Khorne lists were the best performers—alongside a lone hero piloting King Brodd’s AoR. Notably underperforming armies included Nurgle and Lumineth. It’ll be exciting to see how the meta evolves in the coming months!
The table below shows the average points scored by each army—a metric that’s often more relevant in Teams formats than raw Win rates, since they typically score using an adjusted VP differential method. In RTB players earned between 0 and 90 points per game:
TTS list review
It’s time for a new KO tome, darling
Tank: So what do you need? Besides a miracle.
Neo: Guns. Lots of guns.
Kharadron Overlords is an army that GW has notoriously struggled to balance. The new KO Battletome has arrived so it’s that time of the edition when all KO players are anxiously studying the new rules, wondering whether they’ll be “That Guy” again, or if there’s hope they won’t be avoided at the local club for the next three years.
Seasoned TTS players of course would never entertain such thoughts, and the quest to find the Next Broken Thing is never-ending. While the jury is still out on the power level of the new tome, we have already seen some beautiful creations.
Since this is the very first TTS-style list I am showcasing, it has to be none other than a glorious spam list. The new Vongrims are literally made for this: while the warscrolls are far from broken, they’re dirt cheap at 90 and 100 points. With 208 wounds on a 4+ save, 12” Flying move, 6+ ward on objectives, and of course a lot of dakka, what’s not to like1?
How likely is it to see this on the tabletop?
It’s extremely unlikely to see 100 of them, but it’s probably more reasonable to take a ship and a few more heroes anyway. As the production meta progresses, with the current points level I can easily see people bringing 20-60 of them.
The List
Yes, yes I know I shouldn’t be taking Auxiliaries, but this way I managed to reach the magical 100 model count. For horde enjoyers like myself this is the ultimate dream: the Elite Horde Army.
Kharadron Overlords
Pioneers and Scavengers
General’s Handbook 2025-26
Auxiliary Units: 10
Drops: 11
Battle Tactic Cards: Scouting Force, Restless Energy
General’s Regiment
Null-Khemist (130)
• General
• Shrewd Opportunist
• Celestium Burst Grenade
Vongrim Salvagers (200)
• Reinforced
Vongrim Salvagers (200)
• Reinforced
Vongrim Salvagers (200)
• Reinforced
Vongrim Salvagers (100)
Auxiliary Units
Vongrim Harpoon Crew (180)
• Reinforced
Vongrim Harpoon Crew (180)
• Reinforced
Vongrim Harpoon Crew (180)
• Reinforced
Vongrim Harpoon Crew (90)
Vongrim Harpoon Crew (90)
Vongrim Harpoon Crew (90)
Vongrim Harpoon Crew (90)
Vongrim Harpoon Crew (90)
Vongrim Harpoon Crew (90)
Vongrim Harpoon Crew (90)
Faction Terrain
Zontari Endrin Dock
The new KO book has already started to make a huge impact on the tabletop, with a variety of builds looking strong. If you’re playing the army there’s a lot to work with – and if you’re playing against it, don’t say you weren’t warned!
We are the Gorechosen Ones
If there’s a standout in the new Khorne battletome, it’s the Gorechosen AoR. On the surface, it’s a fun, thematic army—but the battle traits are simply overtuned. Crit mortals, a 4+ ward across the entire army—it’s no surprise that, since the first leaks dropped, it has attracted a lot of attention on TTS. The current consensus is that the army is a bit broken, and some communities are already considering preemptively banning it.
How likely is it to see this on the tabletop?
Very likely. First of all, it’s a low model count army, which makes it easier for the production meta. Secondly, many Khorne players will already own at least half the army, thanks to various starter boxes.
The List
The new Deathbringer is clearly the star of the show. In the TTS world, you could easily see 10–12 of them in a list. The following version is a more subtle one, running only six. This is probably closer to what we’ll see on the real-world tabletop.
Chosen Ones 1990/2000 pts
Blades of Khorne | Gorechosen Champions Army of Renown
General’s Handbook 2025-26
Drops: 4
Prayer Lore – Gorechosen Champions Prayer Lore
Manifestation Lore – Gorechosen Champions Manifestation Lore
Battle Tactic Cards: Attuned to Ghyran, Restless Energy
General’s Regiment
Mighty Lord of Khorne (150)
• General
Bloodsecrator (130)
• The Scarring Blade
Deathbringer (120)
• Crowned in Butchery
Deathbringer (120)
• Warmonger’s Icon
Bloodstoker (100)
Regiment 1
Slaughterpriest (130)
Bloodstoker (100)
Skullgrinder (100)
Skullgrinder (100)
Regiment 2
Slaughterpriest (130)
Deathbringer (120)
Deathbringer (120)
Skullgrinder (100)
Regiment 3
Realmgore Ritualist (130)
Deathbringer (120)
Deathbringer (120)
Skullgrinder (100)
Faction terrain
Skull Altar
If you’re looking at this and wondering how bad a bunch of 6-wound heroes can possibly be, remember that the 4++ ward alone makes them all effectively 12-wound heroes, so it’s probably a lot tougher than you think.
The other key tech to watch out for is:
- The Scarring Blade adds D3 extra attacks army-wide. The bearer does take D3 mortal wounds, but he can negate those with the 4++ ward.
- The Warmonger’s Icon gives this model and D3 friendly models within combat range Strike First.
- Crowned in Butchery gives +20 OC to this one model, so at 22 OC he alone can outcap a Mega-Gargant.
If you’ve got ways to isolate the heroes with those enhancements you’ll be wise to do so – they add a lot to the army – and Peter Atkinson has already written an article for our Patrons with some ideas on how to tackle this list, so check that out.
If you’ve got a tournament coming up this weekend, you need to be prepared to tackle this army – don’t get a nasty surprise when you charge the guy carrying The Warmonger’s Icon and his mates all hit you first. If you think you’ve got it all figured out, then check out our Listbuilding Challenge – and if you don’t have any other ideas, you could always just try and shoot them off with new KO 🤷♂️.
If you’d like to help us continue our work, we’d love to have your support. All Patreon Tiers include Discord access, exclusive articles and regular contests. Our Tiers are priced to be within everyone’s reach, so please click here to join us today!
- The models? ~Pete A ↩︎
Plastic Craic 
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