-/28 Staff Predictions for the U.S. Kings of War Masters

The -/28 Staff have pooled together their knowledge, expertise, and skill in the art of bullsh*tting in order to put together these predictions for the U.S. Kings of War Masters. Nod your head in agreement, sigh in resignation, or shake your fist with rage… we’ll take any response as long as it increases the hype and anticipation surrounding this glorious event!

Note – I posted each list as they appear in the predictions, but if you want to view all of the lists at once follow this link.

Author	Greg Person
Master	Chris Fisher	Rationale	With a mere five War Engines, some might call Chris’ list tame. They’d be wrong. He’s put together a hard-as-nails list that contains all the ingredients to success. Serious ranged threat? Check. Flying Heroes with Unit Strength? Check. Hordes of Infantry with Ensnare and Phalanx? Check. Cheap Regiments and Troops to carry Loot Tokens or sit on Objectives? Check. Combine that with Chris’ penchant for high-level strategy and his ability to be patient (a skill this author notably lacks on the tabletop), and I think he has a real shot at becoming the next Master.
Favorite List	Alex Chaves	Rationale	Alex’s list is a nice balance between De 6 Anvils, De 6 or Fearless Hammers, and sneaky support units. Martyr’s Prayer and Iron Resolve will make it that much harder for opponents to shift his units, and the two Regiments of Dwarf Shieldbreakers with Scout and Pathfinder are nothing to sneeze at. This list looks like it is competitive without being overpowered, and I would have a lot of fun fielding it myself.
Cringiest List	George O’Connell	Rationale	Of all the War Engine spam lists, George’s is the most “efficient.” He has spent the fewest points possible (Rabble Hordes and Regiments) in order to unlock all the filth you could possibly pack into 2300 points. Do I think he will win some games? Definitely. Do I think he will win the tournament? No. There are plenty of armies (see his round one opponent) that were built specifically to counter this monstrosity. Maybe some people enjoy facing off against a list like this, but for me, it’s a hard pass.
Best Region	South	Rationale	No real reason, other than the fact that they have won it in all of the previous years!
Dark Horse	Chris Murphy	Rationale	This is the first time Chris will be attending the Masters, and not for lack of qualifying. He has had scheduling conflicts in the previous years and as such, the nation hasn’t gotten to witness this man’s superior tactics and sportsmanship. Sure, he has an Undead with Mhorgoth, BUT, he also has six Regiments of Zombies which will be great in scenario play.

Author	Billy Smith
Master	Keith Randall	Rationale	Keith is playing one of the nastiest lists out there, and honestly, if the SEC is going to get the reputation that it has, it might as well win Masters for once.
Favorite List	Jacob Datta/Austin Carrigan	Rationale	Salamanders! But really, I like the way these lists function. Tons of infantry, a few monsters, heavy-hitting Tyrants. Plus they’ll definitely look great on the table.
Cringiest List	Chris Fisher	Rationale	It’s like Keith’s, but grosser. It’s made worse by the fact that Chris has more scruples than Keith. Keith is at least a lawyer, so you can expect that kind of thing from him.
Best Region	Southeast	Rationale	Our team has been gunning for Best Region every year and we fall short. Maybe with me on the team this year, we can pull it out.
Dark Horse	Dan Cammack	Rationale	Dan is a super solid player, an amazing sport, and a fantastic painter. This Abyssal Dwarf army he’s been playing is nasty in all the right ways and it’s going to punish some people. I’m thinking he’ll take top 3 Paragon.

Author	Jake Ciarapica
Master	Aaron Chapman	Rationale	Aaron has been playing a very similar list for three Masters now. The first time he was on table 1 to be the master, last year he had two initial rough draws for his army (Jake C. and Alex C. both of whom built to fight trash armies), but then went on to win 4 games and still place very well. This year will be his 3rd year using essentially the same army, only this year it has the added bonuses of Hex Casters and Heavy Mortars, both of which add some essential long-range threat to the list. The rest of the army vitally is all infantry, meaning his sight lines are going to be easy to be established. Clocking in at US 30 this list is a BEAST at scenario play, and with so many people playing counter to a predicted War Engine meta, there aren’t nearly as many street cleaner (trash killing) lists out there. I think this may be Aaron’s year!
Favorite List	Russ Barnes	Rationale	This was a really tough choice as there were 3 lists I kept bouncing between. However, after much deliberation, I kept coming back to Russ’s Basilean list. It is SO cool, SO fast, and hits like a ton of bricks. Nothing under speed 8, and with 10 choices speed 9 and up this list is going to control board space. As long as Russ doesn’t face too many Phalanx heavy lists, which I didn’t see a lot of, I think he is going to have a great weekend!
Cringiest List	Keith Randall	Rationale	This list may not be, Elite… BUT by god is it filthy. You can feel all the sorrow and bitterness Keith saved while crying over his precious elves, channeled into this abomination of a list. All joking aside, 6 war engines, multiple regiments and hordes with Phalanx, multiple flying, light shooting casters, with US, and then the cherry on the filth pie, allies working in another shooting option. Gross.
Best Region	South East	Rationale	Looking at the teams I think its a toss up between the South and the Southeast, both have a core of experienced masters players, and they both have some really gross lists. However, I think the SE has played to the cheese a little bit more, and I think with the complete team counting this year, this is the year the SE rules.
Dark Horse	Dan Cammack	Rationale	First, I absolutely adore Dan, one of the coolest guys on the scene. The new list he has been running is that perfect blend of rock hard, but also balanced play. With just enough shooting, combat, and defense to adapt to his opponent, and the experience to back up this, I think Dan is someone to watch this weekend.

Author	Alex Chaves
Master	Aaron Chapman	Rationale	One of if not the most consistent top placing tournament player in the country. The additions of war machines/hex casters to his already honed abyssal dwarf list might be the final touch needed to break into the top placing.
Favorite List	Erich Trowbridge	Rationale	Orcs have always been one of my favorite armies, and this list does exactly what it should, smash face. I also love the specialized role of every unit in the army. There are hammers and then the rest of the army is a delivery system.
Cringiest List	Keith Randall	Rationale	I have to pick this list on principle. As somebody who believes in balanced list building, this list is the most one-dimensional list you can even possibly try to design. Every unit entry can be summed up by the following 2 questions. Does it shoot? Does it unlock more units that shoot? If you answered yes then add it to the list!
Best Region	Mid Atlantic	Rationale	No bias here… Not sure what kind of region rep I would be if I didn’t pick my boys to win. On a more serious note, I think this will be a breakout year for the Mid Atlantic, with a combination of new and old names alike, this year was a cutthroat competition to the top ranks and on the region has held multiple 1-day events using 3rd edition rules. Experience in on our side.
Dark Horse	Chris Fisher	Rationale	After the matchup cast, it feels like there is a following of haters and lovers alike watching out for Chris’s progress, so maybe it’s not fair to put him as a Dark Horse but I think this list has the potential to beat anyone, especially under the very competent pilot it has.

Author	Steve Hildrew
Master	Aaron Chapman	Rationale	Honestly, I don’t know enough about the players to judge. There are lists from guys I just don’t know that I think are more balanced, and can deal with multiple threats, but I know Aaron’s reputation, and I would have no goddamn clue how to beat his list, so what the hell. Go on chappers, you do you.
Favorite List	Alex Chavez	Rationale	I just think it’s a super balanced, pretty efficient dwarf list. It might not be masters winning, but I think it’s got multiple threats and a ton of punch. Might get shot to shit, but there you go.
Cringiest List	Chris FIsher / Keith Randall	Rationale	Just gross. Both of you. You should be ashamed.
Best Region	Northeast	Rationale	Some great lists, and some fantastic variety. I know the South dominates, but the list design here is really applaudable.
Dark Horse	Mike Szedlmayer	Rationale	Mike’s been flying under the radar, but having had the pleasure (?!) of being thrashed by him, his positioning and use of surge are the most excellent I’ve ever faced, and his undead list is both efficient and durable. I think he’ll surprise people, but those shooting lists might be another challenge, so wth do I know eh.

Author	Chris Fisher
Master	Keith Randall	Rationale	Keith’s list is very similar to mine, so I understand all too well what it’s capable of. Worse, Keith leaned into shooting far more than I dared to go (I ONLY took five War Engines!) My list was designed to have more answers to Nightstalkers, but if Keith can dodge them throughout the tournament, I think he has the tools, the experience, and the elf-angst to propel him to the top.
Favorite List	Riley Nadeau	Rationale	I really like Riley’s NS list, and man oh man I hope I don’t face it. It has a lot of tools, some great combat units, and more than a few shenanigans options in the Soulflayers, Mind Screeches, and double Planar Apparitions. It looks like a list I’d really like to play, and if he needs some carry-on space on the way back West, I’m keen to help. (Shout-out to Riley for using Soulflayers, my favorite unit in the Nightstalkers army – Greg)
Cringiest List	Keith Randall	Rationale	No comment.
Best Region	South East	Rationale	SE has always been just behind the South, and I think this is their year to break out and take it behind Billy and Austin’s paint and Keith’s savagery. I’d like to be a homer like Alexandre above, but sadly Mike Adkins’ astounding paint job will be balanced out by my cobbled-together list, and it’s still up in the air whether late-to-the-party Thomas Strother will finish his army in time. For those counting, this is the 4th year he’s played Abyssal Dwarfs WITH THE SAME MODELS.
Dark Horse	Ray Shields and Tom Annis	Rationale	I’m breaking the rules by picking two players here, but I think both are solid chances for top placings. Ray’s Ratkin list has a bonkers 31 US and still has the best dragon in the game. Plague Pots on tooled-out Shock Troops hordes is going to make getting kill strikes in on his units next to impossible, and then they’ll hit back as hard as they ever did. This is Tom Annis’ first Masters, but he’s coming from the South, which has a pretty deep pool of Masters-level players, so that’s misleading. He’s got a tough, flexible list similar to the Basileans he’s piloted successfully for the past few years, but with some added tools that look good in the meta we’re seeing. You heard it here first — top Brothermark player at Masters, hands down.

Author	Brinton Williams
Master	Dustin Howard	Rationale	Incredibly skilled player. Strong region. Interesting list. Could rip my arms off if I picked anyone else. Honestly though when I thought about this it went through a process of elimination. I think the Master will come from a competitive region, with a strong club backing them, and is willing to jam in practice games of V3 and is playing an archetype (although not necessarily an army) they’re familiar with. This process created my shortlist of armies I think will win (https://dash28.org/2020/02/19/state-of-play-5-favorite-u-s-masters-armies-that-could-win-it-all/) but out of that…I’m pulling for Dustin especially since half our panel already picked Aaron.
Favorite List	Erich Trowbridge	Rationale	It’s the army I wish I was playing. It looks fun, effective, and leans into what a classic Orc army should be while also being thoroughly new for V3. In about 2 years I’ll have enough painted to field it and by then no one will care. If I get to take the actual models home then I switch my vote to Austin’s army for…reasons.
Cringiest List	George O’Connell	Rationale	The bog of eternal stench. Real talk, this does not look fun to play against. If events were full of this army I’m not sure I’d be getting on a plane to attend them…and this is a sentiment I’ve heard from plenty of others.
Best Region	South	Rationale	There will be some reason the South East claims the stats show they should be the best region, but South just has a wealth of talent again this year.
Dark Horse	Eric Trowbridge	Rationale	I’m not sure he counts as a Dark Horse but I’m going with it anyways mainly as if asked what army would win Masters before seeing any list I don’t think Orcs would have been in the conversation. Undead, Nightstalkers, Goblins, Kingdoms of Men, Abyssal Dwarves sure. But Orcs? Right matchups and scenarios and this army could roll right over the competition and give the big green horde some prestige. My Orcs are fancy, but his Orcs are deadly.