Paris Tournament Recap & Wider Meta

Welcome back to 40K Fireside! In this video, Dave breaks down his **4–1 tournament run at the Paris Wargame Expo**, taking Ultramarines into a competitive field of roughly 245 players. We go through all five rounds, looking at the matchups, key turns, mistakes, and decisions that shaped the tournament. Dave also uses photos and Tabletop Simulator to break down important board positions, deployment choices, staging, rapid ingress plays, and how his Ultramarines list actually functions on the table. The list was built around **Roboute Guilliman, Marneus Calgar, Assault Terminators, Deathwatch Terminators and Bladeguard**, using the Terminator Stormforce, Deathwatch Support and Assault Brethren detachments. We cover games into Orks, Dark Angels, Chaos Space Marines, Adeptus Mechanicus and Death Guard, including some excellent opponents and challenging matchups. The biggest takeaway comes from the final round against Alban's Death Guard, where Dave reflects on a crucial macro-strategy mistake: understanding how **Take and Hold scores into Priority Assets**, when to play aggressively, and when it's actually better to sit back and force your opponent to come to you. We also talk through the current meta, the strength of durable Terminator builds, how to counter them, and what Dave would change about his Ultramarines list going forward. *NEW MASTERCLASSES* We've just released three new competitive 40K masterclasses! *Ultramarines Masterclass* — A deep dive into Dave's tournament build, John Lennon's mixed Ultramarines approach, and Iron Hands shooting builds. https://40kfireside.com/courses/ultra... *Chaos Space Marines Masterclass* — Join LiamVSL as we break down competitive CSM builds, list design, and how to get the most out of the faction. https://40kfireside.com/courses/11th-... *Bringers of Flame Masterclass* — Featuring Jonathan "Slay" Johnson from Team Sweden, covering competitive Sisters of Battle, the Bringers of Flame detachment, and the key tricks behind the army. https://40kfireside.com/courses/bring... *TIMESTAMPS* 00:31 Masterclass Updates 01:23 Event Overview Paris 03:51 Ultramarines List Choice 05:48 Round One Orks 09:03 Round Two Dark Angels 13:43 Round Three Chaos Marines 21:23 Round Four Adeptus Mechanicus 29:07 Round Five Death Guard 33:48 Macro Lessons Priority Assets 39:24 Wrap Up and Meta Thoughts If you've been playing Ultramarines, Death Guard, or any of the other armies covered, let us know what you've been finding in the current meta! As always, make sure to like, comment and subscribe for more competitive Warhammer 40K content. *40K Fireside — Masterclasses & Atlas* https://40kfireside.com/ *Atlas Coaching — Find a competitive 40K coach* https://coaching.40kfireside.com/ See you all again soon - by the Fireside, Vik & Dave #warhammer #40kFireside #firesidepodcast #fireside #warhammer40k #ultramarines *Join this channel* to access members-only content and our Discord community:    / @40kfireside   For Business Inquiries: 40kFireside@gmail.com