AdeptiCon 2026 Second-Place Chaos Space Marine List Centers on Huron Blackheart

Brian Daugherty’s second-place finish at AdeptiCon was the kind of result Chaos Space Marine players should study before 11th edition changes the conversation again. In a 375-player championship field, Daugherty took a Huron Blackheart-led Renegade Raiders force through nine games and came one match short of the title, which is a serious signal for anyone still building CSM around speed, trading, and board pressure.

The first lesson is that Renegade Raiders is not just a cute detachment choice. Bell of Lost Souls framed Daugherty’s army as a brawler list, and that is exactly how it read: Huron Blackheart, Cypher, a Lord Discordant, two Traitor Enforcers, Cultists, two five-model Legionary units, three Chaos Rhinos, three Chaos Predator Destructors, Chosen, Masters of the Maelstrom, Red Corsairs Raiders, and allied Noise Marines. That package says the same thing three different ways: get on objectives early, make the opponent answer multiple threats, and force bad trades before the other side settles in.

The second lesson is that CSM still want delivery systems, not just raw damage. Three Rhinos in a 2,000-point list is not glamour, but it is how this army got its melee pieces where they needed to be. Legionaries and Chosen are much more dangerous when they arrive on schedule instead of walking across the table under fire, and Daugherty’s build leaned hard into that reality. If your collection is full of fancy datasheets but you still skip the transports, this list is a reminder that movement wins games long before the last combat is rolled.

The third lesson is that mixed threat profiles still matter. Three Chaos Predator Destructors gave the list ranged pressure, while Noise Marines added another layer of annoyance and threat projection. That mix made the army harder to pin down than a pure melee rush. Opponents had to respect the guns, the counterpunch, and the ability to flood the mid-board at the same time. That is the part ordinary CSM players should steal: not every competitive Chaos list needs to be one-note.

The broader context matters too. AdeptiCon expanded its 2026 40k Championship to 400 seats and said the convention was on track for more than 1,700 game sessions, events, and classes, after growing from 110 attendees in 2003 to about 10,000 in 2025. Against that backdrop, Daugherty’s runner-up finish was not a random podium. It was a late-cycle proof that Chaos Space Marines can still go deep at the biggest tables in North America, and that the strongest builds still start with pressure, delivery, and clean trading, not wishful thinking.