Goonhammer publishes February power rankings, Wolf Scout and Out-of-Phase guides for 40k

Goonhammer’s editorial team published a light roundup on 22 February 2026 that summarizes January 2026 power rankings, a Wolf Scouts faction guide, and a rules/tech guide about Out-of-Phase movement, noting early-month dominance by Aeldari release lists and the counters that sprang up to meet them. “Ynnari and lists that can beat them (mostly Warpbane Task Force and Coterie of the Conceited) dominate the early parts of the month,” the roundup states, framing the competitive shifts players saw in February.

The roundup captures broader meta movement in its February section under the “## February” heading, with established lists also performing strongly. “Bridgehead goes from strength to strength in the early parts of the month, alongside Chaos Daemons, Blood Angels and Necrons,” the piece records, tying those archetypes to the early-month tournament picture summarized in the January power rankings analysis.

Aeldari releases get sustained attention in the roundup as the codex cycle continued to reshape matchups. “The weather outside may have cooled but things were heating up for competitive play as the Aeldari joined the mix of powerful Grotmas Detachments,” the editorial copy reads, and the Aeldari codex impact is framed plainly: “Aeldari Make a Splash. The Aeldari Codex kicks into gear in the back half, as Ynnari and Aspect Host begin to flex their muscles.” The roundup also preserves a pointed assessment of the release phase: “Lowest of Men: The Aeldari book was phenomenal on release, and it is a testament to how mind‑bendingly strong release Ynnari was that it completely overshadowed entirely legitimate and deadly Phoenix Lord based builds in Aspect and Warhost for months.”

Outside the Aeldari conversation, Imperial Knights and Death Guard show notable movement in the rankings and match outcomes the roundup summarizes. “Imperial Knights climb up the rankings as people catch on to just how efficient Armiger‑heavy builds are,” the piece reports, while “Death Guard start to make a (disgusting) splash in the back half of the month, with Ynnari and Imperial Knights continuing strong.” The Thousand Sons Codex also arrives in the cadence of releases: “The Thousand Sons Codex lands, another eye‑poppingly potent book, albeit held in check by a poor matchup against Death Guard.”

On faction guides and rules primers, the Feb 22 roundup lists a Wolf Scouts guide alongside an Out‑of‑Phase movement rules/tech primer; the source material treats Wolf Scouts and the Space Wolves book as related but does not conflate them. Separately the editorial notes: “Space Wolves get a new book, with some very solid Character and elite Datasheets giving them plenty to work with (though it doesn’t formally come live till June, as this is an army box release).” Chapter Approved is also in play for list and mission-level changes: “Chapter Approved 2025-2026 arrives, providing a solid set of changes to the core missions and Secondaries, but what will turn out to be a failed experiment with a new comeback mechanic in Challenger Cards.”

The roundup sits inside Goonhammer’s regular column structure, which the team lists with features such as Ruleshammer, Hammer of Math, Black Library and Round Table; named pieces flagged in the light roundup include “Black Library Weekly: Solomon, Huron, and the Homies of Ultramar” by Jay "Lorehunter" Kirkman and “Content We Liked: 8th February, 2026” by Steel Mentor, while an update to “Catching Snowflakes: US Ariadna Ranger Force (USARF)” is shown as updated February 3, 2026 under an MB1975 competitive play header. The editorial framing presents a month of codex-driven swings and counters, and it leaves clear milestones to watch next, particularly the Space Wolves army box going live in June and the unfolding effects of Chapter Approved 2025-2026 on competitive lists.