The Manchester Summer: Faction Breakdown
- Gonzalo Ausimour
- Aug 25
- 4 min read
Another major tournament means another chance to see where 11th Edition is heading. The Manchester Summer brings a packed competitive field to the table, and we’re taking a deeper look at the armies players are choosing as the first months of the new edition unfold
Faction Choices
The faction breakdown for the Manchester Summer presents a noticeably different picture from the Summer I.T.T. Starting at the top, Necrons lead the field with 19 players, making them by far the most represented faction at the event. That is a significant shift from the Summer I.T.T., where Necrons sat further down the rankings with 19 players while Emperor’s Children led the way with 27.
Behind them, Orks and Dark Angels both have 15 players, followed by Tyranids, Space Marines (Astartes) and Adeptus Custodes, all with 13. With six factions already reaching double-digit representation, Manchester is once again giving us plenty of opportunities to see how some of the most popular armies perform across a competitive weekend.
Further down the field, T’au Empire and Space Wolves both appear with 11 players, while Chaos Daemons have 10. Chaos Space Marines, Blood Angels and Astra Militarum follow with 9 players each, giving us a strong mix of established competitive choices and armies that could be looking to make a statement.
The lower end of the field is equally interesting. Emperor’s Children, the most popular faction at the Summer I.T.T., drop to just 8 players here, while Death Guard and Adeptus Mechanicus bring 7 each. Leagues of Votann, Genestealer Cult, Drukhari and Adepta Sororitas all have 6 players, showing that a wide range of factions are still finding their way onto tournament tables.
And then there is the long tail. From Grey Knights and Thousand Sons through to Chaos Knights, Black Templars, Aeldari, World Eaters, Imperial Knights and Deathwatch, almost every part of the 40K roster has representation at Manchester Summer.
With 27 different factions appearing across the event, Manchester Summer offers another broad snapshot of the developing 11th Edition competitive landscape. With Necrons leading the way and several very different factions close behind, the question now is whether the most popular armies can turn their numbers into results on the tabletop.
Necrons Lead the Field
Necrons are the most played faction at the Manchester Summer, with 19 players bringing them to the table. That makes them comfortably the most represented army at the event and gives us a great opportunity to see how their current playstyle performs across a full tournament weekend. With 11th Edition continuing to take shape, their popularity could offer some interesting clues about where competitive players see the strongest tools in the current meta.
Their presence at the top of the table also comes alongside a field that still shows a clear appetite for melee and close-range pressure. Orks and Dark Angels both have 15 players, while Tyranids, Adeptus Custodes and other combat-capable armies are also well represented. The willingness to commit to the mid-board and threaten opponents up close is clearly still an important part of competitive list-building.
However, with Necrons leading the field and C’tan featuring prominently in their current builds, there are signs that this pressure may be shifting towards a more elite style of army. Rather than relying purely on weight of bodies or overwhelming numbers, the meta appears increasingly comfortable putting a smaller number of highly durable, powerful units onto the table and asking opponents how they intend to deal with them.
That makes the Manchester Summer particularly interesting. Melee is still very much relevant, but the way armies deliver that pressure may be changing. With elite units capable of controlling space, surviving punishment and threatening key areas of the board, the balance between raw aggression, durability and board control is becoming increasingly important.
Overall, the Manchester Summer gives us another fascinating snapshot of where 11th Edition is heading, with Necrons leading the field and a growing presence of elite, hard-hitting armies alongside the continued strength of melee-focused factions. With 19 Necron players putting the faction through its paces, we’ll have plenty of data to see whether their popularity translates into tournament success.
Faction Disposition
The Force Disposition trends at the Manchester Summer show a continued shift towards Take and Hold, which is now comfortably the most popular choice with 82 players. That puts it well ahead of Priority Assets at 63, while Purge the Foe and Reconnaissance follow with 33 and 32 players respectively. At the other end of the table, Disruption remains the clear outlier, with just 11 players choosing it.
Take and Hold’s growing popularity is particularly interesting as we continue to see players become more familiar with the Force Dispositions system. As the months of 11th Edition go by, Take and Hold appears to be gaining more confidence from players, offering a relatively straightforward approach to scoring and board control while providing a consistent game plan across a wide range of matchups.
Priority Assets remains a strong second choice, suggesting that players are still valuing dispositions that reward careful positioning and multiple scoring opportunities. Meanwhile, Purge the Foe continues to have a meaningful presence despite sitting further down the rankings, fitting well with the aggressive, melee-heavy nature of much of the current competitive field.
Disruption, however, continues to be the least popular Force Disposition by a significant margin. With only 11 players selecting it at Manchester, the pattern we've seen across recent events is becoming increasingly clear: as players become more comfortable with the new system, Disruption is still struggling to attract the same level of interest as the other options. Its more unusual playstyle and the additional practice required to maximise it may still be keeping players away.
Overall, the Manchester Summer continues to show how the Force Disposition meta is evolving over time. Take and Hold is becoming increasingly popular, while Disruption remains firmly at the bottom of the table. It will be interesting to see whether these trends continue through the rest of the edition, or whether further experimentation eventually brings some of the less popular dispositions back into contention.
The Countdown begins!
We have 2 MASSIVE events launching next week, bringing even more huge tournaments to the 11th Edition calendar!
Two major events, one massive week... make sure you’re ready to mark them on your calendar!
Save the Date for Friday 28th August at 2PM when Tickets will go live!
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