The Manchester Summer: Players to watch

The Manchester Summer is almost here, and with the lists now locked in, we can start looking at some of the players who could make a serious impact this weekend. Before the first dice are rolled, here are a few names I’ll be keeping a particularly close eye on.

The Faction breakdown

Necrons are the faction to watch at Manchester Summer, not necessarily because we expected them to be here, but because they’ve emerged as the most popular army in the field with 19 players. That puts them comfortably ahead of Orks and Dark Angels on 15 each and gives us a very different picture from the Summer I.T.T. Whether this is simply a shift in player choices or an early sign of where the meta is heading will be one of the more interesting questions of the weekend. You can read the full Faction Breakdown here.   

Now lets get into the ones to watch themselves:

mani cheema - glasshammer

Still sitting No. 1 in the 2025/26 rankings, Mani Cheema is back at the Manchester Super-Major with the top spot firmly in his sights. His Custodes list leans heavily into speed and hitting power, combining Terminators and Bikes to put serious pressure on his opponents from the start.

Mani's List

Detachments: Lions of the Emperor and Might of the Moritoi

Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike leading a group of Vertus Praetors x3

2x Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike leading a group of Vertus Praetors x2

2x Allarus custodians x6

Allarus custodians x5

Prosecutors x4

Witchseekers x4

Following the trend of fast armies, Mani takes full advantage of the synergy between his Detachments, giving him a wide threat range and allowing him to spread his units across the board quickly without relying on them staying close together.

On top of this, his Praetors, led by the Shield-Captain, can move, deal mortal wounds at the end of that movement, charge, and then use Fall Back after fighting. This gives Mani an extremely high threat range and the tools to quickly remove units that could otherwise make it difficult to secure his Take and Hold objectives.

Mani is clearly determined to hold on to his position at the top of the rankings, and his army is a reflection of that ambition. Hit hard, hit fast, and never give the opponent room to breathe. Anyone facing his Custodes will need to carefully consider how to mitigate their damage output while keeping Mani from dictating the pace of the game

Ben jones - Vanguard tactics

Sitting No. 2 in the 2025/26 rankings, Ben Jones arrives in Manchester with his Orks ready to challenge Mani Cheema for the top spot. Ben brings War Horde, a classic Ork Detachment built to fight for Take and Hold objectives.

Ben's List

Detachment: War Horde

Ghazghkull Thraka and a Painboy leading a group of 20 Boyz

Mozrog Skragbad leading a group of 3 Squighog Boyz

2x Beastboss on Squigosaur leading a group of 6 Squighog Boyz

Wazdakka Gutsmek

Big Mek Dakkarig

3x Gretchin x10

Lootas x5

Who said Orks can’t be elite? Ben certainly isn’t afraid to find out, bringing a character-heavy list filled with expensive units and reducing the model count we usually associate with the green tide. That said, there’s still more than enough here to make his opponent sweat.

Just like we saw with Mani, Squighog Boyz and Wazdakka give Ben’s army a serious boost in speed, allowing him to threaten different areas of the board quickly. The Squighogs also bring plenty of punch on the charge thanks to their [LANCE] weapons, giving them the potential to deal even more damage when they commit to combat.

Andy Quas-Cohen - warmasters

Andy is the highest-ranked Necron player attending this tournament. With the faction seeing a significant rise in representation, watching one of the top 10 players in the rankings could give us a better understanding of what makes Necrons such an appealing choice this time around.

Andy's List

Detachment: Awakened Dynasty

Technomancer leading a group of Canoptek Wraiths x6

Overlord leading a group of 5 Immortals x5

Lokhust Lord leading a group of Lokhust Heavy Destroyers x3

C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer

C’tan Shard of the Void Dragon

Hexmark Destroyer

Illuminor Szeras

Imotekh the Stormlord

Skorpekh Lord

Canoptek Reanimator

Canoptek Scarab Swarms x3

As we’ve seen in other Necrons lists at this tournament, Andy is bringing Awakened Dynasty to improve the Hit Rolls of his Characters... and there are plenty of them in this list. He is also running Take and Hold, matching one of the most popular mission choices across the event.

Beyond his Detachment and mission choice, Andy’s combination of two C’Tan and Imotekh gives him plenty of ways to generate Mortal Wounds outside the usual shooting and combat phases. With just the abilities of some of his Characters, Andy can target key enemy units and chip away at them without having to dedicate his attacks to them.

It’s easy to see why Necrons are attracting so much attention in the current meta. Their combination of resilience and the ability to generate significant damage without relying entirely on shooting or combat makes them a natural fit for Take and Hold. Now, we just need to see how that translates into results at the end of the tournament.

Didn’t make it to this tournament?

Coventry, our three-day tournament, is just around the corner. While tickets are selling fast, there are still places available for anyone looking to keep climbing the rankings.

📅When: October 23-25

📌Where: Sports Connexion Leisure Club

🎫Buy your ticket here

Buy yours now and secure your place!