Matchup analysis → Purge the Foe mirror
Purge the Foe mirror — Meatgrinder
Warhammer 40,000 11th edition · GDM 2026 matched play · primary mission matchup
Purge the Foe and Purge the Foe come out dead even.
| Force disposition | Primary mission card | Edge |
|---|---|---|
| Purge the Foe | Meatgrinder | 10 |
| Purge the Foe | Meatgrinder | 10 |
The matchup in a nutshell
Two killers, one card. Holding pays a flat 4 VP whether you own 1 objective or four, so board control is almost irrelevant — the points live in bodies, in the trade differential, and in a 5 VP-a-turn bounty on the enemy home objective. This mirror is decided by whoever gets a durable unit into the other's back yard first.
| Purge the Foe (side 0) | Purge the Foe (side 1) | |
|---|---|---|
| Card | Meatgrinder | Meatgrinder |
| Scores at | mixed | mixed |
| Hold window | 0 enemy turns | 0 enemy turns |
| Exposure | 15/20 | 15/20 |
| Activation cost | 9/20 | 9/20 |
A hold window of zero changes where the fight is. Nobody has to survive anything: you walk on, the turn ends, you get paid. Which means there is no window to shoot them off the marker afterwards — by the time it matters, they have already banked it. Denial on this card happens before the grab, not after. You are not buying reactions. You are buying space.
Playing Purge the Foe
Your card: Meatgrinder. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 0 enemy turns.
How you score
Kill something every turn (3 VP), hold any 1 objective (4 VP), and win the trade comparison — more enemy units dead this turn than friendly units lost last turn (5 VP). Then the big one: 5 VP at the end of every turn you control their home objective. A unit that lands there in round 2 and survives to round 5 is worth 20 VP on its own.
What it costs you
The home bounty is the most expensive real estate on the table, and the trade clause punishes over-commitment a turn late. Spend a quiet turn before your big one — losses you take now poison next turn's comparison. Exposure 15/20, activation cost 9/20.
How you break them
Two levers, and both are cheap. First, screen your home from round 2: their single most repeatable line is worth 5 VP a turn and dies to one screening unit in the way. Second, stop feeding the kill rider — the card counts units, not points, so a lone cheap unit left in the open is a free 3 VP for them. Keep everything either out of range or behind terrain, and remember that infantry in a ruin that has not shot is Hidden and cannot be seen past 15".
What your list needs
- One expendable unit that can reliably kill something on turn one — fast, enough damage to finish a target, cheap enough that losing it does not hurt.
- A delivery package for their home objective by round 2: deep strike, or speed plus durability.
- Sustained damage that is still alive in rounds 4-5. Alpha-strike lists run out of card exactly when the trade clause pays most.
- A cheap home screen. Two of them if their list has reserves.
Playing Purge the Foe
Your card: Meatgrinder. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 0 enemy turns.
How you score
Kill something every turn (3 VP), hold any 1 objective (4 VP), and win the trade comparison — more enemy units dead this turn than friendly units lost last turn (5 VP). Then the big one: 5 VP at the end of every turn you control their home objective. A unit that lands there in round 2 and survives to round 5 is worth 20 VP on its own.
What it costs you
The home bounty is the most expensive real estate on the table, and the trade clause punishes over-commitment a turn late. Spend a quiet turn before your big one — losses you take now poison next turn's comparison. Exposure 15/20, activation cost 9/20.
How you break them
Two levers, and both are cheap. First, screen your home from round 2: their single most repeatable line is worth 5 VP a turn and dies to one screening unit in the way. Second, stop feeding the kill rider — the card counts units, not points, so a lone cheap unit left in the open is a free 3 VP for them. Keep everything either out of range or behind terrain, and remember that infantry in a ruin that has not shot is Hidden and cannot be seen past 15".
What your list needs
- One expendable unit that can reliably kill something on turn one — fast, enough damage to finish a target, cheap enough that losing it does not hurt.
- A delivery package for their home objective by round 2: deep strike, or speed plus durability.
- Sustained damage that is still alive in rounds 4-5. Alpha-strike lists run out of card exactly when the trade clause pays most.
- A cheap home screen. Two of them if their list has reserves.
The three layouts
Purge the Foe mirror is played on one of three boards, and they are not the same game. All three are transcribed and measured below.
| Board | Deployment | Openness | Centre exposure | Cost to raid a home marker | No-man's-land |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Layout 1 | diagonal halves | 3/20 | — | 36% | 4.8% |
| Layout 2 | diagonal across the long axis | 5/20 | — | 34.5% | 0.4% |
| Layout 3 | diagonal across the short axis | 5/20 | 8.9% | 32.8% | 12.9% |
- Layout 1 — diagonal halves, openness 3/20. Raiding a home marker costs 36% exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. No-man's-land markers sit at 4.8%. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (99% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.
- Layout 2 — diagonal across the long axis, openness 5/20. Raiding a home marker costs 34.5% exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. No-man's-land markers sit at 0.4%. 84% of the legal holding spots can go fully out of sight — pick the spot, not the marker.
- Layout 3 — diagonal across the short axis, openness 5/20. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only 8.9% of the enemy deployment zone can see. Raiding a home marker costs 32.8% exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. No-man's-land markers sit at 12.9%. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (96% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.
Numbers are measured on the transcribed sheets: every legal spot within control range of each marker is tested, and the best one is reported — the way a real player looks for the safest place to stand, not the middle of the marker.
Decision points
- Round 1 — position for a guaranteed round-2 kill rather than reaching for objectives.
- Round 2 — commit the raid. Every turn you delay is 5 VP gone.
- Round 4 — if the raid failed, farm the cheapest targets available; the card counts units, not value.
Ratings and why
Every score is an integer out of 20. For edge, 10 is dead even and the score is given for side 0; the other metrics are absolute, per side. How these are derived →
| Metric | Score | Confidence | Basis | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| edge (for Purge the Foe) | 10/20 | high | theory | Mirror: identical cards, so the mission contributes nothing to the differential. |
Purge the Foe (side 0)
| Metric | Score | Confidence | Basis | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ceiling | 16/20 | medium | theory | Kill 3 VP plus trade differential 5 VP plus enemy home 5 VP is 13 VP a turn on top of the hold line. |
| floor | 11/20 | medium | theory | The hold line is a flat 4 VP and the kill rider is nearly free, so 7 VP a round is the realistic floor. |
| tempo | 15/20 | medium | theory | Most of the card scores at the end of your own turn, so alpha strikes and late grabs convert immediately. |
| complexity | 13/20 | medium | theory | The trade differential compares this turn kills against last turn losses, which forces you to plan 2 turns ahead. |
| exposure | 15/20 | medium | theory | The recurring 5 VP for the enemy home objective is the most expensive real estate measured: taking it means standing where up to 74% of their deployment zone can see you. |
| activationCost | 9/20 | medium | theory | One expendable unit for the kill rider, one raid package; the rest of the army fights normally. |
Purge the Foe (side 1)
| Metric | Score | Confidence | Basis | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ceiling | 16/20 | medium | theory | Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side. |
| floor | 11/20 | medium | theory | Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side. |
| tempo | 15/20 | medium | theory | Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side. |
| complexity | 13/20 | medium | theory | Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side. |
| exposure | 15/20 | medium | theory | The recurring 5 VP for the enemy home objective is the most expensive real estate measured: taking it means standing where up to 74% of their deployment zone can see you. |
| activationCost | 9/20 | medium | theory | One expendable unit for the kill rider, one raid package; the rest of the army fights normally. |
Playbook
Playing Purge the Foe (side 0)
- This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it.
- Two levers, and both are cheap. First, screen your home from round 2: their single most repeatable line is worth 5 VP a turn, and it dies if they cannot get enough OC within range of the marker. A screen that denies the approach is cheaper than an OC contest — but if they do get a body there, matching their level of control is enough, because equal totals mean neither of you holds it. Second, stop feeding the kill rider — the card counts units, not points, so a lone cheap unit left in the open is a free 3 VP for them. Keep everything either out of range or behind terrain, and remember that infantry in a ruin that has not shot is Hidden and cannot be seen past 15".
- Purge the Foe needs: One expendable unit that can reliably kill something on turn one — fast, enough damage to finish a target, cheap enough that losing it does not hurt. A delivery package for their home objective by round 2: deep strike, or speed plus durability. Sustained damage that is still alive in rounds 4-5. Alpha-strike lists run out of card exactly when the trade clause pays most. A cheap home screen. Two of them if their list has reserves.
Playing Purge the Foe (side 1)
- This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it.
Applies to both sides
- Meatgrinder pays a flat 4 VP for holding anything, so holding a second or third objective adds nothing — the VP live in kills, the trade differential and the enemy home objective.
- Controlling the opponent home objective pays 5 VP at the end of EVERY turn from round 2, not once at the end of battle — it is the single most repeatable line on the card.
- Spreading onto 3 objectives is a trap: it does not raise the hold line and it feeds the opponent trade differential.
- Measured across all 45 transcribed layouts: a central objective can be held from a spot only 4.6% of the enemy deployment zone can see (best board 0%), while taking an enemy home objective means standing where a median of 47.7% of their deployment zone has line of sight, rising to 91.7% on the most exposed board. Cards that pay for enemy home objectives are charging you that difference, and the board decides the price.
- All three boards for this pairing are transcribed and measured. Layout 1 (diagonal halves) reads 3/20 for openness, Layout 2 (diagonal across the long axis) reads 5/20 for openness, Layout 3 (diagonal across the short axis) reads 5/20 for openness. Taking a home marker off the opponent costs 32.8% deployment-zone exposure on Layout 3 and 36% on Layout 1 — the same play, priced very differently. Central markers stay the safest ground on all three, bottoming out at 8.9% on Layout 3.
Frequently asked
Who is favoured in the Purge the Foe mirror match?
Purge the Foe and Purge the Foe come out dead even.
How do you stop your opponent scoring in the Purge the Foe mirror?
Two levers, and both are cheap. First, screen your home from round 2: their single most repeatable line is worth 5 VP a turn, and it dies if they cannot get enough OC within range of the marker. A screen that denies the approach is cheaper than an OC contest — but if they do get a body there, matching their level of control is enough, because equal totals mean neither of you holds it. Second, stop feeding the kill rider — the card counts units, not points, so a lone cheap unit left in the open is a free 3 VP for them. Keep everything either out of range or behind terrain, and remember that infantry in a ruin that has not shot is Hidden and cannot be seen past 15".
What units does a Purge the Foe list need for this mission?
Purge the Foe needs: One expendable unit that can reliably kill something on turn one — fast, enough damage to finish a target, cheap enough that losing it does not hurt. A delivery package for their home objective by round 2: deep strike, or speed plus durability. Sustained damage that is still alive in rounds 4-5. Alpha-strike lists run out of card exactly when the trade clause pays most. A cheap home screen. Two of them if their list has reserves.
How does the Purge the Foe primary mission card score?
Meatgrinder pays a flat 4 VP for holding anything, so holding a second or third objective adds nothing — the VP live in kills, the trade differential and the enemy home objective. Controlling the opponent home objective pays 5 VP at the end of EVERY turn from round 2, not once at the end of battle — it is the single most repeatable line on the card.
What are the common mistakes in this matchup?
Spreading onto 3 objectives is a trap: it does not raise the hold line and it feeds the opponent trade differential.
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Purge the Foe vs Reconnaissance — Consecrate / Triangulation
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Provenance
- Status: draft — ratings carry their own confidence and basis above.
- Written against the GDM 2026 matched play data snapshot pinned as
2026-05-09 23:42:21. - Subjects analysed:
gdm:disposition/purge-the-foe,gdm:primary/purge-the-foe/meatgrinder. - Machine-readable: JSON · Markdown source