How best to build a cheap army...

[flamingwalnut]

So, I love new projects. It is, of course, really dangerous for actually getting stuff done, but hey. My shop is organizing a Tale of X Warlords going into the new year (New Year, New Army, whoo!). So, I want to start a new project, hoping to aim for a decently supported army, but most importantly: I am on a budget, so I need it cheap.

So, I am curious if anyone has actually done the math on this thing, but what is the cheapest army you can build these days, money wise. I do still want to support my local store, so no Ebay or second hand, but the store does give a 15% discount on MSRP, so there is that... 

Beastclaw Raiders are the easy one, but two other folks are looking at them for this, so they are a no-go. I'd like to keep to Battletome armies as well.

I am super open to conversions, so if I can make one kit build another, more expensive model. Or just consolidate bits to get more than 1 unit from a single kit, that idea is also super awesome. Anyways, thoughts? Ideas?

[Kevlar1972]

If you buy new box sets on ebay you are basically buying directly from GW.  Employees using their discounts...

[Kurrilino]

Try Stormcast.

They are hated by absolutely everyone and i got 5000 points of army for free

by people giving up the Stormcast stuff they are forced to have.

[kenshin620]

x4 Start Collecting Beasts of Chaos boxes.

x4 GBS 400pts

x4 Bestigor units 480pts

x4 ungor raiders (or one big ungor raider unit) 320pts

x4 ghorgons 800pts

exactly 2000pts!

 

Or x3 Start Collecting Skeleton Hordes, build all 3 Mortarchs, That'll eat a lot of points. Maybe try to convert the Black Knights into Blood Knights instead (doubling their point costs from 120 to 240). Maybe even stick Black Knight parts onto skeleton warriors for converted Grave Guard.

 

Or x3 Start Collecting FEC and run x2 kings on dragons, x3 10 ghouls, x3 horrors, 1 terrorgheist is 1960pts. (plus FEC have the benefit of having all their units except the vargulf being in either the SC box or their ghoul+horror box....though you may want some extras for summoning!)

 

Now none of the things I'm suggesting may actually be decent or fun on the table....

[BarrowLord]

Honestly?  I would go with a force that lets you stick close to the start collecting sets (as they give you the best deals that I have seen) while offering you a lot of options from the kits within for conversions.  For example:

Using the Flesh Eater Courts start collecting box you have access to make:

Abhorrent Ghoul King on Terrorgheist
Abhorrent Ghoul King on Zombie Dragon
Abhorrent Ghoul King on foot
Zombie Dragon
Terrorgheist
Crypt Haunter Courtier

Crypt Infernal Courtier
Crypt Ghast Courtier
Crypt Flayers
Crypt Horrors
Crypt Ghouls

With a bunch of bits left over for conversions.  Like all the vampire bits from the terrorgheist/zombie dragon dual kit.  I combined this start collecting set with the Nightfeast Hunters box and have been incredibly happy with the end result.

[Bradipo322]

13 hours ago, flamingwalnut said:

So, I love new projects. It is, of course, really dangerous for actually getting stuff done, but hey. My shop is organizing a Tale of X Warlords going into the new year (New Year, New Army, whoo!). So, I want to start a new project, hoping to aim for a decently supported army, but most importantly: I am on a budget, so I need it cheap.

So, I am curious if anyone has actually done the math on this thing, but what is the cheapest army you can build these days, money wise. I do still want to support my local store, so no Ebay or second hand, but the store does give a 15% discount on MSRP, so there is that... 

Beastclaw Raiders are the easy one, but two other folks are looking at them for this, so they are a no-go. I'd like to keep to Battletome armies as well.

I am super open to conversions, so if I can make one kit build another, more expensive model. Or just consolidate bits to get more than 1 unit from a single kit, that idea is also super awesome. Anyways, thoughts? Ideas?

I think you are looking for Stormcasts, they are both supported (as they recently got new miniatures and a new book) and cheap (if you can find someone that wants the Nighthaunt half of the starter box and if you can manage some conversions).

[Hannibal]

There is a boxed set called Tzeentch Arcanites Changecult. (  https://www.games-workshop.com/de-DE/Bforce-Tzeentch-Arcanites-Changecult-2017 ) I think this is one of the best boxes you can get. A guy at my LGS got that box and 1-2 casters and now is able to run different kinds of 1000 pts Tzeentch lists which are fairly competetive in our LGS. You can even get 2 of them and don´t do anything bad.

 

The Start Collecting Flesh Eater Courts will give you a decent start into Flesh Eater Courts (as has been mentioned), though this might also be a good start into some Vampire themed army, because it includes full sets, meaning you can also buil Vargheists and Vampire on Zombie Dragon / Terrorgheist out of it. A Vamoire on Zombiedragon + a unit of Vargheists is 700 points on the dot. Get some Dire Wolves for cheap battleline and you can run a fairly thematic Vamoire force.

 

The Start Collecting Daemons of Nurgle is also really good, though I think you´ll need a Great Unclean One (expensive set) and some additional Plaguebearers at some point to get the best out of your Nurgle Daemons. Maybe 2 SC Nurgle Daemons + 2 SC Slaves to Darkness will give you a decent Nurgle force.

[ManlyMuppet88]

2 hours ago, Hannibal said:

There is a boxed set called Tzeentch Arcanites Changecult. (  https://www.games-workshop.com/de-DE/Bforce-Tzeentch-Arcanites-Changecult-2017 ) I think this is one of the best boxes you can get.

This! I did the maths on this for Australians and it saves us around $200. Which you could use to buy a Start Collecting Tzeentch Daemons. Great sized army in two value boxes.

I’m pretty sure, and someone will probably be able to confirm this, that the Battleforces are the Christmas bundles though, so may be sold out in some regions. Could also be worth waiting to see what bundles they do for Christmas this year too, if your Tale of Warlords actually starts next year.

[rattila]

In every case, i wouldnt go stormcast. Yes you can have a lot of mini with a good price, but you will have to spent every year for a new battletome, being the poster boy and all that...

 

[Gaz Taylor]

On 10/21/2018 at 3:06 AM, flamingwalnut said:

So, I love new projects. It is, of course, really dangerous for actually getting stuff done, but hey. My shop is organizing a Tale of X Warlords going into the new year (New Year, New Army, whoo!). So, I want to start a new project, hoping to aim for a decently supported army, but most importantly: I am on a budget, so I need it cheap.

So, I am curious if anyone has actually done the math on this thing, but what is the cheapest army you can build these days, money wise. I do still want to support my local store, so no Ebay or second hand, but the store does give a 15% discount on MSRP, so there is that... 

I personally love these sorts of things but will offer the following advice.... Don't get stuck in the trap of trying to do it as cheap as possible. The reason is because it means you can end up with something you aren't 100% happy with. Yes you have an army at the end of it, but it's possibly not something you really wanted.

I think for me its, picking a theme and trying to stick with that. So do you want lots of monsters and elite troops or do you want something like a horde? Also as they are doing a Tale of X warlords, what are the rules? Can you spend as little or as much as you want or are you limited each month?

[flamingwalnut]

41 minutes ago, Gaz Taylor said:

I personally love these sorts of things but will offer the following advice.... Don't get stuck in the trap of trying to do it as cheap as possible. The reason is because it means you can end up with something you aren't 100% happy with. Yes you have an army at the end of it, but it's possibly not something you really wanted.

I think for me its, picking a theme and trying to stick with that. So do you want lots of monsters and elite troops or do you want something like a horde? Also as they are doing a Tale of X warlords, what are the rules? Can you spend as little or as much as you want or are you limited each month?

The biggest issue is I literally only have so much money I can spend on this, but I want to have a complete project as well, thus wanting to trim as much from cost as I can while still supporting the LGS.

Thank you everyone for replying. Rather surprised to see FEC noted on here so much. Never thought of them as cheap, but that Start Collecting IS nice. Certainly something to think about.

But yes, getting an army I WANT is also important, because otherwise this might be a lot easier of a choice. lol

[Gaz Taylor]

12 minutes ago, flamingwalnut said:

The biggest issue is I literally only have so much money I can spend on this, but I want to have a complete project as well, thus wanting to trim as much from cost as I can while still supporting the LGS.

Cool. Just wanted to check.  

I think the best one I would suggest is probably the Flesh Eater Courts Start Collecting set as it gives you so many options and by adding a few different units you can have a different army!

[Luzgurbel]

2x Beastclaw starter and you have 1500 points with an Eurlbad + Olwyr battalion. 

[AGPO]

 

18 minutes ago, flamingwalnut said:

The biggest issue is I literally only have so much money I can spend on this, but I want to have a complete project as well, thus wanting to trim as much from cost as I can while still supporting the LGS.

Thank you everyone for replying. Rather surprised to see FEC noted on here so much. Never thought of them as cheap, but that Start Collecting IS nice. Certainly something to think about.

But yes, getting an army I WANT is also important, because otherwise this might be a lot easier of a choice. lol

Maybe try splitting it 50:50 between the LGS and a seller like Darksphere, who offer 25% off. This is what I do since I appreciate having my local store about but with the current exchange rate it would be twice the price to go there for everything.

[Kyriakin]

For SC spam, it tends to be Pestilens, FEC or BCR that are usually said to be the best options. They are all, technically at least, battletome factions.

However, Mournfang are absolutely terrible rules-wise and Yhetees are ten pounds per model, while your need for Plague Monks will quickly overtake your need for the other contents of the Pestilens SC boxes. I don't know enough about FEC to comment.

Another important factor for "cheap" is how many paints you will need to buy. The naked FEC and robed Pestilens potentially have a very limited color pallette, and BCR aren't too bad in that regard either.

[Skreech Verminking]

I don’t know if it is the same with you in your country/ place of living etc.

But looking for one of the more weaker army’s like skaven for example can sometimes be very cheap.

Many people who are more into tournament play will often sell well an army that has been stomped to death by any faqs or aren’t competitive in their eyes.

people around me  just gave me their clanrats,Stormvermins anything skaven related free of charge.

just because they thought them to  be very weak.

i would look for such kind of army’s.

if your lucky you might find a guy who is selling his 10 000p collection of some army for maybe 100-200bugs.

Best bet finding those army’s will be mostly on the Internet (eBay) or by friends or people you know who stopped playing the game or are just building another in their eyes stronger army.

 

 

 

[amysrevenge]

If you're looking to maximize the thriftiness, here are my tips:

1) Second hand models in your local community.  There are people who very quickly get tired of stuff and flip it.  Or older gamers who decide to downsize.  Watch out for people over-pricing used models though, every community has a couple of people out there trying to make a profit off of quick flips.  They end up with reputations, so watch and ask questions.

2) Bits.  Many people are willing to give their leftover bits away.  Let it be known that you're interested, and you'll find that people will just give their leftover sprues to you.

3) Conversions.  Use all those free bits to build heroes out of battleline, or battleline out of garbage.  Kids' toys are usually not detailed enough, but can sometimes be utilized as a frame for proper GW bits.

4) Other manufacturers.  Especially the cheap ones like Mantic and Reaper Bones.  Be very careful, as quality can vary pretty wildly (esp. with Mantic, where maybe 20% or fewer of their kits are worth buying IMO - but those handful of nice ones are well worth it).  Reaper Bones, especially in their larger model family, are great, and especially as a starting point for conversions.

5) Store promotions.  Sometimes local stores (not so much GW stores, but the FLGS style store) will have promotional events where you can snag some store credit or extensive discounts.

6) Paint for models.  I'm not the world's greatest painter, and I'm not interested in starting a commission painting business, , but I can do a store demo-quality army in fairly short order.  And I've done so, in exchange for store credit, a couple times.

 

Of course Rule Zero supersedes everything.  If you're looking to maximize thriftiness, you need to lower your expectations.  You're not going to be able to "chase the meta", you're not going to have a top tier army (probably), and you might not even be able to demand a nice clean hobby project.  You're going to be elbows-deep in the paint-stripping medium of your choice, putting together a mid-tier at best army that hopefully at least has allegiance abilities.

 

This, along with a huge assist from past-Mike (who bought probably more models than he could afford) got me through about 14 months of unemployment.  I put together 5 full armies and spent more actual money on paint than I did on models.

[Johann]

3 SC Boxes Slaanesh daemons. Gives you a nice focus on chariots.

You have a nice block of 30 daemonettes, 3 Exalted or up to 6 normal chariots and 2/3 of the riders could be converted to Hellstriders. Only thing you are really missing is a keeper of secret.  Also the new Box Set is coming this year, so should broaden the model range too.

 

And you are prepared for the arriving of the dark Prince  (everybody should prepare themselves!)

[Skreech Verminking]

9 hours ago, Johann said:

And you are prepared for the arriving of the dark Prince  (everybody should prepare themselves!)

 Perfect distraction for the uprising of the great Horned rat.

Yes-yes we take-steal all the glory

[RuneBrush]

I'd say that the most important thing is now at the planning stage.  I'm guessing that as you're wanting a Battletome army that you're looking for something that has a bit of clout on the table.  Start Collecting boxes already offer a good discount - the Battleforce boxes even more (which are generally releases around December time) but generally will need units boosted a bit for them to be fully effective on the table top.

Other things to bear in mind -

• what are the base "rules", is it X points a month or unit based?
• do you have a "lump" of money to spend at once or are you looking at spending a set amount each month?
• don't feel guilty if one month you need to get something from outside your LGS, running an event like this is ultimately a marketing exercise!

Look forward to seeing what you do!

[Hannibal]

12 hours ago, amysrevenge said:

 

2) Bits.  Many people are willing to give their leftover bits away.  Let it be known that you're interested, and you'll find that people will just give their leftover sprues to you.

3) Conversions.  Use all those free bits to build heroes out of battleline, or battleline out of garbage.  Kids' toys are usually not detailed enough, but can sometimes be utilized as a frame for proper GW bits.

This is some really good advice. Some armies allow for pretty good and simple HERO conversions while others don´t. Maggotkin of Nurgle for example: a box of Putrid Blightkings might seem to be expensive, but on the other hand you can convert almost any Rotbringer Hero out of it, be it Gutrot Spume, Rotbringer Sorcerer, Lord of Blights, Lord of Plagues,... And suddenly that formerly rather expensive boxed set is one of the cheaper ones...

An other thing that hasn´t been mentioned yet: Battalions. Some armies are able to run good Battalions and they will save you money! Ironjaws for example are often seen with 300 points spend on Battalions, which means you need less models. Though it might not be the best idea to just take random Battalions to save money...

And last I want to throw in: look for common tournament armies. It doesn´t have to be the top tier lists, just armies that are fielded on ig events. Not only do you know that these armies will work to a certain degree, some of them are rather low budget armies. Just do the math. As someone here has already written: to build a subpar army just to save 50 bucks may not be the right way if you can get a way better army for a few bucks more.

 

[S133arcanite]

@flamingwalnut How about converting a beasts army out of skitarii bits? It would look really cool and themed (e.g. beasts from chamon), and it would be cheaper.

For example: armiger= 2X ghorgons, ruststalkers=bullgors, rangers= bestigors etc.

 

[SuperHappyTime]

1. Wait until Late November for the bigger boxes.

2. Buy the two sided starter sets and sell the other halves online.

[chord]

Are you trying to build to 2K?

[Skreech Verminking]

On 10/21/2018 at 4:31 PM, Kurrilino said:

Try Stormcast.

They are hated by absolutely everyone and i got 5000 points of army for free

by people giving up the Stormcast stuff they are forced to have.

Ha it’s funny People started giving me their skaven army just for free.

i guess their  reaction to that army was something like, oh cool look at those skaven model, bet they are one of the best army’s on the table.

13 loses later, aren’t you the only guy in our area who still playes skaven?!

her you go, can have all of my ratty models, no payment. Needed.

it literally went similar with the store in my area,

they started giving me box sets of skaven worth around 200bugs for 15dollars, 

when I asked them way they’d give such excellent models for almost no money away, the only answer i got was “we don’t have enough storage place and for some reason nobody except you play and or buys  them.