What is the least expensive army in Warhammer 40,000?

Question

My friend wants to get involved in Warhammer 40,000. But is frequently disturbed by DS games and such. So he lacks a serious budget.

What is the least expensive army in Warhammer 40,000 universe?

Please note where we are (Russia) there is no near Independent Stockists or Gamesworkshop. So we can only go and buy Warhammer every holiday (which aren't terribly frequent)

Please relevant answers only!

Answer 1

As I understand it, GW has standard prices for all of the boxed sets.  The only thing that's different is the number of models you get.  For example, a squad of space marines (in the US) is $35.  For that, you get 10 marines.  A squad of tyranids, on the other hand, comes with 16 models for the same price.

I think GW has standardized the prices in order to make all armies roughly equal and level the playing field.  If your friend is hooked on DS, he might want to go with a space marine army, since their army will usually have fewer models and they can be easy to paint.  The price will be about the same, but it won't take him as much time to get the army up and running.

Answer 2

Well, first of all, don't forget that GW's Mail Order service is there for you.  They are more than capable of dispatching to Russia.

However, when it comes to cheap armies, there are a few options.

The trick is to find armies that allow you to fill up compulsory Troop choices with high points value units, thus keeping the number of requisite models to a minimum.  Combine this with armies that allow very small Troops choices and throw in some high-value Heavy Support/Elite/Fast Attack/HQ units and you can throw out 1500 points in a surprisingly small number of models.

But of course, a small number of models doesn't always equal a small bill.  An armoured Imperial Guard company is *expensive*.  Still, when it comes to discount GW products, the Internet is your friend.  A number of online retailers offer a standard discount of 10% on GW's prices (Malestrom Games and Gifts for Geeks are just two that routinely offer even better discounts of up to 20% or more).  I'm currently building a Necron army on the cheap and I've got my first twelve models for about 5% off GW prices, even including postage (although I'm in the UK, admittedly).

So - now, at last, to my recommendations.  I have three.

The first is the "all-rounder" suggestion.  This is a Necron Army.  A couple of ten-'cron Warrior Squads can then be fleshed out with just a handful of further choices to make a tactically-strong 1500-point army.  Destroyers come as plastic kits, as does the ever-reliable Necron Monolith, making them light on postage as well as great choices for the tabletop.  They're easy to paint, too.

The second is the "elites" suggestion.  A Deathwing army is tactically inflexible, but when they're played well they can win big.  And there's nothing quite like the look on an opponent's face when you teleport the whole army on in one go.  Plastic terminators are the stock-in-trade and, with a bit of imagination and the help of a Dark Angels conversion kit, you can dispense with needing metal character models at all.

The third is the "veterans" suggestion: really only suitable for those prepared to put in a fair amount of time and effort on picking up bargains on eBay and suchlike - the Grey Knights army.  This army is an "all metal" army and so needs quite an investment in time, but smart buying and a willingness to do some imaginative conversions can piece together an excellent army that performs well on the battlefield as well as looking awesome.

There are other options I could have mentioned, but most of these require you to accept building an army with little or no real tabletop ability, sacrificing all tactical utility for the sake of saving a few pennies: something, I'm sure, your friend wouldn't want to do.

Answer 3

Well armies that have a higher basic troop cost and HQ cost would field less models on the table- although more powerful. For example a space marine is 15 points, a death guard chaos space marine is 23 points, and a necron warriors is 18 points. Probably more important then army costs is the number of points played in a game. Start off by building a 500 point army which would be a squad or two, an HQ choice and maybe a light tank- enough models for a quick game with some diversity- could probably be built for around $100 US.