Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I have been scouring ebay for years, and I have noticed a few trends. There are plenty of armies in the game that cost a fortune to build, but I have noticed that some just cost a ALOT more, either due to rarity, or because they are new armies (not enough used minis floating around). I am writing this based on building an effective 1850 point list. Does this seem accurate?

Most Expensive:

Sisters of Battle
Genestealer Cult
Ad Mech/Skitarii

Cheapest:

Space Marines
Grey Knights

It depends on rarity of models, sisters are in that category; army lists with high model count like infantry based IG and orks can cost very high; low model count armies like grey knights are on the lower cost end.

Orks are expensive if you are in it for the actual models like me. Takes a lot of models to fill 1850 pts and still be effective on the table. Even for aesthetic purposes the scene needs a proper green horde.

I've found some pretty cheap ork hordes on ebay though. In fact, I almost picked up about 2,000 points for 300-400 bucks (several different times). If you keep watching ebay you can find someone offloading them. Usually badly painted, but sometimes some decent painted stuff. I thought about piecing together a nice horde in the future.

I've never found a cheap Sisters army, ever.

Most expensive? Death Korps of Krieg, Elysians, Renegades and Heretics, or Sisters of Battle.

Cheapest, probably Tau or Marines.

there are 2 reasons why those 3 armies are more expensive:
1) sisters of battle are relativley rare, upping the price
2) GS cults and Skitarii are both newer factions. People tend to charge more since newer stuff can usually get away with that.

As for the question:
1) Nids/orks/IG (horde armies tend to eat cash)
2) Most FW armies (with Brexit, the prices have leveled a decent bit, actually.)
3) "competative" space marines, because buying 10 razorbacks is never "cheap"

Adepta Sororitas are probably and easily the most expensive army to build per model, although Imperial Guard in theory can beat them in the TOTAL sense. if yiou just mean building one singular 1850 army though with no other options, I think you have to give the nod to Adepta Sororitas.

I suppose I'm not adverse to buying from e-bay. I'm in it for the modelling and painting hobby though. It would still have to be unassembled and unpainted. I do a fair amount of the painting before I put them together. Got a little square piece of Styrofoam with a forest of bamboo sticks that have ork limbs, heads and torsos staked to them. It would make Vladimir Dracul proud.

If you include ebay, cheapest would be dark angels, because sellers have been parting out dark vengeance, so you can get your HQ, troops, elites, and fast attack for pretty cheap. It wouldn't be a particularly good army, but you could get 1500 points for less than 200$.

I'd have to say to get an effective space marine army it would end up being one of the more expensive armies. You need a double demi company, plus 250 bucks worth of transports/drop pods, and then probably a bit more to get a skyhammer annihilation add on. A Lot of those models will have to be new since your going to be spamming grav. At a somewhat educated guess, you'd probably be looking 600ish dollars, maybe 700 if you strike out on ebay.

I did the math on necrons (posted in the necrons thread) and it's just under 400 to have a list that would be very competitive in the local meta. You'd have most of the units you see on the blood of kittens army lists for necrons, minus the d-cult and pylons. With the new transport + infantry boxes you might even be able to get it going for less, say 350 or so. I know that isn't the absolute bargain basement, but my guess is it's one of the cheaper armies to get started with due to the exceptional value of the start collecting and transport boxes.

 Grimgold wrote:

I did the math on necrons (posted in the necrons thread) and it's just under 400 to have a list that would be very competitive in the local meta. You'd have most of the units you see on the blood of kittens army lists for necrons, minus the d-cult and pylons. With the new transport + infantry boxes you might even be able to get it going for less, say 350 or so. I know that isn't the absolute bargain basement, but my guess is it's one of the cheaper armies to get started with due to the exceptional value of the start collecting and transport boxes.

Side note, can you post link to this thread for me?

I'll do one better since it's probably buried, I'll just post it here since people might find it here, I haven't updated it for the new transport box but I'll do so via an edit to this post by eod today, just have to move some things around.

Overview: This is a guide for how to start collecting a necrons army, while not necessarily buying everything at once. It's broken up into four phases, with each phase being a playable army that uses all or almost all of the models collected thus far. Where possible I place an emphasis on thrift and an eye towards building an effective army now and laying the foundations for an effective army to come.

TL: DR Collection Order Summary

Phase 1 Getting Started
1.) Start Collecting Box

Phase 2a 1k CAD
2.) Necron Codex (Digital or used)
3.) Warriors (NIB preferably) - Congratulations you have your first CAD
4.) Canoptek Wraiths
5.) Tomb Blades (you are very likely to pay retail for these)
6.) Unit of immortals
7.) Tomb Spyder - Congratulations you can make your first decurion, though you might not play it that way immediately.

Phase 2b 1k Decurion
8.) More Canoptek Wraiths

Phase 3 1500 CAD/Decurion
9.) 2 x 5 Triarch Praetorians
10.) Ghost Arc

Phase 1 - Start collecting (retail $85, ebay usually 70$ New with free shipping)
There is nothing in this box you won't use, from the warriors to the stalker to the scarabs to the overlord. It comes with it's own formation, is around 450 points, and is a significant discount from retail. A word to the wise, the stalker is an excellent candidate to magnatize it's weapon, all three of it's weapons are good against different targets, and rather than have to proxy you can magnatize it's one weapon attachment point, it's super easy, here is a good tutorial on it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JbpKSUoCn8 with the added bonus of there already a hole in the place you'll need so if you use to different diameter magnets (a large one on top of the hole, and small ones attached to the weapons) you won't have to do the predrilling.

Phase 2a - 1k Combined arms detachment (retail is $225 before tax and shipping, ebay varies but as of writing it was $158 in buy it now)
Technically all you need to have a combined arms detachment (the default force org chart) is one more troop choice (warriors or immortals), but this section is a bridge from the start collecting box to your first decurion. Even if you choose to not run a decurion, having the option to run our most competitive formation is a good goal (because your opponents won't feel bad about running formations even while they throw salt at yours). Your first two purchases should be the Necron Codex (digital is cheaper, and you can use google books if you don't have an I-phone), and a unit of warriors (NIB is best for this because it will come with the extra scarabs). This will put you around 700 points depending on how you kit your overlord and and stalker. Your next purchases should be a box of Canoptek wraiths (build them with whip coils) and a box of Tomb Blades (build them with gauss blasters), both of these are excellent additions to your CAD and give you mobility it was lacking up to this point. Your final Purchases for this phase are a unit of Immortals (build them with Gauss) and a Tomb Spyder (put the guns on it, you'll rarely run it this way, but it's better to have it and not need it). Your Phase 2 CAD List should look like this (999 points):

+ HQ +
····Overlord [Phase Shifter, Warscythe]

+ Elites +
····Triarch Stalkers
······Triarch Stalker [Heat Ray]

+ Troops +
····Immortals [Gauss Blaster, 5x Immortal]
····Warriors
······11x Necron Warrior [11x Gauss Flayer]
····Warriors
······12x Necron Warrior [12x Gauss Flayer]

+ Fast Attack +
····Canoptek Scarabs [6x Canoptek Scarab]
····Canoptek Wraiths x 3
······[Whip Coils]
····Tomb Blades x 3
······[Nebuloscope, Shield Vanes, Twin-linked Gauss Blaster]

+ Heavy Support +
····Canoptek Spyders [Canoptek Spyder]

Phase 2b - 1k Decurion (Retail $47, usually around $37 on ebay)
Welcome to the majors, the only addition to the 1k CAD you need to make is a three more wraiths because you'll have to leave your stalker in the box to run a decurion (don't worry he'll be back soon, and it's worth it). Decurions are quite different from cads in the way your army will be put together, instead of individual units you will take formations that consist of multiple units, so it's less flexible in which units you get to take, but it comes with advantages that more than offset that. The first formation you'll need is your reclamation legion, which will be the core of the army. You'll also need at least one auxiliary, for which we will be using the canoptek harvest. Decurions come with a grab bag of army wide special rules, relentless, move thru cover, and enhanced repair protocols (now you repair on a 4+). In addition each formation has it's own special rules, so your reclamation legion allows it's members within 12" of your overlord to reroll ones on repair protocols. Your harvest gives your wraith, scarabs, and spyder repair protocols (there are other options but they are kind of lame), which being in a decurion bumps up to a 4+. As you can imagine this is quite a bit stronger than the 1k CAD, and most armies don't get their counters to decurions until higher points, so please decurion responsibly, unless you are facing Tau, eldar, or space marines, in which case go wild because they can take the heat. Here is a sample of what your decurion should look like:

+ Core +
····Formation: Reclamation Legion
······Immortals [Gauss Blaster, 5x Immortal]
······Overlord [Gauntlet of Fire, Phase Shifter, Warscythe]
······Tomb Blades
········3x Tomb Blade [Nebuloscope, Shield Vanes, Twin-linked Gauss Blaster]
······Warriors
········12x Necron Warrior [12x Gauss Flayer]
······Warriors
········10x Necron Warrior [10x Gauss Flayer]

+ Auxiliary +
····Formation: Canoptek Harvest [Canoptek Spyder]
······Canoptek Scarabs [6x Canoptek Scarab]
······Canoptek Wraiths
········6x Canoptek Wraith [Whip Coils]

Phase 3 - 1500pt CAD/Decurion (retail $116 around $103 on ebay)
1500pts is the common points value for friendly games, it's also where most armies will hit their stride. In order to use your stalker you'll need two 5 man units of triarch Praetorians. There is a lot of debate on how to equip them, I feel the void blade/pistol option is more flexible, but in an army as short on AP 2 as necrons the Rod is also very tempting, You might go with one of each if you are on the fence. The judicator battalion has one of the most insane special rules, which allows the stalker and the prats to reroll missed hits and failed wounds/armor pen rolls on a unit designated by the stalker. You'll want to make sure to get at least 25% cover on the stalker as it will draw alot of fire. With both a judicator battalion and a Canoptek harvest, you'll be a little CC heavy, so my final recommendation is a ghost Arc, which is a great boost to your armies shooting, and is a second vehicle for your army which will also make your stalker a bit more survivable, by giving your opponents anti-vehicle units more targets. If you took all of my advice to this point here is what your list will look like:

+ Core +
····Formation: Reclamation Legion
······Immortals [Gauss Blaster, 5x Immortal]
······Overlord [Phase Shifter, Warscythe]
······Tomb Blades
········3x Tomb Blade [Nebuloscope, Shield Vanes, Twin-linked Gauss Blaster]
······Warriors
········12x Necron Warrior [12x Gauss Flayer]
······Warriors
········Ghost Ark [2x Gauss Flayer Array]
········10x Necron Warrior [10x Gauss Flayer]

+ Auxiliary +
····Formation: Canoptek Harvest [Canoptek Spyder]
······Canoptek Scarabs [6x Canoptek Scarab]
······Canoptek Wraiths
········6x Canoptek Wraith [Whip Coils]

····Formation: Judicator Battalion
······Triarch Praetorians [5x Triarch Praetorian, Voidblade & Particle Caster]
······Triarch Praetorians [Rod of Covenant, 5x Triarch Praetorian]
······Triarch Stalkers
········Triarch Stalker [Heat Ray]

Where to go next
If you've gotten this far, I imagine you'll have played a few games decided what you like and don't like, figured out what your local meta is like, and if so you're well equipped to decide what units your interested in. Whichever way you go you'll have a solid base with a fairly competitive take all comers necron list. If your not planning on doing tournaments, you might add some models that are more interesting than optimized, things like Monoliths, C'tan, or deathmarks. If you are planning on doing tournaments (generally held at 1850 points) you have two paths forward, the easiest is to focus on your armies good units and get more of them, grab another unit of tomb blades, maybe another ghost arc, maybe some more prats. The other is to get our most effective formation, the destroyer cult, which will probably (but not necessarily) replace your judicator battalion.

 Verviedi wrote:
Most expensive? Death Korps of Krieg, Elysians, Renegades and Heretics, or Sisters of Battle.

Cheapest, probably Tau or Marines.

I saw some of the Death Korps of Krieg models awhile back and thought I want to build a army with them! Then I found out how much they cost, you spam them like IG but cost probably more then Adepta Sororitas per model.

Orks are dependent.

If it's using nothing but GW models NIB, can be extremely pricey. Especially for spam lists like trukks which are 45$ a piece in Canada.

Cheap if you rip apart old kids toys and put them together with plasticard, which is my method. Second hand Orks are relatively easy to strip from paint and redo.

zalak wrote:

 Verviedi wrote:
Most expensive? Death Korps of Krieg, Elysians, Renegades and Heretics, or Sisters of Battle.

Cheapest, probably Tau or Marines.

I saw some of the Death Korps of Krieg models awhile back and thought I want to build a army with them! Then I found out how much they cost, you spam them like IG but cost probably more then Adepta Sororitas per model.

Surprisingly, they don't. DKoK infantry are about $5.50 each. Adepta Sororitas are $8 each. That should really tell you something about the state of Sisters.
We have some DKoK players in the area, someone brought them in for Armies On Parade. Beautiful models.

For those who have built a KDK army, did it cost a lot?

Whichever horde army is the most competitive at the time.
You still need a truckload of models, but due to greater demand (in my experience people want what is good), buying second hand becomes more expensive. So retail price, or close to it.

A forgeworld 30k Imperial Army...army is probably the most expensive. Higher cost than DKoK, just as spammed, and pricier vehicles.

The cheapest? Chaos marines. You can go on eBay and find 20 listings for someone's secondhand chaos marines sitting in a tub. Years of being the starter set army plus any regular marine turning into one with some badly glued skulls and spikes means there's a surplus of them on the resale market.

I had a large Sisters of Battle army in 4th edition. Prolly 2K points or more.

Why did I sell it? Ugh...

Any army with pink horrors.

A squad of 10 can spawn up to 40 blue horrors. That can also spawn up to 80 brimstone horrors.

So, you need 130 models.

For 90 pts.

Quickly, someone post a cunning moneygrab picture.

I'll see your FW 30k Imperial Army and raise you 40k Renegades and Heretics. Basically the same thing, except with more infantry, more vehicles, and no Provenance of War for more effective builds with smaller model counts.

As for the cheapest the Deathwatch certainly deserve consideration. You can get a solid thousand-point army running for around $100 on Ebay, if you don't mind paint-stripping some terrible Rhinos.

 koooaei wrote:
Any army with pink horrors.

A squad of 10 can spawn up to 40 blue horrors. That can also spawn up to 80 brimstone horrors.

So, you need 130 models.

For 90 pts.

Quickly, someone post a cunning moneygrab picture.

I've actually considered selling my Thousand Sons/Tzeentch army because of this.

I have no desire to buy or collect all that crap, even if they are mostly proxies. And carry around 50+ EXTRA models (at least). Oh and get them painted?

The splitting doesn't even sound like fun, either. But it's so strong it would be stupid not to use. It would actually make my Tzeentch army competitive.

The cheapest army is probably a infernal tetrarchy which comes in at 80 - 100 pound depending on if you buy directly from GW since all it requires is 4 daemon princes.

SoB are obscene. 14$ for a heavy flamer, ebay sellers charging higher than retail prices and lying about a model being 'oop', immolators going for 50-60 per for a 40$ kit...ugh god that army was hard to build.

The most expensive 40k army I have ever seen is the Ultramarines army GW was pushing a few years ago. Every model for the full chapter. Was going for around $12k USD iirc.

Wonder if anyone actually bought that thing.

The cheapest army I have ever seen was a Daemons list with Fateweaver, 4 daemon Prince's, and a soul grinder. It cost $200 to build with eBay prices.

You can buy two horus heresy box game sets for 300 bucks.

That gets you MORE then enough marines and good models at that. Betrayal at calth is the best imo.

The worst is a tie between NEW orks or sisters.

ERJAK wrote:
SoB are obscene. 14$ for a heavy flamer, ebay sellers charging higher than retail prices and lying about a model being 'oop', immolators going for 50-60 per for a 40$ kit...ugh god that army was hard to build.

Do you think it was worth it? Are they still fun to play? I miss my old army.

Without scratch building or converting orks are by far the most expensive army in 40k. If you go with the orignal trukks, BWs, tankbustas, mek gunz (models that you need in a huge number and that can be converted) plus the models that can't be replaced you will empty your bank account...

 Whitebeard wrote:

ERJAK wrote:
SoB are obscene. 14$ for a heavy flamer, ebay sellers charging higher than retail prices and lying about a model being 'oop', immolators going for 50-60 per for a 40$ kit...ugh god that army was hard to build.

Do you think it was worth it? Are they still fun to play? I miss my old army.

Bolter Sisters are much cheaper in bulk, but then you have to work out how to convert the special/heavy weapons.

Can someone explain why Chaos Renegades cost so much?
I have a lot of cultists... what in that army cost so much exactly?

 Whitebeard wrote:
Can someone explain why Chaos Renegades cost so much?
I have a lot of cultists... what in that army cost so much exactly?

All the models, especially if you buy from Forgeworld. I have seen R&H lists with almost 200 models.