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After painting and playing Orks for a year and a half, over three hundred models and counting, I'm really interested in picking up a second army.
However, I am a little burnt out on moving sooo many models around the table.
So, my question to you guys is, what is the smallest army I could build and still be a competitive force?
I hear things about GK, and SW, but I don't know anything about anything but Orks, which I know oh so well.
Thanks!

GK Draigo Wing, DA Deathwing, Or Vanilla Marines Bikes Are all armies that are generally pretty small yet still quite competitive.

BA mech armies can do it. In my 2500pt list I usually have 15 vehicles, 1-2 dreads, and 35 marines

Draigowing is all about complex wound allocation right?
Though I love the lists I'm seeing, I just don't know if I'm comfortable exploiting the allocation rules regularly.
People are sooo pissy about it.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also, are Paladins the same model as Terms?
I have two boxes of Terms just sitting around, still in the shrinkwrap.

Draigowing is awful. It's slow as hell and can be outrun and outgunned. A lot of people just go "HOLY BALLS 2W TERMINATORS" and fail to think of anything else.

Yes, they are the same models as Terminators.

matphat wrote:Also, are Paladins the same model as Terms?

Yep. The only difference seems to be the emblem Paladins bear on top of their armour (on the little stick).

i saw a grey knight army with 13 models... I'd only collect that due to the very low model size, like I did with my German late war army (3 tigers, 1 king tiger)

I've had success with Draigowing, and I haven't heard my opponents complain about wound allocation. I guess that can vary from group to group. My 2k army is only 23 models: 2x10 diversified paladins, Draigo, librarian, and a dreadknight.

Deathwing is fun. All Terminators that can mix-and-match weapons in each squad; so you can have a SGT with PW/SB, 1 guy with PF/SB, 1 guy with LC/LC, 1 guy with TH/SS/CML, and 1 guy with TH/SS to maximise wound allocation.
Or (depending on points level) 9 squads of TH/SS with a CML in each (6 as troops and 3 as elites).
It is rather neet to watch your opponents expression as you drop 30+ Terminators who are feerless and scoring on the table as your entire army.
You also get tricksies like Death Wing Assault (half the units deepstrik on turn 1, the other half in normal reserves). 3 Terminator squads dropping right in front of someone can be a huge panic factor. They usually hurt/kill 1 unit, then get assaulted on turn 2 by the others.
The drawback being once he figures out how to kill a unit it becomes a simple 'rinse and repeat' game.

Ok, so Draigowing considered, what other armies can boast these low model counts?
Any Xeno?

My best best for a properly competitive army is deathwing for 1500 I usually run this: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/355113.page (bottom one)

You could try tyranids with lots of MC. Screw GK every where you go you see a GK army. With new tyranid models coming out it may be something you are interested in. They may not be the most competitive but they are by far the most fun army to play (other than orks IMO).

Xenos? An Eldar mech army. Eldar wave serpents are tanks in their own right and are expensive enough that you're probably aren't going to see a super high model count. It's just grav tanks a go-go. I'm thinking 3xFire Prism/Falcons,an HQ, about four squads in grav tanks, and Vipers would probably get you to 1850 pretty quick.

GK is good in general, but what you're probably going to want is one of those goofy armies, like MotF all-dreadnought armies, or all-bike armies (especially an eldar all-jetbike army with a big council). It's too bad armored companies aren't legal anymore, because you could easily run a 1k points army with 3 vehicles back in the day.

All great suggestions! Thanks!
I'm really looking to pick up something that is very minimal in model count, but still some what competitive.
A fully Mech army isn't going to get me that, because I'll need to run my FOC PLUS the mech, and suddenly it's back up to 40-50 models.
=(
So far, sadly, GK are looking like the best choice.

Daemons can build a pretty fun monster mash theme:
HQ: Fateweaver + Skarbrand or basic 'Thirster
Elites: Fiends and/or 'Crushers
Troops: 1x5 Plaguebearers + 1x5 pinkies w/Bolt & Changeling
Heavy: 3x Daemon Princes

Not a lot of models overall, but everything outside of your Troops have multiple wounds, and with Fatey, you get a bubble of 're-roll failed saves' around him, so the army is actually pretty damn resiliant!

Only problem is GK's are a very unfun uphill battle and against any build utilising strikes and/or intercepters, they can really limit where you can even attempt to deploy due to 'broken quake'.

Oh, you could also do chaos as well Tzeentch-themed lists, for example, put a pretty small number of models into a pretty large number of points. Once you throw down 20 warriors devoted to a specific god (especially 1ksons), and a couple of demon princes and oblits, you're easily looking at a 1000 point list with less than 30 models

my main army is necrons and i picked Grey Knights as my second army because i could go low unitcount effectivly and i had gakloads of metallic paint after painting necrons

1000p point army so far with a redeemer with 5 terminators, 2 rhinos with 5 GKSS in each and a dreadknight with psycannon and sword. and offcourse a 25 point ordolol as my friends call the cheap GK hq

In time i'll propably build on this army and mainstream it abit more with psybacks/psyflemen and all the GK cheese, but for now its my "hey lets play a quick game" army.

Hyd wrote:

matphat wrote:Also, are Paladins the same model as Terms?

Yep. The only difference seems to be the emblem Paladins bear on top of their armour (on the little stick).

Dont forget the difference between helmets as well, granted most people dont madel that difference but dosent mean that they weren't designed to be that way.

As for fun army thats low model count, i say CD army they are fun and you get to not be like everyone else since how many other people play demons compared to GK.