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Aight, been a few years, considering getting back into 40k. I don't want to break the bank, in case I hate it.

What would be the cheapest competitive army I could pick up to get started? Then move up and on from there.

Thoughts?

A competitive army is going to break the bank no matter what, and most tournaments are running at 1850 pts btw. Eldar,White scar,Necrons , or tau are your best bet, tau don't seem to bad price wise atm.

Depends on the size of the bank I guess. Mine's pretty good, but again, not looking to spend a crazy amount on an army until I decide if the game is worth the investment.

As far as tournaments and stuff go, you should find a friend that would be willing to get into 40k, and you both get the codices for the army and the start collecting. You'll need to pick which competitive army you want first, and as far as eldar go, you'll need to spend $30 extra on the battle force. Don't break the bank on a competitive army on the spot and decide you don't like it. By starting like I just said, you should only be spending about $100- $150 and you'll have the codex, a friend to play against when not at tourneys, and a base to build a competitive army.

Yeah, I'd like to fast forward through all that stuff to the gravy....thanks.

Competitive play is usually 1850 points, but maybe start at 500? You should be decide whether you hate it or not at that level.

Dunno if it would be cheapest, but a pure Imperial knights army would be like 4 models at 1850.

What ever you do, be cautious about the codex price. You dont want to puchase 200 soldiers and then find you you have to spend $83 and another $20 on international shipping from the UK. Just to have a very large book filled with 202 pages of fluff, pictures, and scenarios you will never use or read. Followed by another 36 pages of An entirely different army. And just 45 pages of rules for your army.

The whole crux is that my 200 soldiers are only worth $1 each but I paid closer to their full price of $3 to help support people recoup their prices to fund their next army therby funding the game.

This codex costs approximately half of my army. (Paintes armies are half their NIB prices if not painted by a True professional)

 Primarch wrote:
Yeah, I'd like to fast forward through all that stuff to the gravy....thanks.

If you want a straight forward competitive game, 40k probably doesn't fit that bill for you. It's more of a narrative/social game. If you want to "fast forward through that stuff" you miss out on a big part of what makes this game fun and enjoyable.

Play X Wing instead.