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Hello, I did make a few posts last night but I am new here to the forum (go easy on me!).

I have started collecting about a month ago, after about a 20 year break, I used to collect Dark Angels followed by Tyranids and then Imperial Guard (or Astra Militarium as they are now known!).

Comming back now is a little daunting, but I really liked the looked of the Grey Knights so have baught a load on ebay (all metal, I am old school) and so far I have:

5x Terminators (includes 1x incinerator)
20 x Strike Squad (which includes - 3 incinerators, 1 pyscannon) also 4 of the standard grey knights have been converted to swords over the halberds but hopefully thats allowed.
Brother Captain Stern
Librarian in terminator armour
Inquisitor in terminator armour (model is from 1989!)
What I believe is another Librarian in terminator armour (from 1994)
1 x space marine dreadnaught (dual lascannon + power fist)
1 x space marine dreadnaught (dual lascannon + missiles)

Honestly, I am mostly just enjoying collecting and painting the minuatures, but how I am doing in terms of heading towards a viable army, what should I be looking at next and are any of the above now illegal to use?

I have the 40k rule book, 8th edition, but I dont have the codex yet, but I will in about an hour when the post office opens so I can go and pick it up!

Also remember, I am an older, causal type person, I really don't care about building a very competative army, chances are if I ever do get to play, it'll be a causal type thing and I will laugh probably even more if I get trashed by some 14 year old kid! But it would be nice to take in something I can use without the other person having to bend too many of the rules to fit around my ineptness.

Thanks all!!!

All of your models are probably usable, and you seem to have enough models to form a battalion, which is a great start.

Dreadknight and Stormraven might be good additions. Dreadknight Grandmasters in particular are pretty decent.

And your Inquisitor needs buddies if you don't want to burn one of your precious command points in order to include him. Perhaps a daemonhost and two small acolyte squads. (There are no dedicated acolyte kit at the moment, you can basically build them from any normal human kit you like.)

 Crimson wrote:
All of your models are probably usable, and you seem to have enough models to form a battalion, which is a great start.

Dreadknight and Stormraven might be good additions. Dreadknight Grandmasters in particular are pretty decent.

And your Inquisitor needs buddies if you don't want to burn one of your precious command points in order to include him. Perhaps a daemonhost and two small acolyte squads. (There are no dedicated acolyte kit at the moment, you can basically build them from any normal human kit you like.)

Hi there,

thanks for your reply that is encouraging.

I have the codex now and I've been giving it a good read through.

I see now that to form a Batallion you can only have max 3 HQ units, and I have 4. I also dont believe that in inquisitor is in the Grey Knights codex at all.

However, the inquistor model I have could pass for a chaplain/librarian I am sure, in theory could I then include in my army, a patrol detachment (1 librarian and one troops) and then a batallion (So captain stern, librarian, chaplain to make 3x HQ) and just make up the rest of that batallion as necesarry up to 2000 points or whatever point limit I decide to try for?

If this is true, I thought that the game was pretty restrictive on what you could include, but actually given you can mix and match deteachments, seems quite flexible???

Inquisition rules are no longer in the Grey Knight codex, current rules for them are in Index Imperium 2. But yeah, you can use him as a Librarian too. And yes, you can put some of the stuff in another detachment. Bear in mind though that a lot of people prefer to play with the tournament suggestion of three detachment limit.

Ok great thanks again.

I doubt I will exceed 2 detachments/2000 points.

I was also pleased to see that terminators in Grey Knights count as troops not elites, so I might get another 5 of those, that being said, other than the dreadnaughts I cannot see myself filling the elite unit limit anyway.

I am very much building this army to form over factor, personally I love soldier type units and also standard space marine dreadnaughts. I am also going to attempt a 100% metal build (with the exception of some arms etc that have plastic conversions, and maybe a tank (see below))

There are some models I simply just dont like the look of, despite that they may be very good in game, I very much dislike the Dreadknight model for example and any of the fliers, so based on that they wont be inlcuded.

I think from here I will try and make up a purgation squad (pretty sure I can do this with metals), then might even include a 3rd dreadnaught (because I love them so much) and I may include a tank, but we'll see.

..so far I only have 10 models painted, so with another, mmm 19 plus 2 dreadnaughts I wont buy any more until these are all painted, unless I see something come up on a really good deal on ebay.

BUDFORCE wrote:


I wont buy any more until these are all painted, unless I see something come up on a really good deal on ebay.

Dakka calls BS on that!

I give it a week before he is back here flaunting awesome new metal toys.

Beware the pile of unpainted minis and welcome back!

 darkcloak wrote:

BUDFORCE wrote:


I wont buy any more until these are all painted, unless I see something come up on a really good deal on ebay.

Dakka calls BS on that!

I give it a week before he is back here flaunting awesome new metal toys.

Beware the pile of unpainted minis and welcome back!

haha thanks man!

Well I just did a quick and rough tot-up of my current army points and I make it 1,600 on the nose already, those terminators are very expensive points wise! Seems the HQ units are also expensive, the dreadnaughts are cheap though!

I am probably am looking at a purgation squad, maybe one more dreadnaught then ill be pretty much hitting 2k.

After that I will progress on to another army, probably one that is actually good to play with (I heard grey knights are somewhat terrible) plus I wont be so anal about picking up 100% metal. Like I said earlier, this Grey Knights army is form over factor, its like a showpiece more than to funciton on the field.

Ultimately your definition of viable will be different than ours.

My perspective:

The only unit worth bringing in the entire codex is the "new" Grand Master in Nemesis Dreadknight.

Take a look at the new Imperial Knights. They're technically Knights, and you can paint them Grey! It's therefore fluffy! The models will carry you a bit, getting tabled is no fun.

 Marmatag wrote:
Ultimately your definition of viable will be different than ours.

My perspective:

The only unit worth bringing in the entire codex is the "new" Grand Master in Nemesis Dreadknight.

Take a look at the new Imperial Knights. They're technically Knights, and you can paint them Grey! It's therefore fluffy! The models will carry you a bit, getting tabled is no fun.

The grand master is the only good unit...

A 10-man strike squad triggering the strat for 40 S5 -1 shots from DS isn't good?

Well it has to survive first. And the stuff it does kill costs either less then the GK unit that dies next turn, it kills something but the opponent has 2-3 such units and the GK unit dies next turn, or the thing it is trying to kill laughs at str 5 ap shots.

Ah and as a bonus OP is not running the CP farm, so depending on the turn he may not have those 2 CP to use on that stratagem.

So no, it is not good. Just to get the perspective DW and sternguard get more types of special ammo, both cheaper in unit points and at a 0 CP cost.

Yea on the above post, I probably shouldn't have used the word "viable" more legal would have been appropriate.

I'm just having fun painting and putting together the army, would be nice to use it in game once or twice.

Once I hit 2k points which is my target I will move on to my next army.

I do fancy the look of Imperial guard, only thing that puts me off using them is I don't like the idea of fielding lots of tanks. And I guess they are not good otherwise?

Tyranids?

Choas Space marines?

I don't like most of the others, craftworld maybe, but I heard they are no good? I also like Orks but not sure I could commit to them.

BUDFORCE wrote:
Yea on the above post, I probably shouldn't have used the word "viable" more legal would have been appropriate.

I'm just having fun painting and putting together the army, would be nice to use it in game once or twice.

Once I hit 2k points which is my target I will move on to my next army.

I do fancy the look of Imperial guard, only thing that puts me off using them is I don't like the idea of fielding lots of tanks. And I guess they are not good otherwise?

Tyranids?

Choas Space marines?

I don't like most of the others, craftworld maybe, but I heard they are no good? I also like Orks but not sure I could commit to them.

Have you finished this army? My biggest mistake in my 30 years or so of collecting is not finishing (i do if have to for a tournament or narrative games etc, but if not go meh finish later...FINISH NOW). Even if Grey knights are sub par finish them first. Next army would be Custodes bikers cause easy and good or some Imperial Guard units or something that compliments your Imperial army (or if bored of painting imperial wait for Orks release and go a xenos)

Spectral Ceramite wrote:

BUDFORCE wrote:
Yea on the above post, I probably shouldn't have used the word "viable" more legal would have been appropriate.

I'm just having fun painting and putting together the army, would be nice to use it in game once or twice.

Once I hit 2k points which is my target I will move on to my next army.

I do fancy the look of Imperial guard, only thing that puts me off using them is I don't like the idea of fielding lots of tanks. And I guess they are not good otherwise?

Tyranids?

Choas Space marines?

I don't like most of the others, craftworld maybe, but I heard they are no good? I also like Orks but not sure I could commit to them.

Have you finished this army? My biggest mistake in my 30 years or so of collecting is not finishing (i do if have to for a tournament or narrative games etc, but if not go meh finish later...FINISH NOW). Even if Grey knights are sub par finish them first. Next army would be Custodes bikers cause easy and good or some Imperial Guard units or something that compliments your Imperial army (or if bored of painting imperial wait for Orks release and go a xenos)

Oh yeah I will finish them first, I am getting there, I picked up a metal brother captain terminator (not stern, generic one with a helmet on) he was on ebay real cheap as someone had tried to convert him and his right arm (normally holding the melee weapon) was basically cut off with a hole in it, and his left arm was missing.

I baught a plastic banner (one that comes with the plastic paladin set I believe) and I actually cut a little cyclindar disc bit that is on the plastic sprues and stuck it on the end of the arm, I can then glue the plastic banner on top of that (I know it sounds kinda brutal but actually looks pretty good). I also ebay'd a terminator pyscannon arm.

So basically that will make a nice conversion of a paladan ancient in metal that I can add to the list as an elite.

I also ebay'd 10 of the teleporter back packs and have stuck those on to the metal strike squad marines, which effectively makes them interceptor squads.

I am up to 1795 points now (current army so far in spoiler)

Since it seems like you're racing to 2000 points rather than building a cohesive force, you could eat more points by making your dreadnoughts venerable. They'd have a 2+ bs and a 6+ fnp, also.

So you've come back and picked grey knights, methinks your return shall be short lived.

Well I am visiting my folks in London they still had all my old Warhammer I cannot believe how many I have.

I have about 25 dark angels, 10 man space marines, 5x terminator, 5x assault sqaud, azreal, asmodai, few others etc

I have quite a few Tyranids, 2 hive tyrants, carnifex, genestealers, hormagants, lictor, some other big ones (I don't know all the names sorry) but probably 40 models at least.

Then Imperial guard, well, I mean at have at least 50 troops, a basilisk, hellhound talk, some walker thing.

A lot of the above are metal.

Also a load of 2nd edition books, one Ork one is going for £55-£60 on eBay.

Oh and don't be discouraged by people saying the Grey Knights are bad. This is true, but GW is addressing balance of armies in unprecedented speed these days. Whilst their attempts seem a bit haphazard it still means that fixes (or at least changes...) happen rapidly so one should not worry too much about what is competitive right now as that may soon change.