In part two of the $300 challenge, we drop some feddies on an army and everything we need to see if we can get started in the hobby from scratch for $300.
Last week we presented a simple premise: Can one get started in the GW hobby for $300 or less with a fun, unique and still competitive army? I decided to pick up the gauntlet (that I threw down! haha) and accept the challenge.
The army I chose was Daemons, as I think it is a unique army (one of the least commonly seen), fun (it has a very different play style from most armies) and I competitive (Fatecrusher and Fiendcrusher are brutal).
But, with a $300 budget, building either of those lists wouldn’t be viable.
But, I get ahead of myself. First things first! The compulsory items.
Assault on Black Reach rule book, for the rules…does this require explanation? I hope not! $10
Codex Chaos Daemons….for more rules! $33 ($26.40 at our 20% discount at Frontline Gaming)
GW Tape Measure: $8 ($6.4 after discount)
Koplow Dice (Square edged dice roll close to a statistical average than rounded dice): $11 ($8.8)
Testors plastic glue (Sooooo much better than GW’s, more in a tube and cheaper): $2
X-Acto knife: $6.56
That brings us to a total of: $60.16 for the basics.
That leaves the actual models.
Battleforces are typically a good value, we we’ll start there.
2 Battle forces: $210 ($168 at Frontline Gaming)
So that gives a pretty good core of units to build the army out. But it really lacks any heavy hitters. Bloodcrushers are great, but a little pricey for our budget, how about fiends?
Fiends are very pricey, and I think the metal models are pretty ugly. I had a friend, Tyson, who made some beautiful Fiends out of Goblin Spider Riders from the Fantasy range, and the top halves of Daemonettes. Spider Riders are $35 a box, and with two boxes, I’d have enough to make 18 fiends, which really gives the army some punch, leaving 2 Deamonettes to spare.
2 Goblin Spider Riders: $70 ($56 after discount)
So, that gives me a core of troops for scoring objectives, Seekers for a fast, infantry killer (plus they have grenades!) and Fiends for taking on pretty much everything.
What about HQ?
The Masque is good, with the ability to move units (including walkers!) and pull them down out of buildings where your Calvary units can’t reach, she is very useful.
We’ll use one of the left over Deamonettes to convert into the Masque.
That leaves a Deamonette and 2 Spider riders left unused…hmm, sounds like a great opportunity to convert up a Herald of Slanesh on a chariot to me!
That brings us to a total of $284.16
So, what about a list?
Well, here we go with what we have, using everything:
HQ
The Masque: 100pts
Herald of Slanesh on Chariot: Sporofic Musk, Pavane, Deamonic Gaze, Unholy Might, Transfixing Gaze: 130pts
Troops
Bloodletters x 20: Fury: 330pts
Bloodletters x 20: Fury: 330pts
Horrors x 5: Bolt: 95
Horrors x 5: Bolt: 95
Horrors x 5: Bolt: 95
Horrors x 5: Bolt: 95
Elites
Fiends x 6: Might: 190
Fiends x 6: Might: 190
Fiends x 6: Might: 190
Fast
Seekers x 10: 160
Total: 2,000 points
So we have a beginning! I actually think this list will be good, too. At the very least, a lot of fun.
A 2,000 point army for under $300, and with enough money left over to get some paints, too. Next step: assemble the troops!