My first attempt ever at a 40k Army (GKs 1500)

Greetings Brothers,
I am brand new to the hobby and have truly fallen in love with GKs. (their fluff, looks, etc) I have a minor tourney coming up at my local shop that has a 1500 pnt limit. This tourney is completely for fun, prizes for all etc. So if I can, I'm hoping to field an army and enter. Any advice would be more than appreciated as again I am brand new to 40k and have yet to actually play. I've watched several matches and have studied the GK codex and the rule book, but I'm still struggling to fully grasp the full concept of what goes in to constructing an army list.

So far my best attempt is this:

Lord Kaldor Draigo
Paladin Squadx5- 2 halberd/2sword/ 1 Deamon Hammer
GKSSx10- 2 incinerators, psybolt ammo
Rino dedicated transport for the GKSS x1
Dread Knight x2- Hvy Incinerator and Nemesis Great Sword on each.

This total brings me to 1220.

With 280 pnts to spare, what would you add? Does what I have so far make a pretty sound base for my army so far? If you have any advice please feel free to share. I'm pretty good at taking constructive critisism so dont be afraid to hurt my feelings Also, none of these models are bought yet so add and remove anything as you see fit.

Thanks

Not a bad start Brother
I would suggest taking out 1 Dreadknight and adding 2 psyflemen dreads. The long range fire from the dreadnoughts can really complement Draigo and the paladins. You will still have roughly 200pts to play with. Maybe a small squad of Interceptors for a highly mobile unit that can harry flanks or make last minute objective grabs. Or you can also consider a small unit of purifiers w/ 2 psycannons in a rhino.

Have you built the units you mentioned? If not, I would also suggest giving your GKSS psycannons instead. They save you 20pts and they complement the psybolts as well. This unit can really make a lot of money for you if you can let them shoot for as many turns as possible. If you want incinerators, I think they are more effective w/ Interceptors (swooping in to apply the template) or purifiers (where they are free).

These are all just suggestions of course. After you've tried out different units, you'll know which playing style suits you best. Good luck!

tried to post earlier but my internet failed me not much to add to Rivan... take at least 1 dreadnought with twinlinked autocannons and psybolt ammo... your body count is a bit low atm so perhaps a fast and mobile interceptor squad can help!
and i wouldnt take incinerators on your SS, psycannons rule supreme!

i usually play a purifier list with 2x10 purifiers... the look on my opponents face when i tell him i'm gonna fire 32 str 7 rending shots priceless

Brother Rivan,
Thank you very much for taking the time to offer your assistance. I thought about Dreads as well but from what I remember the GKs refrain from using DNs as much as possible so for the simple sake of fluff, I didn't look to them (lol).

I still have yet to purchase ANY models at all, funds are a bit tight so I'm trying to decide my best plan of action before purchasing any models.

Also, would I have thrown together another list that seems to be better (in my mind) but I'm curious as to which of the two you would suggest. The one I posted about as a base or this one that is nearly 1500 pnts

Draigo
Librarian-shroud, sanctuary, quicken, MoT, Nemesis staff

10 paladins, totally wound allocated
1 psycannon hammer
1 psycannon MC hammer
1 psycannon halberd
1 psycannon sword
1 sword
1 halberd
1 mc halberd
1 hammer
1 brother banner
1 staff

10 GKSS, psybolt ammo
1 halberd
1 mc halberd, mc bolter
1 hammer
2 sword
Rino dedicated transport

1455 pnts total.

In all honesty this was based off a post Brother MJ made about an 1850 Pally list, I broke it down and adjusted as I saw fit in order to add more speed and model count (as well as being a 1500 list) by dropping 10 of his pallys and adding the 10 GKSS with the transport.

[https://greyknights.forumotion.com/t2191-1850-pure-pally] -Brother MJ's post (in case anyone was interested, inspiration is thanks to him)

Brother Requiem, thank you as well for you wonderful recommendation. I had no idea Purifiers were such badasses I blame that on my severe lack of game knowledge at this point but I am definitely going to consider them as troop choices. Perhaps I could add 10xPurifiers instead of the GKSS since there is a 40 pnt difference between the 2 squads (which I have room for) although I'm not sure how to outfit them properly.

(Also the psycannon suggestions from both of you will be looked at as well )

Thank you Brothers

@DCSJ30: That's indeed what the old fluff says. And I'm one to always consider fluff when I make my lists. However, I believe the new fluff doesn't really adhere to the aversion for dreadnought entombment anymore. I think the psyflemen dreads are really key to most GK builds and compliments our mid-range capabilities very well.

As for the lists, the two lists are played very differently so its hard to compare. The Draigo + pallies list will have a hard time vs certain opponents. Primarily fast-moving shooty lists. Both lists can do well, when played right and in the right circumstances.

only problem with purifiers is that they're elites, not troops and you'd have to bring HQ crowe to make them count als troops. So replacing your SS with purifiers won't work as you'll be short one troops choice!

I like to take 2x 10 purifiers, with 2 hammers, 4 cannons, and the rest halberds... why? because the 10man squad is a killer in every fight, and!! you can decide to combat squad them in the game (not recommended for kill point games xD) which allows you to split them up into 1 hammer and 4 psycannons and 1 hammer and 4 halbers, giving you an AWESOME mid range firepower squad, and a badass close combat squad

Yeah I noticed that you need Crowe, I'm working on a list currently with Crowe and Purifiers. Would you suggest adding in some terminators, GKSS, or some heavier support?

DCSJ30 - Glad to see you liked my post! You scaled it down well.

If, however, you try it out and find this list lacking in some way and dont know what to do with it, i have some suggestions to try.

Cut overhead - two HQ choices were fine for 2 paladin squads, but 2 hq choices for 1 paladin squad is a big investment. Draigo and the librarian really only make your Palladin squad better in this list, they dont do much else, so you'll have over 2/3 of your list tied up in one squad. It's a tough squad no doubt, but I might play a few games with just draigo and see if the librarian is really needed here. The 3+ cover is SUPER nice, but at 1500 there just may not be enough big s8/9 ap1/2 to justify the points sink. The other option is to drop draigo for the libby (picking up another troop choice), but i think having that big massive unit scoring is part of what makes the list work. Or you may decide you need both HQ's and it works better that way, but it's something i would test.

Rhinos are not survivable - I think about every single list i've ever seen can destroy one rhino on turn 1. The usually wisdom is take a couple or take none. now, if your plan is to reserve the squad in the rhino and bring them on later to grab objectives, thats ok, but then i think you have too many special weapons in the squad. I might ditch the Rhino and some special CC weapons to make them a dual Psycannon squad. You can combat squad them for 2 diffferent small psycannon squads or one big one, and leave them back in cover to support your big death squad. But if the rhino start the game on the table, you wont have it for long. (and if you dropped one of the HQ's and the rhino and a couple upgrades on the SS, you could get 2 of those 2 psycannon squads.)

The other reason to switch the SS around would be you really dont have a lot of different units to shoot with. With this list your basically only shooting at 1 unit per turn (and not killing it) so movement and objectives will be super important. Adding psycannon squads helps you to shoot at more.

Note that paladin lists like this are NOT about wiping out the enemy. They're kinda like the shooty land raider lists. The basic jist of both is that I have one or more elements that are super hard to kill and win CC against most things. That makes opponents sit back and try and kill that super hard to kill unit. You kill slightly more with your unit's shooting and use tactical movement to take over objectives and prevent your enemy from going around and reaching yours. Then you win by one objective or a couple kill points (obviously not fantastic for battle point tournaments).

So I'd try out your list, but if you find it lacking a bit or want to experiment, maybe try something like:

Draigo:
10 pallies as is
10 ss (2 psycannon)
10 ss (2 psycannon)

The above gives you 3 units you can use grand strategy on, 3-6 units that naturally score, and all you've lost is the libbies 3+ cover and MOT (admittedly big losses) and one rhino that would die anyway.

or

Libby
10 pallies as is
10 ss (2 psycannon)
10 ss (2 psycannon)
And either 2 rhinos (2 rhinos, with popping smoke and the shrouding, give an ok chance at one lasting a couple turns) or a psyfledread or an assassin or something.

for a 1500 crowe/purifier list i would run:
Crowe

2x10 purifiers with 2 hammers 4 halberds 4 psycannons
2 Rhino transports

2x TLAC psybolt dreadnought

which puts at 1016 points i guess...
the rest is what you prefer! you can take some terminators, terminator + landraider, dreadknights, interceptors, whichever you like possibly a GM


keep in mind though that a purifier list is not the only good option for GK! if you want more durability from your units you're better off going with a terminator or paladin list and some heavier transports

Personally; i like purifiers because you can bring quite a lot of them, 2 attacks, cleansing flame, cheaper (and more!) psycannons... big downside in this list: crowe, who i just let sit in the back as i'm not gonna give him a transport and don't want him to be an easy free kill point

a list i've been wanting to try out is:
GM (mc halberd, psychotroke + rad grenades)

10 purifiers (2x hammer, 4x halberd, 4x psycannon)
rhino

terminator squad (4x halberd + banner + psycannon)
strike squad (hammer + 4 halberds)

Land raider redeemer (multi-melta)

Dreadnought (TLAC + psybolt)
dreadknight (hammer + heavy inc)

the GM and termies would go into the LR, the purifiers can be combatsquaded, the dreadnought is for long range fire support, and the dreadknight to take out MC's/Tanks and blast the infantry with his heavy inc

The last list looks like fun, but are you sure the banner is a wise investment for the smaller Paladin squad.
Giving the Dread Knight a personal Teleporter would also open up a lot of strategic opportunities for the list.

Brother MJ,
I am honored that you took the time to comment and aid me in my version of your list. I thank you for your suggestions and understand what you mean, I thought the 2 HQ units might have been a bit much but again due to my lack of combat experience I was not sure which way to go. I think I am going to go with this list you recommended:
Draigo

10 paladins, totally wound allocated
1 psycannon hammer
1 psycannon MC hammer
1 psycannon halberd
1 psycannon sword
1 sword
1 halberd
1 mc halberd
1 hammer
1 brother banner
1 staff


10 GKSS x2, psybolt Ammo
7 Sword
2 Psycannon
1 MC Sword
Total=1490

also thank you Brother Requiem, you have caused me to study Purifiers and expand my knowledge. I truly love Purifiers but in order to make something similar to the list you recommended, it would take quite a bit more cash than the Paladin list, and I'm a little short on money right now so I'm going to start with the Pallys and once I complete that then I will look to making possibly a 2500 list with Purifiers. (2500 is mainly what my local hobby shop plays)

Again, thank you Brothers.