Newbie looking for advice for a 1000 point army

[k0ldsh0ck]

Hello everyone,

 

I started this hobby about 1 year ago, after the launch of KT. I collected some tau minis and played a few games, but then quickly got drawn towards SM. I now have a decent number of models, and am hoping to build my first 1000 point army. I have read the 40K rules and the SM codex, but I am not really sure which direction to go with my army. I would appreciate any sort of guidance/tips in terms of building something that makes sense, as opposed to throwing together 1000 points of all my random units.

 

The models I have are:

SM Battleforce: Primaris Captain, Intercessors, Reivers, Interceptors, and a Repulsor

Shadowspear: Captain, Lieutenant, Librarian, all in Phobos armor, Supressors, Eliminators, Infiltrators

10 Hellblasters

15 additional Reivers

Tactical squad

Marneus Calgar + 2 Victrix guard

Guilliman

 

I think with these models I should probably be looking at Ultramarines, and I would like to incorporate Marneus and the Repulsor if possible. From my own research, it seems 1000 points may be too little to take Guilliman, and I am fine with that. Furthermore, my understanding is that 1 repulsor may not be enough when it comes to big units, as it would be fairly costly and not last very long. I would also be open to getting more models to complement what I have, if needed.

 

Any suggestions are welcome, and if throwing a bunch of stuff together to get 1000 points is a good way to start I can definitely do so!

Edited January 27, 2020 by k0ldsh0ck

[Captain Idaho]

=][= Sending this over to the Ultramarines forum =][= Edited January 27, 2020 by Captain Idaho

[NKirkham24]

Welcome aboard brother.

 

I think at 1000 points a Repulsor is also a big points sink, however, if you want to run it, get it on the table. They're good gun boats and will deal with a good amount of stuff at this point level.

 

To be honest, at 1000 points, i'd probably go with boots on the ground. Captain, Lt, Phobos Librarian, minimum sized units of Infiltrators and Intercessors will fill out a battalion, and then you can get a spearhead with your Hellblasters and Eliminators. Off the top of my head you should still have some room, either for bigger squads of troops or for some Reivers. 

 

Moving forward, if you're sticking with Ultramarines, I'd recommend purchasing Tigurius and some Aggressors next. Tigurius is an absolute beast, and Aggressors really shine with our doctrine. 

[Captain Idaho]

It largely depends on the direction you want to move. Repulsors are decent gun boats but are expensive. A Redemptor is a solid weapon platform if that's what you want, rather than the transport capability. If it's your only vehicle you might find the Repulsor is targeted to death most games, but at 1000pts it might not be too bad depending on opponents.

 

If you want weapons to boost the army, adding Classic Marines to the force can be a great way. This depends on theme and preferences. Some people don't mind mixing the different sized blokes into a list.

 

I agree Tigurius would help the army a bunch. His rules rock.

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

Welcome aboard.

 

I feel that at these points the Grav tank could be a point sink but will definitely work when you move up to say 1250 points.

[Aothaine]

Something you are going to want to consider before diving to hard into list building is what do you enjoy most in 40k? Do you like moving around a lot? Do you like the ranged game? Do you like the melee? Do you want to be hyper focused on one phase of the game or do you want to have a more balanced list? We can help you build rock solid lists with ease here for sure. But knowing what you want from the game and what you enjoy from the game will help everyone here help you a lot! Providing the list of what you currently have is a good step for sure. 

 

Also I agree with everyone here so far on the Repulsor. It is a huge investment at 1000 points. It is a good unit for sure but your going to find that if you run it, same with G-man, at this points level you are going to find yourself lacking in other really important areas of the game. If I was going to suggest a list to start out with I would do something along the following so you can test different aspects of the game, learn it all, then decide what you enjoy the most.

 

[HQ] Librarian

[HQ] Captain

[HQ] Lieutenant

 

[T] Intercessors

[T] Intercessors

[T] Infiltrators

 

[E] Reivers

[E] Reivers

 

[FA] Interceptors

[FA] Suppressors

 

[HS] Helblasters

[HS] Eliminators

[tychobi]

Repulsor is great at 1k. Not so easy to remove at that point level. It will be your centerpiece and therefore worth protecting but it does bring a lot o dakka! Do not get too focused on it being a transport. Its nice but not its main role in my opinion.

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

Repulsor could be a bit OP at 1k .

[Captain Idaho]

That's a good point. What sort of armies will you expect to face at 1000pts? If your opponent(s) lack anti-tank weapons then you might make the game unpleasant for them.

 

Discuss with them your intentions if you're taking a Repulsor. That way they can be prepared and build their own lists accordingly (if they're starting out too)

[k0ldsh0ck]

Thank you so much everyone! Since I have all the models, I can try both with and without a Repulsor and see how I like it. I would definitely let my opponent/friend know, so he can prepare accordingly.

 

But for now, I like the idea of starting out with more basic units, to get a feel for the general gameplay. Following some of the suggestions above, if I grab Tigurius, how about this:

 

++ Battalion Detachment +5CP (Imperium - Space Marines) [55 PL, 1,000pts] ++

+ No Force Org Slot +

**Chapter Selection**: Ultramarines

+ HQ +

Captain [5 PL, 77pts]: Chainsword, Master-crafted boltgun

Chief Librarian Tigurius [7 PL, 130pts]

Lieutenants [5 PL, 63pts]
. Lieutenant: Chainsword, Master-crafted boltgun

+ Troops +

Infiltrator Squad [5 PL, 110pts]: 4x Infiltrator, Infiltrator Sergeant

Intercessor Squad [5 PL, 85pts]: Bolt rifle
. 4x Intercessor
. Intercessor Sergeant

Intercessor Squad [5 PL, 85pts]: Bolt rifle
. 4x Intercessor
. Intercessor Sergeant

+ Fast Attack +

Inceptor Squad [7 PL, 123pts]: Assault bolter x2, 2x Inceptor, Inceptor Sergeant

Suppressor Squad [4 PL, 90pts]
. 2x Suppressor: 2x Accelerator autocannon, 2x Grav-chute
. Suppressor Sergeant: Accelerator autocannon, Grav-chute

+ Heavy Support +

Eliminator Squad [4 PL, 72pts]
. Eliminator Sergeant: Bolt sniper rifle, Camo cloak
. 2x Eliminator with Bolt Sniper: 2x Bolt sniper rifle, 2x Camo cloak

Hellblaster Squad [8 PL, 165pts]: Plasma incinerator
. 4x Hellblaster
. Hellblaster Sergeant: Bolt pistol

++ Total: [55 PL, 1,000pts] ++

Edited February 2, 2020 by k0ldsh0ck

[NKirkham24]

I like it, some good mobility with the FA units and your Infiltrators. Characters will need to babysit the Hellblasters to maximise their output, as your best anti-tank, but at this level it doubt you’ll face too many vehicles. Suppressors can chip in on vehicles too and a Tigurius will cover all your psychic needs.

[Captain Idaho]

Let us know how your first games go. :)

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

If you drop the Lieutenant you could upgrade the Captain to a Captain in Gravis armor and give him a nice relic like the Burning Blade. You’re one weakness I see is lack of dedicated melee and you don’t want Tigurius in close combat.

[Captain Idaho]

I don't see much point investing points into that though, as there are (in this list) precious few transport options for a Gravis Captain.

 

That sniper Captain (Primaris) would do better for this list I reckon.

 

If you want a counter attack option in this list, giving the Captain the Teeth of Terra would be much more useful. He gets more attacks and is cheaper in points so the Lieutenant gets kept.

Edited February 5, 2020 by Captain Idaho

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

I prefer the Burning Blade since coupled with null zone it cuts through any armor save. Edited February 5, 2020 by Black Blow Fly

[Captain Idaho]

True but putting Tigurius in harm's way could be risky.

 

Definitely a decent option.

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

It depends on what’s around but I never actually put him into melee... not worth it.

[NKirkham24]

I certainly wouldn't rely on him going toe to toe with any half decent combat unit, but he's not bad when joining in a combat. The Rod of Tigurius is a pretty sweet weapon. Just the lack of inv makes him squishy.

[k0ldsh0ck]

Let us know how your first games go.

Hello everyone!

 

Today I played my first ever game of 40K, using the above list. It was a lot of fun! I played against a Raven Guard list, and the game was actually fairly close. We ran out of time and did not actually complete the game, but while I was leading in points 2-1, I probably would have lost had we finished the game.

 

First of all, I made some rookie mistakes in positioning of my units, such as leaving my hellblasters out in the open. They could not get in range to fire at a Redemptor Dreadnought, but they took out a Razorback on turn 1. My supressors put 6 wounds on the Dreadnought, which I was happy with. Again due to positioning, I did not really take advantage of my charging phase. On my oponent's turn, he managed to take out my supressors and a hellblaster, and then managed to charge and tie up my hellblasters with the scary Kayvaan Shrike. Another rookie mistake ended up with me blowing up 2 of my own hellblasters, trying to overwatch with supercharged weapons and rerolling 1's into 1's...

 

To be fair, my opponent was better prepared than me, having researched and optimized his Stratagems, Relic, and Special issue wargear, while I did not keep the Teeth of Terra or Burning blade in mind.

 

One thing I found during this game was that the Eliminators were entirely useless. I specifically used them to try to snipe my opponent's Warlord across the map, but everything was invulnerable saved.

 

I did love having the re-roll hit and wound rolls of 1.

 

A couple of questions that came up:

1. When falling back, does it matter which direction one moves, and is the maximum range the usual move range?

2. When overwatching with a whole unit, 2 attacks per model, with supercharged weapons and get multiple 1's, how do you determine whether the 2 1's kill 2 models or 1? Tehnically both 1's could have originated from the same model.

 

Thank you again for your advice so far and for any thoughts!

[tychobi]

1. Not really but you cant move through enemy models or finish within an inch of an enemy or more than your movement stat.

 

2. When overcharging you need to roll for each dude one at a time. Or have different color dice for each pair of shots. Kinda annoying but it is procedure.

Edited March 1, 2020 by tychobi

[k0ldsh0ck]

I would like to start refining this list a bit, and to think of things to add to it to work towards a 2000 point list. I found I really like shooting at things from a distance. I also want to acquire a dreadnought next, and trying to figure out which would work the best with an ultramarine army. From my own research it seems like the best dreadnoughts are the Leviathan dreads, Contemptor dreads, or Deredeo dreads. I am wondering what would lead me to pick one over the others.

 

Thank you.