The Best Use of What you've got

Getting the most out of your army
Most of us don't have extra piles of cash laying around, and copious time in which to indulge our hobbies. (If you do, send some of either my way, I promise I'll give it a good home.) That being the case, it's understandable to want to get the most out of your army. That may mean getting better use out of your money in terms of buying models, it may mean getting better use out of your time in terms of painting and assembly. For that matter, it probably means making sure that you enjoy your army as much as possible.

More Bang for your Buck
If you want to get better use out of your money, you may need to do a little bit of extra work, but you can make your army cheaper. If you buy units that can be used in more than one way, you'll need fewer units. If you can try before you buy, you'll know which models will serve you best without picking up things that don't work. If you convert more expensive models from cheaper ones, you don't need to buy the expensive ones. Finally, if you only buy what you can use right now, you get the most out of your money right now, and don't waste it on stuff you only use once a year.

Multi-use items
If you buy a model that can be used in a couple of different ways, you've saved yourself the purchase of those other models. As an example, several of my Dark Eldar Raiders can be switched to Ravagers within a few minutes. I got the extra bits that I needed for a Ravager, then set them up so that I can remove those bits. The gunners are an easy add-on, I just put them on bases instead of gluing them to the running boards. The armor is a bit more finicky, but I set up areas where I can attach the armor brackets (with the armor glued to the brackets, not the Raider) with modeling clay or a light bit of glue. I've seen Space Marine Rhinos that could be converted back and forth with Whirlwinds, and I've seen others that can be switched back and forth as Razorbacks. I've also seen people using magnets to create swappable weapons or wargear for various models, whether it's a Wraithlord with interchangeable weapons, or a LandRaider with a removable HK missile and add-on extra armor. It may require a few more parts than any one of the models, and a bit of time checking fits and working with fiddly bits, but it saves you a whole chunk of change.

Try before you buy
Ah, proxies. I've had some truly bizarre looking armies on the board at times, with Tyranids standing in for Vehicles, Dark Eldar acting as Sisters of Battle, and many other oddities. The idea, however, is the same. If you can substitute one model for another, you can try that model out to see how it works and if you think it's worth it. Obviously, this flies in the face of the Wysiwyg rule, so you need to check with your opponent ahead of time. There are also some stores that will generally prohibit the use of proxies. Particularly with new players and with major army changes (such as the release of the Chaos Codex) I'm fine with people using proxies. I would appreciate if they used things that were similar to what they were proxying, however. They should be close to the size of the actual model, and preferably, something similar (Tyranids and Imperial Guard, for example, are similarly sized, and though they are fairly different types of unit, it's not a small saltshaker standing in for a Battle Tank.) Now, the general idea behind proxies is that you will switch to using the actual models at some point. If you keep bringing in that salt shaker and insisting it's a tank, don't be surprised when people stop playing against you.

Convert from cheaper models
If you have expensive models, such as characters or vehicles, that can be converted from a cheaper model, the time you take doing that can save you a bunch of money. It may also give you a model you are more pleased with. I've converted all of my Dark Eldar Sybarites from basic plastic Warrior models. That gives me a better range of poses, and saves me a bit from buying the pewter ones. While on the subject of the Dark Kin, I've also seen Mandrakes and Grotesques and Wyches all converted from the cheap, plastic Warriors. I've seen Space Marine Rhinos converted into Whirlwinds by adding some launchers from a kid's toy. I've also seen plenty of home grown conversions for Eldar Wave Serpents from Falcons, since the Forge World conversion kit is so expensive. Just remember that these conversions will take time and effort, even if they spare you expense. In addition, since most of the parts won't be designed to fit together, you may need to do a good deal more fiddling than you'd have to with parts out of the box.

Don't buy what you can't use
More specifically, don't buy what you can't use right now. There's no point in buying 3 Whirlwinds before you have bought an HQ and 2 Troops. You'll need that minimum to play in all but the weirdest games. After that, aim for a single force organization chart. Don't buy 3 Ravagers and 3 Talos until you've filled all of your Troops, Elites, Fast Attack and HQ choices filled. If you buy more than the usual complement of a single organizational slot (Heavy Support, for example,) then you won't be able to use all of your models at the same time, which means some of those expensive models that took a lot of effort to assemble and paint, will end up sitting on the shelf. Heck, most of them are so light they won't even make a good paperweight. After you've mostly filled one chart, then you can start thinking about expanding more, but I'd recommend waiting a bit, to make sure it all shakes out and you can afford it.

Better by Design
If you spend a bit of time designing your army, you can also get better use out of it. Even before you use proxies, try to play around with your idea on paper. Once you've gotten your rough ideas and directions down, then get the units you NEED before the units you WANT. Make sure that your army is flexible and you won't need lots of additional units in case you run into a different type of army. Finally, and the most subjective, make sure that your army is one that you will enjoy playing.

See if it looks good on paper
Play around with ideas on paper (or with proxies) before you decide on anything. Paper is much cheaper than any model, and you can work out things that you won't want to use, and things that you MUST use. When the Tyranid Codex came out, I spent a lot of time, not just going over the new rules, but also trying out the new models and combinations. Eventually I decided that Raveners, although many rave about them, were not worth the points for me. Likewise, Gargoyles, though they are quite nice, would be in the same niche as my fast gaunts. Perhaps appropriately for the Tyranids, I did a little bit of a survival of the fittest contest for my various units to see which would work best and in what way. In the same way, I've also been toying with a further upgraded version of my Deathgaunts/Slashers that gives them bioplasma. This allows them to do much more damage, but it also makes them as expensive as a Genestealer. If I decided to replace my Genestealers with them (giving me a faster unit with some punch, in trade for a slower unit with more punch) that might work out. On the other hand, they won't do as well as my regular gaunts will in terms of absorbing firepower and holding up enemy squads. The jury is still out on them, but I'm leaning away from them.

What about my needs?
As I said above, get the stuff you NEED before the stuff you WANT. Start by getting lots of Troops. They are usually cheaper/model, meaning you can build up a bigger army more swiftly. They are also generally the most effective use of points on the battlefield. I'm a card-carrying member of the Kenton Kilgore school of tactical thought, which is, "Don't sweat the big guns, sweat the little guys, they are the ones that can win the game for you." Not as sexy as the big guns, not as macho as the hand to hand characters, they are the bulk of your force and do most of the fighting and dieing. If you've got enough of them, they'll also do the winning. Besides, what're you gonna do with 2 Chaplains and 3 Whirlwinds. ('Die' is the right answer, come get some.)

Stretch out and limber up
Well, sort of. Try to make sure that your planned list can take on all sorts of enemies, instead of just focusing on one. If you can play the same army list against Biel Tan Eldar, Imperial Guard, World Eaters and Orks, you won't have to buy extra models that will sit on a shelf. Sure, having more anti-infantry stuff will be handy against the Orks, but it won't be much help against mounted World Eaters. That anti-vehicle stuff may be handy against the above World Eaters and possibly Imperial guard or Biel Tan Eldar, but it'll be nearly useless against Orks. If you can avoid leaving models on the shelf, do it. Sure, your army may not be 'optimized' but it'll be much more useful and you'll be able to use it all.

Enjoy it
Finally, remember that it's a game. Have fun with it. If you don't like your army, you won't have any fun with it. That may mean that you convert the heck out of it, or that you get a very specific style of army (All scout Space Marines, for example,) whether it'll win you games or not. It may mean planning out fun stuff to do, like I plan on with my Orcs and Gobbos, or it may mean playing in character of someone from the army (like Sean Zurn did with his Valhallans in the Seattle GT.) Ultimately, it's yours, have fun with it. Above all else, that is the best way to make the most out of your army.

If you enjoyed this, email me and let me know.
You may also want to check out some other pieces I have written on similar subjects.
Getting Started
Affordability
Words to Live By

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