"Hiya Kirby! I'm new to 40k, just getting into it after a friend got me hooked on the setting, and looking to start my first army. I've read through some of your articles, as well as some other blogs, and am leaning toward IG as my army of choice...but there's a problem. You see, I really want to have a female regiment, but since GW doesn't really make...well, any female guard models, this leaves me in a bit of a predicament (the obvious answer is "play Sisters of Battle", but that has even bigger hurdles...namely being too short ranged for me and having metal models for everything). I'm certainly not an expert at conversion or anything, just starting out, and I don't have a lot of money to be buying extra models to convert anyway (thought about picking up eldar or dark eldar torsos and heads from eBay, and guard other pieces, and putting those together, but I don't know if that'd work) so I'm looking at doing a heavily mechanized list to minimize the amount of more expensive (likely single) models I have to buy from elsewhere. I've seen a couple of "leafblower" lists, but decided to try and put my own together (it may end up being almost a direct copy...I wasn't really looking at one but picked up the idea of them), so I'd like your critique on it, if you would be so kind. ^_^
Unit cost per (total)
Upgrade
Company Command Squad 50 (255)
Medipack 30
Vox 5
Autocannon 10
Camo cloaks 20
Master of ordnance 30
Officer of the fleet 30
Chimera 55
Heavy flamer 0
Heavy flamer 0
Extra armour 15
H-K missile 10
Psyker Battle Squad 60 (140)
Chimera 55
Heavy flamer 0
Heavy flamer 0
Extra armour 15
H-K missile 10
Veteran Squad x2 70 (450)
Vox 5
Meltagun x3 30
Autocannon team 10
Grenadiers 30
Chimera 55
Heavy flamer 0
Heavy flamer 0
Extra armour 15
H-K missile 10
Vendetta x2 130 (280)
Heavy bolters 10
Hellhound Squad 130
Heavy Flamer 0
Hydra Battery 75 (110)
Extra armour 15
Camo netting 20
Medusa Battery, Squad of 2 135 (340)
Enclosed 15
Extra armour 15
Bastion-breacher 5
Manticore 160 (175)
Extra armour 15
Total: 1750
At 2000, I'd probably add a Hydra to the battery and either a Hellhound or Vendetta, while at 1500 I'd likely drop the PBS, H-K's, heavy bolters on the Vendettas, camo cloaks and master of ordnance from the command squad, and the voxes (or...something...). Anyway...how does this look to you? I'd really like to get your take, because you seem to be very good at this game, and I definitely don't want to sink money and time into units I won't end up using..."
1) Sisters of Battle should be released soon-ish. By the end of this year at the latest if not in several months so if you're really set on a full female army, you may want to wait to see what that book brings.
2) Your army has way too many upgrades, i.e. extra armor. The Command Squad also has a lot of stuff that isn't really needed so I'd be shaving all of that and then fiddling with your army. You really want two PBS squads at 1750 and I'd be looking to make that Hydra have two tanks in it, same with the Hellhound. With that in mind I would turn the Medusa battery into two separate squads or run two single Manticores instead. You're also very light on scoring so you're going to need to drop something completely in order to do that (i.e. the Hellhounds). In the end something like this might be best:
Command + Chim
2x PBS + Chim
3-4x Vet + Chim
2 Vendettas
2x Hydras
2x Medusas
That's roughly 1715 with full PBS, 4 meltavets, no HB on the Vendettas, no HKM and nothing on the Command squads. You can fiddle around with points to add HKM on most of the tanks for an initial salvo but there's a lot less wasted points across the army. Also make sure all of the Chimeras have heavy flamers.
