Necron Army Road Map: Trends Most Likely

Necron Army Road

Map

Here is how I see Necron Army builds will start to appear on the internet. So far here is what I see will be trends in favorites, occasional and very rare for armies.

Favorites: Will appear in tournaments and will be on early lists to try out. For the most part you can expect to see them in every list without much surprise.

Occasional: These will pop up in lists once in awhile, mainly for players trying to find out if they fit into any specific army build or for fun games.

Very Rare: Short of a fun game, these guys will not be making very many appearances. Only new players getting into Necrons that don’t understand the units will also be fielding these units. Unless someone finds a way to make them a useful tool for a specific list I doubt again they will get much table time until 6^th Edition makes us evaluate all units in every codex again to what is most viable.

HQ

Favorites: Imotekh the Stormlord, Trazyn the Infinite, Necron Overlord, Destroyer Lord, Crypteks

Occasional: Nemesor Zahndrekh, Orikan the Diviner,

Very Rare: Vargard Obyron, Illuminor Szeras, Anrakyr the Traveler, Necron Lord

Troops/Transports

Favorites: Immortals, Warriors (at least until people can phase out warriors for Immortals), Ghost Ark (if Warrior heavy)

Occasional: Catacomb Command Barge (If there is points IMO), Night Scythe (AV 11 with no Quant. Shields is why along with points)

Very Rare: None

Elites

Favorites: C’Tan Shard, Triarch Stalker

Occasional: Lychguards, Triarch Praetorians

Very Rare: Deathmarks, Flayed Ones

Fast Attack

Favorites: Canoptek Wraiths, Canoptek Scarabs

Occasional: Necron Destroyers (this could go to Favorites depending on play style of a player)

Very Rare: Tomb Blades (due to lack of models and better choices)

Heavy

Favorites: Canoptek Spyder, Monolith

Occasional: Doomsday Ark, Annihilation Barge

(The Doomsday Ark has to remain still to shoot the big gun, which is why it is here and is almost as expensive as the Monolith which is way better!)

(The Annihilation Barge is cheap but also lacks any major firepower to make it a viable vehicle)

Very Rare: Doom Scythe (due to lack of Quant. Shielding again)

Notes:

Changes in 6^th may change these trend predictions as I have commented earlier. Clearly there are weird things that don’t make sense in 5^th for the Necrons that may become clearer when the 6^th edition rules roll out.

Quickly the Necron army is going to fall into a standard build that is going to be common at tournaments like any other list. It will take a bit of time for players to figure out the perfect configurations. I give it a month or two and we will see very stable lists hitting the table making Zenos a favorite again away from the MEQ armies.

One quandary I can see is the Regeneration Protocols, even with Ghost Arks and Resurrection Orbs a MSU could stand to be wiped out before you roll. I feel this may be the fist codex to start pushing back away from MSU once that “perfect balance” of a unit size has been found. Back in 4^th, when I made my Word Bearers they was tough as a foot slogger unit due to unit size balance with points in ratio. I feel the same will happen here with the Necrons.

Necron Review: Troops and Transports

TROOPS

Necron Warriors: Now 13 points from 18 the Gauss Flayer is still a bolter in with a different name with the Gauss rule. Every Pen roll of a 6 causes a glancing hit.

Necron Immortals: Are now 17 points and stand up better with a 3+ save over the Necron Warrior and will be the popular choice. To boot you get a STR 5 AP 4 instead of a STR 4, AP 5 that a Gauss Flayer can do. Hands down the Gauss Blaster is the better choice when it comes to weapons. Telsa Carbines are not worth the upgrade unless you plan to assault…yea right!

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

Catacomb Command Barge: This is one of those toys you will see in an army if there are points to spare. It has a nasty pair of surprises including the Sweep Attack that can open up a vehicle on a sweeping pass without danger to the Lord. If it blows up, who cares! He is in a transport! The Symbiotic Repair rule is nice as it can keep the vehicle in the game at the cost of wounds to the character. We all know that in 5^th that a transport can be the difference of losing a unit or not.

Ghost Ark: Expensive, but worth every point you spend on them. Everyone is going to scoff them due to high point cost but they are better armored (with Quantum Shielding AV 13), two Gauss Flayer Arrays, Living Metal Rule (able to ignore Stun and Shaken results) and can aid to repair d3 Necron Warriors on a 2+. So combined with the usual 5+ (or 4+ with res orb) you can keep your units from being wiped out. Your opponent is going to have to disable the vehicles first before he can move on to the troops. Expect Ghost Ark spam.

Night Scythe: A mix of your standard fighter that the Dark Eldar got with some troop transports. It lacks any real major firepower compared to the Doom Scythe. Without Quantum Shielding it isn’t worth it as for 15 points more you get the Ghost Ark with better options short of being able to carry 5 more Necron Warriors. The saving grace is that there is no open top issue and in essence you have a flying Rhino. With the trend of MSU who cares about large units? The Night Scythe will be a rare thing on the board IMO. Also, in the event the transport is wrecked, you have to enter from reserves for those that it was transporting...or if you have a Monolith around. Unlike other transports, it is just a teleport beam in essence that deploys them around the fighter. That extra 100 points can start adding up quickly for a transport.

Compare it against a Rhino, it has better weapons, faster and carries more men. Against a Chimera, it is faster, carries 3 more men and weapons on the Night Scythe are only a tad more powerful. Worth the price jump compared to a Chimera? I think not.

Necron Codex Review: Fast Attack

FAST ATTACK

Canoptek Wraiths: Wow, they did a great job with this unit despite some changes. They are now a jump unit with rending ignore difficult terrain and pass all dangerous terrain tests. So, you can deep strike into scenery without worry. Second, you can take some upgrades for them; the particle caster gives you a STR 6 pistol which is nice if you deep strike behind something with weak armor, granted the range is only 6”. The Transdimensional Beamer forces a STR check or they disappear from the table, this is nice against weaker races like Orks, Eldar, Dark Eldar and IG that can allow you to single out models in a unit such as champions, special weapons and heavy weapons. The Whip coils forces some models to go to Init 1 which can cause fits for a Grey Knight player that smirks knowing they are going to get to use their power weapons first. NOT! In theory you can even build this unit into a complex unit taking one of each upgrade to wound distribute.

Canoptek Scarabs: Oh, these guys will be the favorite! Fearless swarms that move as beasts and has Entropic Strike. These guys will draw much fire and leave a mech player cowering in cover. Swarm a few tanks and CHOMP!

Tomb Blades: A second wave model for the Necrons and simply they are jet bikes. IMO there is better options out there but they could still offer a nice chance of pace if you’re bored with the other Fast Attack Choices.

Necron Destroyers: Now your heavy destroyers and destroyers are one. You can build up a mixed unit and take all your earlier hits on whichever is the better deal. A few heavy gauss cannons are a great deal now that they are no longer fighting for a heavy choice. Also Preferred Enemy (everything) can be helpful against opponents in a pinch.

Necron Nasties! Tactica

So, I have been already reading over the codex some and some nasty works have already started to surface.

Take a few Crypteks to lead your Warriors or Immortals. Notice I left Lycheguard and Deathmarks out, that is because they are both elites and there is better choices  to be found among elites.

Give all Crypteks the Harbringer of Destruction and give them all eldrich lances. This will give each Necron unit a 36", STR 8, AP 2 move and fire lascannon. This is huge to soften up mech armies before the entire army is in range to rapid fire them to death.

Second the Solar Pulse is a must have, take 2 or 3 if you can afford it. Why? Because you can either cancel night fight or cause night fight. You can even engage it on your opponents turn. So, they have first turn and a nasty Alpha Strike army? *lights out* Oh you can't shoot? Damm....do this multiple time and watch an IG player go bonkers that is used to sitting back and shooting down his targets.

Orikan the Diviner plus C'tan with Writhing Worldscape and Grand Illusion:
The package here is another nasty surprise, while it is an investment it can work to be an ugly one.

Orikan's Temporal Snares: During the first game turn, all enemy units that move count as moving through difficult terrain. If they are actually moving through difficult terrain, then a unit must move and take the lowest d6 result on their test.

Writhing Worldscape: While the C'tan is on the field all difficult terrain is also dangerous for the enemy. If the terrain is dangerous, they fail on a 1 or 2.

Grand Illusion: After all deployment and scout moves, you may redeploy d3 enemy units  subject to normal deployment rules. You  may even take models out of reserve or put them into reserve!

The dinner table now: So, you have here is all enemy units count as moving through difficult terrain first turn. If they are already in difficult terrain they take a check on two dice and must take the lowest. With the C'tan now all difficult terrain is dangerous now. If the terrain is dangerous they fail on a 1 or 2. So, now all units are rolling two dice for difficult terrain checks AND are forced to roll dangerous terrain for each model. Grand Illusion can either put models into cover (if they are are jump troops for example) to force difficult terrain checks or you can move them out for units that rely on terrain for cover like IG. In any case, you can manipulate the battlefield to a serious control situation. Either they will take the risk of losses or be afraid to move as they are worried of the end results.

Add some CryptTeks with Tremorstaves instead of the Solar Pulses if you wish to maintain this pressure for each turn.

Necron Codex Review Part 2: Elites

Elites

Deathmarks: Aside from being the first rapid fire sniper, this unit has a lot of bells and whistles with no real substance. You can deep strike in on your opponents turn when one of their units deep strikes in. Still, you can’t shoot or do anything other than setup for your next turn. If they perhaps had the option to shoot, there is almost no purpose to this option. The Hunters from Hyperspace is about the only real ability of merit. You would on a 2+ to the selected unit and this benefit only works best if you take multiple choices. Great looking models, but the rules are a bit lacking. My attitude on this unit may change if the rumors are true about 6ths with changes to rapid fire rules. You can shoot twice at 24" if you don't move. If you move, you can fire twice up to 12" and once at 24".

Lychguards: They have a Warscythe base and 2 attacks they are little else better than a standard Immortal with a T and S of 5. They can be armed with hyperphase swords and dispersion shields, but is that a good trade for 5 points a model? To get a 4+ inv save and a power weapon instead of the warscythe leaves this unit lacking in umph.

Triarch Praetorians: Same price as the Lychguards (200) for 5 and you get the Rod of the Covenant. A STR 5, AP 2, 6” single shot assault weapon is all you get. While they take a loss of the extra attack they do become Jump Infantry. This can lead to some interesting options. Deep strike near a target, shoot their rear armor for example. For a free swap you can take the voidblades and particle casters getting a slightly stronger pistol but you trade your power weapon for an entropic rending sword. In a group this can be nasty in an assault, if you can get them there! These guys will merit further research as to their viability on the field.

Flayed One Pack: These guys should have been put into the Troops section. They have Deep Strike and Infiltrate, yet they lack Rending or Power weapons to make them a terror. Nor do they cause any Morale modifier for their appearance! Great looking models but with limited usefulness in the game.

Triarch Stalker: This bad boy weighs in a tad more than a Dreadnought for a marine but with more toys. Who could hate an AV 13 dreadnought? Not to mention one that can move through cover. It comes with a few weapon options as well. The melta/flamer is stock on it and IMO the best you could consider. The Particle Shredder just gives you a simple template and the Twin Linked Heavy Gauss Cannon just gives you a bit more range like a lascannon.

C’Tan Shard: Now you can have up to 3 in your army and will be by far the most popular choice. Several powers are expensive (they can cost between 10-50) and you must take two. One major complaint I could have is the lack of any option to modify their movement as a beast, fleet or wings to move faster. I feel GW missed some other great options that they could have expanded on.

Here is a break down of their powers:

Entropic Touch: Same as the base power and cheap. Figure this will be a popular choice for a second power.

Gaze of Death: Expensive as hell but if you get him into close combat and survive; you can at least earn a wound back. This power is nasty if your good at rolling a 5+ against marines or hordes. Again, the key to using this is to SURVIVE the attack. With 4 wounds, 4+ inv save and T7 one better hope for the best!

Grand Illusion: This should be a popular choice among many Necron Players. To take de units after scout moves and such are done and redeploy them within normal deployment rules! This includes putting units into or pulling them out of reserve. OUCH!

Lord of Fire: All flamer (and melta) weapons can blow up on their target. While this looks like a cool option (and is cheap) it again banks on the fact someone is using a flame weapon against you and you roll a 1 if they are fired near you. Not a bad secondary power for just “in case” if you need something cheap.

Moulder of Worlds: A large blast bolter is what you get. Not very impressive.

Pyreshards: Slightly more impressive with an Assault 8 bolter with a slightly shorter range.

Sentient Singularity: This would have been a great power if it had a distance greater than 6”, perhaps 12” as it can affect Deep Striking and Vehicle movement around it. Most people will just keep their vehicles away from you and shoot you; their deep striking units will just land away from you. Useless.

Swarm of the Spirit Dust: The concept of assault and defensive grenades is great, but with an I 4 not that great! You also get the Stealth USR; let’s see stealth on a MC? Sigh, ok….a bit expensive for what you get.

Time’s Arrow: A base to base Jaws of the Wolf power. So, hope your playing against a low Init army!

Transdimensional Thunderbolt: Perhaps the best shooting that a C’Tan can take, STR 9, AP 2 as an assault power.

Writhing Worldscape: Expensive but IMO will be VERY popular in many early games. All difficult terrain is dangerous. If scenery is already dangerous, you can get hurt on a 1 or 2. Not only that but any bikes going into scenery or a jump trooper landing in scenery can take some serious losses. Pay attention to that when you play! Get the most for your points.

Necron Codex Review: Part 1 Overview/Wargear/HQ

I just bought my copy of the Necron Codex this weekend and have had a little time to review the book. Here is my thoughts right out of the book with it fresh on my mind. Some of these opinions may be subject to change once I play a few a few games with the new units and try out a few lists.

First off, we will start with the Necron Special Rules for the army:

Reanimation Protocols: At the end of the phase, once Morale and everything else has been done is when you roll. On a 5+ they stand up, a 4+ if you have the Resurrection Orb (more on that later under wargear). It no longer matters if you were hit with a Railgun with a STR 10, AP1 shot or a STR 3, “-“lasgun from the lowly IG grunt now. Same goes for close combat, a power fist or a fist still allows a roll to reanimate. One major downside is if the unit is destroyed, you don’t roll to see if that unit reanimates.  In close combat this is going to be painful for a Necron as they are slower and less likely to survive with an average of 4+ armor saves. In a shooting game, they will do well enough recovering every third or every other (if you have the orb). One thing that is nice is that you may fall back, but if the unit reanimates enough models you could rally the next turn if you go above half.

Ever-Living: I am MUM-RA…er, sorry Thundercat moment there! This pretty much is the same as the Reanimation Protocols but just for independent characters to give them a chance to stand up.

Entropic Strike: This can be a nasty thing if a clever player figures out the right army build and rightly can put the fear into mech armies, ICs and Monstrous creatures. A group of Scarabs munching on some armor can be a very scary prospect and to find your IC or MC without armor save can be daunting to anyone.

Living Metal: This ability lost much of its punch from the old codex. It ignores Shaken on a 2+ and a Stun Result on a 4+. Meltas and other weapons now get their bonuses increasing their odds to breaking down armor now. More on that later!

Necron Wargear

Gauntlet of Fire: This is your basic flamer that you can give to the ICs in the army. Nothing special to write home about.

Gauss Weapons: Most average now 24”, ranged at 24” or 36” with the two Gauss Cannon and Heavy Gauss Cannon bringing AP 3 and 2 to the table. The heavy cannon are your lascannon for the army. The Gauss Flux arc has changed and now just targets one single unit within range.

Hyperphase Sword: Congrats the Necrons got a powersword!

Mindshackle Scarabs: These little guys are nasty as you can force someone to roll 3d6 against their leadership. If they fail, you make them attack their own unit instead inflicting d3 hits with whatever options that model has. After that round of combat, they return to normal. This is going to be a favorite among Necron players IMO.

Particle Weapons: A new face to the weapons selection, most are heavy weapons when it comes to shooting and shifts from the lowly pistol to a blast marker, then a large blast and finally the Ordnance (Monolith shot). Only the Particle Whip is AP 3 and these weapons are mostly mass template damaging weapons.

Phase Shifter: Your good ole 3+ invulnerable save is back.

Phylactery: Pretty much as before, the model gets up with d3 wounds. Personally it should have been reanimate with one wound and +d3 bonus wounds up to your max.

Quantum Shielding: All armor on Necron vehicles are 2 points higher until a penetrating hit happens. In essence all of the Necrons are AV 13 for the first half of the game until they take a few pens.

Resurrection Orb: Overpriced now IMO, go into that later. Only allows the Reanimation Protocol on a 4+ to the Lord and Unit only. It lost the radius ability which sucks.

Sempiternal Weave: 2+ save the Necron Runic armor.

Staff of Light: Standard Issue to Lords now. No real changes, STR 5, AP 3 with 3 shots at 12”.

Tachyon Arrow: One shot weapon on ICs, no range with a STR 10, AP 1 shot. Imagine the Necron Hunter Killer Missile.

Tesla Weapons: There are three new types of weapons here, the carbine, cannon and destructor. All have the same range and are assault weapon based gaining a shot each step until you get to the destructor. Every TO HIT roll of a 6 inflicts 2 additional hits. The Destructor has an Arc rule that can last out at other units nearby (friend and foe). Only on a 6, but be warned.

Tesseract Labyrinth: Same as the Grey Knights pick a target, make a wounds check or poof! You’re gone.

Transimensional Beamer: Short range, heavy weapon that can exile something to a pocket dimension.  A STR test is required to see if you get sucked away to never never land!

Voidblade:  A standard weapon that has rending and the Entropic Strike rule. Only allowed on a select few models and could be a viable change from their standard weapons.

Warscythes: You can’t make something that is already the best any better!

More on the other goodies later during unit reviews….

HQ

Imotekh the Stormlord: A very expensive character that can give some good benefits if your list is built around Imotekh. Bloodswarm nanoscarabs allow a unit of Flayed Ones to deep strike without scattering within 6” of a target. So, no benefit to charge so you could be assaulted and wiped out before you can do anything. Not too impressive. Staff of the Destroyer, a one use special weapon. Roll 2d6, that many models in each unit that is touched in a line take a STR 6, AP 1 hit. Pretty much a Jaws of the Wolf power with some ump to it. Humiliating Defeat, well if you win, you can win big, but you HAVE to win and based on his stats that is pretty tough against another IC! Hyperlogical Strategy, so I can steal the initiative on a 4+. Ok, that is a good thing. Lord of the Storm, his really good power. He can call first turn night fight and maintain it on a roll of a d6 each turn to try to maintain the night fighting rules. Also the storm can strike things with a STR 8, AP 5 lightning bolt, so if you’re good a rolling a 6’s…..this isn’t a shabby power. Still for the price there is better IMO. Where this guy would shine is Ard Boyz and Apocalypse games!

Nemesor Zahndrekh: Another expensive character, but with a bit more reality to his abilities. He can grant one Necron Unit one of several special rules and he can negate one enemy unit within line of sight to lose all their USRs on a list.  He also allows units that can deep strike in reserve to appear on the opponents turn. Now, this may not sound like much at first, but if they survive their arrival turn, they could take action next turn including, move, shoot and assault!

Vargard Obyron: This guy is pretty good if you’re using Nemesor. One major issue is this is both of your HQ choices and both can eat up some serious points in your list. The Cleaving Counterblow on him if he survives combat can be VERY ugly against a unit and the Ghostwalk Mantle can offer some unique tactical choices. While it works like a Veil of Shadows, he can leave combat, if he appears near Nemesor he does not scatter either and can assault into a combat if Nemesor is assaulted. Thus he will leave his unit to join the combat. Some nice fancy tricks, but still not worthwhile for the investment IMO.

Illuminor Szeras: There isn’t much here to talk about except that he can boost one unit using his Mechanical Augmentation ability. So, one unit can get one of the following: T, BS or STR of 5. This only can be applied to Immortals or Warriors.  Again, there are better options out there for your investment.

Orikan the Diviner: Not a bad character for your points, if a reserve is your plan that is. He allows once per game to reroll all unsuccessful reserve rolls. He also rolls randomly each turn, if you get equal to or less his stats pump up making him a nasty beast in close combat (almost a mini C’tan). His best perk is that during the first turn all enemy units count as moving through difficult terrain. If they are in difficult terrain they must move the lowest result instead! He could stand for further review to see how he works out.

Anrakyr the Traveler: This Necron Overlord has a nifty ability to take over an enemy vehicle within 18” on a 3+ and force it to shoot as it was your own. Sadly, you cannot chance the facing, but a clever player could turn the tables on a mech army turning their own armor against them! He also unlocks the Pyrrhian Eteranals, Immortals that have Furious Charge and Counter Attack. Not bad, but not that impressive either. Sure an extra attack or STR bump is nice, but they still Init 3 with Furious Charge. Yay! I strike before Tau, most Necrons and Orks! Whoo!

Trazyn the Infintate: This guy IMO will be the flavor of most Necron lists! In close combat he can force all models of the same type he kills in that combat to be subject of taking a wound also on a 4+! Fighting Orc Boyz? Kill a few and watch the rest fall like flies, that is if you survive being krumped first. Another great thing about him is that he can be a scoring unit as well. Last as long as there is another IC on the table, he can “Swap” out with him making him a very tough target to kill in missions that require you to destroy a specific HQ, namely the general.

Necron Overlord: This is you’re “build your own Necron Lord” in a nutshell. Most of his weapon swaps are not that great. To take the Gauntlet of Fire for a flamer you take a loss of a good AP 3 assault weapon. Trading up to the Hyperphase Sword and Voidblade are not worthwhile. A Warscythe could be of merit if you survive the combat.  Again, Necrons are kings of shooting, so why would you give up the staff? He can of course take other goodies from the Resurrection Orb, Phase Shifter, Phylactery, Mindschackle scarabs, Semtiternal Weave, Tesseract and the Tachyon Arrow. So you can toughen him up some.

Destroyer Lord: This guy is going to appear as another common fixture in a Necron army. Warscythe plus Preferred Enemy (everything) and you can give him a few toys. Sadly, no Phase Shifter otherwise you could boost him to a 2+/3+ beast with a T 6, S 5 with a Warscythe!

Necron Lord: Part of the Royal court and dropped in points from the old days his Wound also reflect it with a whopping 1! Still T and S 5 that is all he has going for him. He has a few upgrade options but with only one wound, I think he should go lean. The Cryptek’s is where you’re going to get your big perks. The Lord can be taken up to 5 times in the Court and opt to lead one of several units like Wolf Guard can.

Crypteks: The only other choice for the Royal Court and much like a Necron Lord, they can be allocated to join other units like an upgraded sergeant! Whoo! While a tad cheaper, you can pick at least one Harbinger option to kit out all the Crypteks in that unit. So, you have a unit that you can build up to support your army in the long term depending on your needs. They all must take the same Harbinger kit, so if you want a second, you have to work a second Court in via another HQ choice. Out of the Court Choices, this will be the one you will see the most of.

Weekend Update

There has been a few things going on off and on of late, so here is a rundown of what is going on.

Purchased my copy of the new Necron Codex. While I have not had a chance to read over the entire book, what GW produced is a grand slam! It tops the Grey Knights and still IMO keeps everything in a reality of the game that isn't silly. Sure there is some nasty things in the codex but everything is also balanced out. I plan to post up a review on it later.

I ordered from GW Historical "Gladiator", I emailed them and asked if they could swap the order out for Legends of the Seven Seas. When I went to place my order, they removed the "cart" option to buy online and you have to call overseas to place an order! Let's see at $1.99 a minute, gah! Um, no thank you! Sure, you see it on EBay at times but that is a crap shoot. I am trying to directly support the GW company while they are doing their 1/2 off sale. While Legends of the High Seas would be my top choice, Gladiator has some great potential that will make for some great gaming.

On the plus side, I found 8 old pirate figures that I bought long ago when I was getting into the 7th Sea RPG. This is a great start to a collection if they send me the book (or when I do buy it if I end up with Gladiator).

Over the past week, I have managed to paint up a few models for Legends of the Old West. I have posted them up on my secondary blog "Dice at High Noon".

Here is the link: http://diceathighnoon.blogspot.com/

While at Target, I spied a bag of small skulls that was 70% off. This has the makings for scenery or markers of some type. For less than a buck, you can't go wrong!

Last I am busy working up some missions for the Toys for Tots Kill Team that will be on November 19th. So far, sign up has been slow and I worry about it being close to the holidays will affect attendence. In any case, we will make it happen with whomever makes it. It will be a bast in any case and the children are the most important thing for this season.