Codex: Necrons is designed to give you unprecedented choice and flexibility when constructing your army.
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Like previous codexes, you’ll be able to customise your army by dedicating them to a well-known sub-faction – in this case, a dynasty. Each dynasty has a corresponding Dynastic Code – a set of rules that’ll allow for a huge range of potential armies. This week, we’ll be previewing each Dynastic Code, as well as taking a look at some of the most improved units in the new codex. You may remember the Sautekh Dynastic Code, Relentless Advance, from last week’s sneak peek.
Sautekh Dynasty Necrons have something that the army has traditionally lacked – mobility! By allowing your units to Advance and shoot, your opponents will find it much more difficult to stay out of range of your deadliest weapons, allowing you to take ground with your Necron Warriors and Immortals while maintaining a steady hail of fire.
Equipped with a variety of Assault or Rapid Fire Weapons, Tomb Blades are particularly good candidates for Relentless Advance, adding D6″ to their already impressive movement of 14″. Where Tomb Blades really shine, however, is their new Evasion Engrams rule:
With Toughness 5, 2 Wounds and a respectable 4+ Save, Tomb Blades are already pretty durable, and this makes them even harder to put down. And the best bit? They’ve gone down in points, too. Of course, to fully capitalise on Tomb Blades, you’ll want to keep a Character who can keep up with them… and we can think of the perfect candidate.
Codex: Necrons contains a host of rules for customising your Characters and constructing your ideal nemesor. With a vast host of Artefacts of the Aeons and Warlord Traits to choose from, your Overlord could be anything from a backline commander to a brutal offensive unit in his own right. Sautekh Warlords are great if you’re looking to make maximum use of the new Stratagems in the book thanks to Hyperlogical Strategist.
But which Warlord to pick? Our eyes are on the Catacomb Command Barge – it’s durable, it’s incredibly well armed and you’ll be able to lay down a considerable hail of fire on the move with your gauss cannon and staff of light thanks to the Sautekh Dynastic Code.
Your opponent will, naturally, want to take down your Warlord as quickly as possible, but even death is not the end for the Necron characters! For a mere command point, you’ll have a chance to escape death and heal up with Resurrection Protocols.
In short, Sautekh armies are flexible, surprisingly mobile and well-placed to take advantage of the host of new rules in Codex: Necrons. They’re far from the only dynasty in the book, however. Come back tomorrow, when we’ll be taking a closer look at the merciless Mephrit Dynasty, and some changes to Destroyers that’ll make them even deadlier…
The new Codex: Necrons broadens the tactical options available to Necrons players while capitalising on the existing strengths of the army.
While the Necrons are notoriously durable thanks to excellent saves, Toughness and, of course, Reanimation Protocols, they’re also superb on the offensive thanks to the high AP characteristic of gauss weaponry.
One Necron dynasty, however, is particularly lethal against armoured foes: Mephrit.
Solar Fury makes the Necron army absolutely devastating to face at short range. From helping your heavier weapons to tear through even the very best armour saves to allowing your tesla weapons to shred massed infantry at close range, this is quite possibly the most potent offensive Dynastic Code available to the Necrons.
While there are few units in your army that won’t benefit from this Dynastic Code, we can think of one choice that’ll find it particularly useful…
Destroyers are perhaps the most sinister of the Necrons, infused with an insatiable urge to erase all sentient life, and bereft of any emotion save a cold, simmering fury. Destroyers have been significantly improved in Codex: Necrons, their gauss cannons gifted an additional shot and an extra point of Strength, not to mention having their points slashed!
At short range, Mephrit Destroyers will go through even Terminators with ease – but that’s not all. Destroyers from any dynasty can now utilise one of the most brutally effective Stratagems in the game:
What if your enemy is hiding in cover? That’s easily dealt with too:
In short, Mephrit Dynasty Necrons are ideal for when you really, truly need an enemy to die – but you’ll need someone to lead them…
Yesterday, we looked into how Necron characters can be built to support the rest of your army, but thanks to the new codex, you’ll also be able to create some pretty deadly hero-hunters. A Mephrit Destroyer Lord with a warscythe is a brutal option, cutting through enemy armour and punishing anyone who tries to charge your lines.
Equip yours with the Voidreaper and there’s little that’ll be able to stand in your way – and what’s more, you’ll be able to tackle foes reliant on their invulnerable saves by utilising Entropic Strike.
Another sneaky combo you could try is combining the Mephrit Warlord Trait, Merciless Tyrant, with their artefact, the Voltaic Staff. In the hands of your chosen Character, this will allow you to strip out enemy support units with terrifying ease.
The Mephrit are a brutal close assault force that’ll tear through elite armies with ease – but they’re not the only Necron dynasty that specialises in short-range warfare. Tomorrow, we’ll be looking at the bloodthirsty Novokh Dynasty, and their surprising skill in close combat…
One of the most exciting things about the latest batch of codexes is the new types of army builds they’ve made available to Warhammer 40,000players. Codex: Necrons is no exception.
So far, we’ve looked at the unusually mobile armies of the Sautekh Dynasty and the short-ranged carnage wrought by the Mephrit Dynasty. More than the others, however, there is one Dynastic Code that reinvents how your army works.
Traditionally, Necrons are well known for being a shooting army, with a couple of deadly close-combat units to deal with anyone that reaches your lines and to hold down particularly dangerous enemies. The Novokh Dynasty turns this archetype on its head with Awakened by Murder:
With this Dynastic Code, your close-combat units will be able to go toe to toe with whatever the enemy can array against them, while defensively, any enemy wishing to charge your shooting units will have to risk taking more casualties than they can afford in return.
There are several units that are particularly effective with this Dynastic Code, but our favourite has to be Flayed Ones.
Having received a marked points cut in the new codex, Flayed Ones are a great option for a melee-oriented Necrons army. Matching the impressive durability of their brethren, Flayed Ones can tackle even the toughest enemies thanks to their re-rolls to wound, while the re-rolls to hit provided by the Novokh Dynastic Code are icing on the cake. We’d recommend going all-out and taking a unit of 20, then activating the Disruption Fields Stratagem for the best results.
Enemies still alive? Give it another go with Blood Rites.
Against more heavily armoured opponents, you’ll need to pack some specialist weapons. Thankfully, a certain Canoptek unit has received some significant enhancements…
In Codex: Necrons, Canoptek Wraiths have been granted additional Damage and AP on their close combat attacks, making them superb hunters of heavy infantry. By using yours with Awakened by Murder, you’ll be able to ensure your attacks land and deal maximum damage when you charge.
Defensively, Canoptek Wraiths are even more difficult to get rid of. As if 3 Wounds, a 3+ invulnerable save and Toughness 5 wasn’t already durable enough, you’ll be able to bring units back from the brink of destruction with Repair Subroutines:
Make sure to keep a Cryptek nearby to ensure the best results!
Novokh Dynasty armies are ideal for Necrons players who want to take the fight directly to their enemy – or just fancy some insurance against getting charged.
We’ve looked at all sorts of unconventional Necron dynasties so far in our preview, but if you’re looking to field a more classic force, worry not – the Nihilakh Dynasty is ideal. Come back tomorrow when we’ll be checking them out.
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I am liking that Novokh for my Sylvaneth counts as Necrons army. With Dryads as flayed ones, I need ideas on what models to use for canoptek wraiths though.
Wraiths got MUCH better!
Are you using Kurnoth Hunters as anything yet? Could convert them with maybe a few Spite Revenant claws on each hand? Maybe no legs on them but with Nurgle big fly thingies insect wings?
Advancing mobility-crons? Cool concept. Me like.
Necrons look to be way more fun now.
Looking like a great codex to build out many different lists! Definitely seeing some major improvements to bring them out of the basement of the index. Having a brother who fields the Crons, I know he still has some concerns, two in particular. Was wondering if anyone had some thoughts about it?
1) Anti armor/monster seems to be still limited to a) a handful of units that are very expensive and vulnerable to alpha striking or b) mass fire that requires short range. Both of which are pretty easily handled with a standard “screened fire base with a hard hitting ambush unit or two”.
2) Cheap screening/deployment shenanigans still seem very limited. I haven’t yet faced an army without this element that cant simply be destroyed by… “screened fire base with a hard hitting ambush unit or two”.
We love to play fluffy games, but also like to play hard lists for tourneys (I’ve been crushing local tourneys with Emperors children, always facing “screened fire base with a hard hitting ambush unit or two” at the top tables), so would love to hear feedback from anyone with suggestions. Thanks!
Destroyers should do a decent job at anti-armour and monsters. Extermination Protocols with d3 damage should just erase a unit.
Screening though might be the codex’s downfall though. As necrons are generally short ranged meaning they’ll have to chew through the screens before hitting the meat which is going to be rough. For screening themselves it ain’t great because of a lack of infiltrate so it’s either warriors( not great as you have to take them in 10) or scarabs.
Looks to be shaping up to be a fun codex with different ways to build your army, though not looking to be a very competitive codex in the current Meta(though maybe that will change with the march update).
I think I get how GW wanted to present Necrons as the Most changed from Index. All the competitive Necron Index lists completely abandon Reanimation Protocols in favor of other units that just do their job of killing because in 8th unless your army is blessed with -1 or -2 to hit there is no way to keep a unit on the table to take advantage of RP even though you pay for it in points.
There are zero defensive dynasty’s for Necrons… let that sink in None. No golden -1 to hit or get cover or even just the 6+ feel no pain. All Necron Dynasty’s are for offence only you must hit and hit hard. Necrons once known for being hard to kill will now be a force of death walking(teleporting) up the field. It will be interesting to see how this shakes out, index Necrons had nothing that could get them to top tables (I think Frankie should put up or shut up about index Necrons being competitive) and still struggle against the gate keeper Gilliman list that top tier armies have answers for and consider playing against one an easy win.
I am hopeful and will give it my best to change my outlook on the army from an “I will out last you” army that is now Death Guard to a “Face Punch” army with deep striking destroyers acting like Chaos Oblits and such.
Frankie has played Crons quite a bit, he just hasn’t had time to go get them fully painted and off to an event, yet.
And just hang tight, Crons are solid. They got a big boost and you do not need -1 or -2 to hit to win games, that is just group think. If you have decent terrain (which you absolutely should this edition) then all of a sudden melee armies and all kinds of other fun stuff becomes great.
If you are playing with a lack of adequate terrain then yeah, it may feel that you have to bring your defense with you and the game boils down to a shooting war. That’s less a problem with the game and more a problem with how people are playing it, though.
But yeah, a little patience. I think you will find you do just fine with Crons.
Yeah I am seeing all kinds of different ways to make an army. I am really seeing you have to make a Salad(*one condex with mixed Chapters/Dynastys) of it to make sure your units really get the most out of it.
The poke at Frankie is a jest, kind of like the Flat Earthers; even in front of tested data and more minds than you can count coming to the exact opposite conclusion they hold firm in their belief. 😛
Thanks for the feedback castle!
I just read my own comment again and realized I sounded quite douchey. Didn’t mean to come off braggy. Not intended, just the aspergers kicking in!
Destroyers definitely look deadly as hell, but I think it might be hard to keep them on the table if going second. I guess they could be reserved?…
Still looking like a struggle to be competitive though. Maybe I’m just looking at the units in a vacuum and not taking the whole package into consideration with the points adjustments, res protocol, etc.
I guess we’ll find out soon enough!
Just when I started collecting Tau, the Necrons get an update. Necrons were my second army, and my first Xenos army. Based on what I’m seeing, this might already be my favorite codex the Egyptian T-600 Terminators have had so far. Some nice-looking rules in there. Again, I just started collecting Tau. Faction ADD, HOOOOOO!!!!