Hello Folks, Dolch here.
Normally, I’m writing about all things Blood Bowl though I do play other games. I can’t say that I’m anywhere near the caliber of the other writers here at Frontline Gaming, but I have been playing an unusual Necron list that I’d like to share. I would also like to show how it is changing with the release of Chapter Approved 2018. For more great tactics articles, check the Tactics Corner!
First a bit about my game philosophy. I’m an old-school Magic the Gathering player, and the folks over at Wizards of the Coast came up with a neat way of describing their player demographics. Understand, all players want to win. What differentiates them is HOW they want to win.
- Timmy players like to win in the splashiest, flashiest way possible. Go big or go home is a way of life for a Timmy. Big creatures, big effects are huge attractions to this kind of player.
- Johny players like to win through carefully constructed conditions of effects. It is all about style for a Johny. The weirder the path to victory the better.
- Spike players are highly focused on winning as efficiently as possible. They may use Big effects or weird combos, but only if they can reliably win the match in the most efficient way possible. Spikes are all about the goal of victory.
Me? I’m mostly Johny, but I have a couple of Spike streaks running through me as well. This leads me to build unique army lists. I’ve never put any serious effort into the most popular (and good) army builds. I’ve been playing since 2011 and I’ve never got into Scarab Farm, Necron Airforce, Destroyer Wing or most recently Triple Vault lists. I just want to win with a list that I’ve pioneered.
Fast Necrons 2k Points
Necron Nihilakh Spearhead Detachment
- Cryptek – Canoptek Cloak and Staff of Light, Warlord Trail Thrall of the Silent King
- Doomsday Ark
- Doomsday Ark
- Transcendent C’tan
Novokh Outrider Detachment
- Destroyer Lord – Warscythe, Phylactery, Artefact: The Nanoscarab Casket
- C’Tan Shard of the Deceiver
- C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer
- Canoptek Scarabs x8
- Canoptek Scarabs x8
- Canoptek Wraiths x5
- Destroyers x5
For a point total of 1995
I had two goals with this army.
- I just received a Nightbringer as a gift, and I had just converted my own Transcendent C’tan.
- Surprise my opponents with the speed that Necrons can show.
Is it the most perfectly tuned list? Um… no. There are a lot of people who could tweak the backbone of this list and really make it sing. I’m not one of those.
I have seven models with Living Metal, and at least two of them can get back d3 wounds a turn instead of one due to the Nanoscarab Casket and the Crpytek’s Canoptek Cloak. There is also the possibility that the Transcendent C’tan will get Sentient Necrodermis on the Fractured Personality table at the beginning of the game. I have some really strong ranged shooting, as well as some good close combat models.
I’m happy to say that all of my opponents were caught off guard when my whole army moved so quickly. At the start of the game, the slowest models were the C’tan at eight inches. (I had a lot of fun with Grand Illusion on the Deceiver to overcome that slowness.) They were also surprised when I started throwing pseudo-psychic powers all over the place turn one, thanks to the C’tan. “You take mortal wounds. You take mortal wounds. Everyone take mortal wounds!”
I took it to a local 3-round RTT one Saturday last fall. This was before the big fall FAQ took effect (though we played with the modifications anyway). I dodged the Eldar and Knight players. All of my games were close, but I managed to be one of the four players who ended the day 3-0 (matches were made on battle points, not win-loss record).
How does this army do under Chapter Approved 2018?
Well, the big news for Necrons is the drop in the costs of our troops. Necron Warriors have lost 1 point per model, so you are saving 10 points when you take a minimum unit of warriors. Necron Immortals had a 2 point drop in the cost of both the Tesla Carbine and the Gauss Blaster, so that will save you 10 points on a minimum unit as well.
My list doesn’t have any troops. ANY. As a result of bringing the fast models, I left my five-inch moving models at home.
Below the fold, we see that most of the Necron named characters dropped in points. So did the Catacomb Command Barge and the Lord. While I did consider the Command Barge, there is a reason that it received a price adjustment. I could more easily hide the Destroyer Lord and get a bit more durable unit. No savings yet.
My Cryptek didn’t change, neither did my Destroyer Lord. Scarabs didn’t change, and neither did the normal Destroyers or the Deceiver.
Finally, the Doomsday Ark went down 33 points each, saving me 66 points.
Wraiths went down seven points per model. That allows me to save 35 points in the list above.
The Nightbringer went down 30 points, and the Transcendent C’tan went down 25 points.
All told, my list went from 1995 to 1839. That’s a total of 156 points. Once again, that is without the price changes that are most likely to make the biggest difference… troops and characters.
- I could do something un-exciting like filling out the wraith, destroyer, and scarab squads. I could even upgrade one of those destroyers to a heavy destroyer (who saw a points drop on the awesome Heavy Gauss Cannon).
- I could add a third Doomsday Ark.
I’m not sure which way to go yet. I’ll have to get a few more games in and find out. If you have any suggestions, feel free to post them down below.
But I do know this… people still don’t expect a Fast Necron army.
Until next time,
Best Blitzes,
Dolch
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