With the holidays fast approaching, and my lack of actual 40k games played, I thought now would be a good time to go over some of the things the struggling Necrons need to see happen in the 2022 Chapter Approved. The Balance Patch GW put out gave many Necron units the Core keyword and was a huge step in the right direction, but as we can see from the tournament results after the Balance Patch, the Necron army still needs some help in competitive 40k. I have already done a preview of some of the ways the previewed Chapter Approved missions are going to effect playing Necrons, as well as covered how the Core keyword makes some units in the Codex go from the shelf to being included in every army list, but there is one thing GW has yet to tinker with in the Necron Codex. The points values for some Necrons units are laughable compared to their counterparts in other Codexes.
Lords:
Good lord, Lords are too expensive. In all of their forms Necron Nobles are pointed like some of the premier named characters in other Codexes. Let’s start by looking at the humble Lord. For 100 points you can get a 4 wound Character with no invulnerable save, 3 Attacks, and WS/BS 3+. Sounds like a model that is slightly better than an Intercessor Sergeant. An Overlord at least has a 4+ Invulnerable save, and an extra attack, but he comes in at 130 points! Knocking 20 points right off the top of these two Characters would put them right around the points level of comparable heroes in other Codexes.
Don’t get me wrong, My Will Be Done and Relentless March are amazing abilities. These Characters are not melee powerhouses, and I think that is by design. There are other Characters in the book (Destroyer and Skorpek Lords) that fill that role very nicely, but regular Lords are currently pointed at the level of a premier Character who can fight, buff and survive a fight. With only one of these things being actually true please lower their points GW.
Close Combat Units:
With all of the heavy close combat Destroyer options, and Wraiths, coming in at 35 points per model I am torn on what I want to see Games Workshop do in this area. A Bladeguard Veteran is 35 points, and I wouldn’t trade Wraiths or Skorpek Destroyers out of the Necron book for their Space Marine counterpart. Wraiths and Skorpeks, with the Core keyword, seem like excellent melee units with opposing roles. Having them at the same points value feels very balanced from within the Necron Codex. Are they worth 35 points though? I would argue in the current meta Bladeguard Vets, along with Skorpeks and Wraiths, shouldn’t cost 35 points. Actually, they SHOULD cost 35 points and other things in the meta need to go up…..balancing points is hard.
On to a unit I have an easy answer for, Ophidian Destroyers. Ophidians do less damage than Skorpeks, aren’t as fast or tough as Wraiths, and generally just don’t have a good spot in a lot of competitive Necron army lists. While they were used previously as a unit that could re-deploy during the game to score ROD this will no longer be a reliable option once the new Chapter Approved mission pack is out. Making a player roll equal to or under the amount of models in the unit performing the new ROD action stops units of 3 Ophidian Destroyers from being useful. Hopefully GW recognizes this disparity and gives these clawed metal Destroyers a good look.
Troops:
This may be an unpopular opinion with some Necron players, but Warriors are appropriately pointed. With all the different ways the Codex has to return Warriors to a big squad of 20, and the general decline of units being take at the competitive level that can one shot a unit of Warriors, 13 points is totally fair for the Necron’s main troop.
Immortals are a different story. Being T5 and getting a 3+ save certainly makes Immortals a premium troop option, but 17 points is slightly over costed for a one wound model with a max unit size of 10. If Immortals could be taken in blocks of 20 I would totally understand their points cost. Resurrections would be extremely more common, and effective, on a big unit of Immortals. Unfortunately, this is not the case, so these premier troops should come down a point or two. This is more of a stocking stuffer then our big ticket item GW.
C’Tan:
Some people will argue C’Tan are grossly over costed. It is true almost all current Edition Codexes have ways to deal wounds to C’tan in multiple phases, making their biggest defensive ability meaningless, but C’tan are still extremely strong units within the Necrons Codex. A T7, 4+ invulnerable save, undeniable mortal wound machine can’t go down too much or the Necrons would be at risk of having their first broken unit of the Edition (wouldn’t want that would we?!). The Nightbringer at 370 is laughable, and the Void Dragon could do with coming down 10 or 20 points. Again, nothing crazy here GW. Just drop the C’tans a bit to reflect their decreased survivability in the current meta.
Necron Vehicles:
Vehicles in the Necrons Codex are actually aggressively pointed compared to similar vehicles in other Codexes. With rules like Quantum Shielding, and ways to give all our vehicles ObSec (and Fallback and Shoot!), I don’t think a lot needs to be done here. Ok, the Monolith isn’t amazing but that isn’t a points thing.
Other Stuff:
Some units point changes just won’t matter. Things like Deathmarks are always going to be bad in this Codex. Ok, there IS a points value at which Deathmarks become good, but GW isn’t going to make that happen.
Now I will hit send on my electronic letter to Games Workshop as I post this article. I’m sure they will give me everything my Necrons need for the new year and new competitive season. Hopefully we see the Chapter Approved early in 2022. I am very excited for the shake up to the meta through new missions and points values! It should drop sometimes during the beginning of the new ITC season which adds even more excitement to a new year of competitive 40k!