Hello friend!
Rawdogger here to talk to you all about a Necron army idea I’ve kicking around in my head. You think you know how to Necron? I’ll teach YOU HOW TO NECRON, BRUH!! Ahem, sorry to get so excited. You would think I’m living in San Diego with Reece and Frankie wearing a Famous hat with a flat brim and a Tap Out shirt. Since the release of the new Necron codex a couple months ago it’s been hard to ignore the internet buzz regarding the power of the codex. Almost every forum thread or blog comment section talking about the power of either codex A or codex B is flooded with arguments along the lines of ‘oh you think that’s powerful, what about the Necron codex’, etc. As someone who is not very good at the tactics of the game any news that there is a codex that jabronies like me can pick up and rock faces with is sure to grab my interest, so I recently picked up the codex and gave it a nose.
My initial thoughts of the codex are that it is incredibly powerful and resiliant. In the right hands an optimized Necron list can decimate the opponent while taking little damage in return. I would say that the Decurion detachment is the way to go if you intend to take a competitive list. The ability to have all Reanimation Protocol rolls on a 4+ as well as unlocking the formations with additional abilities is almost too good to pass up. A couple stand out units that I zeroed in on were Nemesor Zahndrekhand Wraiths though there are almost no units in the codex that I would classify as useless. So with these units in mind and the power of the Decurion Detachment in my heart, I set out a tournament winning Necron army list. The list combines the old power of the flying croissant list with the new power of the Decurion Detachment and formations all while keeping my love for Immortals.
Decurion Detachment
Reclamation Legion
Anrakyr the Traveller
10x Warriors, Night Scythe
10x Warriors, Night Scythe
10x Immortals, Tesla Carbines, Night Scythe
4x Tomb Blades, Particle Beamers, Nebuloscopes
Royal Court
Overlord, Veil of Darkness, Warscythe
Cryptek, Chronometron
Lord, Warscythe
Canoptek Harvest
1x Spyder
9x Scarabs
6x Wraiths, Whip Coils
So the basic premise of this 1850 list is Anrakyr and the Royal Court join the Immortals either on the board if I am confident they won’t get slammed turn 1 by my opponent. The unit itself is fairly resilient, with a 3+ armor save and a 4+ reanimation protocol roll. They also receive a 5+ invulnerable save from the Cryptek’s Chronometron. In combat they put out 8 WS5 and 3 WS 4 Warscythe attacks on the charge from the Overlord, Anrakyr, and the Lord. Not to even mention the attacks from the Immortals and Cryptek. The unit also has Counter Attack thanks to Anrakyr. I like the Veil of Darkness’s ability to either get you out of a jam or get you where you need to be to get that crucial firing solution to pull off a victory. With Tesla Carbines I should be able to get a good amount of shots from the unit, not to mention the Staff of Light from the Cryptek or Anrakyr’s Tachyon Arrow. I really thought about Lycheguard, but I’m just not a fan of close combat units in 7th edition 40k. Yes they are nigh unkillable but a good opponent will just stay away from them or toss them disposable units to munch on.
The Necron Warriors do what they do and come on to the board with their Night Scythes, hopefully teleporting and wrecking a face or two while doing so. The Night Scythes themselves are still phenominal at taking out fliers and infantry alike with their twin linked Tesla Destructors. I like what the Tomb Blades do for their cost, and with S6 cover ignoring blasts they can torment the opponent’s weak backfield units hiding in cover. The Canoptek Harvest really packs a punch. With the ability to give the models in the formation within 12″ of the Spyder (the Scarabs) Reanimation Protocols, Shred, or Fleet, the Harvest is really a standout choice in the codex. Scarabs still wreck a lot of units while Wraiths are just incredible now with a 3+ invulnerable save and T5. In assault the unit pumps out 24 S6 rending attacks at I5. Not too shabby, flabby!
So, what are your thoughts on the list? What are your thoughts on the Necron codex in general? Is it strong like bear or weak like Reece’s game?
i run the Decurion as well and as u may have seen on other posts im fighting the lychguard corner
for me they sit in between 2 big blocks of warriors as a counter unit within range of zandrek whos my warlord for lots of buffs and within 6″ of szeras for that +1 reanimation so their allways at a 4+
once you hit the centre of the board they have a great threat range from their to move out and take on a unit that’s back on an objective or slow down a tougher unit
I would say if u test run a foot list with the Decurion give them a go theirs nothing better than necrons winning combat 😀
Think you would be better off with gauss on your immortals if you intend on getting in combat with them. Since your running a reclaimation legion your immortals have relentless letting you double tap and charge, and the ap4 and gauss rule opens up your unit to threaten more targets.
An interesting list, to be sure. Personally, I’m still up in the air about Anrakyr.
The Anrakyr unit is interesting because it’s basically a “hero unit”, a lot of eggs in one basket. It’s nice because they have the durability of 2+/3++ against shooting once you take into account RP (except against D weaponry), so it’s exceptionally durable. And it’s able to function at least somewhat well in Assault thanks to Furious Charge/Counter Attack + Warscythes.
However, I’m not sure about the overall power of it. Immortals have good damage throughput for an infantry unit (especially if you take Gauss, I think Tesla is a poor option nowadays), but are nothing special since you lack any special weapons other than the Tachyon Arrow one shot and the Cryptek’s Staff of Light. In fact, the entire army is somewhat problematic at taking down tough units from a range, such as Knights, Dreadnaughts, Riptides, etc. Other than Rate of Fire or hoping to get the Wraiths or Warscythes in, the list can’t really deal with tough units at a range.
My other concern would be amount of points into Night Scythes. I still think the Flying Croissants are fine, but with the points increase I think 3 in a list (especially with the new minimum of 10 Warriors) is putting a lot of points in reserve. I don’t particularly think the Decurion needs to worry about dropping Flyers or FMCs super efficiently, it’s durable enough to weather the storm of Flyrants and the like with few casualties, speaking from experience. The Veil already gives the Immortals a decent (if unreliable) way to get across the board, so I don’t think both it and the Scythe are necessary. If you drop them out of a Scythe, you keep them away from things you need to Veil out of, and if you use the Veil to move around, you don’t need the Scythe. 1 or 2 Scythes is probably still ok, but 3 feels like overkill and a bit scary since you don’t have Zahndrekh, Imotekh, or a Comms Relay.
That said, I think it could work against a lot of things. It is, of course, packing that durability of Necrons. Wraiths and Scarabs are fantastic, per usual, and anything the Immortals get within 12″ of is basically going to die, short of super-dedicated Assault units. Heck, even Knights should die in one round to that many Gauss shots and Warscythe hits, even if the D Sword kills a few Immortals in the meantime. Despite what I said in the last paragraph, Scythes + Wraiths gives you a lot of mobility, though it is at the expense of more units on the ground.
Oh, the only other thing: Consider Gauss on the Tomb Blades over Beamers. Damage output is about the same (depending on range/target/etc), and then you could afford 3+ on them. Also, Twin Linked Gauss is still pretty useful if you Jink, while Beamers do nothing if you’re forced to Jink.
ok, here’s my 2 cents and keep the change-
lychguard are better, having RP, fewer wounds but more, better ap1 attacks at S7 Abane. i’ve done well with the zandrek/obyron slingshot-
put obyron w the lychguard, cryptek and DLord, put zandrek w Zseras, NLord and 15 warriors in a bastion with escape hatch,(quad gun?has been pretty useless facing no flyers…) zandrek jumps out of the escape hatch turn 1, thanks to Zseras, the warrior unit is +1 on something, and the unit has zealot thx to zandrek) obyron teleports the lych unit 12″ from Zandrek, Your lych unit is now 30″ away from your deployment zone without scattering, with your warrior unit laying down cover fire. Thx to the solar staff on your DLord, the enemy can only snap shoot at the DS’ing Lych unit! The Lych unit has a 5++ 4+RP, and the option of a rez orb if needed. The zandrek unit has a 4+ RP re-rolling 1’s of all saves thx to Szeras. these guys do not die much!
for my taste i sprinkled in deathmarks, min. gauss imortals, and a night scythe at 1750, or another lych unit in a scythe at 2k. heres my 1850 list…
and its even highlander compliant:
1750 highlander
El 8 Dmarks
144
Tr 8 gauss immortals
136
night scythe
130
Zandrek
150
Szeras w lance, fear
110
Nlord rez scythe veil
120
15 warriors
195
580
Bastion escape hatch, quad gun
150
HQ Dlord solar staff rez
150
Obyron
120
cryptek chronom
90
FA 10 scythe lych guard
250
605
1740
ps once they kill that spyder, and they will, no more RP for you, even if you could stay close enough to him throughout…
I would echo sentiments about the Immortals and HQ unit. It is essentially a “Star”.
Unfortunately I don’t see it as being a very good star. It functions both as a shooting unit and a close combat unit, but doesn’t necessarily seem to do either well. I’d say it does CC better, but it seems you are almost using it like a come at me bro kind of unit, daring others to charge. While it’s damage output is pretty nice in 3 Warscythes, The resiliency isn’t there even with RP as many CC orientated units will tear that unit apart, especially because it isn’t fearless. It loses one round of combat and you can probably say goodbye to that unit.
You have 615 points soaked up into that star and I don’t see it making its points back.
If you are going the star route, I’d drop 5 immortals and 1 night scythe and add a unit of 10 lychguard. Give em the shield and sword with all the warscythes and swap out the chronometron for the solar staff. Turn one use the veil to get real close to their lines and pop the solar staff so people have to snap shot at it. Then next turn go in and wreck stuff.
As a fellow necron player, though one that does not use Decurion, I would say the 400 points of night sythes could be better spent elsewhere on the table top. with your increased durability, I think it is ok to give up air superiority and go for ground control.
I also just dont know how I am feeling about the star, that is a lot of points for something that will struggle to do enough.
Weak like my game, lol!? Ouch!
You can’t have night scythes or ghost arks in the Necron Decurion Detachment because the restrictions say “only the datasheets listed above may be included in this detachment” (referring to the diagram of the detachment) and theses units aren’t listed. Only the units in the formations the C’tan, flayed ones and deathmarks are listed.
Ghost Arks and Night Scyths are dedicated transport options so are available inside the decurion attached to their respective troop/elite choices.
They are not listed on that page of the codex and the small print says only listed units in that detachment (read it your self), therefor these dedicated transports can’t be incuded in the detachment but can be in a separet combined arms detachment as fast atack.
Them being dedicated transports is irelevent dew to the small print’s wording and the fact they are not menchened on that page, but i get where you are coming from.
Sory about my spelling.
They are not listed because their datasheets are from the fast attack Slot and ist not wished that u use them that way, but because they are mentioned in the necron warriors datasheet they are totally available as part of that unit.
No further discussion needed.
Don’t try necrons in small games (it is very difficult to do well, but I have one good 750 point list (for school leage rules); try to play more than 1000 points (or do somthing completly underhand)
750 points:
Judicator batalion: 2 units of 5 pertorians (viod blades and particle casters) and a singal staker (with a heat ray)
Deathbringer flight: 2 doom sythes
This is quite affective but the portoians and stalker are suprisingly easy to kill and they will need to charge to do their damege (but they killed a knight when I tested this list and there was 3 surviers); the people I tested this on incled the 2016 school leag team who git the 2nd highest score on the planet in the semi finals (and did not lose a game) and a kid with way too much money to spend on kights.
Sorry for my spellings; the person who wrote the dictonary spelt allmost all the words wrong (these are the corect spellings).