This is a Work in progressNecron 5th Edition Shooting Tactica
[note - discussion thread can be found here.]5th Edition has dealt a serous blow to Necron shooting. Not only did our anti-tank take a sever hit, but the meta game has become tank oriented. So we must adjust our 4th edition shooting ways into this new and dangerous rule set for us.
UnitsFirst I will work my way through the units in our codex and explain how I believe they fit into a shooting based army.
Necron LordAs he is our mainstay HQ choice, he is mandatory. In a shooting army he takes up a heavy support role. Since we are wanting to focus on shooting we shouldn't need more than one lord ever. Lords are huge point sinks, and don't really add to our overall fire power. Paying 140pts more to increase your resurrection orb range isn't worth it. Leave double lords to other types of armies. I will review his wargear and how it fits into a shooting army.
Staff of Light: (Bad) 12" range is terrible. If the enemy is this close, that means you are going to get charged. This is the worse thing that can happen to a shooting army. It doesn't add enough fire power to really amount to much.
Warscythe: (Good) Yes, it doesn't add any more guns to your army. What it does is add an assault deterrent to a unit of your choice. And brings with it some decent anti-tank abilities.
Chronometron: (Trash) This doesn't belong in a shooting army. If you are in a situation where you are using it, you are not using a shooting tactic or are afraid of getting run down.
Disruption Field: (Trash) Never should be on a lord unless you have 5pts to throw away
Destroyer Body: (Medium) Increases your lords toughness, which is always a good thing. But the added speed of this body won't really be used to much effect. Unless you want you lord to be baby sitting your Destroyers/Heavy Destroyers, I wouldn't use this. It is expensive and best used for assaulting (which is not the aim of this tactica)
Gaze of Flame: (Medium) Basically gives you defensive grenades and some leadership manipulation. This can be useful, as reducing the number of assault oriented attacks is a plus. And can further add to a Lord who is equipped to discourage assaults.
Lightning Field: (Medium) Falls into the same category as Gaze of Flame. It is another Assault discouraging item.
Nightmare Shroud: (Bad) This is bad because if you are focusing on shooting your opponent to death, you can't really afford to do all the fear based tactics. Leave this to fear armies
Phase Shifter: (Medium) Increases your lords survivability. Again always a good thing for a lord. But it is very expensive, and will only come into use during an assault. Your better off avoiding assaulting all together in a shooting army.
Phylactery: (Bad) This is a gimmick item really. Only include it if you have 15pts floating. Gaze of flame is far better. But if you have nother else to buy, take it.
Resurrection Orb: (Excellent) No reason not to take this item for a shooting army or any Necron army for that matter. They should just build it into the lord and increase his point cost for how necessary this item is.
Solar Pulse: (Good) Before you walk away for me saying this is a good item hear me out. Your army is based around shooting. Dawn of war can seriously make your shooting bad for the first turn. Why not negate it completely. Or if there isn't DoW then you get to conceal one unit from the opponent for a turn. So 1/3 of missions really benefit from it. The other 2/3 are only moderately useful.
Viel of Darkness: (Medium-bad) This is another gimmick item in my opinion. Deepstriking is dangerous. The cost of our units makes this an even riskier tactic, and it further puts us into risk of losing through phase out. But it can pull a surprise on an opponent if you are feeling lucky. But the cost alone makes it impractical.
PariahsThese poor miss understood souless robots. Even though I am quite fond of these myself, they are difficult to use in a shooting based army. They do bring a guass blaster with them though, so they are not a complete waste. They make for good fire magnets, and assault discouraging unit (until they are dead). But overall they are just too expensive a unit. Only use them if you like the models and the fluff. A shooting based army won't really take advantage of much of their abilities. The leadership penalty bubble can be useful for trying to route a unit that is too close. But most of the time the units that are that close are fearless and assault based.
ImmortalsOne of our bread and butter units for a shooting army. Solid toughness, decent range, decent fire power, and relatively point efficient. Remember two small units are better than 1 large one. You should usually run 2 units of these in an army. 3 units can be a bit of over kill, but won't really degrade the army as a whole.
Flayed OnesYeah, they shouldn't be fielded in a shooting army. They have no purpose. More warriors would be better in every way
WarriorsSigh......Once magnificent troop choice is now our ball and chain. These guys are more of a burden than a resource. They are to capture objectives, bait opponents, and keep your army from phasing out. Rarely ever will warriors win you a game by killing something. Just cause you get 40 shots from a warrior unit doesn't mean your gonna stop anything that is 12 inches away. They should be used to finish off units and sit back. Basing an entire army around warriors is asking for an up hill battle. Think of them as support troops for the real shooting units
WraithsSame as flayed ones
DestroyersNow here is our main unit for dealing death at range. Solid range, Excellent maneuverability, great gun, and solid survivability. The only draw back is their cost. But can't have it all. If you are focusing on shooting, large units of these are best. 5 man units are even better, that way leadership isn't a concern at first. However, expect all the big guns they have to aim for these guys. And you need to support them. Also, unless the opponent has STR 10 guns, you don't need a res orb near them. A shooting based army must have destroyers.
ScarabsEven though they don't do any shooting they do have a place in a shooting army. They are good tar pits and harassment units. And with D-fields can stall some vehicles. This is another support unit for a shooting army
Tomb SpydersDon't ever give them the gun upgrade. They are not here to shoot, they are here to support your destroyers and entire army. I believe these guys are very iimportant. Otherwise you are forced to keep all your destroyers near each other, which limits your firing solutions. They can also go for some armor targets, but honestly that is just a bonus. You should take at least 2 of these guys in an army. they are a solid support unit.
Heavy DestroyersThey used to be useless, now they are a necessity. Face it, mechanized is the most competitive way to play in 5th edition now. Everyone is bringing tanks. And glancing just doesn't cut it anymore. These guys bring a lascannon on a jetbike platform. They are expensive, but you have to have them. 2 units of 2 is a bare minimum these days. Otherwise landraiders and guard are gonna stomp you into the ground.
MonolithThe most indestructible vehicle in the game. And yet it has almost no teeth. The particle whip is too short a range on a slow vehicle to provide any sort of reliable anti-tank. The teleportation is simply a gimmick that gives you more stamina but at the cost of lowering your phase out. Lets be honest, veteran players are not going to shoot their anti-tank at it. They are gonna shot their big guns at your Destroyers, then spyders, then what ever is left. They will just ignore it, because it isn't a big enough threat. I don't believe these belong in a pure shooting based army. In a mixed list, they can do just fine. But otherwise I say leave them at home.
C'tanToo expensive. Don't really bring much to shooting based armies. Monolith does a better job.