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Offline Shas'Oink

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Battle Report unit assessment
« on: September 11, 2012, 10:56:29 AM »
Some of you may have seen my battle report in the relvant board. If not, you can read the Battle Report Here

This will be a more in depth look at how I think the units performed. It was my first real fight with this list build and I learnt a few things. I think that it is important to look at units performance in order to take something and build for your next battle. It could be easy to think that everything was fine considering the end result of the battle, but there is always something that can be taken and improved, or stored in the knowledge bank for the future!

Things like planning Flyer movement, considering how Zahndrekhs special rule gifting can be used by different units in different situations and working out how to make the most use out of Tesla Destructors, exploitation of the Arc rule and at what point you risk too much overkill!

Anyway, here are the unit by unit thoughts;

Nemesor Zahndrekh (Warlord Trait - Immovable Object)
First of all, Big Z rolled Immovable Object for his Warlord Trait, meaning he would count as scoring. This was probably mostly useless in a game where he would be sticking with a big scoring Necron Warrior unit and a mission that saw me fielding 3 scoring Heavy Support units!

I surprised myself by actually remembering to use his special rules! Phased Reinforcements allowed me to bring on 3 Night Scythes when the enemy drop podded on the first turn!! This undoubtedly made a big difference. I did realise though, just how difficult it is to Deep Strike flyers. You need to position them thinking about the potential enemy movement as reserves from “Phased Reinforcements” arrive with enemy reserves (being before enemy movement) and then you have to take into account the fact that the Scythes have to move a minimum of 18” before opening fire in your own turn! not to mention the limited facings. It’s tricky because deep striking in a “safe” spot in the middle of the board is not necessarily advantageous. The good thing is that you don’t roll for the number of reinforcements, you simply choose the units from reserve that you want in. I’m thinking that this could be a neat ability to use with the Monolith.

Most useful was Zahndrekhs gifting of special rules to any unit, I was able to try and exploit a number of these with mixed effect. I’m still working out which special rules work best in which situation but this will come with time. Nonetheless, this force multiplier could be VERY useful if employed right. but removing abilities from opponents is much more difficult, simply because you need to be able to see the target that has the specific special rule that you can remove.


Overall, he does a good job, and provides good bonuses and benefits to the army. A solid HQ choice for my build. It’s very interesting to use him vs marines, and their drop pods, most helpfully he just gives you lots of flexibility and choice.


Necron Lord Warscythe, Scarabs, Weave
This guy did nothing, but was there ready should the Terminators or Master have reached combat. He would probably have made mince meat out of the commander, who was sporting a Power Fist (would not have been my choice) and ultimately wasn’t used very well by my opponent - but then, maybe he was wary of rushing him in to die against my Lord!

Abyssal Cryptek
I jiggled points & units to try him out and boy was it worth it. Wounding against Ld meant that in this battle more often than not a 4+ would kill a marine. Plus, you can use this on “Overwatch” (unless I am mistaken!) to cause some real havoc. None of the Crypteks are any good in combat, though I forgot to try and re-animate him when I did die, which I believe he should have been allowed to do, even if his unit died!?

Voltaic Cryptek (x2)
Easily the best points you will ever spend. Ever. Between them they destroyed a Land Raider Redeemer, a Vindicator, a Drop Pod not to mention causing some wounds on marines to boot. Just to put that into perspective, 50pts destroyed upwards of 400pts of enemies.

They worked well for me because I was able to get them into the battle from my first turn, and the Scythes allow them to deploy where they would be most useful. I’d be wary of taking these for footslogging units though...

10 Necron Warriors
A nice big block to hold ground worked quite well. Plus, 20 Rapid Firing Gauss shots are never to be sniffed at. These guys benefit from Big Z and his Resurrection Orb too, which helped them soak up damage pretty well. So far though, they’ve not really had to whither any substantial amount of attention. You do have to remember that they only have a 4+ save though... still, if my mathammer is strong (which it usually isn’t) then a re-rollable 4+ is better than a single 3+.


5 Necron Immortals (Gauss), Night Scythe (x3)
The bread and butter of the force were surprisingly sustainable considering the small unit sizes. They put out a lot of firepower and seem pretty difficult to budge too. Part of this might be thanks to using the units in close proximity, so it’s awkward for the enemy to isolate and destroy one. However, this was probably mostly because the enemy were not really geared up for combat at all. I mentioned it earlier but the Night Scythes aren’t easy to use. You need a lot of forward planning and consideration to enemy movements. I wasn’t helped by playing on a 4x4 board though, so playing on a larger 6x4 one might help alleviate this problem.

I would also expect a very different story against opponents more ready for flyers, in those cases, my strength would be in my numbers... that Quad-gun may shoot down one, but the others should take it out before it gets another chance (and then I can always use the Monolith to portal the troops back onto the board!)

5 Necron Warriors, Night Scythe
This was one of the remainder units as a result of the point shuffle. I was thinking that I should’ve bundled these with the large Warrior unit but to be honest, this simple throw away set up provides me with another mobile scorer should I need it. Something that could prove a good distraction. Not bad for 65pts, and not sure I’d be able to better use those points anyway.

3 Necron Destroyers
People are off of these, that’s for sure, you simply don’t see them in lists! I must say that the new preferred enemy rule makes them well worth considering. Not to mention the fact that you’ve basically got a jetbike unit armed with (effectively) Starcannons... but better at hitting than Eldar... and tougher to kill too! To be honest, when you look at it like that, what’s not to like?

4 Scarab Swarms
The scarabs were lining up to munch through a Land Raider, but unfortunately it got killed just before the assault (and rather surprisingly!) As a result, they were left standing in front of terminators looking very much outclassed and definately didn’t get much chance to shine. To their credit, they caused a few wounds on terminators and tied them up a bit too - which probably helped my army more than I give credit for.

Indeed, they managed a wound on the Master which stripped his 2+ save, leaving him with a very expensive 5++.

Annihilation Barge (Gauss) (x2)
Barges are great fun. You often hear / read people recommending them but you only really fathom things once you use them! Generating extra hits out of thin air was a great way to bolster their already prodigious volume of fire. I nearly forgot about the Arc rule a few times too, and when this does kick in it can be devastating! In addition to this, you can combine Zahndrekhs rules to make them even more deadly!!! Annihilation Barge with Tank Hunter? Yes please!

Monolith
It’s a big hulking slow bulk and in this game I really didn’t make much use of it. I think that the strength of the Monolith is really in the fact that it can be applied so flexibly. You can hold it back, move units on the attack and still pull them back to help... or you can push it forwards and then pull units through for support... or you can use it to switch the focus of your attack (or defence) from one side to another... and lets not even start on deep striking it in... and making use of Zahndrekhs “Phased Reinforcements”!



I'm hoping that this can provide a bit of insight to people, but also would like to hear some thoughts on how you have used units that I have in my army - and particularly where you may use something differently, more aggressively, or defensively that I do (see the battle report).


Offline Partninja

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Re: Battle Report unit assessment
« Reply #1 on: September 24, 2012, 01:08:29 AM »
Did you walk the 10 warriors? Why not use a squad of 10x immortals (with guass blasters) instead? 3+/4+RPs is better than 4/4. Their gun also has a better strength and AP. I'm sure you could easily move some points around to swap 10 warriors for 10 immortals.

Now, I have been using a squad of 20x warriors with a D-lord and another squad of 10x warriors in an Ark and they make an amazing block of robots to move up the field. I round the troops out with a squad of 10x immortals (some times a 2nd squad) either on foot, or in a Nightscythe.

Offline Shas'Oink

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Re: Battle Report unit assessment
« Reply #2 on: September 24, 2012, 10:16:03 AM »
Yes, they walk... or more accurately, stand around. Mostly because I only own 15 immortals... and a ton of warriors. I've been surprised at just how survivable the warrior block is. People seem to want to shoot at the more threatening stuff first anyway, particularly when things like scarabs are moving into your face or flyers are threatening to drop immortal hit squads on your units.

The warriors are accompanied by Zahndrekh and the necron lord. giving them apparently sufficient sticking power, and a bit of deterrance.

A unit of Immortals would need me to find 40pts. that's a big chunk. which would mean giving something up completely...

Offline Partninja

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Re: Battle Report unit assessment
« Reply #3 on: September 25, 2012, 12:12:59 AM »
I would assume the small destroyer squad or scarabs would be a good place to pull the points since as they stand they seem inefficient. However, they seem to have worked out well for you in that configuration. Alternatively, points could be pulled from the above mentioned units to field a larger squad of warriors. I'm really enjoying my 20-man block of them in my games. So much so It's the first thing I write down when I make new list configurations up. Mostly I'm just suggesting you try it out but your way seems to be working for your area.

Offline Shas'Oink

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Re: Battle Report unit assessment
« Reply #4 on: September 25, 2012, 05:11:55 AM »
That's great, I appreciate your suggestions and input because it helps me get more information and experience of what works!  :)

I would be more interested in using a larger squad of warriors than replacing them with immortals... I had toyed with the idea of dropping the scarabs and adding more warriors to the big unit for sticking power but so far haven't come across the need to.

It's a funny thing really, I can imagine that the warriors biggest struggle will be against a guard force - who can hurt them with long ranged artillery. But against those armies, the scarabs are a great offensive selection. In my test games though, the scarabs are basically good for either killing one big tank, or reducing armour on a number of tanks. I have successfully managed a multi-charge on two vehicles and stripped them down to AV9/10 allowing for much easier shooting by the tesla arcs next time around. They are fun to use, and still feel like they give me more than +5 warriors would.

How have you been using your 20man warrior unit?

Offline Partninja

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Re: Battle Report unit assessment
« Reply #5 on: September 26, 2012, 07:03:55 PM »
I run them as an anvil. I attach a D-lord (MSS, Weave, orb) as my sole HQ (we play 1500pts). With the D-lord conferring preferred enemy, fearless, and the 4+ WBB they can be a total pain to deal with. Recently I have been also running 10x warriors in an Ark right along side (or behind, or in front) them for more shooting and to also get back models each turn (flayer arrays rock since I can spread out my gauss spam as needed). Combine that with 2-3 annihilation barges and I have been rolling most armies pretty well before they break my lines. Not sure how well the blob squad of warriors would work without that specific setup, but so far I am rather enjoying it.

I should note, I am also trying to keep the vehicle count low in my Necron army as I prefer the look and style of an infantry list for Necrons. My list usually is filled out with at least one 3rd troop choice of immortals (10x with gauss) and some other unit(s) I'm un-decided on still. Been playing with Wraiths, flayed ones, scarabs etc.

Offline Milford Cubicle

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Re: Battle Report unit assessment
« Reply #6 on: September 27, 2012, 03:18:58 AM »
How have the gauss cannons on the Annihilation Barges been working out for you? I've been running them full tesla so far, as it seems to me that the teslas complement each other better than tesla and gauss. Have you tried them in botconfigurations?
Strange movements at the graveyard detected... Is the Necron board coming back to life?!

Offline Shas'Oink

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Re: Battle Report unit assessment
« Reply #7 on: September 27, 2012, 07:45:07 AM »
sorry, you'll have to explain what a "botconfiguration" is!?

The gauss cannons have been okay. I tend to play in a very MEQ environment so the additional low AP shots can be really useful. This is also the reason why I am stubbornly using destroyers.
In any case the mix of low and mid AP makes for some interesting wound allocation (thanks to different wound groups) considering the volume that the destructor puts out...

A lot of times though, I've been forgetting to even fire the Gauss... it's hidden pretty well underneath the barge!

@Partninja:
I'd very much like to hear more about how your infantry necron force does on the battlefield. My original necron collection was started on the principle of a warrior horde. I've got 40 warriors ready for battle, with another 20 still on sprue!

Offline Milford Cubicle

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Re: Battle Report unit assessment
« Reply #8 on: September 27, 2012, 03:00:24 PM »
Just a typo :-D. Was supposed to say "both configurations". Damn hard typing with a smartphone... :-)
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Offline Shas'Oink

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Re: Battle Report unit assessment
« Reply #9 on: September 27, 2012, 05:54:07 PM »
oh, lol...

no I havent tried the all tesla set up. I get the feeling that I need the security of variety of weapons in order to be able to cater for the full range of potential opponents (and in particular the higher porportion of MEQ). I've actually found it very difficult to find very many opinions on barge set ups... most talk goes on about the tesla destructor with little regard to the secondary weapon!

 


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