Topic: My first Tomb Ki-- er, Necrons

[travisb7]

Hello, all! I've recently acquired a large Necron army consisting on the following:

Illuminor Szeras

Triarch Stalker

C'tan Shard of The Deceiver

40 Necron Warriors

2 Doomsday Arks

About 12 or so Scarab bases

I'm pretty excited about this, as I've always wanted to pick up some Necrons but wasn't willing to dish out the cash needed. I got the above for under $100, so I feel like it was totally worth it, even if I don't build too much on them. I'm thinking about running them as follows:

Szeras + 10 Warriors
10 Warriors
10 Warriors
10 Warriors

Doomsday Arks semi-hugging terrain to get hull down and taking opportunity shots and whatever they can.

Stalker and C'tan Shard staying close enough to each other to force the enemy to pick one or the other, while generally just looking scary and shooting at whatever possible.

Scarabs just do their little swarmy thing and causing general mayhem. Either they are ignored and can chip away at armor or eat softer squads, or they take some of the focus away from everyone else.

***

From what I can tell, Necrons don't really have any trouble dealing with vehicles as long as their is enough Gauss to go around. I have NO idea how Szeras will perform, and I only would take the C'tan because its there. It seems to be quite the point sink, but it could be entirely worth it to draw some lascannon/missile fire away from the Stalker or the Arks.

I absolutely HATE standing still (movement is fun to me...), so I would shift and move to allow the warriors to pour fire into the enemy, trying to avoid combat when possible and staying at least a few inches from everyone so the We'll Be Back (whatever it is called now) can keep going.

With its low armor (and only having one), the Stalker will probably be a one-trick pony. It is scary looking and will  draw fire, and maybe it'll get a shot or two off before it gets ripped apart.

I'm hoping to get a game in on Saturday to try out my new army. What are the thoughts from those of you who have played with these tinnies longer than I?

Thanks!

[Kaiju Senso]

Since you don't like staying still, I would consider trying to convert the Doomsday Arks to Ghost Arks to support the Warrior horde you'll be bringing. Doomsday Arks have to stay still to be most effective which is annoying when you need to move for line of sight and gain the Jink bonus.

Also maybe consider combining some of the Warriors into Szeras' unit. Since his ability only works on one unit, might as well get the most out of it by having the most models gain the random benefit. Plus the larger unit should survive longer to hold objectives. (This is especially true with a Ghost Ark rebuilding bodies if needed.)

What powers are you thinking for your C'tan? If you play against a lot of Melta and Flame weapons, Lord of Fire would probably be a good choice and you should keep your C'tan close to most of your army for it's benefits.

Finally, don't forget about Quantum Shielding on all of your vehicles. It really causes problems for autocannon-equivalent spamming armies.

[syth773]

Wow, you definitely got a good deal on those models.  I would support Kaiju's suggestion of turning at least one of your doomsday arks into a ghost ark.  stick 10 warriors in it and you have a vehicle that can move at a decent speed and then unload 20 guass flayers into 3 different targets during the shooting phase.  not to mention the benefit of repairing any nearby necron warriors squads.

If you're looking into getting other models I recommend 2-3 spyders.  They are one of the most flexible units in the necron army.
They'll give you free extra scarabs as well as being able to repair your vehicles if you upgrade them.
They also provide the only necron defense against psychic powers (although it's pretty limited)
They're one of the most cost effective close combat bruisers in the game, and since the necron army is short on close combat specialists they definitely help out.

The C'tan is a fun model to use but I wouldn't take it vrs hoard armies like tyranids or orks or again really long range armies like tau.  Against hoards it usually gets stuck in combat vrs a tarpit unit, and it doesnt move fast enough to engage armies that keep their distance.  It is pretty good vrs small elite armies, especially those that will try and assault you.  It's also a pretty good fire magnet.

[travisb7]

Thank you both for your comments and suggestions. I played a game this past weekend with the models as-is (Doomsday Arks and all) against IG, and I LOVED how the army performed! My other armies are Orks and Black Templar, so I'm used to up close armies that move quickly, so it was an interesting change for me.

Thoughts on the army's parts:

Warriors - Absolutely fantastic. Lost 13 in the first round of shooting from a squad of 20, and over half came back through lucky rolling! The gauss flayers are great for taking out infantry and vehicles when fired in large groups. The warriors were responsible for glancing two Russes and a Valkyrie to death in four turns.

Szeras - Meh. He did his job in combat, causing a bit of a stir. He gave one unit of warriors a strength bonus, and they never made it to combat. I could have used the BS or T bonus instead, but I'll take it.

Stalker - Scary thing, at least for my opponent. I think it is a mental thing - there is a giant, spider/crab like walker on the field, so it draws fire. It only lost a single hull-point and dropped a Valkyrie with its Melta Ray (can't remember the actual name...). Also scary in combat.

Scarabs - Fun little guys! I ran them up the sides of the board behind squads of warriors, then used them against infantry squads. They pack a HUGE punch just by providing so many dice, and IG infantry can't really stand up to them. I never got a chance to assault any vehicles with them.

C'Tan Shard - An expensive scary unit that does its job by absorbing as much fire as possible. It didn't die until the last round of combat, blowing up and taking out a couple of other models. I used the assault 8 power and entropic strike, I believe (it was something to do with combat, yet it never really mattered). Doubt I'd take one in a tournament, but its great for friendly games just because it draws fire away from everyone else.

Doomsday Arks - Sat still in the back and fired at his 1 Griffon/2 Medusa combo unit until they died, then fired into small blobs of infantry for fun. One was immobilized facing forward on turn one, but luckily it was looking directly at his Medusa! Not my favorite units, but they did a fair amount of damage.

I'd like to try Spyders, Wraiths, and Ghost Arks when I play again, proxying them to see what I like and dislike. The jetbikes and chariots look fun, so I might have to try them as well. All-in-all, I'm loving my new army and glad it plays differently than my beloved greenskins and overzealous Templars.

[syth773]

Orks are an army I've always wanted to start but never got around to.  I'll probably begin when their codex is updated.

I'd say the necorn jetbikes (tomb blades) are rather meh honestly.  They arn't bad, they can be annoying as hell for the enemy to kill with turbo boost + high toughness + reanimation protocalls however there are just so many other options in the necron army that are more attractive.  If they were possible to take as a troop choice I could see them as increadibly useful.

The chariot (command barge) falls into a similar spot as the C'tan Shard.  Fun to use, but not really practical as far as bang for buck.  Having your lord flying around by himself can definitely wreck some havoc but that's not really what he's for.  If you want a speedy necron lord, get a destroyer lord and stick him with some wraiths.  It will cost about as much as a command barge and be much more effective in close combat.

Also, monoliths have and still are the signiture necron heavy support beast.  They are the toughest vehicle in the game (and if you have tomb spyders you can even repair it, making it almost impossible to kill).  They can also put out a rediculous amount of firepower (12 individual shots and a large pieplate), and shoot at multiple units no less.  The fact that you can teleport your units around the battlefield with it make them excellent at pulling a vulnerable troop out of reach of a fast enemy assault element, or maybe teleporting a warrior squad in front of an enemy unit so you can double tap them with your weapons.  Honestly, if you took 3 monoliths as your heavy support options I wouldn't call it a bad choice (although your opponent will hate you for it lol).

[travisb7]

How did I forget about Destroyers and Monoliths?! Also a couple of things I'd like to try. Destroyers just look fun, and seem to pack one heck of a punch in armor. And Monoliths. For all reasons you mention

Might just have to scratch build one to try in a game (or two! or three!)

Thanks!

[Idaho]

Monoliths aren't very good for the points. They are slow and die to meltas just like everyone else.

Take a pair of Annihilation Barges and save points. In fact, I can't speak highly enough of those little beauties.

Wraiths are great and do better lead by Destroyer Lords (I use 2).

[travisb7]

Thanks for all the advice! I'll proxy a few of the other units I don't own and see what I like best. I'll post a bit about my next battle when I can get one in.

Thanks!