40K TACTICS: Necron Destroyer Wing Revisited
Fear not fellow tomb lords Fritz hasn’t forgotten about his Necrons… In addition to my nightmare shroud build, and experiments with a fun wraith wing I’ve been revisiting the tried and true destroyer wing which I feel has been bumped up a few notches with the move to razorback spam everywhere on the table.
In this article I’d like to present the good and the bad so you can adapt the idea to your own Necron army. Necrons are far from dead, well actually they are, but you know what I mean…
Why to Destroyer Wing
By definition a Destroyer wing does what the Necrons do best- shooting and survivability. As a core it maxes out on Destroyers (15 in total) with the rest of the army being built around this core concept. A Destroyer based army is attractive because it puts a number of T5 models on the table with WBB, fires three S6 shots a model at a range of 36” plus 12” of jetbike like movement. S6 is the “sweet spot” for Necrons throwing a high number of wounds on infantry, monstrous creatures, and most importantly penetrating hits on all those Razorbacks flooding the table. Added to the core of Destroyers is a Lord, group of Immortals, Warriors, and a Monolith. At 1750 points the list looks something like this:
1 Lord W/ Veil + Pulse
8 Immortals
2 X 10 Warriors
3 X 5 Destroyers
1 Monolith
How to Destroyer Wing
The army deploys and works the same regardless of the mission or your opponent. It looks to start in the center of the table with the monolith in the center, immortals plus the lord in front, destroyers ranked behind them, and finally the warriors trailing behind.
Is there such a thing as alpha-strike Necrons? This idea comes as close as it can to such a plan, and the Destroyer wing likes to go and deploy first. After you set up in the center of the table, and your opponent has deployed you look for which side is weaker in terms of models and long range shots- this is the side that the destroyers and immortals shift over to attack first, which leads to target priority. Resist all temptations to shoot your destroyers at anything other than AV 11. Once your opponent is on foot, then you can switch to other targets. As for the AV 13+ tanks and vehicles, it is up to the immortals to handle that threat, if it really is a threat.
Against tanks you are looking to shake them to stop them from shooting as in facing Vindicators or dakka flame Baal Preds, or to immobilize them as in Land Raider with deathstar units (more on this in a bit). Veil of Darkness can help you get a bit closer as needed to try and get those glances. From there it is just going down the target priority line and adjusting it for the mission.
Second to the Destroyers, the Monolith is also the powerhouse in this list, but played a bit differently- it is a WBB factory over a deepstriking capstone or particle whip blaster. The ‘lith is there to WBB your destroyers as needed to get that extra 4+ chance of getting back up. Keeping the destroyers up and running is key so shifting the Monolith to the weak side and always making sure your Destroyers are in 18” is key. The good news about this is that most of the Internet community has dismissed Monoliths and popular wisdom states to just ignore it- which is good advice, your opponent should be shooting at the Destroyers, which means the Monolith is free to help with WBB. Finally there is the hidden gem of the list- Solar Pulse. In a dawn of war deployment or nightfight turn pop off the pulse for a free round of shooting, in games without it, start off attaching the Lord to a group of Destroyers to pop the pulse and protect them from any return fire, depending on how your army shifts over.
Weaknesses of Destroyer Wing
Every list of course has its weaknesses. Some can be countered with a good list, others with solid tactics, but some just can’t be fixed, and the outdated Necron codex is one of them. Here are some things to watch out for…
With only two Warrior groups (I’d like at least three, but the points are needed elsewhere) they are a tempting target. Target them in 66% of the standard missions and the Necrons can’t win. Based on your opponent’s army you have to ask yourself if you can deploy them or if it is better to keep them in reserve. Be aware that the monolith might also have to portal them through to keep the numbers up, and be aware of where your Lord is to he can potentially VOD himself and a group of Warriors out if needed.
You also have to be keenly aware of any deathstar units your opponent may have coming your way. Without a C’Tan or Tomb Spyders to speed bump them you may have to shift your target priority early to immobilize the DS deliver system, like a Land Raider, speed bump with the Immortals, or just plain old spray and pray shooting everything and then dumping the particle whip into them. Unfortunately the same goes to any remotely dedicated assault unit that might be running your way.
Now back to the tomb world, time to start awakening those Destroyers and Warriors, soon the harvests will begin again… Your thoughts on using or resisting the Destroyer Wing are welcome mortals…
