Goatboy’s Monday 40K – New Necron Codex
Goatboy here again and today I want to discuss the newest codex to hit the blocks – the reworked Necrons.
Necrons were always the army I dabbled with. It helps that I think the model design is pretty cool and with only a few models I dislike out of the range (Ghost Arks look cool but suck to paint and the Flayed ones are more like the Poopie Ones). I have a small “allied” force of them and have always thought I should just expand that army as I enjoy the color scheme. With that in mind let’s look at the book and see who ends up winning and what units lose out to the 7th edition power shuffle.
Formations & Special Rules
Will start at the top with the idea that we have an army with multiple Detachment options as well as Formations. That is the biggest win out of the book as you don’t have to wait for another expensive book to give you a two detachment option. There is also an interesting formation – that if I read right – gives you access to a ton of HQ choices just like the Ork Bossboyz unit without having to join up into one magical super unit. Nothing in there says there is a restriction of some sort so I am hoping that is the continued way to get all the Crypteks/Lords you want. They were smart by saying you can’t put them all on Barges too so it still looks like you can get a ton of much needed HQ’s.
Next I think the changes to Gauss and Reanimation Protocols are both huge bonuses for the army. The new Reanimation protocol is a lot cleaner of a rule. Not having to lay down your models and gaining a better shot at not getting completely destroyed in assault makes the new rule a heck of a lot better. I don’t know how many times I charged a unit of warriors and chased them down even without ever having to worry about them getting back up. The removal of this token system on where to place the Command Barge/Cryptek etc just makes this a lot easier for you and your opponent. Gauss being able wound anything is another “fluff” fix that makes a lot more sense. The creepy green laser light is a threat to everything and feels right for the book. My Great Unclean one gaining Toughness 10 can no longer blow snot rockets at those evil robots.
Necron Units
HQ wise almost all are big winners here. The Destroyer Lord appears to be pretty decent on paper as you can pick the Royal Court formation to get bonus HQ’s and keep 2 butt whippers in the front of either Wraiths or Destroyers. I like the tweak to Crypteks making them more like Librarians for the army. I miss the Wargear options from the old book – but we know that the options were a bit too good for normal play. The HQ’s just feel decent in this book. I have a feeling most special characters will be left at home as you can just do better with stock guys and some war gear options.
On the Elite front the Flayed ones got better. They still aren’t very good (if they could be a troop we could see them getting used) but it is nice they got more stuff to try and make them decent. I think the Deathmarks might have their place with the ability to teleport in and “intercept” enemies. Overall the Elite section has a ton of stuff in it – but not a whole lot of amazing things. I feel they fixed a lot of point cost issues with the Lychguard and Praetorians getting nice point drops and added rules. I just don’t know if we will end up seeing them.
Troops wise both stayed the same. The added bonuses to Gauss makes their weapons a lot better. I don’t know if will see Tesla Immortals as the loss of extra hits from Snapfire will make them a lot less survivable. Right now 5 Immortals is the cheapest troop option for Necrons as the Warriors are now a minimum of 10 Metal Dbags to fill up your troop choice.
The biggest winners were the Fast Attack options in the book. Just like other books you can now purchase Transport options. The Night Scythe took a much needed points increase mixed with a Tesla nerf to make them a lot more reasonable. The Canoptek Wraiths got the added bonus of gaining a +1 to Toughness – making them one of the more annoying assault units in the game. I will miss popping a wraith with a well time missile shot. The Tomb Blades got an added bonus that makes me think they were sitting on way to many boxes of them at GW HQ. They are so fast, can ignore cover and might be a decent answer to Wave Serpents with a ton of Gauss firepower. Don’t know if it will end up being worth it but it is a thought. The Scarabs also got a nice change that will make them a heck of a lot easier to play with. They just Wound and Auto Glance on 6’s to “wound/penetrate”. This is just a heck of a lot easier to work with. They are also a beast Swarm which makes them pretty fast. The Destroyer entry did get better too with an extra wound and a change to Jetpack Infantry. I think if they made them Jetbikes they might of ended up being too good. Still it is nice to see the Destroyer getting back to something decent from the last Edition.
The Heavy slots are somewhat boring when compared to the other changes. The Doom Scythe got a “fix” that seems to make them a bit better in some instances and weaker in others. The Annihilation barge got a point increase that hurts it a bit but I still think they are good just sitting at a better point cost. The Doomsday Ark has a pretty mean cannon shot but I think not moving is just not a decent choice in this game. The Transcendent C’tan is another Heavy option that falls under the cute category. List at the end tries to put as many of them on the table top. Probably won’t work but it sure sounds fun. Sypders sound ok as well – and they can at least increase the unit size of Scarabs if you still want to go with a farm idea. I always thought Heavy Destroyers might have a place in the right type of list. Their gun seems decent enough and with the added wound they could be ok.
As with any new 7th codex the Necron book has added fixed Super Heavies. You could call the Transcendent C’tan a fixed option and the list 3 LOW all fit in a nice fixed slot. The winner out of the bunch is the Obelisk as it should have enough shooting to be dangerous (5 Tesla Spheres) as well as having Armor 14. They could fall, land near a bunch of Eldar tanks and go to town with arcing death all over the place. That actually sounds kind of Metal and something Metalocalypse would have in one of their concerts. The Stormlord has took a beating in power level but as a LOW he won’t take up a much needed HQ slot. The Final LOW is a fixed C’tan babysitting cage in the Tesseract Vault. It still has a ton of Tesla spheres with the added bonus of a C’tan throwing nonsense around. It is too expensive for most games but it could be really annoying.
Overall I feel this book is really one of he best 7th edition books. It has all the pieces of a decent book with good units over all choices, multiple formations/detachments, and fixed/better set of army wide rules for the army. The interesting thing with this book is that it does feel like it was built by committee versus some of the other books left with specific design traits common to specific designers. I think it seems to work well with this book as well as the last Blood Angels release so I have high hopes for any new “fixed” 7th books we might see. Cleaner rules, easier interactions, and decent not soul crushing armies should add more excitement to games instead of groans when facing the newest piece of hotness.
Goatboy’s Dumb List of the Week!
Here are some initial dumb list ideas. The first one is just me trying to cram as many C’tans on the table top as I can. It won’t work for crap but it should sounds hilarious.
Necron CAD + Conclave of the Burning One – AKA “C’Tan Jailbreak!”
HQ: Cryptek, Chronometron, Veil of Darkness
Troops: Warriors X 20
Troops: Immortals X 5
Elite: C’Tan Shard of the Deceiver
Heavy: Transcendent C’Tan
Heavy: Transcendent C’Tan
Heavy: Transcendent C’tan
Formation: Conclave of the Burning One – C’Tan Shard of Nightbringer, Cryptek X 2, The God Shackle
This list just looks dumb but it could at least be fun to play with. When you roll that many dice to see what your “children” do on the table top it has to be goofy. I didn’t want to do the big old Baby Sitter option as it just seems way too expensive. I wish I had 300 points to get a Obelisk in this list. At least you can Deep Strike all the Transcendent C’tans to cause problems later on.
I expect most Necron lists to look them same as before – just less Annihlation barges as the added points will stress the troop choices as well as the heavy choices on both CADs. I do wonder if 2 Obelisk armies might be worth it. That is a ton of firepower coming in off a deep strike. Plus I think they can Thunder Blitz as they are not a flyer just a skimmer. Interesting thought as they move 12 inches, Tank Shocking things and hoping to explode.
If I am wrong please point it out in the comments.
