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Necron Discussion

This was a discussion over on The Bolter and Chainsword in regards to handling a Necron army. Unlike places like Warseer and Dakka Dakka the advice given by some is relatively solid. To sum up the discussion...

1. Ignore the monolith. Don't bother with melta weapons, it ignores the "Melta" special rule. Any lascannons you're firing at the thing are better spent laying waste to Destroyers and Warriors.

2. Ignore the Night Bringer and the other C'Tan. He will rain all over your parade when he shows up anyway, so there's no reason to go looking for him.

2a. Spread out your heavy support so that the NB has to travel (if that's what he comes at you with).

3. Get into melee as quickly as possible. He doesn't get WBB rolls against losses due to a unit breaking and running (unless there is a Res Orb).

3a. Pile two Crusader squads against every one of his warrior squads. Gang up on him because in all likelyhood you will have to kill more than a few of them multiple times, therefore it is in your best interest to wipe him asap to avoid casualties.

Your goal every game should be to phase him out.

- Head Mook

Within the discussion there is also a link to Marshal Wilhelm's Necron Tactica which takes a look at the codex and it flaws such as Phase Out.

Terribad Destroyer Wing

Althought this list represents what a true Destroyer Wing is with the inclusion of Destroyers for Fast Attack... it has Monolith. Thus, it is terribad and will be looked down upon as if it is pox ridden...

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, you know what I mean…

Definitions. 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 number of wounds on infantry, monstrous creatures, and most importantly penetrating hits on all those razorbacks flooding the table. Remember all 15 of those Destroyers are stuck in 3 squads... this means your killing 3 Razorbacks/Rhinos/Chimeras/Trukks a turn. Sure it is 3 reliable kills, but it is far from crippling. 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: a Lord, 8 Immortals, 15 Destroyers, 20 Warriors and a Monolith.

Click for Army List

Functionality. 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. With only 4 'real' threats on the board this list makes target priority very easy.

Is there such a thing as alpha-strike Necrons? I very much doubt it. And going by the definition used by Danny Internet here, it is hard to imagine the above Necron list being able to perform the requirement. 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. Ignoring the Monolith is always good. It is not worth wasting resources in an attempt to take it out, it presents a very small threat to a well built list. 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. Every list of course has its weaknesses but this list has a crap ton of them. Firstly, it has very little in dealing with Land Raiders or other high AV threats. Secondly, it has two fragile scoring squads that are also very important to ensure the army doesn't fall apart from Phasing Out. Thirdly, it is hoping that your opponent doesn't have a good shooting turn which sees a good portion of your Destroyers wiped out... 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. Focus on the Necron mobility and anti-tank first and then take out the Warriors in the later turns. If the mission places a high importance on scoring then your target priority may change. 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 sign of a bad list as this one falls into the R/P/S of 4th Edition 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. Like what nearly every codex has to offer in some form or another... imagine what will happen against Dark Eldar and Blood Angels with their insane mobility. Deep Striking Space Marines can drop in ontop of the Necrons, weather a turn of shooting and then get stuck in. Imagine what a Dante Wing could do with some Vanguard Veterans with Feel No Pain and shields for Invulnerable Save... the Devastators in the back field would play havoc with the Necron Target Priority.

Now back to the tomb world, time to start awakening those destroyers and warriors, soon the harvests will begin again…

- Fritz from Fritz 40K in Necron Destroyer Wing Revisited

Music Monday - Crusader Promo

Who isn't looking forward to the release of this album? Exactly...

Wraith Wing

The second list by Fritz. Once again it has serious issues that a competent general will be able to exploit to their advantage... take out the mobility and anti-tank.

While we are talking about “wing” based Necron armies another variant is the wraith wing which still packs some punch but is a bit harder to use on the table given a lower model count and the vulnerability of the wraiths themselves.

A wraith wing list is built around a core of fast moving wraiths backed by Necron destroyer lords and heavy destroyers. Here is the list and how it plays out:

The List

To sum it up there is are 2 Destroyer Lords, Warriors, Wraiths, Heavy Destroyers and Spyders... there is some anti-tank but as Fritz points out this has some serious weaknesses.

The main issue of the list is that wraiths occupy the same slot as destroyers and this list needs to crack open transports so the wraiths can get at the guys inside plus there are all the other reasons you want to kill mech- this leaves single shot heavy destroyers for the task, at least you can get those heavy destroyers on the table. While they aren’t bad per se, the problem is that you only get a single shot, and the models come in units of only three. It means at best your killing two, maybe three, transports a turn from shooting... Imperial Guard and Razorspam players are able to dominate the shooting phase. This is a problem my Black Templars face... but to a lesser extent.

The two lords each get attached to a wraith unit for some added punch and to take a few wounds on the way in if needed. Wargear is up to you, but solar pulse on one is 100% mandatory- not so much for night fight this time, but more so to protect you from shots on the way in.

Warriors are there for “scoring” and three are taken over the standard two for variants lists like this since there is no counter assault or speedbump unit. Let’s now look at deployment:

Standard Wraith Wing Deployment…

Ok, let’s start with the back of the table and work our way up. Warriors are spread out on the table- one on the left, once center, and one on the right. Being spread out means your opponent has to divide their forces up to get to your warriors. The tomb spyders go in-between each group and poop out a single swarm for wounds and then get into cover. This way when one warrior group falls to shooting, etc. the spyder is the bridge to WBB those warriors over to another group. Be prepared to shift warriors on the flanks and the spyders over if your opponent looks to hit the center warrior group.

Ahead of them are the heavy destroyers. They start in the center of the table so they have range to everything and operate as a “pack” so you can get WBB rolls when a unit goes down. Their job is to crack open the tanks for the wraiths to assault. The final layer is the wraiths who also start front and center and then flank the weak side. They too also operate as a pack with the lords, with the non-lord wraith group piling in on one of the assaults to make sure combat it won. The idea is to kill a unit or two in the assault, and then zip away to the other side of the table as opposed to wading through combat after combat like they are terminators or something- which they are not. The wraiths and lords are a surgical strike, looking to hit and run, keep your opponent busy moving and shooting trying to react to them so your warriors can slip in RE mission objectives.

- Fritz from Fritz 40K in Necron Wraith Wing

There is little to say as the obvious problems with this list have been pointed out... anti-tank has been sacrificed to play a themed list.

Nightmare Build

The first of the three builds that Fritz has put up on his blog. All three are very different to the sort of lists that Stelek has shown and this may help explain why Fritz made the suggestion of reserving Warriors while Stelek uses the same deployment every single time. Keep in mind Stelek does use alot of hyperbole...

So this is a build that I used to use extensively in 4th edition and now adapted for 5th edition play- the nightmare build. Making extensive use of flayed ones, pariahs, and tomb spyders backed by the golden one it is all about synergy and fun. Note the word fun and the inclusion of a C'Tan. I don’t think I have to point out that this is a fun/themed list to give you some variety in your Necron games, and not a “competitive” list. Props to Fritz for making the differentiation, this isn't the only great thing about the article, with another to follow soon. The goal of this army is to scare your opponent with non-competitive list and make them run away crying like little children. Nothing is funnier than seeing Space Marines consistently run away turn after turn.

Pariahs’ are the lost child of the Necron codex. ‘Cron players so want to do something with their souless ability but struggle based on the over the top point cost, 0-1 limitation, and the fact that they aren’t Necrons. This theme builds on them and gives you a reason to put them down on the table. So here is the list at 1750 points…

The List

To sum it up there is a C'Tan, Lord, Pariah, Flayed Ones, Warriors and Spyders... there is a complete absence of long range anti-tank in this list. 

Deployment…

Regardless of the mission the army needs to stick together and work as a core unit- think of a Roman legion formation marching and fighting as one giant block. Tomb spyders are in the front with a second rank of flayed ones, pariahs, and the C’Tan. Behind them is the lord and your two warrior groups.

If you are familiar with Necrons right away you are asking yourself what is in the list to pop all those spamy razorbacks that are going to be coming your way.

Nothing! But hear me out…

In the best of cases you have ranks of destroyers and maybe even a heavy destroyer group mixed in. With this build we just don’t have the points for them, and to take a single group of min destroyers isn’t going to do anything so we just aren’t going to bother trying to stop the opponent from crashing out ranks- but remember the idea of sticking together. The second thing that Fritz has done that deserves props... the inclusion of something to illustrate what he is talking about.

You want to deploy where you can enter and be in terrain. In the front ranks the spyders will begin pooping out scarabs swarms that get into cover and now you have a T6 unit with a 3+ cover save. Position them so a “net” is cast around the rest of your units granting them a 4+ cover save.

At the start of the game your warriors and pariahs move to the front to get the 24” range of shooting so maybe you can get lucky at immobilizing a vehicle. With shooting for the first few turns you can even go to ground for the 3+ cover save- keeping units alive is important for now. Keeping the P’s up is key so be ready to attach the lord and pop off solar pulse to cut down on a round of shooting if needed.

As those legions of razorbacks come forward why would they with superior shooting? they will hit your wall of tomb spyders with two options. Crash through and tank shock or stop just before and rapid fire. If they crash through you are fearless or LD 10 and if they get out and rapid fire you take it with the T6 or WBB rolls. By now the interwebz should understand the importance of staying inside steel coffins. If they move up to then assault next turn through your ranks, then you assault the transports first and swarm for the emergency disembark. Hold the line and take the crash. A bunch of 5 man squads that have jumped out of Razorbacks charging into Necrons... way to assume the other guy is a complete idiot. Plus there are all those other equally good lists.

Now when those marines get out for whatever reason they are in the pariah bubble- LD 7 as you hit them with the C’Tan powers, visage of the flayed ones, and the shroud of the lord. Mob those units and pile in the assault. Once you are in the assault, you are then protected from shooting so you want to encourage that as soon as possible… and a good opponent will know this and will avoid combat. Especially, with the C'Tan in your list.

Wraith wing, destroyer wing, and the nightmare build can all give you some new fun and different games while we wait for that new ‘dex, especially if you are playing the battle mission books and variant missions.

- Fritz from Fritz 40K in Necron Nightmare Build

Weekly Finds #4

Another week has passed. So far I have worked alot but hardly on my miniatures. Which to be honest isn't a surprise... but things will slow down over next two weeks and then get crazy hectic leading up to Christmas. When this pops up on the blog-o-sphere I'll either be on my way to find out how plastered I can get myself or already in the process. Note: I normally do not drink... but this semester has been a self-edit. Looking forward to hanging out with some friends and acquaintances that I haven't seen much in the last 6 months. But that is enough about me and my life or is it...

Painting Tutorial: Human Faces by whmpg from Modelling, Painting and Gaming! - There are tutorials all over the interwebz that explain different ways of painting flesh. The 'Eavy Metal ones are my favourite as they show how to use washes to bring some life to miniatures. But this one by whmpg would be great for line troops...

Imperium Statues by b.smoove from A Gentleman's Ones - I have included this because of the great links it has. I'm always looking at different ways to achieve the effect that b.smoove is illustrating. This is well worth the time to look.

What comes and goes by Corvus from Corvus' Miniatures - Just a blogger blogging his thoughts. It hit on something... not sure what... But this single post has shown that I have no excuses not to paint for the next three months with the exception of the hectic weeks leading up to Christmas. Does this mean I will work on the Victorian Crusade? Yes. Will I be showing updates of my army? No and yes. I need some proper lamps. Something like the one shown here. And I really need some low heat, white bulbs. Not sure if others have this problem but the heat makes my hands sweat... and somehow my metal tools end up rusting especially exacto blades and drill bits. I guess this is me going on a tangent that can be summed up as me needing to spend some money on two decent lamps and bulbs... the miniature below is my favourite one by Corvus.

Massive Voodoo TV: First Tutorial by Raffa from Massive Voodoo - If you haven't watched these then now is your chance. You don't need to understand German to learn from them... I will understand if you don't return after watching all four videos. I sure wouldn't...

MiniVault by Thomas Schadle - Stumbled across this Facebook page while on From The Warp. Alot of the miniatures look awesome and there is also a very disturbing diorama. His photo gallery is filled with Space Marines including a bunch of Black Templars like the one below... he also has a Recipe Book which may be interesting for some.

Working with liquid mask by Raffa from Massive Voodoo - The guy is a machine, constantly churning out tutorials. This is an old one that popped up on the Massive Voodoo Face Book page. I've seen other tutorials on how to use liquid mask. But for some reason I have been pretty dense in understanding how it actually works... but it finally clicked.

Glass Porthole Tutorial by Dave Taylor from davetaylorminiatures - The cracked glass recipe is what I particularly like. Encourage you to keep track of what is going on over at Dave Taylor's blog as he has been doing alot of charity work for two friends of his...

Painting Space Marine Helmet lenses by Ron from FTW - This one is better then the Games Workshop tutorial as it uses the Inside out Method... plus his suggestion of using a white coat to help make the lenses pop is clever. Make sure to use a brush with a decent body to avoid the paint drying before you get it onto the miniature... especially when it comes to doing the white dot.

Calculating probabilities in Warhammer 40K using binomial distribution by The Antipope from 122nd Cadian - One long arse title for a post... but to sum it up: everybody is doing mathhammer wrong.

Sorry about the mess in the middle of this post. I went on a tangent and didn't want to wipe it out. Fortunately it is hard enough to read that you completely skipped it and instead spent 40 minutes watching the Massive Voodoo tutorial.

Necron Warriors

It was partially established in the previous post that Necron Warriors suck... it is because they cost 18 points each, are minimum sized squad of 10 and are the only troop squad in the Codex. They also have short range guns that got nerfed during the change to 5th Edition. Below are Fritz' thoughts on how to keep Necron Warriors alive long enough to hold objectives.

One of the main problems with the current Necron codex is with the Warriors. As the only "troop" option in the 'dex combined with the fact that you need "troops" to win two out of the three standard missions means the 'cron player is kind of in a loose/loose situation. Load up on lots of troops and your army has next to no punch- the only real "viable" units being immortals, destroyers, and the C'Tan, and if you only go with the minimum of troops to spend the points on other toys your army can be eliminated by just taking out the two troop choices.

That said, we are kind of forced into taking the minimum of troops and spending the rest of the points on other models just to try and hold out own on the table. Right away you have to figure that your opponent is going to try and strike your troops to gain the win, so we have to use this knowledge to our advantage.

Ways to keep them alive longer? Cover of course! I’ve long talked about forgetting you even have a WBB roll and that it should only be though of as a last layer of defense to help keep your group up. Keep those warriors in cover so when you get hit by plasma you at least have the 4+ before going to the WBB roll next turn.

Reserves.

Face it, warriors only have punch at 12" and then in mass of 2+ groups to really do anything. Why even have them on the table for the first few turns where they can be shot at? Reserve them as standard and have them walk on the table, go into cover, and hold objectives on your side. Contest the other with your scarabs and destroyers, or VOD/ destroyer lord as another layer.

If you know your opponent is going to be going for the warriors to cripple you, make sure that you line up your C'Tan and immortal block in such away that they have to go through them first- often not making it to your warriors at all.

Fritz from Fritz 40K in Necron Warriors: Only 2 Units

The next three army lists that each represent different Necron themes are by Fritz and will show why he suggest reserving his Warriors while Stelek makes other suggestions.

Destroyer Wing - Alone in the Dark

This is the newer version of Stelek's Destroyer Wing that has more of a close combat punch...

So, what is the one thing I want in a Necron army that I can’t find?

A decent CC unit to protect myself from enemy assaults.

Something you can put out in midfield to both speed bump an enemy army and push them back out of your half of the board.

Well, carefully crafted, you *can* do this.

You still need to be extremely careful, but at least you can suck it up and hurt people instead of wondering where you can run to.

This is a very carefully crafted army.

No, it won't work at lower levels.

It will work at higher levels (add destroyers, hurr).

At any rate, let's get to it:

2000 Pts - Necrons Roster - Necrons - Alone in the Dark

Notes: Rather than depend on craptastic units to destroy, defend, or otherwise annoy the enemy-give them a solid target to deal with.

Where is the Res Orb, you ask? It’s nowhere really, it's on a Lord in case you really really need it, but most of the time you won’t and it will just be used to save your Lords. I've learned from playing my Necrons, that I don't *need* it very much. People who are stupid and shoot my Warriors in cover figure out quickly my Warriors don't do much and to shoot other things instead.

The bold was added by me to emphasis the point that you should focus your fire power on Necron Mobility and anti-tank... so shot the crap out of Destroyers and Heavy Destroyers. With them dead it is just a matter of Phasing Out the army... and yes still ignore Monoliths because as we know they suck thanks to costing a crap tonne while offering very little (read: none) anti-tank support. 

Like the Destroyers. They do most of the damage. I'd rather have more, but bringing along 2 Lords and a Pariah unit is expensive.

Will some units just walk through the unit? Of course. Black Templar Termies with Furious Charge and Lightning Claws comes to mind. Nasty stuff. Be jealous biatches. That's what the Scarab Swarms are there for.

So, why Pariahs? Well, I was spending about the same amount of points on Immortals, which are great speed bumps against most units but aren’t so awesome against anyone that swings a blade.

Pariahs get two things you don't normally get-they get 2D6 armor penetration, and they make the Lords fearless.

They do need cover saves though, and that's what the Scarab Swarms are for. In a pinch, you can attach one (or both!) Lords to the Swarm unit and go hunt down IG tanks, who hate this unit with a passion. As subpar as those Lords are, they can still beat up many units in CC.

Anyway, you zoom the Swarms in front of your Pariahs and engage annoying units with them, and the Lords. If there's a target that you can kill and get into cover after killing it, you should. Even if it looks questionable, do it anyway. If you face a nasty CC character, suicide a Lord onto him. Worst that happens is you lose the Lord but you kill all of that guys buddies, and he runs away. Are you likely to catch anyone? Not particularly, but hey at least you have 4 units that can stop combat squads from laughing your army away.

I'd say however that this army is a fraction of it's potential, and works best at 2500 points when you can:

Max out all 5 Destroyer units, the Pariahs, the Scarabs, and give the 'other' Lord a Nightmare Shroud (combine with Soulless for fleeing enemy units) and a Phase Shifter. That's exactly 2500 points, btw.

And that's the best Necrons can do, is 'scare' people with Pariahs. Doesn't work on everyone, but those it does work on don't like them one bit. Make sure you get the charge by sacrificing the Scarabs, and take hits on your Lords whenever possible to conserve your strength, and things will work better than usual.

Way better than the normal way, which is usually 'back in the case, boys!'. lol

- Stelek from YTTH in Necrons: Rebuilt (and Alone)

Destroyer Wing Deployment

Following on from the last two Necrons' post is this deployment guide by Stelek which I have alluded to...

A how-to visual guide on how I deploy my Necrons.

Sadly, because of the limited nature of the Necron army–I pretty much deploy this way whether I’m going first, second, third, last, sideways, quarters or upside down.

Suffice to say it’s predicatable, but no less potent (or impotent, depending on the army it’s facing).

It does allow you to become quite proficient in it’s use, however–simply by making it repetitive in deployment and play.

It does tend to stymie the shit out of armies that can’t CC you, and that’s the way Necrons win.

Suffice to say, the Lord is always attached to the Scarabs.  No reason to take a risk running off the board.  Everything else is deployed to give cover wherever possible.  Essentially, you can use the terrain–but more often than not, the terrain is meaningless.  Protect your Warriors and Jetbikes as you can, but if you can’t…that’s fine.

Anyway, here’s the skinny, click the pic for a better view.  Oh and C’tans and Monoliths suck now, have always sucked, and will probably still suck whenever 2018 and the new Necron Codex is released.

The tentative title and subtitle for the book is “Necrons:  Dead and Buried”.

- Stelek from YTTH in My Necron Army: Deployment

Necron Tactics

Following on from yesterdays Destroyer Wing army list is this tactica by Stelek...

Much of the value of this tactica is based on this list and the tactics listed under the army list: Necrons in 5th.

I’ll start with the following advice:

Avoid close combat at all costs with anything but the Spyder/Lord and the Scarab Swarms.

Now for direct answers:

Yes, Necron Warrior squads are indeed important but overpriced at 19 points each. You have to bait and switch. Move up with them, make it look like you are going to let him rapid fire or assault them in a turn. Then on your turn, not only do you move directly away but you also run away. Throws people off every time, and time is what you buy with that kind of move. It’s not exactly easy to counter, even if you expect it. What are you going to do? Make the warriors not be 10″ away from where you wanted them? It’s all about experience, you need to play every list at least 10 times before you can really know how it works.

I’d pretty much always keep the Lord and Spyders together. If you are running the Destroyer Lord (personal preference for some) then you can change what you do with him after the first turn. He is actually quite dangerous to basic squads when he charges with a Warscythe + Destroyer, you can win combat against even tactical marines due to the power fist nerf. Just a heads up.

No need to turtle against assault armies. Setup in the middle of the board, and if/when you need to get away…zoom the wings out. Tomorrows post will hopefully help illustrate this idea. You can let him kill the middle of your army if need be, you don’t really want to lose it but if sacrificing it will get you more time to shoot your wings, might as well. Don’t be afraid to run your slower units away, not just the Warriors but Immortals and Spyders too. Better to run to the board edge and suck him straight in, than let him move diagonally and get movement towards your wings AND crush your center.

Against MC in a nid army, your target priority is: Gunfexes, Dakkafexes, then Tyrants with bodyguards. This was written back in 2008... so obviously target priority chances. You should not really care about stealers unless they are scuttling, then kill them (and most likely, his flyrant supporting them) first. Hormagaunts should be a top priority, because they will be on you faster than anything else in the game really. You don’t need to smash these units, just whittle them down so they can’t do enough casualties to win CC nor take the wounds you are going to dish out and survive long enough to lock you down in CC for stealers to arrive. It’s a delicate balancing act, but one that experience will teach you.

Against Tau, you need to learn to ignore hammerheads. Odds are they just won’t die. Devilfish should get your heavy weapons fire first. If he has crisis suits or broad sides, and you can see them….focus fire into them. Ignore FW picking at you from afar. Nullify Tau mobility (devilfish, crisis suits) and utility (pathfinders) and you stand a much better chance. Anytime you can hit any Tau infantry EXCEPT KROOT IN WOODS, with destroyers…you probably should. Always take the guaranteed kills if you can, most players try to kill the things they fear instead of whittling down Tau–and thus lose to them. You should also take all of your CC elements, and run them right at the Tau. Force them to kill them. If he has Hammerheads + Pathfinders, spread your scarab swarms out or risk them being annihilated in one go.

Against Deathwing, since they aren’t going to run away…you need to deploy as far out as you possibly can. Spread out in an anti-deeps strike formation in a table quarter, swarms in front. He can smush them, but you can focus fire into him and beat him down. You do need to get the terminators down to like 1 guy, then charge with your CC units and finish them off. Killing 2 terminator squads a turn should not be a problem for you. Just remember to keep focusing on each unit and have the CC unit standing by to finish them off.

I hope that helps.

- Stelek from YTTH in Email: Necron Tactica

Hall of Honour - Corflich Loatheheart

Below is one of the Sagas that was written some time ago by Adam Troke. I'm assuming it is Adam Troke... article has his name on it. This one has Dark Eldar in it...

When the Murderval of Chaos was defeated upon the Eldar world of Lohiac, Ssair the Gleamling was in a serious Predicament. The Dark Eldar had denied the Daemons entry to the webway, and left the host bloodied and humiliated. With the Ssair's power and influence waning, it was unsurprising that a rival should seek to gain prominence in his stead - this was Corflich Loatheheart, a beautiful and cunning Daemon Prince sworn to Tzeentch.

With the deft manoeuvring so typical of Tzeentch and his minions, Loatheheart duped the Greater Daemon of Slaanesh into yielding power of the Murderval into his stewardship on promises that it would be returned once it had claimed its millionth soul for Tzeentch. Of course, the oaths of a Daemon Prince are a dubious thing and it was not long before Ssair found himself imprisoned within the Impossible Fortress, the Murderval fully under new management.

The first act of Corflich was to strike out against the agri-world of Dortun, where the populace were eradicated in three nights of bloodshed and debauchery. Upon the Tau sept world of Vior'la they stole away three hundred Fire Warriors and deposited them within the Garden of Nurgle, much to his delight (and their short-lived horror).

Grandest of all his schemes was the vengeance that he enacted upon the Eldar survivors of the battle of Lohiac. A band of Dark Eldar, enacting a precise and deadly raid deep within Imperial territory were mortified to find a raid upon the death world of Raith. The pickings were not quite as the Dark Eldar had expected, however, as they arrived to find the Imperial Guard garrison already slaughtered to a man. Sensing a trap they quickly turned to depart but their escape was blocked by the shimmering host of the Daemonettes. Vengeance for the Murderval's thwarted plans on Lohaic was taken in full as scores of Dark Eldar were cut down and dragged screaming into the Realm of Chaos.

The Archon leading the Dark Eldar force was finally run to ground within the thick jungle of Raith by Loadtheheart, who swooped down from the trees to pluck her up like a bird of prey. Disarming her in a short and bloody fight, and having broken both her arms and legs, Loatheheart delivered her quailing form to Slaanesh's Palace of Pleasure, a token and tribute from the new master of the Murderval.

- Adam Troke in Corflich Loatheheart

Disclaimer - Content taken from the Games Workshop website without permission and will be removed if requested.

Destroyer Wing

This is considered the most competitive Necron theme with the use of multiple Destroyer bodies in the HQ, FA and HS slots...

So I've been asked ALOT how to make an effective Necron list in 5th. By ALOT, I mean I've gotten a dozen emails in the last couple months on making an effective Necron list.

I've been experimenting alot with the current Necron 'dex. Yes, the new Necrons are different but for now, this is what you've got to live with.

A bit on tactics below--it should be apparent how you run this list, but I'll break it down as it appears there are alot of irritated Necron players out there. lol

2000 Pts - Necrons Roster - Necrons 5th Edition

Allright, so...how does this list work?

Well, it's a shooty army as that's what Necrons do. I've tried to maximize that while still retaining other options.

Essentially you place your army 'core' in the center of your deployment zone, and place your 'wings' on either side of it. Future post will illustrate what Stelek means.

So what's the core?

The Spyders, your Lord, and the Swarms.

Each wing is made up of 1 unit each of warriors, immortals, destroyers, and heavy destroyers.

You'll want to keep each unit near the Spyders so you can keep going

The Warriors, Immortals, and Destroyers are your primary anti-infantry. The heavy destroyers are your primary anti-tank, but of course you can focus the Immortals and Destroyers at light vehicles to try and attrition them away.

You can survive several turns of close combat with this list, by pretending to sacrifice warrior and immortal units to incoming assault units. With the Spyders nearby, you can "We'll Be Back" entire squads wiped out to sweeping advances and have them teleport freely to another squad of the same type in range.

At any rate, the Spyders and Lord are together (and that 2nd spyder has a PPC for a reason). Each spyder generates it's own scarab swarms and takes wounds separately (they have different weapons). The Lord is infantry, so with just 1 swarm base you get cover for the Spyder unit. The GW FAQ is pretty poorly written in this regard, but at least you can get some kind of cover save, right? ;) Here is the FAQ for those curious. Anyways, let's say you get shot at by 6 lascannons (unlikely) on turn 2. You've generated two swarms.

You put wounds on the lord and the scarabs (who get cover saves) with the swarms taking the hits first of course. You usually want to fire off the Solar Pulse your first turn, simply to prevent the other guy from unloading on your core and possibly breaking your army build. It's still a risk, but even on turn one...most players won't shoot your defensive unit, they'll want to shoot your offensive units which are the destroyers and heavy destroyers. Call it a fail safe.

Once you've had 2 or 3 turns to generate swarms, you should probably stop if none of them are dead. Mostly so you don't lose any Spyders. Note, against Railheads and Markerlights...better spread the unit out or you're going to get alot of swarms insta-killed. lol

Note: This really should say 'Spyder' as each unit of Spyders is a single entity.

This 'core' isn't a great counterattack unit by any means, but it's dangerous enough to beat alot of enemy units and that is a good thing for you.

The normal swarm unit is your other failsafe. Against many armies, it will buy you one extra turn of shooting by blocking movement of assault troops or tying something up you don't want near you. Remember you have two Fearless units in your army, the Spyders and the Swarms. Use them wisely, if you cannot stop an assault with them you are probably going down.

This army can win games, and it can handle most army variants. You really need to concentrate your firepower where it's needed though, and use your multiple lines of assault defense wisely.

EDIT: I had a comment about how to 'layer' the units.

Warriors in front. They are, frankly, bait. Let the other guy aim for phase out. You aim for shooting repeatedly with your shooting units while he's not killing them.

You can put the Immortals behind them, their job is to provide mobile small unit killing capability or just more attrition shots.

Then the Destroyers and Heavy Destroyers behind them.

Don't be afraid to run your Necron Warriors your first turn, just do your best to get them cover saves to make them survivable.

- Stelek from YTTH in My Necrons

Monoliths Suck...

... up points and enemy fire like there ain't no tomorrow.

Monoliths suck.

Say it with me.

Monoliths suck. Monoliths suck. Monoliths suck!

They eat up points, which means less Necrons and brings phase out quicker. They don’t threaten enemy units Necrons need to kill (Destroyers and Immortals superior against infantry, pie plate doesn’t threaten vehicles. Hyperbole people, hyperbole). They serve no purpose other than to scare noobs and make an already gimped army even worse.

Monoliths suck.

As for the other Heavy choices, Spyders can be handy to generate a scarab swarm and join a Destroyer Lord to get a super unit that soaks up a ton of fire. MCs help, but they aren’t going to be fighting off Nob Bikers or Assault Terminators.

I’d consider Heavy Destroyers nigh mandatory. Necrons have extreme difficulty dealing with mech and S9 is the best they can do. They’re expensive and obvious targets, but fairly resilient and can operate at extreme ranges.

Monoliths suck.

Heavy Ds are the Necrons’ best bet against armor, but that doesn’t make them good.

Monos don’t threaten armor because their pie plate scatters and if you’re using that then you don’t get to use the portal, its whole purpose in the first place. In the world of 5th Edition your either moving around in vehicles or fast enough that it doesn't matter or your a horde of 'Nids.

1. Nobody cares because you just ignore the Mono and phase out what few Necrons are running around.
2. Nobody cares, get phased out
3. Nobody cares, get phased out
4. Then you aren’t using the TANK DESTROYING particle whip right? Too bad Necrons that get destroyed by sweeping advance can’t get back up.
5. AP1 under the hole, you know, the kind that scatters, otherwise it’s just another crappy Earthshaker Cannon. It’s either that or your only decent ability.
6. You know, unless the enemy puts units near the portal to block it. But please, put your army in reserve so it can be destroyed piecemeal. Rapid firing Necron Warriors are so good, right? Right... except against vehicles, right...
7. Yay glancing hits. Oh wait, this is 5th edition.

Monoliths suck. Necrons suck as is, taking Monoliths just hurts your army that much more. Go ahead and terrorize some newbies with your crappy army, good luck against anyone halfway competent.

C’tan suck too, I’ll save you the long-winded thread that doesn’t tell anybody anything useful (brought to you by everyone’s favorite 40k strategist, bushido “I don’t know what I’m talking about” red panda).

- Chumby in this post on YTTH which was taken from this discussion on BoLS

Hopefully you have learnt something valuable from what Chumby has had to say.

The Tin Man Time. Oh My!

It is time for the Necrons to arise and take their place amongst the stars... or something clever like that. A few months ago there was a discussion in the Black Templar sub-forum over on the BnC on Necrons. Me being me, I went out and collected several blog articles to help encourage discussion and understanding. With exams over it seems appropriate that for the rest of November I focus on the oldest Codex. Especially since it is still possible to win games with them...

Music Monday - Gettin' Over You

Not for every Generation...

...and if you need help with your dancing this might have some moves and bouncing edit

Forge World: Newsletter 255

The latest Forge World Newsletter with some goodies for Space Marine players....

Hi There,

This week’s Newsletter brings you a fresh wave of Space Marine kits to pre-order, along with two more A4 Transfer Sheets packed with vehicle and infantry decals and a reminder of our Christmas shipping deadlines and opening times.

Thanks, Ead Brown

Land Raider Achilles Available to Pre-Order Now

The first of our new wave of Space Marine releases is the devastatingly powerful Land Raider Achilles. This resin and plastic hybrid kit, designed by Stuart Williamson, boasts sponson-mounted twin Multi-Meltas and a hull-mounted Thunderfire Cannon. A line-breaker beyond compare, the Land Raider Achilles’ firepower is capable of forcing a breach in even the strongest defences at the tip of an armoured assault.

Originating in the closing years of the Great Crusade, the Achilles is perhaps the rarest and most venerable Land Raider variant still used on the battlefields of the 41st Millenium. It was originally created by the Imperial Fists Legion in response to a dire xenos threat now lost to the mists of history, and fittingly rare outside the noble Imperial Fists, their successors like Black Templars biatchs and the Ordo Reductor of the Adeptus Mechanus. The Achilles is perhaps most vaunted for its legendary durability - each stage of the hull’s construction incorporates layer upon layer of ancient electromagnetic algorithms and ferromantic incantations. This arcane lore is etched into the very structure of the Land Raider Achilles at a molecular level, and is one the most secret and ancient rites of the Cult Mechanicus.

The Land Raider Achilles is a complete resin and plastic kit, and is available to pre-order now for despatch in the week commencing December 6th, and is included in the Space Marine Siege Assault Vanguard army list in the forthcoming Imperial Armour Volume 10: The Badab War Part II. As an exclusive extra, we have prised the rules for the Achilles from Alan Bligh’s grasp and they are available to download for free here. I want one... but does anyone know which chapter the above Achilles is from? They only cost 58 British pounds which works out to be similar in price to what I'd pay for a normal Land Raider in Ozlandus.

Forge World MkIV Ironclad Dreadnought and Arms Available to Pre-Order Now

The latest addition to our range of MkIV Dreadnoughts is the siege specialist MkIV Ironclad Dreadnought, MkIV Hurricane Bolter, MkIV Seismic Hammer and MkIV Chainfist. These full resin kits, designed by Phil Stutcinskas, afford Space Marine players the complete range of Codex options for the Ironclad Dreadnought. Heavily augmented and outfitted for siege assault and ship boarding actions, the Ironclad Dreadnought sacrifices versatility and long-range firepower for even greater armoured defence and dedicated siege weaponry such as the Seismic Hammer and Chainfist, designed to pulverise the toughest bastion or armoured bulkhead into twisted wreckage. The fearsome short-ranged firepower of a Hurricane Bolter is often used to augment the Ironclad’s firepower, allowing the ancient hero within the sarcophagus to saturate breached defences with a deadly storm of bolter shells. The MkIV Ironclad Dreadnought is a full resin kit that comes complete with Hunter Killer Missiles and Frag Assault Launchers, furthering the Ironclad’s potent weaponry, as well as additional armour plates to fit the resin MkIV Hurricane Bolter, MkIV Seismic Hammer and MkIV Chainfist and our other MkIV Dreadnought arms. Each of these detailed kits is available to pre-order now for despatch in the week commencing December 6th.

New Space Marine Transfer Sheets Available to Pre-Order Now

Forge World’s Paul Rudge has been hard at work of late, busily working away on two additions to our range of transfer sheets – an A4 Dark Angels transfer sheet and an A4 Space Marine Markings decal sheet.

Each sheet is crammed with a huge array of squad badges suitable for shoulder pads, jump packs and vehicles. There are also unit designations and unique details such as Dark Angel maxims and names, along with standard and variant vehicle designations for all types of Space Marine squad insignia.

Each of the new transfer sheets is also available to pre-order now for despatch in the week commencing December 6th.

Forge World Winter Catalogue Supplement Sheet Now Available

You can now download a free PDF of our most recent supplement sheet from the Forge World website. It includes the Eldar Hornet, which is available to pre-order now for despatch from the 29th of November, along with all of our most recent releases such as the Necron Tomb Stalker and Space Marine Armour Sets.

If you’d like to receive a free copy of our 2010 catalogue to assist you when compiling your Christmas shopping list, e-mail forgeworldcatreq@games-workshop.co.uk making sure you include your full name and postal address.

Forge World Christmas Shipping

With November upon us, we have news of our final shipping deadlines for Christmas. These dates are subject to change, and we will keep you informed of any changes both in future newsletters and at www.forgeworld.co.uk.
As always, it’s best to order as early as possible to ensure that you’ll get exactly what you want and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact us using the details below.

Our last guaranteed shipping date for Standard Delivery outside the UK will be December 6th.
Our last guaranteed shipping date for Express Delivery outside the UK will be December 15th.
For our customers inside the UK, the last guaranteed shipping date for Standard Delivery will be December 15th and the last guaranteed shipping date for Express Delivery will be December 20th.

If you have any questions or concerns about any aspect of your Forge World Christmas Shopping then please contact us either by e-mail at forgeworldorderenquiries@games-workshop.co.uk or by telephone on 0115 916 8177 within the UK, 011 44 115 916 8177 from the US and Canada or 00 44 115 916 8177 from much of Europe. Forge World’s Customer Service team is available 6 days a week all the way up to Christmas, so don’t hesitate to contact us to check stock availability and shipping times. We are also a font of knowledge and advice if you aren’t sure about what would make the perfect Forge World gift.

Forge World Wishlists Now Available Online

On the subject of Christmas shopping, there’s nothing worse than secretly hoping for a Reaver Titan, finding a massive parcel under your tree, eagerly ripping it open and finding a lovely ‘novelty’ jumper and a pair of socks…

It doesn't get much worse than that, but thankfully it couldn't be easier to make sure that it doesn't happen to you. If you’ve created an account on www.forgeworld.co.uk then you have the ability to create a Wishlist. Just login to Your Account and you’ll see an option to View Wishlists – simply browse through our online store and click the ‘add to wishlist’ button on each item’s page. Once you’ve found all the gifts you’re after, just e-mail it to all of your friends and family and wait for Christmas morning.

Spotlight: simon m.

Time really has been going fast lately. Feels like it was only yesterday that I was working on last weeks Spotlight. Today we will take a look at Simon M. who is an extremely skilled sculptor and painter. My imaginary friends may remember him from the previous Weekly Finds. He is one of the bloggers with Brothers of the Fuckinawesome Order...

Villain Knight made from Milliput and Fimo

It goes from that to this...

... I will let you pick your jaws off the floor now. I will warn you that the things that follow are just as fucking awesome. So if you experience a heart attack call your local emergency services and stay calm.

Black Library TV 15 - Aaron Dembski-Bowden Interview

When I saw this it just had to go on the blog... just had to. We love him more than Brent. He is just that cool. Be careful A D-B, because we are watching you...

Weekly Finds #3

Today is my last day for exams. Means I will should have loads of free time for painting, except for when I'm working. Sigh. Hopefully the things I have been ordering and bidding over the last few weeks arrive soon. I digress, below are some really nice tutorials as well as stunning miniatures...

Templar Knight 90mm by Andrea from Massive Voodoo - I play Black Templars, so it is obvious why I have included this amazing miniature. Another blogger with Brothers of the Fuckinawesome Order is Simon M.

Drilling out your gun barrels by Ron from FTW - I ducking hate it when I see bolters that don't have their barrels drilled out. However, fucking hate it when I can't get the damn holes to be centred. It is only an extra step to improve the appearance of your miniatures. Another tutorial with a slightly different approach is by Winterdyne, which can be found here. Winterdyne's tutorial doesn't use markers... one less thing to keep around.

Corvus Corax Helmet Tutorial by SCC from The Bolter and Chainsword - This is a great example of the useful content that comes out of the BnC. SCC came up with this tutorial while working on his current Raven Guard project. His point about using green stuff when you make a mistake, it is just as true for gun barrels. When I get around to making some Deathwatch marines this tutorial may come in handy...

miniature building construction in foamboard by Emmanuel Nouaillier from County Gate - When I first saw the pictures on this website I got the impression they were real... but they aren't. The level of detail is mind blowing. The entire website is full of mind blowing content. Well worth a look. Can see Raffa's attempt at this technique here.

Jump Pack Guide by Roleplayer from DakkaDakka - While on the BnC I stumbled across a reference to this tutorial. There are probably other tutorials out there on how to achieve this effect. But this is the first one I've found... plus Roleplayer produces really nice high quality table top miniatures.

On Painting Women by Matthew Innis from Underpaintings - This was an interesting find. Although I am well aware that women still face inequalities in today's modern world, I never realised this spread into the more creative professions. And I'm not ignorant enough not to see the inequalities that men see in certain areas of life. This is an interesting read, may want to further investigate the issue, with some really nice paintings such as the one below by Lacy Lewis...

Rogue Trader Friday: Medic! by Bryan from FTW - This picture just looks awesome. Obviously not as awesome as the above. I agree with Bryan that the white helmet and pauldron scheme looks alot nicer than the all white scheme. I now have an inspiration for the Sanguinary Priests when I start work on my Sanguinary Guard themed Death Company. Or is that Death Company themed Sanguinary Guard?

The Arterially Train of Nuln (Part 2) by Dave Taylor from 8th Edition Challenge - For those who haven't stumbled across this blog yet, now is your chance. The only member to have pictures of miniatures is Dave, but there is alot of potential for some amazing fantasy armies.

Brining a New Style to the Hobby by Dave from N++ - This is a thought provoking read that builds off and complements what Lauby has been talking about over on his blog. This emulation of work is noticeable when you take a look through the pictures from this years Golden Demons. The Spanish and the French have different styles with the French looking far more realistic. However, the French miniatures all start to blend in as Dave refers to it. And the same could be said for the Spanish, American and British. There are always exceptions to these broad statements as Lauby points out in his series...

Looks like once again the competitive crowd have been outdone by the painting, converting and sculpting crowd when it comes to decent quality tutorials. I'm not surprised to be honest. They will be forgiven this time. Mainly because they have been busy talking about the release of the updated 40k BRB FAQ as can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

But on a completely different note I've picked two bloggers who will have their stuff featured in upcoming Spotlights.

I now have 2 and a bit months of no University. Except for the one week of clinical placement. This is also going to be my last Summer break before I have to go into the work force... until I return to university to study Medicine or something that will actually interest me. So that means I can focus on getting the Victorian Crusade prepared for Centurion in March 2011. Also gotta work on articles for Mind War and 3++.

MaxMini

Following on from yesterday's post, decided I would take a look at another third party producer of conversion bitz and other interested things. So today we will take a look at MaxMini...

AA Turret Platform - This would be an alternative to the Quad-Gun in the Aegis Defence Line when doing conversions for Hydra Flak Tank or Mortis Pattern Dreadnoughts. It costs 35.64 USD

Scibor's Monstrous

I'm sure we have all seen one of Scibor's Monstrous Miniatures. They can be seen all over forums like here and here. If you are terrified of being infected by forumitis or dakkaitis and haven't seen these miniature yet, then here is your chance. I am going to take a look at some of the miniatures that have caught my attention...

Moscal Shaman - This guy would fit nicely in a Genesteal Cult themed army. Or could use him as a Chaos Sorcerer. He costs 7.00 USD

Reality aplodes

I think that the equation is switched. Codexes become popular, then they become powerful. Not the other way around. With more minds blogging, posting, and playing games, the lists that win come out more. So If more players like Wolves, Guard, and BAngels, they will have a higher publicity. Then, people copy the lists.

- Dobie Gillis from this discussion on YTTH

The above quote hasn't been included because I agree with it... I actually disagree. Mainly because of the terms used and interwebz quality of writing. But, it hits on something that I do agree with. The three most powerful codices may not be as unbalanced as perceived by the majority. In reality their consistent placing in tournaments may also reflect the skills of the participants AND the consistent attendance of certain lists.

Edit - An interesting forum discussion that also discusses Codex Creep...

Spotlight: Pandemic

This week has gone by fast. Feels like it was only yesterday that I sat down to write the last Spotlight post. Damn exams sucking the life out of everything. Anyway, this week looks at Svartmetall's Death Guard over on RelicNews. To be perfectly honest I have no idea how I came across these disgustingly good worshippers of Nurgle... but in a sick and twisted way I'm glad that I did.

Would you believe that this conversion is back from when he first started the army, which is also when he got into 40K. They only get better from here.

Golden Demon Around the World 2010

Golden Demon Australia 2010 is on today. And as much as I would enjoy going in to the Sydney Bunker to take a look I won't be able to attended. Instead I will be waking up at an ungodly hour so that I can go to an exam... that's right an exam on Saturday in the wee hours of the morning. I ducking hate UWS.

I digress, a few weeks ago I was directed to this page on the Games Workshop Website. It shows off a collection of miniatures from Golden Demon miniatures from around the world. Below are a collection of miniatures that I particularly liked...

Matt Parkes
Golden Demon 2010 UK - Slayer Sword Winner.
Click the picture to see more... particularly like the purple.

Martin Footitt
Golden Demon 2010 UK - Open Gold

Mikael Duvskog
Golden Demon 2010 UK - 40K Squad Bronze

David Rodriguez
Golden Demon 2010 UK - Warhammer Single Gold

Rich Erikson
Golden Demon 2010 N. American - 40K Single Bronze 

Mathieu Fontaine
Golden Demon N. American - 40K Vehicle Bronze

Maxime Penaud
Golden Demon France - Slayer Sword Winner

Golden Demon France

On a slightly unrelated topic is this announcement by Oz Games Workshop. I'm curious to find out what it is... might be able to drop by in time. But I doubt it.