Let’s take a look at a list that breaks away from the meta, Melee Necrons. We all know “the” list where you fill out every shooty vehicle in our arsenal but this one is going to be a bit different. Today we look at a list that focuses ongoing in close with Hyperblades and shields over gauss and guns. Both of which are found in the Necron Starter Army half of Indomitus. There have been many point leaks across the interwebs. Our close combat fighting robots are getting some of the best point adjustments. Most going up only a few points. Lychguard looks to be going from 26-28, wraiths 42-45, scarabs going from 13-15 but also gaining a wound. We also have the new Skorpekh Lord and Destroyers that add to what we had quite nicely.
Melee Necrons Support
I also am in love with the new Szeras model. Although I have some reservations with the rules writing team, I also wanted to have a list that helps maximize his utility. Which is designed around supporting at close range. He also has the luxury of leading a detachment without being tied to that dynasty as per his unique ruleset. In this list, we’ll have Szeras leading a Spearhead detachment of Nihilakh Doomsday Arks. (reroll 1’s to hit on turns they didn’t move). I know we said we’re branching away from the meta but pound for pound Doomsday Arks are still going to be some of our best-supporting units. So we lose 3 cp but I find some heavy shooting helps complement this list. Now for the grit of the army.
Let’s talk about the Novokh dynasty. Their specific dynasty trait gives them the ability to reroll hit rolls on turns where they have charged or been charged. Their specific warlord trait is Crimson Haze where units within 6” of your warlord can generate additional hit rolls on rolls of 6. The synergy with the Royal warden who allows units to fall back and charge or shoot means units like Lychguard can be getting the Novokh bonus each turn.
How to make it work
The army is led by our Skorpekh Lord as the warlord running Sempiternal Weave relic, making him a toughness 7 with 7 wounds, when you add Lychguard as a bodyguard unit he becomes quite durable. He’ll also have the Crimson Haze warlord trait we mentioned earlier to get those extra hit rolls on sixes to hit. Then we have a royal warden with the Veil of Darkness Relic. That allows him to translocate himself and one infantry unit anywhere on the board outside 9” from an enemy model. He’ll be taking the slow Lychguard on a ride helping to mitigate their 5” move. We have 3 units of 5 scarabs and 2 units of 5 wraiths running up the board. They’re escorting Szeras, the Skorpekh Lord, and the Skorpekh Destroyers.
The idea of the list is a durable close combat detachment that can move to the middle of the board. Bully anything that comes close and slowly swarm the enemy’s army. Your shooting base of Doomsday Arcs reigns fire down from afar. The Warden and Lychguard veil in to offer support and help mitigate wounds off your characters. Fortunately, Wraiths get to disengage and charge naturally. Use the Warden on the Skorpekh Destroyers or Lychguard to fall back and charge. Every 6 they roll on the original roll or the reroll generates additional hit rolls who also get their own reroll. So you’re fishing for 6’s which with the new Scarab change where they auto wound on 6’s to hit. That means even our little flesh gobblers are going to be forcing out quite a bit of saves for your opponent.
Stratagems for Melee Necrons
Now for Stratagems and Command Points. The list hinges on durability. Because of the two detachments and two relics we’ll start with 8cp while gaining one per turn so 13 in total. Repair subroutines grant Reanimation Protocols to a unit of Wraiths who get boosted with a +1 from a nearby Szeras. Novokh also has access to the fight again stratagem. This will be strong on our Wraiths or Lychguard who with rerolls are hitting at a very efficient level.
If your sword and board Lychguard get targeted, you can drop them to a 3++ invulnerable save and reflect saves of 6 as mortal wounds with dispersion field. Your Wraiths and Scarabs advance and charge if you need to confirm one unit makes it in this turn. And don’t forget when your opponent finally kills a character to try and spend 1 cp to reanimate them on a 4+ with Enhanced Reanimation Protocols.
Conclusion
Use melee Necrons if you’re looking for something different. They utilize a lot of the new toys from the new Indomitus box set. Throw in Illuminor Szeras for a fun fast list of durable but efficient units. Especially as a Novokh backed list. Of course, we can’t wait for the new models covered in the 40K Weekend Recovery.
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As always thanks for reading!
Special thanks to Games Workshop for the use of their images and for making the best game ever!
