Today’s, article is all about Necron Tactics. So, If you’re interested in starting a Necron army you will learn everything you need to know below. We will talk a little bit about who they are, their play style, and end with a solid 1,000 pt army list with some Necron tactics.
What the Heck is a Necron?
The Necrons are one of the oldest races in the entire setting, having participated in the war in heaven. To elaborate, the war in heaven was the first galaxy-spanning war in history, which was between the Old Ones and the Necrontyr. This all started when the Necrontyr first waged war against the Old Ones in a desperate attempt to hold the empire together. However, this plan backfired, and the Necrons started losing the war and ended up nearing total collapse. Until the fateful day, they discovered a C’tan munching on their Sun.
In Essence, the C’tan were celestial beings that lacked a true form and fed on stars. The Necrontyr then decided to trap these incredibly powerful beings in bodies of living metal in order to ally with them in the war against the Old Ones. This ended up making the C’tan incredibly powerful, and also gave them something new to eat, the life-force of living organisms. They then tricked the Necrontyr into transferring their minds into bodies of living metal ie Necrodermis. As a result, the Necrontyr lost their souls and become the Necrons we all know today. Also, it’s worth mentioning that the C’tan fed off the Necrotyr’s lifeforce and bodies during the process.
The Fallout
The Necrons and C’tan would then continue the war against the Old Ones with renewed vigor. With their new bodies and the Star Gods at their side the Necrons were nearly unstoppable. As such, they would go on to destroy countless worlds and strip them of all life, in what was called Red Harvests. This war was devastating, and it took the combined efforts of the Old Ones, Eldar, Krork and the betrayal of the Silent King to stop the C’tan. To elaborate, the Silent King ordered the Necrons to attack the C’tan and had them shattered into countless shards.
Even with the destruction of the C’tan, the Old ones would eventually go extinct. Thus with their ancient foe dead, and much of the Galaxy destroyed and left barren, the Necrons were ordered to go into a deep slumber. Only to rise again once the Galaxy had recovered, and life had returned. All so that they might re-establish their empire and claim the Galaxy for themselves.
Necron Playstyle
So, with that lengthy history lesson out of the way, let’s talk about how the Necrons play on the table-top. The Necrons are primarily a ranged army and have some of the most advanced technology in the setting. For example, even your basic Necron warrior’s gun has AP-1. Furthermore, the entire army can either heal wounds or has the option to bring models back from the dead. As a result, the army is surprisingly durable. In fact, making the mistake of not killing a squad completely can result in the squad returning to full strength. Resulting in an army that has some fantastic weapon options, and a surprising amount of resilience.
The List
Also, Mad props to the Queen of Necrons for the army list!
++ Outrider Detachment +1CP (Necrons) [55 PL, 994pts] ++
+ Configuration +
Dynasty Choice
. Dynasty: Mephrit
+ HQ +
Cryptek [5 PL, 95pts]: Artefact: The Veil of Darkness, Chronometron, Staff of Light, Warlord
+ Elites +
C’tan Shard of the Deceiver [12 PL, 180pts]
+ Fast Attack +
Destroyers [18 PL, 287pts]
. 5x Destroyer: 5x Gauss Cannon
. Heavy Destroyer: Heavy Gauss Cannon
Tomb Blades [10 PL, 216pts]
. 6x Tomb Blade: Shadowloom, Shieldvanes
. . Two Gauss Blasters: 2x Gauss Blaster
Tomb Blades [10 PL, 216pts]
. 6x Tomb Blade: Shadowloom, Shieldvanes
. . Two Gauss Blasters: 2x Gauss Blaster
++ Total: [55 PL, 994pts] ++
Necron Tactics and Army Breakdown
This army list is no joke at 1,000 pts and can take on nearly anything. Furthermore, the army is very easy n new players as it has both a low model count and great durability. Additionally, the army doesn’t require a whole bunch of bookkeeping and weird combo’s to function and is a blast to play. So, having said this why don’t we jump right into the core of the army and how it works.
The Core of the Army
Firstly, we have our Tomb Blades which will make up the majority of the army. Honestly, I can’t stress enough how good Tomb Blades are, they have a 3+ save, -1 to hit rolls against them, T5, and two wounds. Furthermore, each Tomb Blade will have 4 shots at strength 5, Ap-3 when in rapid-fire range. As such, these guys can shred infantry with good armor saves like Space Marines. Also, while still remaining effective against cheap infantry blobs due to their high volume of shots.
Next, we have our Destroyers which will be our answer for multi-wound units and vehicles. The Destroyers have a great stat line, with a 3+ save, T5, 3 wounds each and some really scarry guns. The Gauss Cannons they wield have 3 shots each at strength 6, Ap-3, and D3 damage. Additionally we can use “Extermination Protocols” which allows them to re-roll all hit and wound rolls. This is Incredibly useful when taking on tough targets and should be your go-to Strategem.
More Necron Tactics and Shennanigans
So, this army would be incomplete without having some tricks to get the most out of the army. First, we have our Cryptek armed with the Veil of Darkness and a Chonomitron. The Veil of Darkness allows us to redeploy our Destroyers once a game and deep strike them anywhere on the board. Meanwhile, we have the Chonomitron handy so our Destroyers can get that sweet 5++ save. As a result, we have an incredibly durable unit of Destroyers that we can choose to redeploy anywhere on the map in case our opponent gets too close.
Lastly, we have our C’tan Shard of the Deceiver, who happens to be the Necrons version of a Demon Prince. The C’tan shard rocks a 4++ save is T7 and has 8 wounds, all while benefiting from being a Character. So, suffice to say, he won’t be going down easily and can add some melee power to the army. In fact, he has a total of 4 attacks at strength 7, Ap-4, and damage 3 which can be used to take on multi-wound models. However, while his melee capabilities and Powers of the C’tan are nice, that not the real reason he’s in the army.
The Deceiver also comes with the ability to redeploy himself and up to d3 other units at the start of the game. Effectively letting you deploy anywhere on the board at least 12” from your opponent’s models. This can be devastating for your opponent if you get to go first, as they won’t be able to hide from you. Otherwise, you can use it defensively to redeploy your army behind LOS blocking terrain.
In Conclusion
Well, that will wrap up today’s Necron Tactics article and army list. Also, I can’t stress enough how brutal this army is at 1,000 pts. I have personally watched it absolutely steamroll people, and so you may want to show restraint against newer players. However, if you need to get a win with your Necrons, this is THE list to use. Furthermore, if you want to see some Necron Tactics in action why not check out some battle reports by clicking here and here?
If you want to talk to the Nights at the Game Table team and discuss this article and everything Warhammer with them join Game Talk For Gamers.
Don’t know what Warhammer 40k is and how to play it? Check out the video that we made here just for you
If you already know how to play the game and you’d like a free guide that teaches you how to paint professional-looking miniatures, advanced tournament tips from a 40k World Champion, how to find more time to play, and simple methods to get cheap miniatures go here.
If you’d like a breakdown of the advanced tactics and strategies for all 40k armies, painting tutorials from a Golden Demon winner, secret battle reports and tons more consider becoming a Nights at the Game Table Member today. Click on this link to learn more.
As always thanks for reading!
Special thanks to Games Workshop for the use of their images and for making the best game ever!
