Necrons - Unit Overview Part III

This is Report #363 my Lord. Our forces continue their march across the galaxy, the deathless legions proving unstoppable in our newly organized Decurions. The machine binds these warriors to your will, my Lord, for the mind is empty. With your guidance, they shall conquer the stars. Glory awaits the dead.

Troops

Warriors - While this unit seems like it didn't change much on paper, in practice it has gone to a whole other level of awesome and I'm so pleased that this is the case. The basic Troops choice of the Necrons has always been points-efficient and scary because of its potential to hurt almost anything, ranging from Astra Militarum Conscripts to Space Marine Land Raiders. Warriors haven't changed too much in that sense with their identical profile and base cost, but the changes to Gauss weapons and Reanimation Protocols leave them in an even better spot than they were before - don't mind that the Decurion Detachment makes them virtually impossible to destroy in larger units. Basically, Necron Warriors not only automatically glance vehicles and buildings on an armour penetration roll of a 6 regardless of the weapons' actual Strength value, they now have the same effect on models with a Toughness value as well. This generally will only really come into effect against Wraithknights, Wraithlords and some Gargantuan Creatures, but it is nonetheless a nice little buff that gives nostalgic Necron veterans a taste of what 3rd Edition Gauss was capable of.

I've already covered why the new Reanimation Protocols is awesome on several occasions so I'll just touch on it here; the fact that Necron units will lose far less wounds to both shooting and close combat means they are unlikely to ever run away. Being subject to Sweeping Advances and wiping the unit out entirely from shooting before they get to use their Reanimation Protocols are a thing of the past, though the former can obviously still happen but just not nearly as often. Aside from that, 6th Edition was very kind to Warriors by greatly improving Rapid Fire weapon rules and making their various transport options far better in a scoring-oriented rule-set. The new Decurion Detachment also gives Warriors an insane buff with free benefits including a +1 bonus to their Reanimation Protocols, as well as the Move Through Cover and Relentless special rules. Ultimately, this was already a good unit that got even better in multiple ways while receiving no price increase or ability removal.
Change? Stronger.
Competitive? Yes.

Immortals - As with the previous codex, Immortals set the standard for pricing "Veteran" equivalents next to their base "Core" choice, being the aforementioned Immortals and Warriors in this case respectively. That they are a Troops choice rather than an Elites choice obviously helps, but realistically they are actually a distinctive and worthwhile choice next to Warriors despite being considerably more expensive per model. That their Gauss weapons and Reanimation Protocols similarly improved as with Warriors gives them a similar buff, though what is noteworthy is that Warriors get more out of the Gauss buff where Toughness 8 opponents are concerned seeing as Immortals could harm them already. The buffs to Rapid Fire and Gauss in general just make the Gauss Blaster the more recommendable weapon option, especially as Tesla no longer applies its unique effect on Snap Shots. Immortals also benefit immensely from the Decurion Detachment which makes them almost the equivalent of living tanks with their 3+ armour save and 4+ Reanimation Protocols roll, at least against small arms fire anyway. If you haven't worked it out already, Immortals in a Decurion Detachment are more survivable than 2+ armoured Terminators against small arms fire, and they are even harder to kill where AP2 and AP1 weapons are concerned because of their 4+ Reanimation Protocols roll versus the Terminators' 5+ invulnerable save. Considering Immortals have superior ranged weapons to Terminators and are almost half the cost, it quickly becomes obvious just how crazily good Necron infantry are.
Change? Stronger.
Competitive? Yes.


Elites

Lychguard - This unit was always an oddity in the Necron line-up, trying too hard to fit the bill of Terminator equivalents despite lacking any proper assault transport, ranged weapons and good supporting characters or abilities. Their price-tag was embarrassing even by already over-priced Terminators standards and as such they were universally avoided in competitive lists in favour of Canoptek Wraiths to fill that heavy hitting melee unit role. The new codex gave them everything us Necron players could have ever hoped for, including various small buffs to their in-game capabilities as well as a massive points reduction in both of their differing builds. I don't think I need to harp on about how good a 15 point price reduction per model is, but in case it wasn't obvious; what a difference the new codex made to this visually awesome unit! Their Toughness 5 and 3+ armour save on top of Reanimation Protocols - usually a 5+, but often a 4+ with an attached Cryptek character or in a Decurion Detachment - makes them harder to kill than Terminators against almost any kind of shooting or melee attack, especially if they opt to take the hugely buffed Disperson Shields. While Warscythes still make these absolutely ridiculous in terms of damage output and are much better with the new Reamination Protocols effectively acting as a Feel No Pain roll, the Hyperphase Sword and Dispersion Shield combo also saw a big buff with the removal of the "deflect" effect in exchange for a flat 3+ invulnerable save. These are now a premier unit of the heavily stacked Necron Elites slot and function as the perfect and terrifying bodyguard of Necron Overlords and other HQ choices.
Change? Stronger.
Competitive? Yes.

Deathmarks - Considering that many recent codex updates have removed a lot of their innate reserves manipulation that they previously had access to, it is somewhat surprising that Deathmarks still function the same with regards to Deep Striking on the enemy turn. What is hilarious is that this rule was buffed by providing Deathmarks with the ability to shoot in the enemy turn when they arrive from Reserves in this way, allowing you to use them as an awesome counter to enemy alpha strikers and completely neuter the damage that unit would do. Sure, a Deathmark unit that does this forfeits their next actual Shooting Phase, but this added versatility is nonetheless greatly appreciated and gives Necrons their own unique spin on the Interceptor special rule with the highly adaptable sniper weapons Deathmarks carry. Their Hunters from Hyperspace rule was also tweaked slightly to instead cause all of their shooting attacks to wound on a 2+ on the turn they arrive from Deep Strike Reserve - can you see just how good that aforementioned minor addition really is now? Aside from this, Deathmarks even received a minor points reduction of one point per model, though to compensate their Sniper weapons are worse against vehicles (a change that all Sniper weapons suffered from in 7th Edition). Factor in the Reanimation Protocols buff and safer Deep Striking compared to 5th Edition and it is easy to say this unit is better than it was, even if you can no longer abuse their rules with certain Cryptek rules which many players didn't rely on anyway. I think Deathmarks are a good choice with their unique capabilities in a Necron list and are more valuable overall than they were previously, continuing the trend of competitive units in this particular 7th Edition codex.
Change? Stronger.
Competitive? Yes.

Flayed Ones - While I wanted to give this label to Lychguard because of how awesome their models and background are, there is no doubt in my mind that Flayed Ones are by far the most improved unit in the new Necron codex. While their points cost remains identical, their basic stats are unchanged and they have only received a few direct changes in spite of the general "nerfs" to assault in 6th Edition and 7th Edition, this unit is absolutely insane in practice and deserves your utmost attention. Before I begin, let us cover the basics of a fundamentally ideal assault unit in 7th Edition; you need a combination of mobility, survivability and damage output - Canoptek Wraiths are excellent because they mix those three attributes perfectly. Flayed Ones can Deep Strike or Infiltrate to fulfill the first requirement despite being Infantry, and they are Toughness 4 with a 4+ armour save and a 5+ Reanimation Protocol roll (increasing to a 4+ in a Decurion Detachment) to mostly satisfy the second requirement. Previously, their mess of Strength 4 attacks was nowhere near enough to surpass that third requirement, but one simple addition to their core rules has fixed this fully and even turned them into one of the game's premier assault units as a result. 

Providing Shred and an extra attack for their paired Flayer Claws means that each Flayed Ones has a ridiculous five Strength 4 attacks at Weapon Skill 4 and Initiative 2 on the charge, re-rolling all failed to-wound rolls in close combat. The new Reanimation Protocols is excellent on a melee unit such as Flayed Ones and helps to eliminate the army-wide weakness of suffering too many wounds in close combat before they can strike and thus being subject to a Sweeping Advance. Factor in their newly added Fear which makes them almost insanely good against Orks in particular and you have yourself a great combat squad, especially now that you can more easily attach Fearless characters to them. In any case, the main improvement here is Shred - though the extra attack certainly helps - which, as certain war-gamers have worked out, allows Flayed Ones to smash considerably more expensive dedicated assault units. There's very little reason not to recommend these now, especially as they can capture objectives in 7th Edition and are hilariously tough to push off of an objective just like any other Necron unit. 

Change? Stronger.
Competitive? Yes. 

Triarch Praetorians - One of the quirkier units in the codex and still one of the few reliable sources of both ranged and melee AP2 attacks, Triarch Praetorians also received a huge points drop like their Lychguard brethren, even if they didn't see quite as big of a reduction. Their profile remains mostly unchanged which is definitely a good thing, and the new Reanimation Protocols effectively makes them discount Terminators that specialize in hunting 2+ armoured opponents - the irony is strong here. Both Fearless and Reanimation Protocols are better than they were in 5th Edition, while the units' Rods of Covenant have been greatly improved by doubling their pitiful 6" range to a more respectable 12" that works far better with their Jump Infantry unit type. This gives them an effective 24" range for their Strength 5 AP2 shooting attacks, though it does come with the drawback that their Rods of Covenant no longer function as Power Axes in close combat and are instead just AP2 melee weapons that use the wielders' Strength value. That isn't necessarily a bad thing as it means Triarch Praetorians now strike before Unwieldy or Initiative 1 units and they are still awesome in combat with three Strength 5 AP2 attacks per model on the charge. 

After all, the buff to the ranged profile far outweighs the nerf to the melee profile so I don't really consider this an issue at all, especially now that Triarch Praetorians even gained an extra base attack that makes them an overall superior melee unit anyway. Some other goods news to consider is that the Voidblade got a slight improvement with innate AP4 in combat, though I'm betting most will stick to the universal AP2 the Rods of Covenant provide. This unit is obviously in a much better place than it was, but the question is if it is actually a good unit on its own merits. I believe the answer is 'yes' because they are extremely survivable for their points cost, have really nasty ranged weapons in the form of the Rods of Covenant and are ultimately also quite nasty in a combat by cleaving through 2+ armour saves. They are highly mobile as Jump Infantry and are much improved in both the Shooting Phase and Close Combat Phase with regards to their damage output. 

Change? Stronger.
Competitive? Yes. 

Triarch Stalkers - I've always been a fan of this unit even if most competitive lists skipped them because of their limited uses for a flyer-spam list and limited firepower for their points cost, and the new codex has merely served to catapult positive reviews of the unit to the forefront. The profile, set of special rules and wargear are all unchanged with the biggest buff to the unit coming in a 25 point reduction to the basic Heat Ray equipped build. However, their various rules have definitely improved overall; Living Metal is strictly worse outside of a Decurion Detachment, but otherwise Move Through Cover and their Targeting Relay are superior. Speaking of their unique Targeting Relay rule, it now functions differently by providing a +1 Ballistic Skill bonus to friendly non-vehicle unit within 6" except when Snap Firing, instead of giving a twin-linking bonus to all units shooting at a unit the Triarch Stalker hits. 

The Targeting Relay might seem worse at first but when you consider that the previous buff only applied against a single enemy unit and would often be a separate target to what your friendly squads would want to shoot at, I find the new version to be more beneficial in practice - especially when you combo it with Preferred Enemy on Destroyers, Heavy Destroyers and Destroyer Lords. One also needs to consider that a 6" bubble is actually pretty sizable given how much space a Triarch Stalker takes up on the battlefield - it puts many other Walkers to shame for sheer size. That you can now take these in squadrons helps to free up that heavily contested Elites slot while the unit receives some massive buffs from the Decurion Detachment or when taken in its own formation. I feel that they are now well priced considering their survivability and firepower in regards to the always useful Heat Ray, while the alternative weapon options also received handy cost reductions. As many Space Marine players would no doubt tell you, Triarch Stalkers are what Dreadnoughts wish they could be and it is almost painful for me to state that as it is patently obvious. 

Change? Stronger.
Competitive? Yes. 

C'tan Shard of the Nightbringer - Before I begin with the individual unit reviews for both the Nightbringer and Deceiver, I want to point out that C'tan are definitely in a much better place now compared to their previous singular codex entry. With that out of the way, let us look at the Nightbringer in particular; my first impression was "what a beast!". Weapon Skill 6 with Fleshbane makes him a pretty nasty melee combatant even if his natural Strength 7 would see him wound most things on a 2+ anyway - this is obviously a buff aimed at dealing with other monstrous creatures such as the relatively new Wraithknight. It benefits from the new and sadly random Powers of the C'tan, though something to keep in mind here is that these will still do massive damage regardless of what power is rolled as long as they target infantry units. The Nightbringer's main advantage over the Deceiver is its' Gaze of Death special rule, forcing a single enemy unit within 12" to take a Leadership test on 3D6 and suffer a number of automatic AP2 wounds that Ignore Cover for each point that they fail the Leadership test by. As a veteran Vampire Counts player that has extensively used Terrorgheists and considering the usually mediocre to low Leadership values of units in Warhammer 40,000 given the lack of guaranteed Inspiring Presence, this is an insane shooting attack and basically a super version of Psychic Shriek. Necrons can try to capitalize on this by combining the Nightbringer with the Deceiver, though the total points cost of the duo is too excessive and the trick too gimmicky to really make this worthwhile outside of 2000+ point games.

As for the Nightbringer himself, while he is definitely a devastating monster in close quarters and even heals a wound each time he inflicts at least one unsaved wound with his Gaze of Death, the fact remains that C'tan Shards are incredibly expensive, not all that survivable in reality and they even embody the archaic plodding nature of the old Necron armies. This applies to both the Nightbringer and the Deceiver and thus I won't repeat myself for the latter units' review, and it absolutely needs to be said; 4 Wounds on a Monstrous Creature with a 4+ invulnerable save is not fantastic durability considering its super high cost, even with Toughness 7. It moves 6" a turn before making a Run move, though Running in the Shooting Phase precludes them from using their impressive 24" range Powers of the C'tan. These are the core issues I have with the unit, but - and this is a big but - I do still think the Nightbringer at least is a competitive choice simply because Necrons can pull off some lists with insane target saturation that opponents will often ignore the C'tan Shard somewhat. From the perspective of someone that has played almost every Warhammer 40,000 army imaginable at some point, the Nightbringer puts out some serious hurt once within 24" range but especially up close - heck, even killing it in combat doesn't help as it will usually take a lot of enemies with it when it explodes! The ability to heal a wound on himself each time he deals an unsaved wound with Gaze of Death is so darned helpful for a monster that suffers so much from having only 4 Wounds, while I guess I probably am understating its overall survivability. If your opponent has access to high Strength shooting attacks with Ignores Cover, that 4+ invulnerable save will ultimately be superior against that kind of shooting than the extra 2 Wounds most Tyranid monsters have, for example. Being immune to Strength 3 shooting is also nice, even if Strength 4 shooting is far more prevalent.

The trick to understanding the value a C'tan Shard provides is not looking at it purely as a melee unit, but considering how much damage it will do with any one of its' Powers of the C'tan and the Nightbringers' exclusive Gaze of Death. That it happens to be a pretty terrifying melee model and pretty durable is a nice bonus and makes the Nightbringer in particular an excellent choice to send after enemy characters and monstrous creatures, while he will easily scythe through squads with his various shooting attacks and above average melee capabilities. Another thing to consider is that being base Strength 7 makes it an above average vehicle hunter compared to most Strength 6 monstrous creatures, allowing it to take on most AV12 Walkers with more surety. Being an Eternal Warrior with the Fearless special rule means the C'tan Shard doesn't have to worry about any Instant Death or Leadership shenanigans which is definitely nice, but ultimately probably expected of such an expensive single model. Another interesting point to note is that the potential is there for the Nightbringer to ignore terrain for charging as well as moving, a rules discussion that has been ongoing since the codex released. I personally don't have an opinion on that particular rule but I guess every little buff for the C'tan Shards helps! 

Competitive? Yes. 

C'tan Shard of the Deceiver - Considering I covered pretty much everything that applies to the Deceiver with my Nightbringer review, I'll just cover the individual differences between the two here. For one, the Deceiver is a weaker but ultimately still very powerful melee combatant with one less Weapon Skill and an utter lack of Fleshbane. Against Weapon Skill 4 models that are Toughness 5 or lower, there is functionally no difference between the two; the Nightbringers' advantages become apparent against proper characters and other monstrous creatures. However, one of the Deceivers' stronger exclusive abilities is the Hit and Run special rule which allows it to exit combat almost freely whenever you deem it necessary; even despite the hunky profile, not all combats are favourable for a C'tan Shard. There are obviously other uses for Hit and Run, but what should really interest Necron players is the Deceivers' Grand Illusion ability; this allows the player to remove the Deceiver and D3 other units from the table at the end of the Deployment Phase - including after Scout redeployments - and redeploy them, including putting them into Reserves.

While Grand Illusion isn't nearly as powerful in Warhammer 40,000 as it would be in Warhammer Fantasy, it is nonetheless the Deceivers' selling point and a really useful trick to keep up your sleeve even if it is merely to correct some mistakes in deployment or redeploy in response to the opponents' Scout moves. The main use is undoubtedly to counter-deploy an opponent if you deployed first, letting them think they get free reign to deploy based on what you did in that phase until you promptly redeploy those units to a superior position. I would argue it isn't as good of an ability as the Nightbringers' Gaze of Death simply because that can restore wounds to the expensive C'tan Shard model, but it is nonetheless a nice utility special rule. The Deceiver even provides the Dread special rule, enforcing a -2 Leadership penalty on all enemy units within 12"; this is obviously geared for pairing up with the Nightbringer, but it is generally a really useful ability in other situations. Making opponents that much more likely to fail Morale tests and Pinning tests in particular is an impressive trait, though one could argue it is at its best against Astra Militarum and Ork players because of the crucial nature of Leadership to those two armies. I like the Deceiver a lot and I do think he is competitive like the Nightbringer, though obviously one must consider that his abilities may prove relatively worthless against certain armies such as Tyranids whereas the Nightbringers' offensive traits will always be useful regardless of the match-up. 

Competitive? Yes.

The shards of the star gods are tethered once more, my Lord. Their deceit and power can no longer threaten us, bound as they are to the physical constructs. Our Vanguard shatters all before them, for they are death incarnate. We are unstoppable, as is the mortality of life. We bring balance to the chaos of eternity. Advise as you will, my Lord.