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The following lists are my take on the Mechrons Phalanx that Reecius has been using in his battle reports and I wanted to get a bit of feedback on what people think of this type of list. Right now I have two builds that I'm playing with on paper before I start testing and want to get some opinions on which people prefer. Realistically it's not that hard to buy both so I don't see an issue just building versions of each and switching up whenever I feel like it.

Option A
Overlord (Phaeron, Warscythe, Res Orb, Mindshackle Scarabs, Phase Shifter) - 210
Royal Court - 95
-Harbinger ofTransmogrification (Tremorstave, Seismic Crucible)
-Harbinger of Destruction (Eldritch Stave, Solar Pulse)
Overlord (Warscythe, Command Barge) - 180
Royal Court - 95
-Harbinger ofTransmogrification (Tremorstave, Seismic Crucible)
-Harbinger of Destruction (Eldritch Stave, Solar Pulse)
18 Warriors (Ghost Ark) - 349
9 Warriors (Ghost Ark) - 232
9 Warriors (Ghost Ark) - 232
5 Warriors - 65
3 Heavy Destroyers - 180
3 Heavy Destroyers - 180
Annihilation Barge - 90
Annihilation Barge - 90
Total 1,998

The idea here is to attach the Harbingers of Destruction to the Warriors in Ghost Arks, and to attach both Harbingers of Transmogrification to the 18 man unit on foot. The Phaeron joins that unit, and between the three attachments they should almost never see Close Combat, or hold their own if they do. The Ghost Arks follow this unit along firing off the Solar Pulses early in the game while the whole block moves together shooting 24" Gauss weapons. The 5 Warriors are simply there to reserve and come in late on an objective, or hide in my backfield during KP missions. Heavy Destroyers can take cover behind the Ghost Arks and thread Anti-Tank shots downfield while the Annihilation Barges support whatever is necessary. The Lord in the Command Barge is a wildcard protecting my backfield against fast moving transports, and he is also there for late-turn contesting if he happens to survive that long. I likely wouldn't field him but I need the second Royal Court.


Option B
Overlord (Phaeron, Warscythe, Res Orb, Mindshackle Scarabs, Phase Shifter) - 210
Royal Court - 95
-Harbinger ofTransmogrification (Tremorstave, Seismic Crucible)
-Harbinger of Destruction (Eldritch Stave, Solar Pulse)
Overlord (Phaeron, Warscythe, Res Orb, Mindshackle Scarabs, Phase Shifter) - 210
Royal Court - 95
-Harbinger ofTransmogrification (Tremorstave, Seismic Crucible)
-Harbinger of Destruction (Eldritch Stave, Solar Pulse)
16 Warriors (Ghost Ark) - 323
16 Warriors (Ghost Ark) - 323
8 Warriors (Ghost Ark) - 219
5 Warriors - 65
3 Heavy Destroyers - 180
3 Heavy Destroyers - 180
Annihilation Barge - 90
Total 1,990

This option trades some vehicles for a bit of redundancy. It basically gives me two slightly smaller units instead of the one big one and I still have the same number of Ghost Arks and the same tricks as before. The difference is the lack of the CCB and the second Annihilation Barge reduce my vehicle count by a third and all I gain for it is a second resilient infantry unit (though it only has 4 more Warriors total). It also puts a bit more strain on the Arks to keep the Warriors at full, but it DOES reduce my KP total from 14 to 12 which is helpful.

Thoughts?

We've found that smaller units of Warriors are subject to getting wiped out in a single phase of shooting before they can get back up.

Also, I think you can get by with 1 or 2 Ghost Arks. 3 may be overkill.

Other than that, I think the list looks good. With points saved on Ghost arks, you may want to toss in an assault unit such as Scarabs or Wraiths, or go for a WWS C'Tan as these combo with the tremor staves very well.

Reecius wrote:We've found that smaller units of Warriors are subject to getting wiped out in a single phase of shooting before they can get back up.

Also, I think you can get by with 1 or 2 Ghost Arks. 3 may be overkill.

Other than that, I think the list looks good. With points saved on Ghost arks, you may want to toss in an assault unit such as Scarabs or Wraiths, or go for a WWS C'Tan as these combo with the tremor staves very well.

I really think the Solar Pulses are 100% necessary to defend against extremely shooty armies, but I cannot think of any reasonable way to include them with 2x 20 man units and those heinously expensive Overlords. The C'tan shard is not overly difficult to kill with Missiles, even with the Stealth upgrade and with only 2x Tramorstaves I have to wonder if it's a reasonable investment. The Wraiths on the other hand might be an excellent inclusion due to their mobility and their ability to tie up units for a long period of time, but without a Destroyer Lord to attach to them they don't really do any actual damage. S6 is nice, and Rending is decent, but resilient units like Terminators will just wait them out and other units throw enough attacks that the T4 becomes a liability. Obviously the Scarabs are a strong choice, but with 2x units of Destroyers I would need to have Spyders to make them strong enough to survive.

Maybe I'm over thinking all of this, but I just keep coming back to those Overlords and looking at the 3++ invulnerable save and wondering how in God's name can I justify keeping it? It's 45 points for a 3++ save where Space Marines get one for 30, and Space Wolves get one for the same price on Thunderwolf Lords. The Mindshackle Scarabs are obviously an auto-include for the price, and the Warscythe helps a ton against MEQ's. Phaeron is necessary to make the units viable at range and the Res Orb is necessary to keep the unit alive. But that Phase Shifter is overpriced and I cannot reasonably see keeping it in the list.

So let me ask you this. Are 2x blocks of Warriors necessary or do you think a single block would suffice if I had other units actually inside the Ghost Arks? If they are necessary, how much of a problem would it be if only one had an Overlord in it and the other just had a Lord with a Res Orb? If you were to include a melee unit OTHER than Flayed Ones what would you pick and how would you equip them? How would you design the list if you were required to fit 2x Overlords, 2x Solar Pulses and 2x Seismic Crucibles?