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Here we see what happens when an unfocused Necron list comes up against a tuned tournament list. In fairness to Dan, this was his first time playing Crons, so that was a huge factor. Also, I had a few lucky night fight roles early game that made a huge difference.

The thing to note there though, IMO, is that you really need to build a solid list with Crons or get pummeled. Like Dark Eldar, they are an army that are very easy to lose with, and very easy to build a bad list with. You must have synergy and a solid plan with Crons to make them work. If you do, they can hold their own, if not, they will get smashed pretty quickly.

Oh, and it is 1500pts, not 1850 as it says in the video.

http://www.frontlinegaming.org/2011/11/23/video-battle-report-doom-scythe-necrons-vs-space-wolves/

Go Dan! The best way to learn for a new player is a pummeling by a veteran player. j.k.

Don't worry. We all get better with experience. I do think the doom scythes have potential, but I don't think they are a balanced unit. They hit hard, but they just don't have the resiliency to last should the opponent, say, make a couple of cover saves.

Yeah, Dan wanted to play a tournament list, so I did as he asked. It was a bit of a rough game for him, but he kept his chin up and just looked for ways to rewrite his list and change his tactics. That is the best way to do it!

His next game will be much better for the experience.

Looks like he would have done better to set up in the opposite corner and let the wolves come to him. Also the scarabs were not used in their proper role, should have been assaulting armor instead of assaulting troops.

I think his best bet was putting the night scythes to the far right (cameras perspective) and boosting them first turn to your flank, basically keeping them outside of 36" or the max spotting distance from your LF units... Had he done this I think he could have cut across your flank wreaking havoc....

I agree, he should have tried to seize. He could have alpha struck me with his Doom Scythes and taken out my mobility.

Ok, question.

If we're playing tournament armies, why would Dan line his army up directly across from you? In a real game in a tournament environment, wouldn't Dan have taken the opposite corner, made your army drive to him, capitalizing on the night fight and the pluses of the units he took? Not saying I wanted a dull battle report, but playing to your armies strengths was a poor choice, not indicative of the army.

Now, please note, I am not bashing Dan. Reecius, had he set up in the other corner from you and made your army come to him, do you believe that his Crons would have faired better? The scythes getting more shots on your vehicles, the scarabs killing the rhinos? Also, scarabs as a screen isn't very good without the scarab farmers pumping them I don't think.

Great reporting though!

I think you are right. Had he deployed in the corner and just hoped Imotekh would have popped a few Rhinos with his storm ability, he could have won the mission (Kill Points) without even moving a model.

It would have been the smarter play for sure, as I had castled.

However, when I deployed I felt confident he would mirror my deployment, which he did.

It was his first game with the Crons, so we were both looking at it as a learning experience.

Dan will play a million times better the next go around, he was learning a lot this time.

Cool. I played the crap out of the old crons before 5th, so I have a soft spot for them.

Other than that, what do you think of the doom scythes so far? I have not really seen them employed effectively yet.

Also, how have the Immortal's tesla been working in the games you've played? I'm more leaning towards immortals as troops, rather than warriors with arks. Though I do think a monolith might be mandatory for immortals, just to move them about the table.

I've yet to see someone deploy Doom Scythes effectively, they're a heck of a glass canon. Ah well, you learn more from a defeat than a victory imo, so hopefully Dan'll kick some flesh thing ass next time. Seeing this makes me wanna go against a tournie based list, see how I'd fare.

I'm very 'on the fence' about the doom scythes. On paper, they are as nasty a weopon platform as they come. (that's from an armament standpoint)

They are absolutely horrid defencively. There is no way that someone should risk NOT shooting that weopon to flat out for a cover save unless you have no other options. Why? because...

They are slightly overcosted. I say slightly because they can pop Landraiders, Stormravens, Monoliths (hehe), and make their points back. In some instances they can pop 1+ per shot with a good 3d6 roll. Even a 10-man paladin unit could allow them to earn their points back with one deathbolt. We aren't even talking about the TL-Tesla Cannon either.

The good and the bad I see for them is that they are not effected by the restraints of Nightfighting. I say this because so many Necron lists are using it. Either with Stormlord or the Solar Pulse Crypteks.

The bad is that I don't see many people giving these boats a first turn shot. If they lose the roll to go first, I can see the necron's opponent deploying waaaay back to make the move/shoot 11st turn a risky move. If the necron counters by boosting for a cover save, then I think the enemy "wins" that round by not having that thing fire on them. It also allows them to pop smoke/obsure/get into cover on their turn so when you do have resonable range for the death ray on turn2, that they are now going to have a save against it.

I LIKE the fact that if you catch your opponent's mobility early, wreck/immobilize it and stay far enough away to maximize Nightfighting then there is a bit of synergy to sacrificing your heavy support somewhat. The problem is I don't find Necrons troops killy at all! Not one-so-ever...you'd put a huge burden on what little scarabs or wraiths you took to hold up in combat because that would be about the extent of your capabilities to win.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
The best way to sum that all up would be this...

Doom Scythes are 'Win big or get tabled"
Monoliths are the new paperweight.
Spyders make more of the #1 unit in your dex, as well as provide a counter assault'ish unit of Monsterous Creatures.

For the points and consistency, I can't recommend anything other than the Spyders. I have x2 good friends playing/testing necrons and I feel for them. (as I think they'll both end up playing the same list come tournament time as I don't see anything else being as reliable).

The new Codex is BOSS

How did the lead rhino get a cover save from the doomscythe? they are virtually facing eachother head on.


These guys have necrons pretty much nailed if Dan wants to improve his game:

http://hulksmash-homeplace.blogspot.com/search/label/Necron

Negator80 wrote:How did the lead rhino get a cover save from the doomscythe? they are virtually facing eachother head on.

Smoke launchers?

Also, not trying to seize the initiative was a radical misplay here, but I'm sure it's a learning experience.

Well, I think take the Stormlord gives you an even chance to seize the objective, but...

Do you A: set up for the seize and an alpha strike, to not seize the initiative, and possibly lose too much in his first turn?

or B: don't set up in range to effectively utilize seizing the initiative, and then in fact seize it, and now you can't really use it that turn?

Very much a razor blade to balance on. In this game, again, horrible setup, why walk any army right into the all those long fangs?

But I am with with Fetterkey, I'll probably play a lot betting on seizing the initiative myself, just have to figure out the fall back plan when I am hanging out there and don't seize.

Salacious Greed wrote:Do you A: set up for the seize and an alpha strike, to not seize the initiative, and possibly lose too much in his first turn?

Play to win, not to mitigate loss.

If you paid 225 points largely to gain Seize the Initiative, you damn well better use it.

Good battle rep.

Thanks for the feedback, guys!

Yeah, Dan should have seized, for sure, or at least attempted to. Those Doom scythes are too fragile, even with Night Fight, to not attempt to hit first. As seen, a lucky night fight rule means an expensive unit goes down in flames without getting a chance to fight back.

Dan is building a third doom scythe, which is the way to play them, IMO. That with the Stormlord means that in roughly 75% of your games, you can Alpha Strike with a fury.

We'll Bat Rep with it again and see how it goes the second time.

@Megator80
Smoke. If you look in the video, the Rhino has a smoke marker on it.

Fetterkey wrote:If you paid 225 points largely to gain Seize the Initiative, you damn well better use it.

I agree here. YOu have a slightly less than 75% chance to go first so it's best to set up to alpha strike and just pray your opponent rolls badly for Night Fight if you fail. If you're running Doom Scythes (which I believe are too expensive for 5th ed right now, like all of the fliers, which makes me believe 6th ed will give them a decent boost) you NEED Immotek and you NEED first turn or you will lose both of them before they do anything significant as seen by this report. Also, I think you need a backup plan, but with so many points tied up in 3 models this is hard to do. If you go first the potential reward is probably worth the risk though, so I do think it's a worthwhile gamble.

Agreed. You can hit so hard with this combo, particularly against a parking lot style army, that the risk is worth it. And with Night Fight, you have at least some defense against a counter-punch.

Once Dan gets the last Doom Scythe done, I will be very curious to see how the army plays.

What were the army lists...?

We go over them in the beginning of the Video.

Reece,

Not to derail the thread, but with the rumors for 6th Ed, if you can trade for a 4th Heavy slot, with your play testing so far, what is your feeling about 2 doom scythes and 6 spyders?

I think this is a balanced approach to the Heavy slots used with the Stormlord.

Reecius wrote:We go over them in the beginning of the Video.

Oops I always skip past the first 2 mins or so lol (all vid reps)

@Zid
Hah, no worries!

@Salacious Greed
If that is true, I would take 12 Spiders if possible. They are that critical to the list.

If not, I would actually go with an A.Barge as it compliments the list well.