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Overlord w/ Resurrection orb and Sempiternal Weave
x3 Cryptek w/ Harbinger of Destruction
x20 Necron Warriors
x5 Immortals
Doomsday Ark
Doom Scythe

This comes out to 995 points

I do not recommend a doom scythe. You can drop the scythe and get 2 annihilation barges. That gives you an even 1000. Drop the immortals for more warriors. 1000 point battles are all about numbers. Good list overall

I didn't really look at the annihilation barge and just decided on the Scythe... terrible mistake on my part! I chose it for the tesla destructors, and I'm totally fine with a unit that's cheaper with those plus a tesla cannon.

About the immortals, are they really not worth it compared to warriors?

Immortals are good, but I would run them in units of ten. They have better guns and better armor, but thats it. Your basic warrior is just as dangerous to a vehicle.

Your only issues will be in CC, particularly if your opponent brings TEQs.
Yeah, a few Destr-teks might be able to pop a few off, but once they hit your main lines, it'll be game over.

On mono-HQ lists, I prefer the Phase Shifter over the Semp Weave. Not that there will be much that can handle a 2+ save on a 1k list that you won't have already shot to bitz, but since you only have the one, the extra security of a 3+/3i can sometimes win out against a 2+/-. If/When you start running Wraiths, you'll see. It's a preference, and as you play games, you'll figure it out. As you get more units and expand up, you will use the Semp Weave. Also, seem to be missing a Warscythe. It's one of the best CCW in game, and for cheap pts. usually outweighs any shooting you might get.

I'd bulk out the Immortal Squads to 10. Even get a 2nd unit of 10 for 1k. You're probably going to end up getting them eventually. Immortals are good at being able to operate without a character. Warriors with their change to a 4+ sv, almost need an Orb/Ark to babysit them. So in an objective based game, you have more units that can chase down objectives, and aren't dependent on being near the rest of the army should you need to send them somewhere else. One unit of 5, is going to go down real fast and they won't stand back up.

Not a huge fan of the Doomsday Ark. You have to move to get the Jink save, and if you move, you lose the Larger Profile. Of course this is entirely dependent on who you are playing, or if Night Fight is in effect. If you've built it already, then run it. If not, a Ghost Ark to support those Warriors since you're giving your opponent only 4 units to shoot at the start of the game makes it easier for him to focus fire. Having the Ghost Ark, really frustrates any opponent as you reduce the effectiveness of his shooting.

The Doomscythe as has already been said, is fairly expensive. Drop 1 Warrior and you can squeeze in 2 Annihilation Barges. If you feel you'd rather have a flyer, then reduce the number of Warriors to 14 and take a NightScythe. (Should only do this if you're still planning on taking the Doomsday Ark), or take a Nightscythe for the Immortals. (Which I'd only recommened if you're taking 2 units of Immortals.)

For the Crypteks, nothing wrong, but I feel you'd better benefit again from the 2 Immortal units, then you can spread them across each unit. As you have them right now, you either have a unit of 3, or one in each unit with one on his own. If you have that 3rd one on his own, he'll probably give up First Blood, which a free VP to your opponent in every scenario. If you are running them in a squad of 3, then you are really only taking out 1 vehicle, or just possibly killing 3 from the same unit you target. Also the unit if fairly weak, and will probably get shot, all fall down, then MIGHT stand up. Recommend Dropping to 2 of em, or taking 3 different units they can join.

Based on these here are some lists you might want to try. I attempted to keep them both in line with what you originally posted.

List A
Overlord - WScythe, Orb, Phase *Attach to Warriors
2 Crypteks/Destruction *Attach 1 to Warriors, and 1 to Immortals
20 Warriors
*Ghost Ark
10 Immortals (Gauss)
Annihilation Barge
Annihilation Barge

This list gives you 30 pts to play around with. Take some goodies for your Overlord, or drop back down to the Semp Weave, and take the Scarabs that are in Battleforce. (4 Bases, 5 if you drop Warriors down to 18).

List B
Overlord - WScythe, Orb, Weave *Attach to Warriors
2 Crypteks/Destruction *Attach to Immortals
13 Warriors
*NightScythe
10 Immortals (Gauss)
10 Immortals (Gauss)
Doomsday Ark

Not as heavy on the Warriors that come in the Battleforce, but you can't have more than 15 for the Nightscythe. 13 will give room for your Overlord, and a Cryptek if you want.

List b.
it has a big gun and Gauss power immortals.

The "big gun" is a massive liability in low point games.
Besides, it'll be the only vehicle on the table. That spells bullet magnet. (if you're going to take Doomsday Arks, it's best to take two... something you can't really do at anything less than 1750).

For the Immortals (who would be best served as Tesla bearers), yes to attaching Destr-teks with them, but if you really want to make the unit shine, give him Gaze of Flame.
That makes the prime objective takers/holders (especially considering the FAQ update to killzones)

Thanks for the feedback everybody, I think I'll try out Akar's list A, I really like the idea of a Ghost Ark and lots of warriors.

Any particular reason for the warscythe? I'm pretty clueless on actual necron tactics, does this mean I should be moving my warriors + lord into assault range?

The Warscythe is cheaper than what Marines have to pay for a Power Weapon, and you get more out of it.

It's AP2, so even Terminators will fall to it. You get it at initiative, so it'll usually swing before most other AP2 CCW's in game. (Sidenote: This is also why Sempiternal Weaves are pretty good vs. Power Weapons and are found on pretty much every Necron HQ now.) It adds 2 to the Str of the user, so IIRC, this means S7 attacks on all models that have the option of taking it. It's also 2D6 vs. Armor, which coupled with the AP2, means that getting assaulted by Dreadnoughts or any other non-character baddies means the unit is not entirely useless against em. When you compare this the loss of the 3 AP3 Shots at the same BS as a line trooper, you're really not giving up much.

In simple terms, always take a Warscythe if you can afford it! You'll usually regret not having it when the time comes vs. wondering why you took it. There are times you won't want to take them, but from a learning point of view, it's probably best to learn how they work then decide if you don't want them when compared to trying to figure out why your 3 AP shots with a Staff of Light is only killing 1 dude before they get assaulted.

Build a 'Necronator' unit to get a Necron Equivalent of Terminators. It's 5 Necron Lords in a Court, with Warscythes and Sempiternal Weaves, and throw them against a unit of Terminators. You'll see that the Initiative 2 swinging before Powerfists will usually win out. At T5, the unit is immune to Instant Death, not that it matters on 1 wound models. Re-animation protocols vs anything I1 is better than an Invul save. Even if you fail your 2+ save against most Power Weapons, you still get to always stand back up, even if the unit is wiped out thanks to 'Ever-living', give one an orb, and zing, you're REALLY frustrating your opponent. Don't get me wrong we PAY for all of these bonuses when compared to Terminators, and I don't recommend using them as a stand unit in a Necron Army, but it is an option.

Tactics wise, it's entirely up to you. You shouldn't be moving up into assault range with your Lord and Warriors, not without the Phaeron upgrade anyways. I just find it nice to have the option to do something if all else fails, and most Necron players like the ability to pretty much kill anything they might get into a challenge with. I tend to be very aggressive with my Warriors Phaeron or not. That is something you'll have to decide if you like or not as you learn to play your Necron army.

Edit: While I am grateful that you are going to try one of the lists that I recommended, please remember that you are learning to play YOUR Necron army.

I know :p But with my limited knowledge it seems like a fun army to play and a good place to start. I haven't looked totally in depth at the codex when I posted the OP, and your changes seem to really go in line with what I was kind of going for

Thanks for the help

While the "Necronator" unit (or "Royal Court Disco Inferno" to those already familiar with it) is incredibly powerful (a fully decked out RCDI deathstar can steamroll its way through most anything), as was stated above, it costs a fortune.

If you're just starting out, I would caution against pouring massive amounts of points into things that appear OP (RCDI, Lychguard, C'tan, etc.)

I think you've got the right approach tybg and the correct attitude.

1) You've chosen your army
2) You have an idea of how you want to play the army
3) You're planning on starting from a small list and working your way up

This allows you to become familiar with a core force of your army, and gain the knowledge through experience, then as you expand your army, you'll be able to fill in the strengths and weaknesses according to how you want to play. This really makes the Necron force you've chosen become YOUR army.

Far too many new players look at the 'Vets' and see these big massive armies, then look for lists, or just buy a bunch of stuff to get that many points with no clue as to WHY they are buying things or how to use them. I rarely build armies now following this pattern anymore, and a direct result of that is I don't love these other armies as much as my Necrons. Not because they aren't good, but because I didn't have to go through the process of refining or learning how to just play the game with the newer armies.

I have a friend who after years finally decided to get into 40k, got an experienced player build his list for him. He built the army, got it painted, played roughly 10 games winning most of them, then quit. It wasn't any fun for him because he didn't have to go through the process of growin with his army. He never learned which units would just kill him and how to avoid or deal with them, and he never understood why he just walked over other players. I don't blame him for not wanting to play anymore, but it's still a sad tale.

----
So as far as advice goes, Im actually happy to provide any experience I can to help you build your army, and use the units you want compared to other players who will tell you that some units are stupid, or you should never ever do something.

I agree with Skoffs, and making the Necron Lord Terminator equivalent isn't a recommendation for your army. It's just for you to get a feel for how Warscythes work, since you didn't understand why you should take them. We can sit here all day and tell you why you should take them, but you need to understand for yourself. You might like the unit and decide to keep it, you might never play it after a few games, I just mentioned it as a great unit to try out and learn how Warscythes work.

Good luck, and I'll be checkin in on ya from time to time.

This weekend I purchased the Necron battle force, a command barge and a Doom/Night Scythe.

I only have a couple of games experience so far but have found the command barge with an overlord very effective. In one game I killed a couple of terminators and a land raider using the lords warscythe.
The night scythe carried 10 Immortals (5 proxies) armed with Tesla weapons. The Immortals over two turns managed to take out a scout and tactical squad whilst the night scythe took out a razorback.


As you have the flyer already I would experiment with it and see how you get on. I would also highly recommend the command barge!