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So, my wife is very much enjoying her Ork and C:SM armies, and I am having fun with my new 'Nids, but as we are getting deeper and deeper into the hobby, and are having more and more fun, I was hoping to add Necrons to our collection (They have LONG been a fluff favorite of mine).

Thing is, we're only a year in the game/hobby of 40k, and aren't intimately familiar with the meta outside our small, local player-base.

Can someone tell me a bit about the best, or most fun units in each slot of the FOC? Any units with particularly interesting synergy, etc?

I know some Necron lists can also be competitive. We've never been those kinds of player, but I figure if we own four decently sized armies, as a family, it would be nice to own at least one that might also do well in tournaments. :-p

I'm currently working out a huge trade for much of my X-wing and Warmachine collection for a large 'Cron army, but thought knowing what was good and fun might help me make wiser choices.

Thanks!

I'm no expert on Necrons, but as long as the army you're trying to trade for isn't packed full of Flayed Ones you'll probably be fine. They don't have many "bad" units, and you can be pretty flexible making a list and still have a competitive game.

Well, Necrons are fun to play. They have an answer to everything you throw at them.

I'd opt for Wraiths being one of the best cc units out there, Night Scythes being on of the best flyers out there, Immortals and Warriors, which are tough troops, and Annihilation Barges which are realy a bargain for what they can achieve. Each unit makes sense and can be included in a semi-competitive list bar Flayed Ones.

What is fun is highly subjective, so I can't be of much help there I'm afraid, but as to what is good:

-Nightscythe: Probably the most absurdly good/broken Flyer in 40k. It's a cheap, Dedicated Transport packing one hell of a punch and that can drop troops off without any of the habitual disadvantages associated with doing so.
-Annihilation Barges: Cheap, durable firesupport. Almost all Necron lists should start with 3 of these.
-Cryptek with Harbinger of the Storm upgrade: this is your anti-heavy vehicle unit. Attach these to a squad of Warriors, mount them up in a Nightscythe, and blow stuff up!
-Cryptek with Harbinger of Destruction upgrade and Solar Pulse: very useful to force Night Fight on opponents to spare yourself some damage Turn 1.
-Warriors: cheap, multipurpose troops. Get small squads to unlock multiple Night Scythes.
-Wraiths: reasonably cheap and durable assault unit. Get at least one set of Whip Coils.

Well this would be the majority of what I would be getting... It would be for a similar value of other stuff, so the deal is a fair one... I just want to make sure everything in here seems usable, and a good foundation to build from...

HQ:
1x Imotekh, the stormlord (Finecast, u/c)
1x The Traveler
2x Overlords (From the Anihilation Barge box, one undercoated black)
2x Crypteks (Finecast, 2x painted, 1x u/c)

Elites:
5x Lychguard w/warscythes (u/c)
5x Deathmarks (u/c)

Troops:
10x Immortals (5x painted, 5x u/c)
40x -50x Warriors (Prefer u/c only)

Heavy Support:
2x Anihilation Barges (1x u/c, 1 magnetised (Catacomb Command Barge) but not yet u/c)
1x Doom Scythe (Assembled, not u/c)
1x Doomsday Ark (u/c)
1x Monolith

Dedicated Transports:
1x Ghost Arc (u/c but onboard crons are basecoated "lead belcher")
1x Night Scythe

The Aegis line

Annihilation barges are, in my opinion, the best thing in the codex. They are under 100pt for a serious volley of S7 firepower.

Necrons are still a good book. They have a lot of solid options.

Overlord (with or without catacomb command barge)
Nightscythe
Ghost ark
Warriors
Immortals
Wraiths
annihilation barges
death marks
scarabs
Crypteks can be used to spice up a unit. They all have pretty unique abilities.

Necrons also have some fun units
Triarch stalkers can twin link against a specific target
Monoliths can spit stuff out and suck stuff up.
Scarabs can make spyders, and are MCs
Tomb blades are expensive, but can be a fun necron biker
Lychguard all have some interesting wargear and upgrades too.

Pretty much, the only thing you don't take as a necron player is flayed ones. Aside from that you should be A-OK.

Looks like you may well have a nice core to a foot-cron list there. While not necessarily the most competitive, if a huge tide of silver warriors implacably marching across the board is your thing, you've just hit the jackpot.

Start with a core of 10 immortals (to bodyguard the Overlord) and add in 2-3 15-man squads of warriors, preferably with res-lords in each. This gives you a relatively cheap and very dependable core to build from. From there, you can throw in a Ghost Ark or two to make them even tougher, some Anni Barges for some fast heavy firepower (run a pair of them in tandem, it can be very hard to deal with) or even a Monolith for a real anchor to the line.

After that, you might want to throw in Zandrehk (plenty of recipients for his USRs) or a Triarch Stalker (for TLing the huge amount of shots).

Everything on your list seems good and usable.

I tend to run up against a wall of Armor 13 when I see Necrons across the table. That certainly isn't a "fun" game for me!

If you want to keep it light and fun, try Scarabs and Wraiths. Extra movement is always good for the unexpected range they have.

No one ever plays C'tan but I'd recommend you get one for friendly games and a touch of fluff. Since they aren't used much I'd bet you could find one pretty cheap. And you can always play around with their powers without having to remodel them.

So here is an updated list of everything i'll be getting in the trade.

I also have about $200 in the old hobby coffers if there are any real gaps in the collection, which its sounding like might be the case if I need Wraiths.

Any other recommendations for solid purchases to build off of the below list?

HQ:
1x Imotekh, the stormlord (Finecast, u/c)
2x Overlords (From the Anihilation Barge box, one undercoated black)
2x Crypteks (Finecast, 2x painted, 1x u/c)
1x Anrakyr, the traveller (Finecast, u/c)

Elites:
5x Lychguard w/hyperphase swords and dispersion shields (painted)
5x Lychguard w/warscythes (u/c)
5x Deathmarks (u/c)

Troops:
10x Immortals (5x painted, 5x u/c)
50x Warriors (Prefer u/c only)

Fast Attack:
12x Canoptek Scarab bases (10x painted, 2x u/c)
2x Tomb Blades (mostly painted)

Heavy Support:
2x Anihilation Barges (1x u/c, 1 magnetised (Catacomb Command Barge) but not yet u/c)
1x Doom Scythe (Assembled, not u/c)
1x Doomsday Ark (u/c)
1x Monoliths

Dedicated Transports:
1x Ghost Arc (u/c but onboard crons are basecoated "lead belcher")
1x Night Scythe

The Aegis line

Wraiths are good but not essential, they work best with a Destroyer Lord which you're not getting, so I wouldn't rush out and buy them unless you plan on running a D-lord

It's a little controversial, but I like to run Triarch Stalkers in lists with lots of warriors/immortals for TL goodness. Some don't like it but it would be a neat model to add if you're looking for something new to add.

A C'tan can also be fun and would make a nice centrepiece.

In my local Meta, I face primarily SM variants so understand my thoughts typically revolve around tabling them.....



HQ:
I see Named HQs as being more helpful at higher point values and as I play around 1K games, I don't field them.
2x Overlords (From the Anihilation Barge box, one undercoated black)
Having a OL or Lord in with your warriors can help by tanking 2+ armour save so 2 is a good number.

If you have extra point, you might consider a Destroyer Lord as a secondary.
He doesn't get a court so that is a problem so you won't bring him for that.
However, placing him in with a large troop changes the to-hit from 3+ to (3+ and reroll 1s which is around a 88% to hit) and then reroll 1s on wound effectively increasing the strength of your guns by +1.
Not a silver bullet due to the cost (100pts) and definitely needs to be added to a large group to make it worth it.
It definitely gives that group more punch.


2x Crypteks (Finecast, 2x painted, 1x u/c)
Get as many of these as you can, they are very versatile.
Every game I have played so far has used one or more.
The StormTEK is very useful and cheap as is with no upgrades.
lightning fields can be useful but if you are getting into assault you are getting desperate.
I typically take 1 per troop (I usually take 2 troops min)
They are brutal on vehicles and give you some AV14 capability that is dependable (i.e. not gauss)
Actually, as they have 4 shots each they can be tough on SMEs

The DespairTEK is useful but I have not found it great as its primary weapon is fairly weak against SMEs.
Mostly this allows you to take points late game by moving around.

The DestrucTEK is not particularly helpful as it is only one shot per turn.
Too expensive for anti-infantry and too temperamental for anti-vehicle.
If you bring one, bring two or a Stalker.

The others can typically be left at home.


Elites:
5x Lychguard w/hyperphase swords and dispersion shields (painted)
Why? Nice to play maybe but we are are shooting army. We have better shooting options.

5x Lychguard w/warscythes (u/c)
Why? Nice to play maybe but we are are shooting army. We have better shooting options.

5x Deathmarks (u/c)
I have these and have found these to be unhelpful for what they do.
I agree that they can hurt a particular unit and possibly kill a small one.
However, they don't survive enough to make a big difference unless you find a HQ running around naked.

TRIARCH STALKER
We shoot and the stalker brings incredible synergy with that.
I have typically chosen to upgrade to the Heavy Gauss Cannon.
With 36" range, you can locate him centrally and still work both ends of the board.
Also, the high str and 36" gives you some nice alpha strike.

CTAN
Difficult to make work.
I have one but look closely at your powers. Meh.




Troops:
10x Immortals (5x painted, 5x u/c)
EXCELLENT, I definitely prefer Immortals.
Very useful and durable.

50x Warriors (Prefer u/c only)
My primary reason for using warriors is to get a Ghost Ark as part of a 'Deathstar' unit.
5x warriors, 1NL, 2x StormTEK, 2xCrypTEK running around in a AV13 shield.
At 24" you only get 10x Str 4 Gauss shots but at 12" you get 20x Str 4 Gauss, 8 Haywire Str 5, and 9 Str 5 AP3 shots.
That will take care of just about any single unit in a single turn that I have run into (Landraider, Monolith, MC, SME 10x) unless its big.
It produces 6 unsaved wounds on SMEs per turn.

Match this with the STALKER to raise the average effectiveness by 20% but significantly improve the minimum effectiveness of the unit.


Otherwise, you need lots in a big blob just to keep them on the table.
I recommend tanking with a 2+ lord and with more than 15 bring an orb.


Fast Attack:
12x Canoptek Scarab bases (10x painted, 2x u/c)
Very useful.
I wouldn't go overboard with them unless you expect a big vehicle army.
They tarpit troops but die very quickly to CC. Not terribly effective for that but good in a pinch.
Don't harm SMEs in CC to any degree.

WRAITHS ........as in you need......
Excellent CC.
A 3x unit is good to hang around your valuable vehicles to entangle deep striking SMEs in your backfield.
A 6x unit can easily eat a 5x TME squad.
Go whipcoils as many as you can get with the points you have.
Without whipcoils their effectiveness takes a big hit.
With or without a destroyer lord, they are good.
A DLord will definitely make them better but for that price you could take another 2 wraiths with whipcoils.
I think I would take more wraiths.

2x Tomb Blades (mostly painted)
I recommend you reconsider these units.
2x is just not enough to be practical on the table.
3x is very marginal unless you upgrade with particle weapon.
Then its is only a worry and not a deciding factor.
From my use, 4x starts to become an issue that the other player NEEDs to deal with.
But at the price for 4x units, you can find better alternatives.
Good for large games where you have points to spare and capturing late game objectives or emergency assaults to buy a turn for something else to get away.


Heavy Support:
2x Anihilation Barges (1x u/c, 1 magnetised (Catacomb Command Barge) but not yet u/c)
These have been in every game I have played.
Very good units. Murder on low AV vehicles and very good non-skyfire on fliers.
Very effective on troops. Arc can not be depended upon but Tesla definitely can.
If you can bring 3x then do so.

1x Doom Scythe (Assembled, not u/c)
Can be very good but of limited use due to coming in on reserves.

1x Doomsday Ark (u/c)
The lack of movement really hurts its effectiveness unless you have an open field.
Can be devastating especially to squishy things like orks.

1x Monoliths
Definitely useful but as fire support and anti-flier.
Also a strategic move for better firing position of other troops.
I guess I try to avoid the whole assault thing with Int 2.


Dedicated Transports:
1x Ghost Arc (u/c but onboard crons are basecoated "lead belcher")
Great, good choice

1x Night Scythe
Great - a flying limited usefulness AB.
Still good. My primary problem with them is not coming in due to failed reserves.
If you miss Turn 2, it has lost a lot of usefulness.
Games are won in turns 1-3 and 50% of the time its not there until turn 3.
Does provide effective anti-air.

The Aegis line


Just some thoughts.........

Thanks for the thoughts Gunther. I'll have to digest that as it is a lot to take it.

I know not everything in that collection is great, or great in those numbers, but as I am literally going from owning 0pts of 'Crons to suddenly having this collection, I am a little overwhelmed and just want a sense of which ways to go, and what else to get going forward.

Our local meta tends to build toward 1850pts. We have a bunch of SM players (some Space Wolves as well). There is a(nother) 'Nid player (as this is also what i've been playing last month+, exclusively. My wife plays Orks. There are also a Daemons and CSM player who shows up less frequently.

Just wanted to add that Lychguard really aren't all that great, so I wouldn't spend much time on them. As a non-fearless melee unit with an initiative of 2, they are a few unlucky die rolls away from being swept in any combat they find themselves in. Add in the general issue of being a slower melee unit in the shooty edition of 40k, and it's an easy call to just leave them on the shelf.

I understand and that collection will be a fine starting point.
You are playing a broader meta game than I am so there will be different elements that fit your meta better.

We shoot....lots. If you are shooting lots in your games its playing to your advantage.
On average, we are tougher and have higher strength weapons. If it comes to a shooting war of attrition, its playing to your advantage.
We can rapidly move to seize strategic advantage. If you are moving and shooting most of the game or jumping people across the board, its playing to your advantage.
We have incredible fast attack units which your opponents will soon learn to fear (the scarab and the wraith). If those units are making it into assault, its playing to your advantage.
You can easily field a AV13 wall. Our local SMs weren't prepared to deal with AV13 w/Jink across the board. If you field AV13, its working to your advantage.

Synergies:

2+ armour save NL with warriors/immortals positioned to take all incoming fire
Deploy Stalker with lots of troops - TL Heavy Gauss Cannon works particularly well
CrypTEKs in troops to boost shot count - 25 pt crypTEK adds 3 AP3 shots
CrypTEKs w/ warriors in Ghost ARK - Everything gets better at 12"
Deploy Wraiths to shield scarabs when making a run on a transport. Pop transport with scarabs and assault troops wraiths.
Tomb Blades can play along mid field making shots to opponents edge of board (need tesla or particle) but provide response to opponent deepstrike to backfield
DespairTEK with Deathmarks - if the deepstrike goes your way, you get a template which wounds on 2+ no matter what.

I can't say about fun or synergy, but you get a million extra bonus points if you show up with one (or three) of these:



A local necron player says they're rubbish, and they probably are for all I know, but... damn.

Their main gun doubles as a flamer, right? What's more fun than flame-throwering stuff with a giant robo-spider?

GW wasted a good opportunity by not making their escalation superheavy a bigger version of one of these.

I feel the need to address some of the things Gunther said (or didn't say, really) about our most notorious combos:

• Wraiths.
You do NOT need to stick Whip Coils on all of them. Normally half is fine (so 3 in a unit of 5 or 6). And you most DEFINITELY want to attach a Destroyer Lord to them. His 2+ save will come in handy, and for anything AP2 or better, the Wraiths can LookOutSir for him. But most importantly, the thing that makes this combo so deadly is the fact that he confers Preferred Enemy to the Wraiths. Rerolled 1s can become 6s. Do you realize how much that helps with Rending?!

• Deathmarks.
I have a feeling he has yet to figure out how to use the premier deathstar killers of our codex. What you do is take 5 of them, attach a Harbinger of Despair, and stick them in a Nightscythe.
When they come in, have the NS pull up near the nastiest unit your opponent has and let them jump out close enough to be in flame template range. Mark said unit with Hunters from Hyperspace. Unload. Pretty good chance whatever it was isn't going to be able to stand up to an auto hit AP1 flamer that wounds on a 2+ (plus all the sniper fire as well).
*note: do NOT deep strike them onto the table! If you're trying to use the flame template, it will be too risky to try to get in close enough to use it and you'll more than likely end up mishapping them. Just play it safe by giving them a Nightscythe.
Also, don't worry about their durability. They're meant to be a kamikaze squad. They get in, kill a unit, mission accomplished. If they mange to inflict more damage in subsequent turns, cool. If not, no biggie, they already did their job.

• Crypteks.
Two in particular: Despair and Storm.
Storm because of the above mentioned anti-AV weapons they pack.
Despair because of his Veil of Darkness.
Take 1 Veil-tek and 2 Storm-teks. Keep all three of them together and seperate from the rest of your units as a Royal Court unit. Start them on the table. Turn one, teleport them next to your opponent's best vehicle. Unload. No more vehicle, AND now you have first blood.
*note: another kamikaze squad.

Some other things worth mentioning:
• Tomb Blades are pretty good. Cheap jetbikes with good guns. 5 of them with Scopes and Particle Beamers are pretty effective, but just sticking to 5 bare bones twin linked Tesla ones are excellent cheap harassers.
• Stalkers are good, but are bullet magnets. If you're going to use it, you'll either need two, or something more threatening to distract your opponent, or you're going to lose it fast.
• you might not have any now, but regular Destroyers are pure murder against Marines or anything else T4 with 3+ armor. A squad of 5 will wipe out a TAC squad every turn.
• don't give Warriors Resurrection Orbs unless there's more than 15 of them together, otherwise it's not cost effective enough to warrant its inclusion. Immortals normally never need a ResOrb unless they have a lot of HQ in their unit.

And last and most importantly, if you want fun,
I suggest you try looking up a little something we like to call the Royal Court Disco Inferno (or RCDI, for short).
Trust me, it's freakin awesome.

Thanks again everyone. This has been fun, and enlightening. Getting 3000+ pts of 'Cron dropped in my lap has been wonderful, but intimidating. I've got the Codex in front of me, but reading can only tell you so much, y'know?

So the trader has also now thrown in 3 Destoryers, and 3 Heavy Destroyers, as he ended up not able to find one of the Overlord models, and some of the Warriors (I'll still have 40 Warriors, mind you).

Incidentally, is it possible to wysiwyg Crypteks? I just realized I am unsure of how to represent the different kinds on the table.

Oh, and also... he included a cool Chapter-House Aegis line, which looks shockingly awesome. I assume taking it with Comms is a typical move in light of all of those Flyers?

You definitely do not need a D-lord with wraiths especially if family fun is your main objective. I have 6 wraiths and having 0 D-lords I've never seen my wraiths waisted or made useless in friendly games.

I honestly have the most fun with my scarabs and my wraiths, and you really don't need much to make them effective and fun. Adding a D-lord whiffs of a little cheese to me and really if family fun is the focus you want to avoid that.

Well, 75% of my games are against friends and family, and are more about enjoying the game and the stories that emerge through just playing...

... but, of the four 2000-ish point collections in my home between the wife and I, this is literally the only "competitive" faction we'll own, and it might be nice to make some selective/smart purchases should the chance to finally brave some local tournaments emerge.

No such thing as a wysiwyg cryptek as there is only 1 official model and 5 types so which 1 is that supposed to represent? Either convert or proxy for crypteks.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also heavy destroyers are utter garbage.

You might have to counts-as two of those Heavy Destroyers as normal ones for the time being, if you ever want to use them. Take the arm off the third one and replace it with a Warscythe to give yourself a Destroyer Lord.
(note: the D.Lord + Wraiths combo might be powerful, but is hardly cheese. It's just basic sense. "These guys are good. This HQ is good. Combine them and you've got a double plus good unit... Big Brother would be proud.")

But yeah, the majority of players who use Crypteks tend to convert their own, as the one model GW makes is boring.

Annihilation barges and night scythes are pretty competitive given their points.

I mean, for 90 points you're gaining an AV13 tesla destructor and tesla cannon. Which is one of the best anti-air platforms out there and I find myself glancing a few vehicles to death with them too.

Night scythes for similar reasons.

They're very effective at supporting my alpha strike list in the form of anti-air and quickly killing infantry.

Alpha strike list is basically just capitalising on heavy gauss cannons from heavy destroyers, eldritch lances from Harbingers of the Storm and triarch stalkers.

Necron "assault las cannons" are just win.

U've got a happy family if u'r wife likes playin' orkses!

sonicaucie wrote:
Necron "assault las cannons" are just OVERPRICED.

Fixed that for you.
(god, I wish Heavy Destroyers were good. I mean, for that price, I'd expect them to have multi wounds or 2+ armor or something. For Deceivers sake, they're called HEAVY Destroyers, make them truly heavy already! There's no excuse for a 60 point model to be that vulnerable. You'd think they'd be our Oblit equivalent or something, but no).
/rant

 skoffs wrote:

sonicaucie wrote:
Necron "assault las cannons" are just OVERPRICED.

Fixed that for you.
(god, I wish Heavy Destroyers were good. I mean, for that price, I'd expect them to have multi wounds or 2+ armor or something. For Deceivers sake, they're called HEAVY Destroyers, make them truly heavy already! There's no excuse for a 60 point model to be that vulnerable. You'd think they'd be our Oblit equivalent or something, but no).
/rant

Maybe it doesn't fit their 'Heavy' name or slot, but compared to the oblit they are trading the durability for maneuverability. Its more like a mini DE ravager than an oblit in that way.

So are the Heavy slots of FOC outright owned by Annihilation Barges, or do the other options have their place/value?

I won't lie... reading the Codex, the Monolith just sounds so fun to use.

NewTruthNeomaxim wrote:
So are the Heavy slots of FOC outright owned by Annihilation Barges, or do the other options have their place/value?

I won't lie... reading the Codex, the Monolith just sounds so fun to use.

Well, its just Annihilation Barges, cheap and effective. Maybe a Doom Scythe if you run into a parking lot.

The Heavy slot ranking generally tends to be:
1- Annihilation Barges
2- Spyders
3- Doomscythes
4- Monoliths
5- Doomsday Arks

 skoffs wrote:
The Heavy slot ranking generally tends to be:
1- Annihilation Barges
2- Spyders
3- Doomscythes
4- Monoliths
5- Doomsday Arks

Is there a point at which the options become Gak though?

All of the models are fun to play (except for flayed ones and IMO Triarch Stalkers)

The most annoying list for my opponents is the below:
2 x HQ's (Obyron + an Overlord)
2 x VeilTech's (Crypteks with Veil of Darkness)
3 x Big unit's of warriors
2+ Flyers with minimum troops

Every one of your units can literally be anywhere at any time.