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I just don't get it.

It has pretty bad AV for a super-heavy.

What is the point of powered down bar being safe in turn 1?

Gravity Pulse is more useful than any standard Skyfire gun because...?

As it appears to me, it is a giant low armor Tesla spam vehicle...but how does it justify its points cost? It just seems incredibly expensive and very lackluster. Sure, 4+ Jink, but you cannot even shoot with all Tesla Sphere on one target.

Anyone got any experience with it and might tell me why it's not that bad?#

...actually, I would rather take 4 AB.

The only reason you'd take it is because you made the Transcendent C'Tan model and you have a spare Vault lying around to make an Obelisk. The Tesla Spheres are pretty sub-par: compared to a TL-Destructor, you lose Twin-Linked just to gain an extra shot.

Frankly, it's awful. Spend some more points at upgrade to a Tesseract Vault at least, or even better, a Transcendent C'Tan.

1. The armor is actually about par with all the other super-heavy skimmers (I don't know of any that go above 12) and 6 HPs isn't too bad (same quantity as an Imperial Knight for about 40 points less).

2. The powered down mode appears to be intended to allow it to start on the table and on standby until aircraft arrive. Probably not too helpful, but it does give it a bit of protection against a first-turn alpha strike at least...

3. The Gravity Pulse is actually rather nice. First, it triggers on both your shooting phase AND on the opponent's, basically giving it pseudo-interceptor and the extremely rare ability to take out stuff on the opponent's turn before it has a chance to shoot you (the effect triggers at the start of the shooting phase). Secondly, it automatically inflicts a S8 hit on ALL enemy flyers and skimmers within its range, making it a giant area denial tool.

Thanks for the input so far!

@Valkyrie: Urgh, thanks for pointing out that they do not even have Twin-Linked - which makes them worse than regular Tesla Destroyers.

@Strat_N8: The point about the denial zone is good. Would you place it in the middle of your army to maximize the denial zone? How would you protect it, given that AV 12 isn't very durable?

For super-heavy skimmers...well, there's the Tesseract Vault that has AV 14 all-around and 9 HP and a better BS

I really struggle to find a use for it though (the Obelisk). AA isn't something Necrons lack and other than that, it is very lacking. Actually, I would like to see its weaponry on a regular monolith

I started thinking about it since I am in the position of having the C'Tan mounted on its little base and basically have a sphere left over (which makes me feel like i just spent $160 for a single character mini). That is until I saw it affects both enemy and friendly skimmers. WTF?! I mean that's all we have are skimmers and flyers and now we're going to hose ourselves by spending 300+ points on a sphere?! Yeah, no thanks there GW...

 Sigvatr wrote:

@Strat_N8: The point about the denial zone is good. Would you place it in the middle of your army to maximize the denial zone? How would you protect it, given that AV 12 isn't very durable?

More or less. I'd probably have it stay in its dormant state with some Spyders around to conduct repairs until enemy aircraft show up or skimmers get within range (36'' from its current point, since it can move 12''). If the enemy is pouring all of their S6+ shooting into the Obelisk, they aren't going after advancing Wraiths or similar threats. Also, there really isn't any reason for the Obelisk to forgo jinking. As said, the Telsa pods are more or less a defensive weapon and aren't a huge loss, while the Gravity Pulse just flat out inflicts a hit on viable targets.

Edit: Corrected.

 Sigvatr wrote:

For super-heavy skimmers...well, there's the Tesseract Vault that has AV 14 all-around and 9 HP and a better BS

Forgot about the vault... Still, the Tesseract Vault is at least 155 points more expensive than the Obelisk with the two cheapest powers available to it, and easily double the cost with some of the more costly options.

 Sigvatr wrote:

I really struggle to find a use for it though (the Obelisk). AA isn't something Necrons lack and other than that, it is very lacking.

I'd probably either bring it with a highly aggressive army making heavy use of Wraiths (since they draw the same sort of fire as the Obelisk) or alternatively maybe a gun-line with Doomsday Arks, Spyders, Pylons, and Triarch Stalkers that would benefit from the large no-go bubble. Also keep in mind that it also works against enemy skimmers, not just planes. Against Eldar, other Necrons, and especially Dark Eldar it is basically two free S8 hits on all enemy vehicles within range, every turn that it lives (like a reverse Doom of Malanti).

 necron99 wrote:
I started thinking about it since I am in the position of having the C'Tan mounted on its little base and basically have a sphere left over (which makes me feel like i just spent $160 for a single character mini). That is until I saw it affects both enemy and friendly skimmers. WTF?! I mean that's all we have are skimmers and flyers and now we're going to hose ourselves by spending 300+ points on a sphere?! Yeah, no thanks there GW...

You might want to read the rules for the gravity pulse again. It specifically says it only effects enemy flyers and skimmers. It triggers on both friendly and enemy shooting phases though, perhaps that is where the confusion lies?

Just one thing to point out: it does not have Jink as a super heavy.