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With Zahndreks adaptive tactics being able to make units reroll 1's to hit if he changes to the relevant WT (plus giving tank hunter to his unit if an enemy unit has it), or an attached Destroyer Lord granting PE, or the destroyer cult rerolling 1's to hit and rerolling all failed wounds and pens, BS5 granted to units drives up chance to hit from 7/9 to 35/36, which means there are 700% more shots that miss without bs5 (1 shot out of 36 compared to 8 shots out of 36). Mathmatically, it is basically upgrading units from BS4.5 to BS10. So the stalker has really good synergy with these units.

Now I've never used a stalker, but it is clear to see that an av13/11 3hp vehicle that helps buff units to such an extent is going to be seriously focussed upon. Especially since it needs to stay within 6" of units that ideally want to be within 24 or even 12" of the opponent.

So how on earth do you do your best to keep stalkers alive? Especially since there are no major threat vehicles for the crons like an IK, Typhon etc to take the attention away from it (apart from maybe the Doomsday Cannon but that is a lot of points for a distraction unit with the same fragility).
More than 2 stalkers and you are probably no longer at peak efficiency for buffing units as you will have less units to buff.

Assume for sake of discussion we are talking CAD so that you don't have to take Judicator Battalion.

The shooting isn't all that much more impressive.
One unit is hitting on 2+ with re-rolls instead of 3+ re-rolls on 1's.
If you rock a max sized destroyer unit to take full advantage of this ability, you're looking at 11.66 hits, instead of 9.33 hits.
The combo is good for ~2 hits.

Thanks, but I think I'll just shoot the destroyers. That is more effective at reducing the destroyer firepower than dealing with the Stalker.

-Matt

I find the Cron vehicles far more fragile than the troops. Especially if those T5 2W 3+ 5/4+++ destroyers have used their jetpack moves to get back into cover.
The stalker can buff all units within 6", so when you add in 2 full strength warrior units if going silver tide, it can make a marked difference on the amout of hits.
This is the direction I am thinking of taking my crons - silver tide with Lychguard and Destroyer cult support. No decurion or Canoptek Harvest to raise groans.
A stalker in range of 2 20 man warrior blobs in rapid fire range and some destroyers behind them (talking best case scenario here) will add 16 gauss hits, 2.3 gauss cannon hits and 1.3 heat ray hits.
I see your point though. Do you think it just better to spend those 125pts on more warriors and destroyers?

You're not going to get 40 warriors all within rapid fire range.
It's one of those things that looks better on paper then in practice.
Personally, I'd rather have 3 more destroyers.

Usually true. Disembarking from a nightscythe makes having them all in rapid fire range a far easier task (admittedly with 20 rather than 40), but then you'd have to co-ordinate the drops with the stalker on the ground.

Hmm interesting thoughts, I can see how mathematically you can get huge boons from the buffs, but as mentioned in practice it seems a little lacklustre.

However, I have just finished a judicator battalion (Ork conversions) to run alongside my orks. But to make use of it I am thinking then add Cron allies. So its something like;

Ork primary
Judicator battalion
+??? - warriors in a nightsythe with lord? (this is what I have in general so far).

Would that work? I can move up the stalker aggressively on one flank alongside the praetorians. Using the stalker for opening armour while my orks rush in trukks up the other flank, then I bring the nightsythe on and disembark my warrior blob in the 6" range of the stalker for a solid midfield domination?

If I was going to do a Stalker list, and to be perfectly honest Triarch units are the only subset of Necrons I haven't bothered to get models of (fluff wise, I don't like the idea of my Dynasty having to bow to extensive "federal oversight" from uppity elites choices...) I'd probably fully commit and have my Judicator Batallion squadron three of the things across the core of my army.

I'm...pretty sure you can't squadron them in the JB. Isn't it one stalker, not one unit of stalkers?

1 unit of Triarch Stalkers.

Formation Restrictions: None.

Damn, that changes things. Off to buy another Triarch Stalker I go!

Would you want to squadron a stalker?
Seems like you'd only make things easier for your enemies AT weaponry? As hull points carry over once they pop they first.

Saves points on Praetorians.