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There's gotta be a good alpha strike use for this.

For those unfamiliar, the concept is as follows:
• Triarch Stalkers grant any friendly non-vehicle unit within 6" a +1 to their BS. For Necrons, that usually means BS5, so hitting things on a 2+.
• Destroyer Lords grant units they are attached to Preferred Enemy.
• If you combine the two, you get some incredible shooting (2+ to hit, rerolling 1s... so basically, the equivalent of BS10).

Now, if you throw a Tachyon Arrow into the mix (a one use 120" S10 AP1 shot that some of the HQ have access to), you have the potential to take out your opponent's best vehicle on turn one (provided you have line of sight and they don't have a good cover/inv save).

So to pull this off you would need at minimum
A Lord with Tachyon Arrow
A Destroyer Lord
A Stalker

That's 310 points.
Now obviously that's not the ONLY use they have. Destroyer Lords and Stalkers have excellent force multiplier capabilities that will benefit almost any army, and a Lord, when properly outfitted and/or upgraded to an Overlord, will compliment any unit in the army.
So really, that combo they can pull off in the first turn is just a bonus.

Being the case, now I'm trying to figure out how to build a list that will best take advantage of this combo that includes the models involved.

Any suggestions?

If I were going Decurion, it would mean taking a Judicator Battalion and a Destroyer Cult. I am definitely not opposed to this, as those two compliment each other well. Just not sure if I want to go crazy and go CAD instead with a Royal Court detachment, or even Unbound, so I can get multiple Tachyon Arrows in the list.

[edit]:
Disregard that whole part about needing a Stalker. Completely forgot that Overlords are already BS5, so don't need the Targeting Relay boost (though it's still worth giving Heavy Destroyers a Stalker to stand next to)

That's a lot of points for a one use str 10 ap 1 shot... I understand that the stalker will buff other units, but you will be let down when you put through that effort and fail to wound an AV 12 vehicle... or you face an army like Nids and your opponent doesn't have a vehicle.

All that effort and cover in ruins will nullify it half of the time. Don't bother for a 1-use weapon, unless it comes stock with one of the characters you are taking.

Yeah I mean, without ignores cover that 1-shot can be easily denied.

And if you're looking at a Land Raider or Leman Russ? S10 is not reliable enough against AV14 to justify the points I feel.

Well, the Arrow itself is only 25 points. I figure if I'm already bringing the units/models involved, that's not too pricey a gamble to remove a vehicle from the other side of the table.
...
But yeah, probably not worth building an entire list around (perhaps worth including if I run a Decurion with D.Cult and J.Battalion)

The others are talking like this is just for the alpha strike. I play Orcs, my most common opponent plays Necron, he uses it all the time minus the arrow. I told him when I realized what happened that he was going his immortals (usually) bs10. The added arrow is just a good bonus. He usually waits till he has side arc on a battle wagon then drops it. With a +3 it generally explodes. So I find it to be a good combo personally, but the only way he has found to make it more useful is to take heavy destroyers with a long range gun and pop my wagons front facings or murder my artillery from his side of the board.

But the second one isn't very tournament viable imo. The destroyers seem to be a lot of points for very little shooting.

Just my thoughts and observations.

Wouldn't it be better to use an overlord instead of a lord?

Then you'd have BS5 and so eliminate the need for the stalker.

Stalker world on all units surrounding it, it should be in most Necron lists anyway. Honestly, just like a destroyer lord attached to a unit for preferred enemy. The only real question the op seems to be asking is, is 25 pts worth it for a bs10, 120" s10ap1 single use weapon.

 vipoid wrote:
Wouldn't it be better to use an overlord instead of a lord?

Then you'd have BS5 and so eliminate the need for the stalker.

Huh, true. Completely slipped my mind (I might have been thinking of the Royal Court full of Lords with Arrows).
The Stalker was going to be buffing other units in the army already (unit of Heavy Destroyers) so I was trying to figure out the best way to maximize it's usefulness.

Though, in lower point games, yes, if already taking an Overlord and Destroyer Lord in the same list, 25 points might be a semi decent anti armor investment. (would you pay an extra 25 points for a decent chance to take out your enemy's best tank from the other side of the table?)

It's way better to field Heavy Destroyers nearby the Stalker. BS10 S9 AP2 weapons (which re-roll damage, if from Destroyer Cult) are much more threatening - and remember that in 7th edition, glancing (volume fo fire) > penetrating

Why pay 300 + pts for a one-only chance to do what a Tau does for 140 pts? Only Tau can add tank hunter (longstrike) and ignore cover saves.

1 because he's not tau so cannot use tau mechanics. 2 100pts are literally standing there anyway. So just don't count them.

FratHammer wrote:
1 because he's not tau so cannot use tau mechanics. 2 100pts are literally standing there anyway. So just don't count them.

I mean why not leave Tau to do Tau stuff and focus on Necrons to do Necron stuff? I know he should be able to play whatever he likes, just 300+ pts for a one use only shot that isn't even a blast is a bad army design.

topaxygouroun i wrote:

FratHammer wrote:
1 because he's not tau so cannot use tau mechanics. 2 100pts are literally standing there anyway. So just don't count them.

I mean why not leave Tau to do Tau stuff and focus on Necrons to do Necron stuff? I know he should be able to play whatever he likes, just 300+ pts for a one use only shot that isn't even a blast is a bad army design.

Did you even read the rest of the thread?
The Arrow costs 25 points, not 300+.
If you're playing Decurion with a Destroyer Cult, you'll already have an Overlord and a Destroyer Lord. These are required HQ for those formations, not extras that need to be purchased just to make this combo work. If the two of them are in the same unit, the only thing extra needed is the arrow. And for what it can do, it might be worth 25 points.
(The Stalker isn't even needed at all, but I'd probably want to run one anyway to give the Heavy Destroyers a boost, because who doesn't want BS10 S9 AP2 that rerolls wounding/armor penetration?)

 skoffs wrote:

topaxygouroun i wrote:

FratHammer wrote:
1 because he's not tau so cannot use tau mechanics. 2 100pts are literally standing there anyway. So just don't count them.

I mean why not leave Tau to do Tau stuff and focus on Necrons to do Necron stuff? I know he should be able to play whatever he likes, just 300+ pts for a one use only shot that isn't even a blast is a bad army design.

Did you even read the rest of the thread?
The Arrow costs 25 points, not 300+.
If you're playing Decurion with a Destroyer Cult, you'll already have an Overlord and a Destroyer Lord. These are required HQ for those formations, not extras that need to be purchased just to make this combo work. If the two of them are in the same unit, the only thing extra needed is the arrow. And for what it can do, it might be worth 25 points.
(The Stalker isn't even needed at all, but I'd probably want to run one anyway to give the Heavy Destroyers a boost, because who doesn't want BS10 S9 AP2 that rerolls wounding/armor penetration?)

If you are using the characters anyways, this is actually a thread about using or not a 25 pt item. Does such a question really need a whole thread? The answer is obvious. If you have the points use it otherwise don't use it. In my personal opinion, even a bs 10 str 10 ap 1 shot would only have 33% to kill a vehicle AFTER it penetrates and provided that the vehicle has no cover whatsoever. Supposing you shoot at a land raider (because if you shoot at a rhino it isn't even worth the points), you have 33% to penetrate and then 33% to explode. This is a 11% chance for your one trick pony to work. If the LR has a 5+ cover this becomes a 8% chance to kill it. Doesn't look good for me, but you can use it if you feel like it. Your chances go up if you want to blow a battle wagon and it might worth its points if you try to ID a grounded demon prince (or if there is a way to give your arrow skyfire). But that's about it. If a single lord could take more than one arrows it might be good, but as it is every other arrow after the first costs way more than 25 pts.

topaxygouroun i wrote:

Does such a question really need a whole thread? The answer is obvious. If you have the points use it otherwise don't use it.

.. yea ... Yeah? I mean it's a question posted in 40K Tactics, and is a Tactics question. There is no obvious answer, or correct answer for that matter. More of an interesting discussion on 1-shot weapons and glancing/cover/pen hits on vehicles.

Unfortunately, meta doesn't really have that critical one vehicle in it. Gladius is full of rhinos/pods (like, ALL the DT's), the wraithknight is going to laugh at one S10 hit (fnP/invuln and having a gazillion wounds), I'm pretty sure daemons won't be too fussed...

zerosignal wrote:
Unfortunately, meta doesn't really have that critical one vehicle in it. Gladius is full of rhinos/pods (like, ALL the DT's), the wraithknight is going to laugh at one S10 hit (fnP/invuln and having a gazillion wounds), I'm pretty sure daemons won't be too fussed...

Pretty much this. In the high tier lists, a single shot of any strength is very unimportant, and probably not worth 25 points. Any decent target for it may have some 2+ cover, be invisible, be flying, be a wraithknight with 1/1000 of its base in a ruin area terrain.
I don't see the arrow being worthless, as being crons you could totally survive long enough to find a decent moment to fire it, but it seems like awesome targets for it are in short supply.

In short it's a little price inefficient in the current game, but if you wait for a good moment like the turn they fail casting invis or something, it could still do a little work. Maybe add some scare factor so the opponent won't hover any flyers before you shoot it. If it actually causes that, then it probably is worth it.

So pretty much,
"May be worth it for the psychological effect, but otherwise, stick to those Heavy Destroyers + Stalker for anti-armor"