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So I have played Necrons off and on for several editions, even having decent local tourney success with them in 6th & 7th editions. But I'm not interested in starting them as a whole army again.

However, Necrons seem to be the choice of the 11yr old son. At home we play modified Matched play with Power Levels, no WL traits or Faction attributes and the only stratagem we use is the re-roll a single dice one. Usually around 25-40 Power lever or 500-750 pts with the small collection of Marines, CSM and of course my Eldar. Always using a Patrol detachment

What is the easiest way to get a good starter force with iconic Necron units?
I was thinking of just getting the Start Collecting box and a unit of Destroyers, but I am not sold on the Triarch Stalker as being "iconic" although it does have a good deal of variety and showcases both 'Quantum Shielding' and 'Living Metal' that are common on most vehicles.

I also feel that even though Warriors are "iconic" so are Immortals and they are currently the better Troop. Even with the codex coming out soon, we will likely continue to use the Index rule for our games at home. So instead of getting the 'Start Collecting' box, should I just get a box of Immortals, Destroyers and an Annihilation Barge (that also comes with an Infantry Lord)?

To Recap:
Start Collecting + Destroyers = ~$135 1 Troop, 2 Fast, 1 Elite, 1 HQ
Immortals + Destroyers + Barge = ~120 1 Troop, 1 Fast, 1 Heavy, 1 HQ

In both cases I can use the Destroyers in a variety of ways:
Either as 3 Destroyers,
2 Ds and a Heavy D,
2 Ds and a D.Lord,
2 Heavy Ds and a D.Lord.
Whatever I need, really, but most likely as a D.lord and 2 Heavy Ds.

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Annihilation barges aren't really iconic. They were released in 5th ed.

If you want a proper iconic army a la 3rd ed, you'd want a block of warriors supported by a lord, scarabs, immortals and destroyers. Though at 500 points destroyers would be difficult to put in, as they are ludicrously expensive points wise.
At 500 points, you can get away with scarabs, immortals, an overlord (lords are cheaper though) and warriors to make an effective little list pretty easily. Scarabs are great this edition, and they are pretty typically necron too. A necron invasion is always supported by a swarm of scarabs.

Thanx for the feedback.
In that case, I may just get a box of Warriors, Destroys and a Barge. It's still cheaper that the SC + Destroyers but gives me more options.
I'll probably wait a while to get the Barge and only if he really seems interested after a few games

It's not like we have to do true WYSIWYG and we can always just say the Warriors are Immortals instead. That 3+ save and stronger firepower really will make the difference (I'm trying to hook him more into 40K)
Using 10 Warriors as 2x 5 Immortals + 2 Heavy Destroyers + Destroyer Lord (we always use bike HQs, so this is the best fit) + 4 Scarabs is probably the best 500ish pts for what we play.

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