1500pt Footslogging Necrons

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**vipoid**

An attempt at a reasonably-competitive footslogging Necron list. Comments, critisisms and suggestions welcome.

Overlord (Warscythe, MSS, Res. Orb, Weave) - 160

Royal Court:
Lord (Warscythe, MSS, Res. Orb) - 90
Despair Cryptek - 30
Despair Cryptek - 30
Strom Cryptek (Lightning Field) - 35

5 Deathmarks - 95

10 Immortals (Gauss) - 170
10 Immortals (Gauss) - 170
5 Immortals (Gauss) - 85
5 Immortals (Gauss) - 85
5 Immortals (Tesla) - 85

3 Destroyers - 120
3 Scarabs - 45
3 Scarabs - 45

Annihilation Barge - 90
Annihilation Barge - 90
Canoptek Spyder (TL Particle Beamer) - 75

The Overlord goes in one of the 10-man immortal squads, the Lord goes in the other. The storm cryptek will usually go with the 5-man Tesla immortals, with the despair crypteks each joining one of the 5-man Gauss immortal squads (although one could instead join the Overlord's squad, should it prove useful). The Deathmarks will deep-strike in. The spyder will hang around the scarabs, adding to their numbers and taking pot-shots with his particle beamer.

Anyway, a few notes:
- These are all the vehicles I have (so please don't suggest adding more). Likewise, if you're wondering why there's only 1 spyder, it's because I only have the one.
- The Lightning Field on the Storm Cryptek was because I had 10pts spare.
- The main thing I was unsure about was the Royal Court and, to a lesser extent, the Immortals. I like Despair Crypteks, but I was wondering if I'd be better off spending their points elsewhere (either different crypteks, or more destroyers or somesuch). Likewise, I wasn't sure if the lone storm cryptek was necessary (given the amount of Gauss and scarabs in this army), so maybe I should replace or scrap him as well.
- I was a bit unsure about the TL Particle Beamer on the spyder. I like him having a shooting option, but the weapon is very expensive and seems pretty unimpressive.
- Finally, I wondered if there was any value in swapping out my Overlord for Nemesor.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

**Deraiderspam**

Some investment ideas for the future:
A barge for your overlord
Destroyer lord + Wraiths
Night Scythes, lots and lots of night scythes.

Otherwise it's pretty decent for what it is

**skoffs**

This is going to be used in a competitive setting?
If so, I do not see this list performing very well.
Too much missed optimization (eg. Deathmarks and Despair-teks in the same army... but not together in the same unit? Two units of 3 Scarabs... with only a single Spyder in support? MSU Immortals... with no transport?)
If your opponents are even halfway competent, you're going to have your ass handed to you.

**vipoid**

Deraiderspam wrote:
Some investment ideas for the future:
A barge for your overlord
Destroyer lord + Wraiths
Night Scythes, lots and lots of night scythes.

Otherwise it's pretty decent for what it is

What changes would you recommend if I had all of those things (in sufficient quantities) at my disposal?

skoffs wrote:
This is going to be used in a competitive setting?

In a moderately-competitive setting, but I probably won't be facing the high-end lists.

skoffs wrote:

Too much missed optimization (eg. Deathmarks and Despair-teks in the same army... but not together in the same unit?

Do you think it's worth putting them together even when they'll be deep-striking in?

It just seemed like one bad scatter and the unit either mishaps or ends up out of flamer-range of its target.

skoffs wrote:
with only a single Spyder in support?

I only have one spyder. :(

Should I group the scarabs, remove the spyder, what?

skoffs wrote:
MSU Immortals... with no transport?)

Sigh. Do I need to write 'footslogging' in glowing neon letters?

As I said, I don't own any transports and so am attempting to build a list without them.

So, should I group up the immortals, use warriors instead, commit seppuku for not using transports, what?

**skoffs**

If you're playing Necrons, you don't need vehicles to transport your Immortals. Get some Veils of Darkness or Obyron in there. Suddenly you're able to get anywhere on the table.

Definitely group the Scarabs together. 3 Scarab bases are basically free First Blood for your opponent. A single Spyder probably isn't worth it.

Regardless, do yourself a favor and get yourself a couple of Nightscythes. (then you can stick your Deathmarks and Despair-teks together and make one of the most effective anti-infantry combos in the game)

**MarkCron**

@vipoid,

Some comments, hopefully some of which you'll find useful.

a) As you are walking and you have min squads, the crypteks are essential, because it gives you the ability to reanimate if the entire squad gets shot down (assuming the cryptek comes back!). Which one, depends on what you want to achieve. Stormteks are good for anti-vehicle, lanceteks provide long range AP2 shooting. Despairteks are good, as long as you plan to be in template range. They are nasty in overwatch, so are valuable to min units. Which one? depends on what you want the unit to do. I use lanceteks in min warrior squads that are objective sitting, just because of the longer range. Despairteks for units that are likely to be in charge range.

b) deathmarks : are, as Skoffs has said, awesome with an attached despairtek. However, as you don't have a transport that can deliver them, you need a veiltek - which is a problem, because you need that veiltek more to improve the mobility of your troops. However, I'd keep them anyway because they can really stack wounds on high toughness characters (even without the 2+). Just be aware you can't put a despairtek with them and deepstrike, you need a veiltek. And you don't want them walking.

c) I think you have too few Tesla immortals. Tesla is excellent at longer ranges and not shabby at shooting at flyers (assuming you can glance it).

d) Scarabs and spyder. If you are playing eternal war, group the scarabs together. Otherwise, leave them separate. Having two separate groups gives you more flexibility and you can build them up separately - three bases can still do a job on most DT (if you can get them there). Keep the spyder, ditch the beamer and put a fabricator claw instead, so you can replace HP on the AB at least.

So, to your list.

I suggest the following:

a) Find the points for a veil of darkness, then put that into a squad of 10 (preferably Tesla) immortals. This unit is really annoying for opponents.

b) Think about taking Zahndrek. He provides massive buffs that can really help, plus can reduce effectiveness of opponent units.

c) One combo that isn't often used, but which would somewhat help your mobility, is to use one of your destroyers as a destroyer lord and put it with the Deathmarks. They'll still be able to deep strike, and the Destroyer lord will give the DMarks preferred enemy (reroll 1's!). The Destrolord will provide tanking ability, plus can be detached to go on a rampage.

In order to do the above, you'll need to get points from somewhere. I'd suggest that the Destroyers and the Lord go first.

If you have warriors, think about a blob of 20 warriors, with Zandy to lead them. Tough unit to put down with shooting, and you should have enough chaff to feed any cc units coming towards you.

**vipoid**

@MarkCron

Thanks for your advice, that's very helpful. Just a couple of points:

MarkCron wrote:
crypteks are essential, because it gives you the ability to reanimate if the entire squad gets shot down (assuming the cryptek comes back!).

Any chance you could elaborate on this? I'm not sure I understand what you mean.

MarkCron wrote:

In order to do the above, you'll need to get points from somewhere. I'd suggest that the Destroyers and the Lord go first.

If these are the first things to consider scrapping, then should I be looking to replace them anyway? (If you see what I mean.)

**MarkCron**

vipoid wrote:@MarkCron

Thanks for your advice, that's very helpful. Just a couple of points:

MarkCron wrote:
crypteks are essential, because it gives you the ability to reanimate if the entire squad gets shot down (assuming the cryptek comes back!).

Any chance you could elaborate on this? I'm not sure I understand what you mean.

Sorry, for a normal reanimation roll, you don't get to do it if the entire squad is dead. So, if you have five warriors and they all die, no reanimation rolls for you. But, if you have five warriors + a cryptek, and they all die (except to a sweeping advance), then because the cryptek is everliving you can try and bring him back first. If he comes back, you can then take reanimation rolls for the 5 warriors. There has been a large amount of debate as to whether this is "legal", however it seems to be because the cryptek is part of the squad for all intents and purposes (in fact, in 5th and 6th you could end up with a scoring cryptek after all the warriors were killed).Ignore that, apparently this is wrong. Still take Crypteks though! Even if he is the only one left, that is still a superscoring cryptek.

vipoid wrote:
MarkCron wrote:

In order to do the above, you'll need to get points from somewhere. I'd suggest that the Destroyers and the Lord go first.

If these are the first things to consider scrapping, then should I be looking to replace them anyway? (If you see what I mean.)

In 7th, destroyers are a lot more useful, because they have preferred enemy, are jump infantry, which gives them speed, and scoring. Not superscoring, but every little bit helps. In your list, they are one of the faster units. So swapping that speed for a veiltek, which will allow you to move a superscoring unit, plus beef up the deathmarks (because you can only have 1 veiltek per overlord) makes sense to me.

Personally I'm really not a fan of lords with res orbs. 90 points invested in a single wound model seems like a lot. If you had the models, I think you'd be better off just getting another squad of Immortals or a couple of crypteks. Alternatively, if you found a few more points, like 55, convert him into an Overlord with SoL, Weave, MSS and Orb.

[edit] to fix rules error!

**vipoid**

MarkCron wrote:
Still take Crypteks though! Even if he is the only one left, that is still a superscoring cryptek.

Indeed, that is nice. Many of my lists had a lot more crypteks, but more recently I've been dialling them back (mainly because I used to take a lot of destruction-crypteks, but they don't seem worth it any more). In addition to scoring potential, it's quite fun to have a Despair or Storm cryptek wondering around on his own - since opponents can rarely afford to ignore them, but are usually forced to overkill them (thus protecting other units)

MarkCron wrote:
Personally I'm really not a fan of lords with res orbs. 90 points invested in a single wound model seems like a lot.

I know what you mean. It's also 90pts that aren't contributing to shooting at all.

MarkCron wrote:
Alternatively, if you found a few more points, like 55, convert him into an Overlord with SoL, Weave, MSS and Orb.

I could do that (although I'd probably use GoF instead of SoL), but I took the Lord to save points. :p

Still, I think you're right. Considering the relatively small point difference, I should probably pay a little extra and get an Overlord.

Thanks for all your help.

**MarkCron**

You're welcome.

Interesting on the destrukteks, because I'm actually dialling them up again. It's a cheap source of S8 AP2 shots, and a pair of them in a GA (which is supporting a warrior blob) is very handy. Course, as you don't have any GA, that's not particularly useful for you atm. Individual destrukteks in 5 man squads are a bit meh.

Re the second Overlord, I'd use SOL rather than GOF for the slightly extra range. It's also free. Having a second overlord will make a big difference, because you can take another veiltek, and you'll be able to attach 2 crypteks to each unit (if you want).

**vipoid**

MarkCron wrote:
Interesting on the destrukteks, because I'm actually dialling them up again. It's a cheap source of S8 AP2 shots, and a pair of them in a GA (which is supporting a warrior blob) is very handy. Course, as you don't have any GA, that's not particularly useful for you atm. Individual destrukteks in 5 man squads are a bit meh.

When you use them like that, what do you use those shots for? I mean, do you use them for long-range anti-transport, or against MCs or for something else?

Also, what's your opinion on squads of 4-destruction crypteks and an eternity cryptek with chronotron?

MarkCron wrote:

Re the second Overlord, I'd use SOL rather than GOF for the slightly extra range. It's also free.

You're probably right, I just like Gauntlets of Fire. I enjoy flamers in general (and it combines quite well with a despair-flamer), and the rerolls in combat are occasionally useful.

In some ways, I guess it's more of a fun choice than a strategic one, but for just 5pts I'm willing to make that sacrifice.

**MarkCron**

vipoid wrote:
MarkCron wrote:
Interesting on the destrukteks, because I'm actually dialling them up again. It's a cheap source of S8 AP2 shots, and a pair of them in a GA (which is supporting a warrior blob) is very handy. Course, as you don't have any GA, that's not particularly useful for you atm. Individual destrukteks in 5 man squads are a bit meh.

When you use them like that, what do you use those shots for? I mean, do you use them for long-range anti-transport, or against MCs or for something else?

Also, what's your opinion on squads of 4-destruction crypteks and an eternity cryptek with chronotron?

If I have a pair in a GA, I'll normally use them for long range shots. AT certainly, but also to pick off things like oblits/devastators, potshot paladins, MC. Because they are characters, they are occasionally handy for sniping out characters from squads (if you can roll the 6). Basically they are an annoyance unit. I'm actually toying with the idea of having them on a back objective without the GA as well. I reckon that would be fairly annoying, having S8 AP2 potshots being taken at you.

Perhaps surprisingly, I think 4 with a chrono would be inefficient. That's around 160 points and you'd get 4 S8 AP2 shots with one reroll.... I'd rather have a Stalker actually because of the TL buff to the rest of the army.

MarkCron wrote:

Re the second Overlord, I'd use SOL rather than GOF for the slightly extra range. It's also free.

You're probably right, I just like Gauntlets of Fire. I enjoy flamers in general (and it combines quite well with a despair-flamer), and the rerolls in combat are occasionally useful.

In some ways, I guess it's more of a fun choice than a strategic one, but for just 5pts I'm willing to make that sacrifice.

It's definitely not the most used choice

Course, rerolls can be very useful...I'm always amazed at how my overlords manage to whiff so often.

**vipoid**

MarkCron wrote:
If I have a pair in a GA, I'll normally use them for long range shots. AT certainly, but also to pick off things like oblits/devastators, potshot paladins, MC. Because they are characters, they are occasionally handy for sniping out characters from squads (if you can roll the 6). Basically they are an annoyance unit. I'm actually toying with the idea of having them on a back objective without the GA as well. I reckon that would be fairly annoying, having S8 AP2 potshots being taken at you.

Interesting. As you know, I don't have a Ghost Ark at the moment, but I might try a couple of destruction crypteks in a small (backfield) immortal squad and see if it works.

MarkCron wrote:
Perhaps surprisingly, I think 4 with a chrono would be inefficient. That's around 160 points and you'd get 4 S8 AP2 shots with one reroll.... I'd rather have a Stalker actually because of the TL buff to the rest of the army.

I think you're right. I used that squad quite a bit in 6th, but it just never seemed to do anything (certainly not enough to justify its cost).

MarkCron wrote:
It's definitely not the most used choice

Indeed. It's a shame, because I quite like it - but it's just hopelessly overshadowed by the warscythe. Still, whenever my list includes 2 Overlords, the second one always gets Gauntlets of Fire.

MarkCron wrote:
Course, rerolls can be very useful...I'm always amazed at how my overlords manage to whiff so often.

My Warscythe Overlord has a reputation for this. When he's not missing most of his attacks (WS4

), he's rolling 1s to wound. Usually, the only way he ever wins combat is by making his opponent punch himself to death with MSS.

**MarkCron**

vipoid wrote:
MarkCron wrote:
If I have a pair in a GA, I'll normally use them for long range shots. AT certainly, but also to pick off things like oblits/devastators, potshot paladins, MC. Because they are characters, they are occasionally handy for sniping out characters from squads (if you can roll the 6). Basically they are an annoyance unit. I'm actually toying with the idea of having them on a back objective without the GA as well. I reckon that would be fairly annoying, having S8 AP2 potshots being taken at you.

Interesting. As you know, I don't have a Ghost Ark at the moment, but I might try a couple of destruction crypteks in a small (backfield) immortal squad and see if it works.

That would be a waste of immortals. Use warriors instead!

But actually, I might just try them by themselves. They are scoring now (well, until a superscoring unit arrives) so I was planning on planting an objective waay out on the flank and leaving them there.

vipoid wrote:
MarkCron wrote:
It's definitely not the most used choice

Indeed. It's a shame, because I quite like it - but it's just hopelessly overshadowed by the warscythe. Still, whenever my list includes 2 Overlords, the second one always gets Gauntlets of Fire.

Being able to flame into open topped transports (looking at you DE) would be handy. How does it do in combat? It seems hard to pass up AP2 Warscythe for an AP4 flamer. Course, at least you'll actually hit!

vipoid wrote:
MarkCron wrote:
Course, rerolls can be very useful...I'm always amazed at how my overlords manage to whiff so often.

My Warscythe Overlord has a reputation for this. When he's not missing most of his attacks (WS4 ), he's rolling 1s to wound. Usually, the only way he ever wins combat is by making his opponent punch himself to death with MSS.

Well, at least now I know it isn't just my overlord!

That's one of the thing about the chariots now...if sweep attacks get FAQ'd away it won't make any difference to my Overlord. I don't think he has successfully sweep attacked anything in 7th and he was pretty unreliable in 5th!

**vipoid**

MarkCron wrote:
That would be a waste of immortals. Use warriors instead! But actually, I might just try them by themselves. They are scoring now (well, until a superscoring unit arrives) so I was planning on planting an objective waay out on the flank and leaving them there.

That's an interesting point actually. When I make a court, I'm usually planning to either keep all the models together (as with the aforementioned 4-destrution court), or split them all off. I sometimes forget that you can mix it up by splitting some of them off, and keeping the rest together.

MarkCron wrote:
Being able to flame into open topped transports (looking at you DE) would be handy. How does it do in combat? It seems hard to pass up AP2 Warscythe for an AP4 flamer. Course, at least you'll actually hit!

I think the flamer is AP5. :s

With regard to combat, it depends on the opponent. If you end up against lightly-armoured stuff, then it's quite good (as, in most cases, is the flamer). Against MEQ and better it's more hit-and-miss. Although, thinking about it, I can't remember many times when that overlord has actually been in combat. Notably though, I recall a game a while ago when the Stormlord (who also has the Gauntlets) took down Wazdakka in combat! That was a good day.

MarkCron wrote:

Well, at least now I know it isn't just my overlord!
That's one of the thing about the chariots now...if sweep attacks get FAQ'd away it won't make any difference to my Overlord. I don't think he has successfully sweep attacked anything in 7th and he was pretty unreliable in 5th!

Last game, my Overlord missed with 5/6 of his sweep attacks. And, the one that hit managed to strip a hull point from a vehicle. I think his warscythe ran out of batteries.

**MarkCron**

If I'm really annoyed with someone, I'll take Veiltek, Despairtek, stormtek, stormtek in a single unit.

140 points of teleporting pain.

**skoffs**

Ah yes, the Alpha Strike Storm Court™
Big fan of it.
Practically guarantees first blood if you go first.