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The Dragon of Mars has long been a grey mysterious area of the 40k mythos.
However, it has been fleshed out more in the recent Horus Heresy book "Mechanicum". I recommend you read it! We can assume the following from the hints in the book, and the Necron codex:
1) It is a C'tan.
2) It is trapped in a cave in the Noctis Labyrinth.
3) It has a strong affinity with machines.

Now, we are into the realms of speculation here, but I think it is woken and freed in the 41st millenium.
I have 2 reasons to believe this:

1: I was told by a person who works at GW that the necrons will be updated 'sometime next year'. They will be gaining a new light vehicle and 'an extra c'tan'. This is probably the dragon.

2: A quote from 'Mechanicum': "Ten thousand years would pass before the next guardian was drawn to the Noctis Labyrinthus, but by then the damage had been done".

Now, the Horus Heresy occured 10,000 years before the age in which 40k is set, making it the close of the 31st millenium. Ten thousand years passing implies the next guardian is being drawn at the 'now' time of 40k. "The damage had been done" implies the Dragon somehow breaks free. This is backed up by the fact that in the 41st Millenium, the martian defences were breached by a necron ship, which landed near the Noctis Labyrinth and was destroyed. Things are in motion. (Could be a good scenario for a game, sometime.)

The purpose of this thread is to piece together scraps of info about the Dragon, in the hope of building up a fuller picture. If anyone spots any scraps of info I missed in any of the Codexes or older editions of the Rulebook, please post them here!

Interesting speculation! I wonder, if this is indeed the potential 'new C'Tan' that was hinted at (Assuming, of course, that it wasn't just a Redshirt trying to pitch some Necrons to you), what will it look like? I'm going to think something with some clearly mechanical elements to the 'body' of it. Perhaps something closer to the Necrons in appearance?

He certainly wasn't a redshirt, he was actually the store manager.

Yes, I'm thinking Nightbringer-sized floating robot with Mechadendrites!

Brilliant!

One of the rumors is that the C'Tan will go to APOC. Necron Lords would be able to upgrade into a mini-stargod sort of character, which would fit with the existing models. Then GW will just let Forgeworld make some huge resin mostrosity to go with the APOC for a C'Tan of epic size and pointcost.

Oh, brilliant. If so, I'd glance at the price, faint, come round, and buy one.

Oh, brilliant. If so, I'd glance at the price, faint, come round, and buy one.

Oh god, triple post, sorry.

In Dark Crusade, when you destroy the necron base, their is the beacon of the void dragon that makes you loose control of your vehicles to the necrons. perhaps we will see something like that in its rule set.

Highly possible. Hmm... I'm seeing this C'tan to be some form of Necron Titan in both rules and size.

Scary thought IMHO

Hmm... That would be cool, I bit like a walking version of that necron strategem that lets you take over enemy vehicles?

Maybe it could also repair Necron vehicles? Hmm...

The current Necron codex makes no bones about the fact that the Dragon is a C'tan. I wonder if GW will see fit to move the storyline along enough to get the dragon unleashed as a fully-fledged, playable model though. Would be cool to see a Mechanicum Codex a year or two after this happened, however.

They should just do a codex like Eye of Terror where its Adeptus MEchanicus versus Necrons.

Spoiler:

The only thing that I can see hurting the chances of a model of the Dragon of Mars is the fact that it would mean the Necrons conquer Mars in a tide after it awakens and is released. That would put them right on Terra's doorstep and pretty much at direct blows with the Custodes, Grey Knights, Ad Mech, and Imperial Fists. It's a jump I don't really see GW making. Perhaps it will be a Void Dragon from another Ad Mech world, but I don't think it's likely going to be -the- Dragon.

metallifan wrote:The only thing that I can see hurting the chances of a model of the Dragon of Mars is the fact that it would mean the Necrons conquer Mars in a tide after it awakens and is released. That would put them right on Terra's doorstep and pretty much at direct blows with the Custodes, Grey Knights, Ad Mech, and Imperial Fists. It's a jump I don't really see GW making. Perhaps it will be a Void Dragon from another Ad Mech world, but I don't think it's likely going to be -the- Dragon.

It could be an episode like 13th Black Crusade, 3rd Armageddon, and Medusa V. They could make a whole campaign thingy. They'd come out with some special mechanicus units (maybe that never before seen stuff or the new unknown codex that GW is releasing will be mechanicum). And the main armies would be SM (of course) Inquisition, Necrons, IG (with Mechanicum), and Eldar (they get everywhere). Maybe even DE, too (for poops and giggles).

I was under the impression that there are four living C'Tan left? In which case the Necrons could get one more without messing with the Void Dragon story.
The Void Dragon is unlikely to want to work with the necrons anyway as it has a "Good Working Relationship" with the mechanicum i.e. it already has an army of loyal followers who are obsessed with mechanics and electronics

The dragon cannot be released. It is the source of technical innovation on Mars through the link it has with the guardian and others. The Emperor has used it for millennia to slowly pry away the technological secrets of the necrons, and that is why the imperium's technology is more susceptible to necron control.

It is more likely that in the new codex the Necrons will reach a new stage of "awakening" where the tomb worlds will disgorge even more horrific machines from the stasis tombs to further the "great work" of sealing off the immaterium from reality, before converting the universe into one enormous farm for souls. The Dragon and the outsider will still remain mysterious counterweights to the Deceiver and Nightbringer.

Hollismason wrote:They should just do a codex like Eye of Terror where its Adeptus MEchanicus versus Necrons.

Exarch_Nektel wrote:It could be an episode like 13th Black Crusade, 3rd Armageddon, and Medusa V. They could make a whole campaign thingy. They'd come out with some special mechanicus units (maybe that never before seen stuff or the new unknown codex that GW is releasing will be mechanicum). And the main armies would be SM (of course) Inquisition, Necrons, IG (with Mechanicum), and Eldar (they get everywhere). Maybe even DE, too (for poops and giggles).

These are great ideas. But I agree with Metallifan in the final analysis: seems like to big a deal for GW to take on--especially after the 13th Black Crusade.

Durandal wrote:The Dragon and the outsider will still remain mysterious counterweights to the Deceiver and Nightbringer.

Interesting, please elaborate.

Manchu, I think what he say saying is, instead of The Dragon and The Outsider being up front Units that everybody knows about like The Nightbringer and The Deceiver, they will remain shadowed by mystery and remain in the fluff.

Dreadwinter wrote:Manchu, I think what he say saying is, instead of The Dragon and The Outsider being up front Units that everybody knows about like The Nightbringer and The Deceiver, they will remain shadowed by mystery and remain in the fluff.

Ah, thanks. That sounds like the most likely possibility to me.

Ok guys lets think logically here.
GW are redoing the necron codex for several reasons:
1. C'tan are not powerfull enough for gods
2. to extend the fluff
3. to give a variety of models and options

We know the void dragon had an affinity for machines and had more advanced/different pattern necrons under his control. Thus if you want to add loads of new units and a new section to the fluff the void dragon seems a logical choice and anyway in recent books the void dragon has been mentioned quite a bit, too much for nothing to happen.

But this leaves us with a few problems:
1. C'tan are still underpowered
2. Mars is either under necron control or took heavy losses
3. What about the outsider?

But we also know GW are considering (its highly likely that they will) moving C'tan to apoc only and beefing them up a bit to reflect their powers, so thats number one ticked off the list.
As others have mentioned a war for mars would be a terrific summer campaign to celebrate the new necron codex, using lots of planet strikey features obviously, so thats number 2 sorted.
Number three i am unsure of, either writing some fluff about him giving him a reason to still be locked away could work although it would be very interested to see him also included, along with his minions, in the new codex.

I think it's much more likely that the C'tan move to APOC only. Having the dragon awake would cause too many problems in the storyline.

Much more likely that the Necrons reach a new stage of awakening, resulting in more units becoming available, and the Necron Lord becomes more of an 'avatar' of one of the c'tan (kinda like Chaos Marks maybe)

If another c'tan IS introduced, I think it's much more likely that either

1. It's The Outsider

or

2. GW retcon the whole bit about there only being 4 left

ArbitorIan wrote:I think it's much more likely that the C'tan move to APOC only. Having the dragon awake would cause too many problems in the storyline.

Much more likely that the Necrons reach a new stage of awakening, resulting in more units becoming available, and the Necron Lord becomes more of an 'avatar' of one of the c'tan (kinda like Chaos Marks maybe)

Heartily agree.

Well is there any fluff to support the Outsider, from what ive heard he's fiction.

Well how about Mars or a neigbouring planet (Pluto, i like pluto) Is achualy full on Necrons, they attack mars release The Dragon and get pushed back by Imperial forces.

The reason the C'tan were so weak in the current Necron codex is cause there only just been awoken and havnt regained all there power, next codex they are probaly Full God Mode.

Xav wrote:Well is there any fluff to support the Outsider, from what ive heard he's fiction.

Well how about Mars or a neigbouring planet (Pluto, i like pluto) Is achualy full on Necrons, they attack mars release The Dragon and get pushed back by Imperial forces.

The reason the C'tan were so weak in the current Necron codex is cause there only just been awoken and havnt regained all there power, next codex they are probaly Full God Mode.

Read the most recent necron codex, the outsider is mentioned just as much as the other c'tan.

Ardensfax wrote:Hmm... That would be cool, I bit like a walking version of that necron strategem that lets you take over enemy vehicles?

Maybe it could also repair Necron vehicles? Hmm...

it would be like all three necron strategems in one!
But chances are, the Void Dragon will suck against tyranids.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

corpsesarefun wrote:

Xav wrote:Well is there any fluff to support the Outsider, from what ive heard he's fiction.

Well how about Mars or a neigbouring planet (Pluto, i like pluto) Is achualy full on Necrons, they attack mars release The Dragon and get pushed back by Imperial forces.

The reason the C'tan were so weak in the current Necron codex is cause there only just been awoken and havnt regained all there power, next codex they are probaly Full God Mode.

Read the most recent necron codex, the outsider is mentioned just as much as the other c'tan.

Yes, but the Void Dragon is probably the new C'tan, telling from Mechanicum and the fact that the Outsider is bonkers off in another galaxy. Who knows, maybe he's the hive mind? It would make sense, considering that there are a bunch of C'tan conciousnesses inside of him driving him crazy.

There's Ctan conciousness inside the hive mind?

Xav wrote:There's Ctan conciousness inside the hive mind?

The Outsider is supposedly the Hive Mind, which actually makes sense since the Outsider went nuts at some point and left. It's ironic that he would choose to drown the galaxy with life rather than death.

Xav wrote:There's Ctan conciousness inside the hive mind?

No, there isnt.

Cheese Elemental wrote:

Xav wrote:There's Ctan conciousness inside the hive mind?

The Outsider is supposedly the Hive Mind, which actually makes sense since the Outsider went nuts at some point and left. It's ironic that he would choose to drown the galaxy with life rather than death.

No the outsider is nothing to do with the hive mind.
The hive mind is a collective psycic consciousness for the tyranid race rather than an actual being and the outsider is an antiwarp singular being, they are opposites.

Didnt read Exarch post properly.

It seems to make sense apart from a few things like, how could Chief Librarian Smurf look into the Hive Mind and not go mad if he's a crazy C'tan?