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I like Destoyers and Wraiths so I took a full unit of each along with some big Warrior units and Immortals. The Lord on foot is intended to advance with the Immortals and Warriors, while the Destoyer Lord advances to tackle melee targets and cover the Wraiths and/or Destoyers.

1,500 point list

HQ
1 Necron Lord w/ Res Orb: 140
1 Necron Lord w/ Res Orb, Destroyer Body, Phylactery, Warscythe: 195

ELITES
6 Immortals: 168

TROOPS
16 Necron Warriors: 288
16 Necron Warriors: 288

FAST ATTACK
5 Destroyers: 250
3 Wraiths: 123
4 Scarab Swarms: 48

Total: 1,500

I'd go 12/10/10 for my warriors. Having a bigger squad makes sense, but not at the detriment of other stuff.

Ditch the wraiths, go 2 x 3 destroyers, and add some scarabs with the rest.

Two lords in 1500pts is a bad idea. Get more stuff with him.

My buddy's 1500pt necron list pretty much always goes 4-0 at tourneys, and is fairly friendly (fairly).

He runs something like:
Lord with orb
2 x 5 immortals
3 x 10-ish warriors
2 x 4 destroyers
1 x 7 scarabs

I can probably do without the Destroyer Lord at the 1500 point level, his 2D6 vs Armour will be compensated for by the Destoyers and Immortals with Warrior glancing. However, the Immortals/Warriors/Destoyers plus Scarabs seems so 'cookie cutter' for Necrons that I would at least try to do something a little different, which is why I put the Wraiths in because I really like 'em.

If I was to remove the Destoyer Lord but keep everything else - Lord w/ Orb, 2x16 Warrior Squads (or 12/10/10), 6 Immortals, 5 Destoyers, 3 Wraiths and Scarabs - as they are, that gives me 195 points to spend elsewhere, which could go on a full squad of Heavy Destoyers (though popular opinion is that they suck) or I could drop one of my regular Destoyers and add a Monolith, or Up my Warrior Count to 42, or get another 6 Immortals... Hmm.

Maybe I drop the Destoyers entirely and with the spare points add a Monolith and another squad of Immortals, making for an immensely shooty army of 2x16 Warriors and 2x6 Immortals supported by a Lord on foot with Res Orb and a Monolith. The Res Orb and the Monolith (which as I undertand allows me to re-roll failed WBB rolls on members of a teleporting unit) give the army great resistance to withering fire as the army advances together.

I really don't know

Don't drop the destroyers. You NEED the range they provide, and the str6 shots are invaluable. I'd also keep the wraiths, and if you keep them, keep the destroyer lord. Counter assault is good. However if you DO decide to drop the Destoyer lord go with the monolith, drop the wraiths and add more warriors or immortals. I'm sorry to say that cookie cutter is what Necrons do best. They don't have the wealth of options that other armies do (like Marines). Whe I first played Crons I decided that the Phalanx wasn't for me and tried various set ups. Defeat after defeat showed me that the Necrons REALLY need their units to support each other, and that the phalanx is the best way to achieve this. I think you'll find the same principle applies to the "cookie cutter" mentality. There is room for variations, but, in the case of Necrons, they'll always be variations on a theme.

For the battles I've played with my 'Crons one of the most valuable units I've used is the Wraiths. I'd absolutely keep them in. Personally I think immortals are nice, but a tad overrated. I would lose the immortals and maybe the scarabs and get a monolith in there. A monolith at any level is invaluable, but at 1500 points it's going to rock your opponents world.

Okay, wow, that was some brilliant advice from everyone that covered a lot of different perspectives. Of course, this is just the first run and over time I expect to add a lot more units to my army to allow me flexibility and tactical changes, but for my initial purchases you've really given me some great ideas.

I'm glad that the Destoyer Lord/Wraith Squad fast melee team wasn't such an insane idea. I thought about what else I could do in light of the advice so I dropped the Immortals and split the Warriors into three even squads of ten. The Scarabs are gone, and with the points I gained from removing Immortals, Scarabs and two Warriors, I put a Monolith in the picture so my Warriors are now a lot harder to assault.

How do you think this would go?

HQ
1 Necron Lord w/ Res Orb: 140
1 Necron Lord w/ Res Orb, Destroyer Body, Phylactery, Warscythe: 195

TROOPS
10 Necron Warriors: 180
10 Necron Warriors: 180
10 Necron Warriors: 180

FAST ATTACK
5 Destroyers: 250
3 Wraiths: 123

HEAVY SUPORT
1 Monolith: 235

TOTAL: 1,483

In expanding the army to 2,000 points I would probably buff the three Warrior Squads with another 4 members, give the Lord on foot a Veil and put the Immortals and Scarabs back in the roster.

A friend of mine made a Necron force and I was forced to play against it with a variety of armies. At 1500 pts, here is what we found:

A monlith is good, because iof its resistance to armor bashing lances/meltas/etc. If you feel like it, take either one lord or field the other with a normal body and add the veil of shadows. You MUST be able to extricate yourself fro HTH to get around the Nids. The mobility will also allow you to win with missions like recon as well. Swarms and deestroyers really got nerfed by the new shooting rules and target priority. 2-3 Starcannons are going to do a number on your destroyers, and once the squad is aced, it's over. WH40K FAQ states the lord on destroyer body doesnt count as another destroyer, so no WBB roll once the squad does the dying cockroach dance. If you must take them, take two squads to increase the chance of a WBB roll. Immortals ae a good choice to stick withthe veil lord. Wraiths were only used once, and we had a problem getting them to connect. In recent tournaments though, they have been an MVP against long range shooty armies like the Tau - and Im guesing you will see a lot more of them.

One final note: If you absolutely have to take a Ctan, take the Deciever, he is SO much more flexible than the Deathbringer, and cheaper to boot.

If you want to win with Necrons your list will include:
scarabs
either 2 squads of destroyers (big ones) or 2 big squads of immortals, or some of each.
at least 3 squads of warriors

So the base of your army should start with:
1 Lord with orb and staff, possibly a veil for use of pulling dudes out of assault (mebe)
2 x 6-8 immortals or 2 x 4 destroyers
3 x 10+ warriors
6-10 scarabs

What you put in there after that is all up to you, but the move and shoot multishot guys are a necessity and must have at least 2 squads to give WBB rolls. At 1500 pts, I would take all destroyers/immortals/necrons and one Lord. However, you could use a monolith (gay, but possible) or a veil Lord, but I'd recommend more dudes.

At 1500 pts I am not a fan of either 2 lords or a monolith, because it'll make the game not fun for some opponents and let other opponents walk all over you. Taking 2 lords and a monolith at 1500 pts gives Tau a chance to beat you (bad times) and it makes the game simply un-fun for Bugs without bunches of venom cannon carnies, Orks, and lots of assaulty guys. It makes your list unbalanced is what I'm saying. Instead of beating everyone you'll lose to some people and beat others worse than you did before, which makes you lopsided.

Oh and Wraiths are the worst unit in the codex excepting pariahs who don't count. No army should have them, barring exceptional circumstances.

They are so bad it's ridiculous. 3 dudes, with a 3+ inv, hoorah. Downside is it only takes a little more than a squad of dudes with bolters to kill them and they get punked by bp/ccw marines in close combat.

The only way they should ever be used is:
2 x 3 with a destroyer Lord and some scarabs backing them up.

If they could take bigger squads they'd be nice. Like at least 5, if not 8. However, 3 man squads makes them suck the big one (too easy to wipe out and not allow WBB rolls).

I'll have a think about it... a LOT of contrasting advice (Wraiths are good, Wraiths suck, take lots of Destoyers, take no Destoyers, Monlliths rock, Monoliths are cheap). Warriors with a Res Orb Lord on foot seem good... I don't know from there.

So Longshot, are these the kind of lists you mean...

HQ
1 Necron Lord w/ Res Orb: 140

ELITES
6 Immortals: 168
6 Immortals: 168

TROOPS
10 Necron Warriors: 180
10 Necron Warriors: 180
10 Necron Warriors: 180

FAST ATTACK
4 Destroyers: 200
4 Destroyers: 200
7 Scarab Swarms: 84

TOTAL: 1500

or


HQ
1 Necron Lord w/ Res Orb: 140

ELITES
8 Immortals: 224
8 Immortals: 224

TROOPS
10 Necron Warriors: 180
10 Necron Warriors: 180
10 Necron Warriors: 180

FAST ATTACK
6 Scarab Swarms: 72

HEAVY SUPPORT
Monolith: 235
Tomb Spyder: 55

TOTAL: 1,490

Oh and Wraiths are the worst unit in the codex excepting pariahs who don't count. No army should have them, barring exceptional circumstances.

I agree and disagree.

They're really not bad units if you use them the right way. They'd work pretty well if you just use them like Tyranid players use Raveners...field them in units of one for objective-holding, and use assault as necessary to help out scarabs in counterassaults.

HOWEVER, this means you're filling your FA slots with Wraiths when Scarabs and Destroyers are much better choices. That's bad.

They aren't THAT bad of a unit, but the Necron codex is (weirdly) constructed that you have too many better options in your FA choices. That's why I've argued on this forum that Wraiths should both be given a major overhaul and moved out of FA into Elites.

Bolter: I like those lists (especially your first one) much better, although I think a Veil is a must for any Necron army. Close combat is a losing proposition for Necrons, so the greater your ability to pull them out of dangerous combats, the better off your army will be.  Mobility is one of the main keys to success with Necrons now.

Okay, this is what I've ultimately decided on, and yeah I am sad to lose the Wraiths, but it makes my army very shooty which is opposite of my Blood Angels, so it will be nice to have something really different.

HQ
1 Necron Lord w/ Res Orb, Veil of Darkness: 200

ELITES
5 Immortals: 140
5 Immortals: 140

TROOPS
10 Necron Warriors: 180
10 Necron Warriors: 180
10 Necron Warriors: 180

FAST ATTACK
4 Destroyers: 200
4 Destroyers: 200
6 Scarab Swarms: 72

TOTAL: 1,492