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Hey Gang,

I'm thinking of starting another army, and I thought Necrons would be a fun choice. I've made up a 1500 point list, and I wanted to take advantage of the Zahndrekh / Obyron together to be badasses. So this is what I've got.

HQ
Nemesor Zahndrekh - 185
Vargard Obyron - 160

Elites

5x Deathmarks w/Night Scythe - 195
5x Triarch Praetorian - 200

Troops
3x - 10x Necron Warriors - 390

Fast Attack
5x Canoptek Wraiths - 1x whip coils, 1x Particle Caster - 190

2x Annihilation Barge w/Tesla Cannon - 180

1500 total.

I figured I'd put Obyron with the Praetorians and have them move around and beat face while the Nemesor moves up with the warriors, being supported by the Barges. The Wraiths are for assaulting. Does that all make sense? I'm used to playing Tau, so I'm not 100% on assaulting units and their value.

Thanks for your comments.

Looks good to me,
Ive never used praetorians so I dont know if they are good or not
but the wraiths should have 3 whipcoils and drop the gun
Ive only used nemesor and Obyron a handful of times but they have always been awesome for me

Well, I'd take advantage of Night Scythes which have a great delivering system.

At the 1500 pt level, I'd take a single HQ like a DLord.

Decent enough start.

I'd recommend putting the Warriors in to 2x Squads of 15 vs. the 3x10. Then put Obyron with one, and Zahndrekh in the other if you're going to run them both. Obyron has the benefit of being able to use the Veil like the last codex, so if that unit doesn't get wiped out, then he can still Deep Strike out making the unit he was with available to be shot again. Depending on your opponent, that 2nd unit of Warriors w/Obyron can also be placed in Reserve to make use of Zhandrekh's ability to bring them in when your opponent brings in Reserves.

Particle Casters are useless on Wraiths, and Whip Coils are very limited for when they're actually worth taking, so drop both of those. You already have Wraiths on the list, so you'll find that the Praetorians are a bit underwhelming. I'd look at replacing these and maxing out the Deathmarks to a 10 man unit. If you want a unit to teleport around with Obyron, then I'd suggest taking a Royal Court with a bunch of Lords. It's only 5 pts more per model and you get Everliving on top of it. You'll get those points by dropping the Whip Coils and Particle Caster easy enough.

 Akar wrote:
Decent enough start.

I'd suggest taking a Royal Court with a bunch of Lords. It's only 5 pts more per model and you get Everliving on top of it. You'll get those points by dropping the Whip Coils and Particle Caster easy enough.

is there a preferred load out for the lords? they have a ton of options. thanks for the help so far everyone.

Four comments and no one has suggested sticking a Despair-tek with those Deathmarks in the Nightscythe?
I am disappointed, guys...

 doctor_doom wrote:

is there a preferred load out for the lords? they have a ton of options. thanks for the help so far everyone.

Sorry, forgot to mention this. Just put Warscythes on them and they become 45 pts. Maybe give one of them an Orb. The Praetorians advantage is that they're jump infantry, which is not being taken advantage of if Obyron is flying the unit around. Wraiths are also there to fill the Jump role. So for just the 5 pt difference, you're getting one more attack per model, but with Warscythes, and an Everliving unit if you're going to use this tactic. Keep in mind it's still not a great tactic, and you're still better off filling out your other units, but try it and you just might like it.

For fun games, you could give them Sempiternal Weaves and create a Necron Terminator unit, but it really gets pricey. Others will suggest that you put MSS on them for fun, but that just paints a bigger target on that unit's head.

 skoffs wrote:
Four comments and no one has suggested sticking a Despair-tek with those Deathmarks in the Nightscythe?
I am disappointed, guys...

Why be disappointed that no one has recommended a bad idea when he's probably going to be playing Tau?

Thanks for the advice everyone. This is my new list with the suggestions.

HQ
Nemesor Zahndrekh - 185
Vargard Obyron - 160

Royal Court

Necron Lord - 60
Warscythe, sempiternal weave

Necron Lord - 90
Warscythe, sempiternal weave, resurrection orb


Elites

8x Deathmarks w/Night Scythe - 252


Troops
2x - 15x Necron Warriors - 390

Fast Attack
5x Canoptek Wraiths - 175

2x Annihilation Barge w/Tesla Cannon - 180

total is 1492.

I think this will be pretty fun.

Looking better, but at 1500 it would be a good idea to have at least a 3rd troop choice.
And where's that non-ResOrb Lord going? With Zahndrekh, I assume, while the Orb carrier goes with Obyron? If so, while it might not be absolutely necessary, you may want to consider giving them Mindshackle Scarabs, too. Incredibly useful, both in terms of offense and defense.

 Akar wrote:

 skoffs wrote:
Four comments and no one has suggested sticking a Despair-tek with those Deathmarks in the Nightscythe?
I am disappointed, guys...

Why be disappointed that no one has recommended a bad idea when he's probably going to be playing Tau?

I'm sorry, I must have missed the memo saying everyone only plays Tau now.
But, OP, on the off chance you end up playing anyone who uses Terminators or anything with a 2+ armor save, a Harbinger of Despair attached to a unit of Deathmarks in a Nightscythe is one of the most devastating combos in our codex (essentially, you get an AP1 flamer which wounds anything marked by the Deathmarks on a 2+. Utterly deadly. There is very little which will be able to stand up to that).

Your list looks GREAT!!! I'll agree that you should get a 3rd Troop choice, but don't go out of your way to find the points for it, you're better off with what you have than say trying to add a 5 man unit for late game scoring in MOST cases. Those 2 units are tough as nails and you've got plenty of other stuff that your opponents can't ignore in time to deal with them. As you play higher point games, then definitely work in a 3rd unit. That second Lord does seem a bit out of place though. Those points would be better off spent maxing out the Deathmarks or Wraiths.

 skoffs wrote:
I'm sorry, I must have missed the memo saying everyone only plays Tau now.

Maybe you missed the bit where the OP said he's used to playing Tau, which is why no one recommended it?

 skoffs wrote:
But, OP, on the off chance you end up playing anyone who uses Terminators or anything with a 2+ armor save, a Harbinger of Despair attached to a unit of Deathmarks in a Nightscythe is one of the most devastating combos in our codex (essentially, you get an AP1 flamer which wounds anything marked by the Deathmarks on a 2+. Utterly deadly. There is very little which will be able to stand up to that).

There are a TON of Strengths in the Necron Codex. The 5 man Deathmark squad with a Despairtek in a Nightscythe is not one of them. Im not opposed to people wasting their points on such an unreliable tactic, it's their choice and it's their army. It's just gotten to the point where 'experienced' Necron players are so insistent on how great this is, that to not include it means you can't do damage, or even win games (Not referring to you on this second one Skoffs, I actually think you're one of the smarter Cron Advisors on here!)

I'll agree that it's very devastating, and I will run Despairteks in my units of Deathmarks, when I actually run Deathmarks AND put them in Nightscythes. I feel that any new Necron player wishing to use Deathmarks, should really start them out as a single 10 man unit and use their Deep Strike and see what they actually do as a unit. The Deep Strike is lost if you put a Despairtek in the unit w/o a Veil. Put that unit in a Nightscythe, and you still have the option w/o wasting the points on a Despairtek, of putting the Deathmarks in Deep Strike for the empty Nightscythe depending on opponent and Deployment. Deathmarks become exceptionally lethal when you run two units of them, which is something you have to commit to, much like running Multiple Barges or Wraith spam, etc. Taking a 5 man unit, to give one model the ability wound on a 2+? Worst use of all of the abilities the unit provides by comparison.

When I did run the DnD unit, the limitations outweighed their use enough to justify taking them consistently. They don't have much of an impact at anything that is 30"+ away, which is pretty much anything in your opponents Deployment zone. They become significantly less effective when they go first, giving your opponent more time with his stuff off the board, and fewer targets for you to choose from. The units that are worth hitting quickly become 'Bubble-wrapped' so that the DnD squad can't actually get close enough. So after a few games with them, they're too inconsistent to do enough damage to justify their cost on virtually every standard list that seems to get posted on here.

I've had more fun and more success in my games when I stopped running them, and I'm just providing that experience just as you are providing them as a recommendation.

Hey, all I know is,
I saw OP was already taking a Nightscythe full of Deathmarks, and his HQ was able to take a Royal Court.
I figured, if he already had all but one of the pieces to a combo, why not see if he could free up an extra 30 points to really make that unit into a serious threat.
*shrug*

 skoffs wrote:
Four comments and no one has suggested sticking a Despair-tek with those Deathmarks in the Nightscythe?
I am disappointed, guys...

Deathmarks are not a must-have in a Necron army, just an add-on. At this pt level, I'd stay away from them.

 wuestenfux wrote:

 skoffs wrote:
Four comments and no one has suggested sticking a Despair-tek with those Deathmarks in the Nightscythe?
I am disappointed, guys...

Deathmarks are not a must-have in a Necron army, just an add-on. At this pt level, I'd stay away from them.

But OP had already included them in their list.
I was trying to say, if they already had a unit oif Deathmarks, AND they're in a Nightscythe, they might as well throw in a Despair-tek to complete the combo.

Not every game and army list has to be Wraithstar for Necrons seriously.

OP that's a great list but Yeah you got some awesome combos you can get out of that list.


HQ
Nemesor Zahndrekh - 185
Vargard Obyron - 160

Elites

5x Deathmarks w/Night Scythe - 195
5x Triarch Praetorian - 200

Troops
3x - 10x Necron Warriors - 390

Fast Attack
5x Canoptek Wraiths - 1x whip coils, 1x Particle Caster - 190

2x Annihilation Barge w/Tesla Cannon - 180

1500 total.

Here's how I'd "reorganize"

HQ
Same

Troops
As someone Suggestion 2 Large Squads of 15 with each of your HQs in them.

Elites
Deathmarks w/ a Despair Cryptek
Praetorians ( I am not a fan of these guys at all but with Nemesor, they could be useful? With hit and run or maybe Stealth)

Everything else the same except remove the particle blaster from the Wraiths.

Hollismason wrote:
Not every game and army list has to be Wraithstar for Necrons seriously.

OP that's a great list but Yeah you got some awesome combos you can get out of that list.


Here's how I'd "reorganize"

HQ
Same

Troops
As someone Suggestion 2 Large Squads of 15 with each of your HQs in them.

Elites
Deathmarks w/ a Despair Cryptek
Praetorians ( I am not a fan of these guys at all but with Nemesor, they could be useful? With hit and run or maybe Stealth)

Everything else the same except remove the particle blaster from the Wraiths.

I actually reorganized the list, should I edit the original post? Here is the new one.

HQ
Nemesor Zahndrekh - 185
Vargard Obyron - 160

Royal Court

Necron Lord - 60
Warscythe, sempiternal weave

Necron Lord - 90
Warscythe, sempiternal weave, resurrection orb


Elites

8x Deathmarks w/Night Scythe - 252


Troops
2x - 15x Necron Warriors - 390

Fast Attack
5x Canoptek Wraiths - 175

2x Annihilation Barge w/Tesla Cannon - 180

total is 1492.