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Getting back into 40k after a few years out of the game and I just played my first game of 8th edition. I have to say I am liking the new ruleset. I chose Necrons as my faction because I remember loving them in 6th edition and the models have always had a certain charm for me. Also, aside from the somewhat paltry anti-tank/MC options I'm really liking the rules for Necrons this edition.
Without any further ado, here is the battle report (sorry there are no pics!)
The Armies:
Necrons: I only had the starter set so my decisions were pretty much made up for me.
Patrol
-Overlord w/scythe and res orb
-Triarch stalker with twin heavy glass cannon
-3 scarabs
-12 warriors
Guard:
-2 lord commissars
-3 infantry squads, 2 of which had HB teams
-2 leman russ, one with plasma turrets and sponsons and one with punisher cannon and HB sponsons
I forget which detachment he used but he got 1 command point which he forgot to use for the re-roll.
Scenario:
We rolled for it and ended up with the scouring scenario with the spearhead deployment. I was the underdog and got to go first but he chose sides and due to luck managed to get the primary objective worth 4 VP in his deployment which meant the whole game was a bit of an uphill battle for me, forcing me to attack his position.
The way that we deployed terrain and the deployment type also meant that the battlefield was aligned in three lanes with almost no cover in each apart from relative separation from each other. It was strange and not what we planned for at all but we rolled for it and it made for an interesting game!
The Battlefield:
Essentially there was from my perspective a left lane, a middle lane and a right lane separated by tall buildings and linear cover from each other. there were minor objectives scattered throughout but in the middle lane in the guard deployment was the primary objective worth 4VP with a bit of a no man's land in front. The primary objective was also inside a small ruin.
Deployment:
We took turns with me waiting to deploy my triarch stalker in the hopes of setting it up after a leman russ but he had more units than me and waited me out. He ended up deploying a squad with HB on the ruin in the middle lane, capping the primary objective. He put the other HB squad in the right lane in cover and put a lord kommisar by both squads. He put a third squad on the left lane un supported and deployed both leman russ in the middle on either side of the objective.
I deployed the warrior squad on the right flank out of sight of both tanks with the overlord in their midst. I put the scarabs in the middle lane hidden behind terrain and the triarch stalker was able to be deployed behind cover with a view to both tanks thanks to some lucky terrain placement.
Necron Turn 1
Thankfully he didn't seize the initiative and I went first being the underdog. I put my will be done on the warriors and moved them up with the overlord on the right flank, their shooting took out 2 or 3 guardsmen. The scarabs didn't move as my plan was to dart out and grab an objective with them last minute. The triarch stalker shot at the plasma russ and missed both shots! This ended up being critical as if I had hit I likely would have destroyed the tank later on.
Guard Turn 1
He advanced the guard squad on the left, and camped out with the other squads and commissars. Then he moved the punisher leman russ into the right lane to try to deal with the warriors. It ended up only killing 4 warriors with all its shooting while all the guardsmen did exactly zero damage to anything else. The plasma russ managed to do 3 wounds to my triarch stalker but due to misses and the fact that I still had a save being in cover it didn't take much damage.
Necron Turn 2
Rolled well for RP and 3 warriors came back, almost nullifying my losses, the stalker also went back up to 8 wounds. I put will on the warriors and moved them, this time some of them were able to rapid fire and they killed another 2 guardsmen. Due to the commissar they passed morale. The stalker shot the leman russ, this time doing 6 wounds.
Guard Turn 2
The guardsmen again camped and fired ineffectively, killing only a single warrior. The punisher camped and only killed 3 warriors. The plasma russ only put 4 wounds on the stalker but managed to reduce it to bs4 which was critical as it never regained its 6th wound over the course of the game.
Necrons Turn 3
The warriors regained 2 models from RP, the stalker went back to 5 wounds. I put will on the warriors and a moved up, rapid firing and wiping the guard squad, scoring first blood for me. the overlord moved up behind them. The stalker managed to put another 2 wounds on the plasma russ, reducing its BS. The warriors then assaulted one of the lord commissars, doing 2 wounds and taking 2 casualties. Then the overlord charged the punisher russ and put 2 wounds on it.
Guard Turn 3
The only movement was that the punisher russ left combat with the overlord to be able to shoot again and the guard squad on the left moved up to an objective. The plasma russ shot at the triarch stalker and missed or failed to wound with every shot. The guard squad on the left and in the middle shot at the stalker and managed to wound it 1 time, preventing it from getting back to 6 wounds next turn. The punisher russ shot at the overlord and only put 1 wound on it. The commissar killed 1 warrior in cc and took 1 wound in return.
Necrons Turn 4
I used the res orb rolled ok for RP and replenished the squad back up 6 models, the overlord went back to 6 wounds, triarch stalker went back up to 5 wounds and shot at the plasma russ, doing 2 wounds. The moved away from the punisher russ to cap an objective and to be in range to buff the warriors once again. The buffed warriors easily killed the commissar in cc and consolidated towards the primary objective.
Guard Turn 4
The infantry again concentrated fire on the stalker and did 1 wound, with the squad on the left moving up to cap an objective. The plasma russ did only 1 wound on the stalker, which was saved. The punisher russ moved into my deployment zone then fired at the overlord, doing 3 wounds. The remaining commissar moved up closer to the warriors and fired his bolt pistol at them, failing to wound.
Necrons Turn 5
I only got back 1 warrior due to rp, the stalker went back to 5 wounds and the overlord back to 4. I left the overlord on an objective, the warriors moved up and fired at the squad capping the primary objective and killed 4 guardsmen. Then I charged them with the warriors and took 1 casualties from overwatch but still made it in and killed one, taking no casualties in return and getting in range of the objective. My scarabs moved up and charged the squad capping the objective on the left and killed 3 guardsmen, taking only 1 wound in return.
Guard Turn 5
The plasma russ again failed to do anything. The guard squad on the left fell back out of combat, the punisher russ fired and the overlord and got a lot more wounding rolls than is likely to happen, killing the overlord and scoring slay the warlord. The commissar killed one warrior in cc but no other damage was dealt, meaning I had 5 warriors who were able to pile in and contest the objective which he only had 5 models on as well.
We rolled for the end of the game and it ended.
Conclusion
Neither of us got the primary objective, we both had 2 VP from secondary objectives since we also both had units in the enemy deployment zone, the stalker capped 1 objective worth 2VP and the guard squad on the left capped one as well so in the end we both had 4VP and we tied. Technically being the underdog I guess I won, but we called it a tie because we're just playing for fun.
reflections
All in all I was impressed by the resilience of necron units and their firepower was pretty good against weak infantry like guard. To me the warriors played just how I imagine they would in the lore, advancing relentlessly like the terminator and killing everything in their path. I'm certainly glad I have another 24 warriors on the way. I probably could have played it a bit better, i.e. not charging my lord at the punisher and getting him to advance with the warriors, then he would have killed the other commissar most likely and gotten me slay the warlord and the primary objective. Had I not made the misplay of splitting my overlord off I likely could have won a landslide victory.
Nevertheless I did find it hard to damage tanks and it was reliant on good rolls, what are people finding to be their favourite or most reliable AT?
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