Necron Melee

It's funny but after having played Necrons for a few weeks now I find Necrons to be better at melee than shooting. Here are my own personal picks for the top Necron melee units (in no particular order):

— Canoptek ScArabs
— Canoptek Spyders
— Canoptek Wraiths
— Destroyer Lord

You'll note I didn't include Lychguard - sure they can be awesome but on the other hand they are not fearless and can break then are easily swept being only I2 like almost every other unit in the codex. They are really expensive for the points and are slow. I'd like to be able to make them work for my army but I just don't see it happening. I have used Lychguard several times - sometimes they did very well but sometimes they had no real impact at all. To make them mobile you've either got to attach a Veiltek or invest in a Night Scythe... Both will cost you more points. I really don't like the Night Scythe - mostly due to the fact that if it's wrecked or destroyed the embarked unit goes right back into reserve which is the worst thing that could happen to a dedicated melee unit. The Night Scythe is also fragile in my opinion and I don't think we will see a lot of competitive armies using them to ferry Lychguard across the table. I think the Cryptek could be better utilized in the army elsewhere providing Night Fight for a turn or letting you reroll a dice each turn. If they were fearless it would be a totally different story. Oh well it is what it is.

I also did not include the C'tan... Again another awesome unit but again too slow and too easy to target. They are very expensive for the points. I have used one once and the C'tan kicked arse in close combat but it was versus an army with not much long ranged shooting so I could slog it relatively safely across the table. Versus any army with dedicated long range firepower that could be a major problem. A couple turns of Night Fight might help though.

So I'm not necessarily saying Lychguard or C'tan are bad choices but neither works for me the way I want to play my Necrons. If they work well for you then more power to you. Let me know why they work for you.

Three of the units I've listed as good choices above are fast and they are all fearless as well. If you want to play a Necron melee oriented army I believe these are our best choices. ScArabs are great versus ANY armor and can quickly tarpit a lot of enemy units all the while applying the NOM NOM. The trick is quickly building them up to a high number of bases and releasing them at the right moment. Based upon my experience a horde of 24 ScArabs is more than twice as good as 15. I run a unit of 9 bases with two squads of three Canoptek Spyders... Let's do the math as it's quite simple:

Turn 1:   9 + 6 = 15
Turn 2: 15 + 6 = 21
Turn 3: 21 + 6 = 27

Turn 3 is the right moment to send them forward if you can wait that long to let your farm reach critical mass. Remember that you can start moving them forward during the first three turns - simply keep the tail end within the minimum distance from your Spyders so you can keep crapping out more of the little metallic beasts and they are easy to hide for the cover saves.

So far I have found 24 bases to be the right number. If you are investing less points they won't be nearly as effective... There are some armies that really don't have a good answer to ScArabs and I think they will be the demise of Imperial Guard.

Canoptek Spyders are really cheap for the points - only 50 points for a S6 T6 3W monstrous creature with an excellent armor save... It doesn't get any better than that in my opinion. I have found in melee they tend to be more of a tarpit versus tough enemy dedicated melee units such as Thunderwolves or assault terminators. Always remember that their main purpose is to crap out more ScArabs. Versus softer enemy units they will chew their way right through them. Don't forget to run the Spyders so you can extend your line of ScArabs. Spyders can also be used to provide cover to other units.

So now we come to Canoptek Wraiths. As much as I love ScArabs and Spyders this is probably my favorite unit in the new codex. I think they are much more potent now in the new codex. Wraiths have many advantages in melee over other enemy units - it's hard to cover them all so for the time being I'll simply say they are made of pure gold and soon cover them in more depth in a follow up article.

The last Necron melee unit is the Destroyer Lord which I've already covered in another recent article. Sure the Destroyer Lord does not have access to a Royal Court but if you're goal is to design a competitive Necron melee army you can easily get around this particular short coming. I run mine with the weave (2+ armor save), Res Orb, Mind Shackle ScArabs and a Tachyon Arrow. He is expensive but he is also another true beast designed as such.


Conclusion
I have presented the Necron units I think are the best in melee and provided some tips how to best utilize them.

How are these units working for you? Do you think Necrons are better in melee now?

Transmorgrification

Introduction
So I've got some free time just before hitting the sack and I decided I'd spend some time writing my first serious tactical article for Necrons. The codex has been out for awhile now and we have all seen the more prevalent lists that are gaining popularity. One of the nice things about using Tremor tactics is it does not eat up lots of points so you can incorporate elements from other popular builds such as Wraithwing and the Scarab Farm. Tremor tactics go hand in hand with Stormlord tactics—by combining the two you are both limiting the distance your opponent can target your squads when shooting as well as slowing their approach... The goal is to create conditions such that the enemy cannot see you nor can the opponent assault you. All the while you are moving your units into position to devastate the enemy.


As a general caveat there are strategies the opponent can make use of to mitigate these effects but generally speaking mechanized armies that heavily rely upon treads will have some real problems getting around your defensive affects. I like to call these tactics Enemy Force Divider (FID). The term force multiplier is common now in fifth edition as there are lots of special characters that boost certain units in their army and unlock special modifications to the existing force organization chart (FOC). So basically you are using defensive powers to neutralize the main strengths of your opponent's army. Reserve armies that deploy via deep strike, infiltration and outflanking (e.g., Blood Angels DoA and Tyranid reserve armies) are less affected by Tremor tactics since they can deliver their units right upon your door step—I'll address how to deal with these types of armies in a later article.




Basic Tremor Tactics
So what are Tremor tactics? These tactics make use of the C'tan Shards and Crypteks fielded as Harbingers of Transmorgrification (HoT). The main manifestation of power to select for the C'tan is Writhing Worldscape—all difficult terrain is treated as also dangerous terrain and dangerous terrain tests are failed on the roll of both a 1 and 2 while the C'tan is on the battlefield. The other manifestitation of power I think is very useful for these tactics is the Grand Illusion that allows you to redeploy up to D3 units after both forces have deployed and all Scout Moves have been made–note that you can place these units back into or out of reserve... Generally you'll want to go first if possible so as to pull off the bait and switch tactic. HoT are armed with the Tremor Stave which cause an enemy unit hit with this weapon to treat terrain as difficult ground during their next movement phase and it has a range of 36". You can also field Orikan the Diviner who causes all terrain to be treated as difficult ground for the enemy during their first turn. I am still up in the air about Orikan though as he is a Cryptek that counts as an HQ and does not have access to a Royal Court. You'll want to make sure you have enough HoG such that they are effective. HoT also have access to the Seismic Crucible which reduces the charge range of an enemy unit by D3" if they attempt to assault the HoT including any unit he is attached.


So these are the tactics you use to impede the forward progress of the enemy. As I said above these tactics go hand in hand with Stormlord tactics including Harbingers of Destruction armed with the Solar Pulse... Your opponent can't see you and they can't reach out and touch you in melee... All the while you are moving into position to blast them to bloody bits !!




Flexibility
One of the inherent beauties of Tremor tactics is besides the cost of the C'tan the HoD are relatively cheap to field so you have lots of points left over—You can still incorporate Stormlord, Wraithwing and Scarab Farm elements into your army if you wish. Tremor tactics basically are an enhancement that help bolster your defense by buying you more time.


2k Sample Army List

So far I have used 1955 points. The list incorporates both Stormlord and Scarab Farming elements. It can really hit hard in melee with lots of heavy hitters. The shooty component is very mobile.

HQ

Imotekh the Stormlord (225)

Orikan the Diviner (165)

Royal Court (315)

*Harbinger of Destruction (Solar Pulse)

*Harbinger of Despair (Veil of Darkness)

*Harbinger of Transmogrification (Seismic Crucible)

*Harbinger of Transmogrification

*Lord (Resurrection Orb)

*Lord (Resurrection Orb)

Elite

C'Tan Shard (260)

-          Writhing Worldscape & Grand Illusion

Troops

20x Warriors (260)

10x Immortals (170)

10x Immortals (170)

Fast Attack

6x Canoptek Wraiths (260)

-          2x Particle Caster + 4x Whip Coil

10x Canoptek Scarabs (150)

Heavy Support

3x Canoptek Spyder (150)

Conclusion
This is the first article that presents the use of Tremor tactics and provides a sample army lists to better illustrate how to effectively incorporate these tactics.