Necrons Generalist Review Part II

Picking up where we left off last time...

So my man Nick (his mother named him Darkwynn, but that's because he's a superhero in his spare time) isn't so fond of Necrons.  In the comments, he double-downed on his opinion:

As for Necrons shooting, I don't even think they do that well. I look at their line up and they are curved at a specific army type such as infantry with Tesla or low AV units. I think they could do all right against Marines in some fashion depending on the build. Other types of armies I think would destroy them, especially played by a good player. 

It also comes down to what they do not have an answer for right now... 

Here I had to edit out some stuff that just didn't make sense... I suspect he was typing from a cell phone or something.  (Or he was drunk.  What, too much?)

Grey Knights paladins.  They have no Str 8 Ap 2 shots that they can mass or scale out in three or four shots unless they forgive a lot of other options which gimps them.

Imagine that!  Having an opinion then... backing it up?  Doesn't he realize this is Ye Ol' Blogosphere?

(Opinions aren't allowed.  Except mine.  Ass.)

I wrote last time the Necrons are a shooting army, and primarily they are.  What's most interesting is just how effective the 'Crons close assault can be...

...in the form of Scarabs, Wraiths, and Lords / Destroyer Lords - and all of these perfectly costed, by the by.

I'm not including Lychguard 'cause I ain't sold on 'em, but there are players out there making good use of them as a counter-attack unit.  The point is there are a number of builds centered around one or more of these, making a close-assault Necron army backed up by effective shooting a very viable proposition indeed.

Case in point, the list I'm working sports a Farm and a unit of Wraiths with Whipcoils.  A Destroyer Lord hangs out with the Wraiths, giving them some extra punch on the charge.  The Troops are filled out with some beefy Warriors units and two five-strong Tesla Immortals, the latter being an incredible for points-concious players out there.

All that being said, what's wrong with the basic weaponry available in the Troops slots?  The standard Gauss weaponry work just fine for glancing vehicles, and oftentimes that's enough.  Tesla is nothing to sniff at; Carbines are the bomb and the Tesla Destructor - mounted on the Annihilation Barge - is simply awesome!

Who cares that it's 24-inches?  That's the army's honeyspot; stroke it gently.

(Bleed through!)

Er, not sure why I went a bit naughty, but let's try this comparision:  a Rifleman Dread is always worth the price, that is, normally around 125pts.  The Barge does it better, cheaper, coming in at 90pts.  So it trades range; the tesla special rule adds hits and Arc starts dropping lighting on any unit foolish enough not to sport rubber soles.

Okay, I get that most shooting armies can play a bit more at range, but Necrons are survivable and they have the above-mentioned units for counter-assault.  Also, let's not fail to make this 'deficit' a benefit; in two of three standard missions you're going to have to venture out from your deployment zone...

...24-inches is the range you need to play at.

(What about Paladins?)

Well, let's talk about Paladins.  Nick brought it up, after all.

Some people play them.  You may run into them.  Play the mission, destroy the Psyflemen, and don't allow your speed bump sacrificial units to allow a springboard into your deployment zone.  Wear them down, then determine if you can launch your assault elements.

Above all, play the mission!

* * * 

Not everyone dropped a critical review like my man Nick...

To be continued...