More Necron Stuff...

[Grand Master Iapetus]

So this one starts with a quote from another thread:

 

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/index.p...howtopic=168688

 

Sweet. I never thought of phasing him out.

Really? ;) Oh, man, GKs are >>>> Necrons! The C'Tan eat DH up for lunch, but they're pokey and pricey. Just ram your GK dakka and GK NFWs into the Necron ranks and you'll be phasing them out in no time. Every C'Tan and Monolith your Necron foe takes should make you dance with glee. They're just making it that much easier to wipe them off the table. If you are appropriately aggressive, they won't even be able to use the Monolith's shooting abilities, they'll be so busy whisking 'crons through the portal just trying to stave off phase out. (Remember that the 'lith can't both shoot and TP units in the same turn.)

 

I definitely agree generally, however there is one build which has been tough for me. I have worked up a solution, but it can be very frustrating. Love to see some input from you (and everyone else). Here it is:

 

- 3 Monoliths

- Lord with Res Orb

- Scads of warriors with Maxed out Squads (however 12-15 is the ideal - explanation below)

 

Basically, they put the lord in the center where he is within 6" of all warrior squads. Spread out the Monoliths so at least 2 are within 18" of every squad. Here's his strategy:

 

- Res Orb allows squads to roll WBB even if they are killed by a power weapon or instant death.

- Squads that fail the WBB roll teleport through the Monolith the next turn and get to reroll WBB.

- Monolith teleportation can also disengage squads from CC

- Everything is close enough that they can place the squads within rapid fire range of the squad they just disengaged in combat AND the Lord with The Res Orb

- Even with Termies, the mathammer is hard to overcome...

 

My strategy:

 

- Kill the monoliths first (shooty preferably - taking GHLR and/or Hellfire Dreads, ISTs with Meltas work too, but even in a rhino they can be too fragile)

- Engage the infantry in CC as monoliths fall

- If I get an immobilized monolith, park a vehicle in front of the portal

- Make sure the warriors are measured for the 2" rule when emerging out of the portal. Base to base only about 12-15 can actually fit in front of the monolith...

 

 

Thoughts?

[Auedawen]

Same as always, close combat. The trick of course is getting past the particle whips on your way in. What points level are you playing at? 3 Mono's plus a Res-lord are a minimum of 850+ points, over HALF of the necron army! He can't even fit a full 36 warriors into the rest of the army. If you could manage to simultaneously assault his army with 3 of your squads (he could only field 3 of his own) the game would be over.

 

In fact, you could build a list similar to his own...3 Land Raiders + 3 8 man squads of Knights (one with an attached BC) and you're just under 1500. Game set match.

[Aidoneus]

The one problem I can see this list posing is if the monoliths are used to form a protective wall in front of the warriors, meaning you can't get through to assault them. Three 6" monoliths with 3" between them and 1" on either side will effectively block off 26", and that's assuming the monoliths don't make use of their diagonals.

 

However, as mentioned, once you actually get into close combat, it's game over. Teleporting out of combat is all well and good, but when you're winning combats by 5 or 6 wounds and forcing leadership test on Ld 4 or 5, then using I4 to run down I2 squads... well, chances are pretty good there won't be anything left to 'port out of combat the next turn.

 

If he's really excellent at keeping you out of combat, my suggestion is honestly to sit back and snipe at long range. His army has a 24" range, with most things being even less (especially with warriors moving or hiding behind 'liths), so you'll win a war of attrition at range simply with psycannons, lascannons, and any other 36"+ weapons you have.

[revnow]

As much as I am going to absolutely hate myself for using the following analogy, it applies.

 

You need to treat this like a NASCAR race. Now I'm kind of assuming you're running Tri-Raider, and if you're not, post your list and I'll modify based on those terms. You need to treat each of the monoliths like a car you need to pass in a race, and just like in a race they will shimmy to block you. So, your raiders need to be in a formation matching the monoliths with the two outside raiders farther to the outside so that their inside edge lines up with the outside monolith's outside edge. The Raider with your termies needs to be in the center. It should take no more than two turns to reach the edge of the monoliths. At which point your oppoent is either forced to open up the formation, allowing you to push through (with one of the two sides and the center), or keep in closed and shuffle a little bit, allowing you to move around the sides, trapping them together, preventing them from shimmying and vicing at least two of the warrior squads between the Land Raider's cargo, with the center Landraider well within drive assaulting distance to any of the portals.

 

In any case keep a few things in mind.

- Use POTMS to its maximum potential, one lucky lascannon or melta hit is gamebreaking to the Tri-Monolith formation because it needs to operate as a unified entity.

- Only units eligable for WBB can be brought through the portal. If a regular GK squad hits a warrior squad what will break them is the couple that die from the Justicar's power weapon, and then the sweeping advance, not the 2-3 that get sucked back through the portal.

- Land Raiders and their like are twice as fast as a monolith's maxed speed, you should therefore be able to always outmaneuver.

- You have to play the odds, with a combination of smoke and average blast rolling it will be some time before they should be able to pull off a pen on one of the Raiders. If you don't play it a little risky and by the math the army will wear you down and break you apart, just like its supposed to.

- Move in ways that make the liths take dangerous terrain tests. If all three liths have to take a dangerous terrain test each turn then you have better odds of getting an immobilized result on them than their partical whips do on you.

- They are going to have to use 750 points of their army to beat 1750 points of yours. 750 points of their army is invested in them not dying, with the potential of maybe doing something if things start going badly for you.

[Corpse.]

Lists like that I normally charge after the necron lord and kill it. Then I just rapidfire his warriors and keep charging where I can. Pistols are one less shot, and my melee gets a good first round in before I am forced out of melee by monolith.

 

I dont remember the last game I ever shot at a monolith with anything. I seriously dont recall!

 

Though I dont play GK, I play with armies that are similar = sonic noise marines.

[number6]

Keep in mind that with the DH/GKs you are superior to the 'crons both at range and in close combat. Melee combat is an easier, far more decisive, and more reliable path to victory -- phase-out being all but guaranteed -- but you can still outshoot 'cron armies built like the one you're facing quite easily and win your game that way, too. You just need to be patient.

 

If your opponent is holding up behind a wall of monoliths, then simply outshoot them from range. If you can bring a lot of 30"+ weaponry to bear, do so! Otherwise, you can probably still dance around right around 24" and still outshoot the 'crons, though this is a bit dicier because of the Monoliths' weaponry. (Without monoliths, GKs can clearly outshoot 'crons at 24" for an entire game and never even try to get into combat.) If you are forced to fight this army from range, then make sure to focus fire on the Necrons themselves! I still wouldn't worry too much about monoliths. Like some of the others here, I have never -- in all my years of playing 40K -- taken a single shot at a monolith. The entire point is to threaten the 'crons with phase out. Make it clear to your opponent that this is your goal. Put yourself in charge of the game and always keep them on the defensive.

 

Against this particular army, where there are no destroyers, you will be clearly superior in both the shooting and close combat phases of the game. The only edge these 'crons have is mobility, as the monoliths and (presumably) veil of darkness allow them to reposition very quickly and effectively. So castle up and focus all your strength on one Necron unit at a time until the 'cron general is faced with a terrible dilemma. The only way this army should have any chance of beating you is by taking extreme risks. Be ready to pounce on them when they do! And if the 'cron general proves to be conservative/cowardly, just slowly grind them away at them at range and beat them down that way. If/when they make a mistake, unload your GKs into melee and sweep them off the table for the decisive win.