Necrons and the GK meta-game

[L30n1d4s]

So, I see there has already been a thread talking about counter-tactics with the new Necron codex. I have also read in multiple forums about how people think Lascannons might make a comeback, as they have a better chance of penetrating Quantum Shielding than MLs.. since GKs don't really have MLs (only on the Storm Raven and Dreadnoughts), this will affect them less other armies which rely on ML spam (i.e. IG, SW, some SM, etc.). They do use Psyflemen Dreads, so we may see

 

So, what will Necrons do to the GK meta-game?

 

In terms of Grey Knights, I think the biggest change may have less to do with ranged weapons and more with CC ability... specifically, now that WBB is replaced with Reanimation Protocals. The only way to stop RP is to wipe out the entire unit in one phase... since this is unlikely to do even with S5 SBs and lots of Psycannons (especially against the tougher units with their 3+ save), GKs may have to look to new options to bring enough raw damage to a Necron unit to take it out in a single turn... here are a few units that might be able to accomplish that:

 

1 - Massed Death Cult Assassions - Lots of people run these as part of a Henchman warband in smaller groups of 3-6, but maybe it is time to go all out and get a 8-12 man DCA unit or two.... let's see why. 6 DCAs on the charge against most Necron units will get 24 attacks, about 16 hits, and 8 wounds. Against a normal 10 man Warrior/Immortal/Flayed one squad, that means about 3 of those guys will get back up (about 4 if there is a Resurrection Orb in the unit)... now, if you up that to, say, a 9 man DCA unit, you get 36 attacks on the charge, 24 hits, and 12 wounds, wiping out the unit and possibly and attached Necron Lord/Cryptek/IC to boot, with no chance for any of the models to use RP.

 

2 - Super shooty Henchman Warbands - A warband with 3 Plasma Cannon Servitors, 1 Jokaero, 6 Psykers, and an attached Inquisitor puts out 3 S7 AP 2 blast templates, one large S8, AP1 blast, and 1 Lascannon/MM, all of which can sit in a Chimera and shoot out to 36" and pummel Necron phalanxs into the dirt, possibly wiping an entire unit out in a single round of shooting, thereby preventing RP rolls from happening at all... think of this as the poor man's Leman Russ Executionar.

 

3 - Massed Incinerators - I have mentioned this before, but I bring it up here, with a caveat... it is most powerful against Warriors, Flayed Ones, Tomb Blades, and Scarabs, since they have less than 3+ saves.... Purgation Squads, Purifier Squads, and Paladins can all take up to four Incernators in a single squad... of these, Purgation squads are by far the most economical, with a squad of 5 getting four Incinerators for the same points cost as a 5 man, completely unupgrade Strike Squad... anyway, massed S6 templates will easily wipe out entire squads of the Necron units mentioned above, with no survivors to enact RPs.... this is especially useful against Scarabs, since Incinerators ID these multi-wound bases and remove this very dangerous threat to GK armor.

 

Anyhow, those are some of the things I think might see more use, as Necrons become more prevelant... not that GK players will competely change their armies just to fight Necrons, but I think there will be measureable adjustments in how GKs build their lists.

 

So, what do you think.... how will Necrons change how GK armies are built? Agree with me or do you think something totally different?

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

I think of all the armies out there GK have the least to worry about from the coming xenos menace. I could be wrong though.

 

G

[*Furyou Miko]

With the loss of Pariahs, GK have less to worry about with Necrons than ever before.

 

Just don't shoot the guys with tower shields.

[Red Lost Soldier]

You forgot the other major weakness of re-animation is that a fall back move removes all tokens, which shouldn't be too hard to a GK player to do with a combat charge.

 

I'm thinking the paradigm of mass Psycannons won't change, they are perhaps the perfect weapon for stripping quantum shielding to be followed by normal missile equivalent (MEq by any other name?). Even with re-animation, GK still will have the edge in combat due to initiative and force weapons, outside of a few units. By the time you are in range for Incinerators, you may as well charge. The heavy incinerator is something I've always liked, and will bring fear to many Necron units. Scarabs will be a problem for Dreadknights though, heh.

[Chengar Qordath]

You don't need to completely wipe the unit via wounds in close combat; being initiative 2 across the board makes wiping them out via Sweeping Advance pretty simple. Besides, still being in cc during the Necron shooting phase is definitely a good thing.

 

That said, Halberds are obviously a waste against the Necrons; no point in hitting on I6 instead of I4 when all your enemies only hit on I2. All things considered, I would say GK should generally focus on killing Necron in cc; Sweeping Advance still works just as well as it did against the last Necron book.

 

I would have to disagree on using incinerators over psycannons. Against the likes of Warriors/Flayed Ones/Scarabs you'd do just fine by shooting them up, and charging what's left (if you're in incinerator range, you're in charge range). Besides, psycannons will be a gift from the Emperor against the nasty Necron vehicles (especially once their Quantum Shielding gets knocked out), and the changes to Living Metal mean that they can even take down Monoliths now.

[Reclusiarch Darius]

Already have a thread going about this man, if you wanna contribute ;) I've gone to the trouble of breaking down each Force Org slot and the units therein (or at least, the ones to worry about).

 

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/index.p...howtopic=241135

 

So, I see there has already been a thread talking about counter-tactics with the new Necron codex. I have also read in multiple forums about how people think Lascannons might make a comeback, as they have a better chance of penetrating Quantum Shielding than MLs.. since GKs don't really have MLs (only on the Storm Raven and Dreadnoughts), this will affect them less other armies which rely on ML spam (i.e. IG, SW, some SM, etc.). They do use Psyflemen Dreads, so we may see

 

Nah, lascannon is still going to be iffy for killing AV13. Your best bet for killing stuff like Doomsday Arks (shudder, god that thing is insane) is to get up close with a Dreadknight greatsword. PsyDreads are still pretty useful, Night and Doom Scythes are probably going to be fielded and Destroyers can be sniped before they're in range to shoot.

 

In terms of Grey Knights, I think the biggest change may have less to do with ranged weapons and more with CC ability... specifically, now that WBB is replaced with Reanimation Protocals. The only way to stop RP is to wipe out the entire unit in one phase... since this is unlikely to do even with S5 SBs and lots of Psycannons (especially against the tougher units with their 3+ save), GKs may have to look to new options to bring enough raw damage to a Necron unit to take it out in a single turn... here are a few units that might be able to accomplish that:

 

Erm, you do know how much Crons pay for those units right? Basic Warriors only have 4+ armour, so it's hilariously easy to down a unit just with shooting. Immortals are tougher I grant you, but it's not that difficult. Rez is very unreliable, and if you manage to knock down the entire unit, they don't get it at all (unlike before, when Rez Orbs could override that).

 

 

1 - Massed Death Cult Assassions - Lots of people run these as part of a Henchman warband in smaller groups of 3-6, but maybe it is time to go all out and get a 8-12 man DCA unit or two.... let's see why. 6 DCAs on the charge against most Necron units will get 24 attacks, about 16 hits, and 8 wounds. Against a normal 10 man Warrior/Immortal/Flayed one squad, that means about 3 of those guys will get back up (about 4 if there is a Resurrection Orb in the unit)... now, if you up that to, say, a 9 man DCA unit, you get 36 attacks on the charge, 24 hits, and 12 wounds, wiping out the unit and possibly and attached Necron Lord/Cryptek/IC to boot, with no chance for any of the models to use RP.

 

Ever-Living doesn't care about your power weapons, all their heroes have it and are likely to have Res Orb on at least one model (most of the SC's have one, and they're pretty easy to spam on the Royal Court). Death-Cult are complete overkill, and delivery is a real problem. Necrons are likely to feed them a sacrificial unit (Warriors or Immortals, possibly Scarabs), then shoot them when they emerge from combat. Knights slap down Crons in close-combat just fine, they don't need Assassin help, and their power armour lets them engage in shootouts with Crons that Death-Cult would evapourate to.

 

2 - Super shooty Henchman Warbands - A warband with 3 Plasma Cannon Servitors, 1 Jokaero, 6 Psykers, and an attached Inquisitor puts out 3 S7 AP 2 blast templates, one large S8, AP1 blast, and 1 Lascannon/MM, all of which can sit in a Chimera and shoot out to 36" and pummel Necron phalanxs into the dirt, possibly wiping an entire unit out in a single round of shooting, thereby preventing RP rolls from happening at all... think of this as the poor man's Leman Russ Executionar.

 

Yeah, I'm pretty keen on trying this out myself. Plasma cannon is the absolute bane of Necrons, Lychguard and Wraiths are the only infantry units with invul saves.

 

3 - Massed Incinerators - I have mentioned this before, but I bring it up here, with a caveat... it is most powerful against Warriors, Flayed Ones, Tomb Blades, and Scarabs, since they have less than 3+ saves.... Purgation Squads, Purifier Squads, and Paladins can all take up to four Incernators in a single squad... of these, Purgation squads are by far the most economical, with a squad of 5 getting four Incinerators for the same points cost as a 5 man, completely unupgrade Strike Squad... anyway, massed S6 templates will easily wipe out entire squads of the Necron units mentioned above, with no survivors to enact RPs.... this is especially useful against Scarabs, since Incinerators ID these multi-wound bases and remove this very dangerous threat to GK armor.

 

I'm not so sure. Incinerators are pretty useless against other armies, so it's probably not a good idea to so heavily tailor your list towards Crons. You will utterly annhilate Warriors, and Immortals are not having a fun day either. Wraiths are going to walk right through it, their 3+ invul and multiple wounds are a real headache.

 

With the loss of Pariahs, GK have less to worry about with Necrons than ever before.

 

Just don't shoot the guys with tower shields.

 

Pariahs were never fielded, so not an issue. I would say the Newcrons are a bigger threat now though. They have way better unit selections now, their firepower on certain units is terrifying, and there are a lot of good stackable buffs throughout the list via units and characters. Lychguard can't shoot and are slow, so you can largely ignore them anyway.

 

The heavy incinerator is something I've always liked, and will bring fear to many Necron units. Scarabs will be a problem for Dreadknights though, heh.

 

Not really. Charge, don't even need to turn on force weapon (he's S6 already), kill a base with every wound (and with a greatsword, you're killing like 4-5 bases every round of combat). Hell, if you do give him the heavy incinerator, he annihilates an entire swarm with one shot.

[*Furyou Miko]

... I fielded Pariahs. *pout*. And they slaughtered Grey Knights. I'm going to miss them terribly...

[Crynn]

... I fielded Pariahs. *pout*. And they slaughtered Grey Knights. I'm going to miss them terribly...

That quote should have read. "I fielded Pariahs and then got phased out". hehe

 

Joking

[Zagman]

"Pariahs were never fielded, so not an issue. I would say the Newcrons are a bigger threat now though. They have way better unit selections now, their firepower on certain units is terrifying, and there are a lot of good stackable buffs throughout the list via units and characters. Lychguard can't shoot and are slow, so you can largely ignore them anyway."

 

Tell that to the guy who lost game one at Ard Boyz Finals to Necron fielding Pariahs with his DriagoWing....Oh wait, that was me!

[Joe Mama]

Necrons are a boost for henchmen psykers. Yeah!

 

Still back and forth if they are worth it generally. I suppose throwing some in an already shooty squad ain't a bad idea. But against Necrons they would hurt, a lot.

[Chengar Qordath]

Necrons are a bit light on psychic defense; unless I missed something, Canoptek Spyders are their only option, and they need to spend points for it and have a really short range. Plus, it's a straight roll-to-nullify instead of being leadership-based like Psychic Hoods, which will really help the Ld8 Henchmen.

[confused_gordy]

I think the major change to Gk's meta game that necrons will cause, is not the necrons themselves (which we dont really need to worry about too much), but the changes they will cause in the way other armies are constructed.

 

for instance, Necrons are exceptional at popping light vehicles, and parking lots (I'm looking at you DE and IG), this may change the matchups we experience vs these sometimes difficult opponents, as they may have to rethink their strategies.

 

They also have a lot of ways to mess with MSU armies, possibly reducing the number of these we will end up facing.

[Liberame]

"Pariahs were never fielded, so not an issue. I would say the Newcrons are a bigger threat now though. They have way better unit selections now, their firepower on certain units is terrifying, and there are a lot of good stackable buffs throughout the list via units and characters. Lychguard can't shoot and are slow, so you can largely ignore them anyway."

 

Tell that to the guy who lost game one at Ard Boyz Finals to Necron fielding Pariahs with his DriagoWing....Oh wait, that was me!

 

Hi Clark!

[Gentlemanloser]

I forsee Personal Teleporters becoming common versus Necrons.

 

Solar Pulse and Nightfighting? *BAMPH* *PEWPEW*