Unit of the Week: Warriors

[NTaW]

 

Welcome to the Necron Unit of the Week Series!

 

Each week a different unit will be highlighted for discussion until we have amalgamated a full list of our available options and their relevant tactics as 8th edition evolves. We already have a few previous entries but things change as FAQs and Chapter Approved books get released and we playtest new ideas so please feel free to reopen a topic when new options become relevant for discussion.

 

Please keep in mind this isn't to lament the status of featured units or compare them to others but to try and find their potential for all types of gameplay.

 

 

 

Myself and Lenoch figured there would be no better place to start than with the humble Warrior. Personally I find our Troops units to be some of the best in the game and the Warriors are no slouches (despite their poor posture). As a loose guide, here are some questions we could answer to help out any who happen upon our metallic little corner of the B&C:

 

• What size unit do you feel works best?
• What Code do you prefer?
• What synergies have you found with other units?
• Are there any stratagems that specifically buff this unit?
• Do you build your list around this unit or use it to fill some points?
• What are some of the strengths and weaknesses of this unit?

 

To kick things off, personally I find myself building my lists around one 20 model squad and two 10 model squads acting as assault blockers so that I have a Battalion Detachment at the core of my army. The Mephrit Code's AP bonus rarely comes into play for me but definitely helps out against 2/3+ saves but what I really like is the Talent For Annihilation stratagem. Getting extra attacks on 6's can be pretty brutal when you have 20 Warriors in rapid fire range. I often use a Cryptek with chronometron (5++ against shooting attacks) and a Lord (re-roll 1's to-wound), occasionally with the Immortal Pride warlord trait to save me spending CP on passing morale. On the off chance I can also find points for a Triarch Stalker it accompanies them offering re-rolls to hit occasionally. On occasion I manage to get 40 shots re-rolling 1's to hit and wound generating extra attacks on hits of 6 at AP-2. Infantry fold like origami and even some higher toughness models can be threatened by the weight of dice. All that being said they can be an exceptionally fragile unit at times, and with a 4+/situational 5++ lots of models tend to die if my opponent catches wind of how bad it can go for them when I get close enough. Having to always set aside 2CP for an auto-pass morale can be frustrating as you try to use other units throughout the game as well and putting my Warlord there to offset that has been disastrous for me in a couple games.

 

Now over to you!

[Daimyo-Phaeron Lenoch]

I personally quite like to teleport in a unit of Warriors (size 18 for lore reasons) with the veil of darkness and hose the nearest target with guass fire. My preference for Mephrit makes it far more lethal than it should be in any other situation, with combat a not-insignificant threat due to the sheer size of the unit, backed up by the character with the Veil. MWBD on the squad before they teleport is handy as well.

 

I prefer larger (max size) units, though I do vary unit size for lore reasons. My primary unit (Sarnakh's Favored), is 18 necrons strong for several reasons, and I have an Admech Skitarii horror unit that is only size 10 that also hasn't seen battle yet (after ETL, though, they will). 10 is shot off the board to easily, but fits perfectly inside a ghost ark.

 

Mephrit works to make them even more lethal at close range (more than double, statistically), but having Nephrek so they can pop forward 11 inches a turn makes them more mobile than most infantry, whilst still being durable enough to tank fire, especially at larger sizes.

 

Gauss cannon Triarch Stalkers can direct fire from a safe distance, so I quite prefer that for aiding accuracy.\

 

Overall they are the core of my army, and I quite like them as a unit.

[MithrilForge]

Necrons are not what they used to be( i don't say this as a lamentation,just a tactical change to their "way")

i used to Run Nihilakh warriors and Destroyers with Novokh - scarabs,wraiths and D-Lord for a while with my warriors in 2 blocks of 20 and one of 10...but times change and so do tactics,

I find my games are starting to get way more mobile these days  so i'm in need of a Dynasty change and i think Mephrit coupled with My Novokh  contingent (still good) will help ....

i see you guys haven't mentioned it but i still use a Monolith and it seems to survive (don't ask me how  ) so i have started sending some warriors forward through the Monolith with moderate success(i do find that a large group of destroyers moving up one flank makes the monolith safe for a turn or so...)

i have a Ghost ark (building for the ETL) not sure how to use it yet as its capacity is only 10..? which causes me concern  ...

 

Mithril  

[Daimyo-Phaeron Lenoch]

While it’s not explicitly the focus here, the ghost ark does get special mention as a unit designed to directly support warriors. It can transport only warriors, provides them an excellent fire support platform, and gives the squad more durability as a Reanimation platform.

Repair Barge allows your valuable resurrection orbs to be directed elsewhere, and can change a nigh-destroyed squad of warriors to merely a decimated one, especially with the help of a Cryptek.

 

They are excellent support bases, even if they lost some of their luster from last edition as a transport.

[NTaW]

I think that a Nephrekh or Sautekh 'silver tide' list backed by Ghost Arks could be at least fun and maybe catch some people off guard. Warriors have decent shooting with the AP bonus, I find it really peels back most infantry in my games even outside of rapid fire range. With 60+ Warriors you'll be sure to have a fair bit of gauss where you need it and the Ghost Ark's widespread bonus is a perfect fit. When I play against Orks or Tyranids specifically I can see my opponent double checking every charge roll and pile in/consolidate trying to tie up my 20 model unit since it will flat out destroy large squads in close (a unit per turn sometimes).

 

My last game I played 3x squads of 10 models for the purposes of flexible objective grabbing and it worked out OK. I have in the past used the Veil to nip up a Cryptek and 20 model blob (occasionally buffed by MWBD first) to great effect but more often recently have seen the Veil used elsewhere in my lists.

[Tyriks]

I have a hard time with Warriors. You really need to invest in them to get results, in my experience. I think if they could come in squads of 5, or if they could take a weaker tesla weapon (maybe s3, or maybe with fewer bonus hits than 'full' tesla), I'd enjoy them more.

 

I still bring them sometimes, because I think my opponents vastly overestimate the danger of 20 warriors (I often bring 20 rubrics when I play TS which is much more lethal, and I think my opponents conflate the two) and it can lead to poor choices on their end. But it's hard for me to justify them a lot of the time.

[NTaW]

Those suggestions for Warrior units can/will be added to our homebrew thread for sure. Knowing where not to use a unit is also pretty handy, can you extrapolate a bit on where they have failed you?

 

For me their worst application was against Knights. There was just about nothing they did aside from die in those games, but then again so did the rest of my army :/ Other times they have been hobbled by my opponent's superior range and a short-edge-of-the-table deployment zone or being overwhelmed by units so large they can wrap and prevent models being placed for RP rolls.

[Tyriks]

They struggle with vehicle-heavy armies for sure, but they also haven't held up well for me against Orks. The AP is effectively overkill, especially since I usually play Mephrit. They just die in droves. T4 4+ isn't hard to deal with, especially for units of 30 boys. I come up against imperial soup a lot too, which doesn't have many targets warriors are efficient against.

 

That said, when I play against Sisters, my Warriors feel like the perfect unit.

[MithrilForge]

To Add, i find the squad(unit) of 20 makes my opponents have the "" Factor and they tend to either throw a lot at them(leaving another unguarded flank) or simply avoid that board section(another area to advance through unopposed) till they get their tactical thought engine(their brains ) up and running... it gives me time to play my own game for a turn or two i.e. monolith deployment,destroyer movement to a more opportune spot etc... 

if you think like a Mentally Disturbed power hungry Necron Lord who doesn't care for his underlings then they tend to work well for you  

 

Mithril 

[Mr4Minutes]

I’ve been running 2 squads of 15 with a cryptek w/cronom and a ghost ark. The cryptek is my warlord and I give him the fearless bubble trait. I find this to be a good backfield screen unit that can lock down my mid table.

 

I like to set them up in the center of my deployment zone, and trying to take up a decent amount of real estate to deny DS units. I try and touch 2 objectives if I can(one each squad)

 

4+/5++ actually needs a decent amount of firepower to remove, and as long as one survives I get 2 shots to Rez them in my turn with a +1 to the roll.

 

I use mephrit dynasty for the ap bonus, but it’s also because the rest of the force benefits.

 

I use 15 per unit because it feels like enough bodies to survive some sustained firepower and still leave points for the rest of my army.

 

A weakness they have will be heavy bolter type weapons (new havoc chain gun ewwww) wounding on 3’s and saving on 5’s with volume of fire can grind them down. But, any firepower directed at them is less firepower on the rest of my army,

[NTaW]

M4M that sounds like a pretty hard to shift block. Do you also play Warriors inside the Ghost Ark or is it just to accompany for the RP bonus and shooting?

 

Large groups of Warriors I definitely find have a target on them from most people I play against. At times I'm frustrated that they can die so fast but I remind myself as mithril pointed out that something else didn't just die. Messing with target priority is a valuable effect large blobs can have provided there are other options as well in range.

[Tyriks]

I don't find the 4+/5++ to help at all, actually. I'm not sure anyone is ever firing ap2 or better at my Warriors so I don't think I've ever needed to make an invulnerable save with my Warriors. Why bother when bolters and shootas are more than enough?

[Mr4Minutes]

I’ve found it helps in those situations where you’ve got 4-5 left and you opponent has to throw everything at them because they’re fearless. As long as 1 survives I get 2 chances to bring them all back.( I think statistically you’ll get 9-10 back if it’s 14 models gone and you have 2 shots with a 4+ RP)

 

I don’t put any warriors in the ghost ark, it’s there for shooting and RP roll. I will put a squad in there mid game if it drops below 10 models. The warrior squad gets protection if they’re really low on models or you can use it to get decent mid game redeployment if necessary.

[Brother Navaer Solaq]

i haven't made use of having warriors in ghost arks as the warriors are typically wiped out in shooting. (10 warrior squad)

 

i prefer to run 15-20 man squad in my list. the larger numbers have helped me keep the squad RP rolls going further.

 

In most games i have played, the 10 man squad get wiped out even with the 5++ save