Unit of the Week: Destroyer Lord

[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. Comments that do not adhere to this goal will be removed as they are not constructive to the topic.

 

This week’s unit is:

 

 

As a loose guide, here are some questions we could answer to help out any who happen upon our metallic corner of the B&C:

 

• What Code do you prefer?

• What synergies have you found with other units?

• Is this your Warlord, and if so what Trait do you use?

• Are there any relics that are of particular value?

• What are some of the strengths and weaknesses of this unit?

 

Now over to you!

Edited October 1, 2019 by NTaW

[Tyriks]

They are more expensive than a Lord with a more limited aura, but man do they wreck a Lord in cc! If you need a Lord to babysit Destroyers and expect him to get up close and get his hands dirty, make him a Destroyer Lord. Pretty much any other time you should probably keep it cheap and bring a Lord instead.

 

I had written Destroyer Lords off entirely for awhile. I brought one in a friendly game just because I had just painted it, and ended up racking up quite the kill tally with him over the next few games. People tend to expect him to stay with the Destroyers, but if you set aside some cp for the Destroyer stratagem it's OK if he goes on a little field trip. Not our most optimal choice but when someone isn't expecting him to zoom off and kill something 20" away it can be really fun.

[Dread]

I pretty much always take mine. I have discovered him to be, as you said, a great wrecking ball. I never really take destroyers. I run mine with pretorians, great combo most of the time.

[Kaldoth]

I've pulled off a decent combo with a destroyer Lord and a Cryptek running them as Nephrekh.

 

Set a unit of 6 Destroyers into deep strike with the Nephrekh Stratagem.

 

Give your Cryptek a chronometron and the veil of darkness.

 

Spend a CP to give your Destroyer Lord the Solar Staff.

 

Because the Destroyer Lord is infantry you can scoop him up with the Cryptek. Deep strike all three units in. You now have a 5++ on your destroyers from the cryptek, you don't have to spend CP on extermination protocols because the Lord is in range, and if you don't manage to wipe the enemy unit you're shooting they're at -1 to hit from the Solar Staff. They also can't overwatch, so if you've got some wraiths or flayers nearby, they can charge in with impunity :tu: Plus the high mobility of the Destroyer Lord makes it really easy to move onto another unit and pull off the same trick.

[NTaW]

I use my Destroyer Lord in two ways, one of which I believe I snagged from a previous thread on the same topic from Captain Idaho.

 

The first is accompanying Mephrit Destroyers equipped with a staff of light, occasionally the Voltaic Staff for a bit of extra shooting zest. This guy helps me save a few CP by not using Extermination Protocols as frequently and also generally frustrates my opponents with its toughness if combat happens.

 

The second way, inspired by CI, is with a warscythe accompanying Novokh Wraiths using the Crimson Haze warlord trait. Occasionally I will add in either the Blood Scythe or Voidreaper for more reliable combat damage.