Unit of the Week: Anrakyr the Traveller

[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 units do you use with him to capitalize on the Lord of the Pyrrhian Legions ability?

• What Dynasty goes best for an army that includes Anrakyr?

• Do you play him as your Warlord?

• Have you made use of the Mind in the Machine ability?

• How useful is the Tachyon Arrow?

 

Now over to you!

 

[Beatnik cryptek]

If the enemy has a really powerful vehicle weapon I might recommend taking him and deceiver so the deciever can use him to teleport him close enough to said vehicle and make it fire on friendly forces. This is risky and can backfire tho,  so be sure therisk  is worth it. Some Tau battle suits,  knights and super heavy tanks may have enough firepower to  make this worth it. If possible try to drop him in terrain that provides cover. 

 

I'm  not sure if he can use MitM at the start of a shooting phase and then fire his tachyon arrow but if he can consider having him fire an enemy vehicle weapon at a vehicle then fire his arrow to maybe finish it off.  

 

Keep some CP ready to reroll his MitM roll or the vehicle's hit roll. 

 

Perhaps the best use for him and his abilities could be to force an enemy vehicle to fire a powerful weapon into an enemy  target, then use his pyrrhian legion and MWBD on an infantry unit to charge the hopefully already damaged enemy iunit. This uses his MitM,  pyrrhian legion and MWBD to get the most out of him.  If he's accompanied by a lychguard unit this could be devastating to a vital enemy unit.  If the target  is a vehicle he might be able to fire his tachyon arrow into it before charging thereby making the utmost of him. 

[BaconCouch]

I love Anrakyr, he is my favorite Necron Character.

His Legion special rule works great with 2 units. Lychguard, and x20 man warrior bricks under the effect of fearless.

The Tachyon Arrow is a bell and whistle. 
However, he DOES benefit from his own +1 attack aura. So he gets 4 str *8* attacks at AP-4, 2 damage.

Best used with the Deceiver and Lychguard, since he lacks the <Dynasty> Keyword, which screws up his transport options.

I can't justify taking him right now due to his cost. There is no reason he should cost more than 100 points.

[Tyriks]

His cost compared to Imotekh is pretty startling. No idea how they worked that one out.

 

That said, Anrakyr is a lot of fun for casual games. I've had him commandeer Knights and Land Raiders and Onagers, which is always cinematic if not always effective. The Tachyon Arrow is OK - I like to save it for those moments when you get a Knight down pretty low but have nothing left to finish it off.

 

Lack of Dynasty hurts Anrakyr but not as much as most units since he at least has some interaction with other units, and it does mean he can use MWBD on Praetorians.