Unit of the Week: Canoptek Tomb Stalker

[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:

 

• Do you take one or multiple Tomb Stalkers?

• What Code do you prefer?

• What synergies have you found with other units?

• Do you take the gloom prism upgrade?

• Do you set it up with your army or use the Phase Tunneling ability?

 

Now over to you!

 

[Kaldoth]

Haven't tried out a tomb stalker, but if I could theorycraft a little here...

 

I definitely think these guys are better off starting on the board as opposed to deep strike. A 9 inch charge isn't easy to roll. They've got a pretty speedy movement characteristic of 10, so it shouldn't be too hard to get them up the board. For dynastic code, either Nephrekh for the auto 6 advance or Novokh for the rerolls in close combat. The drawback to taking these is going to be their surbivability. They're going to be a fire magnet and with no invul save they'll be quick to drop. I would either take multiple if you plan on being aggressive, or keep one in the rear to screen deep strikers and the them up. In either scenario a Cryptek with Canoptek cloak for support wouldn't go amiss. As far as gloom prisms, always! 5 points for a free denial! Who wouldn't want that?

[Tyriks]

I tried them out a few times, but it was in the index days so things would be different now. Back then they made up a sizable chunk of the total army and were pretty easy to kill. They're still not hard to kill but they (and more importantly everything else) are cheaper so you could have more threats to soak fire now.

 

Back then, though, they rarely made it into combat. Couldn't advance and charge, and a 9" after deep strike is not reliable, as Kaldoth said. I had a few get shot to pieces as soon as they landed playing against marines back then.

 

So, if you bring them, bring a few. They can eat up weak infantry if they make it in. But one by itself probably won't survive. Also, the model is partially finecast, which I didn't know and probably wouldn't have bought had I known. Not a particularly fun build.

 

Side note: Anyone have an opinion on how to handle the guns? Rapid fire d3 is a weird one - do you roll 2d3 or d3x2? Also, why is it twin if it only fires d3? I have asked both of those questions several times but no FAQ answer yet.