Dreadmad's Necron Plog, from beginner to Pokemon Master.

[dreadmad]

I've recently picked up Necrons, and I'm planning on taking them through the Escalation League I'm running from February through to June. In that time I'm going to the Throne of Skulls Maelstrom in Feb, the 40k Team Championship in April and Brotherhood of Hellstorm in May. I'll try to find something in March to bridge the gap if possible too.

 

I'm going with the Midwinter Mini's Sandstone scheme, and I've done things a little backwards from my usual approach - I haven't done any test models to completion but I have built/textured/primed about 1500 points, and built another 500ish. I have a 4 day holiday coming up week after next, so I'm hoping to get my new airbrush spun up then and get a good chunk of models ready to go.

 

Couple of quick shots just to document current progress, nothing majorly interesting to look at. The second picture in there is my 1750 list I tried today, bases with blue on them were run as Sautekh and the rest were run as Nihilakh. Trying to settle on how I want to run my list for Februaury before I finish painting, my plan is to use different colour glows to seperate different Dynastys.

 

I'll also be trying out putting some batreps in this thread, there's a real lack of Necron content floating around and I'm a firm believer in being the change you want to see!

[NTaW]

You have your work cut our for you! Looks like a solid force for competition that ticks a lot of the required boxes for reliability. 

 

Is it necessary to paint the models a different colour? I play two Dynasties in my lists as well but it's typically an easier split for my opponents to remember: if it has a gun it's Mephrit and if it doesn't it's Novokh.

 

I look forward to seeing your battle reports, do you plan on doing pictures and text or videos of a kind?

[dreadmad]

You have your work cut our for you! Looks like a solid force for competition that ticks a lot of the required boxes for reliability. 

 

Is it necessary to paint the models a different colour? I play two Dynasties in my lists as well but it's typically an easier split for my opponents to remember: if it has a gun it's Mephrit and if it doesn't it's Novokh.

 

I look forward to seeing your battle reports, do you plan on doing pictures and text or videos of a kind?

 

I'm making sure to not fall foul of GW's rulings about paint schemes and different sub factions at their events - it's also just nice for the opponent to have the visual clarity that provides!

[dreadmad]

Ok, so today's game was 1750 Necrons vs Pure Cadian Guard. Maelstrom of War, playing Mission 1 (Covert Maneuvers). Even though we weren't playing ITC, we agreed since we were both playing gunlines to use ITC's LoS blocking rules so it wasn't just a clear cut who goes first wins. I didn't take as many pictures as I really should have done, so apologies for some poor Paint drawings.

 

My List;

10cp

 

Sautekh Battalion

 

Imhotekh (WL, Hyperlogical Stratagest) 

Lord (Voidsword, Veil of Darkness)

 

10 Tesla Immortals 

10 Tesla Immortals

5 Tesla Immortals

 

Nihilakh Outrider

 

Cryptek (Chronometron)

 

C'tan Shard of the Deceiver (Times Arrow, Transdimentional Thunderbolt)

 

3 Canoptek Scarabs

6 Canoptek Wraiths

6 Destroyers (1 Heavy Destroyer, 5 Destroyers)

 

Doomsday Ark

Doomsday Ark

 

There was some very minor proxying done (Overlord as Imhotekh, Detroyer as Heavy) in case the pictures don't line up with the text.

 

His list (off the top of my head);

10cp (after extra relics etc) 

 

2 Company Commanders (WL, Old Grudges - reroll wounds on Destroyers)

Primaris Psyker (+1 to save power)

Inquisitor (5++ save & Fearless Powers. Cast 2 Powers WL Trait)

Tank Commander (Hammer of Sunderance - Flat 3 Damage)

Tank Commander (Battlecannon, Plasma Sponsons)

Tank Commander (Punisher Cannon, Plasma Sponsons)

Callidus Assassin 

 

Astropath (-1 to hit power)

 

7 Infantry Squads

 

Manticore

 

Macharius Vulcan

 

Coming into this game I knew his rough game plan would be to Consolidate Squads of Guardsmen into each other, buff with a 5++, improve that save by 1, make immune to morale & give them a -1 to hit. Even though I have a lot of Tesla, that was my main worry as if he got to a certain point I could definitely see the game spiraling out of control. My other worry was the Vulcan, having played against it I was well aware of the damage it could do. Last time I faced it he removed my brand new Knight Crusader from the table before I even got a turn, so I was cautious but also hungry for revenge.

 

Our Terrain was set up roughly like this.

 

 

 

We rolled off, I chose to deploy/go first and he rolled Spearhead Assault (pointy Hammer & Anvil) taking the left side. I deployed almost entirely behind the Tall LoS blocking ruin on my side, and split the difference with the 2 Doomsday Arks - one on each side to take advantage of the limited firing lanes to try to force him into a deployment error. I also threw 5 Immortals over to the top, hiding behind a tower in case I needed to get out to the top right objective.

 

 

I forgot to take a picture of his deployment, so here's a paint graphic of the start of my Turn 1 - after I redeployed my C'tan, both Doomsday Arks AND the Destroyers. I rolled hot on the redeploy, and was very pleased to be able to hide the DDA's from some of his firepower while still drawing a line to his Vulkan. He popped Concealed Positions to blunt my T1 strike.

 

 

Forgot to label the yellow blob, that was his infantry squads - spread to prevent me getting too close with my C'tan.

 

My Turn 1

 

 

I advanced the Wraiths up the board onto the Skyshield, I couldn't quite reach the centre objective so I had to daisychain back to objective 5. The Destroyers jumped up onto the walls of the ruin to draw LoS, the C'tan positioned to splash some mortal wounds into the Guard and the Immortals stayed hidden back behind the ruin. I opened up with the Doomsday Arks against the Vulkan and caused 8 wounds with the first. and 11 with the second! The re-roll of 1's to hit really pulled it's weight this game, lowering the variability of the DDA's a little. I then decided to play it safe, and put the Heavy Destroyer + 3 Destroyers into the 5 Wound Vulkan - rolling the Heavy Destroyer first. Of course I got a 5 on the damage roll and wasted 3 Destroyers, but better safe than sorry when you're messing with a 30 shot Avenger Gatling Cannon.

 

I popped the +1 to save stratagem on the Wraiths, and ended my turn. His Callidus Assassin was worth her points and more, taking me down to only 3 CP at the end of T1. Owch.

 

Dom's Turn 1

 

Notice that big Macharius Vulkan shaped hole in his deployment?

 

 

Shaking off the loss of just under a quarter of his army before he could start, Dom pushed his infantry squads out to try to get some board control. He also moved the Hammer of Sunderance into line of sight of the Destroyers, and the Astropath into range to strip the Destroyers of Cover. Ahh. Not ideal.

 

He then combined 2 squads of infantry, gave them a 5++ save and ignore morale but failed the -1 to hit & +1 save powers. I felt very lucky here, but decided I needed to deal with them before they became too much of a problem.

 

In his shooting phase he brought his list to bear against the Destroyers. They were summarily destroyed. I definitely didn't make the most of them, and I feel like I should have been a lot more cagey with them. He also launched a Manticore Missile at the 5 man Tesla Squad, killing 4.

 

Score 7-4 to me.

 

My Turn 2

 

I rolled re-animation and brought back 3 of the 4 dead Immortals, making the squad a lot more useful again. Sorry Dom.

 

Dom used the Callidus stratagem to make my strats cost more in T2 too, problematic given I only had 3cp. I MWBD both Immortal squads, advanced one up the board and Veiled the other unit just in front of them with the Lord. The Wraiths floated forwards to charge the Guardsmen, and I managed to Time's Arrow his Astropath - scoring Witch Hunter in the process!

 

Shooting was a hit again, with the Telsa being super effective (and super satisfying to roll!) wiping all but 2 of the buffed Guardsman blob). The DDA's melted the normal Tank Commander between them, however this took a Command re-roll that cost 2CP!. Charging went well, a big roll made it easy to position to wrap the last 2 fearless Guard and kill the unit of 10 to the left. Combat went as expected, the 10 man squad was finished off in the morale phase and the Wraiths were safely wrapped up in combat. During this phase I realised I hadn't been rolling to refund my CP, and Dom very kindly let me catch up - refunding 1 from the strats used so far for 2CP remaining.

 

Dom's Turn 2

 

At this point it was looking a little grim, I'd not only managed to roll well and clear away a good number of models but I'd also managed to achieve my cards and score well over the past 2 turns. Dom brought another 2 units of Guard towards the wrapped Wraiths, combined & buffed them alongside all of his available support characters. Things were looking grim, and he was hoping to clear the big problem in his deployment with pure weight of numbers.

 

In his shooting phase he brought everything to bare against my back DDA. I used Quantum Deflection, which worked overtime - starting by stopping a single damage Plasma Cannon wound, then stopping a Lascannon and a handful of flat 3 Battlecannon wounds. A handful of Immortals died to the Punisher Tank Commander.

 

Almost everything made their charges, and I didn't have enough CP to interupt so he gathered handfuls of dice and rolled a respectable number of hits with the Guardsmen aaaaaaaaaaand no wounds. Owch. His combat followed this trend, even with only a 3++ he on dealt a total of 2 wounds (Callidus MVP, finishing off the previously wounded Wraith). After this point I hit back, killing his warlord putting a few wounds on the Callidus. Not a great turn for Dom, with some poor rolling at key points.

 

Score 12-7

 

My Turn 3

 

This was the turn that really decided the game, I dropped the Wraiths out of combat and flew them over to the Manticore and a hidden Company Commander. The C'tan moved up to threaten the Characters, and the Tesla Immortals wiped the Guardsmen off the board like the filthy living infestation they are. The DDA's did wiff here, only dealing 4 wounds to the Sunderance Tank Commander. The C'tan charged the Callidus, and after a few nerve wracking moments after Dom told me he needed to check how it's mortal wound causing pistol worked he rolled a 1 - and overwatch was a moot point. Callidus was then beaten into a fine pulp, while the Wraiths melted the Company Commander and heavily wounded the Manticore. Here I made a mistake, and consolidated the C'tan into the Chimera - which he left in combat, stopping me from doing anything with him come my turn.

 

 

Dom's Turn 3

 

At this point Dom was just doing his best to score points where he could. He pushed his last squad of Guardsmen up to threaten the top right objective and moved the Inquisitor and Primaris Psyker up to smite the C'tan. He made both Smites, and rolled a 3 on both of them - which is when I started sweating a tad.

 

The TC dropped the wounded DDA to 4 wounds, and the Punisher thinned a few more Immortals out. The Inquisitor charged, failed to do anything at all and was immediately reassigned to spend his time as as a thin red coating on the floor. 

 

Score 15-9

 

Turn 4

 

At this point it was purely academic, 4 Immortals killed all the Guardsmen in the top corner, the main squads of Immortals did a single wound to the Chimera and the Sunderance TC was atomised while the Wraiths wrapped the Punisher Russ. Dom brought his Primaris Psyker to face the C'tan, and dealt with him in a manner to make the Emperor proud - smiting his last 2 wounds away.

 

 

End Score 17-10

 

At the end of that game I was blown away by how good the DDA's were (although I did roll pretty well, and Dom had no Invulnerable saves to put a damper on my fun). Although it's hard to fit them in at 1750, I'm definitely considering running a 3rd - I just don't know where I'll find the points! I'm also reconsidering how to position my Destroyers, I massively messed up with their placing and got very little value out of them. 

 

On top of that, Wraiths are a great in-your-face threat that you have to deal with, that definitely bought me a lot of board control and breathing space. Immortals felt very squishy, so I'm definitely considering moving towards running Tomb Blades instead (I just haven't built them yet).

 

Very much enjoyed the game, and I'm looking forwards to getting more experience with Necrons and finding a list that suits my play the best!

Edited January 19, 2020 by dreadmad

[Daimyo-Phaeron Lenoch]

From the sound of it the destroyers were most certainly not wasted...if they took out a quarter or so of his army in on go I’d say they did well for themselves (considering a max squad of destroyers with a heavy destroyer is only around 300-315 pts IIRC).

Sounds like you had a great game! The batrep is very well put together.

If I were you I’d also go post this in the ‘today the legions annihilated’ thread, as it could certainly use some work of this quality and detail.

[Tyriks]

Having seen your Chaos thread, I'm looking forward to seeing how your Necrons turn out!

[dreadmad]

From the sound of it the destroyers were most certainly not wasted...if they took out a quarter or so of his army in on go I’d say they did well for themselves (considering a max squad of destroyers with a heavy destroyer is only around 300-315 pts IIRC).

Sounds like you had a great game! The batrep is very well put together.

If I were you I’d also go post this in the ‘today the legions annihilated’ thread, as it could certainly use some work of this quality and detail.

Thanks! Maybe it's less the positioning, and more the order I shot things in - the napkin maths I've just done says that squad should have done 17-18ish wounds to the Vulkan, if I'd started with that I probably could have fired one of the DDA's at a Tank Commander. Doesn't matter now, but definitely something for me to be aware of going forwards!

 

Having seen your Chaos thread, I'm looking forward to seeing how your Necrons turn out!

That's very kind of you! I'm definitely feeling like there's less room to experiment with on this project (since I'm working with someone else's paint scheme) so my aim is to execute the scheme as well as possible while learning some new techniques. That said I do have a couple of conversions for characters and objective markers so watch this space...

[dreadmad]

I have a game on Wednesday against Marines, so I'm trying to get a list I've been theorising ready for then.

 

 

Minor Progress

 

The main weaknesses my 'generic' list had against Marines are the Immortals (T4 3+ troops melt against Marine small arm fire, and Tesla doesn't cut it Vs 2W 2+ save Primaris) and the Characters that will melt to Eliminators. 2 DDA's also won't cut it Vs an Iron Hands castle.

 

So my thoughts are using Tomb Blades to replace the Immortals and perhaps trialing a Catacomb Command Barge. I'd like to run 2 units of Tomb Blades, but I don't think I have time to build a full 18 of them.

 

I'm finalising the list, but it will likely be something along the lines of this;

 

1750pts, 5CP

 

Mephrit Outrider

 

Catacomb Command Barge

 

Deceiver

 

9 Gauss Tomb Blades (6 with Shieldvanes & Nebuloscopes / 3 with Shadowlooms)

6 Destroyers

3 Scarabs

 

Nihilakh Spearhead

 

Lord

 

6 Wraiths

 

Doomsday Ark

Doomsday Ark

Doomsday Ark

 

I'll try to remember to take more pictures this time!

Edited January 21, 2020 by dreadmad

[Kaldoth]

Mephrit Tomb Blades are a good choice. -3 AP Gauss Blasters are great against primaris. What I would recommend is taking two units of 6-7 vs one to two blobs of 9. It will force your opponent to split fire, and if you don't get first turn you can more reliably hide the tomb blades behind cover if they aren't in max sized units. It's hard enough hiding things on flying bases, and being a bike unit means you're going to be hard pressed to get them a cover save.

 

Immortals vs Primaris marines aren't necessarily a bad choice. You just have to play them to their advantages. If you're running Tesla Immortals as Mephrit you've gotta get them in close where that -1 AP starts to count. The Deceiver is a good choice for that, but also not so much if you don't get first turn. Night Scythes can help you deliver troops, as can the veil of darkness.

 

Your current list isn't rich enough in targets IMO. You've only got 29 models and 7 units. A castling primaris force will likely shoot you off the board in short order.

 

Just my 2 cents. Hope it helps :)

Edited January 21, 2020 by Kaldoth

[NTaW]

 

I'm making sure to not fall foul of GW's rulings about paint schemes and different sub factions at their events - it's also just nice for the opponent to have the visual clarity that provides!

 

 

Ah I see, that makes sense. I don't know how soon you plan to play at events but since your scheme is rules-related could be worth holding off the few months until Necrons get covered in Psychic Awakening? If we get access to the same pick-your-faction-trait as others and they don't alter the existing Dynasties we could see a shift toward different Codes being popular on the competitive scene. I don't suggest this to stymie your production of course, just a thought based on my own previous decisions based on rules and later (mostly) regretting them :lol:

 

On the Destroyers in your first batrep, which I enjoyed and appreciate you posting, at least your opponent had to shoot all that they did at them and the rest of your army went unscathed as a result. It happens to my Destroyers every now and again but it often buys me the time I need to get other plans in motion.

[dreadmad]

Your current list isn't rich enough in targets IMO. You've only got 29 models and 7 units. A castling primaris force will likely shoot you off the board in short order.

 

I definitely agree, I had a pretty quiet day at work and spent most of it playing around with list ideas - and I settled on this rough list.

 

 

Mephrit Outrider

 

Cryptek, Chronomotron

 

9 Gauss TB's (6 Nebuloscope & Shieldvane / 3 Shadowloom)

8 Tesla TB's (6 Nebuloscope & Shieldvane / 3 Shadowloom)

6 Destroyers

 

Nihilakh Spearhead

 

Lord, Voidblade

 

6 Wraiths

 

Doomsday Ark

Doomsday Ark

Doomsday Ark

 

It's mobile, tough (or as tough as I think I can reasonably get) and packs a fair punch. If I have time tomorrow I'll try to get a Catacomb Command Barge built to replace the Cryptek so I don't give up Warlord for free - but since I've been up until 2:30am building Tomb Blades that seems a tad unlikely.

 

Ah I see, that makes sense. I don't know how soon you plan to play at events but since your scheme is rules-related could be worth holding off the few months until Necrons get covered in Psychic Awakening? If we get access to the same pick-your-faction-trait as others and they don't alter the existing Dynasties we could see a shift toward different Codes being popular on the competitive scene. I don't suggest this to stymie your production of course, just a thought based on my own previous decisions based on rules and later (mostly) regretting them :lol:

 

First Tournament is February unfortunately, but I can always go back and alter glow as needed when the new rules drop! Currently trying to plan the best colours to work with so I can do some mixing and matching while staying clear as to what everything is!

[dreadmad]

So, Marines ey.

 

 

My List

5CP

 

Mephrit Outrider

 

Cryptek, Chronomotron (WL

 

9 Gauss TB's (6 Nebuloscope & Shieldvane / 3 Shadowloom)
8 Tesla TB's (6 Nebuloscope & Shieldvane / 3 Shadowloom)
6 Destroyers

 

Nihilakh Spearhead

 

Lord, Voidblade

 

6 Wraiths

 

Doomsday Ark
Doomsday Ark
Doomsday Ark

 

Max's List

13 CP

 

Ravenguard Brigade

 

Phobos Captain (Korvidae Bolts)

Phobos LT (Warlord & Ex Tenebris)

Primaris LT (Master of Manuever - The redeploy trait, Burning Blade Relic)

 

3* 7(?) Intercessors w/ Stalkers

3* Scouts w/ Heavy Bolter

 

6 Aggressors

2* Ven Dreads (TLLC & ML)

 

3* Suppressors

 

3* Eliminators

 

 

So Max and I have both played around with Ravenguard and discussed lists various at length, so I full well knew what I'd be going into - even though I hadn't seen his actual list before the day. I didn't have time to build a Catacomb Command Barge, so I also knew I couldn't rely on any buffs from my Characters. Max also kindly let me use a unit of TB's without guns attached, so I did at least get some sleep!

 

My plan going in was to screen out the big unit of Aggressors with my toughest units - my Doomsday Arks. I did the maths, and with Quantum Shielding the Aggressors should only do about 9 or so wounds to a DDA. Assault Centurions will almost kill a DDA on average, but I still think they're probably the best units to screen against the inevitable T1 charge.

 

The Deployment and Terrain

 

I was on the red side, and Max was on the Purple side. However, as Barbossa said - "The c̶o̶d̶e̶ Deployment Zone is more like Guidelines anyway". Max was Deploying first, and took up an uncomfortable amount of the board. Scouts took the upper left ruin and the center block with 2 units of the Eliminators, the other unit of Eliminators was in the Bottom Right and then he Castled up most of his other units around objective 3.

 

I deployed a line to try to keep my other units safe; 1 DDA on either end, with the Wraiths and the Tesla TB's in between them. This was absolutely a mistake, I was lured into the thought of the potential strength of mass Tesla in Overwatch and should have Castled my units closer together and kept my squishier units further back. The destroyers were in the top right, as I was determined to get some value from them this game.

 

Pics

 

 

 

Hands were shaken, a seize was failed and I braced for impact. As expected, Max redeployed the unit of Aggressors with Master of Maneuvers. My deployment was pretty sloppy, and looking back at these pics I'm lucky he didn't punish me any further. I popped Concealed Positions, and sat back.

 

 

 

Max's Turn 1

 

The Aggressors moved up, some Intercessors advanced back onto his back right Objective and that was about it for shooting.

 

Max opened up with his 1st Suppressor unit against the top left screening Doomsday Ark. I used Quantum Deflection, dropping me to 2CP and he caused 3 unsaved wounds - dropping to 4 damage done. He followed up with the other 2 units for another 6 damage, dropping it to 6 wounds remaining. The only Ven. Dread. that could see caused a single wound to the same DDA, and his other Ven. Dread failed to do anything of note.

 

The Scouts fired a Hellfire Shell at the Wraiths, hitting then rolling a 1 for the D3 Mortal wounds. My celebration was cut short as he announced he was CPing the roll, until he rolled another one. Fantastic! Their bolter fire was entirely ineffective against the TB's 2+ save, so MAx pointed the rest of his small arm fire towards the Wraiths.

 

The offending die itself.

 

 

All but 1 Wraith dies to Stalker Bolt Rifles and Boltstorm Aggressors, I wasted a CP to prevent a 2 damage shot going through - but I also rolled another 1 on my CP reroll. I actually think the hardest thing about this list is going to be NOT burning CP wastefully. Aside from this the Eliminators almost kill my Cryptek, leaving him on a single wound.

 

Charge are declared, the LT fails a 7 inch charge but makes it on the CP reroll. The Aggressors make their 4" charge, but not before taking 4 wounds from the Tesla. Satisfying, but not worth the positioning error. In combat the Wraith tanks 4 of 5 wounds, surviving on 1 Wound & only causes 2 damage back to the LT. Next to him the TB's tank a LOT of wounds on the 3 5++ saves (I'm definitely glad I included those) and 2 of the 8 survive the combat.

 

Very satisfied about how things went I'm measuring ranges to the Cryptek for Reanimation Protocols when Max announces he's paying 3cp to fight again. Ahh. I don't make him roll any Dice and just remove them from the board. He piles in to make sure my DDA is tapped, and finishes his turn having achieved all 3 of his Maelstrom Objectives and scoring 1st Strike.

 

My Turn 1

 

OK. About 500 points down before I get a turn and only a single CP left. Hmm.

 

I move the wounded DDA out of range of the Aggressors, the Destroyers past them into the terrain and the Gauss TB's forward into the midfield. The DDA closest to his deployment moves up to threaten objective 2, and I spend my last CP to remove the cover from the Eliminators while I pepper it with rapid fire Gauss Arrays and inaccurate Doomsday Cannon Shots. 2 die, which I'm reasonaby happy with as the main threat usually comes in when the Sgt. doesn't shoot for the +1's.

 

Here I messed up, splitting the fire with the Gauss TB's between the scouts on the forward objective and the Eliminators on the top of the Central reactor. The scout died, but the Eliminators only took 3 wounds - leaving them still a threat to the retreating Cryptek. The DDA deep in my deployment hosed down the LT that infiltrated forwards and targeted one of the Dreadnoughts. Max popped Duty Eternal (half the damage taken) and I did a grand total of 2 wounds to it, which was less than impressive.

 

The Destroyers did very well for a standalone unit, the reroll of 1's being very consistent - removing the Aggressors and a couple of scouts. The DDA charged the scouts, allowing me to hide the DDA round the corner from the Dreads and force the scouts out of the cover they were in.

 

 

Score 4-3 to Max

 

It's probably not worth spelling out the rest of the turns, Max drew well but rolled poorly for his VP so he went up at a steady rate instead of shooting ahead massively while I only achieved one or two of my cards each turn. I was around 9 VP down by turn 4, but managed to claw it back to only being 4 VP behind at the end of T7. I definitely could have scored better if my target priority was better - I had one turn where I could have scored 3 points (Kill a flyer, kill a vehicle and kill a unit in combat) but over-split my Gauss TB's and didn't prioritise other units towards scoring points (as opposed to clearing threatening units).

 

Highlights of the game include;

- The Suppressors steadily whittled down the DDA's while they slowly picked off the dreadnoughts and the Gauss Arrays killed his infantry. I feel like the Gauss Arrays actually did more heavy lifting than the Doomsday Cannons this game, having no CP to toss on them definitely hurt.

- Destroyers slowly chipping away at all his infantry, then being able to get behind his Warlord and grab that point for me.

- Ex Tenebris killing 2 Destroyers only for them both to reanimate on a 5 immediately after (looking at this I think we played it wrong, I believe he had given him Marksmen's Honours to do a flat 3 damage - however neither of us realised at the time you can't do that. It didn't make a difference to the game though)

- Destroyers Charging his Phobos Captain and slapping him to death.

- How many 5++ saves the Tomb Blades made, they tanked FAR more than they had any right to - and when they died they came back to life at a pretty insane rate.

 

The game ended 23-19 to Max, and despite some pretty major errors I made I was reasonably pleased with how the list played.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I was definitely not impressed with the Gauss TB's damage output, however they definitely did the job from a mobile/tough unit. I think I might be tempted to run 2 units of Tesla TB's instead of 1 of each. I'll definitely consider slotting a Catacomb Command Barge in - since the Format is CA19 Maelstrom I definitely want a more survivable Warlord. A Destroyer Lord could be interesting too to pair with the Destroyers and as a mobile backup for the Destroyer.

 

I also think screening the Early T1 charge with the DDA's and Wraiths is the right choice here, often the lists that have an early charge don't have as much ranged anti-tank - so keeping the DDA's right at the back is less of a requirement in some match ups.

 

I'm thinking the next thing to try is moving the DDA's and other ranged shooting to Sautekh and perhaps run the Wraiths in a Novohk Detachment. I'll throw some lists together and see where I get!

Edited January 23, 2020 by dreadmad

[dreadmad]

Spent the 1st day off work with the other half, but made some minor progress watching the LVO finals.

 

6 more Wraiths and a Spyder that will be converted into a Destroyer Lord.

http://imgur.com/TOzqVyl

 

I have an ITC game scheduled for Tuesday against Max, it's my first ITC game since Blood and Glory and he'll be bringing the Marines again so I need to be on my A game. With that said I don't want to tailor my list specifically for him, I'd like an all purpose list that plays well into many varieties of Marines if possible.

 

My potential 2k ITC list;

2000pts, 6CP

 

Novokh Outrider

 

Destroyer Lord (WL [Crimson Haze], The Blood Scythe, Phylactery)

 

The Deceiver

 

3 Scarabs

5 Wraiths

5 Wraiths

 

Mephrit Outrider

 

Cryptek (Canopotek Cloak)

 

3 Scarabs

6 Destroyers (5 Destroyers, 1 Heavy Destroyer)

9 Tomb Blades (6 Nebuloscopes & Shieldvanes, 3 Shadowlooms)

 

Nihilakh Spearhead

 

Lord (Voidblade)

 

Doomsday Ark

Doomsday Ark

Doomsday Ark

 

I have high hopes for the Novohk Wraiths, I recognise that running both units makes Gangbusters a free secondary against my list - but I think the amount of flat 2D they pump out combined with their mobility should fare me well on a board with decent LoS blocking Terrain.

 

Max will be bringing something similar to last time, he's finally picked up 6 Assault Centurions so I know he'll be subbing out the Aggressors for them. I'm also fairly certain he'll be bringing a Battalion again, jotting down some rough points the list I'm expecting to see is;

 

Raptors - Inheritors of the Chapter

 

Lias Issadon

Phobos LT - Ex Tenebris

Primaris LT - Master of Manuever

 

3* Intercessors (Stalker Bolt Rifles - 2 units of 6 and 1 of 5)

3* Infiltrators

 

6 Assault Centurions (Flamers and Hurricane Bolters)

2* Ven. Dreads. (TLLC & ML)

 

3* Suppressors

 

3* Eliminators

 

Looking at that list I'm thinking I take Gangbusters, Engineers & Butchers Bill. I think there's a good chance he's baited into taking Headhunter, Gangbusters & Recon against me - and while I can't stop Gangbusters I should be pretty safe against Headhunter.

 

My rough game plan is to screen out the front lines with 2 DDA's and some of my throwaway units and then Deceiver the DDA's aaaall the way back out of threat range of the Suppressors as S7 AP-3 D2 just mulches the DDA's to an unpleasant degree. I'll be doing my best to pick those up off the board as soon as possible. Looking forward to seeing how this one goes!

Edited January 27, 2020 by dreadmad

[JaM_TW]

Please keep us posted :)

[Kaldoth]

If you could snag more scarabs I'd take them over the deceiver. Your list is already super mobile. Getting in turn 1 shooting and charges shouldn't be too difficult. As your DDAs are your only high strength anti tank, using them to screen is going to seriously inhibit your firepower. I'd bump your scarabs up to 6 per squad and grab two more wraiths.

 

Also, if you're planning on using the destroyer Lord to buff your destroyers they need to be in the same dynasty. Id also consider taking the nanoscarab casket on him instead of the blood scythe. D3 wounds back on your turn and your opponents, plus a chance to self res makes for a tough to remove destroyer Lord :)

[dreadmad]

 

 

If you could snag more scarabs I'd take them over the deceiver. Your list is already super mobile. Getting in turn 1 shooting and charges shouldn't be too difficult. As your DDAs are your only high strength anti tank, using them to screen is going to seriously inhibit your firepower. I'd bump your scarabs up to 6 per squad and grab two more wraiths.

Also, if you're planning on using the destroyer Lord to buff your destroyers they need to be in the same dynasty. Id also consider taking the nanoscarab casket on him instead of the blood scythe. D3 wounds back on your turn and your opponents, plus a chance to self res makes for a tough to remove destroyer Lord

 

I did end up going with the Nano-Scarab Casket, but the plan was to have him buffing the Wraiths. Reading this now I realise I completely forgot the self-res part of the Relic, which could have been pretty big. The Deceiver didn't end up doing much for me, I definitely agree it was surplus to requirements. Max also doesn't tend to run much in the way of Vehicles, so that's not a major concern.

 

In other news, Destroyer Lord conversion is complete;

 

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

So, Marine rematch. I'm very much struggling with their ability to deploy halfway up the field, and I also feel like my list doesn't have enough damage output.

 

His List;

 

15CP Ravenguard Successor (Stealthy/Master Artisans)

 

Lias Issadon (Master of Ambush)

Phobos Captain (Korvidae Bolts, Marksman's Honours)

Phobos LT (Ex-Tenebris)

 

3*5 Stalker Bolt Rifle Intercessors

3*5 Scout Squads (2x Heavy Bolters)

 

3* Ven. Dread. (TLLC & DCCW)

6 Assault Centurions

 

3*3 Suppressors

 

3*3 Eliminators

 

Deployment Zones:

https://imgur.com/3Yoo1s5

 

It was Mission 1 from the ITC pack, and we tried out an approximation the ITC top table terrain deployment (this pic was taken post game, so everything was moved a little.

 

My Secondaries were Engineers, Butchers Bill & Gangbusters.

His Secondaries were Engineers, Headhunter & Gangbusters.

 

He deployed with scouts on the Top Left & Middle Right objectives, Eliminators in the Midfield and the rest of his forces split between the Top Middle and Top Right of the board with his Engineer Intercessor Squad in deepstrike. I deployed the majority of my forces hidden in the Ruin on the Bottom Right and my DDA's to both the Left & Behind the Ruin - trying to avoid as much fire as possible. I also has a unit of Wraiths in the Right of my deployment to threaten the Scouts.

 

He redeployed his Centurions in the Center Board, and I moved a unit of Wraiths away from them and behind his firebase in the Top Right.

 

 

Max got T1, and I failed the Seize roll (prior to the redeploy of course).

 

He moved the Centurions up the field and unloaded the Hurricane Bolters into the Destroyers, killing 2. Everything else was happy to sit still, and the Suppressors, and 1 Dread unloaded into the DDA on the left of the ruin killing it. I didn't bother using Quantum Deflection as all the Suppressors could draw LoS to it but not the other DDA's, so I saved it for his next target - the Right-most DDA. This was a good move, and it survived his other shooting with 9 wounds remaining. His Stalker Bolt Rifles killed 2 Wraiths, and the Ven Dreads moved up to charge them.

 

In retrospect this was definitely a poor place to put them - my aim was to try and pull some focus from the center of the board and buy some time for the rest of my units, however I put them close enough that both Dreads made the charge - and Flat 3 damage attacks was more than enough to see them off, 3++ or not.

 

My T1

 

After reanimating both Destroyers I moved them out of the ruin into LoS of the Centurions and moved both the Wraiths and Destroyer Lord into position to mop up. Worried about the potential overwatch I hid them behind the big vat in the top right, with only 2 of his models able to see. The Tomb Blades moved out into the middle of the board, hiding from the 2D Stalker Bolt Rifles behind the crates. The Deceiver then popped his head out and caused a solid 3MW to the Centurions.

 

In the Shooting Phase the Destroyers activated Extermination Protocols and targeted the Centurions, causing 7 unsaved wounds even through Transhuman Physiology. Unfortunately I rolled very poorly, and even with a CP reroll only managed to finish off the 1 wound Centurion and killing 2 other models. My 2 DDA's opened up on a Suppressor Squad and an Eliminator squad - but through a combination of poor rolling and good saves Max only lost 3 models.

 

The Wraiths made the charge - just - so I CP'd the 2 to ensure I could get them in comfortably while leaving room for the Destroyer Lord. They did however take a handful of flamer shots, killing 2 before they made it in. MAx used Transhuman Physiology again, but this time I rolled hot and finished off all 3 Centurions before he got chance to Interrupt and at my DLord.

 

We ended the turn with him both holding and killing more, but I got Hold 1/Kill 1 and maxed out Gangbusters so I was reasonably pleased with T1.

 

Score: 7-6 to Max

 

 

Max's T2

 

Not much moved here, the Ven. Dreads. moved back towards the Intercessors and Lias moved back safely away from the Wraiths. He did move into the Tactical Doctrine to start racking up the Headhunter points.

 

Straight into the shooting phase, Max's Captain pointed his Korvidae Bolts into my Destroyer Lord, causing 4 wounds even with a CP reroll. He survived the Ex-Tenebris LT, but a unit of Eliminators saw him off with their mortal wound output. I forgot the Nano-Scarab Resurrection here, if I had remembered it I could have cleared up his left side objective holders pretty well.

 

He chipped a couple of wounds off one of the DDA's and killed 4 of the Destroyers, but otherwise didn't do much this turn.

 

My Turn 2

 

Resurrections went well again, with 3 of the 4 dead Destroyers coming back. 

 

I moved the Wraiths up directly below the 2 units of Eliminators for a 5" charge. brought the Destroyers forward - making sure to keep them all edged onto Terrain.

 

I spent my last CP on the Destroyers, and split fire to try and clear out a unit of Suppressors and Eliminators - however I rolled poorly on the Damage rolls against, only killing 3 models across the 2 units. The DDA's both shot at Eliminators, with 1 rolling 6 shots and getting 5 unsaved wounds through onto the Eliminators while the other only rolled 2 shots and didn't kill anything. The Tomb Blades cleared out the Engineer scout squad on the Bottom Right and stayed cowering behind the LoS blocking Terrain.

 

Here it went wrong, with the Wraiths failing their charge with a roll of a 4 and no CP to reroll. Bugger.

 

I managed to get Butchers Bill, Engineers & Kill More, while Max Picked up Hold more, Headhunter and Engineers.

 

Score: 12 - 11

 

Max's T3

 

Failing to deal with the 2 unit of Eliminators cost me here, as the Cryptek was nailed through the wall very quickly - leaving plenty of snipers to both drop the Deceiver down to only 2 wounds and kill the Lord through the wall (Korvidae Bolts & Master Marksman is a truely disgusting combination when you have 4W characters that cost far too much). The Destroyers took a pounding, dropping down to only 2 models and a couple of the Tomb Blades were picked off. While this wasn't a overly devastating turn, it definitely felt like a turning point - not being able to keep my 5++ on the Destroyers plus the better resurrection spelt the end of them.

 

My T3

 

I failed 3 of 4 resurrection rolls on the Destroyers and both on the Tomb Blades. Oh well, can't roll hot on that every time, and I'd been fortunate until this point.

 

I moved the Wraiths up behind the Eliminators, the Deceiver forward to threaten the Middle Right Objective held by a squad of scouts and the Destroyers to threaten the Top Right Objective. The Tomb Blades moved centrally to grab the Middle Left Objective. I split fire with the Destroyers, trying to clear the objective and also clear the Stalker Bolt Rifle unit with the Tomb Blades. The entire Stalker Bolt Rifle squad died, but only 3 scouts went down.

 

The Destroyers charged the scouts, the Deciever charged another Scout Squad and the Wraiths charged one Eliminator squad and piled into the other. The Wraiths did their job, eating 3 Eliminators but both the Destroyers and Deciever bounced off the scouts - meaning Max held 3 Objectives to my 2.

 

Score 17 - 15

 

T4 and wrap up

 

Unfortunately at this point I've failed to clear enough firepower away, and Max clears the Destroyers and Tomb Blades leaving me with only some Scarabs and the 2 DDA's while he still has roughly half his list spread firmly around the objectives. From this point Max starts picking up the Bonus Objective too, pushing him further into the lead.

 

Over my turns I manage to max out my Secondaries, Butchers Bill on T4 and Engineers on T5 while picking up Hold 1 through T6 and Kill 1 until T5.

 

Final Score 31-22

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

After this game I was pretty dejected, Max is one of the better players I get to practice against but we tend to go pretty even overall - however over the last 2 games (including a restart after he blew me out of the water T1 in one of our games since a T2/3 Victory doesn't make great practice) I've not felt like I had a real chance a winning at any point - even against an army I understand inside out (having a Ravenguard List myself).

 

However, looking back at both my list and some of the mistakes I made I still think this list might have legs. I'm not overly impressed with the Tomb Blades, and as pointed out above the Deceiver doesn't do much for me.

 

I might try a variation on Eulis' list next, subbing the Tesla Tomb Blades I ran out for Tesla on the Doomscythes and some tweaks along the way. Plenty of thinking to be done, and unfortunately I'm not sure going Wraith heavy is the answer I'm looking for, as much as I like them.

 

Starting to get  to the point I need to nail down my Throne of Skulls list now, I have exactly a month to get it sorted so ideally I need to decide on a list within the next 2 weeks.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The Destroyer Lord is impressively assembled.

[Tyriks]

That Destroyer Lord looks awesome!

[dreadmad]

Thanks! I took inspiration from one I saw a Reddit a while back, although I'm struggling to find it now to credit them. Can't claim the idea unfortunately!

[Kaldoth]

For Tomb Blades I would take Gauss over Tesla any day of the week. They're the only unit I feel performs better with Gauss than a Tesla option, mainly because of their mobility. The problem with Gauss is Necrons are incredibly slow moving, but its not hard at all to get Tomb Blades into rapid fire range because of their 14 inch move. Mephrit TBs with Gauss absolutely shred through primaris marines. Not so great against invul saves, but then again nothing in the codex really is.

 

I think a big issue you have in your list is lack of unit synergy. You've got supporting units but I feel like they're in the wrong place. Like I mentioned earlier, your Destroyer Lord isn't the best support option for Wraiths. All he brings to the table is a few extra attacks. If he was sitting with your destroyer mob you'd be rerolling 1s on hits an wounds, which might save you a couple CP on Extermination protocols.

 

For Wraiths, a CloakTek is IMO a much better option for a few reasons. He doesn't have much close combat punch, but what he does bring is incredibly fast movement and a +1 to RP rolls which you can combo with Repair Subroutines to keep your Wraiths in the fight. A 3+ invul is incredibly deceptive as I'm sure you've learned. You're going to lose a few on the way in, so having those 4+ RP rolls to bring them back is an absolute god send.

 

Another thing I think you can improve on is the way you use your Wraiths. Wraiths are IMO our best close combat unit because of their versatility. They do *okay* against most targets, but they still fall so short of the close combat blenders you find in other armies. Their profile isnt reallly all that great on the offensive when you look at it. S6? Meh, not enough to threaten elite targets on anything better than a 4, wounding most other targets on 3s. Warscythe Lychguard are better elite hunters. Now even against T3 armies, you've got a problem with attacks. 3A at WS3 without an in built reroll means you're only going to average 2 hits per surviving Wraith. Even at max size thats 12 hits. Nothing to write home about, and the AP 2 and D2 is wasted as most T3 armies have bad armor and 1W models anyway. Flayed Ones are better meat blenders against squishy targets, and you get 20 of them for 8 more points than a full Wraith squad.

 

What is great about them though is their survivability when combined with supporting units, stratagems, and dynastic code. I don't look at my Wraiths and think "close combat monsters." I look at them and think "close combat tar pit." I mean if they kill something then great, but I'm just as happy having them tie something up on turn one and staying on the board. That being said, the reroll on close combat attacks for Novokh is strong. Stronger though is the Nephrekh auto 6 advance when combined with the Solar Staff relic. Wraiths need to get into combat quickly. Shooting is the bane of Wraiths. The longer they are out of combat the less effective they are. Firepower is the name of the game in 8th and that 3+ save fails to volume every time. Advance your Wraiths for that whopping 18 inch move, use Adaptive Subroutines so you can charge, and shoot something with the relic staff. Now that unit can't overwatch, you avoided losing another Wraith before the charge, and the unit that's stuck in close combat is at -1 to hit. And guess who has a staff of light so you can take the relic? A CloakTek moving 16 inches right behind them! Whatever unit you just charged is now dealing with a 3++ T5 unit that probably bubble wrapped it because of the stupid distance it moved before the charge. Congrats, you just frustrated your opponent's Centurions for at least two turns worth of close combat while your tomb blades fly around negating those pesky 3+ saves with AP3 Gauss shots.

Edited January 29, 2020 by Kaldoth

[dreadmad]

Thanks for the in depth comment, plenty to go through there!

 

Running the numbers Tesla TB's are barely less effective against Marines (in the Mephrit case, 12 Wounds at half range Vs 13.3 wounds for Gauss) - and they're much better over 12" - and against lower armoured units. I tried them in my previous game, but was underwhelmed by the damage they could do.

 

The main motivating factor for the D. Lord was how tanky he is, and he *probably* would have survived if I hadn't forgotten his reanimation (and then healed up 2d3 wounds before the next volley) or if I hadn't been playing against Ravenguard with 9 Eliminators AND 2 sniper characters.

 

I'm definitely playing and practicing assuming I'm going into a very heavy marine meta (I expect Throne of Skulls to be 40% Marines at minimum) - and given Slay the Warlord is a free point on a Cryptek/Lord I want something to cover that weakness.

 

Maybe he would be good to run with Destroyers, but I feel it's something of a waste to have him babysitting 1 unit. Perhaps he could follow 2 units, and a 5++ Cryptek to keep them up (although I'd definitely want at least a second unit of Destroyers if I'm investing that much in support...)

[dreadmad]

One of the things I've been impressed with so far is how well Destroyers survive if you can keep them near a Chronomotron Cryptek & in cover. I also want to give the Doom Scythes a go, I've been wanting to try out Flyers since I got back into 8e and I really like the idea of having them fill a niche in a list (in this case a lack of anti-infantry firepower - on top of having access to their MW strat and the back up big gun).

 

I'm trying to get a few games organised with my group next Saturday, as there's a few of us going to Throne of Skulls.

 

List idea;

 

6cp

 

Mephrit Airwing

 

Doom Scythe

Doom Scythe

Doom Scythe

 

Nihilakh Outrider

 

Destroyer Lord (WL, Voidblade, Phylactery)

 

3* Scarabs

6* Destroyers (5 Destroyers, 1 Heavy Destroyer)

6* Destroyers (5 Destroyers, 1 Heavy Destroyer)

 

Nihilakh Spearhead

 

Cryptek (Chronomotron)

 

Doomsday Ark

Doomsday Ark

Doomsday Ark

 

D.Lord has a Voidblade to shave points, although I'd rather he had the warscythe. I'm a little undecided r.e. WL trait & Relic - either the deny or the 6+++ will probably be my best bet, and I might take the Veil on the Cryptek and buy the upgraded Phylactery relic if I match-up into a Sniper Heavy list.

 

I also have 3 spare points, so I could shave a Heavy Destroyer off the list and add another unit of 3 Scarabs for objectives/screening - but I'm undecided on that so far.

Edited January 31, 2020 by dreadmad

[NTaW]

While I get the reasoning for Mephrit on the Scythes, they benefit way more from Sautekh letting them hit on 3+ with the death ray. I've played both ways, albeit with only one but three will be used this Saturday, since the Codex came out and basically either bring my Scythe as Sautekh or leave it at home.

 

Of course, ymmv with all things so try it out.

 

I too find that Destroyers are best friends with a ChronoTek and often forgo any shooting from one to advance every turn to keep up, the only problem I've encountered is getting up onto terrain without FLY.

[Kaldoth]

Also a +1 here for Sautekh Scythes. That 3+ to hit makes a world of difference.

[dreadmad]

I have heard good things about Sautekh 'scythes! I'll have to playtest both, see which I prefer. My list has a whole lot of Anti-Tank firepower, so I'm not *too* bothered about loosing a bit of accuracy on the D3 shots each one gets.