Anti-Tank and Necrons

[Arbiter7]

Heya,

 

So now that the dust has settled a bit, the ones that are fortunate enough to have had a few games, what are you finding works for anti-tank with Necrons? 

 

The initial thoughts were that Doomstalkers were the bees knees and that Lokhusts were crap. I've recently heard from some that Stalkers aren't cutting it.

 

So are we back to Arks? 

 

Thoughts?

[Get Thokt]

If they are vehicles moving up the board then Void Dragon would be an exceptional choice

[Bonzi]

Heya,

 

So now that the dust has settled a bit, the ones that are fortunate enough to have had a few games, what are you finding works for anti-tank with Necrons?

 

The initial thoughts were that Doomstalkers were the bees knees and that Lokhusts were crap. I've recently heard from some that Stalkers aren't cutting it.

 

So are we back to Arks?

 

Thoughts?

Honestly I like all our sources of anti-tank except the monolith. I generally try to have multiple different sources of AT in a single list. My most recent had a Stalker, Destroyers, and a Tomb Sentinel. The Stalker got nuked off the board in a single turn because my opponent knows how clutch they are. The Destroyers and Tomb Sentinel stepped up in a big way. Beyond actual anti-tank units I try to make sure I have fast units like Scarabs and Wraiths that can tie up tanks to buy time.

 

I have also used the Doomsday Ark, and a trio of Triarch Stalkers. I'm hoping to dust off my Doom Scyth soon as well.

[Stupidity]

I've only played some 500 point games so I have to ask, what vehicles are people seeing brought in their games? 

Isn't the meta pretty low on vehicles?

As Mephrit, I usually don't bother much with anti tank at 500 points. I can use stratagems to make mass reaper fire scary for vehicles. 

[Bonzi]

At 500 point level I think most of what you would see would be dreads or walkers. I have played against a fair amount of vehicles and monsters in every one of my 2000 point games. I think 9th is far different from 8th where your list had to be able to drop a Knight in one turn of shooting, but AT still has value against a lot of targets.

[Miek]

Didn't that change significantly with the latest FAQ and the changes to a (or perhaps a few) secondary objective? I was under the impression that a sec. obj. previously hurt players fielding several monsters and vehicles, and that GW fixed it with this FAQ.

[Bonzi]

Didn't that change significantly with the latest FAQ and the changes to a (or perhaps a few) secondary objective? I was under the impression that a sec. obj. previously hurt players fielding several monsters and vehicles, and that GW fixed it with this FAQ.

I don't think it was Obsec that kept vehicles and monsters out of games, it was the bring it down secondary which gave so many points for killing monsters/vehicles. The new faq has cut that down a fair bit by reducing the point values for killing these units by 1 for each level. I personally think theses shouldn't have been a big hang up for Necron players in particular anyway. Quantum Shielding and Living Metal and the ability to give them Obsec with the right Dynasty Trait gave our vehicles good survivability and value on the tabletop. The other big limiter on vehicles right now is Marine melta madness. GW handed out very very potent anti-tank units to the marines in the form of Eradicators and Invaders.

[Miek]

Oh yeah by "sec. obj." I meant "secondary objective", not "objective secure".

 

Indeed, our vehicles tend to be tough to put down with QS, LV, etc. so I'm not worried, but I'm guessing AT will become more important after that FAQ. How true/untrue that is remains to be seen I guess.

 

A previous rule of thumb someone gave me a while ago (definitely before 9th) was to dedicate about 40% of your list to AT. I'm wondering what would be a good ratio for 9th, but then again I'm feeling that this edition is more about board control than killing, so such thinking could be rather pointless (i.e.: AT ratio).

 

@Arbiter7 my favorite AT is the Tesseract Ark for its adaptability, and the Triarch Stalker for the same reason plus its army wide buff. They are much more fun to play than the DDA/DS (and I assume the CDS) IMO, but that's personal preference. I especially like that they can get physical if needs be.

[Stupidity]

Ya, all I ever fought at 500 points was a single dreadnought. Which thanks to the damage reduction ability, my plan was pretty decent. 

 

Necrons have that Planetary Invader and objective secured combo dynasty code. It could be meta now to just shove shove vehicles (AB, TA, CCB, DDA) right into people faces and see how they do against a list of fast vehicles with LivMet and QS that are as powerful in melee as they are at range and can fallback and shoot.

[The silent but deadly king]

i'm thinking in some ways the best tank killer in a necron army might be 3 heavy lokhusts.

 

Now i know they're more expensive both in points and money, but look at some of the advantages.

 

With a bs3 and rerolling 1's, you're going to hit a lot, and if you take masters of the martial like i did you can reroll that pesky 2 that comes up now and then. So when you shoot, you generally hit with all 3 shots. Cover saves? Solar pulses!

 

S10 ap4, few tanks will be spared that, and with extermination protocols you can reroll failed wounds.

 

3d3 dam tends to even the damage out a lot, so you can reasonably count on about 6 damage per shot when rolling for all 3. You have a good chance of these doing an average 18 points damage when all fire at one target.

 

This kills a leman russ or a land raider and most tanks in general that lack fixed saves in one attack.

 

Also, lokhusts ae small and can easily interprose terrain between themselves and enemies, they are mobile and can fire on the move without penalty.

Plus they can split fire and engage 3 units.

 

Sure, easier to kill, less durable, all that. But if you see a tank army they can put the hurt on a tank or two better than just about anything else.

[Captain Idaho]

I touch upon the necessity of Necrons to find anti-tank beyond torrents of Gauss Flayers and numbers and discuss the use of Lokhust Heavy Destroyers

(forgive the self plug).

 

Basically, I feel Lokhust Heavy Destroyers are crucial to providing a powerful ranged gun on a platform that can really reach its targets consistently.

 

I'm no mathematics sorcerer, but I believe the average damage on a Melta gun within 12" is 5/6, which is the approximate as the Gauss Destructor. The critical difference is the Gauss Destructor has further reach therefore the unit proving the melta isn't committed to an area of the board or close enough for a solid counter attack.

 

Thanks to obscuring terrain, keeping Heavy Destroyers alive is easier than it used to be, plus they have a solid statline. Surely, concerted efforts to eliminate them will see them destroyed, but that's why you have target saturation.

 

Other than that, perhaps Stalkers can contribute to the anti-tank for players, particularly if you like the melta aspect. I have used a Tachyon Arrow which was fun due to how much damage that thing can cause in 1 shot, particularly the relic.

 

Folk who take the Warrior horde will find the Doomstalker very beneficial using 2-3 alongside the Technomancer, though it is a little swingy.

[Get Thokt]

Should point out that The Silent King also provides excellent anti-vehicle weapons with his flat 6 damage

[Arbiter7]

Love these last replies! Joined Necrons with Indomitus and everyone was raving about the Doomstalker. I ordered 3 Lokhusts HD straight away because rule of cool. No Doomstalkers yet. Haven't managed to play a game but I've now got 2k of painted Necrons with another 1.5k on the painting queue! I'm assuming you both have Szarekhan in mind for single LHDs to get that re-roll.

Edited February 2, 2021 by Arbiter7

[Captain Idaho]

In single units, yes, but I usually take them in units since that saves on Heavy Slots. Depends on your army focus.

 

Also, it's cool you've got a solid army there. In fairer weather hopefully you can get multiple games in and enjoy the painted army fully (and pics are always greatly appreciated on the forum ;) )

[Stupidity]

I'm no mathematics sorcerer, but I believe the average damage on a Melta gun within 12" is 5/6, which is the approximate as the Gauss Destructor. The critical difference is the Gauss Destructor has further reach therefore the unit proving the melta isn't committed to an area of the board or close enough for a solid counter attack.

 

Other than that, perhaps Stalkers can contribute to the anti-tank for players, particularly if you like the melta aspect. I have used a Tachyon Arrow which was fun due to how much damage that thing can cause in 1 shot, particularly the relic.

 

Folk who take the Warrior horde will find the Doomstalker very beneficial using 2-3 alongside the Technomancer, though it is a little swingy.

 

I would love to hear about how effective the Triarch Stalkers are. So far my plan is either a pair of doom stalkers or the Triarch ones. I have a 240 point hole in my current force and no anti tank to speak of. Triarch's have less range damage but are good melee fighters. Enough to punish light vehicles. Plus they don't explode on 5's. 

[Captain Idaho]

It generally depends on what the rest of your list looks like. Lots of Destroyers and infantry? Heavy Destroyers definitely. Ghost Arks and other vehicles? Take the Triarch.

 

That's a very rough guide of course.

[Get Thokt]

Or maybe a mix of both. Since the Triarch synergizes with anything other than Destroyers with its re-roll 1s