Death marks Vs Immortals

[Dantay VI]

My son and I have subscribed to the Imperium magazine and in our mail drop we got a set of 5 immortals. I noticed the death mark arms were also on the sprue.

Not having a necron codex, which build is Immortals or Deathmarks?

[Spyros]

The set can be built either as Immortals, or as Deathmarks. 

For that purpose it has different heads and backs.

[Dantay VI]

That's cool.

 

But which is the best in-game to user?

[Karhedron]

They are not directly comparable. Immortals are a superior Troop unit. Their longer range and durability makes a 5-man squad a good choice for backfield Objective camping. Deathmarks are snipers and can shoot your opponent's characters, even when embedded in squads. It is hard to say which is better when they fulfil different roles. A better question is which capability do you need more in your army?

[m_r_parker]

I'm pretty sure if you have a spare set of 5 neurone warrior bodies, you can use them to build out the other option - so build Immortals with the kit, and put the Deathmark bits on warrior bodies for Deathmarks.

[Daimyo-Phaeron Lenoch]

m_r_parker is correct, easy conversions can be done with way with the old Necron Warrior kit (I'm sure it can also be done with the new kit with enough cutting, but I've not seen any good tutorials for it online and given that the new warrior sqauds are a fair bit more finicky/monobuild I'm not super inclined to try personally) Build the main squad however you want to, Immortals or Deathmarks, and then use some greenstuff to fancy up the warriors you convert (when I did this, I turned Warriors into immortals with some headswaps and using GS to bulk up the shoulders and legs to give a more muscled appearance (image in spoiler).

 

 

It wasn't perfect, and could definitely have done with some additional sculpting beyond 'layer GS and hope' to get a more arched look to the pads, but even changing the profile of your converted warriors a little will help immensely to 'sell' the conversion.

Now, as to what's better? 

My own opinion is that Immortals are better than deathmarks. Gauss immortals have a comparable threat range to deathmarks, and pump out much more fire per turn, and can benefit from Guass stratagems to increase their firepower.

 

Deathmarks do have the capability to target characters, but their weapons are D1, relying on mortal wounds to really do damage. They do have deep strike, which makes them handy for holding objectives in later turns, doing table quarter objectives, or simply forcing the opponent to screen their backline. They do have uses, but I do tend to prefer immortals.

 

(Deathmarks, of course, have the advantage of looking incredibly cool, so that may be a factor in you and your son's decision making.)

[Dantay VI]

Thank you all for the advice.

 

I have the Indomitus Necrons also, so looking at it, the immortals might be the better option. As nobody mentioned Tesla carbines, I am assuming the Gauss is the better option?

 

 

I just realised that I have 5 royal wardens kicking about ( got 5 lieutenants and converted them as Blade Guard Veterans)

Could chop these to make either immortals or Deathmarks.

 

Think I will do a squad of both

[Karhedron]

I have the Indomitus Necrons also, so looking at it, the immortals might be the better option. As nobody mentioned Tesla carbines, I am assuming the Gauss is the better option?

I think so. Tesla now only triggers on a natural 6 so no longer stacks with "My Will Be Done", it has shorter range and the lack of AP is pretty harsh given the way cover is so common in 9th.

[Lord_Ikka]

 

I have the Indomitus Necrons also, so looking at it, the immortals might be the better option. As nobody mentioned Tesla carbines, I am assuming the Gauss is the better option?

I think so. Tesla now only triggers on a natural 6 so no longer stacks with "My Will Be Done", it has shorter range and the lack of AP is pretty harsh given the way cover is so common in 9th.

 

Having a 5-man tesla group isn't a bad thing, as you can proc the Malevolent Arcing strat with them- a 1CP cost for doing some mortal wounds isn't bad, especially against clustered enemies. I wouldn't advise it as your go-to for the first couple of Immortals squads you build but if you are going to get a third squad tesla might be a good choice. With Immortals being fairly cheap points-wise, having 15 of them can be a good way to get a Battalion without fielding big bricks of Warriors. 

[Daimyo-Phaeron Lenoch]

The debate between Gauss and Tesla on immortals is as old as the dual-option kit. 

 

Some editions, Tesla is better, some editions, Gauss is better. The fact that Tesla, right now, only procs on a flat to-hit roll of 6, and not a 6+, is somewhat of a point against it. It can't be affected by -1 to hits, which means that a negative modifier from, say, smoke launchers, or an eldar jink shenanigan (which I'm sure exists, because eldar), will not negate the tesla effect entirely, but you also cannot dump buckets of shots into enemy units with tesla anymore via a to-hit buff from My Will Be Done.

 

Gauss also has two points of AP and an extra six inches of range over the tesla carbine, which is generally just better, especially against marine-heavy armies or other armies with good armor saves. 

 

Of course, more of my immortals are built with tesla, but that's mainly because I built them when tesla was better and also I kind of like the look of the tesla weapons more than the gauss ones.