Necron Tactica Part 1

This is (hopefully) the first of many notes I'll be creating about tactics/ strategies in Warhammer 40k, mostly because I'm sick of all the really stupid stuff taht people post claiming that it's "good advice." Of course, for the moment I probably sound exactly like one of those people, but with any luck, this stuff should actually work for you. I'll also be compiling some evidence and suggestions from other sources, trying to filter out what little good advice there is in internet-land, and I'll also be incorporating a bit of MathHammer (sorry, only a little bit) to explain my reasoning.

So without further ado, my first tactics session involves the one aspect of 40k I know the most about: the Necrons. Yeah, I know, they're the one race that almost everyone who knows anything about 40k agrees needs a new codex the most...except for the Dark Eldar, Necron rules are the oldest in the game (Blood Angels might have come before also, but they're marines and as such are bound to get a new codex soon). However, with all the evidence showing that it'll be at least a year until our zombie-robot-alien friends receive their much needed update, I think that it's time for some people to dust off their shelved models and show the gaming community what real 'Cronnage can do.

To start off, let's take a look at what the Necrons are really good at. The "pros" list:

--> High durability (50% chance to stand back up after dying is very, very good)

--> Extremely versatile shooting (any Necron weapon can *damage* ANY target)

--> Often underestimated due to the army's poor usage in recent history

Now then, let's take a look at Necron weaknesses. The "cons" list:

--> Weakness in assault

--> Low mobility (no real transport hurts)

--> Phase-Out's alternate lose condition

--> Many overcosted units limits our real choices (who seriously takes Flayed Ones at 18 points per model?)

--> One subpar Troops choice can make objective games difficult

--> Shooty army with only medium range can create awkward tactical situations

From the beginning, it's fairly clear that the deck is stacked against the 'Crons. We have only a handful of strengths, and many would have you believe that our weaknesses are truly crippling.

Most experienced players see the Necrons almost as a joke at this point. And in many cases, they're right, because many Necron players seem stuck in a rut of using 4th Edition tactics in a 5th Edition environment. The simple fact is that most armies now win by specializing in the extreme: Mechanized Guard and Green-Tide Orks are excellent examples. If you throw 10 tanks at an enemy in 1250 points, they'll crumble, and a swarm of 100+ models at taht points level will have a similar effect. However, Necrons don't have these options: We're a low model-count army with only a single vehicle in our roster. We don't have the volume of fire to stand and shoot, but at the same time, we don't have the mobility for guerrilla tactics.

So what do we do? We adapt to the situation.

You see, the 5th edition metagame, whether it be infantry-heavy or mech-heavy in a given area, has really played to the Necrons' strengths. Everyone around us is specializing in a certain style of play, but the Necrons have both the versatility to take on any type of army with the same list and the durability to withstand the punishment that any list tries to throw at you. Even better, experienced players will often abandon the given scenario goals in favor of trying to phase you out, pitting your awesome against their firepower, which probably isn't designed to take out your style of army. In this way, I almost think that Phil Kelly did us a favor when he wrote the Phase Out rule. I am only saddened by how few Necron players choose to capitalize on this, and the massive number that instead live in fear of Phasing Out.

I suppose that after making a statement like that, it's time for me to get into specifics...but I'll leave that for the next note, or else this'll get waaaay too long. Until next time, my friends!