Warhammer 40,000: Necrons Army Guide

The galaxy of Warhammer 40,000 is a very old place, home to beings of immense power and the graves of countless civilizations. War, strife, hunger, and disaster have reduced many mighty empires to dust upon the wind. But not every silent world or crumbling ruin belongs to a dead species – some ancient beings are simply sleeping, waiting beyond death to reclaim what is rightfully theirs.

The kingdom of the Necrons once spanned the stars, and they grew so powerful that their technology has yet to be replicated by what they see as “the primitive races”. They transferred their consciousnesses into metallic shells long ago, giving up their souls for a chance at immortality. And now they want their kingdom back.

Why Play Necrons

On the tabletop, the Necrons are a highly resilient, ranged-focused army with low mobility but high damage at medium range. Their main gimmick is reviving dead models; allowing a unit that should have been wiped out a long time ago to slowly rebuild itself and remain a threat.

Army Rules

The engine behind the Necrons’ success is Reanimation Protocols: every Command Phase, every unit with this rule regains between one and three Wounds. This can bring models back from the dead, but it stops working if a unit gets completely wiped out.

Important Units

As you might imagine for an empire that controlled the galaxy, the Necrons have plenty of useful units and weapons through which to impose their will.

Characters

Your galaxy-conquering legion will need an equally imposing figurehead to lead it, and the Necrons have many powerful options. Even more so than other factions, your army's combat style and effectiveness hinges on picking the right Character(s) to empower your forces.

Overlord	Your standard big boss. They'll give you passive Command Point discounts, tank damage like nobody’s business, and do short-range shooting, anti-elite melee, or anti-Monster melee.
Crypteks	Little support tech-wizards that blow up suns in their spare time. They come in a variety of flavours, and each one offers buffs to their attached unit.
C’tan	You know your civilization is advanced when you capture the gods you used to worship and keep them as collectibles. The C’tan are very strong, very tough, and each one has a specialty.
Royal Warden	Your cheap mini-character, keeping the troops in line while your Overlord does Overlord things. Their attached unit can shoot and Charge after Falling Back, which will help them avoid being stuck in unproductive melees, and the Warden can stop a nearby unit from being Battle-shocked once per game.
Hexmark Destroyer	Who has six limbs, Deep Strike, and Lone Operative? This absolute menace of a Character. Able to fire Overwatch for free once per turn, ignore shooting from beyond 12 inches, and shoot back at anyone who manages to close the distance, the Hexmark Destroyer might not win you games by itself, but it will make your opponent’s game much harder.

Battleline

Their number is legion, and their name is death. Your basic troops make up for a lack of customization with reliability and durability, especially when buffed by Characters and Stratagems.

Necron Warriors	Your default troop choice, now slightly less durable than before. They put out consistent damage at range, and are still impressively difficult to shift if invested in. You’ll want to run them in units of 20 as often as possible.
Immortals	Your upgraded objective-grabbers. They pack a punch at range with either weapon choice (though the Tesla Carbine is stronger on average) and synergize very well with any offensive buffs you give them.

Necron Warriors

Your default troop choice, now slightly less durable than before. They put out consistent damage at range, and are still impressively difficult to shift if invested in. You’ll want to run them in units of 20 as often as possible.

Immortals

Your upgraded objective-grabbers. They pack a punch at range with either weapon choice (though the Tesla Carbine is stronger on average) and synergize very well with any offensive buffs you give them.

Infantry

Despite being, functionally, different flavours of metal skeleton, your Infantry are all quite diverse. They can each fill gaps in your army list and synergize well with different Characters and battle plans.

Deathmarks	Dirt cheap snipers with Deep Strike – what’s not to love? They can assassinate Characters, disrupt reinforcements, and capture objectives at the drop of a hat. A good unit for filling out the last few points in a list.
Flayed Ones	Cheap and deadly Infantry mulchers. The Flayed Ones get stronger as their enemies get weaker, so they’re good to throw into a combat you’re already winning. Otherwise, they’re your only unit with Infiltrate, so you can use them to take space, grab Objectives, and ward off enemy units with Infiltrate or Scout.
Lychguard	As if your Characters weren’t resilient enough, you can attach some Lychguard to make them truly unkillable. Armed with scary scythes or swords and shields, they are a solid melee unit who are only held back by their slow movement and lack of transport options.
Skorpekh Destroyers	Acting as the proverbial “hammer” to the Lychguard’s “anvil,” these melee Destroyers deal serious damage and have enough movement speed to get into the fray without needing much investment.

Deathmarks

Dirt cheap snipers with Deep Strike – what’s not to love? They can assassinate Characters, disrupt reinforcements, and capture objectives at the drop of a hat. A good unit for filling out the last few points in a list.

Flayed Ones

Cheap and deadly Infantry mulchers. The Flayed Ones get stronger as their enemies get weaker, so they’re good to throw into a combat you’re already winning. Otherwise, they’re your only unit with Infiltrate, so you can use them to take space, grab Objectives, and ward off enemy units with Infiltrate or Scout.

Lychguard

As if your Characters weren’t resilient enough, you can attach some Lychguard to make them truly unkillable. Armed with scary scythes or swords and shields, they are a solid melee unit who are only held back by their slow movement and lack of transport options.

Skorpekh Destroyers

Acting as the proverbial “hammer” to the Lychguard’s “anvil,” these melee Destroyers deal serious damage and have enough movement speed to get into the fray without needing much investment.

Beasts And Mounted

Here’s where you’ll find most of your fast units, though they may still be slower than the skirmishers of other armies. Then again, they can’t get up from the dead, can they?

Canoptek Wraiths	These big bugs may be the only non-Vehicle unit to rival Lychguard for sheer toughness. They lack some punch compared to the royal bodyguards but make up for it with speed and some light shooting. They can also be accompanied by a Technomancer for maximum durability.
Lokhust Destroyers	Your top unit for hunting elite Infantry, such as Space Marines. They can fly around the board to get the perfect shooting angle and are great solo, or in large units.
Lokhust Heavy Destroyers	The same as above but specialized for hunting either light Infantry (Enmitic Exterminator) or Vehicles and Monsters (Gauss Destructor). Very deadly, and easy for an opponent to ignore until it’s too late.

Canoptek Wraiths

These big bugs may be the only non-Vehicle unit to rival Lychguard for sheer toughness. They lack some punch compared to the royal bodyguards but make up for it with speed and some light shooting. They can also be accompanied by a Technomancer for maximum durability.

Lokhust Destroyers

Your top unit for hunting elite Infantry, such as Space Marines. They can fly around the board to get the perfect shooting angle and are great solo, or in large units.

Lokhust Heavy Destroyers

The same as above but specialized for hunting either light Infantry (Enmitic Exterminator) or Vehicles and Monsters (Gauss Destructor). Very deadly, and easy for an opponent to ignore until it’s too late.

Vehicles

While your ageless hordes are shambling toward your enemy, they can be accompanied by larger entities – constructs of arcane design and pitiless efficiency, entirely focused on making sure no living being will infringe on your plans.

Doomsday Ark	The big gun to end all big guns. Will absolutely annihilate anything you point it at, though it’s best for atomizing enemy tanks. If you can park it in place, the main gun gets even deadlier, adding Devastating Wounds to an already scary profile.
Canoptek Doomstalker/Reanimator	Two sides of the same coin: a big Walker that wants to march up alongside your main troops. The Doomstalker is good for killing heavy Infantry and light Vehicles, and the Reanimator buffs the Reanimation Protocols of nearby units. The Doomstalker can replace the Doomsday Ark for anti-tank in a Canoptic-heavy Detachment, and the Reanimator is solid in lists with lots of Infantry.
Night Scythe	A reasonably-priced Aircraft that can transport one Infantry unit, regardless of size. If you need to reposition your forces, it can also beam up a friendly unit within six inches that isn’t currently in melee.
Monolith	Huge, expensive, and legendarily tough. This iconic Necron pseudo-transport allows units in Reserves to appear anywhere within six inches of it and can pull friendly units who are currently on the battlefield into the same radius. Also puts out some respectable shooting, with the option to take Death Rays for anti-tank or Gauss Flux Arcs for anti-Infantry.
Ghost Ark	Your only Dedicated Transport, which also functions as a support Vehicle for your Warriors. Doesn’t do a lot of damage, but is respectably tough, and can carry ten basic skeletons into the fray. Its main function is giving nearby Warriors a free Reanimation Protocols once per turn when they get shot, which further increases their durability.

Detachments

No two cultures handle death the same way, and no two Dynasties handle immortality the same way. Each Detachment focuses on different aspects of Necron culture, and changes which metal skeletons you’ll want to prioritize.

Detachment Name	Description	Suggested Units
Awakened Dynasty	Voted most likely to say “Arise, my minions!” The Awakened Dynasty wants their Characters to lead from the front, providing passive buffs to their attached units. Their Stratagems make you better at what you were already doing – surviving attacks and shooting back.	Necron Warriors, Immortals, Royal Wardens
Annihilation Legion	Home to the monsters and outcasts, the Annihilation Legion wants to be up close and personal with their prey, cutting them down in close combat like wheat before a scythe. This Detachment has the narrowest application but can still be devastating in the right hands.	Flayed Ones, Skorpekh Destroyers, Ophydian Destroyers
Canoptek Court	This is where all the Crypteks and mindless Canoptek Constructs come to play. Gives the aforementioned units hefty buffs if you control multiple objectives and rewards you for using these esoteric units with solid buffs and nasty Stratagem tricks.	Crypteks, Canoptek Wraiths, Canoptek Doomstalkers
Hypercrypt Legion	Now you’re thinking with portals; you can constantly pull units off the board and into Reserves, then redeploy them where needed. Monoliths are great here, though they aren’t mandatory. Does a great job at countering one of the Necrons’ greatest weaknesses – their lack of mobility – and making them a very hard army to pin down.	Any, Monoliths
Obeisance Phalanx	The undying Overlords and their loyal servants get to shine here, with your Detachment Ability allowing you to mark one enemy unit per turn to destroy with extreme prejudice. You may lack the numbers of a traditional Necron army, but each of your elite units can match blades with the best in the galaxy.	Overlords, Lychguard, Triarch Stalker

Sample Armies

Now that you have been instructed in the history and technological superiority of the Necrons, you no doubt wish to lead your own Dynasty to reclaim the stars. Below are three armies, each one designed to show off a different way to destroy the living while capitalizing on your Detachment Abilities.

The Infinite March (Awakened Dynasty)

• Cryptek (Chronomancer) (Enhancement: Phasal Subjugator)
• Overlord with Translocation Shroud (Enhancement: Nether-realm Casket)
• Necron Warriors x2
• Deathmarks
• Lokhust Heavy Destroyer
• Canoptek Reanimator
• Doomsday Ark

Strategy

You’ll want to put the Overlord in one unit of Warriors, the Cryptek in the other, and walk both menacingly toward your opponent’s army. Both units will be hard to hit, harder to kill, and the Reanimator will stay between them to make sure they get up after they get knocked down.

The Doomsday Ark will stay behind your Infantry, sending blasts of Gauss energy overhead to level any enemy unlucky enough to be in its sightline. The Deathmarks will pop in to grab objectives, taking potshots at enemy Characters if possible, and the Destroyer (wielding a Gauss Destructor) will clean up any Vehicles the Ark doesn’t destroy in one hit.

Creepy Crawlies (Canoptek Court)

• Cryptek (Technomancer) (Enhancement: Dimensional Sanctum)
• Cryptek (Plasmancer) (Enhancement: Hyperphasic Fulcrum)
• Transcendent C’tan
• Immortals
• Lokhust Heavy Destroyer
• Tomb Blades
• Canoptek Wraiths

Strategy

This army is all about fast Objective-grabbing, trying to secure board control early to get the most out of Power Matrix. The Technomancer will Infiltrate alongside the Wraiths, and they will clear one flank while the Immortals (guided by the Plasmancer) clear the other.

The C’tan will teleport around the board at will, causing problems and threatening any units that try to Charge you with a godly counterattack. The Tomb Blades are here solely for their speed: they are the Necron version of Jetbikes, super fast, and still just as durable as expected for a Necron unit. They’ll grab any Objectives that the rest of your army is too busy to reach.

Trans-dimensional Terror (Hypercrypt Legion)

• Lokhust Lord (Enhancement: Osteoclave Fulcrum)
• Hexmark Destroyer
• Immortals
• Flayed Ones x2
• Lokhust Destroyers
• Doomsday Ark x2

Strategy

Congratulations: you have turned Warhammer 40,000 into a horror game for your opponent. Your units will be jumping out of every nook and cranny to ambush them – whether that’s with piles of Gauss fire from the Destroyers or the flensing claws of the Flayed Ones.

Speaking of those flesh-wrapped monstrosities, they’ll start on the board using Infiltrate to grab Objectives early. If they are approached by a unit they can’t take in a fight, they’ll teleport out of there to reappear on a flank somewhere else.

Your Immortals will do typical Immortal things, marching up the board to take up space and hold home-field Objectives. The Doomsday Arks Will blast Vehicles and Monsters that the rest of your spook squad might struggle with, and the Hexmark Destroyer will menace any Infantry who think they’re safe.

Remember to use the Cosmic Precision Stratagem on your shooting units, and you’ll be sure to give the galaxy nightmares.

Remember that even if a unit doesn’t have Deep Strike, redeploying through Reserves can still be useful. You can bring them in from any board edge, and if it’s turn three or later, that includes your opponent’s Deployment Zone!

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