Necrons - Making my first new Codex list!

Nick speaking,

I was on holiday when the new Necron Codex came out, so by the time I read, re-read and pondered on what I had read, every man and his blog had already done some sort of Codex/Unit reviews, with their own take on what is good, bad and ugly in the latest non Space Marine GW release. There are already lots of potentially competitive lists and list ideas about, and although this is another Necron list post, I am going to take a different approach to building my first list...

Forget the most competitive, I am going to look at it from the point of view of someone who has been playing Necrons for the last ten years, and wants to have some fun trying out the new rules. I also want to get a game in as soon as I can with the models I already have. I still want a fighting chance of winning of course, especially as I have never won a game with Necrons since 5th edition came out! I had many draws as it was easy to draw, but it was much more difficult to win lol.

So, I started work on my first Necron list...

First up, the HQ choice that really took my fancy was Imotekh the Stormlord, he really does look like fun with his ability to steal the initiative on 4+, with his Storm of the Lord shenanigans. What better way to start my first game with Necrons than stealing first turn, turning on Night fight and then hitting some of my opponents army with some S8 hits. Oh yes, and then telling him it may last the whole game! I am sure there will be many lists built around this guy, and when coupled with one or two Solar Pulses and some decent shooting ability, you can see why. Of course there are many other viable HQ choices, and I think the lords that unlock the Royal Court are going to be the bread and butter part of any good Necron list.

So what other fun stuff to take? mmm Scarab Swarms  Cenoptek Scarabs seem like they will be a must for most armies, and with the Entropik Strike rule being as it is, I think I will give them a try. I am sort of thinking that two units of Scarabs backed up with the obligatory Tomb Cenoptek Spyders would compliment the Stormlord and his night fight ability nicely, but like I said, I am only going for a fun list and just want to try out a few units, so I will just opt for ten Scarabs and a unit of three Spyders kitted out for wound allocation.

Next is Troops, and forgetting the disappointment that Flayed Ones are not Troops or cannot be unlocked as Troops, we have the choice of Warriors and Immortals. Talking of Flayed Ones, why bother bringing out new models, which imo are worse than the old ones, for a unit that no one is going to use because they suck, unless they really are designed for the rumoured 6th edition?

So, Immortals or Warriors? Well, I am still holding back my judgement on this, but I think there could be a place for a mix of both of them. What is for sure is that I can now take units of five and they are cheap! Just because I can, I am going to take them in fives! Two units of five Warriors and four units of five Immortals, two with Gauss Blasters and two with Tesla Carbines (why does Tesla Carbines sound like a Tau weapon!). I can't decide if Guass Blasters or Telsa Carbines are best, but something tells me that GW will want me to buy more models, and the Tesla's will be better than the Blasters that I currently have on all my models!

Next up are Canoptek Wraiths! I think I can see these guys in my army most of the time. Six in a unit, 3++ save, two wounds with wound allocation and the ability to strike first, unlike the rest of the army. These guys are either going to support my back ranks or go out to support my Scarabs depending on the enemy/mission.

Talking of support, and because they are still in the Codex (I was holding my breath with the rumour that they wouldn't be), the C'tan. Most of my previous lists had the Deceiver in, but with the way they have done the C'tan now, I can use either my Deceiver or the Nightbringer as the model on the table. Hell, I could even convert up one of the lost Star Gods if I wanted! For now though, I will continue to use old Golden boy. I gave him Writhing Worldscape as his first power, which surely is the best power he has and Pyreshards as his second. Keeping with the fun side, picking up eight dice when he shoots should be worth the look on my opponents face, even if they are only strength four.

After all this I had about 200pts left over, ideal for a Monolith, and I nearly look it. In the end though, I went for Lychguard, I've seen some people deeming these as one of the worse units in the Dex, but as there are no direct Pariah's in the Codex, these guy's seem to fit the Pariah slot nicely. So like I said, just for fun, five Lychguard won the day!

Here is my first final list:

HQ
1 x Imotekh the Stormlord (225) 

ELITES 
5 x Lychguards Hyperphase Swords & Dispersion Shields (225)
1 x C’Tan Shard/Pyreshards/Writhing Worldscape (235) 

TROOPS

5 x Warriors (65) 
5 x Warriors (65)
5 x Immortals (85)
5 x Immortals (85)
5 x Immortals Telsa Carbines (85)
5 x Immortals Telsa Carbines (85) 

FAST ATTACK

6 x Canoptek Wraiths/6x Whip coils (270) 
10 x Canoptek Scarabs (150) 

HEAVY 
3 x Canoptek Spyders/1x Gloom Prism/Claw (175)

1750 points

First battle report to follow...