How will 6th Edition effect my Necrons?

Nick speaking,

So, what are the thoughts for my various armies in 6th Edition? In this next mini series of posts, I am going to have a look at my four armies, starting here, with Necrons. These posts won't be a huge break down of the rules and units of the armies, but more about my initial thoughts and the first directions I want to try out. I really don't see myself doing anything but experimenting and having some fun with the new rules for a while, as I start to learn the ins and outs of 6th Edition, so what about my Necrons?

Well, I played my first few games of 6th with the Crons, and it is pretty obvious, our lovely new Codex really was written for 6th Edition. The majority of the units have just got a lot better, and interesting enough, a lot of those units are the original units, that maybe we thought were nerfed when the new Codex hit! Sadly, this is not the case for all of them, take Flayed Ones for instance, they have got even worse in 6th, now that they can't assault from the Flank, but who was using Flayed Ones anyway?

In general though, there have been a lot of boosts for the Necrons, and the most obvious being Rapid Fire Gauss weapons, at last, I can get my sixty Warriors on the battlefield! Tesla truly has become a 6th Edition gun, AP- is no longer -1 to the damage chart, and those sixes to hit are great for Overwatch. Having said that, I think the Gauss/Tesla Immortal question has finally been answered, with Rapid Fire Gauss weapons winning outright, now that you don't need a Phaeron to move and shoot.

I am also pleased to see the Doomsday Ark got a bit of a boost, it's still not amazing, but it's a lot better now with hull points. It can now take three Glancing hits and still be shooting that big gun, plus the pimp to the blast rules really makes the weapon a lot better. Add to that most flankers can't assault it when they come on, and the new random rules for weapon destroyed results, means there is now only a 33.3% chance of the big gun being destroyed. The Ghost Ark is also looking a bit better now that it cannot be taken out with a single glancing hit and has the Jinks special rule. I think I will be experimenting with my magnetised Arks once again for sure...

I'm really loving the Destroyer Lord at the moment, and I am very pleased he is able to make a come back to my army. The 2+ Weave save, Warscythe, Mindshackle Scarabs and Preferred Enemy, all now make this guy a great HQ choice. Stick him at the front of a group of Wraiths or Destroyers to soak up the wounds with his 2+ save, and bobs your uncle. He is also excellent for Challenges, especially with Mindshackle Scarabs, and of course, he will give all your Wraiths Preferred Enemy as well, bonus!

I know taking the Destroyer Lord doesn't let you unlock Crypteks, but even with sixty Warriors on the table, you will still have enough points for the second amazing HQ choice, an Overlord in a Command Barge. The new Chariot rules have just made this combo even better than that it was, as the Lord can now soak up destroyed Hull points and can assault a unit from his Barge, gaining D6 Strength six, Hammer and Wrath attacks. He can even issue Challenges, so don't forget to give him Mindshackle as well.

I can't really do this post without talking about Flyers, which I have to say, I am really liking at the moment. I am very happy to see the nearly useless Doom Scythe, is now in a position to really compete in the Heavy Support slot, and of course the Night Scythe is going to make an excellent Transport for Immortals, it's a shame you cannot embark back on the Scythe once you have disembarked, but being able to move 24" and get out and rapid fire those Gauss Blasters at normal ballistic skill, has to be good.

So, what about the lists I was using in 5th? What changes to make? or do I need to start fresh?

Well, I mainly had two types of lists I was using, Lance Spam and the Immotekh Scarab Farm. I'm not one for fixed lists as such, and my lists were always changing anyway, especially as I added the new Vehicles etc. to my army. With Lance spam no longer needed and the big change to Warriors, I think it really is going to be a total shake up for my lists. I am interested to see how the Scarab farm is going to fair, as the chances are, there aren't going to be as many vehicles about anymore, and I am going to have a closer look at my Scarab Farm list in a future post. So far, I have only played 1,000 point games with the Crons, and I am really looking forward to getting even more of the Necron goodness on the table in the near future. Just in case you missed, or didn't read my previous battle report, here is a video of my very first game with the Crons, with my first 1k list...