Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Necron carpet swarm list



Hi all. I have had this idea bouncing around in my head since I read the Fall of Damnos novel a few months back. With the new Necron codex out I can make it a reality. Now, this ist is not a hammer, it is not an incredibly strong list, and it has several glaring weaknesses. I like the feel of it though, and I think a surprised opponent might not be able to deal with the hordes of models getting thrown at them. There is still some tweaking to be done, but this is pretty solid as is. I might just proxy this list out and see how it does.

Imotek
Court   Cryptek of destruction with lance and  solar pulse
            Cryptek of despair with a veil of darkness
            Lord with a warscythe and mindshackle scarabs
10 scarabs
10 scarabs

20 flayed ones
20 flayed ones
20 flayed ones

5 immortals
5 immortals
6 warriors

2 Canoptek Spyders with a single gloom prism
2 Doomsday Arks (in a game using Imperial Armour these would be replaced with Tomb Stalkers)

Tactics are pretty simple. In deployment you put your scarabs as far forward as you can and still have some cover. The court splits up with the troops. One unit of Immortals to the rear on an oblective in cover. The other immortal unit is your midfielder, and has the pulse Cryptek with them. The lord, Imhotek and the other Cryptek go with the warriors. They should deploy in the back in cover, as they have a veil and can be your late game objective denial.

Once your opponent set up, you infiltrate all 60 flayed ones, right up as close as you can get. The Doomsday Arks sit in the back with a line of sight to enemy armor, somewhere around the middle of your board edge to help with outflankers.

This list is geared to give your opponent fits. If they go first and decide to spotlight a unit your doomsday arks make them pay for it. If you go first then you rush in, scarabs first and munch away. They need to deal with the growing scarab swarms quickly, and in the middle of that there are 60 flayed ones up close. Hopefully this can overwhelm them with targets while your scoring units are protected by darkness in the back. Late game you veil in the warriors to contest another objective, and hopefully take it. If all went well you had 3-4 turns of nothing but the flayed ones and scarabs getting shot at. In that time you should have 2-3 objectives and be contesting any others.

Will it work? I don't know. It does rely heavily on the flayed ones to tie down your opponents shooting for at least three turns. The darkness doesn't hurt here as you are all up front and not shooting anyway. What do you think. This is definitely a war of attrition list if I have ever seen one.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Necron Observations, my take on the droids we really were looking for....

Well, it HAS been a while since I have posted anything gaming related. I have been busy in the real world recently as my last post will attest to. The following LIST is a quick hit of ideas and thoughts about the 'crons. I have had a necron army since the dawn of 4th edition, and this release has been long awaited.

1. The Stormlord has potential, but not in any old list. He MUST have the army built around him. His storm cripples his own armies shooting as much as his opponents.
2. Wraiths are the defacto COUNTER-assault unit in the book. They are the only unit with potential to counter the necron low initiative problems.
3. If I were a Space Wolf or Blood Angels player who just spent a ton of money on razorbacks and rhinos, I would be PISSED about scarabs....
4. The Triarch Stalkers look like a crazy good dreadnought to me. In the long run they might replace wraiths as they buff necron shooting, and can tarpit infantry due to rear armor 11.
5. I want to like the  Lychguard and Preatorians, but I just can't. s7 is nice, and so is an invulnerable save, but you need to be fast enough to make use of it or not have something better suited in the same role for less cost. (see point 4)
6. The flyers intrigue me, and I am not afraid of the weaker armor...I play Dark Eldar for goodness sakes. They are a really nice blend of DE skimmers and the Vendetta/Valkyrie in the IG book. Until I see an official model, im sticking to what I have.
7. I think this book threw us a curve....a big one. We (the internet blog o' sphere) were looking for characters to move the codex direction to different builds. Instead we got Crypteks...which IMHO are what drive builds in this codex. I think the use, or lack of use, of Crypteks will be what changes effective builds in this codex. Thematically the Crypteks open different abilities that alter the units needed to pull different combos, and I think this book is all about that.
8. Doomsday arks....yeah I want to but....its like Space Marine vindicators all over again. You either take 3 or don't take them at all. That gun also needs to fit in the army build as the models are not cheap in point cost, or easy on the wallet.
9. Really GW? Scarabs as the best tank busters in the game? Not that I mind, but seriously, a unit everyone wants and the only way to get it is in the troop choice we all have 50 of all ready...and to those buying 5 bases for $40 on e-bay....WOW, I'm not sure they are THAT good...
10. Overlords....Hmmm, GW you spends several pages of fluff talking about how these are the only units in the Necron race that still retain any real portion of their original personality, and then make their gear selection bland, and stats weak. This is the place we should see the most customization in the list, not the piece we have to buy to get the customizable units....

Ok, I did do a bit of grumbling, but I see so many viable builds I want to try. I see a scarab carpet, a wraith wing, a flayed one horde, a tank army, a teleporting wonder list, an all infantry marching wall of doom, an airforce....and the list goes on. While I stand firmly  in the 3++ camp on the power level of this book (we havent really seen it yet), I feel it can be very strong in my local scene.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

For this I am truly Thankful

Well, Happy Thanksgiving all! I've been really bad about updates. Well.....life has intervened.




Those of you that know me will know that I have been going through some rough times recently with an illness in my family. We have spent a lot of time recovering from that shock so I haven't had nearly the time I would like to work on the hobby. Then today I received some news today to make this holiday more than I could have ever expected! Ronda and I are expecting our third child in late June 2012! We have been blessed with the chance for a boy (We already have 2 girls),  I am really looking forward to adding to our family.

I hope you all remember your family this holiday season and give  thanks for all you have been given and have worked for. Life is rough, but we all have more to be thankful for each passing year.

More hobby goodness to come after life settles back down next week.