May 8, 20234 min read

Necrons Get Knocked down but they Get up again!

The Necrons have been a formidable force on the tabletop - chief combatant of 9th edition and the Indomitus Campaign. In this article, we will take a closer look at the Necrons Faction rules set to take them into the age of Leviathan and what makes them so unique.

The Necrons are an ancient civilization that ruled the galaxy millions of years before humans first walked Terra. They used advanced technology to transfer the consciousness of their entire race into mechanical bodies, planning to awaken in the far future of a galaxy ripe for conquest.

Now, as they awaken from their slumber, the Necrons find that many other races have emerged to lay claim to large chunks of their galaxy.

One of the things that make the Necrons unique is their ability to reanimate after suffering lethal damage.

This ability, called Reanimation Protocols, is an old friend to Necron players, but it’s now simpler and more reliable than ever. There’s nothing better for any self-respecting Overlord than the look on an opponent’s face when limbs re-attach, smashed skulls rejoin sundered torsos, and the Necrons stand back up, ready to fight again.

Necron commanders can field a wide variety of units, from humble Canoptek Scarabs to shards of fallen Star Gods - Necrontyr. In between these two extremes, they have reliable foot soldiers such as Immortals, tunnelling ambushers like Ophydian Destroyers, and technology-bending Crypteks like the Psychomancers, Chronomancers, and Technomancers.

The Necron's army has a lot of Toughness, which makes it almost indestructible. This is especially true for larger constructs, such as the Canoptek Doomstalker, Triarch Stalker, Canoptek Spyders, and Ghost Ark. Combined with the reduction in Armor Penetration, a Necron army will feel like a truly indestructible force of living metal.

The Necrons' Awakened Dynasty Detachment rule is Command Protocols, which makes your units even more accurate when a Leader is around to impose their deathless dominion and helps keep your units above half strength to avoid Battleshock tests.

This is on top of any other abilities that your Leaders give their Bodyguards. You'll want to make sure that you've got plenty of CHARACTERS hanging out with some metal minions to make the most of this.

The Monolith is a Necron unit that can transport and deal damage. A spray of anti-matter from the particle whip will remove whole handfuls of Space Marines from the table, and an assemblage of gauss flux arcs can chew through a truly worrying amount of infantry.

The Monolith's Objective Control value of 8 is great for sticking on a vital objective in the middle of the board, where you can use its Eternity Gate to call in your INFANTRY units from Strategic Reserves or from right across the battlefield.

I get knocked down, but I get up again

You are never gonna keep me down…

Necron Warriors are little more than mindless automatons, but what these robotic regiments lack in initiative, they more than make up for in utter relentlessness.

Their Number is Legion makes the most of Reanimation Protocols – think Tubthumping on steroids - they'll just keep coming, forcing your opponent to wipe them out entirely or contend with them all game. And all that effort that's going into your Necron Warriors isn't going into the rest of your army.

The Necron Warriors will kill a lot of enemies with their gauss flayers and reapers through sheer weight of firepower.

But if you really need to obliterate something absolutely right now, you might want to use the doomsday cannon. This impossibly advanced energy weapon delivers a mighty Strength 15 Blast that will tear through even the improved armour of next edition vehicle stats.

Better still is when your Doomsday Ark remains stationary, then it gains the Devastating Wounds ability, allowing it to deliver mortal wounds - making it doomsday for the units you target with it.

If you need additional assistance dealing with enemy vehicles, the C’tan Shard of the Void Dragon is an excellent choice.

Its particle-splitting spear has Anti-Vehicle 2+, making it effortless to take down tanks and other combat vehicles. Additionally, its sweep profile can quickly melt infantry units. But isn’t this precisely what you'd expect when deploying the Shard of a Star God against anyone foolish enough to stand in the way.

Similar to other factions in Warhammer 40,000's new edition, the Necrons have six Detachment-specific Stratagems. The Protocol of the Hungry Void Stratagem is your go-to for annihilating the galaxy's younger races.

This Stratagem is perfect for dedicated close-combat units such as Skorpekh Destroyers or Flayed Ones, especially if they're under the leadership of a Skorpekh Lord. It goes to show that even though Necrons may have emotionless faces, they're more than capable of feeling anger.

The Necrons are a force to be reckoned with, designed to strike fear into the hearts of their enemies. As Robin from the Warhammer Studio explains, their slow, unending legion of deathless foes is meant to be overwhelming. Their Reanimation Protocols ensure that given enough time, every unit can regenerate to full strength, making them virtually indestructible.

The massed ranks of the Necrons are under the control of immortal leaders, whose will and command give their legions an unnerving coordination and lethality. The Awakened Legions Detachment is centered around Command Protocols and CHARACTERS, highlighting the theme of control and domination.

The new datasheets for the Necrons feature a variety of special abilities, representing their ancient and deadly technologies. While impressive, these abilities only add to the already formidable force of the Necrons. It remains to be seen how players will adapt to facing this relentless and unforgiving army on the battlefield.