Why a Necron list?

I've thought of a Necron list years ago - when I started collecting my first Chaos Androids to create them. Necrons have been part of W40K background for a while and there's clearly a demand from the community to include them in NetEpic - not to mention that an Epic:Armageddon list is available for them. Many players have created their own conversions and Dark Realm Miniatures maintains an extensive range of models that could be used as Necrons.

While my ideas where just random notes scattered in many places, I saw Zap123 starting to create a Necron list on Tactical Wargames. I tried to join him in his effort but we could not even agree on what to consider part of the canon. He wanted the Portal ability of the Monolith to count as a transport, didn't want to include the Abattoir or the Aeonic Orb... Well, each one is entitled to his opinions, but our respective visions of Necrons were not compatible.

So, using the Draft list he released on Yahoo! discussion group as a starting point, I wrote my own to introduce all Necron units I could think of and make the list as compatible as it could with Epic:Armageddon.

I don't think I hold any superior truth and will happily discover alternate Necron lists. Thanks God there's no such thing as an "official" stamp in NetEpic world.

Necron concepts

The Necron list has to implement a number of special rules to give the "feel" of Necrons. It was quite a challenge: We'll Be Back, Gauss weapons, Living Metal, Phase Out, Implacable Advance... there are many special rules for them in W40K and they had to be carried out somehow in NetEpic.

Nerves of Steel
Necrons have no morale. That was the easy part. But it would not have been acceptable to let them fight until the bitter end. For this reason, I implemented the NetEpic version of the Phase Out rule - simply a modification of the usual break point rules. Much like Ork Klans, Necrons units are elements adding up to a company to make up a large fighting force. But when the whole unit collapses, it just disappears, while other races would just have rolled for morale and resumed fighting! It is a tradeoff with the fearless ability of Necrons. The 75% break point is a characteristic given for free, as it is balanced by the extra amount of VP each Necron unit is worth.

Necron Tech
Necrons warriors wield strange weapons and are able to autorepair. How could one translate these special effects into a NetEpic unit without writing heaps of complex rules? We all know and enjoy special rules, but it's not good to have too many of them for the basic unit of an army. Necron warrior rules had to be straightforward, yet accurate.
I just had the idea of a fixed save for We'll Be Back - it's more or less the same thing in W40K. Of course, the save would have to be weakened a bit, 4+ being just too good regarding the weapons that exist in Epic scale. 6+ was clearly insignificant, so I opted for a 5+ and Necrons would walk unflinchingly towards their enemies. A fixed save would not work on close-combat; it wasn't really faithful to the W40K version but I felt Necron opponents would be able to dispatch them in CC or crush them under their tracks and ensure they would not rise again (it also appears in W40K when Necrons are routed in CC). The fixed save would just work wonders on Necron vehicles, giving them a "living metal" equivalent without writing a single line of special rules.
The Gauss weaponry was another issue. In W40K, it has complex in-game effects but only on a to-hit roll of 6. I could have given a -1 TSM on a to-hit roll of 6, but it would have been anecdotal. I just decided to give it a straight -1 TSM against all. Consider that it really affects the target when this TSM turns a pass into a fail, so one time out of six! Apart from Chaos Space Marines and their missile launcher, Necrons number among the few races where a basic unit has some TSM. It would contribute to give its own feel to this army.

Masters of Teleportation
Necrons are a fast-moving force, not because of their movement characteristics, but because of Portals. Portals are just as in your average sci-fi series - a gate to some other place. It's better than transport because it allows redeployment of complete armies with just two gates, or even just one if the forces where held in reserves. Epic:Armageddon players were quick to understand that Portals are a weak point of Necron lists and it's the same thing in NetEpic. Destroy Monoliths and Necrons will become much less a threat. Will the Necron player keep some units in Reserves with only a handful of Portals left on the battlefield?

Hordes of Scarabs
Scarabs are just among the largest robotic units Necrons use to repair their bodies. There are plenty of others, down to nanometric sizes. But Scarabs are also part of W40K list and can attack the enemy. Should I really introduce scarab swarms people would use no miniatures for? "Yeah, this grass-covered infantry stand is in fact a Scarab Swarm..." I finally opted for an abstract representation of Scarab Swarms. Either they are directly "fired" by some Necron units, and then attack areas in a cloud of destruction, or they are available as "Swarm tokens" than can be used to repair Necron bodies or to be "fired", in fact ordered to attack, from an infantry model. It simulates how, once a Scarab Swarm upgrade has been chosen for a company, Scarabs accompany each and every Necron soldier on the ground.

Tomb Golems
Tomb Golems are knight-class units for the Necrons. Game-wise, they are here to make the list a lot more accessible, since 28 mm robot miniatures aren't hard to find and do not require any conversion work.
Now, on to their background... We know Scarabs and Tomb Spyders were carefully maintaining Necrons over the millenia. But what could happen on a Tomb World when a Necropolis was in danger? Perhaps some Necrons were awakened, but it is doubtful. The Tomb Spyders could have fougth too but it would have been dangerous for the Necropolis in case of defeat. Then came the idea of a stronger defense unit - the Tomb Golem. It would have passive sensors and awake in presence of intruders or on a request from Tomb Spyders against an intrusion too difficult to handle.
The Tomb Golem could have non-warlike duties too, where their strength and size would come handy. Imagine the clearing after an earthquake. It would explain why they have two hands instead of a built-in weapon.
Tomb Golems are closely related to Ushabtis from the Fantasy Tomb King army.
Model-wise, as I said, above description allow usage of nearly any 28mm Necron-styled robot. I personally prefer old Necron Immortals for W40K, but old Necron Warriors would work fine too.

Fighting as Tyranids?
An early concern was the way Necrons would score VP. Should they hold objectives like other armies or have their own scoring systems like Tyranids? Each approach has merits. Yet, I decided to stick to usual scoring system. If you question the scoring system too far, you can invoke a special scoring system for any army, claiming that Orks should score VP as tyranids (as if Orks were interested in holding a building!) or even Eldar should score VP as tyranids (as if Eldars were holding some ground instead of getting back to their Craftworld!)
Well, you see what I mean.
Necrons are not savage beasts driven by instincts; they have some tactical knowledge and Necron commanders can certainly know how to cut supply lines, disrupt communication systems by holding a key tower, or just perform a raid on a lab holding some Necron technology. In my humble opinion, the argument for a Necron-specific VP scoring system doesn't hold enough water to justify its implementation.

The Next Bing Thing

Titans are a key element to an Epic Army. C'tan were another matter. Both elements are very expensive and I think people will field them only in largest battles - or will discover how problematic Phase Out rules can be.

Star Gods
C'tan would be knight-sized models, obviously. They would also be very hard to kill. Multiple wounds would have made sense, except that rules for Multiple-wound regenerating creatures do not exist in NetEpic Core Rules. They are only part of the Tyranid army list. I could hardly write "...And for regeneration details, please check Tyranid Army book!" But it was an opportunity to word those damage rules better. C'tan would only receive damage counters, as they aren't living creatures, and would remove them in the End Phase. No special rules for a C'tan "on the ground", unable to do anything yet still receiving damage, leading to inextricable situations... The C'tan only explode in the End Phase, no matter how many damage counters they have received this turn. But since C'tan are working the same way than Tyranids, I could just rely on the Dominatrix to estimate their point cost.

Then we had the Tomb Stalker. I had no idea of this thing until I saw on wikipedia(!) that it was a large spider-like creature. Well, I think a W40K Tomb Spyder would be a suitable model. The Tomb Stalker is therefore a very accessible Titan.

The other three are very different matters, and moreover, they exclude each other. You can only have one Abattoir or one AEonic Orb or one Warbarque in your army. You'll have to play at least three games to discover the subtleties of each...

Warbarque
The Warbarque is the smallest unique war machine; it's basically an improved Monolith, able to let almost any unit through its portal. If your entire force is in reserve, you may have no model on the table on turn 1! It might be fun to try once in a while, even if you'll certainly regret not to have ground forces to secure nearby objectives. Apart from that, the Warbarque won't change the course of battle through its battle prowess. And fielding a Warbarque prevents you for deploying an AEonic Orb or an Abattoir... But it can let you plunge the Necron army directly in the middle of enemy lines.

AEonic Orb
The AEonic Orb is the usual point-and-click destroyer. Not much will survive a full power shot of Solar Flare, and it's exactly the purpose of the Orb, to the point of lacking versatility. It may even be dangerous against an Imperator titan, providing its shields are gone (and the Orb hasn't been destroyed before firing!)
Like other Necron units, the Orb is rather resilient but by no means impossible to destroy. Depending on the location hit, you may destroy the Orb with plenty of different special effects.

Abattoir
I truly wanted to create a characterful engine of destruction with the Abattoir. The Abattoir deep strikes in enemy lines and then begins killing everyhting. It's very difficult to destroy (although a tooled up Warlord Titan will eat it for breakfast, like most necron units) but slow and short-ranged, with no TSM better than -1. It drifts over the ground killing any model under its path. I was happy to add a touch of variety with the Inner Chamber damage table - a location that can only be accessed via other damage tables!

We are Legions

Defining the composition of each company and support card was certainly the hardest part, the key element that would make or break the list.

I decided that Necrons should be rather rigid in their army composition. For this reason, the core element of the list, the Necron Warrior phalanx, would contain 8 models. The company would be pricey, but mirroring the lack of flexibility in Necron forces. No company card would feature the mix of tank and ground units so useful in other lists. I weighted for a time the possibility to include a Necron Warrior phalanx in each and every company, but it would have been too obvious. So, yes, it's possible to create a Necron army without any Necron Warrior in it, but don't be surprised if your army has Phased out before the end of turn two.

Monolith
The Monolith was a key unit. Should it be considered a vehicle like a Land Raider, or a larger vehicle? Many players expressed their voice on NetEpic discussion group telling that a mere vehicle status for Monoliths would not do them justice. Hence they would be Super-Heavy. But the Super-Heavy category is quite wide. I used the Eldar Tempest as a base for them: super-heavy, but barely - smaller than Stormhammers and other super-heavies from the Imperial Guard. The Tempest Host gave me a basis for the Monolith Egressor company card. (BTW, Egressor is a variant of the latin word for "Disembarkation").
I also decided to give it a straight 1+ armor save and no fixed save. The reason is simple: I had first given it a 1+/5+f save, but the fixed save is useless in such profile. There are not that many -5 and -6 TSM weapons around, and it's the only weapons against which the fixed save would have made any difference. Always cut unnecessary complexity!
Since Monolith was belonging to the Super-Heavy class, making it a "light super-heavy" would help make a difference with the Pylon, belonging to the same size class. The Pylon is much closer to the Stormblade and other super heavy vehicles of the Imperial Guard.

Eternity comes at a price

Each Company is just priced as the sum of its components with a 100 points rebate, or just 50 if the unit is led by a Necron lord. The VP and break point of each unit has been computed through rules explained above (75% break point, etc.) even if in some case these rules are just a disadvantage for Necrons - for example, if a unit is made of 3 models, the break point is 2 even with regular break point rules. It's even worse for single-model units like the Pylon. Yet, I still kept the extra VP calculation for sake of consistency. Special cards only refer to single models and are computed as usual.

I really did my best to price elements accurately, and I sincerely think Necrons are fairly priced (I'm less sure for C'tan/Titans.) But choosing the point cost of each unit is a difficult art and I may be wrong on more than one. I'll happily listen to anyone thinking Necrons are under- or over-powered, especially if he/she can bring example of units of similar power and greater cost in other lists. Hence, the point cost of units is the detail most likely to change through playtesting.

Change log

April 8th, 2008
Sent a first version of the book to a NetEpic member!

April 13th, 2008
Numerous corrections. One is worth a mention though: a complete overhaul of the Necrodermis of Titan was needed. The previous version was just making them hard to break; it resulted in random destruction. The new version is very close to Titan shields (hull strength is depleted hit after hit) but it makes Necron titans more reliable, instead of a "glass hammer".
Sent a PDF version of the book to a very limited set of NetEpic members.

April 14th, 2008
Changed Necron-style symbols through the document, added some.
Corrected sample army, whose cost was wrong... :)
Added a sentence to clarify Portal use.
Knights - replaced "desanctifying" with "desecrating" :)
Corrected AEonic Orb saves for side and rear.
Corrected AEonic Orb damage table (one entry was missing)
Improved AEonic Orb damage dealing against buildings.
Changed wording in Abattoir damage table.
Changed layout in Abattoir damage table.
Changed Sensor damage table for the Tomb Stalker.
Changed C'tan psychic power "Deceive" to mention it applies to enemy units...
Changed "Ignores Penetrating Damage" into "Ignores the Damage Bonus of Penetrating Weapons" for Titans/Praetorians.
Capped Monolith movement to 30cm.
Added "Further damage to the Anti-Grav System is rolled on the Hull table instead." to 3-4 Anti-Grav system damage table of the Warbarque (as a grounded Warbarque can hardly crash any further!)
Improved "Fissure" damage for the Abattoir Crystal.
Corrected Pylon Phalanx to Pylon Triceps.
Improved PDF printout using a better converter (good for pictures...)
Awaiting feedback for the list.

April 15th, 2008
Changed wording on Portal so it's clear that units carrying a Portal and having moved their full movement can still let units through the Portal.
Corrected typo in C'tan Nightbringer Gaze of Death. Decreased hit from "automatic hit" to 8 BP (hits on 3+). Downgraded it to "physical psychic attack" and cleared reference to head/bridge damage table for Titan units (the possible hit against a Titan/Gargant will be resolved normally.)
Added phase where Nightbringer psychic powers could be used.
Changed "close-combat" to "close combat" through the whole document.
Corrected wrong reference to Point Defense in Warbarque Bridge damage #3.
Added All Around armor to C'tan.
Changed Scaram Swarms description to have "4 BP" instead of a to-hit roll of 5+.
Changed Tomb Spyder so its Scarab Swarms are at 4 BP and not 5 BP (the extra BP is useless.)
The Abattoir has a longer range for its Scarab Swarms, but it's on purpose.
Corrected some grammar errors
Corrected break point of Monolith Triceps, it's +2 and not +1.
Changed all Necron skimmers beyond the Obelisk to prevent them from doing pop-up attacks.
The Pylon is "AAA" for Advanced Anti Aircraft: as Anti Aircraft, but no penalty to open fire on ground units.
Changed Hull Strength to Necrodermis Strength (less confusing with the Hull location). Clarification: the hit has to land on the template before strength points are depleted. Highlight that the Necrodermis Strength is a global layer of protection and does not apply to a specific location.
Changed "Deep Strike" to "Teleport" everywhere, except for the Abattoir.
Clarification: the Command Ability of the Abattoir isn't active the turn it Deep Strikes (Deep Striking units are always on Advance Orders.)
Clarified location of units exiting a Portal.
Clarified how damage from the Solar Flare is worked out on a hit location template.
Changed Solar Flare to introduce plasma counters instead of "attack dice". It helped a lot writing clearer rules...

April 16th, 2008
Changed effect of Solar Flare at maximum power.
Clarified use of Solar Burst.
Tightened layout, alignment of tables, etc.
Added special rule summary for each Titan template.
Created a nice Necron layout for front page, softened various symbols
Replaced "CAF halved" in various damage tables for "CAF is now +X", avoiding confusion in case of multiple hits.
Changed 1-2 damage effect for the Abattoir Inner Chamber.
Improved wording in Necron description.
Clarified that Necrodermis Strength works only against ranged attacks.
Gave an example of the way Necrodermis Strength works.
Added a Portal location to the Abattoir and the corresponding damage table.
Improved side and rear saves for the Tomb Stalker.
Changed wording for several titans damage table.
Changed various destruction results of Titan/Praetorians to be more in-line with Titan rules in NetEpic.

April 17th, 2008
Cleared a wrong reference to Abattoir in the Warbarque summary.
Changed damage entries in tables of Orb (Skimmer base) and Abattoir (Hull).
Changed wording of damage table.
Clarfication over usage of plasma counters for the AEonic Orb.
Introduction of "Named" power levels for the Orb in order to improve clarity of damage tables. Levels are Pulse, Focused and Maximum.
Added HQ ability to Tomb Spyders so they aren't singled out too easily.
Changed wording of Deceive psychic power of the Deceiver so it does not conflicts with other order-changing abilities like Tau Tactical Genius, Squat Precognition, Eldar Farseer psychic powers, and so on.

April 18th, 2008
Minor modifications in layout (insecable spaces when necessary)
Changed Deceive Psychic power of the Deceiver so the possibility to affect further units is related to the number of models deceived so far. Added a rule to limit effect on Titans / Praetorians. Wrote an example.
Submitted the Army list to various NetEpic communities.
Corrected Deceive example.
Changed Abattoir Weapon damage 5 from "Cannot Repair damage" to Repair roll is now 6" since the old version was unclear about the "shields". Now the Necrodermis Strength points are clearly affected as well.
Changed reference to "destroyed" Harvesters to "attack dice recuded to 0", since Harversters are never destroyed.
Clarified special scoring of Tyranids against Necrons to be more fair to the Tyranid player (and highlighting, by the way, that Tyranids cannot win a 1'000 pts battle against any opponent... congrats on your playtesting, GW!)
Clarified Necrons VP scoring: they score VP as any other race. Some people asked.
published on 07 Dec 2007