The end is here – the last of our Faction Focus articles looking at new detachments for every Warhammer 40,000 faction. The ancient and powerful Necrons have woken up late again – see what new tricks they are packing.
Hand of the Dynasty
Affectionately known as the ‘Silver Tide’, the unending legions of Warriors and Immortals that make up the bulk of Necrons armies are a popular way to build a Necron horde, and they get a new lease of life with essential mobility options in Hand of the Dynasty.
HYPERMOTILITY PROTOCOLS
Command protocols and neural impulses flood the mechanical bodies of these android warriors, lending them greater speed of thought and movement.
Friendly IMMORTALS/NECRON WARRIORS units’ ranged attacks have [ASSAULT].
When a friendly IMMORTALS/NECRON WARRIORS unit is selected to make an advance move, that move does not prevent that unit from being eligible to start an action.
This detachment has the DYNASTY tag and cannot be taken with another DYNASTY detachment.
Necrons have a lot going for them, but speed isn’t one of those things. Advancing is an important tool to get them into the middle of the table and capturing far-flung objectives, and so naturally, the Crypteks have perfected a way to make Warriors and Immortals stable even while on the move.
Speaking of Immortals, they’re already absolute killers, so why not give them an enhancement that makes them even more deadly? It’s practically expected of you.
TOOLS OF DOMINION (Upgrade)
Nobles are not above expending additional resources to improve the armaments of their more valuable soldiery.
IMMORTALS unit only. This unit’s ranged attacks have [RAPID FIRE 1].
Having a big blob of silver infantry in the middle of the table is likely to attract some enemy attention. Incoming firepower is going to test an Overlord's patience, and when confronted with a real setback, they’re liable to just keep slamming the ‘Shoot’ button and hoping for the best.
NANOSATURATION (1CP)
HAND OF THE DYNASTY STRATAGEM
In response to enemy threats, these Necron footsoldiers unseal canoptek urns and unleash a localised nanoscarab plague to saturate the site they are holding.
WHEN: Your opponent’s Shooting phase, when an enemy unit that targeted a friendly IMMORTALS/NECRON WARRIORS unit has shot.
TARGET: That IMMORTALS/NECRON WARRIORS unit.
EFFECT: Your unit shoots using snap shooting, but while doing so your unit can only target that enemy unit.
Skyshroud Spearhead
Take your noble feet off ground sullied by mortal touch in the Skyshroud Spearhead, which takes Tomb Blades back into the skies to pull off some seriously cool moves.
TRANSDIMENSIONAL DEPLOYMENT
Transported to the battlefield via dimension-shifting technologies, Tomb Blades materialise in crackling fields of energy and strafe unprepared targets, often to devastating effect.
Friendly TOMB BLADES units have Deep Strike.
When a friendly TOMB BLADES unit is selected to shoot, if that unit made an ingress move this turn, that unit’s ranged attacks have +1 to hit rolls.
As the closest thing Necrons have to a bike unit, Tomb Blades handle all kinds of fast, rough terrain duties when the marching hordes haven't kept up yet. Their speed and relatively small size make them excellent for coming in at the board edge and messing up a key unit’s day, and hitting more often when you do just that is pure poetry.
Interestingly, it’s not only those skimming soldiers that get time to shine in this detachment. Lokhust Destroyers also hover about waiting for someone to murder, and the Deepening Madness enhancement means they needn’t even wait – they can go hunting for prey without any loss in firepower.
DEEPENING MADNESS (Upgrade)
Like some echo of the Nekrosor’s own murder-madness, a coldly efficient kill-frenzy grips these Lokhust Destroyers so that – even as they streak into battle – they lay down one ferocious volley of fire after another.
DESTROYER CULT MOUNTED unit only. This unit’s ranged attacks have [ASSAULT].
All of these units hover around the 5 or 6 mark for their Toughness, so they’re not going to hold any breaches by themselves, but they can pull out some surprisingly defensive flying skills when they need to. Big shots coming in? Engage Evasive Protocols and juke out of the way in style.
EVASIVE PROTOCOLS (1CP)
SKYSHROUD SPEARHEAD STRATAGEM
So rapidly and seemingly randomly does this skyborne unit jink through incoming fire that it is almost impossible for foes to land a solid direct hit.
WHEN: Your opponent’s Shooting phase, when an enemy unit targets a friendly NECRONS MOUNTED unit.
TARGET: That NECRONS MOUNTED unit.
EFFECT: Ranged attacks that target your unit with a S greater than your unit’s T have -1 to wound rolls.
The Phaeron's Armoury
Show off the pinnacle of Necron technology – or at least the most impressive units in your collection – with a whole detachment dedicated to the Monolith, Obelisk, and Tesseract Vault. Three big bruisers that look and feel like floating fortresses. What’s not to love?
EMPOWERED ENGINES
When a Necron ruler unleashes the mightiest war engines from amongst their armoury, they may charge their finest Crypteks to enhance them first.
Friendly NECRONS TITANIC FLY units have +6" M.
This detachment has the HYPERCRYPT tag and cannot be taken with another HYPERCRYPT detachment.
We’ve mentioned it a few times, but Necrons are not natural sprinters, and even their enormous floating war engines are not an exception… unless you open the Phaeron’s Armoury and withdraw the dynastic head’s personal collection of souped-up Monoliths.
The translocation portals hidden inside a Monolith’s armoured shell are one of its greatest assets, and many Necron Overlords become particularly adept at launching devastating strikes through the swirling gateways.
PRELOCATIONAL OPTIMISER
Subtle transplanar optics allow this war leader to peer through the energy veil of a Monolith’s eternity gate and dissect the defences and weaknesses of the enemies beyond it. This ensures their emergence from the portal is as grandly bloody and spectacular as possible.
NECRONS model only. When this unit is selected to shoot, if this unit was set up using a Monolith’s Eternity Gate ability this turn, this unit’s ranged attacks have:
[LETHAL HITS].
Or: [SUSTAINED HITS 1].
Necrons really love their defensive stratagems, and the Phaeron’s Armoury doesn’t rock the boat. Layering a Subsurface Quantumweave web is a great way to deflect attacks meant for your cold, hard interior, and since a monstrously high Toughness and Wounds score will shrug off most of your worries anyway, the next best thing is to make sure attacks never even scratch the paint.
SUBSURFACE QUANTUMWEAVE (1CP)
THE PHAERON’S ARMOURY STRATAGEM
The layers of this war machine’s armour are interspersed with molecule‑thin webs of additional quantum shielding to absorb and localise impacts.
WHEN: Your opponent’s Shooting phase or the Fight phase, when an enemy unit targets a friendly NECRONS TITANIC FLY unit.
TARGET: That NECRONS TITANIC FLY unit.
EFFECT: Attacks that target your unit have -1 AP until that enemy unit has attacked.
As with all of the detachments in our Faction Focus series, the Necron ones each cost 1 Detachment Point. Take the three new ones together in a Strike Force-sized game, or you could combine Hand of the Dynasty with Annihilation Legion from Codex: Necrons to add a bit of sanity to your Destroyers and Flayed Ones.
And that’s the last of the Faction Focuses! We’ve now seen a range of new detachments, giving you a sense of how your armies might play in the new edition.
Next week, you’ll get a chance to read over the Core Rules for the game itself. They will be available as a PDF right here on Warhammer Community early next week.
