Last weekend we reviewed the exciting new Necron Codex, replete with powerful new detachments, but a key part of the equation was missing to allow us to make a final judgement on its potential – the points.

That ends today – the points values should be with you imminently, and Games Workshop sent us an advance copy so we could be ready to give you the lowdown on what it means.

The short version is – great news, Necrons should rule. The majority of units either stick at their current Munitorum Field Manual cost or get drops, and the latter is particularly true of stuff that’s been slightly toned down in the Codex, keeping it competitive even with slightly weakened rules. Let’s take a look at exactly what’s going to be spilling forth from the Tomb Worlds in the near future.

As a general rule – if we don’t mention a unit at all, assume it’s stayed at its current cost.

The Changes

The Big Drops

The four most notable drops here are:

• Necron Warriors down to 100pts per 10.
• Illuminor Szeras down to 160pts.
• Lychguard down to 85pts per 5.
• Canoptek Reanimator down to 75pts.

The surprises here are Szeras and Warriors. Szeras was already very good at 185, and at the new price, plus with how strong the Canoptek Court is for him, expect to see him everywhere. That’s particularly true because you want to run him with lots of Warriors, and at their new cheaper price (presumably reflecting their small drop in power) it’s easier than ever to jam him into lists. He’s also, honestly, kind of fine just as a solo pain in the ass at this price.

The other big drops in the book are on Lychguard and Reanimators, and these are very welcome. Lychguard can’t be turned into an unkillable brick any more, but at this price taking units of five as a utility piece (perhaps with Trazyn for sticky objectives, or as a bodyguard for Imotekh) seems very plausible. There probably are still occasions when you’ll want 10 – a full unit with an Overlord runs you 255pts, where previously the cheapest sensible build was over 400pts. They’ll play differently, but I’m not putting mine back on the shelf just yet. Finally, the Reanimator now has to actually put itself at risk to do stuff, but a full 30pts drop makes that much more palatable. It’s also tough enough that sometimes shooting it can be a trap for the opponent, as they have to kill the whole model or not at all, and a 4+ Feel No Pain is no joke.

I guess technically there is also a massive drop on the Convergence of Dominion – taking a full set of three goes down to 180pts, but you can also now take just one or two pieces, costing 60pts or 120pts respectively. I don’t think one piece turning out to be useful can be completely ruled out at this price, and I’m sure Gunum is going to try.

The Minor Discounts

There’s a few minor point drops on stuff you’re definitely going to take that are very welcome. Tomb Blades go down by 5pts (and I’m still not totally convinced their change isn’t an upgrade), Hexmarks drop 10pts in line with them getting a bit of toning down, making them an attractive utility Lone Operative again, and Transcendents go down to 275pts, readying them to be unleashed in C’tan spam builds. Finally, Doomsdays go down by 10, which I’m sure everyone is thrilled by.

The Big Improvements at the Same Price

Quite a few of the mid-tier Necron units, plus the named C’tan, get way better without changing in price. Wraiths are the poster children for this, and are thus near locks to be a staple unit, but Lokhusts and Skorpekh both get significantly better now they’re usually on full re-rolls when going on the offence. Three Lokhusts at 90pts feels like a credible Strat Reserves threat, while I think you could try Skorpekh again, maybe three with a Lord.

C’tan are the other big news here – a 5+ Feel No Pain is obviously exceptional for all of them, and the Nightbringer’s damage boost plus ease of being hidden makes them seem like a good generic scary threat. They seem especially strong in some kind of teleporting shenanigans build, but are much better as just a generic add-on to a list that needs some heft.

Some Detachments also uplift specific units – the Silent King being able to run out with access to -1D seems like it could be a lot, while full re-rolls on Doomstalkers make them an absolute bargain. Triarch Praetorians have got to be worth a dark horse look after their breakout at the WCW as well, and the Stalker…I mean it’s one of those units that’s super hard to physically play with, but it’s certainly way better now.

Lots to play with here, and it feels like there’s a much deeper pool of viable units now.

The Nerfs

Not too many of these – a few Characters go up by 5pt here and there, which is extremely whatever, and the Doom Scythe also goes up by 5pts. I realise it did technically get buffed, but this one feels silly, it was such a long way from being good at the old price. Finally, the massive buff on the Tesseract Vault does come with a 25pts increase, but that’s very much still a model you’re much more likely to take with this book, at least if you’re going to an event where it fits on the tables.

Lists

Time to build some army lists, and hopefully these will hammer home a theme here – Necrons generally have just that little bit more stuff to play with. Your deathbricks aren’t as tough as they used to be but they’re also nowhere near as expensive, and far more of your units are worthwhile in their own right.

Updated Awakened Dynasty

I’ve been playing an all-rounder Awakened Dynasty build a lot so far this edition, and this is broadly how I’d update it for the new book:

Characters

Illuminor Szeras  – 160
Royal Warden – 40
Technomancer – 60
Technomancer – 60
Nightbringer – 255
Imotekh the Stormlord – 100
Lokhust Lord, Veil of Darkness – 100
Command Barge, Enaegic Dermal Bond – 165
Hexmark Destroyer – 70

Battleline

Warriors with Reapers – 200

Other

Wraiths with Particle Casters and Claws 220
Lychguard – 85
Cryptothralls – 60
Deathmarks – 65
Tomb Blades – 75
Lokhust Destroyers – 30
Lokhust Destroyers – 180
Reanimator – 75

A full Warrior brick with Szeras and a Reanimator is still a bit of a bastard to clear, especially with a Command Barge ready to wave an Orb at them at a key moment, and Wraiths take up the role of Lychguard as the second main tarpit. The Lychguard aren’t gone entirely, however – at 85pts I think a smaller unit makes a fine escort for Imotekh, intended to be stashed on an objective on the mid-board and repel whatever tries to shift them. Lokhust Destroyers also jump back into the build – multiple ways of getting full hit re-rolls on these at key moments is extremely good, and makes me want to use them again. Finally, the Feel No Pain trifecta of Szeras, the Nightbringer and the Barge gives some fantastic late game brawling potential that can pull you through a game where something goes wrong.

Canoptek Court

Next up, the big new player from the book:

Characters

Technomancer, Dimensional Sanctum – 80
Technomancer – 60
Technomancer, Autodivinator – 75
Plasmancer, Metalodermal Tesla Weave – 65
Overlord with Translocation Shroud – 85
Illuminor Szeras – 160
Royal Warden – 40
Hexmark Destroyer – 70

Battleline

Warriors with Reapers – 200
Immortals with Tesla 140

Other

Wraiths with Particle Casters and Claws 220
Wraiths with Particle Casters and Claws 220

Cryptothralls 60
Canoptek Reanimator 75
Scarabs 40

Canoptek Doomstalker 135
Canoptek Doomstalker 135
Canoptek Doomstalker 135

Re-rolls for days. Two roving squads of Wraiths ready to either pounce on the enemy or slink away with Reactive Subroutines, Doomstalkers for blasting, and the nightmare Immortal unit ready to go wild with Cynosure of Eradication. I’m sure there’s tweaking to be done, but realistically this is what I’d try first if I had a tournament with this book legal tomorrow, and I expect to spend a lot of Christmas painting three Doomstalkers to make that happen.

Hypercrypt Legion

And finally – does this build only use two out of six Stratagems? Yes. Is it very stupid? Yes. Might it be better if one of the named C’tan was a Transcendant for Deep Strike? Look – no power in the universe is going to stop me taking the Terrible Trio to at least one RTT, and I’d kindly ask you to stop trying. I’ll probably try a Monolith build at some point too, but I’ve genuinely come to the conclusion it might actually be better in the Obeisance Phalanx, so this is what you’re getting for now.

Characters

Overlord with Translocation Shroud,  Osteoclave Fulcrum – 105
Plasmancer,  Arisen Tyrant – 80
Nightbringer – 255
Deceiver – 265
Void Dragon – 270
Trazyn – 75
Psychomancer – 55
Lokhust Lord – 80
Deceiver – 265

Battleline

20 Warriors with Reapers 200
Immortals with Tesla 70

Other

5 Lychguard 85
Cryptothralls 60
6 Lokhusts 180
Tomb Blades 75
Tomb Blades 75
Flayed Ones 70

I think the notable things to highlight here are that the Psychomancer seems pretty decent in this detachment, as he can cause quite a few headaches when zapping round with his Immortal buddies (though they can split up if the opponent has no indirect), and Trazyn/Lychguard seems like a good include too – they can lock in your home objective turn one, then spread out to screen and zap into position down the line when you need a bit of extra pressure. Finally, double stacking Characters in the big Warrior blob gives you a pretty scary anti-horde drop.

Wrap Up

I am so excited to start using all of this in the near future, excited enough that I’ll just about convince myself to put my Aeldari back in their box after my brief reign of terror at the weekend. Hopefully other Necron players are hyped too, and I hope to see lots of new builds featuring in Competitive Innovations in the new year.