Content by T0nkaTruckDriver, Written by T0nkaTruckDriver, Edited by T0nkaTruckDriver
Necrons are arguably one of the most difficult opponents for the Tau and consequently oftentimes one of the most frustrating to play against. However with some forethought and planning, a victory against these metal monsters is certainly within your grasp and can be quite rewarding.
Tactics
When discussing tactics to use against Necrons, it is first useful to refresh our memory of their important special rules. There are a lot of these, and they have a big impact on the game, so learn them and learn them well.
- We'll Be Back (WBB): The second most annoying special rule in the game... beaten out only by the assault move of Tau Jetpacks. This allows any fallen "Necron" to stand back up at the begining of the Necron player's turn on a roll of 4+. Note that not everything in their list is a "Necron". The Monolith, Pariahs, Scarab Swarms and Tomb Spyders are not "Necrons".
- Phase Out: The supposed "downside" to WBB. If at the beginning of the Necron player's turn, after WBB roles have been calculated, the Necron force is reduced to less than 25% of its starting number of "Necrons", the remaining troops phase out of existance and the opposing player (that's you) automatically wins the game... no matter the objectives.
- Gauss Weapons: Although not terribly important for static armies, this is a big deal for us Mechies. Any Necron Gauss weapon (which is all of them) will automatically wound on a "to wound" roll of 6 independent of the target's toughness and will automatically score a glancing hit on an armor penetration roll of 6 independent of the targets AV. This means that every single model with a gun in the Necron army can potentially be a threat to your tanks.
- Disruption Fields: Similar to the Gauss Weapon special rule, but applies to melee attacks. This is an upgrade which must be purchased and isn't seen very often, largely due to the fact that it comes for free on all their guns anyhow...
Fortunately, there are a few caveats to the WBB special rule that make eliminating Necrons in larger quantities a possibility. The first is that any squad which is knocked down entirely can only make WBB roles if one of the following two scenarios is true:
- The downed squad has at least one member within 6" of another squad of the same type
- The downed squad has at least one member within 12" of a Tomb Spyder AND there is another unit of the same type somewhere else on the table
Secondly, any Necrons destroyed in a "Death or Glory" attempt do not receive WBB roles. Although Tank Shock is a risky maneuver against Necrons since even their basic weapons can damage vehicles, they first need to roll a 6 to glance and even then will only stop a Decoy Launcher equipped chassis 42% of the time. Therefore, each rapid firing Necron Warrior (or Immortal) has a 14% chance of stopping the tank shock. Since an 18 point Necron Warrior is 19% of the cost of a 95 point Devilfish [Multitracker, Decoy Launchers], this maneuver does have a marginal degree of tactical efficiency... provided your opponent elects to make a DoG attempt. Tank shock against a gullible opponent becomes even more attractive against Immortals or Destroyers due to their much higher point value.
Finally, Necrons wiped out in a sweeping advance do not receive WBB roles. This actually isn't that difficult with a large unit of Kroot on account of the poor Necron initiative of 2. Furthermore, even if the Necrons do get away, any who have been knocked down and are not within 6" of another unit of the same type or within 12" of a Tomb Spyder will not receive WBB roles. This is often the case since the falling back unit will likely have retreated more than 6".
Necron movement is another anomoly in the 40K world. At first glance, they seem to be a very slow army. With no transport options and their only vehicle being a "lumbering skimmer" (can only move 6") you're looking at a lot of foot sloggers. Normally that's a good thing for the Tau since we like to sit at range and whittle away at our opponents before they get too close. However, as we've seen above, it's generally not possible to plink hard enough to put any reasonably sized dent in an army that's all T4 with 3+ armor and a 4+ WBB role. Furthermore, although deceptively slow on paper, there are some nifty tricks a Necron Commander can pull to give himself some additional mobility:
- Veil of Darkness: This is a piece of Wargear that can be brought by a Necron Lord which allows himself and any squad of "Necrons" he joins to teleport anywhere on the table. This is done during the movement phase and the squad counts as having deep struck (can't assault, counts as having moved for shooting purposes). While nasty, especially with a squad of 10 T5 Immortals who each have S5 AP4 Assault 2 guns with 24" range, it's important to realize two things. As a single squad, they can only shoot at one target... and by teleporting out into the blue, they've almost certainly guaranteed that there won't be another unit of the same type within 6". So chances are they'll kill whatever they're shooting at. They're just that good. But, if you've put some forethought into your deployment, you should be able to direct enough firepower at that (expensive!) unit of troops to wipe them from the board. And if you've got a Railgun left after all that, consider slapping his Lord with it... your S10 will insta-kill his T5 no problem.
- The Monolith: While devastating in its own right, the Monolith has the sneaky ability to teleport as well. Any "Necron" unit with at least one model within 18" of the Monolith can be teleported out the portal on the front of the model. If the target unit has not yet moved that turn, they can move their normal movement distance out of the portal, and may also assault. A neat trick is to move the Monolith forward 6" on the first turn, teleport a unit of Wraiths out the portal (placing them the allowed 2" forward), then moving them 12" (they move like Jet Bikes), and assaulting another 6". Additionally, any squad who took casualties the previous turn and is teleported through the Monolith portal may re-roll any failed WBB roles. If a Necron player is caught in an uncomfortable assault, their teleport abilities (both the VoD and the Monolith) are often used to teleport their own squads out of combat in order to rapid-fire into their assaulters during the shooting phase.
- Fast Attack: Every single one of the Necron Fast Attack choices (Destroyers, Wraiths, Scarab Swarms) move like Jet Bikes with a 12" move and a 6" assault that ignores terrain. These guys can also elect to "Turbo-boost" up to 24". This makes an interesting contrast to the rest of the shambling Necron horde. While this movement is useful, a seasoned Necron Commander will realize that his Fast Attack choices are not strong enough to act on their own in any significant capacity and are too expensive (with the exception of Scarab Swarms) to risk as "throwaway" troops. Therefore, they will usually be tasked with flanking maneuvers or for pouncing on wounded/isolated squads at opportune times. If he does run 'em up ahead of the rest of his force, well, as usual, shoot until their dead and none will be getting back up.
Unit Selection
If you have a chance to design your army to combat Necrons, there's quite a bit of useful tailoring you can do to improve your chances of success. As discussed above, S5 pulse weapons just don't cut it against living metal with T4, 3+ armor and a 4+ WBB role. Therefore your armylist should concentrate on using weapons which negate his armor save, WBB role (we'll get to this in a minute), or both. It's these high powered weapons that will win you the game against Necrons.
Since every Necron has a 3+ save, it behooves you to bring as many AP3 or better weapons as you can fit in your list. That means Plasma Rifles, Fusion Blasters, Rail-Rifles, Railguns, Ion-Cannons and Seeker Missiles. Unfortunately, a list centered around these elements is not something you'd generally consider as a "take all comers" tournament style list... but if you know you're fighting Necrons and have the chance, bring 'em all. Additionally, you can negate the annoying Necron WBB role by hitting him with weapons whose strength doubles their toughness (insta-kill weapons) or by using weapons that ignore armor saves in close combat. While we only have one of the later (Farsight's Dawn Blade), we can field the former in large quantities in the form of Fusion Blasters, Seeker Missiles and Railguns. Careful though, Necrons can still get WBB roles against these weapons if they have a squad member within 6" of a Necron Lord with the Resurrection Orb. Therefore, consider saving your Seekers for when that lone squad wanders too far from the Lord with Res Orb to put some serious hurt on 'em.
As mentioned above, Farsight ignores armor saves in close combat and consequently denies Necrons their WBB role (unless the Res Orb is nearby). Therefore, a Farsight army is actually quite effective against Necrons, especially considering that when you win combat you'll likely outnumber them by quite a bit (Farsight counts as 10 models in close combat) and can potentially break them and run them all down with their initiative of 2. If you don't like Farsight, Kroot can be used in a similar fashion substituting "Farsight's Dawn Blade" for "lots and lots of attacks on the charge" and "counts as 10 models" for "lots and lots of Kroot bodies". The key here is to use large squads and be sure to get the charge.
Markerlight guided Ion-Cannons are the bane of 3 strong Destroyer Squads. These guys are 50 pts a piece and a single Markerlight hit can guide an Ion-Head to hit on 2's, wound on 2's, ignore their armor and if you kill all 3 and there isn't another squad within 6", none will be getting back up. Voila! Your Ion-Head has just killed its points value in one turn! This combo also works well on Immortals with their T5.
Although generally shunned in Mech Tau, a unit of 2 Broadsides can provide some nice insurance in larger games where you'll likely be facing a Monolith. With AV14 all around, the Railgun is the best weapon in the game for taking it down (with EMP grenades a close second). Since the Hammerhead Submunitions round is all but useless against Necrons, a squad of 2 Broadsides is cheaper and more effective at killing the Monolith than a Railhead. Arm them with Plasma Rifles and a Multitracker and you can start plinking away at Necron troops once the Monolith is down. Also, consider adding some Drones to enhance their protection against the S9 AP2 shots of the Heavy Destroyers... although plopping them in some 4+ cover can be just as effective and can save you 37 points. Their cost effectiveness is key since you'll likely be short on points after picking up the large number of expensive heavy weapons you'll need to take out their Warriors.
Below is a sample anti-Necron armylist that combines these elements:
HQ
Shas'el [TL Plasma, Fusion, HW Multitracker] (96 pts)
Shas'el [TL Plasma, Fusion, HW Multitracker] (96 pts)
Elite
1 Crisis Suit [Plasma, Fusion, Multitracker] (63 pts)
1 Crisis Suit [Plasma, Fusion, Multitracker] (63 pts)
1 Crisis Suit [Plasma, Fusion, Multitracker] (63 pts)
Troops
12 Firewarriors with Devilfish [Multitracker, Decoy Launchers] (215 pts)
18 Kroot (126 pts)
Fast Attack
8 Pathfinders with Devilfish [Multitracker, Decoy Launchers, Shas'ui, HWDC + 2 Gun Drones, 3 Rail Rifles, 4 Seekers] (293 pts)
4 Kroot Hounds (24 points)
Heavy Support
Hammerhead Gunship [Ion Cannon, 2 Burst Cannons, Multitracker, Decoy Launchers] (145 pts)
Hammerhead Gunship [Ion Cannon, 2 Burst Cannons, Multitracker, Decoy Launchers] (145 pts)
2 Broadsides [Plasma, Multitracker] (170 pts)
Total: 1499 pts