[40kenthusiast]

All right, I've realized that virtually every army list that is made I'm making the same comments to. I figured I'd just write them up one time and post a link to this in each army I've got to comment on. Obviously all of the following is just my opinion. I'm just saving time on typing it as a reply to each army list printed.

HQ: Only one HQ choice. Necron HQ choices are suboptimal point expenditures for anything except preventing enemy assault, which can be accomplished with one choice.

The following meet with my approval:

Lord w/Veil of Darkness
Deceiver

The following are not, to my mind, optimal, but they fulfill a defined role.

Lord w/Destroyer Body + CC wargear
Nightbringer

Elites:
Flayed Ones may be deployed in minimum sized units, strictly for table quarters claiming/objective contesting.
Immortals may be deployed in 5's or 10's, but should always be deployed in at least a pair of units. (IE, 2 units of 5 rather than one of ten)
4 Pariahs may be substituted for a 5 man Immortal squad provided that this still leaves either 2 or 0 Immortal units.

Troops:
Warriors are suboptimal expenditures compared to Elites/Fast Attack/Heavy Support, stick with the mandatory 20 in 2 units of 10. Exceptions can be made to this rule if Monoliths are supporting them and the scheme is VP denial, but in general my preference is always to the more fast/long range gauss weaponry.

Fast Attack:
Fast Attack is the best Necron section, and every list should fill all 3 Fast Attack slots.

Destroyers: Destroyers may be used in any numbers, so long as there are 2 or 3 units of them.
Wraiths: I don't like wraiths, instead I prefer Scarabs, but if they MUST be used they should be deployed in great numbers, as many units as possible. Wraiths also benefit from the presence of the Destroyer Lord.
Scarabs: Scarabs should be deployed in vast numbers, ideally 10+ swarms. Their proper use is the destruction of enemy tactical infantry/assault infantry.

Heavy Support: The Necron heavy support section contains a number of good units, none as good as the Golden Trinity, but each a solid contender in its own right. Heavy Support should be skimped on unless it is the focus of the list.

Monolith: This is one of the few units that works just fine solo, multiple monoliths are also allowed, but you shouldn't have more monoliths than you have 10 man infantry squads (either warriors or immortals)
Tomb Spyders: I'm a huge Tomb Spyder fan, but it only really belongs in a static list (ie, if you've been obeying me about the elite/fast attack slots you've got a list that doesn't need my favorite unit. Doh) A side note is that I've been experimenting with Tomb Spyders for some time, and I've concluded that making Scarabs whenever possible is beneficial, while particle projectors are not.
Heavy Destroyers: These should be deployed in 1's unless all slots are filled, and should remain within 6" of each other at all times. As with all Necron units, don't ever have a solo Heavy D.



General stuff:

Immortals, Destroyers and Scarabs are perfect units, and may be taken fearlessly into any battle. I've just added the Deceiver to this group, which officially changes it from the Golden Trinity to the Golden Quad.
Warriors beyond mandatory, Tomb Spyders, Monoliths, Heavy Destroyers, Lords, Wraiths are solid units to bring against specific foes that they work well on.
Flayed Ones, Pariahs, Destroyer Lords, Nightbringer are units whose job can be done better by other units, and which don't have my recommendation under just about any circumstances.

[Lord Of War]

I disagree with your flayed ones idea. I have found that if I deepstrike 2 squads of 10 behind enemy lines will help my warriors advance slowly and get into rapidfire range. Mind you I would not use this vs a CC heavy army, but most any army that is mixed style or shooty only.

I also like having about 40-60 warriors at least, mainly for a PO barrier. I find that havinf 3 squads of them can help you create a firelane.

I agree with everything else though. Good stuff nonetheless.

[Spyder]

Great tips on the Necron army building. The Scarabs do rock, ecspecially with disruption field and big scary CC things behind them.

One thing I noticed is your lack of other wargear on your lord. You said what you don't recomend, but what do you usually use? What do you think is best?

[40kenthusiast]

Ryan: Fair enough, I've tried massed Flayed ones a couple of times, never really had a good experience with them except against Orks. My general vexation with them comes from their slowness coupled with their lack of lethality. They are a CC unit that the enemy gets to make armor saves against. To my mind this means that they have to be fast to justify their existence, like Scarabs. If I'm going to have to wait for them to trudge there I'll just take tomb spyders that spawn retinues. All the good CC units are either fast (assault marines, hormagaunts, scarabs) or deny armor saves (CC fex, C'tan). Ideally, the very best do both (Genestealers, harlequins, most of all Death Co.) Flayed Ones feel to me like they should be faster or killier. This is just my .02 though, and there are probably as many schools of Necron play as there are players, for which I am devoutly grateful.

Sanguinas: I run one of 2 types of Lords.

Most common, and the one I approve of as optimal: Lord w/Veil of Darkness. I'm always thinking of what I could have gotten instead. Is it really better for me to get a phase shifter than an Immortal, for example? This Lord's purpose is to hang around between units and Veil them if I decide its necessary. He is also a counterattacker, and shoots his SOL after the Veil, but mostly he's a warrior taxi. I find the enemy rarely goes after my 20 warriors instead of whatever my lists gimmick is (monoliths, Immortals, Destroyer wings, scarab swarms) so I don't need WBB support for the warriors. The lascannons/missile launchers are busy, and the bolters/tac guns don't kill enough to deny WBB.

The other is a Destroyer Lord with some kind of combat loadout. D Body, Gaze of Flame (an incredible buy when you really read what it does and think about what you are getting for the points) is a pretty typical loadout for an infantry/demolisher hunter config. Note that this guy doesn't hide behind his IC status. He'll just turbo boost out into the enemies firebase and dare them to shoot him down. He also likes to go into cover, using his skilled rider status bonus to make sure he doesn't get knocked down. If I kit him out as a Tank hunter I'll give him a scythe in addition to his gaze and body...and if I'm feeling really free with my points I'll give him a Nightmare shroud so he has something to do in the shooting phase. It isn't nearly as common as the DBody + Gaze fighty lord though.

Check out my Necron Lord tactica for more of my thoughts on Lords. Its linked as Lord Tactica 2 in the Massive Tactica sticky (Thanks Ryan!)