Editing Warhammer 40,000/7th Edition Tactics/Necrons (section)

===Elites===
*'''[[Deathmark|Deathmarks]]''' - Deathmarks are Necron snipers with a twist; their Sniper Rifles are 24" rapid-fire allowing them to "move and fire", they can Deep Strike, and they get two special rules to make them even deadlier: '''Hunters from Hyperspace''' means that on the turn they arrive from Deep Strike, they automatically wound on 2+ (and this was FAQ'd to override Sniper weapons only wounding Gargantuan Creatures on 6s) meaning when they drop down, they will put down the hurt or force a lot of saves. To really mess with your opponent, anytime an enemy unit arrives from Deep Strike reserve, the Deathmark unit may then deep-strike '''DURING THEIR TURN''' and shoot at any enemy unit that arrived from reserves at the end of that movement phase, though doing this means they can't fire next shooting phase. 
**'''How to Use Them:''' Deathmarks find use either as an alpha-strike unit where a mass of Wound on 2+ shots can easily dent your opponent's plans, or as a defensive unit. The alpha-strike is fairly cut and dry: Deep Strike in, tap off a lot of shots, and hopefully kill a trouble unit. Note that you "could" use Ethereal Interception to auto-arrive if you're running Deep-Striking Allies of Convenience (such as Crisis Suits or Termicide) if you really want to put pressure on your opponent. On the other side of the coin, Ethereal Interception lets you blunt enemy alpha-strikes or set up your own traps; If your opponent is running Skyhammers, Haywire Scourges, or Farsight Bombs, D-Scythe Webway Portal Wraithguard or other similarly punchy "bomb" units, a pair of Deathmark units can deny such attacks in one go, before proceeding to make a nuisance of themselves during your turn. Note that although they cannot fire in the following Shooting Phase, there is nothing preventing them from assaulting another unit when their turn comes; while they don't hit hard in melee at all, they do have Reanimation Protocols and a 3+ save so they can tie up smaller squads or serve as "ablative wounds" for killier units in a multi-assault. 
**<strike>If you don't mind losing all your friends, take an HQ with a Veil of Darkness. Since this gives them Deep Strike, you can start them in DS reserve attached to a unit of deathmarks. Since the veil uses deep strike rules and Hunters From Hyperspace activates when the unit "arrives by deep strike", you can use this to get an extra round of 2+ wounds once per game. If you're fielding a monolith, you don't even need to leave the HQ behind enemy lines.</strike>
**Deathmarks do not combine that well with the Veil of Darkness, actually. Hunters from Hyperspace specifically notes that it applies when the unit "arrives by deep strike '''reserves'''". The VoD only allows the unit to be placed according to the Deep Strike rules - no benefits of arriving from Resrves apply, hence Hunters from Hyperspace does not apply.

*'''[[Lychguard|Lychguards]]''' - Your terminator equivalents (ironic since the Necrons look like those time travelling robot assassins from a certain movie franchise) that took a very generous price cut (200 to 125?  WOOT).  For the cost of an Honour Guard member, you get T5, reanimation protocols, but only a 3+ save. Their main basic weapon is a warscythe, which is the same awesome can-opener that you can give to your Lords and Overlords.  However, the better bet is usually to exchange the warscythe for a Hyperphase Sword and Dispersion Shield. The shield gives you a 3++ invul, which adds to your survivability. Terminator's wish they could take as much damage as these guys. To kill a single Sword and Board Lychguard you need to fire <i>18 strength 5 shots with BS 4.</i> The best way to run these is to use them as an escort for your Overlord.  Give your Lychguard Swords and Shields, and the Overlord a Warscythe or the Voidreaper. If you have the points, toss in a Necron Lord with another Warscythe and upgrade to taste.  Make sure someone in the unit is a cryptek, or you are in a decurion, since even a single four rolled and you'll make your points back and then some. While they're a semi-competent melee unit, they are very slow unless put in a transport so most units can simply walk away from them. The real use for these guys is simply bodyguard duty to a combat Overlord.  The limitations of Lychguard prevent them from being a truly competitive choice, and it's best to leave the heavy-hitting to Wraiths... unless you're rolling Obyron.  In that case, go nuts.  
** Think about putting a few Lychguard and their O-lord into a Nightscythe, and drop em into your opponent's backfield. Chucking Orikan in with these guys can get some crazy results, as a 3+ invuln rerolling ones followed up by a 4+ reanimation is a nightmare to deal with, let alone when Orikan goes super saiyan.
** If you ever wanted a unit that will never ever die and make an anvil to your hammer then these are your ultra lethal robots. Ten of these bad boys with their shields will run you 300 points, which isn't cheap, but if you're taking them there is a fantastically easy way to make them into a melee death-star. Step one, grab an overlord with veil of darkness, res orb, and warscythe (optional phase shifter and the veil is cheaper than a night scythe). Step two, grab a cryptek with solar staff (if you're feeling lucky save 25 points by keeping warscythes on lychguard and give the cryptek a chronometron). Step three, deep strike across the board turn one right in front of your opponents army; the more outnumbered your guys are the better. Step four, laugh maniacally as your opponent squirms underneath your unit that will take literally their whole army to take maybe two models off of any turn. Now this combo will likely run you upwards of 500 points which is pushing the limit on points for one unit but I personally can testify to it's effectiveness. Bonus points if you put Orikan in place of the cryptek to really make your opponent cry as you reroll all 1's on saves. If you give your overlord the Nightmare Shroud, he will effectively have a re-rollable 2+ save - this means that, with 4+ reanimation, it will take an average of '''''972 bolter shots''''' fired at BS4 to kill him.
**  Things they are not: assault terminators.  While they have the edge in toughness, they are woefully short in terms of offensive capability.  They are much more vulnerable to assault than one might hope for such a unit, especially with challenges kicking in, and their cumbersome blades simply don't compete with thunder hammers or other "dedicated assault elite" loadouts.  

*'''[[Triarch Praetorian|Triarch Praetorians]]''' - A close combat unit similar to Lychguards though slightly costlier, Praetorians are the sword to the Lychguards' shield. They're Jump Infantry, making them much more mobile than Lychguards, and bear an unusual weapon: a Rod of Covenant is an AP2 Two-Handed weapon with a 12" S5 AP2 shooting attack, essentially giving them another attack before they charge. Their alternate weapons are voidblades and particle casters - this gives their shooting attack better strength in exchange for much worse AP, while their close combat weapons gain Rending and Entropic Strike. While this doesn't initially seem as good as outright ignoring armor altogether, they do get a bonus attack for having a pistol and close combat weapon, essentially trading quality for quantity. Even with this extra attack they lose combat to Grey Hunters, Spiky Spess Mehrens, and pretty much any other half-competent combat unit.  Two attacks and a 5+ RP save on a combat unit (Upped to 4+ if you use a Decurion, join with a Cryptek or just stick near Szeras) makes them pretty damn decent now.
** Alternate take: voidblade-equipped Praetorians make acceptable vehicle-hunters, for they are fast and have entropic strike. While being not as deadly as warscythe Lychguards, Praetorians actually CAN catch even fast skimmers and glance them to death. Of course, a unit of Scarabs will do the same for half the points, but if you want to be a unique snowflake, go ahead and take these...
**'''Alternate take the second:''' The Rod of Covenant is able to lay the hurt onto Elite infantry via AP2 shooting and CC, especially now that Praetorians dropped an amazing 12 points in cost AND they gained an additional Attack, taking them to 2 base. The Voidblade Combo is AP4 in CC, which people tend to overlook. Anything lower than a Marine, they mulch and anything Marine and up, they harass via Rending. In their formation, they gain rerolls to Hit, Pen and Wound, meaning much better shooting attacks (only in the shooting phase do you get the rerolls), enabling them to scare heavy stuff like Wraithknights or absolutely mulch their preferred prey.

*'''[[Flayed Ones]]''' - These guys have the basically the same stats as a Necron Warrior. Same save, same Strength, toughness,initiative, and point cost. However, they have no guns. To compensate, they have 4 S4 AP5 attacks in combat with Shred (yeah, each claw counts as a separate weapon). Like their former [[Counts As]] room mate the Mandrakes, the Flayed ones are usable now with their twin AP5 Shred claws, and Fear makes them hell on wheels against any non-daemonic or S.M. opponent. If they get into combat, which they likely will between Reanimation Protocols, Deep Strike and Infiltrate, they will mulch up ''anything'' of comparable cost up until they run into something they can't even wound/pen on 6s. But for that, you have Warriors, right? Right. 10 assault terminators with shields and hammers? With a full squad you get 100 attacks on the charge, 50 hits, and ~37 wounds due to shred, so mathematically 6 1/6th Terminators dead. You'll survive till next turn, and lo and behold, assault terminators mulched up by NECRONS. Keep also in mind that aforementioned Terminators cost the opponent almost as much as you would pay for '''Thirty-Five''' Flayed Ones. 
**However, more warriors tend to be the safer choice in Edition Ranged Combat.
**Ridiculously easy to convert warriors into flayed ones with a few stabby bits, some repositioning and some imagination. No need to suffer those abominations GW has graced us with.
**Also do not forget they are still Necrons, so they will still be hitting last against most dedicated assualt units and will be hitting on fours against most opponents with only a 4+ armour save and hopefully RP to protect them. Statistically Genestealers, Ork Boys (with a Pain boy will guarantee this), Wracks, Khorne Berserkers, Incubi, Nobs/Meganobz, CC equipped Tyranid Warriors, daemons, Lightning Claws Terminators (they are hitting first with shred, and Blood Angels ones will massacre them), CC equipped Grey Hunters, Death Company, or other close-combat specialists will strike first and could deal enough alpha damage to put them down. But still they are far from unusable now and are quite viable since they are cheaper then most of the squads that can reliably take them, and can still give these a degree of trouble (that list above, for example, tends to lose point-for-point if the flayed ones get the charge). Just remember to play to their strengths, they are now supreme light-infantry shredders and excellent for stalling tough cc squads and MC so that heavier hitters in your army can come and deal with them.
** Faced with combatants the Flayed Ones are legitimately bothered by, don't throw them away.  Death Company and the like will do them irreparable damage on a charge before they can strike back, which you do not want.  Instead, try some fabian tactics, and only commit once your foes have chosen an untenable battle.
** Fortunately, the Maynarkh Dynasty/"Dark Harvest" supplement (see below) now has to use the Flayed One profile (excluding what slot they're in) in Codex: Necrons, due to the fact that they are the most updated rules for them. The Minimum may be 10, but they are moved to Troops, which is worth the trade off. They can also take Flensing Scarabs, which are FUCKING USELESS as Flayed one Claws already have Shred.
** Team a full squad up with two crypteks, give one (or both) of them a chronometron and the other one the veil of darkness. If you have followed the recipe, you now have a 440pt infantry-blender which can deep strike across the board with it's HQs along for the ride and saves on at least 5++/4+++ against anything weaker than a destroyer weapon and 4+/4+++ against such petty trifles as stormbolters. Heavy infantry get to shake hands with so many attacks that their invulnerable saves are wasted points, and weak troops just get puréed. Even the crypteks can come in handy with their six assault shots and four attacks zinging in from safety in the rear ranks (all at a nice marine-opening AP3). It's expensive, and risky, but it's bags of fun to let loose behind your enemy's line and the models are sufficiently unassuming that it's somehow the opposite of a distraction carnifex.

*'''[[Triarch Stalker]]''' - Basically the Necron Dreadnought in squads.  Tough enough for most melee work, and packing high Strength and a good number of attacks in close combat which unfortunately doesn't ignore armour, Stalkers work well as all-rounders.  The Heat Ray acts as either a heavy flamer or a two-shot multi-melta, great for killing tanks and infantry alike. Additionally, fellow non-vehicle Necrons within 6" gain +1BS (Not TL, but it still helps). If you want to specialize in killing infantry, the Particle Shredder drops a nasty pie plate at a decent range, while the twin-linked Heavy Gauss cannon is an option if you really need to keep your distance. The Heat Ray is this author's go-to choice, as it won't disappoint in almost any battlefield conditions. These are a solid pick for your elite slots, though the other options have made up a lot of ground in this edition.
**Triarch Stalkers are notorious for being ''massive'' firepower magnets, so don't ever hinge a strategy on yours surviving; if your opponent is any definition of the word "competent", then he will make it his business to see that the Stalker does not live to see the end of the game.  Once their shielding goes down Stalkers are rather vulnerable for their cost and combat role. For this reason, it can be worthwhile to keep a Canoptek Spyder or two with fabricator claws close by in case it needs repairing.  Furthermore, the new codex drops their cost and [[awesome|lets you bring them in squads!]]
**If you are actually able to make your stalker survive (taking multiple, hiding behind monolith or terrain, etc.), take Nemesor Zahndrekh as well and swap his warlord trait for the '''Target Priority''' (command trait that allows you to re-roll 1's with all units within 12" of him when shooting). This let's you hit with all your gauss goodness on 2+ re-rollable.
**Use the Triarch to support a Destroyer Lord in a blob of Warriors or Immortals, suddenly you have a squad no one wants to get near that almost never misses. On average for every 40 shots you will miss one.  Destroyer squads benefit every bit as much, throwing lots of incredibly-accurate dakka downrange.

*'''[[C'tan|C'tan Shard of Nightbringer]]''' - In another slap to the C'Tan's face, there are no more simple C'Tan Shards, just Transcendents and the ancient Deceiver and Nightbringer Models.  The Death God has WS6 BS4 MC Character and S7 T7 with Fleshbane, making him one you'd want in melee.  He also has a special power that forces an enemy within 12" to take 3d6-Ld wounds at AP2 with Ignores Cover.  This allows him to restore a wound if he kills at least one person, and makes it the nearly undisputed king of monstrous creature combat (usually killing Tyranid MCs before they even get to swing).  Even if you dislike the randomized powers, this is still a decent grab if you want to focus more anti-vehicle while he takes out any elite infantry in ways the [[Maleceptor]] only wishes he could.

*'''[[C'tan|C'Tan Shard of Deceiver]]''' - See above for the reason this exists.  He's got WS5 BS5 S7 T7 and is better meant for screwery.  He gets Hit & Run and forces enemies within 12" to take -2 Ld (SUCK IT SITW).  He can also grab d3 units within 12" of him after Infiltration and Scout moves and either redeploy them or jump into Reserves if you think they'll need it.
**One thing to consider is using the Deciever and the Nightbringer together with the Deceiver's Leadership penalty to nearby units, and the Nightbringer's AP2 Leadership dependent attack you could make some units even easier to kill *cough*Wraithknight*cough

*'''Tomb Stalker (Forge World)''' - A T7, 4 wound Monstrous Creature with all sorts of neat special rules. Poison and Fleshbane wound it on a 6 instead, so take 3 when fighting Dark Eldar. It can deepstrike or outflank with acute senses, so you have a few different ways to get it where in needs to go. It's got a good number of attacks and is as resilient as you should expect a Necron monstrous creature to be. Now that it's been moved from Heavy Support to Elite, it's definitely worth considering. The only drawback is that it's pretty expensive, weighing in at at 220 points after you purchase It Will Not Die, which you should always do. Another thing to note is that it comes in squads of one it can almost always make use of the rampage USR.  Competes with the C'tan shards, but unfortunately comes up short: it neither beats them in melee combat nor has meaningful ranged weapons to answer their unpredictable-but-potent Powers, outdoing them only with its venom resistance and deployment options.