Necron Warrior

My peashooter can puncture a hole in your most powerful tanks. Until 8th edition and onwards, that is.

The Necron Warriors are the rank-and-file basic soldiers of the Necron phalanxes. They were civilians before the pact with the C'tan and biotransference; because they were not nobles or soldiers, and therefore judged to be of minimal importance, little care was taken with their biotransference and their bodies bear no adornments or extraneous hardware. Necron Warriors have no identifying marks (except for possibly sharing the colors of the dynasty that owns them) and no capacity for initiative. Nothing of the personalities they once had remains, and they are even denied voices (though they make scream-like noises when they are severely damaged) -- "Identity matters only to those who have the ability to think," and "...the concept of glory is wasted on the inglorious," as Imotekh the Stormlord says. It's not clear if these limitations and losses were accidental or deliberately planned, and frankly it's hard to say which possibility is scarier.

With their limited mental capacities, Necron Warriors require constant instructions like Rubric Marines from the Thousand Sons, only more useful. Without the will of their commanders to provide guidance, a Necron Warrior will revert to a guard routine, repelling enemy attacks with precise volleys. What they lack in initiative, though, they make up for in determination: once issued an order, a Necron Warrior will not stop until it either is slain, carries that order through to completion or the order is ovewritten by another. Their innate durability ensures that the task will be done, for the Necrons are implacable foes that will continue to fight through otherwise-lethal injuries, recovering from dismemberment and even decapitation in a matter of minutes. Necron Warriors are not entirely fearless: most of their natural emotions were purged during biotransference, but self-preservation remained. This instinct, though, is not always ensured to activate: a Necron Warrior’s connection to reality is tenuous, and the true danger of the task before it might not register. If this is the case, then the Warrior will continue fighting, oblivious to peril, and marching through enemy gunfire or minefields that would see it destroyed.

Though a Necron Warrior still remains a terrifying soldier in M41, closer inspection reveals the toll that age and countless battles have inflicted on it. Its limbs, though strong, are corroded and worn, covered in fluids leaked from their joints. Though precise, they are slow. Their movements are jerky; the result of misfiring synapses. It proves that, not even the ridiculous lolhax nature of Necrodermis can't 100% fix sheer entropy. As walking Halloween cannon fodders, they are armed with your typical Gauss Flayers or Gauss Reapers.

Their Crunch Is Numbers

Ancient History

For all these reasons to pity the Warriors, most people fighting them find it hard to feel sympathy for them, because they are so tremendously powerful for basic infantry.

In most respects, they were equals to Space Marines and available in greater numbers - while being substantially cheaper prior to 6th edition. Their standard weapon, the gauss flayer, is actually better than a bolter, in fact, it competes with the Tau Pulse Rifle for "Best basic infantry weapon in the game", while their "Reanimation Protocols" rule (formerly known as "We'll Be Back!") makes them even tougher, at least until AP4 weapons start bypassing their defenses. However, you could fit them into a Reclamation Legion until 8th Edition and make these necronscrips a pain to get out of the world, just the simple happiness on your opponents face when he kills a single one, should you not remind him about that you should have some T5 out there.

They may be unfairly stripped of their souls and identities because of poor decisions made by their rulers without their consent, but it's hard to feel sorry for them when you kill them and they just get right back up, and it's even harder when you see their neighbor wearing your buddy's face. In all fairness, Bob's ugly mug has never looked better, and that's saying something.

9th Edition Zoomer Primer

In the midst of GeeDubs' mad love affair with Primaris Marines, Necrons were lucky enough to get some spotlight as key antagonists for the release of 9th Edition. This meant a lot of new models, rules and updates - both visual and gameplay. And of course the humble Warriors were at the center of it and found themselves much improved.

First what directly concerns them, since it will be short. Their statline hasn't changed one bit and they have only gained one ability, Their Number is Legion, allowing them reroll 1s on their Reanimation Protocols, making it that little bit more reliable compared to every other unit in the Codex. Very fluffy, GeeDubs. The big one is that for the first time the boys have access to a different toy: the Gauss Reaper, a bridge between the Flayer and Blaster that is actually quite competitive with the former. It is S5 and AP-2 like the Blaster but Assault 2 with half the range. This makes it objectively superior within a dozen inches of the enemy but completely unable to strike at long range. This makes it a fair dilemma and thankfully you are free to choose one, the other or a mix of the two in the way that best reflects your personality.

Now for indirect buffs, and there is a whole lot of them: first, the new Reanimation Protocols benefits them greatly. They now get to reanimate after every attack they suffer for the casualties inflicted then, as well as one extra time per game for every casualty (like before) if helped by a resurrection orb. This makes them significantly harder to shift as you can now truly live the dream of tossing your warriors down and up again constantly with the tide of battle.

In a more indirect way, Warriors just don't have to compete with as much, on several levels. First, they are a less obvious comparison to the Immortals, as their statlines are now quite different (even if their weapons aren't). Second, they are now a much more interesting candidate for My Will Be Done since they can carry scarier weapons and the pool of CORE units for Necrons is quite shallow. Again, Immortals are not as competitive damage wise, so building around constantly reanimating blobs of 20 warriors with S5 weapons is a legit strategy. Finally, and very fluffily, Warriors work great with the Silent King thanks to all of his buffs, meaning that Warrior tide lists can get a strong, incredibly cool centerpiece that will help them perform. Bravo, GW.

Also, if you resent the disappearance of Green Rods, there's guides on youtube.