A not so brief introduction

Necrons, also known by some as Noobcrons, are the Tomb King expys of the Warhammer 40,000 universe. (Which rounds off the rest of the 40K universe being Fantasy races.... IIIIIN SPAAAAAAACE.)

Up until 5th Ed., they were supposed to be slaves to star-eating vampire demigods who eventually got hooked on souls and used their slave legions of silent metal skeletons to harvest the souls of every sentient race in the galaxy. Then the Matt Ward codex came along and WOOPS, NO, turns out they killed/imprisoned their vampire gods!

Gameplay-wise, some used to consider the Noobcrons to have been unduly OP during their introduction. A respectable amount of evidence can be gathered to grant credence to this viewpoint. The rapid change in fluff between the 5th edition codex and its predecessor is controversial, to put it lightly, and while both versions of the Necrons' background have their fans, many would agree that the retconning was drastic and heavy-handed.

The Necrons received a long awaited codex update in 2011... from the hated Matt Ward. After having the Necrons and Blood Angels ~~secret lovers that the universe was not yet ready to understand~~ cooperate against the 'nids, after which the noobcrons proceeded to let the fucking SPEHSS MEHREENS get away without raep, fans worried that the Great Taint would spread to the robots, who had already suffered from GW's neglect, like every non-Space Marine faction.

UPDATE: As of the 6th edition rulebook, Necrons and Blood Angels can form an "Unholy Alliance". For reference, Necrons can form the exact same alliance with the Black Templars. This implies that the whole scenario with the Blood Angels and the 'Nids was part of the then-upcoming Necron fluff change wherein the Necrons went from omnicidal kill bots to an actual empire capable of politics and forming alliances.

Overall, the codex was actually... fairly decent, with bitch-worthy fluff kept to a minimum (though the way it was introduced was bitch worthy in of itself, and the Necrons possessing reliable time travel raises a lot of questions) and the crunch being balanced, high tier but not OP. This had lead to the crazy but surprisingly plausible theory that Matt Ward was really a Necron fanboy all along, and after losing to an Ultramarines player, decided to discredit the Space marines by writing several exceedingly shitty codexes for them, and then turn around and make a respectable update for the Necrons as part of a labyrinthian plot to get back at the Space Marines. And everyone neglects to mention that the update introduced a device that can instantly destroy any star in the galaxy per whim of the user. Wat.

But there is other good news. With the Necrons now being somewhat popular, they are about to get a new slew of Forgeworld loving, thanks to the announcement that they are scheduled to be featured in Imperial Armor 12 along with the Minotaurs Chapter Space Marines (meaning we may finally get Medusa V Tomb Stalkers and Megaliths, so we don't have to rely on Pylon, Scarab, Barge, Warscythe, and Heat-ray spam to down Titans).

Gameplay

Pre 5th

Pre-5th edition, the Necrons were virtually an unstoppable Shooty army. Their simple tactic of move-shoot-move-shoot in-tandem with their gauss weaponry capable of vaporizing anything (including heavy tanks) in front of them with impunity, and their Marine-like stats spawned the all famous "March of Doom", which was basically a non-stop forward march of Necron Warriors, Immortals, and Destroyers to flatten the table. And the innate WBB rolls ensured that the march was fuckhard to stop, especially in tandem with resurrection orbs, pylons, monoliths, and some of the cheesier necron formations; since the tin-men had a very good chance of getting back up after being downed. But that was then...

The Necron have since been severely nerfed in 5th Edition, due to vehicles being a bit more sturdy. In the previous edition, they could potentially destroy any enemy (including heavy vehicles) with just their default troops choice - Gauss weaponry caused (and still does) glancing hits on a roll of 6 (it used to cause automatic wounds, too, but they've done away with that ridiculousness). Necron Warriors dispatching Land Raiders or Leman Russ Tanks with these glancing hits was not unheard of, causing many veterans of 40K tabletop to rightly declare the Necrons to be Cheese.

Post 5th

Post-edition update, due to the new Armor Penetration rules, Necron Warriors can still harass, stun-lock, and annoy vehicles - even heavy ones - but are much less able to gun down a heavy like a Predator Tank or Vindicator with simple massed Warrior fire, to the delight of non-Necron players everywhere. Massed fire from Necron Warriors can still kill a heavy vehicle, but it will take a veritable barrage of shots to do so now, making it a bit less likely that players can spam the shit out of warrior squads and come away triumphant, making this an improvement. A smart NewCron player learns to not over-rely on Warriors now, using backup from a mix of Scarabs, Doomsday Arks, Barge Lords, Wraiths, and Harbingers of Destruction in order to pack quality anti-vehicle options. However due to 6th Edition's change with rapid fire rule and vehicle hull points, Necrons are back again fucking tanks in the junk. Yes, a block of 20 Necron Warriors will wreck a Land Raider in one turn hands down every day of the week.

In spite of the nerf, Necrons remain a competent and extremely dangerous force to an infantry-based army (especially the Tyranids who are easily fucked over by Tesla weapons and Mindshackle Scarabs). A competently-run Necron army will be able to threaten heavy vehicles as well; one that continues to over-rely on Necron Warriors will find itself getting raped if a Leman Russ, Manticore Rocket Launcher, Deathstrike Missile Launcher, or Vindicator hits the table. Stat-wise, Necrons are rather similar to Space and Chaos Marines, though they essentially have a 5+ Invulnerable Save with their "Reanimation Protocols" rule (4+ with a Resurrection Orb in the unit). Back when they only had one troop type, and one vehicle, they were an army heavily-focused on shooting. Now it's all about synergy, with Overlords, Lords and Crypteks strategically placed in shooty units, and melee options like Lychguard and the infuriatingly tough-to-kill Wraiths (Flayed Ones got nerfed bad, and are now the worst unit in the codex... at least until 6th Edition rules change shit up, maybe)(NOPE!). They also have somewhat useful Monstrous Creatures of sorts in the form of Canoptek Spyders and C'tan Shards.

The infamous Monolith is easily the most recognizable unit that the Necrons possess. It has 14 armor on each side (and thus no vulnerable spots), a main weapon that cannot be disabled with a "weapon destroyed" result, the ability to teleport your troops out of harm's way, and, in the previous edition, the only skimmer that would not crash when immobilized. In the current edition, skimmers only crash if they moved flat-out the previous turn - and the Monolith can't actually move fast enough to crash when it gets immobilized. However, the same update to glancing hits made it even harder to destroy. The Monolith is no longer the nigh invulnerable mountain of rape it used to be, thanks to its ability to shrug off Melta weapons being removed, but is still relatively decent... however, several of their new vehicles out strip it in many ways, so the once proud 'Lith has been relegated to Apocalypse battles only, in most cases.

Necron infantry are generally slow moving, hard hitting, much like the space marines, if the space marines were able to get back up after dying. They back this with annoying deep-strikers and fast-moving units that are designed to support the Necron player's advance. There is nothing - I repeat - NOTHING, scarier than a Necron player with almost-cheating luck.

An Example:

Player one has just destroyed player two's Necron warrior squad.

Player two, A.K.A. Kenny, makes his Reanimation Protocol roll.

Player one, A.K.A. Commander Numb-Nutz, is making odd sounds with his mouth, in mockery of Kenny.

Kenny, A.K.A. Rob, rolls ten 6's. Commander Numb-Nutz promptly stops making noises with his mouth.

Kenny A.K.A. Rob puts his Necron Squad back on the board, and promptly smokes Commander Numb-Nutz's ass from here to the golden shithouse.

Victories n' Whatnot

Necrons, though vicious in certain types of combat, aren't really great at winning, and are generally a hit-or-miss force, either outright flattening the opponent or getting steamrolled themselves.

If you want to win with Necrons, be prepared to do your fucking homework and learn how the different units in the codex interact with each other. There are now several competitive army list builds, each one utilizing a different borderline cheating tactic. These include:

-Warrior Phalanx: More or less played like the old way, use Warriors by the dozens, and be prepared to back them up with support like Ghost Arks and Lords with Res Orbs. These bricks are fucking hard to kill, and put out a metric shit ton of shots, especially if lead by a Phaeron.

-TremorCrons: Use fucking HQ + C'tan combo hax to stop your opponents from moving (or forcing them to lose a third of their models to dangerous terrain tests).

-Wraith Wing: MORE WRAITHS. MORE. (throw in a Destroyer Lord or two and eat Deathstars for breakfast).

-Scarab Farm: Shit tons of Scarabs, and about 9 Spyders to shit even MOAR Scarabs out every turn. Overwhelm EVERYTHING with the little buggers (HOPE YOU WEREN'T PLANNING ON USING THAT LANDRAIDER THIS GAME!)

-Maximum Threat Overload: Too many threats to deal with, opponents have trouble prioritizing which to kill first (Command Barges, Wraiths, Scarabs, Doom Scythes, LanceTeks). Usually ends with tables being flipped in frustration.

Alternately, one can play Apocalypse and use the Monolith Phalanx, which is one of - if not THE - cheesiest bullshit since 2nd edition Tyranid bullshit (eg. Tyranid Apocalypse formation "out of ammo sarge!"), but as that formation has been errata'd, the Cronz now hold the uncontested title of cheesiest formation ever... until IA12 hits, that is, and the circle of nerf is complete.

In Battlefleet Gothic

They are still totally fucking overpowered in Battlefleet Gothic though; their cruisers can crush many other race's battleships without much trouble. Moving on!

Fluff

OldCrons - Birth of the Angry Goth Terminators

C'tan-chan will suck your soul out through your urethra

A long-ass time ago (even before the Spess Elves) the Necrontyr lived on a planet blasted by radiation from their sun. Their short lives were punctuated from beginning to end with cancers, AIDS, and pain.

At the same time, a race of psychically-attuned forefathers called the Old Ones had built a vast civilization throughout the galaxy. They seeded many races (leaving humanity alone) and generally showed off. Oh yeah, and they are speculated to be immortal lizards.

The Necrontyr met the Old Ones and quickly grew to resent their neighbors, loathing how long their lifespan was by comparison. Resentment grew into bitter jealousy and finally all-consuming hatred. The Old Ones were indeed much stronger though, and repelled Necrontyr assault after assault until the angsty race was clinging to the edge of the galaxy.

The Necrontyr finally located and loosed a force known as the C'tan, beings with immense power over the corporeal world. The realm of the Warp, which the Old Ones used extensively, was anathema to them, and they sought nothing less than the total separation of the real world from the Maelstrom.

The Necrontyr bargained with the Deceiver - yes, suspend your disbelief for a moment that anyone would trust a guy named the Deceiver - for eternal life. The Deceiver promised the living Necron race immortality and fun times if they'd sacrifice their bodies to the gods to be replaced with metallic-y goodness. The Necrontyr agree to The Deceiver's terms, and have their souls ripped out of their collective urethrae, replacing the Necrontyr with the skeletal metal bodies of the Necrons.

War breaks out between the Necron and the Old Ones. The Old Ones get their asses soundly beat over and over again, creating new races (lol, Krork) to defend themselves with. Oh, and by using the Warp as a weapon, they turned it into the fun place we all know and love.

After the Old Ones strategy of cranking out race after race to be used backfired when the Enslaver Plague rolled around, the C'Tan go on a feast of galactic proportions. It isn't until they realize that the food (see: EVERYTHING!) is drying out that they decide to go to sleep for 60 million years, 'till the scrumptious morsels known as EVERYTHING regrew.

In present time, the Necron spend most of their time killing anything with a pulse and generally hating anything living, including bacteria. The rest of their time is spent on sleeping and being Super Secret Pony Princess Unicorn Best Friends Forever with Blood Angels. Because that makes sense. (We don't like it any more than you do - 'Crons) They're the goth craze if you dipped them in liquid hate and injected them with 400% of your daily allotment of cheese.

DISREGARD THAT, WARD SUCKS COCKS. (the whole fucking story got retconned thanks to UltraFaggot fanboi Matt Ward).

Now Necrons are a bunch of Tomb Kings IN SPACE who DESTROYED the C'tans and ride in boats shaped like the Ultramarine Chapter's Emblem... I WISH I made that up...

New Crons, the great betrayal

There is a dramatic change in the fluff in this codex (5th Ed.) from the previous incarnation of the Necrons.

The Necrontyr's empire was massive at one point, but the different Lords in the galaxy wide dominion started to turn against each other in civil war. To prevent this from happening, the overall ruler of the Necrontyr (the Silent King) started the war against the Old Ones specifically to give them a common enemy to fight against to prevent his people from destroying themselves. Of course, the Old Ones ended up kicking their butts, and in desperation, the Silent King allied with the C'Tan (who had been attracted to the pure hate and rage the Necrontyr held for the Old Ones, a common enemy of the C'tan) and agreed to the Deceiver's pact to give them shiny new immortal bodies without realizing what he was doing. The devious star god had in fact tricked the Necrontyr into giving up their mortal bodies and souls so that he and his hommies could gorge themselves on their tasty ass meats. After consuming THE ENTIRE Necrontyr race, the C'tan were pretty much the equivalent of Superman crossed with a level 9001 Super Sayian Goku, and so were basically able to hand the Old Ones their collective asses. However, after the Necrons helped the C'Tan to kill off the last Old Ones, while the C'tan were recuperating, the Silent King then ordered the Necrons to turn on the C'Tan in vengeance and utterly destroyed the star gods, shattering them into tiny shards of their previous power (which they conveniently collected and stored for later use). This coup against the C'Tan weakened the Necrons so much they decided to go into stasis to avoid the vengeance of the Eldar (the C'Tan had killed the Old Ones, but not all their mutant offspring).

Now that the Necrons have reawakened in the 41st millennium, their goal is no longer to 'harvest' souls for the C'Tan (the C'Tan shards are now their slaves) as it was in the old book, but rather to reestablish the great Necron empire that spanned the galaxy before the war with the Old Ones began. However, the overall hierarchy of the Necron people is gone for the most part, leaving each individual Dynasty to once again rule for itself. This means each Tomb World (or cluster of Necron worlds) is essentially a separate little empire to itself, with a full backstory and idiosyncrasies. While Necron warriors are pretty much just automatons, and Immortals not too much better, the majority of the upper echelon of Necron society retained some degree of personality.

Comparison Between OldCrons and NewCrons

Why you don't want to be a NewCron

You are now the robot version of Spess Elves, 1) Both are kingdoms near extinction trying to restore their "former glory", 2) Both kingdoms brought on their own destruction.
All of the original Necron players who truly appreciated the Necrons for their flavor will think you're a douche.
You show a lack of imagination and desire of mystery and require instant gratification for wanting to games workshop to make Necrons into tomb kings in space so you'd have an easier time giving your Necron army a paint scheme and theme.
Boring models

Why You Want to be an OldCron

You control a soulless undying force who serve some of the oldest known beings in 40k
Greater freedom of paint scheme and theme in regards to other armies.
Interesting models

What we learned

Don't bitch and moan about how you think an armies theme and fluff needs to be changed so it will appealing to you, get off your ass and look for an army that you can relate to.

Gallery

Suddenly, Monoliths just got even more awesome.
Angry Marines can really fuck your shit up.
Necron players are well-known for their carefully planned tactics of "move-shoot-move-shoot".
Thanks to Matt Ward this is now canon. Give thanks to our spiritual liege for Thaszar the Invincible!
IN THE GRIM DARKNESS OF THE 41ST MILLENNIUM, THE ARGUMENT STILL RAGES
Here we see the humble Lolcron, irritably drawing away.
Lolcron and lolicron - know the difference!

Lolcron and lolicron - know the difference!
The funk of 40,000 years.
Lolcron is a lazy bum these days.
Necron update 2011 in a nutshell.
The Necron's ace in the hole.
Damn space commies.
Goddamnit.
This is what we call a xeno double-down.
Monoliths are known to inspire great songs.
Flayed Ones are adept at finding ways to maintain a nice figure.
Phaeron Imotekh in all his egotistic glory.
Flayed Ones, the fashion icons of the 40k universe

Flayed Ones, the fashion icons of the 40k universe