Vargard Obyron
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Obyron is the head Lychguard to Nemesor Zahndrekh, a title he earned during their very first campaign together, back when the Necrons were still flesh-and-blood Necrontyr. The Royal Vargard has taken it upon himself to ensure that the prisoners/guests the eccentric Zahndrekh treats with undue honor are killed whilst 'trying to escape', something he attempted with figures such as Illic Nightspear and Kor'sarro Khan of the White Scars, though in that instance coming up short (though Obyron was about to kill Kor'sarro, and only spared him due to direct order from Zahndrekh because the latter was impressed with Kor'sarro's valor).
His other responsibilities include making sure the Nemesor's Royal Court is corruption-free, by either making court members 'disappear' should they start to plot to overthrow the Nemesor or by Obyron simply beating the Lord in combat once challenged. The result is that in practice, Obyron is the real power in Zahndrekh's court, but remains loyal to the Nemesor.
Unlike the Nemesor, he openly acknowledges the changes in the Necrontyr. Originally, Zahndrekh was oblivious, and Obyron's attempts to make Zahndrekh aware of these changes didn't work. Post-retcon, Obyron just goes along with whatever Zahndrekh does depending on his awareness and smoothes over any problems that occur. With Zahndrekh playing the crazy old coot, Obyron is left as the loyal and sensible servant simply following orders, asking for no reward beyond continued service.
Thank the Emperor that Necrons have no reproductive organs, or the slash shipping of these two would be overwhealming.
He is named for King Oberon from Renaissance literature (most famously A Midsummer Night's Dream) but this seems to have no bearing on his character.
He once pleaded with his lord to salvage a broken device which could return their fleshy bodies and souls. Zahndrekh reminded him that his loyalty and devotion is because he still has a soul and that the time they spend together is the most meaningful part in life. Obyron realizes just how much joy being Zahndrekh's second has and will be.
On the Tabletop[edit]
On the table, Vargard Obyron is a force to be reckoned with; he has all the resilience of an Overlord/Lord (Sempiternal Weave bitches!), his personal weapon of choice is the same Landraider-opening Warscythe most Overlords use, and because he IS the definition of a Close Combat Lunatic he has a very high Weapon Skill. Despite Obyron's comparatively low initiative, the power weapon nerf has made him even more devastating.
His 'Cleaving Counterblow' is able to make a grand total of 9 (10 if charged or using the Counter-Attack rule - Courtesy of Zahndrekh!) attacks, because of this he is likely to tear most TEQ and MEQ apart. This being restricted challenges is kind of a downer, but his ability to massacre sergeants and nobs far outweighs his points cost, and the remaining wounds after his challenger is bisected by him are carried to his unit. Obyron also has a special Veil of Darkness called the 'Ghostwalk Mantle', which operates exactly like the Veil of Darkness in the 3rd Edition (He can teleport anywhere using the Deep-Strike rule, does not scatter if he arrives within 6" of Zahndrekh and can also teleport out of combat in his turn, rather than attack). Should Zahndrekh be in combat with an enemy unit, Obyron uses his 'Ghostwalk Mantle' to appear right next to him in combat, talk about loyal! Obyron and Zahndrek make a very statistically solid pair: Zahndrekh can tank anything capable of ignoring 2+ armor, and anything that can't is meat for Obyron. Meanwhile, Obyron is precisely the right person to benefit from Zahndrekh's buffs.
In 8th Edition[edit]
8th Edition saw a retooling of his rules. Cleaving Counterblow now means that he can keep fighting for one fight phase even if he is killed during it, all units within 6" of him can reroll morale (re-roll wound rolls of 1 in the codex), the Ghostwalk Mantle still works the same and when he's within 3" of Zahndrekh he can turn wounds on his Overlord into mortal wounds for himself on a 2+. Obyron is still a beast in combat, even with his number of attacks being gimped: 3 attacks (4 in the codex) at Strength 7 AP-4 D2 is more effective against large and tough units this time around rather than him being the horde buzzsaw of before.