MATCHUP:

Faction: Necrons

Detachment: Hypercrypt Legion

VS

Faction: Grey Knights

Detachment: Warplane Task Force

MISSION:

Primary: Linchpin

Terrain: GW Terrain Layout 2

Twist: None

RESULT:

100 – 43 Win for Grey Knights

OVERALL TAKEAWAYS:

• Overall game
  • This was another game where the outcome was more due to one side losing than the other winning.  It also felt like a bit of a stat check or hard counter in favor of the Grey Knights.
  • Grey Knights Gates of Infinity army rule effectively cancelled out the Necrons Hyperphasing mobility advantage. 
  • Grey Knights 2+ armor saves also negated a lot of the usual effectiveness of the Immortals.
  • This meant that the Necrons winning the game came down to how they used the C’Tan, Monolith, and Doomsday Ark.  Unfortunately, I played 2 out of those 3 too aggressively in Round 1 in an effort to grab primary to shut down the Grey Knights Hallowed Ground detachment ability.  This backfired when the Grey Knights utilized the Purifier squads to get their rerolls anyways and killed the C’Tan and Doomsday Ark in Round 1.  This essentially decided the game as it put the Necrons at a deficit that they could not overcome against an army with equal mobility.
• Necrons
  • Hypercrypt has been one of my favorites for Necrons through all of 10th.  It has been toned down a lot since it was very good early and I think it showed up in this game as Grey Knights essentially brought a better version of it.
  • This game was rough because the Hypercrypt Path to victory is usually to dominate secondaries through superior mobility and then win enough primary, mostly by denying the opponent primary.  I think I deviated too far from this strategy due to fear of the advantage that GK would gain if they got to just sit on primary objectives and get their buffs.
  • Key Combos:
    • Plasmancer + Immortals with Tesla + the Arisen Tyrant Enhancement to give your unit full hit and wound rerolls with Sustained 2 on 5+ Critical Hits against anything on an objective.  Usually this is devastating, but Grey Knights 2+ saves really blunted it.
    • Monolith Eternity Gate ability
      • Use with Chronomancer + Immortals with Gauss to shoot and then move 6 to steal an objective.
      • Use with the Dimensional Corridor stratagem and either Lychguard or Skorpekhs to get a very short charge into melee.
      • Both get even better when paired with Cosmic Precision to drop the Monolith 6 inches from an enemy unit.
  • Key Stratagems
    • See above combos
    • Hyperphasic Recall to pull a unit back to the Monolith after it has been shot (unfortunately, Crowe basically negated this stratagem)
• Grey Knights
  • This detachment kills the opponent at a pace!  Their win condition is a very straightforward “if you stand on objectives I will kill you and if you don’t I will stand on them and then kill you”
  • This game was so lopsided that I performed some of the least efficient secondaries ever.  Cleanse followed by Recover Assets followed by Establish Locus with a 300+ Paladin unit?  You betcha!
  • The Purifiers are the key to this detachment.  They give your army buffs that aren’t dependent on board control.  This allows me to effectively fight my entire army on half of the board, table the opponent on that half, and the shift through teleporting to do the same on the other half a round or 2 later.
  • Key Combos:
    • Castellan Crowe + 10 Purifiers = instant death to anything Infantry that dares to sit on an objective, plus a lot of other non-Infantry units too thanks to full hit and wound rerolls on 75+ ranged attacks.
    • 5 man Purifier squads used to pair with the Dreadknights to ensure they always have full hit rerolls.
  • Key Stratagems
    • Overwatch with Crowe’s unit.  75+ shots with full hit rerolls, Sustained 1 on 1/3 of them, and then reroll 1’s to wound (or full rerolls if target is on an objective) is BRUTAL
    • Repelling Sphere to add 2 inches to the opponents charge.  It ruined a key Necron play and denied the Skorpekhs a charge out of the Monolith’s Eternity Gate.  Between the Dimensional Corridor and CP reroll Strats used, this cost the Necrons 3 CP and broke their robot back.

WHAT I WOULD CHANGE NEXT TIME:

• Necrons
  • Play more patiently and protect my Doomesday Ark and C’Tan at all costs
• Grey Knights
  • Nothing.  This game went very well for the Grey Knights.

MVP of the GAME: Tie between the Castellan Crowe + 10 Purifiers brick and the Grand Master in Nemesis Dreadknight (GMNDK).  Crowe and the Purifiers wiped out both Immortal squads in consecutive turns (including 1 on Overwatch), while the GMNDK one shotted the C’Tan thanks to Surge of Wrath (full hit, wound, and damage rerolls against Monsters or Vehicles) and a bunch of failed saves and Feel No Pains by the C’Tan.

MAGNUS OF THE GAME: C’Tan Shard of the Void Dragon.  In theory, you should be able to make more than 2 out of 5 4+ invulnerable saves and more than 2 out of 18 5+ FNP’s, right?  Right?

LISTS:

Necrons

Hypercrypt Legion

Strike Force (2,000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Chronomancer (85 Points)

  • 1x Chronomancer’s stave

  • Enhancements: Osteoclave Fulcrum

C’tan Shard of the Void Dragon (300 Points)

  • 1x Canoptek tail blades

  • 1x Spear of the Void Dragon

  • 1x Voltaic storm

Hexmark Destroyer (100 Points)

  • 1x Close combat weapon

  • 1x Enmitic disintegrator pistols

  • Enhancements: Dimensional Overseer

Imotekh the Stormlord (100 Points)

  • Warlord

  • 1x Gauntlet of Fire

  • 1x Staff of the Destroyer

Plasmancer (80 Points)

  • 1x Plasmic lance

  • Enhancements: Arisen Tyrant

BATTLELINE

Immortals (150 Points)

  • 10x Immortal

     ◦ 10x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 10x Gauss blaster

Immortals (150 Points)

  • 10x Immortal

     ◦ 10x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 10x Tesla carbine

OTHER DATASHEETS

Deathmarks (60 Points)

  • 5x Deathmark

     ◦ 5x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 5x Synaptic disintegrator

Deathmarks (60 Points)

  • 5x Deathmark

     ◦ 5x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 5x Synaptic disintegrator

Doomsday Ark (200 Points)

  • 1x Armoured bulk

  • 1x Doomsday cannon

  • 2x Gauss flayer array

Lokhust Destroyers (40 Points)

  • 1x Close combat weapon

  • 1x Gauss cannon

Lokhust Destroyers (40 Points)

  • 1x Close combat weapon

  • 1x Gauss cannon

Lokhust Heavy Destroyers (55 Points)

  • 1x Close combat weapon

  • 1x Gauss destructor

Lychguard (85 Points)

  • 5x Lychguard

     ◦ 5x Dispersion Shield

     ◦ 5x Hyperphase sword

Monolith (400 Points)

  • 4x Death ray

  • 1x Particle whip

  • 1x Portal of exile

Skorpekh Destroyers (90 Points)

  • 3x Skorpekh Destroyer

     ◦ 3x Skorpekh hyperphase weapons

Grey Knights

Warpbane Task Force

Strike Force (2,000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Brotherhood Librarian (80 Points)

  • 1x Combi-weapon

  • 1x Nemesis force weapon

  • 1x Vortex of Doom

Brotherhood Librarian (80 Points)

  • 1x Combi-weapon

  • 1x Nemesis force weapon

  • 1x Vortex of Doom

Castellan Crowe (90 Points)

  • Warlord

  • 1x Black Blade of Antwyr

  • 1x Purifying Flame

  • 1x Storm bolter

Grand Master (110 Points)

  • 1x Nemesis force weapon

  • 1x Psycannon

  • Enhancements: Radiant Champion

Grand Master in Nemesis Dreadknight (235 Points)

  • 1x Gatling psilencer

  • 1x Heavy psycannon

  • 1x Nemesis daemon greathammer

  • Enhancements: Paragon of Sanctity

Grand Master in Nemesis Dreadknight (225 Points)

  • 1x Gatling psilencer

  • 1x Heavy psycannon

  • 1x Nemesis daemon greathammer

BATTLELINE

Strike Squad (120 Points)

  • 1x Justicar

     ◦ 1x Nemesis force weapon

     ◦ 1x Storm bolter

  • 4x Grey Knight

     ◦ 1x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 3x Nemesis force weapon

     ◦ 1x Psycannon

     ◦ 3x Storm bolter

Strike Squad (120 Points)

  • 1x Justicar

     ◦ 1x Nemesis force weapon

     ◦ 1x Storm bolter

  • 4x Grey Knight

     ◦ 1x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 3x Nemesis force weapon

     ◦ 1x Psycannon

     ◦ 3x Storm bolter

OTHER DATASHEETS

Nemesis Dreadknight (210 Points)

  • 1x Gatling psilencer

  • 1x Heavy psycannon

  • 1x Nemesis greatsword

Paladin Squad (225 Points)

  • 1x Paragon

     ◦ 1x Nemesis force weapon

     ◦ 1x Storm bolter

  • 1x Paladin Ancient

     ◦ 1x Ancient’s Banner

     ◦ 1x Nemesis force weapon

     ◦ 1x Psycannon

  • 3x Paladin

     ◦ 1x Apothecary’s Narthecium

     ◦ 3x Nemesis force weapon

     ◦ 2x Psycannon

Purifier Squad (250 Points)

  • 1x Knight of the Flame

     ◦ 1x Nemesis force weapon

     ◦ 1x Purifying Flame

     ◦ 1x Storm bolter

  • 9x Purifier

     ◦ 4x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 5x Nemesis force weapon

     ◦ 4x Psilencer

     ◦ 9x Purifying Flame

     ◦ 5x Storm bolter

Purifier Squad (125 Points)

  • 1x Knight of the Flame

     ◦ 1x Nemesis force weapon

     ◦ 1x Purifying Flame

     ◦ 1x Storm bolter

  • 4x Purifier

     ◦ 2x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 2x Nemesis force weapon

     ◦ 2x Psycannon

     ◦ 4x Purifying Flame

     ◦ 2x Storm bolter

Purifier Squad (125 Points)

  • 1x Knight of the Flame

     ◦ 1x Nemesis force weapon

     ◦ 1x Purifying Flame

     ◦ 1x Storm bolter

  • 4x Purifier

     ◦ 2x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 2x Incinerator

     ◦ 2x Nemesis force weapon

     ◦ 4x Purifying Flame

     ◦ 2x Storm bolter