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Emperor’s Children Specific Strategies
RULES / POINTS VERSION:
10th Edition, 2025 – 2026 Chapter Approved
December 2025 Balanced Dataslate and MFM Points Update, with January 2026 500 Worlds Update
MATCHUP:
| Faction: | Detachment: |
| Emperor’s Children | Coterie of the Conceited |
| VS | |
| Faction: | Detachment: |
| Necrons | Obeisance Phalanx |
MISSION:
| GW Mission | C |
| Primary | Linchpin |
| Terrain Layout | GW Terrain Layout 7 |
| Deployment | Tipping Point |
LISTS:
Emperor’s Children:
List
Emperor’s Children
Coterie of the Conceited
Strike Force (2,000 Points)
CHARACTERS
Daemon Prince of Slaanesh with Wings (240 Points)
• 1x Hellforged weapons
• 1x Infernal cannon
• Enhancements: Pledge to Eternal Servitude
Daemon Prince of Slaanesh with Wings (215 Points)
• 1x Hellforged weapons
• 1x Infernal cannon
Lord Exultant (80 Points)
• 1x Bolt Pistol
• 1x Close combat weapon
• 1x Phoenix power spear
• 1x Rapture lash
Lord Exultant (80 Points)
• 1x Bolt Pistol
• 1x Close combat weapon
• 1x Phoenix power spear
• 1x Rapture lash
Lord Exultant (80 Points)
• 1x Bolt Pistol
• 1x Close combat weapon
• 1x Phoenix power spear
• 1x Rapture lash
Lucius the Eternal (150 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Blade of the Laer
• 1x Lash of Torment
BATTLELINE
Infractors (85 Points)
• 1x Obsessionist
◦ 1x Plasma pistol
◦ 1x Power sword
• 4x Infractor
◦ 4x Bolt pistol
◦ 4x Duelling sabre
◦ 1x Icon of Excess
Infractors (85 Points)
• 1x Obsessionist
◦ 1x Bolt pistol
◦ 1x Power sword
• 4x Infractor
◦ 4x Bolt pistol
◦ 4x Duelling sabre
Infractors (85 Points)
• 1x Obsessionist
◦ 1x Bolt pistol
◦ 1x Power sword
• 4x Infractor
◦ 4x Bolt pistol
◦ 4x Duelling sabre
Tormentors (85 Points)
• 1x Obsessionist
◦ 1x Plasma pistol
◦ 1x Power sword
• 4x Tormentor
◦ 2x Boltgun
◦ 4x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Icon of Excess
◦ 1x Meltagun
◦ 1x Plasma gun
DEDICATED TRANSPORTS
Chaos Rhino (80 Points)
• 1x Armoured tracks
• 1x Combi-bolter
• 1x Combi-bolter
• 1x Havoc launcher
Chaos Rhino (80 Points)
• 1x Armoured tracks
• 1x Combi-bolter
• 1x Combi-bolter
• 1x Havoc launcher
Chaos Rhino (80 Points)
• 1x Armoured tracks
• 1x Combi-bolter
• 1x Combi-bolter
• 1x Havoc launcher
OTHER DATASHEETS
Maulerfiend (130 Points)
• 2x Magma cutters
• 1x Maulerfiend fists
Noise Marines (145 Points)
• 1x Disharmonist
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Sonic blaster
• 5x Noise Marine
◦ 2x Blastmaster
◦ 5x Close combat weapon
◦ 3x Sonic blaster
Noise Marines (145 Points)
• 1x Disharmonist
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Sonic blaster
• 5x Noise Marine
◦ 2x Blastmaster
◦ 5x Close combat weapon
◦ 3x Sonic blaster
Noise Marines (145 Points)
• 1x Disharmonist
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Sonic blaster
• 5x Noise Marine
◦ 2x Blastmaster
◦ 5x Close combat weapon
◦ 3x Sonic blaster
Necrons:
List
Necrons
Obeisance Phalanx
Strike Force (2,000 Points)
CHARACTERS
Overlord (105 Points)
• 1x Resurrection Orb
• 1x Voidscythe
• Enhancements: Unflinching Will
Overlord (100 Points)
• 1x Resurrection Orb
• 1x Voidscythe
• Enhancements: Warrior Noble
Overlord with Translocation Shroud (110 Points)
• 1x Overlord’s blade
• 1x Resurrection Orb
• Enhancements: Eternal Conqueror
Royal Warden (50 Points)
• 1x Close combat weapon
• 1x Relic gauss blaster
The Silent King (400 Points)
• 1x Szarekh
• Warlord
◦ 1x Sceptre of Eternal Glory
◦ 1x Staff of Stars
◦ 1x Weapons of the Final Triarch
• 2x Triarchal Menhir
◦ 2x Annihilator beam
◦ 2x Armoured bulk
BATTLELINE
Immortals (150 Points)
• 10x Immortal
◦ 10x Close combat weapon
◦ 10x Tesla carbine
Necron Warriors (90 Points)
• 10x Necron Warrior
◦ 10x Close combat weapon
◦ 10x Gauss flayer
DEDICATED TRANSPORTS
Ghost Ark (115 Points)
• 1x Armoured bulk
• 2x Gauss flayer array
OTHER DATASHEETS
Canoptek Scarab Swarms (40 Points)
• 3x Canoptek Scarab Swarm
◦ 3x Feeder mandibles
Doomsday Ark (200 Points)
• 1x Armoured bulk
• 1x Doomsday cannon
• 2x Gauss flayer array
Lychguard (170 Points)
• 10x Lychguard
◦ 10x Dispersion Shield
◦ 10x Hyperphase sword
Lychguard (170 Points)
• 10x Lychguard
◦ 10x Warscythe
Triarch Praetorians (90 Points)
• 5x Triarch Praetorian
◦ 5x Rod of covenant
Triarch Praetorians (90 Points)
• 5x Triarch Praetorian
◦ 5x Rod of covenant
Triarch Stalker (110 Points)
• 1x Heat ray
• 1x Stalker’s forelimbs
FACTION SPECIFIC STRATEGIES:
Emperor’s Children:
Interestingly, this Emperor’s Children detachment is not my favorite way to play my favorite faction, that would be Peerless Bladesmen. It is the strongest and, when played right, can be insane in the late game. I just don’t love the play pattern of having to play patiently and slowly build up buffs with my super fast, hyper aggressive army. All that said, Coterie does have a very clear and specific win condition that immediately puts your opponent in a mental bind. The bind is: if you screen me out like you would any other uber aggressive army then I will happily pick off your screens and action units to charge up my Coterie buffs before coming for the rest of your army. If you don’t screen and instead sit back to deny me early kills and access to my army rule, then I will stage Round 1 before rushing and jailing you Round 2.
The list is designed to support the above play pattern. I typically put the Noise Marines in Rhinos, drive them out first to shoot and kill any screens or action units alongside the Maulerfiend as a way of charging up my buffs. The Infractor squads then embark into the Rhinos once the Noise Marines get out of them to setup a Round 2 or 3 “Go Turn”. This is usually paired with 1 Winged Daemon Prince staging early to support the “Go Turn” while the other starts in Deep Strike and Rapid Ingresses in to pressure the opponent’s DZ. Lastly, Lucius hangs back until the late game when he usually comes out with significant re-rolls and Sustained/Lethal to deliver the killing blow on the opponent’s last remaining big unit or model.
For this game, I am going to try something different. I am starting 1 unit of Noise Marines in Reserves while starting 2 units of Infractors in Rhinos to give the Rhinos Scout moves. The idea is to enable me to be more aggressive if I go first and to see if I can play the list a little differently.
Emperor’s Children’s Win Condition: Part of why I am experimenting with how I play the Coterie list is because this matchup looks so good for the Emperor’s Children. This was setup in my team’s pairing process to be a blowout and getting a 20-0 is the goal. The only worry that I have from an Emperor’s Children perspective is that the Necrons are running a lot of maximum sized units. This will probably going to require multiple activations to kill those units, which will really “cramp my style” and add complexity to how I play the Thrill Seekers army rule. All of that said, the goal is still a 20-0 here.
| Category | Description |
| Warlord | Lucius the Eternal |
| Leader / Bodyguard Combos: | 3 x Lord Exultant with 5 Infractors |
| Transport / Infantry Combos: | 2 x Noise Marines in a Rhino |
| 2 x Infractors + Lord Exultant in a Rhino each | |
| Strategic Reserves: | 1 unit of Noise Marines |
| Winged Daemon Prince without Enhancement | |
| Key Strategems: | Armor of Abhorrence – Used in your opponent’s Shooting or Fight Phase to worsen the Armour Penetration on incoming attacks against one unit. |
| Unbound Arrogance – Used in your Shooting or Fight Phase after you destroy an enemy unit to increase your pledge by 1. This can only be used once per turn. | |
| Martial Perfection – Used in the Fight Phase to give a unit full hit re-rolls in melee. | |
| Key Combos: | Martial Perfection stratagem + Lord Exultant + Perfectionists ability + Infractors + Excessive Assault ability This is used to give your unit full re-rolls to hit and, if the enemy unit is on an Objective, wound. Its not as good later in the game once your Coterie buffs are achieved, but awesome early game to blow through anything on an Objective. |
Necrons:
Boy has this detachment been power creeped (crept?) out of the game fast. In the 4 weeks between when I set this matchup up and when I sat down to play the game, it has gone from being arguably the 3rd or 4th best way to play Necrons that was getting some looks in competitive play to being a forgotten 7th (at best). I’m still going to play the matchup because I want to commit to seeing the teams matchup through, but I will make some concessions to playing it differently and more conservatively.
The list was designed as a fun way to run Lychguard, Triarchs, and The Silent King. The idea is to push the Tirach Stalker and 10 man unit of “sword and board” Lychguard out to grab objectives early, which will force a response to kill them. I then could trade with the responder using the Immortals, Doomsday Ark (DDA), and The Silent King. The Warriors and Ghost Ark were then used to hold the Necrons’ Home Objective or to replace the Triarch Stalker and Lychguard on objectives mid-game, depending on the what the game called for. Lastly, the Triarch Praetorians were Deep Strike threats to do actions or try to capture the opponent’s Home Objective while the other 10 man of Lychguard could be another counter charge threat. It’s not great, but has proven hard to blow out historically (although that was before the latest few rounds of updates to the game).
Necrons’ Win Condition: This is less of a win condition than it is a “don’t lose by a ton” condition. I’m going to turtle around the Necron’s Natural Expansion and Home Objectives and make the Emperor’s Children come dig me out. The idea is to dare the Emperor’s Children to just sit on Objectives where my Immortals, DDA, and The Silent King can light them up. This, plus using the Triach Stalker and Praetorians to do actions should, hypothetically, give me a decent points floor that avoids a 0-20 loss.
| Category | Description |
| Warlord | The Silent King |
| Leader / Bodyguard Combos | Royal Warden with Necron Warriors |
| Translocation Overlord with Immortals | |
| Overlord with Warrior Noble enhancement with “Sword and Board” Lychguard | |
| Overlord with Unflinching Will enhancement with Warscythe Lychguard | |
| Transport / Unit Combinations: | Royal Warden + Warriors in the Ghost Ark |
| Strategic Reserves: | 2 units of Triarch Praetorians |
| Key Stratagems: | Territorial Obsession – Used in your Command Phase to give one Triach or Lychguard unit +1 OC per model, +3 if it is a Vehicle. |
| Enslaved Artifice – Used in your Shooting or Fight Phase to give one unit critical hits on 5+. | |
| Nanoassembly Protocols – Used in your opponent’s Shooting or Fight Phase to reduce incoming damage on a Vehicle by 1. | |
| Key Combos | Translocation Overlord + My Will Be Done ability + Translocation Shroud ability + Eternal Conqueror enhancement + Immortals + Inescapable Eradication ability + Enslaved Artifice stratagem This is used to create a unit that can auto Advance 6 inches through models, with Assault weapons, to re-roll hits and wounds to fish for Sustained 2 (from Tesla), assuming your target is on an Objective, for free (unless you are in a Vect aura). I spam this every turn. |
ROUND-BY-ROUND RECAP:
The game starts with Necrons winning the roll off and choosing to deploy first.
The Emperor’s Children deploy very differently, and more aggressively, than usual. They do this because of the ability to Scout move 2 of the Rhinos behind terrain if they go second. Emperor’s Children is hoping to go first and setup a big Round 2 rush before the Necrons can fully turtle up.
The Necrons meanwhile deploy conservatively in 2 big castles, which are centered around their Natural Expansion and Home Objectives. They are also hoping to use terrain to bottleneck the Emperor’s Children into only getting one or two activations into each castle per phase.
Emperor’s Children win the roll off to go first and both sides make their Scout moves. The board state at the start of the game is shown below. Note, I forgot to deploy the Scarabs on the board during deployment, so they ended up going into Reserves.
Board State: Start of the Battle
ROUND 1:
| Phase: | Go First: Emperor’s Children |
| Score at Start | 10 |
| Command | -Draw Establish Locus and No Prisoners for Secondaries -Pledge 0 -Tormentors sticky Objective 2 |
| Movement | -Maulerfiend Advances to Objective 3 and hides behind terrain -Rhino 2 moves onto Objective 4 to Establish Locus -Winged Daemon Prince (WDP) 1 Advances to hide behind terrain on Objective 3 -Rhino 2 stages behind terrain near Objective 5 -Rhino 3 and Infractors 3 stage behind terrain in Emperor’s Children’s DZ -Tormentors move back to screen out DZ |
| Shooting | -Rhino 2 Establishes Locus for 2 VP |
| Charge | -None |
| Fight | -None |
| End of Turn | -Score 2 on Secondaries -Hold No Prisoners |
| Score at End | 12 |
Not much to report so far as turn 1 was very conservative for the Emperor’s Children. The Scout Moves were great on the Rhinos, but I’m not sure they did much since I am trying out a play pattern that the Art of War Down Under podcast calls “Stage and Push”. The board state in the middle of Round 1 is shown below.
Board State: Middle of Round 1
| Phase: | Go Second: Necrons |
| Score at Start | 10 |
| Command | -Draw A Tempting Target and Engage On All Fronts for Secondaries -EC chooses Objective 3 as Tempting Target -The Silent King chooses +2 to Move for his aura ability -Necrons choose Rhino 2 as their Worthy Foe |
| Movement | -Lychguard 1 Advance onto Objective 5 -DDA moves forward to shoot Rhino 2 -Warriors disembark from the Ghost Ark and onto Objective 1 -Triarch Stalker move blocks the Necrons DZ -The Silent King moves up to shoot Rhino 2 -Immortals stage in terrain near Objective 5 |
| Shooting | -Triarch Stalker shoots Rhino 2 -Rhino 2 tanks the shots but now can’t get Benefit of Cover -DDA does 8 Damage into Rhino 2 -The Silent King kills Rhino 2 and does 1 Damage into Rhino 1 via Indirect -1 Infractor dies disembarking from Rhino 2 |
| Charge | -The Silent King fails an 11 inch Charge into Infractors 2 |
| Fight | -None |
| End of Turn | -Score 1 on Secondaries -Drop A Tempting Target for 1 CP |
| Score at End | 11 |
Turn 1 went about as expected for the Necrons as well. They took down Rhino 1 and got onto Objective 5 while also starting to turtle up around their Objectives. Making the long Charge with The Silent King would have been nice as a way to blunt the upcoming push by EC, but it wasn’t mandatory. The board state at the end of Round 1 is below.
Board State: End of Round 1
ROUND 2:
| Phase: | Go First: Emperor’s Children |
| Score at Start | 12 |
| Command | -Draw Defend Stronghold to go with No Prisoners for Secondaries -Pledge 2 -Score 13 on Primary |
| Movement | -WDP 1 Advances towards Ghost Ark (this is where I discovered that the Scarabs were missing as they were supposed to screen the Ghost Ark) -Maulerfiend stays hiding on Objective 3 -Infractors 2 Advance towards Triarch Stalker and Warriors -Infractors 1 disembark from Rhino 1 and setup a Charge into Lychguard 1 -Noise Marines 1 disembark from Rhino 3 and Advance into Shooting range of Triarch Stalker -Rhino 3 moves into Shooting range of Triarch Stalker -Lucius moves onto Objective 2 to secure Defend Stronghold -Noise Marines 3 deploy from Reserves near Objective 3 to shoot the Ghost Ark -Necrons Rapid Ingress Triarch Praetorians 1 into the EC DZ |
| Shooting | -Rhino 3 whiffs all shots, including 2 Blastmasters shooting out of Firing Deck, into Triarch Stalker -Noise Marines 3 whiff into the Ghost Ark -WDP 1 does 2 Damage into the Ghost Ark -Noise Marines 1 do 9 Damage to Triarch Stalker and kills 3 models in Lychguard 1 -All others whiff |
| Charge | -WDP 1 into the Ghost Ark and does 4 Mortal Wounds -Infractors 1 into Lychguard 1 -Infractors 2 Multi-Charge Triarch Stalker and Warriors |
| Fight | -Lord Exultant 1 uses Epic Challenge and Martial Perfection to Precision out Overlord 1 for 2 VP and 1 Pledge Point -Infractors 1 kill 4 models in Lychguard 1 -Triarch Stalker uses Counter Offensive to kill 1 model in Infractors 2 -Winged Daemon Prince does 3 Damage to the Ghost Ark, failing to kill it -Triarch Stalker tanks all attacks from Lord Exultant, who uses his “Go Mode” -Infractors 2 kill 7 models in the Warriors -Ghost Ark uses Repair Barge to bring back 2 -Warriors and Ghost Ark whiff -Lychguard 1 kills 2 models in Infractors 1 |
| End of Turn | -Score 2 on Secondaries |
| Score at End | 27 |
Going into this turn, the plan for EC was to Pledge 2 points, try to kill 3, and then use Unbound Arrogance to increase that to 3 so that they have re-roll 1’s to Hit and Wound army wide for a Round 3 “Go Turn”. They’d have to sacrifice the Infractors units to do it, but it would be a worthwhile trade. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out. I don’t like to talk about dice often, but boy did they influence that turn. The dice rolls for units around Objective 1 were some of the weirdest that I have ever experienced. First Noise Marine units 2 (technically in Rhino 3) and 3 roll a combined ten 2’s to hit with their Blastmasters (10 of 12 total hit rolls were 2’s…ouch). Then the Ghost Ark and Triarch Stalker make a combined ten of eleven 4+ Invulnerable Saves to stay alive. The macro game state is still very EC slanted, but boy did it not feel that way in the moment. EC is going to have to scramble in the Necrons turn to make their Pledge Points and not lose 2 of their Infractors and 1 of their Noise Marines units for very little in return. Board state in the middle of Round 2 is below.
Board State: Middle of Round 2
| Phase: | Go Second: Necrons |
| Score at Start | 11 |
| Command | -Draw Cleanse and Overwhelming Force for Secondaries -Drop Cleanse for Secure No Man’s Land -Triarch Stalker fails Battle Shock -Lychguard 1 uses Territorial Obsession to control Objective 5 -Pick Infractors 2 as Worthy Foe -The Silent King chooses re-roll hit and wound rolls of 1 aura ability -Score 8 on Primary -Necrons Reanimate2 models for Warriors, 1 model for Lychguard 1, 3 Wounds for the Triarch Stalker, and 1 Wound for the Ghost Ark |
| Movement | -Triarch Stalker Falls Back and passes Desperate Escape -Warriors Fall Back -Lychguard 1 Fall Back -Lychguard 2 move to Charge Infractors 2 -Immortals move to gain Line of Sight on both Infractors units -WDP 2 Rapid Ingresses in front of Noise Marines 3 |
| Shooting | -Ghost Ark kills 1 model in Infractors 2 -DDA split fires and kills 3 models in Noise Marines 1 and 1 in Infractors 1 -The Silent King split fires and kills 2 models in Noise Marines and Infractors 1 for 3 VP -Immortals split fire and kill Lord Exultant 1 for 2 VP and Infractors 2 |
| Charge | -Lychguard 2 into Lord Exultant 2 |
| Fight | -Lychguard 2 kill Lord Exultant 2 -WDP 1 kills Ghost Ark for 2 Pledge Points |
| End of Turn | -Score 7 on Secondaries -EC scores 3 on Secondaries |
| Score at End | 26 |
That went about as expected after EC whiffed in their turn. The exposed Infractor units got slaughtered and the EC were lucky to barely scrape by with their 2 Pledge Points. Meanwhile, Necrons are starting to solidify their lines. If they can survive the next turn, they are in great shape to exceed expectations for the game. Board state at the end of Round 2 is below.
Board State: End of Round 2
ROUND 3:
| Phase: | Go First: Emperor’s Children |
| Score at Start | 30 |
| Command | -Draw Display of Might and Assassination for Secondaries -Use Insane Bravery on Noise Marines 1 to maintain control of Objective 4 -Pledge 4, go big or go home baby! -Score 13 on Primary |
| Movement | -Fly over Warriors and Lychguard 2 with WDP 1 to Charge into Warriors, Lychguard 2, and/or Triarch Stalker -Advance WDP 2 to Charge Warriors -Noise Marines 3 Advance to shoot Warriors -Noise Marine 1 moves to shoot Lychguard 2 -Disembark Noise Marines 2 from Rhino 3 and move them onto Objective 4 to shoot Lychguard 2 -Rhinos 2 and 3 move onto Objective 3 -Tormentors and Lucius move up slightly -Infractors 3 move back to setup a Charge into Triarch Praetorians 1 |
| Shooting | -Noise Marines 3 kill the Warriors and Royal Warden for 5 VP and 2 Pledge Points -WDP’s combined kill 2 models in Lychguard 2 -Noise Marines 1 kills 3 models in Lychguard 2 -Noise Marines 2 kills the rest of Lychguard 2, including the Overlord 2 for 2 more Pledge Points (bringing total to 4) |
| Charge | -WDP 1 into Triarch Stalker -WDP 1 does 6 Mortal Wounds and kills the Triarch Stalker -Infractors 3 into Triarch Praetorians 1 |
| Fight | -Lord Exultant 3 uses “Go Mode” and solo’s the Triarch Praetorians himself -EC use Unbound Arrogance to increase Pledge to 5 since this is their 6th kill but they couldn’t use the stratagem in the Charge Phase |
| End of Turn | -Score 9 on Secondaries |
| Score at End | 52 |
So….that just happened. I know I complained about weird dice in round 2 potentially setting the EC back and risking their “Go Turn”, but….nevermind, I guess? Turns out re-rolls of 1 to hit and wound are overrated if you just make all of your Noise Marine hit and wound rolls the first time and your opponent makes no saves. Go figure. Easy game this Warhammer thing. Just make all of your rolls and ask your opponent to fail theirs.
On a serious note though, that turn went sooooooooo well for EC that their WDP’s are stuck off of the Objective 1 because they killed all of their targets before the Fight Phase and therefore were unable to Consolidate back onto Objective 1. Necrons, meanwhile, are shellshocked and in BIG trouble. The Silent King and DDA are still up, which is good if they draw secondaries that require violence, but otherwise that turn could not have gone worse for the Necrons. Board state in the middle of Round 3 is below.
Board State: Middle of Round 3
| Phase: | Go Second: Necrons |
| Score at Start | 26 |
| Command | -Draw Marked For Death and Extend Battle Lines for Secondaries -EC marks Lucius, Infractor 3, and Tormentors -Necrons mark Noise Marine 1 -Pass all Battle Shock tests -Choose Rhino 3 as Worthy Foe -The Silent King chooses re-roll 1’s aura -Score 3 on Primary -Reanimate 2 Wounds for Lychguard 1 |
| Movement | -The Silent King moves to Charge onto Objective 4 -Immortals move to shoot Noise Marines 2 -Scarabs deploy into EC DZ -Triarch Praetorians 2 Deep Strike near Objective 5 |
| Shooting | -DDA kills 2 models in Noise Marines 2 -Immortals use Enslaved Artifice and kill 3 models in Noise Marines 2 -The Silent King split fires and kills Noise Marines 1 for 2 VP, reduces Noise Marines 2 to 1 Wound, and Rhino 1 to 3 Wounds |
| Charge | -The Silent King Multi-Charges both Rhinos -The Silent King Tank Shocks Rhino 1 to death |
| Fight | -The Silent King kills Rhino 3 |
| End of Turn | -Score 4 on Secondaries |
| Score at End | 33 |
Necrons continue to put points on the board but it’s not enough and they are running out of time. Also, the lack of access to AP is a major problem as the Immortals handed Noise Marines 2 close to 30 Saves and still only killed 3 models. Board state at the end of Round 3 is below.
Board State: End of Round 3
ROUND 4:
| Phase: | Go First: Emperor’s Children |
| Score at Start | 52 |
| Command | -Draw A Tempting Target and Area Denial for Secondaries -Necrons choose Objective 4 as Tempting Target -Pledge 0 since Coterie is fully buffed -Noise Marines 2 fail Battle Shock -Score 8 on Primary |
| Movement | -WDP 2 Advances to Charge The Silent King -Infractors 3 Advance onto Objective 3 -Maulerfiend moves to Charge The Silent King -Noise Marines 3 use a CP re-roll to Advance onto Objective 1 -WDP 1 moves to Charge The Silent King -Lucius moves to Charge The Silent King -Tormentors move onto Objective 2 -Noise Marine 2 moves onto Objective 3 |
| Shooting | -WDP’s and Noise Marine 2 kill 1 Silent King Menhir -Maulerfiend does 3 Damage to 2nd Silent King Menhir |
| Charge | -WDP 1 into The Silent King and does 3 Mortal Wounds -WDP 2 into The Silent King and does 5 Mortal Wounds -Maulerfiend into The Silent King and Tank Shocks for 2 Mortal Wounds -Lucius into The Silent King |
| Fight | -The Silent King uses Nanoassembly Protocols to reduce incoming Damage by 1 -Lucius does 4 Damage to The Silent King -Maulerfiend kills The Silent King |
| End of Turn | -Score 10 on Secondaries |
| Score at End | 70 |
I think that might have been the “kill shot” that puts Necrons down for good. They don’t have enough ammo left to take down many of the EC heavy hitters and EC controls most of the board. Board state in the middle of Round 4 is below.
Board State: Middle of Round 4
| Phase: | Go Second: Necrons |
| Score at Start | 33 |
| Command | -Draw Assassination and Bring it Down for Secondaries -Choose Lucius as Worth Foe -Score 3 on Primary -Reanimate 3 Wounds to Lychguard 1 |
| Movement | -Triarch Praetorians move to Charge Lucius -Immortals move to shoot Lucius |
| Shooting | -DDA does 3 Damage to WDP 1 -Immortals use Enslaved Artifice to hand Lucius 30+ saves and he makes all but 3, and Feel No Pains 2 of those -Triarch Praetorians do 2 Damage to Lucius |
| Charge | -Immortals into both WDP’s and Lucius to shut down a WDP Heroic Intervention -Triarch Praetorians 2 into Lucius |
| Fight | -Lucius kills Triarch Praetorians 2 -Translocation Overlord kills Lucius for 5 VP -WDP’s kill the Immortals and Translocation Overlord |
| End of Turn | -Score 5 on Secondaries -Drop Bring It Down for a CP |
| Score at End | 41 |
Sigh. Necrons were really hoping that the Translocation Overlord would stay up there to keep the EC at least somewhat tethered to Objective 4. Now, with the Overlord down, the EC can throw both WDP’s at Objective 5 and essentially table all units that matter for the Necrons. Board state at the end of Round 4 is below.
Board State: End of Round 4
ROUND 5:
| Phase: | Go First: Emperor’s Children |
| Score at Start | 70 |
| Command | -Draw Marked For Death and Secure No Man’s Land for Secondaries -All Necron units remaining get marked -Noise Marines 2 fails Battle Shock -Score 15 for Primary |
| Movement | -WDP’s and Maulerfiend move to Charge Lychguard 1 |
| Shooting | -None |
| Charge | -Maulerfiend into Lychguard 1 and Tank Shocks for 5 Mortal Wounds -WDP 1 into Lychguard 1 and does 5 Mortal Wounds -WDP 2 into Lychguard 1 and does 5 Mortal Wounds to kill the unit for 5 VP |
| Fight | -None |
| End of Turn | -Score 10 on Secondaries |
| Score at End | 95 |
And that’s game, set, and match for the EC. Unless Necrons get super lucky with Secondary draws, the game will end 41-95. Board state in the middle of Round 5 is below.
Board State: Middle of Round 5
| Phase: | Go Second: Necrons |
| Score at Start | 41 |
| Command | -Draw Establish Locus and Defend Stronghold for Secondaries -Drop Defend Stronghold for Area Denial |
| Movement | -None |
| Shooting | -None |
| Charge | -None |
| Fight | -None |
| End of Turn | -Score 0 on Secondaries -Score 0 on Primary |
| Score at End | 41 |
Necrons did not get lucky with their Secondary draws and the game ends 41-95, which is a 20-0 EC win. Board state in the end of Round 5 is below.
Board State: End of Round 5
RESULT:
Singles Format: 95 – 41 EC WIN
WTC Teams Format: 20 – 0 EC WIN
GAME REVIEW:
Unfortunately, this game turned out like I feared it would. EC whiffing turn 2 was wild and gave the Necrons some hope, but the EC 3rd turn was equally wild in the other direction and resulted in them maximizing their Coterie buffs. Once that happens, the army is basically unbeatable.
To me the tale of the game is how bad the Necron “elite infantry” are out classed this late in the edition. Lychguard were way too easy for the Noise Marines to kill and did very little damage back when attacked. The Immortals were almost worse as their lack of AP was infuriating against 2+ save targets like Lucius or the Winged Daemon Princes. Unfortunately, I think Obeisance Phalanx is dropping out of my play rotation after this one. It just doesn’t do anything for the strong Necron units and there are other good options (waits impatiently for Nekrosor Ammentar to arrive so I can play Cursed Legion).
WHAT I WOULD CHANGE NEXT TIME:
- Emperor’s Children
- Despite the outcome, I’ll probably go back to my normal deployment. I didn’t like leading with the Infractor units and would rather save at least 2 of them for late game to wreck alongside the WDP’s. Going forward, I think I’ll revert back to skirmishing with the Rhinos, with Noise Marines safely ensconced in them, and Maulerfiend while saving the Infractors and WDP’s for the “Go Turn”.
- Necrons
- There were some tactical mistakes like not deploying the Scarabs to screen and choosing the wrong Objective for A Tempting Target (should have picked 5), but I’m not sure they change a ton. Unfortunately, I think the list and detachment need to go back to mechanized slumber for the foreseeable future.
EARNED THEMSELF A NAME:
The entire EC 3rd turn. I’m probably exaggerating, but I don’t remember missing a hit roll that entire turn. Everything worked almost perfectly and it was devastating to the Necrons.
If I had to pick a unit though, it’s the Winged Daemon Princes. The Necrons had no answer for their speed or mortal wound output.
MAGNUS OF THE GAME:
Immortals. They must have handed EC over 80 Saves over the course of the game and really only killed 3 Noise Marines and 2 Infractors. That is simply not acceptable for an “elite” shooting unit.
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