This week’s Grown Men Playing With Toys’ Battle Report features the Emperor’s Children Frenzied Host and Peerless Bladesmen against the Necrons Hand of the Dynasty and Hypercrypt Legion playing in our second game of 11th Edition. As backdrop for the game….
There is a philosophical argument buried somewhere in this matchup, if you’re willing to dig for it. The Emperor’s Children have spent thousands of years chasing the perfect sensation, the precise moment where violence tips over into something transcendent. Fulgrim himself embodies that pursuit: a Daemon Primarch who has refined excess into an art form and perfection into a religion. Every charge, every shriek of a Blastmaster, every Lord Exultant crashing into an enemy line is an act of devotion to that idea.
On the other side of the battlefield, the Necrons predate the idea of excess entirely. They were ancient before Slaanesh existed and before Chaos had a name. A C’Tan doesn’t seek out sensation. The Monolith doesn’t register pain. The Immortals standing in silent ranks across the battlefield are not afraid, not eager, not anything at all. They are simply the universe’s way of reminding you that it was here before you arrived and will be here long after you are gone.
Fulgrim has never encountered something he couldn’t seduce, corrupt, or destroy. He has never fought something that didn’t care…..until now.
They said we’re too old, but we said “hold our dice”…..as we find out what happens when the galaxy’s most excessive army runs headlong into the one enemy that cannot be impressed.
JUMP TO:
Emperor’s Children Specific Strategies
RULES / POINTS VERSION:
11th Edition, Chapter Approved 2026-2027
June 2026 11th Edition Release and MFM
MATCHUP:
| Faction: | Detachment: | Force Disposition: |
| Emperor’s Children | Frenzied Host and Peerless Bladesmen | Priority Assets |
| VS | ||
| Faction: | Detachment: | Force Disposition: |
| Necrons | Hand of the Dynasty and Hypercrypt Legion | Reconnaissance |
MISSION:
| Mission Category | Mission Details |
| Necrons Primary | Search and Scour |
| Emperor’s Children Primary | Vanguard Operation |
| Terrain Layout | Layout C |
| Deployed First | Necrons |
| First Turn | Emperor’s Children |
| Necrons Secondaries | Tactical |
| Emperor’s Children Secondaries | Tactical |
LISTS:
Emperor’s Children:
List
Emperor’s Children
Frenzied Host and Peerless Bladesmen (3 Detachment Points)
Force Dispositions: Disruption, Priority Assets
Strike Force (2,000 Points)
ATTACHED UNITS
Attached unit 1
Lord Exultant (80 Points)
• Attached as: Leader (Character)
• 1x Bolt Pistol
• 1x Close combat weapon
• 1x Phoenix power spear
• 1x Rapture lash
Infractors (85 Points)
• Attached as: Bodyguard (Battleline)
• 1x Obsessionist
◦ 1x Plasma pistol
◦ 1x Power sword
• 4x Infractor
◦ 4x Bolt pistol
◦ 4x Duelling sabre
◦ 1x Icon of Excess
Attached unit 2
Lord Exultant (80 Points)
• Attached as: Leader (Character)
• 1x Bolt Pistol
• 1x Close combat weapon
• 1x Phoenix power spear
• 1x Rapture lash
Infractors (85 Points)
• Attached as: Bodyguard (Battleline)
• 1x Obsessionist
◦ 1x Plasma pistol
◦ 1x Power sword
• 4x Infractor
◦ 4x Bolt pistol
◦ 4x Duelling sabre
◦ 1x Icon of Excess
Attached unit 3
Lord Exultant (90 Points)
• Attached as: Leader (Character)
• 1x Bolt Pistol
• 1x Close combat weapon
• 1x Phoenix power spear
• 1x Rapture lash
Infractors (85 Points)
• Attached as: Bodyguard (Battleline)
• 1x Obsessionist
◦ 1x Plasma pistol
◦ 1x Power sword
• 4x Infractor
◦ 4x Bolt pistol
◦ 4x Duelling sabre
◦ 1x Icon of Excess
CHARACTERS
Daemon Prince of Slaanesh with Wings (220 Points)
• 1x Hellforged weapons
• 1x Infernal cannon
• Enhancements: Faultless Opportunist
Fulgrim (350 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Daemonic blades
• 1x Malefic lash
• 1x Serpentine tail
Lucius the Eternal (130 Points)
• 1x Blade of the Laer
• 1x Lash of Torment
BATTLELINE
Tormentors (80 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
Tormentors (80 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
OTHER DATASHEETS
Chaos Spawn (70 Points)
• 2x Chaos Spawn
◦ 2x Hideous mutations
Flawless Blades (190 Points)
• 6x Flawless Blade
◦ 6x Blissblade
◦ 6x Bolt pistol
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
Hand of the Dynasty and Hypercrypt Legion (3 Detachment Points)
Force Dispositions: Reconnaissance, Take and Hold
Strike Force (2,000 Points)
ATTACHED UNITS
Attached unit 1
Plasmancer (55 Points)
• Attached as: Support (Character)
• 1x Plasmic lance
Immortals (155 Points)
• Attached as: Bodyguard (Battleline)
• 10x Immortal
◦ 10x Close combat weapon
◦ 10x Gauss blaster
Attached unit 2
Chronomancer (80 Points)
• Attached as: Support (Character)
• 1x Chronomancer’s stave
Immortals (155 Points)
• Attached as: Bodyguard (Battleline)
• 10x Immortal
◦ 10x Close combat weapon
◦ 10x Tesla carbine
Attached unit 3
Plasmancer (80 Points)
• Attached as: Support (Character)
• 1x Plasmic lance
• Enhancements: Arisen Tyrant
Immortals (140 Points)
• Attached as: Bodyguard (Battleline)
• 10x Immortal
◦ 10x Close combat weapon
◦ 10x Gauss blaster
CHARACTERS
C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer (360 Points)
• 1x Gaze of death
• 1x Scythe of the Nightbringer
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
BATTLELINE
Necron Warriors (100 Points)
• 10x Necron Warrior
◦ 10x Close combat weapon
◦ 10x Gauss flayer
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
Flayed Ones (55 Points)
• 5x Flayed One
◦ 5x Flayer claws
Lychguard (80 Points)
• 5x Lychguard
◦ 5x Dispersion Shield
◦ 5x Hyperphase sword
Monolith (420 Points)
• 4x Death ray
• 1x Particle whip
• 1x Portal of exile
FACTION SPECIFIC STRATEGIES:
Emperor’s Children:
This is an upgrade to what was one of my favorite Emperor’s Children lists in 10th Edition. Since Peerless Bladesmen is now a 2 DP detachment, I’ve paired it with Frenzied Host and really leaned in hard into the Battleline units.
The goal of the list is to Always Be Charging. It has Tormentors and Chaos Spawn to do actions, Noise Marines to provide a shooting threat, Fulgrim because he’s my favorite EC model, an obligatory Winged Daemon Prince, and then 3 Lord Exultant + Infractors plus Lucius and Flawless Blades. Ideally, the shooting units clear out the opponent’s action monkeys and transports, the Rhino and Spawn do actions, Fulgrim is a Distraction Carnifex, and then the rest of the army Charges the opponent and clears Objectives.
It’s designed to play very aggressively and to push the opponent hard. I also love the idea of combing these two detachments as it will get most of the EC melee weapons to a better breakpoint, which should allow me to pick Sustained Hits more often in the Peerless detachment rules. I’m very interested to see how this combo works out and plays in 11th Edition.
Win Condition: Like last game, I am more interested in learning the new 11th rules structure and breaking old habits from 10th than I am at optimizing to win at this point. It also will be my first time playing Priority Assets in 11th Edition, which will be a fun challenge. The Mission being played looks like it will require EC to hold one midfield Objective, do one action in terrain, and then kill enemy units. All are very doable but the EC should focus on having the right units performing each of those tasks to avoid something awkward like Fulgrim doing actions while the Rhino tries to kill something.
From a game perspective, this matchup is interesting for the Emperor’s Children because the Necrons have 2 units that they will have a hard time killing – the C’Tan and Monolith. To work around that, the Win Condition for the Emperor’s Children is to focus on what they can do, which is to kill everything else in the Necron army. The weak point of Hypercrypt is that it doesn’t have a ton of melee and has no access to Fall Back and Shoot/Charge. The EC therefore need to keep the pressure on and tag the Necrons every chance they get. If they can do that and force the Necrons to play a more stationary game, they should do well.
What I Want to Work On This Game: I want to keep building good 11th Edition fundamentals. In the case, that means mastering the Charge Phase and then working on how to better use the new Pile In and Consolidation Move rules. Given that EC wants to tie up the Necrons at all turns, executing these sub-phases well seem critical to the game.
Additionally, I want to get a feel for how Transports work in 11th. I used them a ton in 10th Edition and love the extra movement that they provide but am very wary of the Battle Shock and increase in Mortal Wounds that come if they die with units inside of them in 11th. I am putting 2 of my Lord Exultant-Infractor units inside of a Rhino and want to make sure that I am getting them out before the Rhino gets killed so that I don’t get overly punished.
| Category | Description |
| Leader / Bodyguard Combos: | Lord Exultant with Infractors 1 |
| Lord Exultant with Infractors 2 | |
| Lord Exultant with Infractors 3 | |
| Transport / Infantry Combos: | Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 and Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 in Chaos Rhino |
| Strategic Reserves: | Daemon Prince of Slaanesh with Wings |
| Noise Marines 2 | |
| Key Stratagems: | Cruel Bladesman [1CP] Fight phase – WHEN: Fight phase. TARGET: One EMPEROR’S CHILDREN unit from your army that made a Charge move this turn and has not been selected to fight this phase. EFFECT: Until the end of the phase, improve the Armour Penetration characteristic of melee weapons equipped by models in your unit by 1. |
| Cut Down the Weak [2CP] Opponent’s Movement phase – WHEN: Your opponent’s Movement phase, just after an enemy unit Falls Back. TARGET: One EMPEROR’S CHILDREN unit from your army (you can only select a VEHICLE if it is a WALKER) that is within 6″ of that enemy unit and would be eligible to declare a charge against that enemy unit if it were your Charge phase. EFFECT: Your unit can declare a charge. When doing so, you must select that enemy unit as a target of that charge, and your unit does not receive a Charge bonus this turn. | |
| Incessant Violence [1CP] Fight phase – WHEN: Fight phase, just before an EMPEROR’S CHILDREN unit from your army Consolidates. TARGET: That EMPEROR’S CHILDREN unit. EFFECT: Until the end of the phase, each time a model in your unit makes a Consolidation move, it can move up to 6″ instead of up to 3″, provided your unit ends that Consolidation move within Engagement Range of one or more enemy units. | |
| Heroic Intervention [1CP] Opponent’s Charge phase – WHEN: End of your opponent’s Charge phase. TARGET: One friendly unengaged unit within 12″ of one or more enemy units. You can only select a VEHICLE unit if it is a CHARACTER/WALKER unit. EFFECT: Resolve a charge with your unit. While doing so, before making the charge roll, you must select one of the following modes: Leap to Defend (when selecting charge targets, you can only select enemy units that made a charge move this phase and are within the maximum distance); or Into the Fray, which costs an additional +1CP (when making the charge roll, if the result is greater than 6 after modifiers, change it to 6; when selecting charge targets, you can select any enemy units within 6″ of your unit and within the maximum distance). | |
| Key Combos: | Daemon Prince of Slaanesh with Wings + Faultless Opportunist enhancement + Heroic Intervention stratagem + Cut Down the Weak stratagem This one is expensive but just the threat of having 2 EC units that can Charge in their opponent’s Movement Phase, especially with the Winged Daemon Prince potentially doing it -1 CP cost and then doing Charge Mortals, is scary and potentially punishing for a Necron army that really wants to focus on close ranged Shooting. I’m not sure if I’ll get to use it, but the threat of having it available should dictate how the game gets played. |
| Fulgrim + Thrill Seekers army rule + Daemon Primarch of Slaanesh ability + Incessant Violence stratagem This is my favorite Fulgrim combination as it gives me a Daemon Primarch that can move 16 inches, Advance/Shoot/Charge, kill something, and then Consolidate another 6 inches to tag something else. Even better, he can then choose to Fall Back Lock that enemy the next turn. Still better, with the new Take to the Skies rule, he can do so without being punished on where he can go because of terrain. | |
| Lord Exultant + Infractors + Thrill Seekers army rule + Frantic Focus detachment rule + Exquisite Swordsmanship detachment rule + Excessive Assault ability + Euphoric Strikes ability + Cruel Bladesman stratagem This is the combo that I am most excited for in this game. The result is a unit that can Advance & Charge, gain access to Lethal and Sustained Hits, get +1 to Strength on their attacks, +1 AP to their melee weapons, and then re-rolls to Wound against enemies on Objectives. It really buffs up Infractors, which are one of my favorite units. Even better, it combos super well with the Lord Exultant’s “go mode”. |
Necrons:
The Necrons list features what was probably my favorite detachment in 10th Edition, Hypercrypt, with the new Hand of the Dynasty 1 DP detachment. I built the list to play Reconnaissance and to be super dynamic from a tempo perspective. I also built it to test a theory that Immortals will be much better in 11th with much larger Objectives and Benefits of Cover no longer impacting AP.
The list is built around 3 key pillars – the C’Tan, the Monolith, and the Immortal units and it looks to bounce around the board using those 3 pillars to kill anything that dares to stand on an Objective while the Deathmarks, Flayed Ones, and Necron Warriors are doing actions at will. The Flayed Ones and Imotekh + Lychguard are also there to give the Necrons extra CP (Imotekh) and to serve as a melee threat that can Charge out of the Monolith (for 2 CP) to finish off a key opponent.
The list tries to force the opponent to defend the entire board and then punishes them for it when they play conservatively as a result. I’m not sure how good it is, but am looking forward to finding out.
Win Condition: For this matchup, the Necrons win by making sure that when they lose their Infantry, that it is always in a trade for points. The Emperor’s Children will be hyper focused on killing everything except the Monolith and C’Tan, so the Necrons cannot be careless with those Infantry units. They need to use them to score points, bait the Emperor’s Children into overextending, and then punishing them when they do.
Both Primary Missions seem to align well with how the lists naturally want to play, with the Necrons’ Mission rewarding bouncing around the board while the EC’s Mission rewards an aggressive push forward. As a result, if the Necrons can keep at least 2 of their Immortal units alive for most of the game while bouncing their action units around to score, they will be in a great position to win.
What I Want to Work On This Game: I want to keep building good 11th Edition fundamentals. In the case, that means being aware of the new Ingress/Deep Strike limitations (cannot happen in Round 1, even if the Necrons go second) and learning to play around Hidden. With the Necrons having more Ranged Shooting, the EC will want to stay Hidden as long as possible before Charging in. The Necrons will need to find the right balance of killing the EC before they can get to Charging while also not playing so conservatively that they get blocked by Hidden.
| Category | Description |
| Leader / Bodyguard Combos: | Plasmancer with Immortals 1 |
| Plasmancer with Immortals 2 | |
| Chronomancer with Immortals 3 | |
| Imotekh the Stormlord with Lychguard | |
| Strategic Reserves: | Deathmarks 1 |
| Deathmarks 2 | |
| Key Stratagems: | Quantum Deflection [1CP] Opponent’s Shooting or Fight phase – WHEN: Your opponent’s Shooting phase or the Fight phase, just after an enemy unit has selected its targets. TARGET: One NECRONS VEHICLE unit from your army that was selected as the target of one or more of the attacking unit’s attacks. EFFECT: Until the end of the phase, models in your unit have a 4+ invulnerable save. |
| Hyperphasic Recall [2CP] Opponent’s Shooting or Fight phase – WHEN: Your opponent’s Shooting phase or the Fight phase, just after an enemy unit has shot or fought. TARGET: One NECRONS INFANTRY unit from your army that had one or more of its models destroyed as a result of the attacking unit’s attacks and one friendly MONOLITH model. EFFECT: Remove your INFANTRY unit from the battlefield and then set it back up anywhere on the battlefield that is wholly within 6″ of your MONOLITH model and not within Engagement Range of one or more enemy units. | |
| Will of the Conqueror [1CP] Movement phase – WHEN: End of your Movement phase. TARGET: One friendly IMMORTALS/NECRON WARRIORS unit. EFFECT: Select one objective your unit is controlling. That objective is secured. | |
| Reanimation Crypts [1CP] Command phase – WHEN: Your Command phase. TARGET: Your NECRONS WARLORD. EFFECT: For each of your NECRONS units in Reserves, that Reserves unit’s Reanimation Protocols activate. | |
| Entropic Damping [1CP] Opponent’s Shooting phase – WHEN: Your opponent’s Shooting phase, just after an enemy unit has selected its targets. TARGET: One NECRONS TITANIC model from your army that was selected as the target of one or more of the attacking unit’s attacks and is within 18″ of the attacking unit. EFFECT: Until the end of the phase, weapons equipped by models in the attacking unit have the [HAZARDOUS] ability. | |
| Key Combos: | Plasmancer + Immortals + Implacable Eradication ability + Harbinger of Destruction ability This is the main combination that this list is built around. It provides two units that get Critical Hits on 5+ with either Sustained or Lethal (1 unit of each) and full re-rolls to Wound against targets on Objectives. One unit also has an Upgrade for Rapid Fire 1, while the other has an Enhancement to give it full re-rolls to Hit when it is setup on the Battlefield. These are the two main units that the Necrons want to have teleporting around the board or coming out of the Monolith to kill the enemy. |
| Monolith + Chronomancer + Immortals 3 + Eternity Gate ability + Cosmic Precision stratagem This is the other combo that this list is built around. It features a Deep Striking Monolith that can come down just outside of 6 inches and then pull in an Immortal unit to kill any chafe that it sees before making a Normal Move after Shooting. This is perfect for dropping in, killing the enemy off of an Objective, and then stealing that Objective away. | |
| Monolith + Flayed Ones + Eternity Gate ability + Dimensional Corridor stratagem This combo is here to be the Necrons’ “finishing move” if they have something that keeps tar pitting the Monolith and they need to dig it out. It provides a unit that can Charge out of the Monolith and potentially do a lot of Damage to units that are Below Half Strength. This combo can also be used with Imotekh+ Lychguard as well. |
ROUND-BY-ROUND RECAP:
The Emperor’s Children win the roll off and elect to have the Necrons deploy first.
The Necrons deploy somewhat conservatively with their Infantry and very aggressively with their Monsters and Vehicles. They focus on positioning the C’Tan to threaten the Central Objective and the Monolith to threaten the EC’s Expansion Objective. Imotekh then goes on the Home Objective to hold it down while he farms CP while the Infantry are deployed to threaten anything that dares to step on an Objective. Lastly, the Flayed Ones Infiltrate onto the Central Objective to block secondaries and dare the EC to put something of value there.
On the other side of the table, the Emperor’s Children deploy surprisingly cautiously. It’s obvious they want nothing to do with the C’Tan as they focus on deploying towards both flanks and leave the center of the board basically empty. Fulgrim, Lucius, and the Rhino with 2 units of Lord Exultants / Infractors are positioned to attack the Necrons’ Expansion Objective, while the Flawless Blades, other unit of Lord Exultant/Infractors, and Noise Marines are positioned to counterattack anything that comes after the EC Expansion Objective. The Chaos Spawn are then positioned to Charge onto either the Central or Necrons’ Expansion Objectives with the hope that their Reactive Move can bail them out if they need to get back off of it quickly. Lastly, the Tormentors are deployed onto the EC Home Objective and Expansion Objectives with the goal of Securing them both Round 1.
Board state after Deployment is shown below.
Post Deployment
Emperor’s Children win the roll off and will go first. They Scout Move the Rhino forward towards Objective 3.
Board state at the start of the battle is shown below.
Start of the Battle
ROUND 1:
| Phase: | Go First: Emperor’s Children |
| Score at Start | 10 |
| CP at Start | 0 |
| Command | [Emperor’s Children] Gains 1 Core CP [Necrons] Gains 1 Core CP [Emperor’s Children] Draws Secondaries: Centre Ground and Assassination [Emperor’s Children] Tormentors 1 uses Objective Defiled to Secure Objective 2 [Emperor’s Children] Tormentors 2 uses Objective Defiled to Secure Objective 5 |
| Movement | [Emperor’s Children] Fulgrim Advances onto Objective 3 to Shoot and Charge [Emperor’s Children] Tormentors 2 Makes a Normal Move towards Objective 1 to Perform an Action [Emperor’s Children] Tormentors 1 Makes a Normal Move off Objective 2 to Screen [Emperor’s Children] Chaos Rhino Makes a Normal Move towards Objective 3 to Stage [Emperor’s Children] Chaos Spawn Advances onto Objective 4 to Charge |
| Shooting | [Emperor’s Children] Tormentors 2 Performs Action: Vanguard Operations [Emperor’s Children] Fulgrim Shoots Plasmancer + Immortals 1 and Kills 1 Model |
| Charge | [Emperor’s Children] Fulgrim Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Emperor’s Children] Fulgrim Charges into Necron Warriors [Emperor’s Children] Chaos Spawn Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Emperor’s Children] Chaos Spawn Charges into Flayed Ones |
| Fight | [Emperor’s Children] Chaos Spawn Fight Flayed Ones and Kill 3 Models [Emperor’s Children] Fulgrim Fights Necron Warriors and Destroys the Unit [Emperor’s Children] Fulgrim uses Incessant Violence for 1 CP [Necrons] Flayed Ones Fight Chaos Spawn and Kill 1 Model [Emperor’s Children] Fulgrim Consolidates into Plasmancer + Immortals 1 |
| End of Turn | [Emperor’s Children] Discards Centre Ground for 1 CP [Emperor’s Children] Scores Primary: 6 VP |
| Score at End | 16 |
| CP at End | 1 |
An interesting turn 1 for the Emperor’s Children as they come out swinging hard on one side of the board while staying strangely passive on the other side.
For the aggressive side of the board, turns out that Fulgrim with Take to the Skies followed by rolling a 6 to Advance and a 10 to Charge is really, REALLY fast. He crossed the entire board to Charge and Kill the Necron Warriors and then Consolidate into the Immortals. This is not good for the Necrons as they don’t have a great way to get those Immortals unstuck.
On the other side of the board, the Emperor’s Children Secured their Expansion Objective and then simply moved out to Perform an Action for 4 VP. It’s obvious they are both trying to Move Block the Monolith now that it can no longer Hyperphase in Round 1 and force the Necrons to come out to take that Objective away. This is another move that favors the EC in the early game as the Necrons don’t have a good way to go and get it until at least the bottom of Round 2.
On a more positive note for the Necrons, the Emperor’s Children were not able to pull off what they had hoped on the Central Objective as the Chaos Spawn failed to kill the Flayed Ones (thanks to a bunch high rolls on the Saves). This leaves the Spawn stuck in combat with them so they can’t execute the Reactive Move that they really wanted to pull off when the C’Tan comes flying over.
Board state in the middle of Round 1 is shown below.
Middle of Round 1
| Phase: | Go Second: Necrons |
| Score at Start | 10 |
| CP at Start | 1 |
| Command | [Necrons] Gains 1 Core CP [Emperor’s Children] Gains 1 Core CP [Necrons] Imotekh the Stormlord uses Grand Strategist and Gains 1 CP [Emperor’s Children] Fulgrim uses Daemon Primarch of Slaanesh: Enthralling Hypnosis [Emperor’s Children] Fulgrim uses Daemonic Poisons and does 2 Mortal Wounds to Plasmancer + Immortals 1 [Necrons] Flayed Ones Fail a Battle-shock Test [Necrons] Flayed Ones use Reanimation Protocols to Heal 1 Wound [Necrons] Plasmancer + Immortals 1 use Reanimation Protocols to Heal 1 Wound |
| Movement | [Necrons] Monolith Makes a Normal Move towards Objective 5 to Shoot [Necrons] C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer Makes a Normal Move onto Objective 4 to Charge [Necrons] Plasmancer + Immortals 1 Fall Back [Emperor’s Children] Fulgrim uses Cut Down the Weak for 2 CP and Declares a Charge into Plasmancer + Immortals 1 [Emperor’s Children] Fulgrim Charges into Plasmancer + Immortals 1 [Necrons] Hexmark Destroyer Makes a Normal Move towards Objective 1 to Shoot |
| Shooting | [Necrons] Monolith Shoots Tormentors 2 and Destroys the Unit [Necrons] Plasmancer + Immortals 2 use Living Lightning and do 3 Mortal Wounds to Fulgrim [Necrons] Plasmancer + Immortals 2 Shoot Fulgrim and do 0 Damage [Necrons] Plasmancer + Immortals 1 use Living Lightning and do 3 Mortal Wounds to Fulgrim [Necrons] Hexmark Destroyer Shoots Fulgrim and does 2 Damage [Necrons] Chronomancer + Immortals 3 Shoot Fulgrim and does 2 Damage [Necrons] Chronomancer + Immortals 3 use Chronometron to Move towards Objective 1 [Necrons] C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer Performs Action: Plunder |
| Charge | [Necrons] C’Tan Shard of the Nightbringer Declares a Charge – Charge Successful [Necrons] C’Tan Shard of the Nightbringer Charges Chaos Spawn |
| Fight | [Necrons] C’Tan Shard of the Nightbringer Fights Chaos Spawn and Destroys the unit [Emperor’s Children] Fulgrim Fights Plasmancer + Immortals 1 and Kills 6 Models [Necrons] Plasmancer + Immortals 1 Fight Fulgrim and do 3 Damage |
| End of Turn | [Necrons] Scores Primary: 5 VP |
| Score at End | 15 |
| CP at End | 3 |
That was an unconventional but effective turn for the Necrons. I’m still adjusting to not being able to use Hyperphasing or the Monolith’s Eternity Gate ability in Round 1, but think this turn went about as well as could be expected.
Both Plasmancers popped off with their Living Lightning and then the Necrons were able to sneak some shots and melee attacks through to get Fulgrim down to 3 Wounds remaining, which is way lower than either player expected. They also bled the EC of even more CP for a model that is essentially a distraction (albeit a VERY effective one).
Handling Fulgrim so well with basic Infantry freed the Monolith up to kill the Tormentors and position for Round 2, while the C’Tan took the Central Objective and killed the Chaos Spawn. This put the Necrons basically even on scoreboard against an EC list that really wants to get out to a fast start, which bodes well for the Necrons if they can keep it up.
Board state at the end of Round 1 is shown below.
End of Round 1
ROUND 2:
| Phase: | Go First: Emperor’s Children |
| Score at Start | 16 |
| CP at Start | 0 |
| Command | [Emperor’s Children] Gains 1 Core CP [Necrons] Gains 1 Core CP [Emperor’s Children] Draws Secondaries: A Tempting Target and Behind Enemy Lines [Necrons] chooses Objective 4 as A Tempting Target [Emperor’s Children] Fulgrim Passes a Battle-shock Test [Emperor’s Children] Fulgrim uses Daemonic Poisons and does 3 Mortal Wounds to Plasmancer + Immortals 1 [Emperor’s Children] Scores Primary: 4 VP |
| Movement | [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors Disembark and Advance towards Plasmancer + Immortals 2 [Emperor’s Children] Chaos Rhino Makes a Normal Move onto Objective 3 to Perform an Action [Emperor’s Children] Lucius the Eternal Makes a Normal Move towards Objective 3 [Emperor’s Children] Tormentors 1 Makes a Normal Move towards Objective 2 to Screen [Emperor’s Children] Noise Marines 1 Makes a Normal Move towards Objective 5 [Emperor’s Children] Flawless Blades Advances towards Monolith to Charge [Necrons] Hexmark Destroyer uses Inescapable Death to Fire Overwatch for 0 CP and does 2 Damage to Fulgrim |
| Shooting | [Emperor’s Children] Chaos Rhino Performs Action: Vanguard Operations [Emperor’s Children] Fulgrim Shoots Plasmancer + Immortals 1 and Kills 1 Model |
| Charge | [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors Declare a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors Charge into Plasmancer + Immortals 2 [Emperor’s Children] Flawless Blades Declare a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Emperor’s Children] Flawless Blades Charge into Monolith |
| Fight | [Emperor’s Children] Flawless Blades use Daemonic Patrons [Necrons] Monolith uses Quantum Deflection for 1 CP [Emperor’s Children] Flawless Blades choose Sustained Hits and Fight Monolith and do 12 Damage [Emperor’s Children] Flawless Blades lose 1 Model to Daemonic Patrons [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 use Euphoric Strikes [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 use Cruel Bladesman for 1 CP [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 choose Sustained Hits and Fight Plasmancer + Immortals 2 and Destroys the Unit [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 use Icon of Excess and Gain 1 CP [Emperor’s Children] Fulgrim Fights Plasmancer + Immortals 1 and Destroys the Unit [Necrons] Monolith Fights Flawless Blades and Kills 4 Models |
| End of Turn | [Emperor’s Children] Scores Secondary: Behind Enemy Lines — 5 VP [Emperor’s Children] Scores Secondary: Assassination — 5 VP [Emperor’s Children] Scores Primary: 4 VP [Emperor’s Children] Scores Primary: 2 VP [Necrons] Hexmark Destroyer uses Hyperphasing to go into Reserves |
| Score at End | 36 |
| CP at End | 1 |
And this was the first of what the Emperor’s Children hope will be 2 “go turns” that decide the game for them. In this turn, the Emperor’s Children get aggressive and a little bit lucky and come out of it having completely collapsed the Necrons’ right flank and with a ton of points.
The aggressive part was the big Advance and Charge by Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 out of the Rhino to demolish Plasmancer + Immortals 2 and the “a bit lucky” part was Fulgrim surviving an Overwatch on 1 Wound to kill the other Plamsancer + Immortals unit. Also, the Rhino absolutely abused the new pivot rules to Tokyo Drift its way around terrain and onto Objective 3 to perform Vanguard Operation.
Meanwhile, the other side of the board was a bit of a mixed bag as the Flawless Blades cracked off a moderate length Charge into the Monolith and then did a surprising amount of damage to it, bringing it down to 10 Wounds. The downside is that they then failed all but 1 Save in the crackback and lost 5 of 6 total models in the unit that turn. It’s not backbreaking because the entire goal was to pin the Monolith in place for another turn, but it’s still not ideal.
Board state in the middle of Round 2 is shown below.
Middle of Round 2
| Phase: | Go Second: Necrons |
| Score at Start | 15 |
| CP at Start | 4 |
| Command | [Necrons] Gains 1 Core CP [Emperor’s Children] Gains 1 Core CP [Necrons] Imotekh the Stormlord uses Grand Strategist and Gains 1 CP [Necrons] Draws Secondaries: Outflank and No Prisoners [Necrons] Monolith Passes a Battle-shock Test [Necrons] Flayed Ones Fail a Battle-shock Test [Emperor’s Children] Fulgrim uses Daemon Primarch of Slaanesh: Enthralling Hypnosis [Necrons] Monolith uses Reanimation Protocols to Reanimate 2 Wounds [Necrons] Flayed Ones use Reanimation Protocols to Reanimate 2 Models [Necrons] Scores Primary: 4 VP |
| Movement | [Necrons] Flayed Ones Advance towards Objective 5 [Necrons] Deathmarks 1 Deep Strike into Emperor’s Children Deployment Zone to Score [Necrons] Imotekh the Stormlord + Lychguard Makes a Normal Move back from Objective 1 to Score [Necrons] Chronomancer + Immortals 3 Advance towards Fulgrim [Necrons] Hexmark Destroyer Deep Strikes onto Objective 4 [Necrons] C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer Makes a Normal Move towards Objective 3 to Shoot [Emperor’s Children] Daemon Prince of Slaanesh with Wings uses Rapid Ingress for 1 CP to Deep Strike near Objective 3 |
| Shooting | [Necrons] C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer uses CP Reroll for 1 CP and Shoots Chaos Rhino and does 4 Damage [Necrons] Deathmarks 1 Perform Action: Plunder [Necrons] Monolith Shoots Flawless Blades and Destroys the Unit [Necrons] Chronomancer + Immortals 3 Split Fires to Shoot Fulgrim, Fulgrim uses CP Reroll for 1 CP to make all Saves for 0 Damage, and then to Shoot Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 and Kill 1 Model [Necrons] Chronomancer + Immortals 3 use Chronometron to Move towards Objective 1 |
| Charge | [Necrons] None |
| Fight | [Necrons] None |
| End of Turn | [Necrons] Scores Secondary: Plunder — 5 VP [Necrons] Scores Secondary: Outflank — 5 VP [Necrons] Scores Secondary: Display of Might — 2 VP [Necrons] Scores Primary: 3 VP |
| Score at End | 34 |
| CP at End | 4 |
Uh oh. That is not the kind of damage turn that the Necrons wanted to see. They had things lined up decently well and math-hammer says that Fulgrim and the Rhino both should have died, as well as most of Infractors 1. Unfortunately, the Necrons low rolled on their two critical activations, with the C’Tan and last Immortal unit, and that plus the Benefit of Cover impact to the Ballistic Skill really punished them for it.
The Necrons scored really well, but the Emperor’s now have way more units available than they expected to and are perfectly setup for another “go turn” to keep pushing into the Necrons’ Deployment Zone. All hope is not lost as the Monolith and C’Tan are free to cause havoc, but this next turn will be rough for anything that is Infantry shaped.
Board state at the end of Round 2 is shown below.
End of Round 2
ROUND 3:
| Phase: | Go First: Emperor’s Children |
| Score at Start | 36 |
| CP at Start | 0 |
| Command | [Emperor’s Children] Gains 1 Core CP [Necrons] Gains 1 Core CP [Emperor’s Children] Draws Secondaries: Outflank and Bring It Down [Emperor’s Children] Fulgrim Passes a Battle-shock Test [Emperor’s Children] Scores Primary: 4 VP |
| Movement | [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 Advances towards Monolith to Charge [Emperor’s Children] Noise Marines 2 Makes an Ingress Move into Reserves near Objective 1 to Shoot [Emperor’s Children] Noise Marines 1 Advances towards Flayed Ones to Shoot [Emperor’s Children] Tormentors 1 Makes a Normal Move towards Deathmarks 1 to Shoot [Emperor’s Children] Fulgrim Advances towards Chronomancer + Immortals 3 to Shoot and Charge [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 Advances towards Chronomancer + Immortals 3 to Charge [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 Deploys from Chaos Rhino and Makes a Normal Move towards C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer to Charge [Emperor’s Children] Lucius the Eternal Advances towards C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer to Charge [Emperor’s Children] Daemon Prince of Slaanesh with Wings Makes a Normal Move towards C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer to Charge [Necrons] Deathmarks 2 use Rapid Ingress for 1 CP to Deep Strike onto Objective 2 [Necrons] Chronomancer + Immortals 3 use Overwatch for 1 CP and Snap Shoot Fulgrim for 0 Damage |
| Shooting | [Emperor’s Children] Tormentors 1 Shoots Deathmarks 1 and does 1 Damage [Emperor’s Children] Chaos Rhino Performs Action: Vanguard Operations [Emperor’s Children] Noise Marines 1 Split Fires to Shoot Flayed Ones and Kill 2 Models and to Shoot Deathmarks 1 and Kill 3 Models [Necrons] Monolith uses Entropic Damping for 1 CP [Emperor’s Children] Noise Marines 2 Split Fire to Shoot Monolith and does 3 Damage and to Shoot Imotekh the Stormlord + Lychguard and Kill 2 Models [Emperor’s Children] Noise Marines 2 takes 3 Mortal Wounds from Hazardous [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 use Explosives for 1 CP and do 1 Mortal Wound to C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer [Emperor’s Children] Fulgrim Shoots Chronomancer + Immortals 3 and Kills 1 Model |
| Charge | [Emperor’s Children] Fulgrim Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Emperor’s Children] Fulgrim Charges into Chronomancer + Immortals 3 [Emperor’s Children] Daemon Prince of Slaanesh with Wings Declares a Charge – Charge Failed [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 Charges into C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer [Emperor’s Children] Lucius the Eternal Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Emperor’s Children] Lucius the Eternal Charges into C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 Charges into Monolith [Emperor’s Children] Noise Marines 1 Declares a Charge – Charge Failed [Emperor’s Children] Noise Marines 2 Declares a Charge – Charge Failed [Emperor’s Children] Tormentors 1 Declares a Charge – Charge Failed |
| Fight | [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 use Euphoric Strikes [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 use Euphoric Strikes [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 choose Sustained Hits to Fight Monolith and Destroy the Unit [Necrons] C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer uses Counter Offensive for 2 CP [Necrons] C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer Split Fires to Fight Lucius the Eternal and do 1 Damage and to Fight Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 and Kill 4 Models [Emperor’s Children] Lucius the Eternal chooses Sustained Hits to Fight C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer and do 0 Damage [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 choose Sustained Hits to Fight C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer and do 2 Damage [Emperor’s Children] Fulgrim chooses Lethal Hits to Fight Chronomancer + Immortals 3 and Kills 7 Models [Necrons] Chronomancer + Immortals 3 Fight Fulgrim and do 0 Damage |
| End of Turn | [Emperor’s Children] Scores Secondary: Outflank — 5 VP [Emperor’s Children] Scores Secondary: Bring It Down — 5 VP [Emperor’s Children] Scores Primary: 6 VP [Necrons] Deathmarks 1 use Hyperphasing to go into Reserves [Necrons] Flayed Ones use Hyperphasing to go into Reserves |
| Score at End | 56 |
| CP at End | 0 |
The Emperor’s Children go for their second “go turn” and it somewhat works. On the positive side, Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 finish off the Monolith which both eliminates a major threat and scores Secondaries. Also, Fulgrim continues his rampage through the Necrons’ Deployment Zone and mostly kills the Chronomancer + Immortals 3 while tanking an Overwatch.
On the less positive side, the Emperor’s Children got too greedy with their CP usage and it cost them getting the Winged Daemon Prince into the C’Tan as it proceeded to fail a 4 inch Charge with no CP left to re-roll it. I’m not sure the C’Tan goes down, but what followed was a pretty epic series of whiffs by the Lord + Infractors 2, Lucius, and the C’Tan.
It wasn’t a perfect turn, but the Emperor’s Children look to have the Necrons on the rope on route to running up a big score.
Board state in the middle of Round 3 is shown below.
Middle of Round 3
| Phase: | Go Second: Necrons |
| Score at Start | 34 |
| CP at Start | 1 |
| Command | [Necrons] Gains 1 Core CP [Emperor’s Children] Gains 1 Core CP [Necrons] Imotekh the Stormlord uses Grand Strategist and Gains 1 CP [Necrons] Draws Secondaries: Secure No Man’s Land and Overwhelming Force [Necrons] uses Reanimation Crypts for 1 CP [Emperor’s Children] Fulgrim uses Daemon Primarch of Slaanesh: Enthralling Hypnosis [Necrons] Chronomancer + Immortals 3 pass Battle Shock [Necrons] Imotekh the Stormlord + Lychguard use Reanimation Protocols to Reanimate 2 Wounds [Necrons] Chronomancer + Immortals 3 use Reanimation Protocols to Reanimate 2 Wounds [Necrons] Deathmarks 1 use Reanimation Protocols to Reanimate 3 Wounds [Necrons] Flayed Ones use Reanimation Protocols to Reanimate 2 Models [Necrons] C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer use Reanimation Protocols to Reanimate 1 Wound [Necrons] Scores Primary: 8 VP [Necrons] Imotekh the Stormlord uses Lord of the Storm to do 3 Mortal Wounds to Fulgrim and destroy the unit |
| Movement | [Necrons] Flayed Ones Make an Ingress Move near Objective 2 [Necrons] Flayed Ones Pass a Battle-shock Test [Necrons] Imotekh the Stormlord + Lychguard Makes a Normal Move towards Noise Marines 2 to Charge [Necrons] Deathmarks 1 Deep Strike onto Objective 5 |
| Shooting | [Necrons] Imotekh the Stormlord + Lychguard Shoot Noise Marines 2 and Kill 3 Models [Necrons] Chronomancer + Immortals 3 Shoot Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 and Kill 1 Model [Necrons] Chronomancer + Immortals 3 use Chronometron to Move towards Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 [Necrons] C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer uses CP Reroll for 1 CP to Shoot Chaos Rhino and Destroys the Unit [Necrons] Deathmarks 1 Shoot Noise Marines 1 and do 0 Damage [Necrons] Deathmarks 2 Shoot Tormentors 1 and Kill 2 Models |
| Charge | [Necrons] Imotekh the Stormlord + Lychguard Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Necrons] Imotekh the Stormlord + Lychguard Charges into Noise Marines 2 [Emperor’s Children] Daemon Prince of Slaanesh with Wings uses Faultless Opportunist to use Heroic Intervention for 1 CP [Emperor’s Children] Daemon Prince of Slaanesh with Wings Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Emperor’s Children] Daemon Prince of Slaanesh with Wings Charges into C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer [Emperor’s Children] Daemon Prince of Slaanesh with Wings uses Daemonic Destruction and does 5 Mortal Wounds to C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer |
| Fight | [Necrons] Imotekh the Stormlord + Lychguard Fight Noise Marines 2 and Destroy the Unit [Necrons] C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer Split Fires to Fight Lucius the Eternal and Destroy the Unit and Fight Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 and Kill 1 Model [Emperor’s Children] Daemon Prince of Slaanesh with Wings Fights C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer and does 2 Damage [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 Fight C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer and does 3 Damage |
| End of Turn | [Necrons] Scores Secondary: Secure No Man’s Land — 5 VP [Necrons] Scores Secondary: Overwhelming Force — 3 VP [Necrons] Scores Secondary: No Prisoners — 5 VP [Necrons] Scores Primary: 5 VP |
| Score at End | 60 |
| CP at End | 1 |
Funny game this Warhammer 40K. Right as I declare that it may be over for the Necrons, they come roaring back with an incredible turn.
First Imotekh finally takes down Fulgrim before then also taking down the Noise Marines 2. Then the Nightbringer pops the Rhino before killing Lucius and tanking a bunch of Damage from the Winged Daemon Prince. Finally, the Necrons use Hyperphasing to start taking control of most of the Objectives and leverage it into a major scoring turn.
The Emperor’s Children are still in a strong position from a unit perspective, but are suddenly behind on points for the first time all game. It will be interesting to see if they can get back on top.
Board state at the end of Round 3 is shown below.
End of Round 3
ROUND 4:
| Phase: | Go First: Emperor’s Children |
| Score at Start | 56 |
| CP at Start | 0 |
| Command | [Emperor’s Children] Gains 1 Core CP [Necrons] Gains 1 Core CP [Emperor’s Children] Draws Secondaries: Defend Stronghold and Burden of Trust [Emperor’s Children] picks Noise Marines 1 to Guard Objective 5 [Emperor’s Children] picks Daemon Prince of Slaanesh with Wings to Guard Objective 4 [Emperor’s Children] picks Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 to Guard Objective 1 [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 Passes a Battle-shock Test |
| Movement | [Emperor’s Children] Daemon Prince of Slaanesh with Wings Falls Back onto Objective 4 to Charge [Emperor’s Children] Tormentors 1 Advances onto Objective 2 to Shoot and Charge [Emperor’s Children] Noise Marines 1 Advances onto Objective 5 to Shoot [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 Makes a Normal Move towards Chronomancer + Immortals 3 to Charge [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 uses CP Reroll for 1 CP and Advances towards Objective 1 to Charge [Necrons] Hexmark Destroyer uses Inescapable Death to Fire Overwatch for 0 CP and Snap Shoots Daemon Prince of Slaanesh with Wings for 0 Damage |
| Shooting | [Emperor’s Children] Noise Marines 1 Shoots Deathmarks 1 and Destroys the Unit [Emperor’s Children] Tormentors 1 Shoots Flayed Ones and Kills 2 Models [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 Shoots C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer and does 0 Damage [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 Shoots Chronomancer + Immortals 3 and does 1 Damage |
| Charge | [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 Charges into Chronomancer + Immortals 3 [Emperor’s Children] Daemon Prince of Slaanesh with Wings Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Emperor’s Children] Daemon Prince of Slaanesh with Wings Charges into Hexmark Destroyer [Emperor’s Children] Daemon Prince of Slaanesh with Wings uses Daemonic Destruction and does 8 Mortal Wounds to Hexmark Destroyer and Destroys the Unit [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 Charges into Imotekh the Stormlord + Lychguard [Emperor’s Children] Tormentors 1 Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Emperor’s Children] Tormentors 1 Charges into Deathmarks 2 |
| Fight | [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 choose Sustained Hits to Fight Imotekh the Stormlord + Lychguard and Kill 4 Models [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 choose Sustained Hits to Fight Chronomancer + Immortals 3 and Destroys the Unit [Emperor’s Children] Tormentors 1 choose Sustained Hits to Fight Deathmarks 2 and Kill 1 Model [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 Fights C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer and does 3 Damage [Necrons] C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer Fights Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 and Destroys the Unit [Necrons] Imotekh the Stormlord + Lychguard Fights Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 and Kills 1 Model [Necrons] Deathmarks 2 Fight Tormentors 1 and Kill 1 Model |
| End of Turn | [Emperor’s Children] Scores Secondary: A Tempting Target — 5 VP [Emperor’s Children] Scores Primary: 2 VP |
| Score at End | 63 |
| CP at End | 0 |
The Emperor’s Children’s 4th turn ends in just a so-so way. They made all of the right movements, but might have gotten too cute with the Tormentors 1 by trying to Shoot 1 unit and then Charge another. Split firing can come back to haunt you against Necrons if you don’t kill the full unit and this turn has the makings of that kind of regret for the EC.
Otherwise, they did what they needed to do despite the lackluster scoring this turn.
Board state in the middle of Round 4 is shown below.
Middle of Round 4
| Phase: | Go Second: Necrons |
| Score at Start | 60 |
| CP at Start | 1 |
| Command | [Necrons] Gains 1 Core CP [Emperor’s Children] Gains 1 Core CP [Necrons] Imotekh the Stormlord uses Grand Strategist and Gains 1 CP [Necrons] uses New Orders for 1 CP to drop Burden of Trust and draw Beacon [Necrons] Imotekh the Stormlord Passes a Battle-shock Test [Necrons] C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer Fails a Battle-shock Test [Necrons] C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer use Reanimation Protocols to Reanimate 3 Wounds [Necrons] Imotekh the Stormlord + Lychguard use Reanimation Protocols to Reanimate 3 Wounds [Necrons] Deathmarks 2 use Reanimation Protocols to Reanimate 2 Wounds [Necrons] Flayed Ones use Reanimation Protocols to Reanimate 3 Wounds |
| Movement | [Necrons] Flayed Ones Make a Normal Move towards Objective 2 to Charge [Necrons] C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer Makes a Normal Move onto Objective 4 to Shoot and Charge |
| Shooting | [Necrons] C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer Shoots Daemon Prince of Slaanesh with Wings and Destroys the Unit |
| Charge | [Necrons] Flayed Ones Declare a Charge – Charge Failed [Necrons] Flayed Ones use CP Reroll for 1 CP [Necrons] Flayed Ones Declare a Charge – Charge Succeeds [Necrons] Flayed Ones Charge into Tormentors 1 |
| Fight | [Necrons] Flayed Ones Fight Tormentors 1 and Destroy the Unit [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 use Deft Parry for 1 CP [Necrons] Imotekh the Stormlord + Lychguard Fight Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 and Kill 3 Models [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 Fight Imotekh the Stormlord + Lychguard and Kill 1 Model |
| End of Turn | [Necrons] Scores Secondary: Bring It Down — 5 VP [Necrons] Scores Primary: 5 VP |
| Score at End | 70 |
| CP at End | 1 |
The note from the EC turn about split firing being a mistake against the Necrons proves to be true as both unit’s Reanimate up to full health and then the Flayed Ones kill the Tormentors off of their Home Objective. The C’Tan also one shots the Winged Daemon Prince, which keeps the scoring going and gives the Necrons a really strong board position going into the last Round….if they can pass Battle Shock with the C’Tan (famous last words).
Board state at the end of Round 4 is shown below.
End of Round 4
ROUND 5:
| Phase: | Go First: Emperor’s Children |
| Score at Start | 63 |
| CP at Start | 1 |
| Command | [Emperor’s Children] Gains 1 Core CP [Necrons] Gains 1 Core CP [Emperor’s Children] Draws Secondaries: Forward Position and Cleanse [Emperor’s Children] Noise Marines 1 Guards Objective 5 [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 Guards Terrain [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 uses Insane Bravery for 1 CP [Emperor’s Children] Scores Primary: 4 VP |
| Movement | [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 Makes a Normal Move into Terrain to Perform an Action [Emperor’s Children] Noise Marines 1 Advances onto Objective 5 to Perform an Action |
| Shooting | [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 Performs Action: Vanguard Operations [Emperor’s Children] Noise Marines 1 Performs Action: Cleanse [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 Shoots Imotekh the Stormlord + Lychguard and does 0 Damage |
| Charge | [Emperor’s Children] None |
| Fight | [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 Fight Imotekh the Stormlord + Lychguard and Destroy the Unit despite Imotekh the Stormlord using a CP Reroll for 1 CP |
| End of Turn | [Emperor’s Children] Scores Secondary: Forward Position — 5 VP [Emperor’s Children] Scores Secondary: Cleanse — 2 VP [Emperor’s Children] Scores Primary: 6 VP [Emperor’s Children] Discards Defend Stronghold for 1 CP [Necrons] Deathmarks 2 use Hyperphasing to go into Reserves |
| Score at End | 80 |
| CP at End | 2 |
The Emperor’s Children have a great last turn as they kill Imotekh and then put themselves in position to maximize Primary while running up a good Secondary score as well. The Necrons may still have the board position and control of Objectives to win the game, but it will be close.
Board state in the middle of Round 5 is shown below.
Middle of Round 5
| Phase: | Go Second: Necrons |
| Score at Start | 70 |
| CP at Start | 1 |
| Command | [Necrons] Gains 1 Core CP [Emperor’s Children] Gains 1 Core CP [Necrons] Draws Secondaries: Centre Ground and Assassination [Necrons] uses New Orders for 1 CP to Discard Assassination and Draw A Tempting Target [Emperor’s Children] chooses Objective 5 for A Tempting Target [Necrons] C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer Passes a Battle-shock Test |
| Movement | [Necrons] Deathmarks 2 Deep Strike into Objective 3 |
| Shooting | [Necrons] Flayed Ones Perform Action: Beacon |
| Charge | [Necrons] None |
| Fight | [Necrons] None |
| End of Turn | [Necrons] Scores Secondary: Beacon — 5 VP [Necrons] Scores Secondary: Centre Ground — 5 VP [Necrons] Scores Primary: 15 VP [Emperor’s Children]Scores Secondary: Burden of Trust — 4 VP [Emperor’s Children] Scores Primary: 5 VP |
| Score at End | 95 |
| CP at End | 1 |
And the Necrons barely pull it out. The score looks a bit off, but after some digging I found out that is because the EC maxed out 15 VP on Primary in Round 5 and therefore the app that I use to track the score (Tabletop Battles) will not accept any additional Primary that they had earned by controlling the Necrons’ Home Objective at the end of the game. Necrons still win either way, but it would have been a WTC differential draw if not for that limitation, as the Emperor’s Children would have earned an extra 2 VP. Great game by both armies. This one was a blast to play.
Board state at the end of Round 5 is shown below.
End of Round 5
RESULT:
Singles Format: 95 – 89 Necrons WIN
WTC Teams Format: 11-9 Necrons WIN
GAME REVIEW:
2nd game of 11th and this one was also super fun. I will admit that I am still recalibrating my in-game instincts from 10th to 11th and I think it showed in the commentary on this game. It felt like the Emperor’s Children had the momentum for the entire game and were cruising to victory, until suddenly they weren’t and the Necrons pulled it out. I don’t say that as a feel bad. Instead, I find it to be a pleasant surprise.
I’m really enjoying the asymmetrical nature of the missions and I think this game came down to the Necrons playing the mission and using their CP better than the Emperor’s Children. The EC got too caught up in chasing kills and lost sight of the mission in Rounds 3 and 4. It ultimately came back to bite them as 1 bad turn of Secondaries and Primary was the difference in this game. Additionally, the Emperor’s Children got greedy (feels lore accurate) with trying to split fire a few too many times at the end of the game and it cost them.
From the Necrons’ perspective, the game was all about resilience. The game did not go well for the first 2 Rounds and the Necrons basically had to scrap their pre-game strategy and wing it to win. They did so very effectively and were able to come back in the game late despite losing a lot of their key pieces early.
WHAT I WOULD CHANGE NEXT TIME:
- Necrons
- The big change for the Necrons would be to further refine their Win Condition based on the board layout and how close together both armies were, especially given how fast Fulgrim is now. I would have adjusted the Win Condition to explicitly call for a more patient game and then adjust the Necrons’ deployment to better support this by starting at least 1 of the Immortal units in Reserves. That would made it a lot tougher for Fulgrim to rampage his way through 2 units of Immortals in the early rounds.
- Emperor’s Children
- CP discipline and kill confirming. The early CP investment in Fulgrim in the first few rounds was debatable, but I’m going to stick by it because it worked. That said, CP usage in Rounds 3 and 4 started to get a little too greedy by doing things like re-rolling Advance rolls or throwing Explosives that didn’t do much and this left the EC with no CP when they really needed to do things like cycle Secondaries.
- Additionally, the Tormentors 1 and Noise Marines 1 got too greedy with some of their split fires and therefore failed to kill some of their targets. This really cost the EC at the end of the game when the Necrons were able to utilize Deathmarks 2 and Flayed Ones to win the game. If either of those had been killed in a prior turn, this game is either a draw or an EC win.
EARNED THEMSELF A NAME:
The C’Tan. It was debatable between him and Imotekh, but ultimately I am going to give it to the C’Tan for living on 1 Wound during the final EC push and then making a critical Battle Shock test to take the Central Objective at the end of the game and win it for the Necrons. He did his job by being un-killable and removing a ton of EC heavy hitters and action units such as the Chaos Spawn, Rhino, Lucius, Lord Exultant + Infractors 2, and Winged Daemon Prince. he also distracted a large percentage of the Emperor’s Children away from their pre-game Win Condition, which was to ignore him and focus on killing Infantry instead.
MAGNUS OF THE GAME:
The Noise Marines units. Noise Marines 1 did OK and ended up scoring well towards the end of the game, but neither had a ton to impact the overall outcome. Both units should have been able to destroy multiple Necrons’ infantry scoring units but instead got kited by them. Also, both Noise Marines units split fired multiple times, which is usually a big no-no versus Necrons. The Noise Marines 1 early round split fires especially left the Flayed Ones alive proved to be a big mistake in the end.
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