Dive into the Necrons’ tactical depths in Warhammer 40k and discover powerful army lists and key units; master their playstyles with our in-depth guide!
Updated December 24th, 2024, by Rob Baer with the latest information and links.
The Necrons are more than just ancient, soulless robots—they’re a tactical powerhouse in Warhammer 40k, brimming with strategies that can leave your opponents questioning their choices. Whether you’re plotting a relentless march across the battlefield or setting traps to turn the tide, understanding the Necrons’ strengths and key units is the key to mastering their potential.
In this guide, we’ll dissect their playstyles, highlight powerful army lists, and share tips to help you harness their unique combination of resilience and precision. Ready to awaken your Necron dynasty and claim victory? Let’s get started!
Introduction to Necrons in Warhammer 40k
The Necrons are one of Warhammer 40k’s most iconic factions—a relentless army of ancient, metallic warriors risen from slumber to reclaim the galaxy. From their unyielding resilience to their unnerving ability to teleport key units into the fray, Necrons boast an arsenal of tactics that can outmaneuver and outlast even the most prepared foes.
But playing Necrons isn’t just about painting cool miniatures or rolling buckets of dice—it’s about wielding their unique abilities strategically to dominate the battlefield (and armies like the upcoming DKoK). Let’s break down how you can unleash the true potential of your Necron army.
Necron Tactics and Strategies
At the core of every Necron army is their uncanny knack for sticking around. Thanks to Reanimation Protocols, what looks like a pile of defeated units can suddenly rise again, gauss blasters at the ready. It’s a mechanic that frustrates opponents and keeps you in the game longer than they’d like. Plus, think of how cool robots reanimating would look on the Cavill Amazon series!
Your Necron Warriors and Immortals are the stars of this show—durable infantry that shrug off the concept of “dead.” Whether they’re holding objectives or forming an unyielding wall of firepower, these units are the definition of battlefield staying power.
Mastering Positioning with Necron Teleportation
Positioning is your best friend with Necrons, and their teleportation abilities give you options that many armies can only dream of. Using tools like the Ghost Ark, the Night Scythe, or the iconic Necron Monolith, you can relocate units in the blink of an eye, turning static formations into fluid, adaptable threats.
This makes Necrons particularly strong at disrupting your opponent’s plans—one moment they think they’ve cornered your Warriors, and the next, you’re unloading Skorpekh Destroyers right behind their vulnerable units.
Midrange Dominance with Necron Firepower
Necrons shine in the midrange game, where their firepower truly comes to life. Units like Necron Immortals with their gauss blasters deliver consistent, hard-hitting shots that can shred infantry and vehicles alike. When you need something heavier, the Doomsday Ark steps in, bringing devastating long-range firepower that can wipe key enemy units off the board.
For added chaos, combine midrange dominance with mobile harassment units like Canoptek Wraiths or Scarabs. These agile units can dart around the board, forcing your opponent to split their focus while your main forces rain destruction.
Strategic Leadership and Command Protocols
Leadership is another cornerstone of Necron tactics. Commanding characters like the Necron Overlord or the Skorpekh Lord not only enhance your troops but also unlock the faction’s unique Command Protocols. These situational buffs let you shift your strategy on the fly, whether it’s boosting melee prowess, improving shooting, or enhancing survivability.
Timing these protocols to align with your battle plan is crucial—it’s a bit like conducting an orchestra of doom, and when done right, the results are nothing short of symphonic destruction. Plan ahead to ensure your protocols hit at just the right moment for maximum impact.
Building Synergy Between Units
Necrons thrive on synergy between units. For example:
- Pair Crypteks with Necron Warriors to create a near-immortal blob of troops that refuse to give up objectives.
- Combine Canoptek Spyders with Scarabs to create a regenerating harassment unit that keeps your opponent on edge.
The key to mastering Necron tactics lies in layering your abilities and stacking advantages where they’ll have the most impact. Every unit has a role, and when played together, they create an unstoppable force.
Psychological Warfare: Winning the Mind Game
Finally, let’s talk about the mental edge. Necrons don’t just win games—they unnerve opponents. Watching a horde of Necron Warriors regenerate or a Necron Monolith suddenly teleport reinforcements to a contested point is demoralizing. Combine this with the faction’s aesthetic—relentless, ancient, and unstoppable—and you’ve got an army that doesn’t just fight, it intimidates.
Necron Army Fundamentals
The Necrons are the silent, unyielding sentinels of Warhammer 40k, and their playstyle reflects their lore: calculated, precise, and utterly relentless. These ancient beings excel in grinding down opponents through resilience and calculated strikes, making them a force to be reckoned with on the tabletop.
At the core of any Necron army are units like Necron Warriors and Necron Immortals, your frontline troops who refuse to stay dead. Thanks to Reanimation Protocols, even the casualties your opponents celebrate can stand back up and rejoin the fight. This ability turns attrition into a strength, making Necrons the faction you want when durability and persistence are your game plan.
Positioning is key. Necron armies thrive on controlling the flow of battle, utilizing powerful ranged weapons like gauss blasters and the heavy-hitting doomsday cannon. Mobility also plays a surprising role, with units such as Canoptek Wraiths and Skorpekh Destroyers darting across the battlefield to deliver devastating blows.
To start playing them, you will need a Codex book or access to a reference site like Wahapedia, or the official Warhammer 40k army builder app (subscription required for most up-to-date rules.)
Necron Codex Essentials
The Necron Codex is your gateway to unlocking the potential of your metallic legions. Packed with unique rules, strategies, and unit profiles, it offers the tools to customize your army and adapt to different playstyles. The standout feature of the codex is the Command Protocols, a system that grants army-wide bonuses depending on the situation. Timing and synergy are everything here—aligning the right protocol with the right phase of the battle can make all the difference.
Key Features of Necron Combat Patrol
The Necron Combat Patrol is the perfect starting point for new and returning players, offering a well-rounded introduction to the faction’s core mechanics and units. Typically including a mix of Necron Warriors, a character like the Overlord, and supporting units such as Canoptek Scarabs or Destroyers, it provides a balanced approach to learning the faction.
These miniatures aren’t just a feast for hobbyists; they’re also excellent on the battlefield. Necron Warriors are your durable core, while the Overlord offers strategic buffs to nearby units. Scarabs add mobility and harassment options, while Destroyers or heavy units bring the firepower.
The Combat Patrol also allows you to experiment with tactics like positioning and synergy. Use it as a springboard to learn how to mix ranged dominance with strategic objective control.
Brief Overview of Necrons
The Necrons are one of the most iconic factions in Warhammer 40k, blending ancient Egyptian-inspired aesthetics with a sci-fi twist. These once-living beings exchanged their mortality for robotic immortality through a dark pact, resulting in an unstoppable army of relentless machines. They bring unmatched durability, eerie precision, and a sense of inevitability to the tabletop. Necrons aren’t just about flashy units like the Necron Monolith; they excel in methodically dismantling their enemies with a mix of firepower, resilience, and teleportation trickery.
Why Choose Necrons in Warhammer 40k
If you’re drawn to an army that shrugs off damage like it’s nothing, Necrons might just be your match. With their Reanimation Protocols, Necron units have an uncanny ability to come back from the dead (or at least the scrap heap). This makes them incredibly frustrating for opponents and gives you a reliable edge in attrition battles.
Necrons are also masters of mid-range firepower, with units like Necron Immortals and Doomsday Arks capable of dishing out serious punishment. Add in teleportation abilities that let you reposition units across the board, and you’ve got an army that feels as strategic as it does tough.
From a narrative perspective, Necrons are a faction steeped in compelling lore. Commanding these ancient dynasties lets you channel the power of a long-lost empire, rekindling their galactic dominance one battle at a time.
Necron Dynasties
The heart of Necron strategy lies in their dynasties, which offer powerful abilities tailored to different playstyles. These dynasties represent the fractured empires of the Necrons, each with their own unique traits and tactics. Choosing the right dynasty for your army is like picking the flavor of destruction you want to bring to the table.
Overview of Necron Dynasties
The Necron Codex includes several dynasties, each offering specific buffs and abilities that shape how your army performs. Whether you prefer to lean into relentless shooting, brutal melee, or a mix of both, there’s a dynasty that fits your playstyle.
The Sautekh Dynasty focuses on aggression, offering bonuses to shooting and making your units faster when advancing. This is great for players who like to apply pressure early and often.
The Mephrit Dynasty, on the other hand, is all about maximizing ranged lethality. With improved armor penetration for shooting attacks at close range, Mephrit units become devastating in the midgame when the action gets up close and personal.
For those who enjoy melee combat, the Novokh Dynasty is a top choice. Their bonuses to melee attacks make them perfect for units like Skorpekh Destroyers or Lychguard, turning your army into a buzzsaw that carves through enemy lines.
Notable Dynasties and Their Attributes
Among the notable dynasties, Nephrekh stands out for its mobility. Units from this dynasty can translocate through obstacles, making them excellent for grabbing objectives and outmaneuvering opponents. Meanwhile, the Nihilakh Dynasty emphasizes defense, excelling in objective-based games where durability is paramount.
Each dynasty adds a unique twist to the core Necron experience, making it easy to tailor your army to your preferred tactics. Whether you’re teleporting units across the board with Nephrekh or raining down firepower with Mephrit, the dynasties provide layers of strategic depth.
Key Necron Units
In the expansive universe of Warhammer 40k, the Necrons stand apart with their uncanny mix of resilience, firepower, and eerie precision. Their units are as iconic as they are devastating, spanning everything from rank-and-file troops who refuse to stay down to commanding leaders who orchestrate their legions with unrelenting efficiency. Whether you’re aiming for a balanced force or diving into a specialized strategy, understanding the key units in a Necron army is essential for success.
Necron Warriors and Immortals: The Backbone of the Army
At the heart of every Necron army are the Necron Warriors and Necron Immortals—the reliable workhorses who refuse to stay dead.
Necron Warriors are the quintessential troops of the faction. Coming in large squads, they bring a perfect balance of durability and firepower. Armed with versatile gauss weapons, Warriors can handle infantry and even vehicles with ease. Their Reanimation Protocols make them a nightmare for your opponents, as every casualty carries the potential to rise again, ready to fight as if nothing happened.
For those who crave something with more teeth, Necron Immortals are the next step up. Think of them as Warriors with a gym membership: better armor, stronger weapons, and a grudge against anything in range. Their gauss blasters are excellent for shredding through enemy ranks, while the tesla carbines provide a fun, dice-exploding mechanic that can overwhelm opponents with lucky rolls. Immortals shine at holding key objectives and delivering consistent damage.
Choosing between Warriors and Immortals depends on your strategy. If you value numbers and resilience, stick with Warriors. If you prefer elite firepower and a more compact force, Immortals are your go-to. Either way, these units will be the foundation of your Necron army.
Necron Characters: The Commanding Minds of the Army
No Necron force is complete without strong leadership, and the faction delivers with a range of Necron characters that bring both thematic flair and tactical brilliance.
Leading the charge is the Necron Overlord, a towering figure of authority on the battlefield. This character enhances nearby troops with powerful buffs and can wield devastating melee weapons like the warscythe, making them just as deadly in combat as they are strategic in positioning. Overlords are a versatile choice for any army, capable of anchoring a defensive force or leading an aggressive push.
For those who enjoy a touch of arcane power, Crypteks are indispensable. These techno-mages bring unique buffs to your units, such as improving Reanimation Protocols, increasing movement, or even amplifying firepower. Different Cryptek variants allow you to tailor their abilities to your strategy, whether it’s keeping your army alive, disrupting your opponent’s plans, or unleashing destructive ranged attacks.
If you’re drawn to melee-focused play, the Skorpekh Lord is a standout option. These characters thrive in the thick of combat, cutting through enemies with precision and brutality. Paired with Skorpekh Destroyers, they form a terrifying melee force capable of overwhelming even the toughest foes.
Supporting Units: Amplifying Your Strategy
Beyond the core troops and characters, the Necron roster is filled with specialized units that add unique tools to your force.
The Necron Monolith is a true battlefield behemoth. Serving as both a centerpiece model and a tactical asset, it can teleport units across the board, allowing you to reinforce weak spots or launch surprise attacks. Its immense firepower, from particle whips to gauss flux arcs, makes it a threat that your opponent can’t ignore.
On the other hand, Canoptek units like Scarabs and Wraiths bring speed and disruption to your army. Scarabs excel at tying up enemy units, forcing your opponent to waste time dealing with these swarming nuisances. Meanwhile, Wraiths combine mobility with durability, zipping across the battlefield to secure objectives or take out vulnerable targets.
For heavy support, options like the Doomsday Ark or Annihilation Barge deliver punishing firepower, ensuring your Necron army controls the mid-to-long-range game. These units are perfect for keeping the pressure on your opponent while your core troops secure objectives.
The Art of Combining Units
The beauty of the Necron army lies in how its units synergize. Pair Crypteks with Necron Warriors to create an unyielding force that refuses to budge. Combine Scarabs with a Canoptek Spyder for a harassment squad that regenerates mid-game. And don’t forget to back up your Necron Immortals with a Necron Overlord to maximize their potential.
With so many iconic and versatile units to choose from, the Necron army offers countless ways to outsmart and outlast your opponent. Their blend of durability, firepower, and tactical depth ensures you’ll always have the tools you need to reclaim the galaxy in style.
Conclusion
Necrons in Warhammer 40k are a faction of contradictions: ancient yet futuristic, relentless yet calculating, and resilient while dishing out devastating firepower. Their unique combination of durability, versatility, and thematic flair makes them one of the most captivating armies to command. Whether you’re assembling an unstoppable horde of Necron Warriors, deploying an elite force of Necron Immortals, or dropping a Necron Monolith into the heart of the battlefield, this faction offers endless opportunities to outthink and outmaneuver your opponents.
The Evolving Role of Necrons in Warhammer 40k
As the meta shifts and new codex updates bring changes to the game, the Necrons continue to adapt and thrive. Their resilience, bolstered by Reanimation Protocols, ensures they’re always a competitive choice, even in the face of evolving strategies. With their mid-range dominance and teleportation tricks, Necrons excel in both objective-based missions and attrition battles.
The introduction of Necron Dynasties has added even more depth, allowing players to customize their armies to suit their preferred playstyles. From the aggressive, ranged firepower of the Mephrit Dynasty to the objective-holding durability of the Nihilakh Dynasty, these options ensure that your army isn’t just powerful but also tailored to how you like to play.
Characters like the Necron Overlord and Crypteks continue to bring unparalleled utility and tactical depth, while newer models and rules keep the faction feeling fresh. Their evolving role in Warhammer 40k showcases their adaptability—not just in-game but also in their lore, as their once-fractured dynasties strive to reclaim their place as rulers of the galaxy.
FAQs & Final Thoughts on Necron Army Playstyles
Q: What makes Necrons unique in Warhammer 40k?
A: Necrons are defined by their durability, firepower, and ability to return fallen models to play using Reanimation Protocols. Add to this their unique movement mechanics like teleportation, and you have a faction that feels both unstoppable and strategic.
Q: What’s the best way to start a Necron army?
A: A Necron Combat Patrol box is a fantastic entry point. It provides a balanced mix of core units, characters, and support options, giving you a solid foundation to build upon.
Q: How do Necron Dynasties impact gameplay?
A: Dynasties add a layer of customization, offering unique traits and buffs that shape how your army performs. They’re perfect for tailoring your list to your preferred playstyle, whether that’s aggressive shooting, melee dominance, or objective holding.
Q: What are the standout units in the Necron Codex?
A: Units like Necron Immortals, Necron Warriors, and Canoptek Wraiths are staples in most lists, while characters like the Necron Overlord and Skorpekh Lord bring essential leadership and melee power. The Necron Monolith is also a crowd favorite for its firepower and teleportation abilities.
Final Thoughts on Necrons in Warhammer 40k
Commanding a Necron army in Warhammer 40k isn’t just about winning games—it’s about telling the story of an ancient empire rising once more. Their playstyle rewards careful planning, relentless pressure, and a flair for strategy. As the galaxy trembles under their relentless march, it’s clear that the Necrons aren’t just a faction—they’re a statement. So, gather your army, claim your dynasty, and let the stars bear witness to your unyielding might.
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What do you think about the Necrons in Warhammer 40k? Do you like the playstyle and units in 40k?
About the Author: Travis Pasch
Travis Pasch
Job Title: Head Writer & Editor
Socials: @paschbass
About Travis Pasch: Travis has been a Warhammer 40k hobbyist since the 1990s, playing the game since Third Edition. Through extensive traveling, he’s seen a lot of the miniatures hobby from across the world, giving him a unique perspective on the latest gaming topics and trends.
Travis’s brother even owns a commission painting studio, where he’s picked up a lot of good advice and techniques for painting Warhammer and tabletop miniatures over the years, as well. Travis joined the Spikey Bits team in 2019 and has been the lead writer since 2020.
Currently, he’s working on converting all his 40k Adeptus Mechanicus models and becoming a true tech enjoyer, complete with both sad and happy robot noises!
