Necrons [2k] - What can I cut?

[theirkin]

So I've been out of 40k for almost a year now, and I'm looking to get back into the hobby again, starting something new and different (I was almost exclusively a SM player for over a decade). So here's a quick Necron list I threw together, that I'm 1 point over on.

HQ
Anrakyr w/ Command Barge
245
Necron Overlord w/ Warscythe, Phylactery, Phase Shifter, Command Barge
240
Necron Lord (2) w/ Warscythe, Resurrection Orb
150
Cryptek (2) w/ Harbringer of Destruction
70
Cryptek (1) 2/ Harbringer of Despair, Veil of Darkness
60

Troops
Immortals (9) w/ Gauss Blasters
153
Immortals (9) w/ Gauss Blasters
153
Immortals (5) w/ Tesla Carbines, Night Scythe
185
Immortals (5) w/ Tesla Carbines, Night Scythe
185

Elites
Canoptek Wraiths (3)
105
Canoptek Wraiths (3)
105

Heavy
Doomsday Ark
175
Doomsday Ark
175

Total: 2001

My concept for the list (with little knowledge of the meta scene since the advent of 6th edition), is to have the Command Barges blitzing the backfield with their swoop attacks, the 2 large squads of Immortals w/ a Lord and Cryptek (divided into 2 courts, because I think that works... correct me if I'm wrong please) together forming the back anchor and back/mid-field objective grabbers. The Nightscytes and their Immortals will be the mobile objective grabbers, and I may switch the shooty Crypteks over to them. The remaining Cryptek is a late game objective grabber, but I'm not sure where he would work best. The Wraiths would fill the roles of counter assault or assault screeners. And the Doomsday Arks are the big killers and fire magnets, and are meant to compete with the Command Barges for target priority.

My target level of list optimization is high friendly. This isn't a list meant to be hyper-competitive or even blow the socks off of local tournaments, but I'm looking for something strong and reliable. Also, please let me know if this is too bland/common a list, because I love having a little something unique when I build lists. I'm obsessed with the idea of using Immortals to the exclusion of Warriors, but am otherwise fairly flexible in composition.

First thing: I prefer 2000 points. That's always been my preferred number, and that's what I build to. That being said, I would be open to suggestions for taking the feel of this list down to 1850.

Second: What would be a good way to include some form of fortifications? That was something that I didn't quite get into with 6th edition, and am not experienced enough with to know what I do and do not need.

Thanks in advance for any advice given!

[Maelstorm]

Welcome back - we're here to help!

Drop both of the Doomsday Arks. If they don't move, they don't get a jink save and get popped. If they do move, their weapon is neutered. You also suffer from the 1 dice roll syndrome and can completely miss with every shot - I've taken 3 Arks in a game against IG and killed a grand total of 7 troops because of scatter. Plus issues with the extremely low slung weapon allowing cover saves to just about everything they shoot at. On the other hand 3 Annihilation Barges can give you up to 54 hits per turn plus arcing...

Replace Anrakyr the Traveler and his Barge with Nemesor Zahndrekh for Adaptive/Counter Tactics

Combine the Wraiths into 1 unit or they won't have enough attacks to be effective. At Toughness 4 they are doubled out by Melta and a bunch of close combat weapons. They need a Destroyer Lord as a tank out front to take the big hits.

Let's see... (1,849 points)

HQ: Nemesor Zahndrekh (185)
HQ: Destroyer Lord w/ Warscythe, Mind Shackle Scarabs, Weave (160)

HQ: Royal Court 1:
* Cryptek Harbringer of Destruction (35)
* Cryptek Harbringer of Despair, Veil of Darkness (60)

Troops: 10x Immortals (170) (Attach Despairtek)
Troops: 10x Immortals (170)
Troops: 8 Warriors (104) Ghost Ark (115) (Attach Nemesor + Destruct-tek)
Troops: 5 Tesla Immortals (85) Night Scythe (100)
Troops: 5 Tesla Immortals (85) Night Scythe (100)

Fast Attack: 6 Wraiths (210) (Attach Destroyer Lord)

Heavy Support: Annihilation Barge (90)
Heavy Support: Annihilation Barge (90)
Heavy Support: Annihilation Barge (90)

5 scoring units, Counter Tactics, lots of Shooty AV13, Gauss for Anti-Armor, a Scary Assault unit, an armed bunker for your HQ, a couple of Flyers and a Veil-tek for late game shenanigans. Wraiths with Preferred Enemy "Everything" and Adaptive Tactics can be fun!

The Ghost Ark and Annihilation Barge are bread and butter units that should be in every build.

The Destroyer Lord/Wraiths can be swapped out for 5 Destroyers and 5 Tomb Blades with Particle Beamers - both very effective anti-troop units - however not as effective against giant walkers (Tau/Eldar) and MC's ('Nids/Daemons).

You can also Drop a Wraith to add Solar Pulse - allowing the rest of the Wraiths to get into CC more safely.

For later fun:
Without a doubt the best delete-anything combo-unit for Necrons: 5 Deathmarks (95), Night Scythe (100), 2x Despair Crypteks (60). This build requires 2 HQ Necron Overlords

[theirkin]

Maelstrom, thanks for the input and the welcome back, I've been away too long. I was on the fence about putting the wraiths into a single unit, but I definitely see how it could be useful. The question becomes, how quickly would they die in a 3 man unit, because I don't envision them charging across the board, instead staying in hard cover or behind other units and acting as a stop gap/fire extinguisher unit for assaults. I can also lose the Arks, but the Annihilation Barges are fairly unattractive to me. What else could I use in that same high-strength role while keeping more armor on the table to spread my opponents shooting across? And, for now at least, I'm not going to be using Warriors or anything on a Destroyer platform. They just don't do it for me. Is there a reason you dropped out both Command Barges? Have you had bad experiences with them/seen them as something that tends to underperform?

[Maelstorm]

Command Barges were knocked down a peg or two in 6th edition. As an open-topped Chariot, using their fun sweep attacks get them quickly popped and gives your opponent an easy Slay the Warlord point.

You can use the expensive Wraiths as a great fire magnet that you opponent has to deal with immediately - giving the rest of your forces a couple of turns before their focus shifts. Plus they deal with back row camping Riptides and Tau jump-shoot-jump toasters. Don't hold them back in your lines, as opponent gun-lines are back in vogue. A single strength 9 blast from Tau can an eliminate an entire unit in one shot without a Destroyer Lord out front.

Annihilation Barges are the best unit in the codex. You can use them to reliably shoot down flyers in 1 turn - Twin Linked Snap Shots mean 3 hits per 6 rolled! It's normal to get 3 to 6 hits on a flyer per barge. Get over the way it looks and use it. :)

Warriors in Ghost Arks last much longer than Immortals on foot - A mobile AV13 bunker with 10-20 shots per turn added to the 10-20 shots from the warriors inside is a bucket of dice per turn per set. Plus the Ark is a "Repair Barge" and can replenish 1-3 Warriors per turn. I add a Destruction Cryptek to every Ghost Ark for Missile Launcher equivalent shots from the mobile Bunker. 5 Warriors in an AV13 Ghost ark put out 15-30 shots a turn for the same points as 10 Immortals walking.

A unit of Destroyers remove 6 to 7 Space Marines per turn from the table - no armor save allowed (Preferred Enemy - Everything!). The Tomb Blades with Particle Beamers can stack wounds on any unit and still scoot 24" as Jetbikes for Linebreaker.

[theirkin]

So, reworked and still at 2k points. I had misread Anrakyr and thought he affected all immortals (he doesn't, lame).

Nemesor Zandrek
Lord w/ Warscythe and Phylactery
2 Crypteks w/ Harbringer of the Storm
Overlord w/ Phase Shifterm Phylactery, & Warscythe
2 Crypteks w/ Harbringer of the Storm

10 Immortals w/ Gauss - runs with Nemesor, Lord
10 Immortals w/ Gauss - runs with Overlord
5 Immortals w/ Gauss in Nightscythe - runs w/ 2 Crypteks
5 Immortals w/ Gauss in Nightscythe - runs w/ 2 Crypteks

6 Wraiths
6 Wraiths

Annihilation Barge w/ Tesla Destructor
Annihilation Barge w/ Tesla Destructor
Annihilation Barge w/ Tesla Destructor

Sitting at 1965 points. So it needs a few things to bring it to 2k, probably upgrades to the Wraiths. The Wraiths, at Maelstorm's suggestion will be blitzing units. The Small immortal units are still forward attacking/objective units who are throwing out a volume of fire and deal with everything in the backfield, whether infantry or tanks. The 2 big units of Immortals are back to mid field units that can take some hits. And the Annihilation Barges are protecting my side of the board.

If I dropped to 1850, I would lose the Lord and one of the Immortals from a big unit.

[Maelstorm]

Well done - this list looks much better than the first list! The Wraiths will be fire magnets and allow your other units to do the heavy lifting.

Thoughts:
You probably only need 1 harbinger of the storm in each Immortal/Scythe combination to destroy vehicles reliably.
Drop 2 of the Crypteks and the Lord w/Warscythe and replace them with a Destroyer Lord for the Wraiths - Tank the Strength 8/9 shots.
You need at least 2 Whips in each Wraith squad to punk high initiative models. USE COVER to keep them alive!!
With 5 man Immortal units I'd be inclined to take Tesla for the extra automatic hits.
Since you don't have any Warriors in Arks, your Immortals with your Warlord will get a lot of attention from your opponent for slay the Warlord. It will be a delicate balance to keep him in Line of Sight of the opponent for Counter-Tactics and in Line of sight to your own units for Adaptive Tactics to be effective - while minimizing return fire...

Let us know how it works out!

[karandras]

I would suggest swapping the Overlord for a Destroyer Lord as Maelstrom suggests. I would also recommend the addition of 3 Whip Coils per Wraith unit and Mindshackle Scarabs on the Lord and Destroyer Lord. I would prefer Tesla on both 10 man squads of Immortals, but would stick with Gauss on the small squads in the Scythes as their Gauss ability will boost the effectiveness of anti-armor capability from the lone Harbinger of the Storm (as the duplicate is dropped to add the above listed wargear) and offers double the shots as Tesla without the need to roll 6s - not to mention AP4 versus infantry.