Unit of the Week: Doom Scythe

[NTaW]

 

Welcome to the Necron Unit of the Week Series!

 

Each week a different unit will be highlighted for discussion until we have amalgamated a full list of our available options and their relevant tactics as 8th edition evolves. We already have a few previous entries but things change as FAQs and Chapter Approved books get released and we playtest new ideas so please feel free to reopen a topic when new options become relevant for discussion.

 

Please keep in mind this isn't to lament the status of featured units or compare them to others but to try and find their potential for all types of gameplay.

 

This week’s unit is:

 

 

As a loose guide, here are some questions we could answer to help out any who happen upon our metallic corner of the B&C:

 

• What Code do you prefer?

• What synergies have you found with other units?

• Are there any stratagems that specifically buff this unit?

• Do you build your list around this unit or use it to fill some points?

• What are some of the strengths and weaknesses of this unit?

Now over to you!

Edited July 29, 2019 by NTaW

[Tyriks]

They have to be Sautekh, unless you use loaded dice or love whiffing. D3 shots on such an expensive model sucks, and a 4+ BS makes it so much worse.

 

T6 with no Quantum Shielding means they are also surprisingly delicate, so keep that in mind when moving them. The only thing worse than random shots with an unreliable ballistic skill is no shots at all!

 

The Tesla Destructors can be great against the right enemies. Anything that doesn't rely on armor saves (daemons, Harlequins, a lot of Orks and Tyranids).

[Beatnik cryptek]

I honestly don't see me taking them. Too fragile, not enough firepower when you factor in reliability, bad shooting and the models are expensive.

Edited July 11, 2019 by NTaW
OT content removed.

[MithrilForge]

I really want to get one (2 in the future) for my army, I’m running Mephrit and Novokh.. I’m guessing Mephrit is my best choice ?!...

what niche do they fill though as I have no idea... can they beam a unit down to a spot mid game ?... what are the best guns for these guys too ?!.. are they a good unit delivery system or anti air ?...

I’d like to know as I think the model is cool and I’d like to fit one in somehow...

 

Cheers, Mithril

[NTaW]

I'm done parroting a reminder that is explicitly stated in my OP. All OT commentary will be removed henceforth.

 

Ahem. *powers down flayer*

 

Mithril, I think you're confusing our two Codex flyers a little bit. The Night Scythe is the unit that can beam units in, the Doom Scythe carries a death ray that tries its best to get the job done as one of the few D6 damage weapons. It has no ability to relocate units.

 

Personally I have a love/hate relationship with my Doom Scythe. I love the model and enjoy having a flyer in my lists that gets in behind the enemy so well but Tyriks and Beatnik have hit the nail on the head: it's fragile and doesn't shoot great for what you have to invest in it. I've used the unit in almost every single game I've played since day 1 of 8th and step one to making it a usable unit was, as Tyriks pointed out, taking it in a Sautekh Detachment. A GW employee pointed out to me probably over a year ago now that I could use an Auxiliary Detachment and I've been on it ever since. Well worth the 1CP to ignore the heavy weapon penalty. Next up was always using it in conjunction with another unit, namely my (Heavy) Destroyers or Stalker, to put damage where I needed it. The tesla offers a solid bunch of dice to throw at infantry and as a hilarious side benefit to whiffing death ray shots (if it goes that way) my Scythe often gets ignored and is free to work in behind enemy lines doing mediocre damage until I find myself closest to a/a group of character(s). I've nuked a couple pesky buffs and even got a slay the warlord point this way. I've also had the unit removed entirely in one psychic phase against Thousand Sons and Tyranids because it was the closest model to a lot of psykers who had nothing better to do, so ymmv on that tactic :lol:

 

All in all I've stopped regretting taking my solo Scythe and started looking toward getting a trio of them. The Amalgamated Targeting Data stratagem looks like it could be really useful if you manage to get first turn and I've been seeing an Air Wing Detachments of Doom Scythes as a staple in tournament lists more and more these days. 

[Tyriks]

Yeah, I think the first time I ever used the Doom Scythe was my first game of 8th and it found a spot right inside a castle and disintegrated the entire enemy command structure in a turn. I keep trying to make it work because of that glorious moment. I've have a few instances of someone not measuring their bubble wrap right and the Doom Scythe is unforgiving in those situations. But you can't count on that, so it often falls short. I love the model so I wish it did work!

[MithrilForge]

Oh dang it...the Night scythe is the one I'm thinking of  , thanks for the heads up... better go get my dex out and have a proper look at my units again 

 

So if i ever do use Doomies then a unit of three is probably the best bet as an (air wing) Auxiliary Sautekh detachment correct?

 

would these guys be good at hitting the back sections of... lets say Imperial Knights that are pummeling their way into my zone...

maybe i could proxy some at my next game...after i go to the bakery on the way to my mates place ... 

"Uh hello...? i'm trying out a new unit in my necron army...Can i have three Croissants please? "  

 

  

*Note doom scythe Number 3 in the above pic may have been Carrying cheese and tomato in its loadout and never made it to deployment ... 

 

Cheers, Mithril 

[Tyriks]

They aren't very good against Knights. D3 shots for D6 damage means if you roll all 6s for the whole phase and the knight rolls average saves with no strats, relics, warlord traits or anything to help, you will take the knight down one bracket.

 

If you have three and use average rolls, all three together against a Questoris knight, again with no strats or help of any kind, you will average something like 6 damage. Sautekh a little more (I'm not counting the Tesla here because it's late and that math is tedious but it won't amount to much wounding on 5s with no AP). You'd be spending almost as much as the Knight, too! If you just want pure anti-armor, bring Doomsday Arks or even Triarch Stalkers.

 

The one thing the Doom Scythe offers they don't is the mobility - so you want to be looking for sensitive targets the Doom Scythe can overkill (Captains, Lords, Synapse bugs, et cetera) with holes big enough for the Scythe to swoop into. Swapping a Doom Scythe for a character is usually a good trade - it probably costs a little more but not too much and it can cause huge problems for the enemy if they need that reroll aura or psyker or whatever you just erased from the universe.

[NTaW]

It's sort of funny how right you are about their damage output Tyriks, that's why I've just resigned myself to having several units across the board all focusing down the big bads I face. The mobility of the DS is what I play into hard, using it to scalpel in around behind where I typically focus on characters, infantry on objectives, the odd Dreadnought-sized unit, and generally being a nuisance. They are great at getting around to soft units that don't want to be in LoS for me.

 

Something for my lists, since I don't run a Sautekh Detachment, is that it's one or three models. Adding a second Auxiliary Support Detachment is unappealing since Necrons are a bit starved for CP compared to what I see my opponents casually bringing (not to mention CP batteries) and getting a third comes with sort of a 2CP bonus since you're not paying one for the ASD and you're getting one for the Air Wing Detachment that is, of course, Sautekh.

 

Plus their stratagem requires three models. I will gladly try to use that to nuke characters and squads alike, plus 24 S7 tesla shots have to count for something even if they're not buffed by MWBD :lol:

[Brother Navaer Solaq]

i like the DS. It is a fun flyer to play alongside a NS. Its damage output is not great, but I find it fun to play with it.

 

Most of what is written by other posters mimick what I would have written.

[BaronTuman]

The combinations are what makes DSs work.  I've been playing 3DS and 3DDA and it's made my list dramatically better.

 

Here's what they bring :

• Many armies stack multiple characters to get their "wombo-combos." ADT makes them spread those characters out, or risk losing characters first turn.
• Combined with Immotekh, you can create a lot of mortal wounds
• Combined with 3DDAs, you can reliably drop a knight in the first turn.
• They are a great fire magnet. Most players will go to extraordinary lengths to kill at least 1 DS to avoid the stratagem.
• They can start out of range except for anti-tank, which tend to be low shot volume, and -1 to hit becomes makes that much less effective
• They are amazing character snipers.  Most characters in the game will die to a DS if they are closest.  Even if you don't take those shots, it changes the opponents game plan.
• They provide a lot of mobility which our army sorely lacks, killing infantry hiding behind LOS if necessary.
• They are good at starting methodical destruction against any target type.
• They can still move block quite nicely

Granted, I lose them a lot, but that's generally because my opponents see them as a real threat, which let's reduces the pressure on the rest of my army.  If they deviate from their ideal deployment and spend all their shooting just killing one DS, I'm already at a huge advantage.  I play pure Sautekh, and wouldn't play them as anything else.