PA Discussion, Predictions, and Wishlisting

[Kaldoth]

So, one of the best things about this particular subfaction community is that while it is pretty small compared to others on the board, it is very vocal and endlessly dedicated to all things Necron. Although our book is in a sort of mid-tier place right now and there are gripes aplenty to be had, almost all the Phaerons here seem to be optimistic about our current state and for things to come. So what with PA books coming out steadily, I figured why not start the hype train a little early :D Its never a bad thing to see what the community wants and thinks might come down the pipeline ^_^

 

That being said, I'd like to keep this focused on our eventual PA release and not so much the current codex. Points updates, rules changes, etc aren't going to happen in PA but new stratagems, new units, and lore updates are all on the table!

 

To kick off, I don't know if anyone saw this on the Warhammer community page in the WD 450 preview article, but it has me pretty hyped!

 

Last of the Silent Kings

 

The undisputed ruler of the ancient Necrontyr empire was known as the Silent King. In the aftermath of biotransference, the ruling Silent King, Szarekh, became disillusioned with the cruel fate of his people, leaving them behind and setting out for the intergalactic void in self-imposed exile. Yet there are rumours now that the ancestral ruler of the Necrons may have returned to the galaxy…

 

To discern the truth, you’ll have to read this fascinating lore article for yourself!

So, what does this mean for us? I definitely think there are two possibilities here:

 

1. We will be getting our own uber HQ in PA, and none other than Szarek himself! Chances of this IMO are much slimmer than my second guess, but how cool would that be?!

 

2. Triarch models may be seeing some kind of new special rule. Given that Triarch units of all flavors serve the Triumverate and the Silent King is the boss of the three, I think it's definitely possible that Triarch units from the dex might see some kind of new thing in PA that gives them a bit more flavor. As they don't benefit from dynastic codes, this could be a really cool feature that would make them a bit more interactive in a Necron army!

 

Unrelated to that article, I figured I'd post my top wishlist-y things I hope to see in PA as well. You know, because wishlisting is fun :lol:

 

1. A 1 cp stratagem that allows a unit with Gauss weapons to auto wound on hit rolls of 6. Or a 2 cp strat that grants additional wounds on wound rolls of 6. Gauss weapons kind of lost their flavor, and every PA so far has seen stratagems for the armies they cover!

 

2. A new Pariah-esque unir. Either a single anti Psyker character or a squad. I thought I saw a rumor a while back about this but I can't quite put my finger on when or where. Regardless, I'm all about bringing back some oldcron fluff and PA would be a perfect opportunity to do so.

 

So, what about you all? Thoughts?

 

Cheers

 

-Mal

[The Ergonomic Enginseer]

Unfortunately I feel that it will be just what is says there "This fascinating lore article".  

[Tyriks]

We've had confirmation Szarek is back for years, including Commander Dante speaking to him personally, so I don't know what to expect here.  I'll pick it up (unless I hear a lot negative reactions before I get a chance to) but I'm hopeful this is more than just old fluff repackaged and presented as new.  If there is new information, even if this is completely detached from anything else coming our way, I'll be happy.

 

That said, I think we are due some new models.  We have had 3 new models released in almost ten years, and two of those are monopose characters with no options.  I truly hope they break that trend, and give us something like Szarek who can be added to any Dynasty, or at least a character kit like the old Space Marine Commander with a couple sprues of options.  

[Daimyo-Phaeron Lenoch]

The Silent King showing up, with rules and a model, would be super amazing!

What I’d like to see would be a centerpiece ‘model’ like the new Ossiarch guy that has 3 or 4 models on the base, with Szeras being the main character of it with some supporting characters, like the one who communicates with Dante and maybe a couple of other Triarch people.

He also has to have a Sanguinius deathmask. That is non-negotiable.

 

I also hope that we get some variety of anti-psyker stuff, as this is after all the Psychic Awakening, and as we obviously can’t have that sort of thing, pariahs or similar seem to be the next best option. Alternatively, we might get Blackstone Canoptek constructs, that are specifically designed by cryptek sin recent times to combat the warp now that the galaxy is split in half.

[dreadmad]

I wouldn't be surprised to see a Tyranid-like release. So individual stratagems for most units to benefit from, some new relics and some sort of new customisation (be it build your own Dynasty, something that replaces WL traits or something new entirely).

 

My wish listing is that it comes in February's PA Vs the Tau - I'm planning on taking them to a tournament and I'd love to have expanded rules for them by then!

[Kervin40k]

I am getting the felling we will be the token Xeno for one of the last Imperial factions in PA, and we will get a min treatment.  This is because of the 8.5/9th ed rumors where it is going to be Necrons vs power armor of some color and we will be one of the first codexes of the new ed. 

[NTaW]

I think I'm most excited for the 'pick you own traits' section as I'm currently running Tri-Code lists just trying to keep up in my games. Being able to pick two rules that suit what I'm after with my army would be welcome.

 

After that I'll take a stratagem that allows INFANTRY to fall back and shoot, side bonus one that makes GAUSS weapons a little scarier to heavily armoured targets (Kaldoth's 1st suggestion pretty much nails it). I can't even think of a page's worth of stratagems that I want in my army. Maybe something that makes ResOrbs a bit better?

 

It would be very cool if Crypteks got a boost showing their various technosorceries and creating a tie between them and Canoptek units.

 

Ultimately if I can have a more thematic army as a result of the book's offerings I'll be a happy Phaeron.

 

 

 

Oh, and I'll chip in the obligatory "I want Pariahs back" comment as well. Kaldoth, I recall a frater saying they heard someone who works at a LGS (maybe it was a GW) say there would be a Pariah character. I mean it's a 50:50 chance right? If Pariah's come back it's either a unit or a character, so throw your lot in. I hope they come back as a unit of 4-10 myself with a box of five that could make a character with one of the models.

 

Yeah I want it all. Someone said wishlisting, right?

Edited January 14, 2020 by NTaW

[Tyriks]

I'm kind of baffled we don't have a stratagem like Tide of Traitors. Cultists can do it and Orks can do it but the one race that actually gets back up can't? Seems silly.

[NTaW]

Good call Tyriks. I'll also add a stratagem for Resurrection Protocols AFTER a unit is destroyed. Survivors stand up outside 1" of enemies of course.

[BaconCouch]

I want Crypteks to get 'Psychic Powers" ala what they had back in 5th ed. The various Cryptek schools could be brought back.

Additionally, we need something to help our outclassed infantry become relevant.

A Silent King Model might be a tall order.

[Captain_Krash]

Pariahs please  

 

Krash 

[NTaW]

With factions announced for PA:7, Engine War, Necrons lost their prime opponent in the Adeptus Mechanicus. Now that we know the Guard are in PA:5 with Tau and Genestealer Cult that leaves us with the following factions from the Warhammer Community "these factions will get updates" picture:

 

Space Wolves

Orks

Custodians 

Deathwatch

Necrons

Death Guard

Harlequins (?)

 

Presumably PA:6, Saga of the Beast, will include Orks now that we've seen Ghazghkhull spoiled and "Saga" strongly implies Space Wolves. This bodes well for the Necron content in whatever book they are eventually featured in since the big Space Marine factions will have been covered. Personal hope for Necrons (v. Harlequins?) v. Deathwatch.

 

The only hint I've seen is in PA:4 there's mention of a planet with fresh noctilith pylons in numbers far exceeding that of Cadia but they are new. No psychic disturbances in the area either, contact was lost and Sisters of Battle and Black Templars were sent to investigate. 

 

Where do other people think Necrons will fit into this Psychic Awakening? 

[dreadmad]

Since we haven't technically heard that they're not, Necrons *could* be coming next month in Saga of the Beast as a side faction. Unlikely though.

 

Sisters of Battle haven't had anything either have they? I know their codex came at the same time as Faith and Fury, but I don't believe they got any additional rules content?

[Tyriks]

I really hope we aren't just shoehorned into a book. I'd much rather wait a bit longer and be the focus of a book, since our rules are pretty weak and honestly our fluff hasn't been touched much since 5th Ed came out. We could use some development there, so I'm really hoping we get some.

 

This is a long shot but I think it'd be great if whatever book we are in has a good reason for the reader to root for us even if they don't play Necrons. Something like we're trying to calm a section of the Great Rift and the Deathwatch attacks without knowing what we are up to, just to kill some xenos.

 

Sisters technically did get mission-specific stratagems in Faith and Fury. I don't remember how many but I know they got some. So who knows if that counts or not.

[NTaW]

There is one mission-specific stratagem that cites the <adepta sororitas> keyword.

 

I hope it doesn't count, and if it doesn't again I think that would bode well for opposition to the Necrons since they have all the models they could need with two waves and a fresh Codex (....right?). It would be glorious for Necrons to have at least a medium level feature in whatever book they're in.

 

The quantity and quality of lore in each book so far has varied a fair bit. Ritual of the Damned had pretty salient bits for each faction and I was sorta surprised at the (cliffhanger for sure) ending since it wasn't just [insert Imperial macguffin v. Magnus "all is as planned"]. It gave me a bit of hope toward the possibilities for Necron content. The books do all seem fairly centralized on their specific conflict though so I doubt we'll see much more than that regarding the Dynasty/ies involved.

[BaronTuman]

This just occurred to me.  A simple fix the for Necrons would be to follow a pattern we've seen with Sisters and Tao recently.  Introduce a wide adoption of ignore AP 1 & AP 2, probably just on infantry.  It would be fluffy, where they were tough to destroy, and would also make re-animation protocols work again.  Similarly, it would "fix" marines who seem to have AP 1 & AP 2 everywhere in their list.  Hmm. It's almost as if they should go back to the previous AP system!

Edited February 18, 2020 by BaronTuman

[Marshlands]

The trend seems to be buffs for underused units, so id guess less for anything with doom or destroyer in its name and then buffs to the various unused infantry etc. Possibly like Grey Knights big damage boosts for the troops

[BaconCouch]

I'm hoping for this kind of stuff

1. A transhuman physiology type strat to make infantry only woundable on 4s
2. A strat or dyanasty code to ignore AP-1
3. A buff to gauss to do their normal wound + a mortal wound on a 6 to wound
4. A usable set of 'DIY' dynasty codes. ATM, i'd offer that our codes are some of the worst in the game.

Edited February 21, 2020 by BaconCouch

[NTaW]

This was posted a few days ago and looks like new artwork to me but I haven't scoured the sources to verify that yet. Anyone recognize it?

 

[Triszin]

whats the spider thing in the background?

[Daimyo-Phaeron Lenoch]

Nope. That's (probabaly) newly colorized artwork, and likely a higher resolution, but that is at least as old as the 5th ed codex (it's on page 15, and takes up half a page).

 

That spider thing almost certainly has to be a Triarch Stalker. It's the only spider thing in the 5th ed codex, barring the spider itself.

 

Shame that it's not new artwork, but the fact that it's popping up hopefully means we will see some news soon?

Or alternatively it's just a remastered art piece and means nothing.

[Bonzi]

I'm hoping for this kind of stuff

 

1. A transhuman physiology type strat to make infantry only woundable on 4s

2. A strat or dyanasty code to ignore AP-1

I'm gonna be honest...one of these shouldn't be a strat, it should flat out be an additional rule to our reanimation protocols. We might actually get to use our reanimation protocols if our infantry could only be wounded on a 4+. It's clear GW wants FnP style saves to not factor into Necron play but they need a substantial boost to survivability to make reanimation protocols functional and I think one of those two rules would be the best way to deliver.

 

Total wishlisting unrelated to PA as I don't expect GW to make structural changes to the crons in PA.

[Get Thokt]

So the next PA book after Engine War is rumoured to be War of the Spider. The title possibly hints to a new Szeras model thus new rules of Necrons.

 

Anyone hopeful this could be our time? Or that we may be the last to get our book?

[NTaW]

Not hopeful at all, "The Illuminor" is one of the many monikers of Fulgrim and Fabius' nickname within the Emperor's Children is "The Spider" (a play on his isolationist, do it if I get something out of it attitude).

 

Trazyn was in the last Fabius book but I'm not entirely sure we'll be seeing anything come from that plot line in-game. Perhaps the upcoming book "War in the Museum" with him in it could shine some light on that side of things. Between that book and the ending of "The Great Work" there could be some interesting stories told for the Necrons...it then becomes a matter of if and when GW decide to pursue them.

 

I would -love- to be wrong but it looks like Necrons will be in the 9th (/final?) PA book (after Engine War and War of the Spider).