Fine tuning, for fun

[Ahzek451]

What I am posting is simply just for fun, many have done it, and everyone has an opinion. ESPECIALLY when it comes to rules in a wargame. There is no doubt that creating a codex and a ruleset as vast as this is no easy task. And I assume the designers are working under a time constraint as well as any other pressuring factors. And who knows if design choices are influenced by higher ups that may or may not be saying "we need to sell this, make it beefy". Either way, I get it. I have collected, read, and played against nearly every army through each edition. And it's not hard for anyone to see certain rulesets or units slip through the cracks in effectiveness upon release. And one has to wait for the next edition in the hopes for a fix. Every codex release suffers this. 

 

And so, I have a magic wand and to the best of my ability I will attempt to "fix" the problems in this codex that I see. To be clear, I do feel this codex is great. It is strong, and comparatively speaking we necron players made out pretty good this edition. But...as some might agree there are some things that could be improved upon to make a more "perfect" codex. Clearly, feel free to comment or add to this. So here I go:

 

Note: I left out certain units like finecast characters because I feel GW could axe or dramatically change these units when and if they get a model update like Illuminor. 

 

ANCIENT DYNASTIES

Eternal conquerors- add: you may not take Relentlessly Expansionist with this Dynastic Tradition. 

Remove "Severed"

 

STRATAGEMS

Reanimation Prioritization -1CP

 

Reconstitution Protocols-

D6 but a roll of 1 or 2 counts as a 3. 

 

Add a new stratagem- OUR NUMBER IS LEGION. -3CP

Once per battle if the last model is removed from a unit, disallowing it from using reanimation Protocols, do no not remove the model. Instead, roll a reanimation protocol roll for every wound lost from every other destroyed model from the unit. Example. If a unit of Skorpekh destroyers with a starting strength of 6 models lost 5 models through the course of  3 turns, then when the last model is removed from an attack this stratagem can be triggered and a total of 15 dice can be rolled for the reanimation pool.

Note: this essentially allows a once per game chance to use RP on a unit that is wiped before it gets a chance to use it.

 

CRYPTEK ARKANA

Phylacterin Hive

Once per turn instead of once per battle. Change to 30 pts. (cannot be triggered again with the "the deathless arise" stratagem.)

 

RELICS

The arrow of infinity

Add: invulnerable saves cannot be used against this attack. 

 

Command Protocols:

Remove the need to be within 6" of a character. Only a noble on the battlefield is needed to use command Protocols. If at any point a noble is not on the battlefield, Command Protocols stop.

 

Change Directive 2 for the protocol of the Undying legions to become 1 automatic success instead of 1 re-roll. 

 

UNITS

 

ILLUMINOR SZERAS 

Add: Szarekhan keyword (PERSONAL NOTE, this is more just a highly personal preference and can truly be fine without this change. With the new color scheme for this model clearly looking Szarekhan, It would be cool to add an additional character to the new dynasty of the the king...that was not the king himself. While also still being free to join other dynasties. This would require a bit of a fluff change)

 

Add: In service to the king-If every unit from your army is from the Szarekhan dynasty, then remove the dynastic agent keyword. 

 

Add: Enhanced carapace- This model has a 5+ invulnerable save. 

 

Atomic Energy Manipulator-change to: In the fight phase, if this model destroys one or more enemy models, then at the end of that phase it can use its Mechanical Augmentation ability as if it were the end of your Movement phase and may choose the result instead of rolling. In addition, you may instead choose a unit that already has been affected by this ability and exchange the previous result to a new one of your choice. 

 

LORD

-reduce by 10 points

 

TECHNOMANCER

Change Canoptek control node to "at the start of the command phase select one freindly <Dynasty> Canoptek unit within 24". Until the start your next command phase, each time a model in that unit makes an attack, add 1 to that attack's hit roll"

 

PSYCHOMANCER

Change harbinger of despair range to 18".

Change nightmare shroud range to 12"

 

PLASMANCER 

Change plasmic lance to Assault 3.

 

IMMORTALS 

Remove +2 points for Tesla Carbine. 

 

CANOPTEK REANIMATOR

Add: Containment field: This model has a 4+ invulnerable save.

 

HEXMARK DESTROYER

Give the  Enmitic Disintegrator Pistol the following ability: Each time an attack is made with this weapon, an unmodified wound roll of 5+ inflicts 1 mortal wound on the target in addition to any normal damage. 

 

CRYPTOTHRALLS

Add to Bound Creations: In addition, this unit cannot perform actions. 

 

CANOPTEK PLASMACYTE

Recall Protocol: change the range from 6" to 12"

 

Infused madness. Change the third sentence to read: "Regardless of the result, until the end of the turn apply the following affect to the Appropriate Destroyer cult:

Skorpekh and Ophydian Destroyers: Add 1 to the Strength and Attacks characteristics of the models in that unit. 

Lokhust and hexmark destroyer: Add 1 to the wound roll made for ranged attacks.

 

C'TAN SHARD OF THE VOID DRAGON

Matter absorption- change: "...for each 2+ this model regains 1 lost wound (D3 if TITANIC)...

 

TRANSCENDENT C'TAN

Change Sentient Necrodermis to: This model has a save characteristic of 2+.

 

OPHYDIAN DESTROYERS

Change to save 3+.

 

ANNIHILATION BARGE

Change Twin tesla destructors to Heavy 8, damage 2.

 

Add "Core" keyword

 

DOOMSDAY ARK

CHANGE Doomsday cannon High power to D6 -> any damage dice result of a 1 or 2 becomes a 3.

 

LOKHUST DESTROYERS AND HEAVY DESTROYERS

Change cost as follows:

Lokhust Destroyers

Unit cost............45 pts/model

*Gauss destructor .......15

*Enmitic Exterminator......5

Lokhust Heavy Destroyers

Unit cost............50 pts/model

*Gauss destructor .......60

 

CANOPTEK DOOMSTALKER

Change Doomsday blaster to:

-Low power S7 AP-1

-High power S9  AP-4 damage D6 -> any damage dice result of a 1 or 2 becomes a 3.

 

DOOM SCYTHE AND NIGHT SCYTHE

Change Twin tesla destructors to Heavy 8, damage 2.

 

Doom Scythe pts change to 180

 

Night Scythe to 125. 

 

 

OBELISK

Remove weapon Tesla sphere x4. Add: Solar fusion sphere. x4

Solar Fusion Sphere R:24" Type:assault 3 S:7 AP:-2 D2 Ability: add 1 to the hit roll if attacking units with the FLY keyword. 

 

Change Hovering Sentinel to: In your movement phase, if this model Remains Stationary, then until the start of your next movement phase, this model has toughness 10 and a 5+ invulnerable save. 

 

Canoptek repair hive: This model repairs d3 wounds instead of 1 from it's living metal ability.

 

Gravity pulse-Change 2d6 roll for aircraft to 6+1D6. 

 

TESSERACT VAULT

Remove tesla spheres. (when constructing the model, simply leave the "barrel" part off.)

 

Add the following ability:

Canoptek repair hive: This model repairs d3 wounds instead of 1 from it's living metal ability. 

 

Add the following ability: 

Intersteller Vortex: Before using any powers of the C'tan and only if this model did not Advance or Fall Back this phase it can use this ability. Select one enemy unit withing 24" of and visible to this C'TAN SHARD(an enemy CHARACTER unit with a Wounds characterstic of 9 or less cannot be selected for this ability while it is within 3" of another enemy unit, unless that CHARACTER unit is the closes visible unit). Using the starting and highest wounds characteristic of the unit, refer to the following chart. On a D6 roll of a 2+ That unit suffers that many mortal wounds.

Wounds 1-10     --D3      mortal wounds

Wounds 11-23  --D3+3  mortal wounds

Wounds 24+      --D6+3  mortal wounds

 

MONOLITH

Add 10 points. 

 

Change to heavy support

 

Add the following ability:

Adaptive living metal: When this model loses a wound, roll a dice to see if this wound is not lost. At the start of any phase, consult the profile status to know the dice result needed for the rest of that phase. 

13+ wounds = 6+

7-12 wounds = 5+

1-6 wounds = 4+

Add the following ability:

 

Blackstone void: This model can never be targeted or affected by psychic powers in any way.

 

SILENT KING:

Add following special rule: 

Szarekhan ruler: If every unit from your army is from the Szarekhan dynasty, then remove the dynastic agent keyword. 

 

CONVERGENCE OF DOMINION

Change Dynastic command node to: 

Phase distortion field:

Each time a ranged attack is made against a friendly Necron unit wholly within 6" of this model, subtract 1 from that attack's hit roll. 

 

 

 

As I said, feel free to rip this apart. Admittingly, very little playtesting was implemented with the above changes and I fully acknowledge if all these changes were to happen, Necrons might be the most powerful army in the game, despite my best efforts not to make it as such. The idea was simply the fix the units falling behind or some of the more annoying mechanics that we have. 

Edited May 19, 2021 by Ahzek451

[dice4thedicegod]

I like the change to the lord (-10 points)

 

I think that the rest may be a little to a lot OP :)

[Ahzek451]

I like the change to the lord (-10 points)

 

I think that the rest may be a little to a lot OP

All of it or just some? because there are a few nerfs heh.

[dice4thedicegod]

Well, I think a nerf to the obelisk is probably unneeded :)

 

The monolith and plasmancer would become auto takes.

 

I’m not sure what the final suggested points are on the lokhust destroyer and heavy destroyer?

[Ahzek451]

Well, I think a nerf to the obelisk is probably unneeded :)

 

The monolith and plasmancer would become auto takes.

 

I’m not sure what the final suggested points are on the lokhust destroyer and heavy destroyer?

I'm kinda surprised you think the obelisk got nerfed further heh. The changes were made to make it better. But not by much.

 

Maybe, I'd say the psychomancer and plasmancer are brought up to the level of the other 2 techs. Perhaps if it was 2 shots instead of 3. I'm ok with the monolith where it is at. Not sure it's an auto take. The way it it is written. A smart opponent can still take it out pretty quickly in one turn as the check for its FNP save is done at the start of a phase. The only real takeaway is its now a heavy support which is what is desired.

 

The points are played out the same way as the back of the codex. Dropping overall points for all flavors of lokhust and making the blast gun 5 pts cheaper than the anti tank gun.

Edited May 19, 2021 by Ahzek451

[dice4thedicegod]

Maybe I misread the obelisk. It looked like it dropped to 12 shots (instead of 16 or 24 if stationary). And the current version has Tesla rules, so at 3+ to hit, 24 shots averages 24 hits (I.e. as much as 36 non-Tesla shots would average).

[Captain Idaho]

Hexmark needs D2 against infantry units or else go home! ;)

 

My biggest issues of the Codex is the lack of customisation with characters. All Skorpekh Lords are the same, all Lokhust Lords are pretty samey, the Crypteks get odd wargear that is largely irrelevant...

 

I definitely want our big guns to be more consistent.

[dice4thedicegod]

Yeah. I’d be over the moon with:

 

- Better relic support for skorpekh lord

- D6 shot, D6 damage weapons (ie doomstalker) becoming 2d3 on each

- monolith to heavy support

[Ahzek451]

Hexmark needs D2 against infantry units or else go home! ;)

 

Heh, agreed. My first instinct was to go with damage two. I put a lot of thought behind this change. I prefer like weapons to be similar in function. The pistols are the same tech as their sniper kin. So why not gift it with a similar ability? Not to mention the utility of tossing out mortal wounds helps to tackle more obstacles without being overpowered. At least, for me causing mortal wounds on a 5+ to wound helped give that little extra punch to make this model interesting while also keeping the disintegration tech. At least, playtesting it this way yielded positive results amongst my group. Edited May 23, 2021 by Ahzek451

[Ahzek451]

Yeah. I’d be over the moon with:

 

- Better relic support for skorpekh lord

- D6 shot, D6 damage weapons (ie doomstalker) becoming 2d3 on each

- monolith to heavy support

Agreed. I imagine when gw puts out a destroyer lord for the ohydian and an updated lokhust lord, then all the destroyer cults will have an hq and this will be when gw puts out more options for these guys. Maybe a unique relic list.

[Lord_Ikka]

My biggest question would be why the removal of the Eternal Conquerors/Relentlessly Expansionist combo? I get that it is the most popular dynastic combo the Necrons have right now, but rather than simply taking away the best wouldn't tweaking other traditions be better- just because a combo is really good doesn't make it game-breaking, but giving more options that have similar value seems like a better idea. 

[Ahzek451]

My biggest question would be why the removal of the Eternal Conquerors/Relentlessly Expansionist combo? I get that it is the most popular dynastic combo the Necrons have right now, but rather than simply taking away the best wouldn't tweaking other traditions be better- just because a combo is really good doesn't make it game-breaking, but giving more options that have similar value seems like a better idea.

Honestly it was just easier to do. I hate it when a combo is so clearly stars and above any other option by a large margin. Small margins are ok and normal.

 

So by all means, drop an idea for this particular issue. I just know it would require a deeper dive. I'm mostly acknowledging this is an issue. (Poor nihilakh) I feel like the rest are fine, but maybe bring down 1 of these or both.

 

Something to toy around with: eternal conquerors only apply to core units.

 

Monoliths become heavy support in battalion detachments.

Edited May 23, 2021 by Ahzek451

[Lord_Ikka]

 

Honestly it was just easier to do. I hate it when a combo is so clearly stars and above any other option by a large margin. Small margins are ok and normal.

 

So by all means, drop an idea for this particular issue. I just know it would require a deeper dive. I'm mostly acknowledging this is an issue. (Poor nihilakh) I feel like the rest are fine, but maybe bring down 1 of these or both.

 

Something to toy around with: eternal conquerors only apply to core units.

 

Monoliths become heavy support in battalion detachments.

 

Fair enough- it would require a pretty deep dive to fix up/equalize the other traditions to make them more viable. Possible fix is to limit Eternal Conquerors to Troops and then either Fast Attack or Elite, player's choice. That way you have to pick whether your scarabs/spyders or skorpekh/lychguard get the objective secured, making it slightly less effective but requiring a player to make more tactical decisions.

[Captain Idaho]

I have some ideas for Necrons that I think that stays thematic whilst giving them a leg up.

 

Firstly, random damage on their guns... we need to get rid of that completely. Necron technology is the greatest in the galaxy so should reflect that.

 

Gauss Destructors should go to Damage 5. There I said it. They still need to roll to hit and wound, on a platform that is far from invincible, but when they hit they need to hurt.

 

Doomstalker and Dooms Day Arks should be Damage 5 also. Sure, D6 shots is still unreliable, but then Damage 5 isn't which compensates. If you get hit, it hurts!

 

Tesla is a difficult beast. Against Marines it struggles and against any vehicle it can easily just bounce off, but then against infantry it tries them.

 

Would providing them all an extra shot each help offset their otherwise unfavourable position amongst Gauss? So Tesla Carbines get 3 shots each, whilst Destructors get 6.

[Daimyo-Phaeron Lenoch]

I don’t know if it would fix them but I’d be very happy with Tesla returning to a 6+ proc instead of a flat six, maybe with a stipulation that it can’t suffer negative modifiers.

 

Mostly because I like rolling perfectly average ballistic skill checks and getting more hits than fired shots. :D

[Mr4Minutes]

Flat 5 may be a little strong for our anti vehicle, but either min 3 or 3+d3 is a must. I also think the Doomstalker and DDA should be at 6 shots at max FP and then 2d3 at min power.

 

After watching TTTitans Ad Mech bat rep using the new electro priests I think that Tesla could be fixed with their strat. 1cp for exploding 5s and 6s. Turns into crazy damage output.

[Captain Idaho]

To be fair, Gauss Destructors are 3D3 damage which is actually pretty good and averages far higher.

 

The idea is the random element should be reduced as they're not Orks....

 

That might be an idea for the Tesla regarding the Ad Mech.

[Ahzek451]

My only gripe with doomsday cannons is that I can handle 1 swingy d6. Not 2. And so in the end I felt it appropriate to keep the d6 hits(still has blast), and take a page from the big marine laser and at least make the minimum damage a 3. Still damage d6, but a roll of a 1 or 2 counts as a 3. Other big guns for other races still seem to have a d6 for the number of shots. Either most of them need a fix, or keep it as is. 

Alternately I would say that this big hulking cannon always rolls a minimum of 3 hits when firing at units with the vehicle, monster, or titanic keyword.