Playing Deathwing: Necrons As Allies Is Godly

Wow. Outstanding. Truly. That's what I have to say after playing three games today with a friend (Christian) who let me use his Necrons to try as allies for my Deathwing. I felt like an Angry Marine. No, not like I was fielding Angry Marines: I FELT LIKE AN ANGREH MERHREEN!!!!

*Ahrem* Let's look at the games we played very briefly before moving onto the day's lessons, before I fail an instability check and morph into a possessed chaos marine. -_-

The Army List:
- H.Q. 1: Belial (Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield)
- H.Q. 2: Necron Overlord (Resurrection Orb)
- Troop 1: Five shooty Deathwing Terminators; one with a chainfist, and one with a cyclone missile launcher
- Troop 2: Five close combat Deathwing Terminators (Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield)
- Troop 3: Twenty Necron Warriors
- Fast Attack: Six close combat Canoptek Wraiths (Whip Coils)
Total: 1335 points

Why Necrons As Allies?

I received an interesting comment to the question as to whether or not other people thought I should choose Necrons as allies, considering that I'd like my army to be competitive. Here it is:
"your main army is Dark Angels... so speed honestly is not a problem that your own codex cannot remedy. More guns? Go Banner of Devastation, LRC & some tactical squads with minimal upgrades. I think that if you can avoid the Desperate Allies situation than it is great-- recall that gauss weapons are rapid fire, so optimally, you should be within 12'. That gives you a 6' break. Now, that's a lot, but a mistake could debilitate an important unit."

Good points. However I have to admit that I'm not a fan of Landraiders. Don't get me wrong, I think the unit is superb, but I don't like putting so many eggs into one basket (not normally, anyways). Also, I don't like the look of the model. Heresy!!!, you say? Perhaps. 

As for the bikes -- yeah. About those.. another model I don't like. I know, most people think they're awesome. How is this possible, you ask? Because I'm me. And what about the Tactical Marines? Well, I'd rather just drybrush and wash a bunch of Necro-dudes, than do what I always do: spend hours painting every model, one at a time (because I'm a bit of a perfectionist).

So why Necrons? 

I knew that they were capable of doing a good job -- although to what extend, I was about to find out. Also, I think the models and fluff is cool. As a fellow gamer at my local Games Workshop store pointed out, if you don't like your models (especially if you're like me and you love to paint), then don't bother with the hobby. Furthermore, I could see myself branching off with a second army, being Necrons, which I could mix and match with my Deathwing army. 

If you enjoy your models (albeit, choose them intelligently if you want to win more often than not), then that's what's important. Also, it will give me plenty of opportunity to practice NMM on the heroes and more interesting models.

Deathwing & Necron vs. Chaos Daemons

I lost this battle, because:
1. I didn't take the time to learn the rules/victory conditions, and so I focused my energy on the wrong targets. In addition to this, I made poor use of my Canoptek Wraiths, which got them killed. However my Necron Warriors held up against a Daemon Prince for three turns.

Over-all, the issue was related to how I was playing my models, my understanding of the rules and how the victory points worked. So we could say that I had a strong army; I needed to learn how to use it.

Lesson: Learn the rules, focus on the victory points and use the Canoptek Wraiths more intelligently.

Deathwing & Necron vs. Tau

I won this game, but I could have used my Terminators better. For one, I should have focused on holding the objective I had with at least one of my Terminator squads, and I shouldn't run my Canoptek Wraiths straight into the Tau fire-line. Yes they have a 3+ invulnerable save and two wounds each, but really -- they could have done more damage if I thought of a more intelligent way of maneuvering them around the battlefield.

"This is the end of the game. We both hold a three point objective but earlier in the game, my Commander standing at the top of the Fortress of Redemption was gunned down by Deathwing Terminators. Thus, the Tau Empire lost this battle."
(Photo and commentary by Christian)

Also, deep-striking my shooty Terminators right in front of his commander to obliterate him was a smart move: although I sacrificed the squad in the following turns, it added extra  bonus points that helped me to win the game.

Finally, deep-striking my close-combat Terminators with Belial was a bad idea: I should have kept them near the objective so that they could lock his Riptide into close combat; if his Riptide had locked my (lone) Necron Warrior squad in close combat, I would have lost the objective, and the game would have been his.

Lesson: Focus on holding the objectives and don't charge Canoptek Wraiths straight into a Tau fire-line.

Deathwing & Necron vs. Chaos Space Marines

I did the best I could and do not see what I could have done better, except learning all the rules of the game, and I deep-striked my shooty terminators behind his two Landraiders. Instead, I should have used them to kill his Cultists.

Paying attention to the victory conditions really paid off, and everything was geared towards that.

It is worth noting that during two turns, Belial was within six inches of Necron Warriors. This was necessary in order to give myself the absolutely best chance possible at taking the game. It also proved to be not too much of a worry, however it is worth keeping in mind that I shouldn't do this too often: when you play with fire, you eventually get burned.

"The Master of the Deathwing survived a few rounds of fire from two Land Raiders, secured the relic and the Necron Warriors covered his withdrawal to ensure victory!"

(Photo and commentary by Christian)

Lessons: (1) Don't deep-strike shooty terminators behind big shiny targets with A.V. 14 like a Landraider. Instead, deep-strike them where they can do the most damage such as next to his troops or better yet: right in front of his H.Q. in order to assassinate it for the victory points.

(2) Give Necron Warriors (especially with a leader that has a Resurrection Orb) an objective to camp on, and they'll hold their ground. Terrain to hide in, on or behind helps as well.

(3) always ask yourself "Why did I lose?" when you lose, "Why did I almost lose?" when it was close and "What could I have done better?"

What Next?

From today's games and lessons, I already have two things to focus on:

1. Save Up
Two boxes of Necron Warriors, one Necron Overlord, six Canoptek Wraiths and a carrying case for all the minis is my purchase-goal for the summer, as far as Warhammer is concerned. This won't be easy -- let's hope I get that second job some time soon..

2. Destroy: Flying Monstrous Creatures & Tanks
I have 165 points left to go before I hit my 1500-points target. I had a hard time taking down flying monstrous creatures and tanks; this is a weakness in my army. Christian recommended that I go for for two Devastator Squads, or a Doomscythe. We'll see where I go from here, based on how things go when I field Necron allies, as I did today.