# Necron Meat Grinder Phalanx



## PoweredbyCoffee (Oct 31, 2008)

Hello everyone.. I thought I would post a Necron tactic that I have been using lately. Before you flay me (no pun intended) please note that this is not a strategy that I would trust in any tournament or overly competitive play. What I can say is that I have employed this tactic about 5 times with good success and lots of enjoyment.

My main (and only) army is Necrons and I'm frankly tired of lists where I'm constantly using 'shoot and run like %^$#$' tactics. So, I guess you can say that this tactic is good for Necron players seeking a good chance of pace and something that will surprise most opposing players (for a game or two). :grin:

*Important Note: This tactic is based on the post by uberschveinen concerning Necron tactics. Click here for that article*

For those not familiar with the idea of a Necron phalanx, it works on the premise of using the Monolith and Necron WBB capability to keep coming back. This slight modification takes advantage of the Flayed Ones instead of regular warriors. My biggest annoyance with 5th edition is that if Necrons get into CC, it is pretty much over. This strategy doesn't need to avoid CC, it actually embraces it.

Essentially the "meat grinder", as I call it, consists of Monoliths, a Lord with Res Orb and possibly GoF, and Flayed Ones. Borrowing from uberschveinen, this is the "anvil". As the enemy pours into the meat grinder, the Flayed Ones take advantage of WBB and use the Monolith to constantly teleport out of CC only to charge back in with 3 attacks. This also means that your opponent will be forced to roll morale each time thanks to the Flayed Ones' Terrifying Visage. Unless your opponent is fearless, they are bound to fail on occasion.

I have worked with a few variations of this strategy. Here's an example 2000 point list that I have found works well with this idea.

Lord with Res Orb
2 Monoliths
20 Warriors
20 Flayed Ones
10 Destroyers
10 Scarabs with Disruption Fields
=2000pts

The biggest problem I have encountered is that the meat grinder can only handle so much meat so you need to regulate what comes into the grinder (i.e. anvil). I have had significant success with the above list because the non-anvil units ("hammer", "buckle", whatever you want to call them) are supportive in nature.

For example, the Destroyers are simply a good all around unit so this strategy can change to focus on artillery fire. In addition, they can be used (along with the particle whips) to thin out enemy ranks before they enter the meat grinder. They are also useful at taking down enemy artillery that might serve as a threat to the Lord, Monoliths, or Flayed Ones..

The Scarabs have been a lifesaver on nearly all occasions. They can help to serve as a buffer against Ork Furious Charge, as a tar pit until the slow meat grinder catches up, anti-artillery, or anti-tank by virtue of glancing blows.

A couple decisions I have struggled to make when using this list is if I should keep the warriors in reserve or deploy them. Ultimately they are your phase out protection and if paired with the meat grinder help to tenderize the meat before you grind it up.

One of the major disadvantages of this strategy is capturing objectives as you only have one Res Orb to support your troops. One variation might include multiple Lords but the list suddenly becomes very expensive.

*Variation: Pariahs*

There is an interesting variation of this strategy that is even more entertaining but is not very cost effective. Ok, I know what you are thinking.. Pariahs are a total waste of points. You're pretty much right but I have to say .. they are a blast!

Essentially the change to the list above would include dropping several Scarabs and Destroyers in order to add a squad of Pariahs, Gaze of Flame, and a Nightmare Shroud.

This combination is deadly because it increases the chance that your opponent will fail a roll for Terrifying Visage due to the Pariahs' (Soulless) ability to lower leadership to 7 and the -1 from GOF. In addition you can "thin" the meat coming into the meat grinder by forcing additional morale checks via the Nightmare Shroud.

This list is compelling but not very competitive because the Pariah's don't have WBB and they are an easy target for your opponent. But it is fun to use once. 

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this.


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## darklove (May 7, 2008)

The Necron Phalanx is not a valid 5th ed. strategy, and dates from 3rd/4th ed.


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## PoweredbyCoffee (Oct 31, 2008)

darklove said:


> The Necron Phalanx is not a valid 5th ed. strategy, and dates from 3rd/4th ed.


It's FO legal and a valid strategy.. Didn't say it was a "good" strategy, just a "fun" strategy. This is after all a ... (drumroll) ... game. And games are meant to be enjoyed. :grin:

I have been playing this strategy lately because I'm tired of the Destroyer fire and run strategy of most Necron lists.. The ones where you avoid CC at all costs. This strategy and those similar to it are the only things that keep me from quitting W40k altogether... There is still no public release date for the 5e Necron codex and rumors state it may not even come in 2010. These sorts of weird lists keep me interested until they release it.


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## oblivion8 (Jun 17, 2009)

lol, sounds interesting, I like the use of the term meat grinder xD
Ya I agree with your statement about fun lists, I think an all destroyer army would be boring :laugh: 
What would be the probability of putting a ctan in this idea? I love the ctan and their special rules so it would be fun to try it out I think.


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## PoweredbyCoffee (Oct 31, 2008)

I thought about that but the only problem is that you would have to cut so deeply into your Destroyer pool that you make yourself very vulnerable to mobile shooty lists...

IMO, the Deceiver pairs nicely with this list because of his Dread ability and the fact that he can walk away during the enemy assault phase. This is nice because you can soften the enemy up with the Deceiver and let the "meat grinder" take care of the rest. You can also use the Deceiver's Grand Illusion to get better field positioning.

Again the problem is that you would have to give up all the Scarabs and three Destroyers... Not too bad of a trade I think. You would have a pretty mean CC list with a C'Tan.


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## Chumbalaya (May 17, 2010)

So, what happens against a shooty or mech army? Turn 1: kill Destroyers, Turn 2 and on: mop up.

It's interesting, but not terribly effective.


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## PoweredbyCoffee (Oct 31, 2008)

I can't say that any Necron list is terribly effective against MEQ. Frankly, that's GW's fault. There's not much in the Necron arsenal that can take down MEQ lists. Maybe when GW focuses a little more on game balance then I'll be able to answer your question.

Ultimately what I would do against MEQ lists is use my scarabs to attempt to inflict as many weapon destroyed results as possible, use the particle whip which will get two dice for penetration. Also any of the gauss weapons have chance of glance.

Can you recommend a Necron list that would be good against MEQ lists that would not be a total sink against everyone else?

I suppose I thought this was a forum for posting strategies & tactics in general, but I suppose it is a forum for min-max strategies.


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## Chumbalaya (May 17, 2010)

No need to get defensive. You asked for input. Strategies and Tactics should be at least somewhat viable, otherwise they're gonna get ripped apart.

MEQs you'll have to kill with massed fire. Force enough saves and they will fail (this goes for everybody really). Destroyers and Immortals all put out tons of fire and are quite resilient, so focus your fire one squad at a time until they go poof. Destroyers can run double duty against mech, but throw in Heavy Ds to support them. 

Check out my Necron guide linked to my sig. It's far from comprehensive, but should give you a good idea of what I'm talking about.


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## oblivion8 (Jun 17, 2009)

To be honest I have never really had a extremly hard time fighting with necrons in the short time Ive played with them. The auto glance feature of even their weakest guns I think is really good against MEQ to be honest... maybe I ahve just been getting lucky though xD


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## buckythefly (Mar 16, 2009)

I've only fought necron a few times, but it sounds like a real fun list to face, I'd throw orks into the meat grinder all day till I can clog it up with bodies.


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## darklove (May 7, 2008)

Meat Grinder Phalanx = Dead Necron Army = losing game. If you enjoy losing games then this is the perfect equation for you. If you think winning games is more fun than losing, then its time to stop looking at this thread. I'm not adding any further feedback on the strategy than that because it obviously isn't wanted.


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## PoweredbyCoffee (Oct 31, 2008)

I wasn't aware that you gave any feedback, Darklove. Except to say it wasn't viable. I seem to remember supporting the idea of Heavy Destroyer lists a while back only to be blasted by virtually everyone on the forums. Now I see HD's being favored over Monoliths quite a bit. The lists boasted by this strategy will become more popular ... even if it just gives Necron players something to do while their Destroyers run all over the battlefield to avoid CC.

This list has enough firepower to take on shooty lists. It has the ability to change thanks to the Flayed One's infiltrate ability. It really isn't a bad list.

I haven't lost a single game with this strategy thus far.  After last night I'm up to 6 wins. Not too bad for someone who plays 1-2 times per week on average. Last night was against Tau. Technically, I didn't use this strategy at all, but I used the same list. So I guess you can say that the strategy is not as versatile as the list is. Instead I deep struck my Monoliths and infiltrated my Flayed Ones. Worked well. I agree that the strategy isn't viable against many lists, but the Scarabs and Flayed Ones are versatile so you can change your pitch very easily.

I'm as competitive as the next guy, but the standard Destroyer lists are boring to me even if they are more winnable. In fact, I played a couple weeks ago using the Deceiver + 15 Destroyer mix against a MEQ army and it was the most boring game of my life. I left the game store questioning why I play W40k at all. Similarly, I'm tired of cheering that my warriors are completely killed in an assault (thus avoiding sweep and allowing WBB). It's... weird.

Even if one player gets some fun out of this little strategy, I think there's some value.


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## Chumbalaya (May 17, 2010)

HDs sucked in 4th because you didn't need them. Glancing hits worked just fine. Now in 5th, glancing hits is not gonna work out so you need the high S. They're still overpriced, but it's literally all you have.

10 Destroyers is a lot of dakka, but if it's your only source of firepower it goes bye-bye.

Flayed Ones are trash because they are slow and lack power weapons. Why anybody would feel the need to get close with them (unless they have power weapons, then it's open season) is beyond me. With Tau it's especially easy. Kroot screen stops the FOs while you load them up with plasma.

Monos are trash because they are expensive non-Necrons that make Phase Out easier. No threat potential on their own, not much synergy considering the weaknesses of the Necron army, and generally just a noobslaying red herring.

Boring? That's Necrons dude. When they get a new book we'll all be having more fun. As is, that's all they've got to compete.


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## Drizzt_13 (May 22, 2009)

PoweredbyCoffee said:


> I haven't lost a single game with this strategy thus far.  After last night I'm up to 6 wins. Not too bad for someone who plays 1-2 times per week on average. Last night was against Tau. Technically, I didn't use this strategy at all, but I used the same list. So I guess you can say that the strategy is not as versatile as the list is.


Every time i see a list or a player that has gone undefeated I begin to get suspicious. Partly that you're lying though six seems quite plausible but also that a lot of what is going into the wins is that the players you play against are significantly worse then you and that they are not playing top mech lists. Try playing someone using an optimized mech lists and we'll see how viable any necron army is against them.


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## oblivion8 (Jun 17, 2009)

wow guys, chill the bashing... who cares whether A: he's lying or B: its a crap list.
And to be honest throwing my warriors in combat, and taking fun stuff like monoliths (which are far from crap btw) and FO may lose you the game, but I know I (and probably the OP) dont really give a crap if we lose as long as we got kicks from all the crazy shit happening, and if I roll really well, chances are your prime meq list will get its ass kicked, which is all the better =P

All he's doing is offering people who like necrons and dont play every game as if they were in GT a fun and possibly viable list. O, and btw necrons are not boring at all, if you dont mind losing 

woo.... rant over, back to OT... what about flying a destroyer lord around with the scarabs with a warscythe?, that would take out even the hardiest of tanks and provide mobile Res orb to if you wanted.


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## Drizzt_13 (May 22, 2009)

I Didn't mean to accuse this specific person of lying I meant in general when people claim to be undefeated it raises my suspicions. The above post is not to say that you are a bad player I would just suggest playing people at or above your skill level with optimized lists so that way you learn more about the strength and weakness of the list. Losses teach you a lot more then victories so the fact that you have none prompts me to believe you have rarely had the weakness of this tactic exposed to you on the tabletop


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## Chumbalaya (May 17, 2010)

"But it's fun!" is not a good way to back up an argument about the merits of a particular set of strats/tactics.

Everything is fun. Running 9 Penitent Engines and Arco-Flagellants is fun, but that doesn't make it a good idea tactically.


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## PoweredbyCoffee (Oct 31, 2008)

Wow... Did mean to cause hostility. I apologize for my defensiveness. I get that way sometimes with Necrons. Defensive.. (that was a joke :laugh I don't want to phase out...

Played two games last night with this list. I lost one and tied the other. The one I tied was an odd MEQ list with somewhere around 9 tanks (I don't have access to his list) and the one I tied was a Space Wolves list.

Against the MEQ list I did a pretty good job immobilizing some of the tanks but in the end I phased out after a constant barrage of AP3 template weapons. His first template took out most of my Scarabs even with their 2+ cover save.. Bad rolls...

Against the Space Wolves, my list did surprisingly well. I was not swept but the player was smart and able to knock out my lord rather quickly. Everything fell apart after that but the game ended with contended objectives and no clear victor. Had the game gone on one more turn I would have lost. We got into some rules problems in our game as well. I thought that the GoF (added to my list) should prevent his +1 in counter attack but he didn't think so. In addition we didn't know how to handle the Thunderhammer case where the Necrons left CC and then entered back in after emerging from the Lith's portal. We ended up rolling off with each combat. The nice thing about this battle was that the SW player had never played Necrons and everyone at the shop told him to try to phase me out by going after my warriors. Again, he came to the meat grinder. I didn't have to take it to him.

Oblivian: Thanks for the feedback!

Chumbalaya: Games are supposed to be fun. Remember that. If I bring a little fun to a disgruntled Necron player, then mission accomplished.

So far I have won against Tau, standard SM, Nid, fast attack Ork, Ork horde lists. This is NOT good against MEQ or units with lots of power weapons as you cannot protect your Lord well enough IMO. It also isn't very good at capturing objectives so the best you can hope for against most lists is some excitement.

The thing I like about this list is that as long as you can protect your lord and avoid loosing the CC battle by too much (i.e. 4 or less) you can win a battle of attrition.

This post has convinced me to say goodbye to Necrons for a while. Think I might take up Space Wolves until the new codex comes out sometime in 2013. Maybe never if GW nerfs my first love.


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## oblivion8 (Jun 17, 2009)

lol, well good luck in you're new army endeavors! xD



> "But it's fun!" is not a good way to back up an argument about the merits of a particular set of strats/tactics.
> 
> Everything is fun. Running 9 Penitent Engines and Arco-Flagellants is fun, but that doesn't make it a good idea tactically.


lol, well sorry for the confusion, I wasnt trying to back up the argument, just reinforcing what the op's main objective was with this list.

O, and acroflagellents are fun, but 9 penetants and a squad of 20 repentia is far from fun.... trust me.... not.... fun xp now if repentia had invul save..... fun would be had!


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