Necron review elite, Triarch Stalkers

Triarch Stalkers are multi-legged walkers that are used as tank hunters. They are piloted by a high-ranking Triach Praetorian. I’m not sure why, but I guess a record keeping diplomat ass kicking cop is the best pilot for this thing. The multiple legs help the Stalker transverse all types of terrain. It is difficult to protect armor in or behind cover when a Triarch Stalker is on the battlefield. It employs a dedicated vehicle wrecking weapon, but that is not all the Stalker can be used for. It also can transmit targeting data to other Necron units. This data can be used to increase the accuracy of all Necron ranged weaponry. This gives the Triarch Stalker a great battlefield support role as well.

What comes to mind when I hear Triarch Stalkers

The Triarch Stalker is a walker. It comes with BS 4, WS 4, strength 7, initiative 2, 3 attacks, armor of 11 (13), 11 (13), 11 and is open topped. It has the living metal, quantum shielding and move through cover rules. It comes armed with a Heat Ray and has a Targeting Array and comes in at the same points cost as Dunbar’s number.

What G.W. might someday release as a triarch Stalker

Heat Ray- is a ranged weapon with two firing modes. The first is focused and is 24” S 8 AP 1 heavy 2 melta. The dispersed ray is a S5 AP 4 flamer template.

Targeting Array-is a nice piece of gear. When a Stalker hits a unit with the Heat Ray, that unit is marked. Then all other ranged shots against that target count as being twin linked until the end of the phase. The Necrons seem to have created marker lights long before the Tau. The Tau are such posers!

The Stalker can also swap out the Heat Ray for a twin-linked heavy gauss cannon (36’ S9 AP 2 heavy 1 gauss) +15  points or a twin-linked particle shredder ( 24“ S7  AP4  heavy 1 large blast)  for +5 points. I guess if you want longer ranged anti-tank you buy a heavy gauss cannon. The same goes for your local and the particle shredder. If you face a lot of slavering hordes, then a twin linked S7 template can go a long way toward thinning a horde. Personally I’ll stick with the stock weapon.

This is the first Necron unit I really like. How can I not like a walking two shot multi-melta gun or heavy flamer? On top of that, if it hits it also marks the target and gives twin-link shooting to everyone else on that target. Yeah I would take a couple of these in a Necron army. They have a 30” threat range, and that is really what is needed to annoy those pesky Rhinos driving toward your lines. It also might only kill one guy or two in a squad, but then all that happy Necron anti-infantry stuff can now re-roll misses and put more hits on that target. Then there is the heavy flamer firing mode and I’ll never turn down the chance to light my enemies on fire.

Then there is the quantum shield and living metal rules on this thing. These two rules should help keep this thing alive a little while longer. Sure it is open topped and that sucks, but the armor 13 helps a ton. It won’t break free of many combats, but if it is stuck in hand-to-hand something has gone wrong. Yeah it will fail to melta guns in range, lascannons and strong punchy things; but so does everything other vehicle.

The Targeting Array is just the cherry on top. I like this thing already and then throw in a way to twin link shots at a target as well. Yes I’ll take two of these please! Sure you need to still hit the target, but with BS 4 and two shots, which should get you at least one hit and yes sometimes zero. Then you can always lay down a flamer template and hit automatically, thus mitigating that whole need to hit thing.

The biggest problem I have with this unit is the lack of a model. Yeah this is another new codex unit without model support. It is all too common with G.W. and will probably never stop. If they released this at the same time as the codex, I probably would have at least one if not two by now. It blows that they cannot get their act together and have a codex release along with all the new models. Sure it might be in the second wave, but when the hell is that? Tyranids and Space Wolves are still waiting for models and who is to say that the Necrons are any different.

I haven’t used this and might never, but it looks pretty stellar. I could easily work two of them into an army list, if not three. This is the first elite choice that I’m actually excited about. The rest of the choices just don’t do anything for me. If the Stalker wasn’t in the codex, then I wouldn’t even seriously look at the Necron elite section.