Necron review fast, Canoptek Wraith

When a Necron world slumbers not everything is shutdown; there are repairs to be made, equipment maintenance and a constant watch kept. The bulk of the Necrons will not be doing this. They do not pull shifts while they sit in stasis. Instead they built an advanced watchdog/repairman to fulfill these roles.

Wraiths now..............

They are Canoptek Wraith and they are as helpful as they are deadly. They have a modified phase shifter that is used to help them with repairs. They can move through the giant machines that power Necron worlds and work within them. They are able to sort of blink into and out of reality. It is much easier to make repairs from inside these machines than taking them apart to solve the problem. This is also handy for combat as it allows them to move through terrain the same way.

When a Necron world slumbers not everything is shutdown; there are repairs to be made, equipment maintenance and a constant watch kept. The bulk of the Necrons will not be doing this. They do not pull shifts while they sit in stasis. Instead they built an advanced watchdog/repairman to fulfill these roles.

They are Canoptek Wraith and they are as helpful as they are deadly. They have a modified phase shifter that is used to help them with repairs. They can move through the giant machines that power Necron worlds and work within them. They are able to sort of blink into and out of reality. It is much easier to make repairs from inside these machines than taking them apart to solve the problem. This is also handy for combat as it allows them to move through terrain the same way.

Speaking of combat this is something they are just as good at. The Wraiths are fitted with all manner of repair devices that also work as weapons. Their delicate bladed appendages are ideal for cutting through metal as they are through enemies. The same can be said for their various other cutting, welding and various tools of repair.

The Canoptek Wraith is one of few the Necron units without Reanimation Protocols. This is due to….well I am not sure why. Still that is something to remember, if you believe/ like in reanimation rolls. They come with a WS 4, BS 4, strength 6, toughness 4, 2 wounds, 3 attacks, initiative 2, leadership 10 and 3+/3++ save. They are fearless, have Phase Attacks and Wraithflight. They are jump infantry and armed with a phase shifter (the 3++ save item) and close combat weapon. There are a few upgrades they can purchase: Whipcoils +10, Particle Caster +5 and a Transdimensional Beamer +15. They come as a unit of one to start and can have up to five more and they all cost the highest number one can count to on one's fingers using base 6 in points.

Phase Attacks- gives the Wraith rending in close combat

Wraithflight- allows for the movement through terrain with impairment. They never roll for terrain checks and take no damage (auto-pass the roll) from dangerous terrain.

Whipcoils- are used in close combat. They reduce an opponent’s initiative value to 1. Now if they have any buffs to leadership (Furious Charge, Grey Knight halberds etc.) then the bonus is added to the initiative value after it was reduced to 1. Yeah, that means angry marines and others can still go at the same time or even before Wraiths with whipcoils.

Particle caster- is a12” S6 AP 5 pistol. Nothing much else to say about it.

Transdimensional Beamer- is another ranged weapon and its name is awesome, yet that is where it ends. It has a 12” range is SX  AP- and heavy 1. It also has the Exile Ray ability. This means when used you select a model in a unit (or one man gang) and force them to roll a strength test. If they pass then no harm is done. If they fail they are whisked away transdimensionally and exiled I guess. The model is removed from play with no saves of any kind allowed. Boo to this as most of the models you want this to work on will pass 50% of the time if not better than that. A gimmick attack at best. This is also a heavy weapon, so that makes it even more worthless. Why would anyone buy these for Wraiths?



.............Wraiths then

Now Wraiths were in the last codex and were sort of the odd man out in the fast section. The new Wraith has dropped 7 points in cost, has rending attacks now (Meh!), can run in a squad of up to six (instead of the previous 1-3), and has gained a wound. There are some drawbacks from the older version; they cannot get back up once they are put down, are jump infantry (not jetbikes like before) and have traded their initiative 6 for 2 The loss of jetbike status doesn’t seem that awful. They can deep strike now and can still move a base 12” instead of turbo boosting. The extra wound and point reduction is what draws me to them and makes them better than before. I really liked the Wraiths before, they were just a bit irritating to use since they needed another Wraith unit or orb nearby to help them get a “We’ll be back!” roll.

The whipcoils might be a descent upgrade, since going before an enemy is sort of an anathema to this army. However, it doesn’t let them go before everything, but if they get the charge, then they should be going first most of the time. The particle caster is almost worth it as well. A salvo of strength 6 shots prior to a charge is never a bad thing. I would never pick both, it would be an either/or choice. Their 3++ should help keep them functional if the whipcoils are not taken. Hell, a naked squad of Wraiths is completely viable as well. The beamer is a joke and anyone taking them should be struck!

Finally, there is the ability to do that whole multi-wound floating wound thing with this unit. It seems like a giant waste of time. It would just be adding unneeded points and upgrades to a squad that is already fairly persistent.

Wait there is also no model for this unit. Another stellar job by G.W.! Now there was a wraith model, the previous codex version, but they pulled those before the codex release. If you want to field a Wraith you either have to have some of the older versions or proxy. A unit that gets people buzzing and once again no model. Hell, even worse there was a model and they pulled it. Here is to hoping they show up in some rumored future 2^nd wave.