Necron review fast, Destroyers

It is pretty common knowledge that jerks are everywhere in the 40K universe. Usually they are put down, usurped or just hide in the warp. However, for the Necrons, they are a part of their society.

The Destroyers are the jerks of the Necron race. All they do is hate stuff and get angry. It is not known why some Necrons become Destroyers. It might be from a millennia of entombment, it might be due to the lack of flesh, some long reaching C’Tan curse, or it might just be because it is Tuesday. Whatever the reason is, when you choose to become a Destroyer there seems to be no going back.  



"Does this platform make my ass look fat?"



They start by getting angry. Then they swap out an arm for a gun, a pretty cool option if you ask me. This new arm helps to increase their killing power. Then they change their legs in for a floating platform. This lets them move faster and further increase their killing potential. Then they group up with some buddies and start being referred to as Destroyers.

Now these guys were stupid popular in the old codex. Now it seems like they have been thrown to the side for other choices. I’ll try and figure out why later, but for now let us see what these guys are all about. They are jump infantry and follow those and the regular Necron rules. They have WS 4, BS 4, strength 4, toughness 5, 1 attack and wound, initiative 2, leadership 10 and 3+ save. They have the preferred enemy (everything!) rule and come armed with a gauss cannon. They start in a squad of one and can have up to four additional members. Per model they all cost as much as the number of ounces of my favorite malt liquor…………



a spot on rendition of most ol' E drinkers from my life experiences

Now up to three of them can swap out their gauss cannon for a heavy gauss cannon for a additional +20 points.




Right now we have a unit that can move 12” or deep strike. It comes base with a 24” S 5 AP 3 assault 2 gun. It can trade that for a 36” S 9 AP 2 assault 1 gun. They are also a pure toughness 5.Sure they have preferred enemy, which allows for re-rolls to miss in close combat, and that fits their background. It doesn’t really help them in their battlefield role which is ranged damage. They don’t seem terrible, but what did they lose? Why do people seem to dislike them now?

The previous version of the Destroyer cost 10 points more. It also was a jetbike and the main stats were the same. The gauss cannon was 36” S 6 AP 4 heavy 3.  These were popular and used en masse by most Necron players. I passed on them, since I’m not a huge fan of the model and I found scarabs vastly superior.

They now cost less, move a bit slower, lost 12” one shot and one strength on their guns. They gained the ability to deep strike, can be placed in a Night Scythe, they are 10 points cheaper and have an AP 3 gun. An AP value that frightens the majority army on 40K tabletops, power armored meatbags. They can also add in some or become a small squad of Heavy Destroyers (heavy gauss cannon armed goons). These were once a heavy support slot, which now is a fast attack option. They are also 5 points cheaper than their previous incarnation. They really didn’t lose too much and seemed to have gained a bit with this codex. Sure they aren’t bikes anymore, but they still have a 36” gun on a jump infantry chassis. That gives them a suitable 48” threat range with a gauss lascannon.

Yeah all the Destroyer heavy armies of last edition are surly now that their Destroyers are different. I say cram it to those guys! They now have a gun that scares power armor in a unit that is cheaper. Yes their guns lost a point of strength, but an AP was gained. They aren’t jetbikes but who cares? They are jump infantry now. They still move 12” and can shoot, so they still have a 36” threat range. They just can’t turbo boost anymore.They can take a gauss lascannon or three and have a few extra bodies as well. They can also form a cheaper three man Heavy Destroyer unit. The Destroyer seems to have gotten better not worse.

The only problem I have with them is the model. I still don’t like them and that is why I probably won’t use them. If I could cobble together an alternative, I would use a squad or two of them. I see a lot of Marines and they dislike AP 3 or less guns. If you can take away base armor save for none, a dodgy 5++ or a 50/50 cover save, I’m all for it.