Necron HQ review, the Bodyguard

Vargard Obyron serves as the personal bodyguard to Nemesor Zahndrekh. Unlike his master, he is well aware of the reality of his existence. He has long since abandoned attempts to awaken Zahndrekh to the real universe. He takes care of all the loose ends that his master’s eccentricities leave. He is incredibly loyal, willing to give his life for Zahndrekh’s if and when needed.

or sadly this is what jumped into my brain when I wrote this.............

My Bodyguard (1980)
Adam Baldwin as Vargard Obyron!
Chris Makepeace as Nemesor Zahndrekh?

Vargard Obyron is the best close combat warrior in the Necron codex. That doesn’t really say much though. Actually he is just a small bit better than a regular Necron overlord with a warscythe. His stats are almost identical to every other Necron HQ: WS 6, BS 4, strength and toughness 5, wounds and attacks of 3, initiative 2, leadership 10 and a 2+ save. The weapon skill is the major stat difference between him and other Overlords. He comes armed with a warscythe, sempiternal weave (2+ armor) and the Ghostwalk Mantle. He has the Necron rules that all HQ choices have and he also has The Vargard’s Duty and Cleaving Counterblow rules. He also does not count against your HQ allowance if Nemesor Zahndrekh is taken in the same list. He costs more than 159 points, but less than 161 points.

Ghostwalk Mantle- is like the Cryptek Veil of Darkness (the teleporty wargear item). This allows for Obyron and a unit he is in, to instantly remove from the table and then deep strike back onto the board. All deep strike rules apply. However, he can use this to leave combat. If he does then the enemy will just mill around and wonder where he went. A nice escape plan for Obyron to use during the movement phase if he fears a face kicking or are needed elsewhere.

The Vargard’s Duty- is tied to the Ghostwalk Mantle. This allows for the instant deep strike of the Mantle to not scatter. COOL! Wait…it won’t scatter if he uses it to move within 6” of Nemesor Zahndrekh (or the unit he is in). Better still, this rule means if Zahndrekh is assaulted, then Obyron must immediately teleport to help Zahndrekh. If he is in combat he will teleport out and join in Zahndrekh’s combat. If Obyron is embarked in a transport, he will teleport out and join the Zahndrekh combat as well. This rule supersedes all the usual silly transport rules.

Cleaving Counterblow- is Obyron’s super combat ability. It allows him to gain extra hits for every hit that misses him. This happens in initiative order so any misses after his mighty initiative 2 are not counted. He can gain up to 6 additional attacks from misses. Why only 6? Who the hell knows? Is there a limit on other extra attack causing abilities by other armies? Nothing like this comes to mind right at the moment. It can help get him some extra attacks, but is it really worth it? Maybe?

I neither love or hate this guy. His gear is fine and his rules are a bit meh!. The extra attacks he can potentially get are cool, but the limit is strange. Not that it would happen, but if he was missed like a dozen times, why not let him lash out with all those extra attacks? I will not believe it was play-tested and found to be too powerful. His teleport mantle is fun and useful for quick table movement, something the Necrons don’t have a lot of, well the crummy Night Scythe not included. It can also be used to jump out of combat, where most Necron’s do not want to be. However, doesn’t Obyron want to be there? He does hit on a 3+ most of the time.

His Vargard rules I find not too great. Sure he can jump to help ol’ grandpa Zahndrekh, but that is sort of exploitable. If you want to pull Obyron away from an area, get over to Zahndrekh and threaten him. Poof! Off goes the Vargard. Still it could be great to keep Zahndrekh alive with the ability to jump into combat to save his ass. I can see some use and some uselessness with these rules. Plus it makes for an expensive HQ to include both of them.