Necron Tactica: Flying Circus

[cooliox]

---work in progress---
Necron Tactica: Flying Circus
A Beginner's Guide to the Flying Circus

What is the Flying Circus?
The Flying Circus is a tactic used by many Necron players who wish to attack their opponent by surprise via hit-and-run style tactics using a Necron Lord, equipped with a Veil of Darkness, which is in a squad of Immortals.

What is the preferred army list for a flying circus?
Contrary to many other tactics, the Flying Circus is an independent strategical unit. (Think of it as a "tactical squad.") The only true requirements for the Flying Circus are:
+ 1 Necron Lord [equipped with a Veil of Darkness]
+ 5-10 Necron Immortals

How should I most effectively use the Flying Circus?
The ability of the Veil of Darkness (or VoD) to allow your Lord and his preferred squad to deepstrike in place of their movement phase is a double-edged sword that, while you should use to your utmost advantage, should be treated carefully. When choosing where you wish to deepstrike (or DS) your unit to, consider this:
Q : If my roll to DS scatters, am I close to any terrain?
A : Whenever possible, try to DS at LEAST 6 in. from terrain. The MOST you should ever be worried about is roughly 8 in.

Q : Does the enemy unit(s) that I am about to DS near excel in close combat (or CC)?
NO : Try to maintain a cushiony 8 in. radius from them.
YES : Make absolutely sure that you do NOT DS within 12 in. of the unit. Otherwise, when it is their turn, they will move (6 in.) and then assault (6 in.) into your Flying Circus. NEVER ENGANGE THE FLYING CIRCUS INTO CLOSE COMBAT. Immortals have a low initiative and will rarely win in CC. If they are assaulted some of them WILL die. If you do get engaged in CC, always remember that you can DS the unit out of CC when it is your turn again.

FAQ

How many Immortals should I put in my Flying Circus?
The number of Immortals you may choose is a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 10, both with their own benefits.
5 Immortals
+ Smaller unit size is a means for a relatively safer DS.
+ Smaller unit size will be ignored by many players who (mistakingly) determine that it is not a threat.
+ Obviously, you will have more points with which to invest in other parts of your army.

10 Immortals :
+ MUCH stronger firepower (20 shots as opposed to 5 immortals' 10 shots).
+ The unit is much more durable and will thus last longer (unless it has a haywire DS).

Remember, you are not required to either use 5 or 10 Immortals. You may use any number between the two, be it to cap off the points value of your army or to slightly gain the benefits of a small and large flying circus. Also, using 5-8 immortals would require you to do a moral test when 2 are killed, while 9-10 immortals would require you to do a moral test when 3 are killed. Another thing to remember is to keep your Lord 4-5 in. away from your immortals so that he can not be shot at (since he is an independent character) but can still benefit the unit and DS them. Remember, when you DS with your Lord, he autonatically becomes part of the unit, so make sure you move him away on your next turn (unless, of course, you DS again).

What wargear should I equip my Flying Circus' Lord with?
Obviously, a VoD is required to make a Flying Circus; however, you DO have some extra points to spend...

HORRIBLE BAD USEFUL GOOD

Nothing
Use those extra points for another part of your army!

Chronometron
I do NOT advise using this. It helps you fall back and more easily dodge an enemy's sweeping advance if you get assaulted (and badly damaged). But, you should be able to not allow an assault to even happen (and the Immortal's high leadership should save you anyway). You are better-off with Gaze of Flame.

Disruption Field
NEVER bring this with your Flying Circus Lord. You should NEVER assault armor with your Immortals. It is FAR more effective to shoot at it with your gauss.

Destroyer Body
Makes your Lord tougher. (see "chronometron")

Gaze of Flame
More expensive than Chronometron by a tiny amount, but so much more useful. If you get assaulted, this takes away the extra attack your assaulting enemy would normally get. 1 attack may not seem like much but against, say, 20 gaunts, that's 20 less attacks! This also makes all enemy models in CC with your Lord suffer a -1 leadership penalty. (This bonus is more relevant in a Fear [tactica in progress] army.)

Lightning Field
Basically, what this does is strike a weak attack to an enemy for every wound that it inflicts on your Lord and its unit. It's more expensive than the Gaze of Flame, and only goes into effect when a model in your unit is wounded. (This wargear is more useful in a Swarm Lord/Bug Zapper [tactica in progress] army.)

Nightmare Shroud
Instead of shooting, this allows your Lord to make every enemy unit within 12 in. take a (25% casualty) morale check. This is useful for when you accidentally DS within assault range of an enemy CC unit. However, moral tests are usually passed, and it doesn't work on fearless units, so use your best judgement. (Once again, this wargear is more useful in a Fear army.)

Phase Shifter
For twice as many points as the Gaze of Flame, this gives your Lord a 4+ inv. save. Stick with the Gaze of Flame.

Phylactery
This basically gives your Lord a "super WBB" roll. Even though this is practically the same as Phase Shifter in how it is used, it costs half as much.

Resurrection Orb
This one's a little iffy, as there are numerously varied opinions about it. The Res. Orb allows your Lord and its unit to roll for WBB no matter what (i.e. insta-death, power weapons, etc.). Some players say that it is simply an excuse for poor planning, while others swear by it. The only definitive drawback is that it will make your Lord pretty points-heavy. It's up to you to decide whether or not you should use it.

Solar Pulse
Pretty cheap, and is used at the beginning of your turn (meaning you can still DS and shoot). What this does is make all enemy units shooting at your Flying Circus be required to act as if Night Fighting rules are in effect (a.k.a. they must pass a roll to shoot at your unit). Unfortunately, you can only use this once per game.

WarScythe
This replaces your Lord's [3 Staff of Light shots/power-weapon CC attacks] with [3 CC attacks which deny ALL saving throws]. The price is so low that it is practically irrelevant. The real question here is: what are you facing? If you're facing enemies with bad saves (4+, etc.), don't even bother bringing it. If your facing high saving enemies (2+ such as termies), then this is highly useful for deterring termie assaults on your Flying Circus (especially when coupled with Gaze of Flame). But remember, if given the obvious chance, you will still be assaulted. Whether or not you bring this is all about knowing your opponent.


PLEASE NOTE: All advice given in this guide is purely opinionated and is in no way a definitive guide on what you should and shouldn't do.

[windowlicker]

Wow, well done. You set that bar high!

[gauss_storm]

Nicely done my friend, I shall post my shooty tactica soon.

[Phoenix]

Nice start. I have a few discrepancies with parts though.

First off, the Terrain issue. Always been a bit hazy for me, but im pretty sure that DS into terrain doesnt kill you, unless its Impassible.

The Wargear selection, you sure you have it colour coded right?
Personally, id go along these lines:

Good: ResOrb, Gaze of Flame, Phase Shifter

OK: hmm.. nothing to put here. Make the others the Good, Bad and Ugly then

Bad: Desroyer Body, Chronometron, Nightmare Shroud, Phylactery, Solar Pulse, Warscythe.

Terrible: Disruption Field, Lightning Field


Also, some tactical thought into unit sizes, besides number of shots and wounds. 5-7 + Lord means 2 kills for a Ld test. The Lord desnt have to be in the unit, and being an IC means he can avoid enemy fire, so maybe even 5-8 Imms, with a lord with them, but not attached. Then again, could go with 9, thats 3 Kills for a Ld test, etc. Maybe think a nod along those lines somewhere, though im sure a lot more tactical thought can be put into numbers still.

[cooliox]

Nice start. I have a few discrepancies with parts though.

First off, the Terrain issue. Always been a bit hazy for me, but im pretty sure that DS into terrain doesnt kill you, unless its Impassible.

The Wargear selection, you sure you have it colour coded right?
Personally, id go along these lines:

Good: ResOrb, Gaze of Flame, Phase Shifter

OK: hmm.. nothing to put here. Make the others the Good, Bad and Ugly then

Bad: Desroyer Body, Chronometron, Nightmare Shroud, Phylactery, Solar Pulse, Warscythe.

Terrible: Disruption Field, Lightning Field


Also, some tactical thought into unit sizes, besides number of shots and wounds. 5-7 + Lord means 2 kills for a Ld test. The Lord desnt have to be in the unit, and being an IC means he can avoid enemy fire, so maybe even 5-8 Imms, with a lord with them, but not attached. Then again, could go with 9, thats 3 Kills for a Ld test, etc. Maybe think a nod along those lines somewhere, though im sure a lot more tactical thought can be put into numbers still.

Good ideas, I'll look more into them tomorrow and edit accordingly.

And thanks, gauss and window, I'm glad it isn't the new "rawrflameit" topic

[gauss_storm]

and just a suggestion, change that yellow.... really hurts the eyes >_<

[Lost Nemesis]

Looks solid; I'll add this to the index. Keep up the good work!

[cooliox]

and just a suggestion, change that yellow.... really hurts the eyes >_<

ha, okay, I'll change it to blue...

Also, thanks Nemesis!

[Archlord101]

This is very good. thank you so much!

[Zaraky]

I think you missed the largest weakness of the flying circus. It's not CC, it's templates.

The formation your in after deepstriking is heaven for template heavy armies. I've even had 2 plasma cannons in one turn kill 20 warriors after I veiled them.