Rules: Necron FAQ Is Out (Finally)

Well it's about damn time, right? Lantz here and I'm very pleased to announce that Necrons finally have their FAQ. And unlike the GK fiasco of 2011, almost every question was answered. A lot of cleanup happened and even a few shocking developments. So, enough with this intro, let's just get on with it already! After the break I've listed key items from the FAQ and left out a lot of the obvious and 'who cares?' stuff. We'll go in sections on this with The Good, The Bad, The Meh and The Unanswered with my commentary in a fitting Green.

The Good

All of the terrain shenaniganz do work together (C'tan, Tremor Staves, Orikan the Diviner.)
This one is major and makes my list involving all three that much more powerful than it was when I used it last.

Entropic Strike (armour reductions) do happen before rolling to Glance/Pen.

This one was up for major debate, but no longer. No Scarab nerfing here, folks! Roll to hit, roll to reduce armour and finally roll to glance/penetrate.

You can take 2 Lords/Crypteks in the same unit if you have 2 Royal Courts.

Over and over I read/heard people that assured me this would never see the light of day. For you nay-sayers I say neener-neener, I told you so. Not my proudest moment, but I stand by it.

Chronometron can be used to re-roll Imotekh's Night Fight continuation.

I never used this as I was sure it wasn't legal. That'll teach me to assume something would get nerfed. Rejoice Imotekh lovers; he just got stupid-good.

C'tans don't need to make a difficult terrain test when assaulting.

While I was sure this is how it would come about, the difference in wording between the C'tan and the Wraiths was enough to make me question it. Glad to see it's streamlined.

Spyders can add Scarabs to a unit that is locked in combat.

I think we all assumed this was the case. It's good to have it clarified.

Overlords can Sweep Attack one unit and then assault another in the same turn.

Again, it seems like everyone was playing this way to begin with, but it's good to have it in writing.

Gauss Flayer Arrays have a 45 degree arc.

Also assumed by everyone and their mother.

Mindshackle can be used on a single model causing him/her to attack his/herself.

This actually came up in a game I played and I assumed the model would just not attack that turn. For 15pts this ability was already a steal. Now it's even better.

The Bad

Lance weapons do reduce Quantum Shielding to 12 AV.

This was one of those RAW vs RAI debates I saw all over the net. It's a good thing we can at least put the debate to rest.

Initiative bonus' in close combat are resolved after Whip Coils is put into affect. Example being; charging at Wraiths with Furious Charge means you go at Initiative 2 against Whip Coils.

This is not the way I would have thought things would happen, but it's not terrible. Furious Charge just means they'll go at the same time as the Wraiths. Now, Grey Knights on the other hand can boost their Initiative by 2, so they'll go before the Wraiths. We're all used to cries of GK overpoweredness anyway, though.

Sweep Attacks are neither shooting nor melee attacks and thus do no benefit from Furious Charge.

This one definitely needed clarification, and didn't go the way I thought it would. Sadly, Anrakyr won't be getting S8 hits on those vehicles he skirts over.
 

The Meh

Entropic Strikes on a vehicle squadron are spread out evenly across the squadron. The squadron's controlling player decides where the excess goes, though.

This came up in a game Eric and I played last week and was very confusing. This was some much-needed clarification.

Tesla arcing also originates from the shooter, not from the unit it's arcing from.

This can be good or bad depending on the situation. Meh.

No more Warrior/Scarab conga-line dances.

Obvious. Moving on.

Tesla arcing only happens if you manage to hit the original target and is only measured for arcing after wounds/saves are resolved.

This is borderline crappy. With the Destructor you shouldn't be missing completely with four Twin-Linked shots at BS4. The downside is that you resolve all of the damage and then measure for the arcing, so your opponent and reduce the range for some trickery.

Mind of the Machine can't be used to fire a weapon from the vehicle, to itself.

Duh. But thanks for putting it in writing, GW.

The Unanswered

If a Cryptek in a Troop choice is the only remaining model, is he scoring?

This seriously needs clarification for those tourney players out there.

When using a Chronometron to re-roll Imotekh's storm, what phase does it count as?

Movement Phase? Assault Phase? Shooting Phase? Which is it? If you re-roll the storm, and then want to re-roll your Difficult Terrain movement, can you?

That's all for now folks. Overall, Necrons got a boost as a few things I never thought would see the light of day, have. Celebrate my robot-zombie brethren; we're still powerful. As for the other armies out there, it looks like almost all of them also got a few FAQ updates, so go check 'em out here.

Later days.