Necron help vs Grey Knights

[Eriatha]

Hey guys. My first 40k post ever and my first post in general for a long while.

I'm just looking for some tips/advice/help on fighting Grey Knights with my Necrons. Grey Knights seem to be inadvertently designed to kill Necrons and I am having trouble beating them in objective games. The game size my friend and I play is around 1500-1750. My questions are:

Are characters worth taking or should I load up on troops?

I have some Lychguard but I can never really utilise them. Is it worth putting them in a transport or should I take cheaper, shooting, scoring, units?

Is the Doomsday Ark worth using? I've fielded it a few times but the scatter always does for me.

Any help will be appreciated sirs. My record with Necrons v Grey Knights in objective games is 0-3 at the moment. I need helpz! I hope this is the right place to ask these questions. If not, point me in the right direction.

Thanks!

[Silver]

I believe making the most out of quantum shielding is the key to beating Grey Knights.

GKs are fearsome in ranged anti-infantry and close combat anti infantry. However, their arsenal of long range AT weaponry is limited to a few costly vehicles of their own.

In light of this, your Necrons will be a lot safer in ghost arks than in the open. And since it is objective games you are talking about, you want to combat the Necrons' second major flaw by using transports: lack of mobility.

Doomsday Arks are awesome. All you need to make sure is give them a good LoS during deployment and their great range can create large sections of the table under "area of denial" status.


As for independant characters....I don't have the codices at hand, but I think GKs can make heavy use of deepstriking. I think Imotekh has an ability to make deepstriking troops have a hard time, and I believe Crypteks can do this, too, but I'm not sure. Load up on them.

Necrons also have this dude who can take control of enemy vehicles...if you have spare points left over, take him, too. So fun to see that fancy, shiny Dreadknight turn on its own brethren.

And whatever you do, do NOT use C'tan. They're a waste of points against GKs, as the GKs are tailored to slaughter powerful ICs of other armies. Regarding this you might wanna put Imotekh in a barge.

[MMsEldar]

Necrons also have this dude who can take control of enemy vehicles...if you have spare points left over, take him, too. So fun to see that fancy, shiny Dreadknight turn on its own brethren.

Dreadknights are Monstrous Creatures, I don't think this would work?

[GroxGlitch]

Silver's advice is spot on. 'Nother thing I'd reccomend is taking a Cryptech with an Aeonstave. Sure, it's not a power weapon meaning those pesky 3+ and 2+ armor saves will be a pain, but making a unit BS, WS, and I 1 for the entire game would really ruin his day.
I'll try to write you up a decent Knightbuster list if I can when I get home tonight, post that up here either tonite or tomorrow morning.

@MMsEldar Totally correct, no vehiclular mind control for Dreadknights, I'm afraid. Of course, there are always Mindshackle Scarabs >:D

[Orkgasm]

You're correct MM...Orikan's ability only works against vehicles...which sadly DK's aren't.
I have yet to face the GK, but I'll throw what advice I have at you with my limited knowledge of them...
Your core...you can't go wrong with Warriors in an Ark...they're brilliant if used correctly. I've used the Warrior/Ark combo now multiple times, and they beat face..with the proper support. If you want a "camper" unit to hold objectives, pair them with a Lord with Rez. If you're looking to be a bit more aggressive, set them up with a Storm (if you're worried about deep strike, or vehicles with their staff), or Destruction Cryptek. The trick with the Arks is to keep your opponent in the "sweet spot". One tactic that has worked well for me against "assault" armies is to move 6", then pivot to throw out the broadside...with the pivot you retract 3", and at the first sign of threat burp out the Warriors as a cushion. If they've got the Lord with them they get a 4++ against anything, and the Ark can help regenerate casualties.
As far as named characters...Nemesor could be your friend. He can yank USR's off of enemy units within line of sight, and grant yours extra. That, and you can bring Obyron without taking a HQ slot. Obyron is a beast..I paired him with five Sword 'n Board Lych, and a Lord with MSS, Rez, and Scythe...that unit is uber. The big thing to remember is that when facing an assault army, always take the "Mind Shackle Scarabs"...at worst you mitigate one out of your opponents assaults, at best you kill something..either way you win.
Imhotek is great at keeping the long shot from hitting with the "Night Fight". I've used Trazyn once...he just frustrated my opponent, didn't do much else.
Commonly, I'd recommend Annie Barges...though against an army like the GK, I would go for Lords in CCB's. The sweep attack could be invaluable...
Want to slow them down, bring scarabs..
Tie them up, Wraiths...
I've had little, to no, success with Doomsdays...both my kits are magnetized to do both...but after one game with the Doomsday, I haven't fielded it again. A Monolith has more flexibility....
Hope that helps...

[GroxGlitch]

Ok, army list as promised-

HQ:
Nemesor Zandrekh w/ Catacomb Command Barge- 265 pts
Vagard Obyron- 160 pts
Royal Court:
Necron Lord w/ Sempiternal Weave and Ressurection Orb- 80 pts
Necron Lord w/ Sempiternal Weave and Ressurection Orb- 80 pts
Harbinger of Eternity Cryptek w/ Chronometron- 40 pts
Harbinger of Despair Cryptek w/ Veil of Darkness- 60 pts
Elites:
Deathmarks x5- 95pts
Lychguard x5- 200pts
Troops:
Necron Warriors x10 w/ Ghost Ark- 245pts
Necron Warriors x10 w/ Ghost Ark- 245pts
Immortals x10- 170 pts
Fast Attack:
Necron Heavy Destroyer- 60pts
Total: 1500
Attachments:
The Necron Lords go to the Warriors, the Harbinger of Despair goes to the Deathmarks, and the Harbinger of Eternity goes to the Lychguard, along with Obyron.

Strategy:
I've used a list like this a few times to good effect against my local GK player. The Necron Lords, with their Semp. Weave and Ressurection Orb add some durability to the two warrior squads, whilst their Staff of Light allows some additional close range firepower. Within rapid fire range, the Lord can contribute his fire and man, can he make short work of a five man strike squad by himself. Send them all to ground and you've got your objective solidly held, and the Ghost Ark just makes them that much harder to kill. Add in the rapid fire from the warriors and you're cooking with fire. The Harbinger of Despair goes with the Deathmarks, to allow them to remain incredibly mobile thanks to the Veil of Darkness. They can really help break off a heavy attack on your warriors if they're holding an objective, and the Veil makes sure they always have the best vantage point. The Lychguard have the Harbinger of Eternity with his Aeonstave and Chronometron; the chronometron will let you reroll that pesky missed to hit or save in close combat. Additionally, Obyron's special Veil of Darkness will allow them increased mobility. Just remember their low I2 and make sure you act accordingly. The Aeonstave will really ruin the day of deathstar units like Paladins; not so useful at BS, WS, and I 1. The single heavy destroyer is there for one thing; popping Storm Ravens. It's low front armor and the H.Destroyer's high strength and long range mean he's going to have a bad day with that Raven.
This aside, there's plenty of leeway for modifications in this list. You can't put the Warriors inside the Arks as they number 11 with the Lord; you could always drop two so they go in the Arks and use the spare points to fit another H.Destroyer. You could also swap the Harbinger's attached units, I could see the Deathmarks using the Harbinger of Eternity and vice versa depending on the table set up and exact list of the enemy.

Hope this helps you out!

[Eriatha]

Lots of help guys, thanks.

I found an Annihilation Barge with the Tesla weapons was very effective. I used it yesterday and it caused a lot of casualties. I was also using Immortals with Tesla Carbines. My thinking is that because the Gauss weapons aren't high enough AP to negate armour saves anyway, I might as well take the higher strength Tesla weapons and hope for a few 6s.

I've not seen anyone mention Destroyers yet. I think a few Heavies are a really nice choice because of the S9 AP2. Again, yesterday, they caused quite a bit of damage, taking out a Rhino and some Terminators.

What I am hearing though is, take Ghost Arks, transport things, no C'Tan, a few special characters. I am thinking of taking a load of Warriors and Immortals, with as many Res Orbs as I can afford.

Edit: Hooooly moly GroxGlitch, thanks a bundle. I am really liking the look of that list. Lots of mobility. I think I will do what you said and drop a Warrior from each squad so the Lords can fit in the Ark. That seems a very nice list. One question though, can all the Lords and Crypteks split off to different units? I thought only one member of a Royal Court could lead another unit, the rest had to stay with their Overlord.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to play for a few weeks now as our game club host is unavailable. However, my GK pal will be getting a shock when next we scrap.

[GroxGlitch]

Nope, they can all break off. That's sorta their function, to act either as a special deathstar unit or as impomptu squad leaders. Remember, though, the H.Destroyer essentially doesn't have Ressurection Protocols because if the whole squad get's wiped out, it doesn't take effect, and being a squad of 1...
Otherwise it works well. Sad part is even with the two dropped warriors you can't fit another heavy destroyer; don't know why I thought you could, it's too early in the morning for me to do math correctly >.<
Also, if you drop the Immortals you make enough points to fit one Annhilation barge and sit only 10 points shy of a second, so once you drop those two Warriors you'll have enough points for two Annhilation Barges.

[Skringly]

so once you drop those two Warriors you'll have enough points for two Annhilation Barges.

you'd have too, to fit warrios and lord in a ghost ark.

[Eriatha]

Uh...GroxGlitch? That list sits at 1700 points. Not 1500.