The good ol' internet is FULL of lots of questions about necrons. The most frequently asked question is 'Gauss Reapers or Gauss Flayers' but there are some others. So, let's take a look.
Reapers or Flayers
Flayers are S4, AP-1, Rapid fire 1, 24" range. Reapers are S5, AP-2, Assault 2, 12" range.
Short version - reapers are uglier, but need you to think a little more and build a little bit around them. Flayers are more user-friendly, but give up strength and AP. Reapers will do more work for you, and you're going to user large squads of warriors in the midfield.
STRENGTH - first off, S4 vs S5 is pretty significant. Most infantry is T3-T4; reapers are better at wounding them. Reapers also wound T8 on a 5+ - not always relevant, but bloody important when it DOES come up. (mostly vs. tanks, occasionally monsters.)
AP - not a huge discussion, really - AP-2 beats AP-1. You have a stratagem to ignore cover vs. a target as necrons for 1CP; use it. AP matters. Beefy infantry tends to carry a 3++ or 4++ save - you want to go against that, rather than their 0+ to 2+ save. Reaper AP wins out.
RANGE - Here's where people get hung up on stuff. Flayers shoot single shots at 24", double-tap at 12". Longer range sounds easier to use, and it is. Let's be real - shooting S4, AP-1 shots past rapid fire is plinking, it's not meaningful damage output. You average 20-man squad of warriors puts about 3 wounds on a marine stat line outside of rapid-fire.
UP CLOSE - the meat and potatoes of the comparison is "does S5, AP-2 beat out S4, AP-1 at 12?" and the answer is 'yes' based on pure math. Assuming equal squad sizes and hit numbers vs. marines, a flayer squad drops 11-12 wounds on a marine statline in range, whereas reapers drop 6-7 wounds. If you go to T5, the reapers win hands-down. If you start plinking at vehicles, reaper AP carries the day.
GETTING PAST THE WARRIOR DATASHEET - No army exists in a vacuum. Neat, so what next? What matters?
1) Getting into range - first off, most of the fighting Warriors do is going to happen either in your deployment zone or in the mid-board. Second, 20 dudes with a Veil of Darkness is HILARIOUS.
2) Royal Warden - you're probably bringing `1-3 squads of warriors in a Necron army. You should consider a Royal Warden to let them fall back and shoot after a charge, especially since you do your best damage within easy charge range. For extra fun, bring a squad of Lychguard in your list, and let the enemy just guess which thing gets veiled.
3) Dynasty - Mephrit's +3 range makes the reapers a LOT more user-friendly. 15" range is a huge step up. Nephrekh isn't bad either for the speed.
SHOULD I MIX REAPERS AND FLAYERS IN THE SAME SQUAD?
No. Don't mix. Ever. This is a trap. You have a squad that is confused in what it wants to do. Reapers want to walk up and fire, advance and fire at -1BS, or just advance to get into position to fire next turn. Flayers want to advance if they can't range anything, or walk/stand still and shoot. The only time both weapons are happy is when you can walk into 12" range and fire. Make your squads specialists, and go from there.
SHOULD I MIX REAPERS AND FLAYERS IN THE SAME ARMY?
The answer is 'maybe.' If you're bringing like 3x20 warriors in an army, there's room to consider 2x20 Reapers and 1x20 Flayers. You will end up with a potential traffic jam, but the flayers might be able to plink and contribute.
SHOULD I USE FLAYERS FOR A BABYSITTER SQUAD SINCE THEY CAN PLINK?
So, if you want a squad to sit on a backfield objective, you should ask yourself a question - do I want 10 warriors or 5 immortals to do it? The immortals are cheaper, and while you have fewer wounds, you are T5/3+ base. I'd lean towards immortals because of cost, and it's easier to hide five guys. Warriors are built to run in squads of 15-20 to capitalize on their durability. T4/4+ isn't much until it keeps coming back. If you do go immortals, consider Gauss - it's cheaper, and the Tesla stratagem just needs a shot that you can get from, y'know, a Command Barge or something.
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