Necrons in 9th - Brainstorming Builds, Part 2 - C'tan shards and you

Right in the wallet

 I've had some thoughts on how I'm going to organize my Necrons in the new edition.  One question you should ask yourself is of course "Do I want to build around a piece of a star god that we captured and weaponized?"  Do you like mortal wounds?  Do you like dictating the flow of battle around one big piece that's terrifying and beautiful?

If you said 'yes', then you're in the right spot.  We've got four options - The Nightbringer (for chopping up stuff), the Deceiver (because pre-game redeploys are fun), the Void Dragon (who hates vehicles and is pretty choppy), and you can take a Transcendent C'tan shard if you want to go cheaper and have vaguely custom options.

We'll take a look at what they have in common, how they differ, and then employment of them.

Common Traits

I. Durability

Necrodermis + Living Metal is what draws a lot of the attention here.  You have 9 wounds at T7 and a 4+/4++, but the kicker is that Necrodermis means you can lose a max of three in a phase and you get one back during your command phase.  You aren't worried about a volume of fire all at once, but the trick is that you can be papercut to death.

How nasty this is depends on the matchup - there are seven phases in a turn. - Command, Move, Psychic, Shoot, Charge, Fight, and Morale.  We can pretty safely discount command and morale as phases where you see wounds happen.  Movement matters if they have bombers, as those just need to move over you to threaten mortal wounds.  The psychic phase, if applicable, should make you think about positioning relative to psykers - our psychic defenses are somewhat limited beyond Spyders, a stratagem, and killing psykers.  The charge phase gets a mention just because overwatch happens here; a lucky shot or a good overwatch can knock off wounds.

II. Mobility

They're 8" move with the FLY keyword.  It's not slow, but there's really no other way to speed them up.  You get no buffs from the rest of the army because of keywords.  The only way to go faster is to advance and hope for a good roll, but you'll maybe want to do that once because they turn off your Powers of the C'tan.

III. Powers of the C'tan

There are six basic powers, and each C'tan knows two.  You pick when you build, but can spend a CP to change out a power.  Note that the named shards have a unique power + a normal power, whereas the transcendant shard picks two.  These are all damage-dealing powers with short to medium range; you're looking at 9-24" range.  If you're not quite sure what you want, Antimatter meteor is pretty reliable for damage output with minor targeting restrictions, and Transdimensional Thunderbolt has solid range.

Note you can also pay a CP to use another random power - you use your powers, and then drop 1d6 and immediately use that power.  There are worse ways to use CP than on more mortal wounds.

IV. Brawling

C'tan are all pretty nasty in melee, and outside of the Void Dragon, no one picked up a gun.  You have a heap of attacks hitting on 2+ - the exact type of melee output depends on the shard you picked.  Note that you can also ignore invulnerable saves with the Entropic Save stratagem.  If someone kills you, you might also explode into mortal wounds.  At least that probably won't happen during deployment.

In general, a C'tan's game plan is move up, unload powers, charge, punch stuff to death, unload powers, try not to die.  It's not exactly subtle, but it does dictate the flow of battle because it's likely to last at least a couple turns.

V. List-building restrictions

Note that you can only fit one C'tan per detachment.  You can take multiple, but you're down 600-700pts and some CP for them at that point.  My initial preference is to take 0-1, but I suspect we'll see double-C'tan lists.

The C'tan Themselves

Shard of the Nightbringer

This is getting the most press.  The Nightbringer is all about murder in the assault phase.  Drain Life is half your money-maker here - enemy models can't ignore any wounds they would lose.  This turns off stuff like Disgustingly Resilient and Necrodermis.  The half is the six attacks with the Scythe of the Nightbringer.  Either you try to clear a horde with the Reaping Sweep - you make two attack roles at AP-3 and 1 damage, which is a nice dozen dice - or the Entropic Blow, which is a beefy S14, AP-4 1d6 damage that ignores invulnerable saves.

This makes the nightbringer great at crushing vehicles - on the charge, you can expect to do an average of 14.5 damage to a T7 or lower vehicle.  If you go into something T8, that drops a little lower - but you're still dropping 4-5d6 of damage straight to the wounds, unless the dice laugh at you.

The nightbringer can also do reasonably well at trashing smaller units - a dozen attacks with the sweeping blow is good for 8ish wounds. 

His unique power - Gaze of Death - is noteworthy for being able to target characters.  You drop 3d6, and each 4+ on those inflicts 1d3 mortal wounds.  It's a little swingy and short-ranged, but mortal wounds are mortal wounds.

At the end of the day, the Nightbringer is at its best tearing vehicles apart and shredding smaller units - or forcing larger ones to fall back.

The Nightbringer should watch out for melee opponents that can do 3 wounds a phase reliably, and anything that can mess with wound roles - Transhuman Physiology in particular is annoying, as the nightbringer really wants to wound on 2+ or 3+ vs. multi-wound infantry.

 Shard of the Deciever

This is the thinking ovelord's C'tan shard.  Grand Illusion lets you redeploy up to three NECRON units in your deployment zone, or put them into strategic reserves.  This guy also has deep strike, unlike the others.  You redeploy before the first battle round begins, so you get to react to whoever has first turn.  This will almost always be useful, because it makes your opponent worry.

The Deceiver also has a nice defensive ability in Misdirection - attacks targeting it take a -1 to hit penalty.  Given the way that you can inflict no more than -1 to hit, this isn't as big a deal for some melee weapons like powerfists, thunderhammers, and other stuff - but it's not a bad thing at all.

Melee-wise, the Deceiver is decent and reliable.  It has five attacks with S7, AP-3, 3 damage fists.  It's not nearly as out-and-out murderous as the Nightbringer or the Void Dragon, but it's plenty workable vs. infantry and light to medium vehicles, but maybe don't go trying to kill a night.

The Deceiver's unique power - Cosmic Insanity - is fun enough.  It's your Ld10+1d6 vs. the opponent's Ld + 1d6, and they take mortal wounds based on how much you beat them by.  Supporting this guy with flayed ones isn't the worst you could do, as they're about your only leadership debuff in the book.

Shard of the Void Dragon

If you hate vehicles, and like punching stuff to death, this is your god-pokemon.  It's the only one that starts with a gun -  the Spear of the Void Dragon is essentially a lascannon that goes from 1d6 to 3+1d3 vs. vehicles.  If you manage to shoot over a unit, that unit might take a hit as well, which is a neat extra.  Or just a really dead guardsman.

The Dragon isn't a slouch in melee, either - S9, AP-4, 1d6 damage (or 3+1d3 vs. vehicles).  The dragon also gets another 1d6 S6, AP-2, 1-damage swings with random Canoptek blades, so you've got something vs. larger units.

The other reason you go after vehicles is this is how the void dragon shard heals itself - kill a vehicle, drop 1d6, and regain a wound on 2+.

In case it isn't obvious, the Void Dragon murders armor - you're doing 4-6 damage per hit.  Average damage on a charge is 12.5 unless you found a random T9 vehicle.

If you're fighting infantry, be mindful of how many you're trying to kill in a given phase and how many wounds they have; 5+1d6 attacks isn't going to kill a fresh squad.

Voltaic Storm is a pretty reasonable power - against infantry, it's 1d3 mortal wounds on a 2+.  Now, if you're close enough to hit a vehicle, that goes up to 1d6 mortal wounds AND halves the number of wounds on the vehicle for purposes of the vehicle's profile.

Transcendent C'tan

First off - these are 280pts, vs. the 350 for named shards, so if you think you're getting less, there's a reason.  You can tailor them a little - Fractured Personality lets them pick one, or roll for two at random and re-roll if you get doubles.

Your melee damage is lesser than the named shards - you swing five times at S6, AP-4, 1d6 damage.  You're workable vs. infantry, and can help mop up vehicles.  Your best source of damage output is taking Cosmic Tyrant and firing off two C'tan powers a turn.  

The other traits are so-so at best - you can get some defense vs. a charge, slightly better melee power (+1S, +1A), or a deep strike.  On the face of it, I like Immune to Natural Law, since it means wound rolls of 1-3 always fail - but this only really comes into play for S8+ weapons, and only really, REALLY inconveniences S14+, as you're already T7.  You shouldn't be punching healthy melee knights anyway.

Where Shards Fit in a List

If you bring a Shard, you're building around it - named ones run you 350, and the regular one runs you 280. 

Command Points

Save a few CP for these guys - you'll want to make that first charge, and you'll probably want to use Dimensional Destablization for extra wounds.  You may or may not end up needing Entropic Strike - so that's anywhere from 1-4CP in a couple turns.

Deployment

Consider deploying them last, for two big reasons - first, you want to pick your targets and you're a melee unit; second, Necrodermis is something the opposition plans around - make them deploy as much as possible before you pick your spot.

The Deceiver gets a mention here - you can redeploy 3 units, including the Deceiver.  It doesn't matter quite as much, but I'd still probably deploy the Deceiver.  The redeployment option is also why, if I were going to take two C'tan, I'd probably take the Deceiver + one other, as placement is going to be crucial for them.

Your List

In general, the C'tan all want to operate with some support - they can hand out mortal wounds at short-to-medium range, and tear up stuff in melee.  You should probably build a balanced list - the C'tan is a missile you're firing at a couple enemy units and the enemy's plan.  Deploy near some of your anti-infantry support, as you'll want them to soften up your charge target, or clear a hole for you to charge something juicy.  

Additionally, consider taking Protocol of the Undying Legions for turn two - getting two wounds back on living metal is bound to be demoralizing to the opponent, and may keep you alive for another turn.  The longer the C'tan is alive, the more disruptive it is on the table.

I waffle between saying that the shards need to be built around individually, and thinking that they're all close-ish enough to appreciate a balanced list.

New Necrons - Command Protocols and You, Initial Thoughts

 

Command Protocols are a brand-new addition for Necrons in 9th edition.  On the one hand, flexible army-wide buffs sound kind of neat.  On the other hand, that customization is going to make you do some decision-making, and that can go wrong.  I'm going to take a swing at de-mystifying Command Protocols for the average Overlord here.

Once you look at your list, you can make a reasonable guess at a protocol order list, and then go from there - the enemy list might get a vote, but I suspect you'll change few things.

What Do I need to do for Command Protocols to Work?

You need to meet several criteria -

1) Army is from the same DYNASTY

2) have a living NOBLE on the field at the start of the round

3) units must be within 6" of a CHARACTER to benefit from it

Bottom line - it's not hard to get a benefit from this.  You are probably going to have a NOBLE as an HQ choice unless it's a tiny game, and most of our NOBLE guys aren't itching to get into melee.

Remember also that if you've got some isolated units (for whatever reason) they aren't getting protocol support.

The Challenge and the Perk of Command Protocols

You have six protocols - and you pick five, in any order, to be in effect for the game.  If you go past five turns, then the last protocol is in effect for turn 5+.

Note that the Szarekhan-specific warlord trait, The Triarch's Will, lets you double up on a Protocol.  Note also that if you bring the Silent King, he is required to be your warlord, and he takes this trait by default.  Doubling up on a trait can be helpful.

The Protocols And Their Uses

There are six protocols.  Each has two effects.  You pick one, but each of the main Dynasties favors a Protocol and thus gets both.  If you picked a custom dynasty, you don't have to worry about it, because you don't favor it.

In general, the protocols fall into either 'useful at a predictable point in the battle' or 'might be situationally useful.'

1. Protocol of the Eternal Guardian - favored by Nihilakh

Directive 1 - gain light cover if you didn't move

Directive 2 - may hold steady/set to defend if you are not already engaged

USAGE - This is defensive/situational - are you stationary outside of cover?  Are you expecting to get charged?  It's not bad, per se, but you're gambling on knowing when you're hunkering down outside of cover (...which is an iffy move and depends on the board) or when you're getting charged (which depends on the enemy, which may be 'never' or may be turn 1-3).

Note that Nihiliakh doesn't need this as much if they're already in their deployment zone, unless they're getting charged.  Fluffy, sure, but not as important.

2. Protocol of the Sudden Storm - favored by Nephrekh

Directive 1 - +1 to movement

Directive 2 - may perform an action and still shoot

USAGE - Directive one is a reasonable first-turn choice unless you know you're getting charged turn 1.  Get as much ground as you can.  Directive 2 is situational - you take it if you're going to perform actions, and you've got a better option for earlier turns.

3. Protocol of the Vengeful Stars - favored by Mephrit

Directive 1 - +1 AP on unmodified 6s to hit in shooting

Directive 2 - no cover benefits for target if firing w/in half range

USAGE - This is situational either way.  You need to be unloading with massed firepower to get something out of it.  This is unlikely to be an early-game power; it's more of a 'nice to have' than anything else.

4. Protocol of the Hungry Void - favored by Novokh

Directive 1 - +1AP on unmodified 6s to hit in melee

Directive 2 - +1S on melee attacks when charging, charged, or making heroic interventions

USAGE - Situational.  If you're melee-focused, you're probably aiming for turn 2 charges (unless you think the enemy is running into the midfield and will let you get a turn one charge, in which case go ahead).  

5. Protocol of the Undying Legions - favored by Szarekhan

Directive 1 - Each time this unit uses its living metal ability, regains an additional wound

Directive 2 - Each time you roll reanimation protocols, re-roll one dice

USAGE - I'd say the earlier you use this, the more you'll get out of it.  Most armies are going to hit you the hardest on either turn 1 or 2.  This is an easy ability to slot in there.

The only thing that might make me think a little harder about this is a C'tan and my matchup - some armies can put damage on them in more than one phase, and getting 2 wounds back vs. 1 wound may be the difference in keeping a C'tan around another turn.

6. Protocol of the Conquering Tyrant - favored by Sautekh

Directive 1 - +3 to aura abilities, max of 12"

Directive 2 - may fall back and shoot, but takes a -1 penalty

USAGE - I'm a little 'eh' on directive 1.  Directive 2, though - if you think you're going to take an assault on some shooty troops on a given turn, then this can be money.  This is probably a turn 2 (if you're using veil on a warrior blob) or turn 3 power for that, depending on matchup.

Sorting The Directives

Solid early-turn picks - 5. Undying Legions, 2. Sudden Storm.

If you're not sure, Sudden storm will help you get positioning and Undying Legions will help you take a punch.  

I'm Going To Hurt You This Turn - 3. Vengful Stars, 4. Hungry Void

If you're pretty sure you're going to unload on a given turn (either by shooting or by assault) you pick the appropriate protocol.  It's a bit of a gamble, but odds are this is turn 2 or 3.

I Think I'm Going To Get Into A Situation Here - 6. Conquering Tyrant, 1. Eternal Guardian, 2.2 Sudden Storm

Conquering Tyrant's great if you think you're going to get charged and need to fall back, otherwise it's 'eh'.  Eternal Guardian's useful if you're going to stand still in the open or get charged that turn, but I'm not sure you can necessarily predict those without seeing the field or just messing up.  The second part of Sudden Storm may be situationally useful - but again, the situational stuff all competes with more generally useful abilities.

Thoughts on Picking The Directives

The first three turns are likely to be the easiest to predict turns and the most important turns.  You know what the board looks like, you know what the armies look like, and you can make guesses about deployment.  Turns 4-5 are either going to be mop-up or harder to guess, depending on how the dice and the plays have gone.  I'll refine this as I get more games in.

Shooty Necrons w/ assault elements vs. Shooty army

Turn 1 - Undying Legions (for resilience)

Turn 2- Sudden Storm

Turn 3 - Vengeful Stars

Turn 4 - Hungry Void

Turn 5 - Whatever you feel like

The idea is to take the hits on turn one, move up, open up, mop up, and then hopefully win or be dead.

Shooty Necrons w/ assault elements vs. Assaulty Army

Turn 1 - Vengeful Stars

Turn 2 - Conquering Tyrant

Turn 3 - Hungry Void

Turn 4/5 - whatever you feel like, probably Undying Legions and then Eternal Guardian

The logic is that they'll move up - hopefully you deployed in a manner to avoid a turn one assault.  Shoot them, get assaulted, fall back and shoot, then punch them and hope it worked.

Assaulty Necrons

Turn 1 - Sudden Storm

Turn 2 - Hungry Void

Turn 3 - Undying Legion

Turn 4 - Vengeful Stars

Turn 5 - whatever you feel like

Move up, charge.  Turn 3/4 could be swapped out; it's a matter of how many guns you brought for mop-up work.

Closing Thoughts 

My gut says that there's a few camps on protocols.  Some folks are probably all "OMG what do I do, too many options!" and some are all "It's not marine doctrines, ergo it's garbage."

I think once you look at them, and split them into "generally useful" and "situational" and look at your list, you figure out an order of operations pretty quick - especially once you realize you should worry mostly about the first 2-3 turns.

Necrons in 9th - Build Theme Brainstorming and The New Book - Part 1 - Core, Cults, Canopteks, and Those Other Guys

 

I've seen a little bit of Necrons in 8th and pre-codex in 9th.  I think the biggest challenge is zen, here - you should empty your cup, so to speak.  This is a new book, an army re-work, and a fine time to start 'crons.

I'm going to start with the keywords.

Army Keywords to Organize Around

You've got a couple questions to ask yourself in the new book -

1) What keyword(s) to build around? Core, Destroyer Cult, Canoptek, or a mix?  And don't forget Dynastic Agents, which don't really benefit from any of the previous keywords.

2) What dynasty?

3) Big centerpiece unit (C'tan Shard, Silent King, Lord(s) of war), yes or no?

I think the biggest adjustment is going to be getting used to buffs and how they revolve around the Canoptek, Core, and Destroyer Cult stuff.

Core Units - The Buff Bots

This is probably what a lot of folks have laying around.  You're either CORE, or you buff it.  There are a LOT of Cryptek arcana, so I'm limiting this to core-specific powers.  

As a rule, most of the stuff here tends to be 1-2 wound infantry that relies on volume of fire to do work.  Also, all your Troops choices live here.  The bulk of your characters live here as well.

Overlord, Catacomb Command Barge - Relentless March is good for +1 movement as an aura, and My Will Be Done is your targeted +1 to hit buff.

Lord - You get the overlord's Relentless March aura, and you get The Lord's Will, which is good for re-rolling 1s to hit.

Royal Warden - it's Relentless March yet again, but more importantly this HQ will let one unit fall back and shoot or charge.  This is obviously more situational, but still useful.

Technomancer - It brings back a Core infantry unit a turn, or 1d3 warriors.

I. Core Units

A lot of this shouldn't be a surprise.

Warriors - shouldn't be a surprise, it's a troops unit.  You do all your work via volume of gunfire, and you're either 15-20 man blobs, or 10 guys in a Ghost Ark.

Immortals - Like Warriors, it shouldn't be a surprise.  You get more durability (T5, 3+ vs. T4/4+) but you're 5-10 man squads vs. 10-20.  As with warriors, your work is done via volume of gunfire.

Lychguard - Now we're cooking with gas.  One way or the other you're looking at getting into a fight.  Either you went for durability with sword and shield, or you just want to hurt things with scythes.  Mobility and accuracy are great here.

Deathmarks - I guess core fits.  These guys exist to tag characters with sniper rifles.  You CAN buff these, but they don't have as many shots as other core stuff, and you want unmodified 6s for mortal wounds.

Tomb Blades - it's another volume-of-fire unit, with some decent durability baked in - they have an innate -1 to hit vs. shooting, and can get a 5++.  Your issue might be positioning, but each model is kicking 4-6 shots.

Core unit helpers

Some gear/units/stragems interact with CORE units explicitly without being a CORE unit in and of themselves.

Ghost Ark - it heals warriors.  It takes up space.  It has 10 flayers.  

Night Scythe - it carries 20 CORE models.

Veil of Darkness - it moves a character (that doesn't have to be CORE) and a unit of CORE infantry via deep strike.

Monolith - it can deploy CORE infantry from reserves.

Dimensional Corridor - a CORE INFANTRY unit pops into reserves and out of a Monolith for 1CP.

The Deathless Arise - for 1CP, your technomancer uses Rites of Reanimation again.

Hand of the Phaeron - listed here because an Overlord gets to use My Will Be Done twice.  Gotta pay 2CP prior to the battle, though.

Primsatic Dimensional Breach - pop out of a Night Scythe or Monolith, but you do it without as many restrictions for placement.

Relentless Onslaught - rapid fire guns auto-wound on unmodified 6's to hit.

Disruption Fields - +1S for a fight phase.

Reconstitution Protocols - that Ghost Ark brings 1d6 warriors back instead of 1d3.

II. The Destroyer Cult

The Destroyer Cult units tend to be beefy multi-wound fellows that prefer quality of attacks over massed small arms fire.  Also, they're apparently psychotic and live for murder.  You can definitely build around the Cult for some nasty murder bots, but any Troops are still core.

As a rule, the Destroyer Cult units generally re-roll 1s to hit, and the Destroyer HQs grant them re-roll 1s to wound.  Almost everything here's got an 8" move, so this is your more elite/speedy wing rather than your silver tide of bodies.

Destroyer Cult-specific Supporting HQs

Skorpekh Lord - you get United in Destruction, which is a re-roll aura for wound rolls of 1.  This is basically your one buff for HQs.  Otherwise this thing's 'buff' is its ability to thrash things in melee.

Lokhust Lord - You get the same United in Destruction aura, but but can also bring a resurrection orb.

Technomancer w/ Phylacterine Hive, Canoptek Cloak - you get to bring back a Cult unit once per battle with this Arkana.  It's a 20pt piece of wargear that'll bring back a 35-70pt model.  Worth thinking about, especially as the cloak lets you pace destroyer units and repair 1d3 lost wounds.

Destroyer Cult Units

Hexmark Destroyer - who likes a half-dozen BS2+ pistols that re-roll 1s to hit?  Re-rolling wounds on an S6 attack isn't bad, but this guy likes to fall out of reserves and shoot stuff.  With 18" on the pistol, you can probably benefit from the aura.

Skorpekh Destroyers - choppy tripods.  All they really want outside of an HQ friend is a defensive buff, which they have via a -1 to wound stratagem.

Ophydian Destroyers - take the Skorpekh destroyers - drop a point off the armor save and toughness in exchange for deep strike, and here you go.  

Lokhust Destroyers - we're back to guns here.  Each one packs a three-shot S6 gun with AP-3 and 1d3 damage.  Everyone knows how sick these things are, so consider cover and a Chronomancer or other defensive buffs.

Lokhust Heavy Destroyer - It's the bigger, heftier, meaner cousin of the Lokhust Destroyer.  You get to choose between 3d3 shots at S7, or one S10 shot at 3d3 damage.  

Destroyer-Specific Gear/Stratagems

The Destroyers carry a lot of their buffs with them, as they're a beefy, mobile force.

Extermination Protocols - you only get to re-roll wounds in shooting, but you already have a re-roll of 1s to hit.

Burrowing Nightmares - Ophidian-specific, but it lets them dip off the board and pop up the next turn.  Either you're repositioning for a charge, or grabbing an objective.  Or pulling shenanigans.

Whirling Onslaught - Skorpekh destroyers (or the lord) pay 1CP to make anyone trying to hurt them take a -1 to wound.  Since you're already T5 (or T6 for the lord), this is pretty significant - small arms go to a 6+ to wound, and heavier weaponry goes down to a 4+ to wound.

III. Canopteks

This is your third big chunk of keywords - like Destroyer Cults, you don't have troops.  Most Canoptek stuff has multiple wounds per model.  They tend to be beefy but not super accurate (WS/BS4+ for the most part), but you can work around that.  You also have an army-specific objective that Canoptek units can help with in Ancient Machines.  You also generally have assault weapons when you do have guns.

The Technomancer - Technically all the Crypteks have the Canoptek word, but this choice can bring a Canoptek Control Node, which is good for +1 to hit rolls.  Hitting on 3's is a lot more useful for your guys, trust me.  The Phylacterine Hive gets a nod here, as again it'll bring a 35-70pt unit back if given the opportunity.

Canoptek Units

Canoptek Reanimator - you're bringing this to try to keep stuff alive, and hoping that it draws fire.  I guess it technically has weapons, but they're token at best.

Cryptothralls - They're in this bin because of the keyword.  They get their biggest buffs from being near a Cryptek, and exist to make snipers work for their shots.  They also can do more damage and take a few more hits than most folks think, for a 2-model unit.

Canoptek Spyders - Now we're talking.  If you want to have some fun, you can absolutely bring a 3-Spyder squad with guns and put them near a Technomancer w/ control node.  At that point, they're ~70 points a model, but crank out five S8, AP-3, 2 damage attacks in melee and each have a dozen S5 shots.  If you don't drop one, it can get repaired.  If you drop one, the Hive can bring back a T6, 6W model.  I personally want to take a 3-man squad with a Technomancer and a Chronomancer for the laughs.

Canoptek Scarab Swarms - they're cheap.  They're fast.  They're 4 wounds a stand.  You can take 3-9 in a unit.  They auto-wound on 6s to hit.  If you bring a couple large units, this could get funny - I wouldn't expect them to kill a hall of a lot of stuff unless a full squad hits it - but that's a LOT of wounds to get through.  You can also Self Destruct for mortal wounds at the cost of CP.

Wraiths - This is your speedy tie-up unit that may stick around, and even hurt something.  T5, 3W, 3+/4++ on a 12" move that doesn't care about terrain?  They're throwing out either four S6, AP-2, 2 damage attacks or 8 S5, AP-1 one damage swings.

Canoptek Doomstalkers - Hey, someone else found the Doomsday cannon!  You've got a dozen T6 wounds on a 3+/4++.  You've got reasonable mobility, but moving means firing at a weaker profile.  You can also lend a hand in Overwatch for stuff within 6" - which is to say, your screens.  You're basically committing to a control node for these, since d6 shots at BS4+ is kinda sad.

Canoptek Gear/Stratagems

Enslaved Protectors - One Canoptek unit gets to heroically intervene.  Everyone but the reanimators and Doomstalker care about this, since they're all reasonably choppy.

Fail-Safe Overcharger - +1 attack for Canoptek units nearby.  Or, +1d3 if it's a Monster (IE - the Spyders).  You get to use this more than once.

Phylacterine Hive - as mentioned above, this is just great fun with Spyders, but the Wraiths won't mind either, assuming they're in range.  Really though, I think you bring this with the Spyders.

IV. The Other Guys - Dynastic Agents, Triarchs, Vehicles, etc.

There are some other units out there that don't fit into the three previous ones, because they just don't have the keywords.  Other than your various special characters, this includes the following -

Flayed Ones - these guys have no extra keywords.  They do have a fight-twice stratagem, though.  They are kind of self-contained, when it comes to stratagems.

Triarch Stalker - Here's our first triarch entry.  These are actually army support - as long as it shoots at something, you get to re-roll ones.

C'tan Shards - they have a handful of stratagems out there that buff them.  They...don't really need it.

Triarch Praetorians - They're beefy jump-infantry that like to stab things.  They are neither Core nor Dynasty, so that does lock them out of some buffs.  However, the Silent King has a special spot for them and is more than happy to let them re-roll hits and wounds.

All Vehicles Other Than The Ghost Ark (Annihilation Barge / Doomsday Ark / Doom Scythe / Obelisk / Tesseract Vault)  - These tend not to have any interaction with CORE units.  There are other stratagems that interact with them, and other gear - but that's not in the scope of this particular post.

Conclusion of Part 1 

This post is already a bit beefy.  I think step one of getting to used to the codex is sorting stuff into bins.  Outside of a crazy theme list, odds are you're going to include some core choices, and buffs for those.  The Destroyer cult units are reasonably self-contained and don't need a lot of buffs.  The Canopteks either take up space really well, or you bring a Control Node Technomancer and wreck stuff.

There's a lot in this new book to unpack.

Speculation, and Impacts of Wargear Changes

 So the other week, we got a look at a number of wargear changes.  These will change when Marines come out, and apparently it'll go to everyone that can carry them.

The precise impacts will vary depending on who actually has access to them, but I think I can smell some trends already.

The Short Version

I think we'll see Marines and Custodes feel the Storm Shield change in a big way, and it's probably not a bad thing.  The heavy bolter change is probably a reaction to multi-wound marines coming for CSM and non-Primaris marines, but I expect we'll see similar stuff play out for other armies WRT similar weapons.  The power sword change is a noteworthy tweak as well.  Past that, multi-meltas are probably playable now (if not really neat in certain configurations), and flamers are probably usable again.

Trends

I see some adjustments overall to durability - weapons have picked up some lethality, and Storm Shields are taking a hit to their invulnerable save.  Considering that the name of 9th is "put durable bodies on objectives" this is probably a decent step for the game.

Storm Shield Changes

You saw this with Indomitus - the invulnerable save goes to 4++, and the armor save gets a +1.  The impact here depends on who's holding it.  Dudes that just had power armor like this - they still get an invulnerable save, and that 3+ goes to a 2+.  The big change is for Terminators, Marine characters, and especially Custodes.  They all get more resistance to small arms fire (especially terminators and Custodes) but marine characters (well, captains) and Custodes already had a 4++.  The Indomitus-pattern lieutenant is more valuable now because he's got the shield (vs. no invlun), but Custodes now have to really think about whether they want to give up spear for the shield and sword.

I'd say this is the more far-ranging change.  TH/SS terminators are also a chunk less durable - the move from 2+/3++ to 1+/4++ means that small arms are less effective, but plasma, etc. is much more effective.

Weapon Changes

Power Swords, other power weapons

+1S matters more than you'd think.  Everyone with S3 (Eldar, IG, etc.) now wounds marine-equivalents on a 4+, and generally wounds vehicles on a 5+ instead of a 6+ (unless it's a T8 vehicle, but you should have another weapon for that, or be falling back).  S4 folks (marines, mostly) like it because S4 to S5 is beefy vs. T4 (wound on 3+), T5 (now you wound on 4+), and T8 (wound on a 5+).  Power axes and mauls are decent enough already, but now you have to ask if the +1S/AP-3 is better for wounding than +2S/-2AP from the axe.  If you're already S4, the sword's not bad.  The maul?  Eh, maybe just get a powerfist instead and get a damage buff.

Astartes Chainswords

-1AP all the time.  This is probably a change based on new cover rules.  Anyone who's got a volume of attacks already had a sword, and this is probably good for them.

Heavy Bolter

The only change here is it went to two damage.  It's now a heavy infantry killer, and also the threat to vehicles is increased.  

Let me say it now - there area  LOT of heavy bolters out there.  The IG have one on basically everyone vehicle.  Marines generally have one on a vehicle, or have the option for it.  Sisters seem to think they're participation trophies.  Bring enough of them and you'll chew up anything.  Chaos may not have them on everything, but Chaos still has access to them.

Multi-Melta

So these things might not be paperweights any more.  They got two buffs- they want from one to two shots, and if they're in half-range, they go from 1d6 damage to 1d6+2 damage, dropping the lower of 2 dice.  

The priority goes to anything that can close the gap with these.  Any vehicle with a multi-melta (heck, even old Dreadnoughts/Helbrutes) are a bit scarier to other vehicles.  You can also melt heavy infantry (well, slowly) in close.  Big winners here are any vehicles, any infantry that can get close, and anyone with accuracy buffs.  

I shudder to think that a handful of Iron Hand devastators can do falling out of a drop pod. (The short answer is "make a lord of war go away - a decent round of shooting sees them drop on average of four wounding multi-melta hits, so figure on 3 going through - which is 6+3d6 damage, taking the highest.  Average is probably around 15-18 damage.)

Short Version - you might start seeing these again on stuff that can close the gap and/or get accuracy buffs.

Flamers

All of the sudden they're 12" range.  This does two crucial things - first, it lets you deep-strike into flamer range, and second, it lets you fire overwatch.  This matters chiefly on units that bring a bunch of flamers.  Think Chaos Terminators, Crisis Suits, etc. - or just mobs of angry sisters or a Baal tank.

This is another one of those changes that is a bit more far-reaching - there are flamers EVERYWHERE in this game.

HOWEVER - these things matter mostly when it comes to overwatch and deep strike.  If you get to move, you'll get range anyway.

Short Version - Matters mostly when you're deep-striking or overwatching.

Hunter-Killer Missiles

They went up to S10, which matters mostly vs. T5 vehicles.  Matters mostly for those that brought lots of vehicles.  This is a quality of life thing more than anything else, since it's still a single-shot weapon.

Short Version - It's neat, I guess - it's +1 to wound vs. T5 targets.

First Impressions - Custodes in 9th Edition

 My time with 9th edition's been a little impacted by COVID and light surgery, but I've gotten my Custodes on the table enough to get an idea about how they feel.

Army Strengths

Durability

Your basic troopers are 2+/4++ guys with T5 and 3 wounds.  Grab terminator armor for more wounds, and if you get a bike, you get T6 on top of that.  You also shrug mortal wounds from psychic powers off on a 6+, which is nice.  Most of your vehicles have either solid toughness, or high speed if not both.

ObSec

If you're a guy or a dreadnought, you hold objectives.  Combine this with the aforementioned durability and you're good.

Accuracy

You're WS/BS 2+.  Our HQs have re-roll 1's to hit auras, and at worst the enemy can inflict a -1 to hit debuff.

Melee Power

Outside of dedicated shooting units (IE - vehicles, Saggitarium custodes) most Custodes hit at a minimum of S6, AP-2 for 1d3 damage and they're swinging three times per model.  If you feel like running a Telemon with a fist, it's S16 at a flat four damage, because sometimes you just have to make chunky salsa out of whatever's on-hand.

Deep Strike Access

You have a few flavors of terminators, and with From Golden Light They Come, you can deep strike other stuff (including Dreadnoughts) - and for a few more CP, your guys can roll 3d6 and drop the lowest on the deep-strike charge with the right host trait.

Liabilities

Army Size

You are a small, small army.  At 2,000pts, a pure Custodes army might bring ~20ish guys.  You have a small footprint.  At least you didn't have to paint a ton of guys, right?

Psychic Defense

So you've got a 6+ shrug vs. mortal wounds?  Great.  You can spend a Warlord Trait (Impregnable Mind) on getting one Deny the Witch trait, and that's kind of it.  You're looking at bringing outside help for this, be it Sisters of Silence or a Culexus.

Volume of Fire

You definitely have quality of fire with all the BS2+.  However, there's a handful of units with actual volume of fire - Jetbikes pack Hurricane Bolters, and War of the Spider lets you bulk up Rapid Fire units (Aquilon Terminators, take note).

This tells you you're an assault army.

Random Melee Damage

Your infantry need a relic to have anything other than 1d3 damage on their melee weapons.  Unless it's a 1-damage melee weapon.  Your Dreadnoughts tend to get around this.  Be aware of it when you're throwing down with multi-wound units - it's occasionally a little annoying, but bad dice can see primaris bobs and terminators soak more than one hit from high-quality weapons.

Point Cost

All your quality comes at a price - when you're building a list, your cheapest models are easily 50ish points a head.  You may be filling in points with Misericordia, since that's about the only gap-filler.

Forge World

This is kind of neither here nor there - but almost half of your roster (and basically all of your vehicles) is from Forge World.  Some folks still have weird prejudices against Forge World.  You can build a decent army without ever touching resin, but your options are a bit slimmer.

On Objectives

Custodes take a couple of turns to get started.  We don't have a lot of guns, and we don't have a lot of bodies.  Pretty much all those bodies have Objective Secured, though - so you are well-suited to brawling over an objective marker.  You also have a 1CP fight-twice stratagem for that.

When it comes to secondary objectives, your choices are going to be dictated by army composition - sometimes yours, sometimes theirs. I lean towards Attrition, Engage on All Fronts, and go from there.

Purge The Enemy

Assassinate is based on how many characters they've got - if you think they'll be near the front and you can tag them in assault, go for it.  Titan Slayers is matchup-dependent - you can get a +1 to wound with Slayer of Nightmares for anything T6 or higher (T7 if bikes are fighting it).  This really shines on terminators with either power gauntlets or castellan axes.  S8 with +1 to wound is ugly.  Slay the Warlord depends on whether or not you want to put the eggs in one basket.

No Mercy, No Respite

Attrition and While We Stand, We Fight are the standouts here.  Custodes are hard to kill - and if you can get into assault, you should be able to get Attrition for 2-3 turns.  WWS,WF is nice if you brought a Telemon and a beefy character or two - T5-6 characters with 7+ wounds and 2+/4+ saves are nasty, and a Telemon's got T8, 2+/4+, and 14 wounds.

First Strike is going to be difficult unless you have a very shooty setup vs. someone that left wimpy units out.  You should probably skip it.

Battlefield Supremacy

Engage on All Fronts is doable with faster units - though you're probably only going to get 3 table quarters rather than all four.  Linebreaker is going to be harder, I think, outside of a deep-strike heavy build, and even then it's potentially restrictive.  Domination is another challenge for a smaller army.

Shadow Operations

You don't have a lot of units.  Repair Teleport Homer might be worth it if you're planning on deep striking a support HQ and a squad into the enemy's lines on turn two - IF you think you'll kill enough in the drop, and you can let the HQ sit around.  The problem is that actions are really for larger armies.

Warpcraft

Hey, you don't have psykers in your codex.  Abhor the Witch is pretty much it, and is matchup-dependent.

A note on Force Org Charts when Building

If you're going Custodes-pure, give a look at a Patrol.  Unless you're going to take three of a given slot, a patrol is realistically what you're after.  You were probably going to leave a minimal troops slot on a home objective anyway.

Note also that Custodes have some awesome defensive stratagems - we can flat-out deny ALL re-rolls vs. a single unit, for example - so bringing large units lets us focus buffs.

Units of Note

The HQ Slot

Expect to burn 100 or ~200 points here.  You can burn a relic to get a 3++ save if you don't feel like taking a storm shield (or if you take a terminator or biker).  Trajann's worth a look because he brings a re-roll 1s to wound on top of the normal re-roll 1s to hit buff, but he's locked into a so-so warlord trait.

Pay attention to the Captain Commander stratagem out of War of the Spider - it's a nasty buff, and helps let you farm CP.  Or pick from any of the other sick buffs.

The Vertus Praetors

Say hello to something you can build an army around.  These guys are almost 100pts a pop, but you get speed (~14" move and FLY), durability (four T6 wounds), volume of fire (a hurricane bolter) and nasty melee (S6 spears with re-rolling wounds on the charge).  It's not hard to see why folks build around these.

Aquilon Terminators

This is the forge world terminator.  If you want to clear out infantry and then punch...well, anything that isn't flying...to death, these are the guys.

You land, you point your S5, AP-1 Rapid Fire 2 storm bolters at something within 12", and use Superior Fire Patterns to double your volume of fire.  Eight shots per model is beefy.  Then charge in and swing an S10 powerfist that hits on 2+.  Things die if you can make it into assault.

If the enemy counters, use Auramite and Admantium, which means you ignore AP-1 and AP-2 - so you're either on your 2+ or your 4++.  Given the cost of these guys, you need them to do as much work as possible.

Allarus Terminators

Here's your plastic terminator.  You have fewer options than the Aquilon guys - choose between a Castellan Axe or a Sentinel Spear.  Choose the axe for the strength; you can spend CP for more AP if that comes up, and if you need it you can get the bonus to wound.

Allarus terminators trade some shooting power (and two strength) for two neat stratagems - Inescapable Vengeance and Unleash the Lions.  The former lets then target characters with their guns and grenade launchers.  The latter lets them split into single-model units.

Sniping characters is a neat trick, but difficult - within 12", each Terminator kicks out two S4, AP-1 two damage shots and d3 S4, AP-3 one-damage shots.  Given this is a 2CP stratagem, you really want like a 4-man squad shooting something more durable than a guard captain with an invulnerable save.  Then you probably want to charge somethinge else.

Unleash the Lion is a neat trick more than anything.  There are two things it does - first, it'll make the other side think long and hard about how much firepower they need to hand out, and where, as your terminators are still T5, four-wound models.  Secondly, if you need models to split up and perform actions or claim objectives, it's an option.

Telemon Dreadnought

Don't be fooled by the S16, 4-damage fists - this thing is a wonderful gun platform.  Grab a good position, stand still and unload with both guns and 10 shots from the bolt launcher.

When compared to the Caladius Grav-Tank, the Telemon is more expensive (by about 60 or so points) but much more durable - they both have 14 wounds, but the Telemon is T8 with a 2+/4++/6+++ vs. the Caladius' T7, 3+/5++.  Caladius can out-range it with the right guns, and deducts 2 from enemy charge rolls.  Also, y'know, it has FLY and a base move of 14", so can hide.

The Vexilla

You can take one of three standards on either a regular Guard, or an Allarus Terminator.  One is a 5++ for friendly IMPERIAL units, so you can skip it for Custodes pure builds.  There are two buffs to pick from - +1 attack per model, or -1 to hit vs. enemy shooting.  If you aren't building a 100% mobile force, consider one of these.

Stratagems of Note

The base codex has some decent offensive stratagems, but War of the Spider introduces some choice defensive ones.

From Golden Light They Come

Deep strike 1-2 infantry, bikes or dreads that don't normally get it.  Beefy at 1 or 3CP.

Golden Light of the Moiraides

If you picked the Dread Host as your shield host, pay 1-2CP for 1-3 deep striking units to roll 3d6 on the charge and drop the lowest dice.  Suddenly those charges are a little easier to make.

Vexilla Teleport Homer

If your standard-bearer started on the table this turn, you can pay 3 CP to drop within 6" of him, and end up more than 3" away from enemy models.  Is it a little niche?  Yes.  Are you going to nuke something close to you?  Also yes.

Indomitable Guardians

Are you close to an objective, and would you like to fight twice for 1CP?  We're an assaulty army.

The Emperor's Auspice

Pay 2CP, deny any/all re-rolls for a phase.  Depending on the type of army you're facing, this is a nasty counter.  You're incentivized to bring beefy units, since this is a flat 2CP to protect a unit for a phase.  You will probably pay more CP for this than someone else pays to get those re-rolls, but if it stops something like Gravitic Amplification or Extermination Protocols, it was worth it.

Arcane Genetic Alchemy

Pay 2CP - wound rolls of 1-3 always fail.  You're T5.  Someone's high-powered weapons just got less effective.  Use it when you expect to absorb more than small arms.

Auramite and Admantium

Pay 1CP - your terminator treat AP-1 and AP-2 weapons as AP0 weapons.  I mean, AP-3 or better was going to hit your 4++ anyway.  Honestly, if you have terminators, you should keep CP for this hidden away.

Superior Fire Patterns

If your infantry didn't advance, double your number of shots for pistol and rapid-fire weapons.  Honestly, that's most infantry weapons.  Aquilon Terminators and the Venatari Custodes are noteworthy (Aquilon have storm bolters; Venatari can carry S6, 2-shot 2-damage pistols with good range).

Tanglefoot Grenade

For 1CP, you deduct 1d6 from an enemy unit's move OR charge.  It's a little niche, but you can potentially ham-string a unit twice if you're close to them.

Captain-Commander

Pay a CP, pick one of nine traits for a non-character shield captain.  Strategic Mastermind is worthy of note as it'll let you reclaim one CP per battle round on a 5+ whenever you spend CP.  The other buffs are geared towards mobility or melee upgrades, though there's also a flat +2W one.  I guess if you wanted, you could dump a CP and relic onto a jetbike captain and have a 9W, 2+/3++ guy flying around the table shooting/stabbing everything he can to death.

Victor of the Blood Games

I mention it because it's a little iffy - on the one hand, it's undeniably efficient - it's 2CP, and it can a re-roll a turn, so you'll get more points back.  You're putting it on a character, though, so you're already re-rolling the 1s to hit - so you'll be re-rolling wounds and saves, which aren't bad.  But, it's still 2CP right off the bat.

Stooping Dive

Let's be real, this looks cool, but it's niche.  You pay 3CP to let your biker unit charge at the end of the opponent's phase, and then they fight first.  If the opponent doesn't know this is a thing, it's hilarious.  If they fail a charge, well, then you gotta ask if you want to burn the CP to get in there.  Or, y'know, you can move up, dump hurricane bolters on them, save 3CP, and then charge.  It's an option, but expensive CP-wise.

On Shield Hosts

War of the Spider introduces shield hosts.  These are analogous to legion traits, but in practice give you a warlord trait, a relic, and a bespoke stratagem.

The Dread Host

This is your choice for deep striking.  Golden Light of the Moiraides (as mentioned above) is a nice buff for arriving from deep strike, since you almost always want to charge from it.  As a bonus, these guys have a relic Castellan Axe that has a flat 3 damage in melee.  The Warlord trait is an aura that says any 6s to hit within 6" grant additional hits, which isn't bad - but isn't super, since you aren't exactly a high-volume army.

Solar Watch

If you aren't deep-striking, this is a decent choice.  The warlord trait is Sally Forth - if you start the movement phase within 1" of the warlord, you get an extra inch of movement, and can advance and rapid-fire with -1 to hit.  You also get a neat little stratagem that's 0CP - if you kill a character, the next stratagem the opponent uses costs an extra CP, but you can use it once per round.

Overall

I've enjoyed Custodes thus far.  They are rock-hard.  The two biggest adjustments have been army size - you never quite get over feeling outnumbered, and the fact that turn one is almost never that graphic.  That being said, I don't feel the biggest need to have turn one - I can't break the enemy's back on turn one with overwhelming firepower, and if I have anything in reserves for deep strike, I'm not sure I need to over-extend myself.

Plus, painting ~20 models and being done painting an army is pretty awesome.