First off Warriors maintain a very solid stat line, with their 4+ armour save. The unit itself is 5 models for a humble 65pts and can go up to 15 additional warriors for 13pts each. The Gauss Flayer that they come with is a very standard issue weapon S4 AP5 rapid fire, gauss weapon. The unit itself does not offer any options, and is very boring to look at. I can see many people moving straight past them to Immortals for their troop choices.
So why do I like warriors? Well unlike most codexes, this unit is all about what you add to them. Their specialty does not come from a weapon upgrade, or other unit options. The first of these options are in its dedicated transports. It gets an option of two, The Night Sythe which can carry up to 15 warriors, or the Ghost Ark, which is Necron Warrior exclusive.
The Night Sythe is nice as it is a fast skimmer with a decent gun S7 AP- Assault 4 Tesla, Arc. This transport can be taken with almost any other unit, so I wont go into any other details with the Night Sythe.
The Ghost Ark is where it is at. This is what makes your Warriors exceed we'll be back.
Repair Barge: At the start of each Necron Movement phase (this gets crazy on Necron vs Necron), you can nominate a Warrior squad within 6" or embarked to receive d3 models that can act and move normally this turn. This happens on a die roll of a 2+. If you roll a 1, the unit still receives its models, however it suffers a glancing hit.
So imagine this; 5 Ghost arks, 3 in front facing the enemy with a 6" gap between them. The other two are placed in between the 6" gap and slightly behind so that they interlock somewhat. A deployed unit of Warriors will never be outside of at least 2-3 ghost arks. Combined with reanimation protocols, massive regeneration is what you get until the ghost arks are destroyed. At the start of the game with 5 ghost arks, you are looking at an average of 10 warriors a round (game play you will have to be tactical to get all of these in).
The ghost ark comes with Quantum Shielding, meaning until it receives a penetrating hit, it will have an armour value of 13 on its front and side facings. The vehicle also comes with living metal, so ignores quite a few shaken and stunned results.
No necron force worth its weight loading up like this does not have Night Fight rules in play at least for a few rounds. So your AV13 transports, can move forward under darkness, and regenerate losses like a madman.
The Royal Court: This is where your Necron forces become specialized with a little extra in them. There are no weapon upgrades in the Warrior unit, but attaching your Necron Lord or Cryptek from the royal court is how your units get their flare. The Nice thing is warrior units do not require any certain numbers to get a special weapon. No for every 5 models, or 10 models, so list building is easy. There is no penalty in weapon acquisition for taking 9 warriors. (dark eldar players should be jealous here).
Only 1 member of the royal court can join a unit, and although you gain nothing in leadership, you gain a flexibility with the unit. I will get into specific Crypteks and Necron Lord concepts later. So this means that as it stands now, you can get two Crypteks/ Lords into a single unit. This may end up nerfed by FAQ. We shall see.
The first and most important one to look at, is the Cryptek upgraded to a Harbringer of Destruction, and receiving an eldritch lance. 25pts for the cryptek +10 for the weapon which is a S8 Ap2 36" assault 1. (somehow the Eldritch Lance is not a lance weapon). This gives your warrior unit a strong hitting high strength weapon.
Your Harbringer of Destruction should definitely include a solar pulse. You will only be able to get two of them in your army, but being able to activate them at the beginning of any turn (even your opponents) to bring night fighting rules into play for the turn is quite strong. (it also works in reverse if night fighting rules are in effect).
A lord with a Res Orb, change that 5+ reanimation to a 4+. So there are all sorts of options for your Warriors. This one is not my favorite, unless the unit is 15+ strong, but it is the multiple number of options that matter with lords and crypteks.
With Necron Lords and Crypteks being added to your warrior squads, their roles become flexible. With Ghost Arks, your units become very resilient. I am sure someone out there will be doing the mathhammer, but with reanimation protocols every phase and Ghost Arks Repair Barge ability, I am liking the standard Necron Warrior unit as it advances across the tabletop under the cover of darkness.
