Last week, we talked with the designers and the ’Eavy Metal team all about the new Silent King model. Today, we’re taking a look at his rules and seeing how he’s going to be dominating the battlefields of the 41st Millennium. It’s time to bow to your new king!
Floating Rocks of Death
Let’s start by looking at the two Triarchal Menhirs that float either side of Szarekh’s Dais of Dominion. Not only are they the sort of impressive monument that only the greatest of rulers would have, but they each contain an annihilator beam.
Unlike some of the younger races, the Necrons don’t mess around when naming their weapons and these will definitely annihilate anything you point them at.
Council of War
One of the key lessons that the Silent King has learned over the long millennia is the importance of delegation. He used the Triarch to rule the Necrontyr and he’s now accompanied by the Phaeron of the Stars and the Phaeron of the Blades to aid in his devious schemes. In game, they act as inhuman shields, protecting their king while also providing the rest of your army two handy aura effects.
Keep your Immortals close early in the battle to make the most of those shooting re-rolls, and then make sure that your Lychguard are nearby as you approach the enemy to really take advantage of the melee re-rolls. These auras are also incredibly handy as they are some of the few that affect Triarch units – they only take orders from the King!
Hail to the King
But what about the Silent King himself? Let’s just remind ourselves of his stat line.
He also comes with a range of rules and abilities that would fill up the inside of a monolith if you were to write them out in ancient Necron glyphs. Armed with the Sceptre of Eternal Glory, the Silent King can dominate both the shooting and combat phases.
Doing 2 Damage will come in especially handy against Space Marines, now that the majority of them have 2 Wounds as standard. Clearly, the Silent King isn’t going to let a few superhuman warriors stop him from reclaiming the galaxy.
To give him another benefit in close combat, he can also ensure that enemy units don’t get to fight until after all nearby Necrons have done so.
As evidenced by their creation of the Pariah Nexus, Necrons are not fans of psykers. Thanks to the Silent King’s mastery of the mysterious substance known throughout the Imperium as blackstone, he is able to shut down enemy psykers on the battlefield.
As befits the most powerful Necron ruler, the Silent King also has the ability to change your army’s command protocol at will.
We had a look at command protocols yesterday and saw how flexible they can be. Being able to activate one exactly when you need one of its directives gives you an immense advantage.
That’s just a taste of what Szarekh brings to the battlefield – seriously, his datasheet is huge with loads more abilities that will soon see the Necrons rightfully ruling the galaxy once again. The Silent King is available to pre-order from Saturday. Make sure that you’re ready for him by building an army that’s fit for a king.