Zahndrekh is a good HQ choice in terms of pointcost and abilities. He has 3 special rules that are seriously good and comes with necessary wargear that compliment any unit he joins. I have used him in several early playtest and 2 friendly games. I must say, he is my favourite Necron HQ at the moment and this is how I used him in my game.
Using The Nemessor
Taking Nemessor is easy, but deciding what unit to accompany this guy will require some thinking. He is not a Phaeron, meaning that we should never attach him to a Warriors or any unit with Rapid Fire weapons. It is either assault weapon or simply forget about shooting. At the same time he wields a Staff of Light and carry one very important item that is the Resurrection Orb (RO). So what unit should we attach him to? For me, there's only 2 unit where we can maximize his potential without becoming a hindrance to the unit --> Immortals with Tesla Carbine and Lychguards.
Zahndrekh and The Immortals
Tesla Carbines works great since it is Assault Weapon and the fact that Immortals are Scoring. Having RO in there makes it several times better at holding an objective. Give them Tank Hunters and they can help you stop Rhinoes or any light vehicles coming at them. Of course, AP- hurts but it worked in several playtests I did. Not good enough? Drop in a Harbinger of Destruction and you now have a mobile Lasscannon (with Tank Hunters) to add to the punch (Solar Pulse is a great help too). But my personal favourite is of course, The old school Immortal and Veil of Darkness (VoD) where the whole table is yours to play with (It was so much better when Gauss Blaster was Assault 2 though).
Zahndrekh and Lychguards
As for Lychguards, they make very good bodyguards for Zahndrekh. I usually take 7-8 Lychguards with Warscythe so they can take out anything from infantries to tanks. But it is difficult to get their points back since they don't have any shooting capabilities. Even worst, they aren't Scoring. Lychguard do seems useless, but it was with their help that I managed two massacre wins against GK and BT.
Lychguards' place are within the enemy line. In order to do that, they always need a mean of which to transport them. Monolith and Night Scythe are a good and safe method, but I prefer Deep Striking (DS) them using the VoD. Cheap and has so far been nothing but effective. Since they don't have any shooting capabilities, you have no worry about them scattering out of range and can simply make them 'Run' during the Shooting Phase to spread out against enemy template. Give them "Counter Assault" if you have to for precaution.
But to what end? We all know DS them on enemy line will only make them die faster. That is partly true but here is the thing. DS-ing Zahndrekh and Lychguard is just part of a bigger plan :-)
Vargard Obyron
Obyron's Ghostwalk Mantle allows him to DS anywhere within 6 inches from Zahndrekh without scatter. This is very good when used in combination with DS-ing Zahndrekh. When I use this ability, it is always to DS 20 Necron Warriors with attached Necron Lord (with RO). 40 S4 + 3 S5 AP3 = FUN!! If you are lucky like I was in the 2 games, Zahndrekh and HoD (AP1 Template) might also be in range to join the fun.
The 2nd Wave
In order to make the plan successfull, it is also very important to take the 2nd wave element into account. The 2nd wave must be something that fast and strong. In my case, I always take a Necron Destroyer Lord accompanied by 6 Wraith (with Whip Coils) for the 2nd wave. Scary stuffs there. Wherever you DS, make sure it is within reach of the 2nd Wave. The opponent will clearly see through it, and that will psychologically effect whatever decision he has to make later on.
What Comes After..
Comes the opponent's turn, they now have to deal with 2 fresh target + the 2nd Wave. Most opponent will concentrate on the much easier and more juicy target --> Necron Warriors. But trust me, unless you are playing against IG, there's nothing much that can take out 20 warriors in a single shooting phase. I have tried several times during playtests but never succeeded. Both my opponents did the same but the results are the same. The best course of action is to beat them in close combat and kill them by Sweeping Advance. But if they choose to go for close combat, there's Obyron in there that might be too strong to handle with his Cleaving Counterblow. Not to mention, they also have to risk being counter charged by the Lychguards and the 2nd Wave. So what is the best course of action? Let them decide.
If the Warriors survived, there's nothing to stop them jumping around into rapid fire range each and every turn, wherever the Nemessor points them to.
Will It Really Work?
You'll never know until you've tried it. I've so far nothing but success. Nothing was more funny than Necrons beating BT and GK in combat. Maybe it is due to luck that I manage to win. But then again, luck is just another weapon to be used by a general.
Well.. that's all for the day. Never wrote something this long before . Dont know if it is gonna be of any use to you all. Just sharing my experience that is something different compared to how other people have been using him out there.
Till next time.
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