We've Got Your First Look At Warhammer 40K New Necrons Releases

With the release of the 10th edition of Warhammer 40K, we're beginning to see new Codex releases and models for a variety of armies. This week, timed to their official pre-release launch, Games Workshop sent us the new Codex and models for the Necron army and Adeptus Mechanicus. Join us for a quick rundown of each new model in our Warhammer 40K New Necrons and AdMech first look!

New Necron Models Breath Un-Life To The Range

The Necrons have long been a fan-favorite of Warhammer 40K players thanks to their rich lore and incredible miniature design. These skeletal android warriors carry heavy ranged weaponry and are most notable for their Reanimation Protocols, which allows them to shamble back to life when destroyed.

Let's take a closer look at the three new Necrons models up for pre-order!

Imotekh The Stormlord

As a highly skilled strategist, Imotekh The Stormlord uses an almost supernatural sense logic to lead his army, while bringing down intense firepower in combat. He's a leader Epic Hero Character unit that can be attached to Immortals, Lychguard, or Necron Warriors. His core stats are:

• Move: 5"
• Toughness: 5
• Save: 2+
• Invulnerable Save: 4+
• Wounds: 6
• Leadership: 6+
• Objective Control: 1

Along with Gauntlets of Fire which pummel enemies with a ranged Torrent attack, and his Staff of the Destroyer which can punish at range and melee, he also has the "Grand Strategist" ability (giving his controlling player 1 extra Command Point per turn), and the "Lord of the Storm" ability.

This ability really shows what a combat-friendly character this leader is, as it reads:

"Once per battle, at the end of your Command Phase, this model can use this ability. If it does, roll one D6 for each enemy unit within 12" of this model: on a 2-5, that enemy unit suffers D3 mortal wounds; on a 6, that enemy unit suffers D3+3 mortal wounds."

Ouch! Get the most out of your Imotekh The Stormlord by attaching him to an aggressive unit (like the Immortals), and get him right into the thick of battle! I really love the look and design of this model, with his flowing cape seeming almost to glitch in the background.

Orikan The Diviner

Orikan is a master astromancer, who can predict the flow of battle to juice himself up with cosmic power. He's a leader Epic Hero Character who can be attached to Immortals or Necron Warriors. His core stats are:

• Move: 5"
• Toughness: 4
• Save: 4+
• Invulnerable Save: 4+
• Wounds: 4
• Leadership: 6+
• Objective Control: 1

Armed with the Staff of Tomorrow (a melee weapon with 2 Attacks, WS 3+, 4 Strength, -3 AP, and D3 Damage), he confers a nice 4+ Invulnerable Save to the unit he's attached to. He also has the special ability "The Stars Are Right," which reads:

"Once per battle, at the start of the Fight phase, this model can use this ability. if it does, until the end of the phase, triple the Attacks and Strength characteristics of this model's Staff of Tomorrow and every successful Wound roll made for this model's attacks scores a Critical Wound."

A critical wound in Warhammer 40K 10th edition means that the attack inflicts a number of mortal wounds on the target equal to the Damage characteristic of that weapon. So if you use this ability, and all four hits go off and wound, you're looking at a whopping 4D3 damage! That's some seriously heavy whomping.

Overlord With Translocation Shroud

The Overlord With Translocation Shroud is all about helping his units make their way swiftly across the battlefield. He's a Leader Character that can be attached to Immortals, Lychguard, or Necron Warriors. His core stats are:

• Move: 5"
• Toughness: 5
• Save: 2+
• Invulnerable Save: 4+
• Wounds: 6
• Leadership: 6+
• Objective Control: 1

Armed with the powerful Overlord's Blade -- a melee weapon with Devastating Wounds, 4 Attacks, 2+ WS, 8 Strength, -3 AP, and 2 Damage -- he grants several boons to his attached unit. For one, his Wargear Ability "Resurrection Orb" allows him to immediately enact Reanimation Protocols at the end of any phase (as opposed to the normal window during the Command Phase), reanimating D6 wounds instead of the normal D3.

Additionally, he can be targeted with a Stratagem for 0CP, and has the "Translocation Shroud" special ability, which reads:

"Each time this model's unit Advances, do not make an Advance roll for it. Instead, until the end of the phase, add 6" to the Move characteristic of models in that unit. In addition, each time a model in that unit makes a Normal, Advance, or Fall Back move, until that move is finished, it can move horizontally through models and terrain features (it cannot finish a move on top of another model or its base.)"

So, as you'd expect from someone equipped with something called a Translocation Shroud, you can sort of phase through the battlefield. I really love the design on this model, as it looks as though parts of the model itself are gone, in the process of reforming after Translocating.

New Adeptus Mechanicus Model Brings The Army To New Heights

Now let's briefly switch gears (haha, gears, AdMech... you get it, they've got cogs for guts) and talk about the new model released for Adeptus Mechanicus, the army of techo-priests from Mars who zealously (jealously?) store and safeguard all of mankind's technical knowledge.

Sydonian Skatros

The Sydonian Skatros looms over the battlefield armed with a powerful sniper's weaponry, as a Lone Operative with Stealth, he can't be attached to any other units. His core stats are:

• Move: 8"
• Toughness: 4
• Save: 4+
• Invulnerable Save: 5+
• Wounds: 4
• Leadership: 7+
• Objective Control: 1

This model is all about proficient, deadly ranged damage. Outfitted with either a Radium jezzail (which is good against infantry) or a Skatros transuranic arquebus (good lord, the names of AdMech tech... this one's better against monsters), he stands tall on stilts with a 36" range to his weapon attacks. 

His "Dread Snipers" ability forces an enemy unit hit by his attacks to take a Battle-shock test, and his "Achillian Eye" special ability reads:

"Each time this model makes an attack with a radium jezzail that targets an Infantry unit, you can re-roll the Wound roll. Each time this model makes an attack with a Skatros transuranic arquebus that targets a Monster or Vehicle unit, you can re-roll the Wound roll."

While you get really nice cover of the battlefield with this unit, his ranged weapons only have 1 Attack, so your army will likely be better served with multiple Sydonian Skatros units. While I think the premise of this unit -- a sniper on mechanical stilts -- is lowkey pretty goofy, in practice this model looks really sleek, dangerous, and cool. I love the lanky look, which accentuates the classic AdMech vibe of pistons and spindly parts.

That wraps up our coverage on these four new models and their entries in their respective new Codex releases. What do you think of these units? Will they be making their way into your Necrons or AdMech armies?

The copies of these new models and the associated Codex releases were provided to us by Games Workshop. All photographs are courtesy of the author.