Faction file
Necrons
Slow, expensive and nearly impossible to finish off. Necrons win by attrition they do not feel.
Necron squads reassemble after they fall, which changes the arithmetic of every engagement: an even trade is a Necron victory. The price is tempo — they are the slowest faction to establish map control and the least able to punish a mistake quickly. A Necron player who survives the first six minutes is usually ahead.
Provisional data
Dawn of War IV has not been released. Every statistic on this page is a modelled placeholder, not a measured value. How this changes at launch.
Tactical strengths
- Reanimation makes losing models far cheaper than for any other faction
- Gauss weapons are effective against every armour class
- Extremely resilient in a straight engagement
- Rewards patient, positional play
Known weaknesses
- Slowest army on the field
- Struggles to take and hold a wide map early
- Expensive per squad, and painful to lose outright
- Vulnerable to being outmanoeuvred rather than out-fought
Unique mechanics
- Power Matrix and Dominion
- The territorial network the faction is built on. Many structures require the Matrix, structures in turn spread it, and a larger Matrix increases Dominion. Units inside it gain survivability and recovery.
- Tomb Citadel
- The strategic centre and production engine, and upgradeable — so the headquarters is a build decision rather than a fixed starting point.
- Resurrection Galleries
- Resurrect a preferred type of fallen unit for free. Losses are recoverable in a way no other faction's are.
- Translocation Science
- Teleports up to five units to a visible location on the map. Tomb Pylons, built by Canoptek Spyders, spread the Matrix and act as translocation targets.
- Cover works differently
- Necrons do not use cover the way the other factions do, so positioning advice that holds elsewhere does not transfer.
Command
Commanders
Thothmek
ChronomancerDynastic command
- Named Necron commander
campaignmultiplayerskirmishlast standAhmnok
Necron CommanderDynastic command
- Named Necron commander
campaignmultiplayerskirmish
Roster
Core units
Every unit in the database for this faction, in tech order.
- NecronsT1Scarab SwarmBuilderCanoptek constructors. Build, capture, and consume wreckage.ConstructionCapture1100313s
- NecronsT1Necron WarriorsInfantryThe tomb's line infantry. Gauss flayers hurt everything, and the squad keeps standing back up.Anti-infantryCapture320201330s
- NecronsT2ImmortalsHeavy infantryHeavier line infantry with tesla carbines. The core of a Necron mid-game.Anti-infantryAnti-armour380651634s
- NecronsT2DeathmarksInfantryPhase-shifting marksmen. Remove a specific model from a specific squad, from a long way away.Anti-infantryDetection300551228s
- NecronsT3Canoptek WraithsHeavy infantryFast phase constructs that ignore terrain. The faction's only real mobility.MeleeAnti-armour3801202038s
- NecronsT3Canoptek SpyderWalkerA mobile repair and reanimation platform that also happens to be durable.SupportAnti-infantry3401252040s
- NecronsT3Doomsday ArkVehicleSiege platform. Flattens fortified positions from outside their reach.ArtilleryAnti-building4801903056s
Starter builds
3 publishedMatchups
- Necrons vs MarinesTwo durable armies grinding. Your advantage is that your losses come back and theirs do not.
- Necrons vs OrksYour best matchup. Hold a line, refuse to be flanked, and let attrition resolve it.
- Necrons vs MechanicusThey out-range you and you cannot close quickly. Phase shifting is not optional here.
Data for patch 1.0.0 · Not yet verified