Necron Lord

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This article is part of the Dawn of War Player's Guide. From RelicWiki

This article has been updated for Soulstorm. The Dark Crusade version is now archived.

Dawn of War Commander Unit

Necron Lord
Race	Necrons
Version	Soulstorm v1.2
Build Info
Hotkey L	Build Cost 175  0 Build Time 60 s Built From Dormant Monolith, Restored Monolith Unit Size 1 Requires Nothing Limit 1
Unit Stats
Hitpoints	1800/2
Armour	Commander
Morale	400/11/50
Unit Mass	25
Move Speed	16
Sight Radius	30 (cannot detect)
Attachable	No
Weapons
Ranged	Staff of Light
Melee	Staff of Light (melee)

Contents 1 Necron Lord 2 Tactics 3 Abilities 3.1 Teleport 3.2 Chronometron 3.3 Phase Shifter 3.4 Lightning Field 3.5 Solar Pulse 3.6 Mass Resurrection 3.7 Veil of Darkness 3.8 Nightmare Shroud 3.9 Essence of the Nightbringer 3.10 Essence of the Deceiver 3.11 Wide Slash 4 Weapons 4.1 Staff of Light 4.2 Staff of Light (melee) 5 Researchable Upgrades 5.1 Chronometron Research 5.2 Phase Shifter Research 5.3 Lightning Field Research 5.4 Solar Pulse Research 5.5 Phylactery 5.6 Resurrection Orb Research 5.7 Veil of Darkness Research 5.8 Nightmare Shroud Research 5.9 Essence of the C'tan Gods 6 Dormant Monolith Add-ons 6.1 Awakened Monolith 6.2 Engaged Monolith 7 The Dawn of War Player's Guide

Necron Lord

On each planet there is only one Necron Lord. The Necron Lords can carry a variety of weapons such as the Staff of Light or Warscythe. Leader of the Necron ground forces, the Necron Lord stalks into battle with his staff. He can be upgraded with a number of artifacts enabling him to use various powerful abilities such as resurrecting fallen Necron infantry, blinding his enemies, or allowing the Essence of the Nightbringer or Essence of the Deceiver to posses his body for a period of time.

The Kronus Necron Lord led the arising Necron forces in Dark Crusade. The Necron Lord of All Kaurava commanded the reawakened Necrons on Kaurava III in Soulstorm.

In Dark Crusade the Necron Lord was already the most powerful hero available, but in Soulstorm, when Essence of the Deceiver was added to his retinue of already formidable abilities he became more destructive and disruptive than every hero of every other race combined. When fully upgraded with the right abilities he can disrupt or even steal entire armies in a single move, resurrect his own infantry army instantly and make it larger than should be possible, instantly position his infantry army anywhere on the map from anywhere else at will, or pound any Relic unit you throw at him into the dirt.

Note: When the Necron Lord is destroyed his carcass remain where he fell, and when reconstructed that's where he spawns. This can be used, for example, to deep strike an enemy base with Flayed Ones. The Necron Lord's high health gives you plenty of time to summon Flayed Ones before the enemy overwhelms him, and he can be re-resurrected infinitely, as long as you have available energy.

Tactics

Mass Resurrection is one of the most powerful abilities available to any hero. Not only can it allow the Necron Lord to ressurrect massive portions of his infantry army instantly if he has the support cap for it, giving the army unmatchable staying power, it can allow a Necron player to get more troops than should normally be possible in three different ways: Squad Sacrifice, Squad Split and Squad Enhance.

With Squad Sacrifice, the player deletes one or two squads of troops while a corresponding number of squads are ready and waiting in the build queue. Once they're sacrificed the new troops are then made back at base or through Tomb Spyders, then the Necron Lord can augment his forces once the battle is joined by resurrecting the sacrificed troops, bypassing the current Squad Cap by up to 4 in the process.

Squad Split happens when a squad has lost a member or two and those members are hit with Mass Resurrection. If there is room in their original squad they resurrect back as part of that squad. However, if the original squad has reinforced back to full strength, the resurrected units come back in a brand new squad. This often happens by accident in the middle of a heated battle. Squad Split is especially deadly when used in the Campaign on Honor Guard units. Since the Honor Guard don't use Squad Cap you can Squad Split them an unlimited number of times, potentially giving you an army of unmatchable strength.

Squad Enhance is somewhat more difficult to do effectively, but it still happens by accident occasionally if Mass Resurrection is used in the middle of a pitched battle. If a squad loses a couple of units and starts reinforcing to get them back, then Mass Resurrection is used on the corpses of the lost units before the reinforcements arrive, the lost units will resurrect back into their squad but the reinforcements will still go through as well. This makes the squad larger than it should normally be, however the squad's maximum size is not altered so it will not be able to reinforce itself until its numbers go back to normal. Unless the player is specifically concentrating on doing this technique in a controlled way it is rare to see a squad enhanced by more than 2 members. The extra units, if lost again, will not resurrect back into their squad again unless the squad has room for them at the time of resurrection. This technique does not affect Squad Cap usage.

Although the Squad Cap cannot be exceeded by more than 4 through these techniques, any remaining bodies can be left for Tomb Spyder harvesting or simply as dormant "reinforcements" for future combat near the area. These are some of the only ways to feasibly get more than four Necron Warriors squads on the field due to their exponentially increasing build time.

The Necron Lord's teleport ability can be used to quickly bring him into range of enemy targets to make good use of the other abilities available to him through the Forbidden Archive. This can be particularly devastating when Nightmare Shroud is used in the midst of clustered enemy squads, quickly reducing the enemy's ranged and/or melee firepower, though Solar Pulse can achieve a similar effect from a distance on ranged units. This same tactic can be used with Chronometron to slow down fleeing troops so that necron warriors can finish them off.

Nightmare Shroud will instantly break the morale of any enemy squad in range, and all non-vehicle units will run away for a brief time, including Daemon High relic units like the Bloodthirster or Avatar of Khaine. In general it is more disruptive than Solar Pulse, however Solar Pulse cripples both ranged infantry and vehicles, including Relic vehicles like the Land Raider or Baneblade.

Lightning Field and Phylactery are two popular upgrades chosen for the Necron Lord. Lightning Field is the only means of improving the Necron Lord's melee damage, albeit indirectly. The added damage from Lightning Field, along with the health gained from fully upgrading a Monolith makes the Necron Lord able to even defeat a Warboss in melee. It also helps him handle groups of melee units, a common occurrence given his inability to attach to a squad. Phylactery allows the Necron Lord to remain under fire for a much longer time, dramatically reducing ranged damage while improving health regeneration, including the regeneration bonus from Phase Shifter. Combined, the Necron Lord is equipped for any type of combat.

Although Veil of Darkness may seem easily counterable by simply keeping a couple detectors on hand, it can be difficult for enemy detectors to detect all the way to the rear of the Necron army. If the Necron Lord remains on Ranged Stance, the Veil can usually cover the entire Necron force, front to back. Veil of Darkness also affects buildings, making it incredibly useful for defensive actions. An invisible turret farm has a range at least that of all enemy detector units, making them almost untouchable. However the ability is used, keep the Necron Lord from the front of the Necron forces, else his health may drop too low to maintain the effect.

Essence of the Nightbringer turns the Necron Lord into a pound-for-pound Relic unit temporarily and he will kill any Relic unit that is foolish enough to attack him. He also regenerates his health with each attack, as well as being invincible during this time and acts as an unbeatable damage soaker. The only thing that an enemy can do when this is activated is either run or launch every stunning ability they have against the Lord to try and pin him down, until the ability runs out.

Essence of the Deceiver, however, is far more dangerous when it comes to army vs army combat. Like the Nightbringer this form is also invincible, but its abilities have unmatchable army-stopping or controlling power. Deceive will steal the enemy's squads for you for a full 20 seconds, allowing you to either send them at the rest of the enemy forces so they destroy each other or send them on a berserker charge at an enemy base. Grand Illusion creates a temporary fake Restored Monolith that does no damage but has all the disruptive power and even better damage soaking of the real one, and it is still a valid teleport target for Necron Warriors, Flayed Ones and the newly upgraded Immortals which gained teleportation abilities in Soulstorm. This shifts the potential offensive mobility of the Necrons from slower than slow to the complete opposite end of the spectrum, allowing them to move whole armies across entire maps instantly at will to wherever they are required, something that no other race can do. The abilities of this form are so dangerous that the only viable tactic when you see this appear is to run everything away from it, including vehicles as they will be destroyed easily without your infantry support. If running away is not an option, such as if this appears in the middle of your base, spread your army out as wide as possible around the attacking forces so that the effects of its Decieve and Grand Illusion abilities will be minimized as much as possible.

Abilities

Teleport

	Teleport			Hotkey: J
	Requires	Nothing
	Target Types	Terrain
	Range	80
	Area of effect	None	Cooldown time	40 s
Effects	The Necron Lord teleports through intervening terrain directly to the targeted location. At full charge the Necron Lord will have 1 2/3 jumps available, requiring 66.7 s to recharge from empty.

Chronometron

	Chronometron			Hotkey: C
	Requires	Chronometron Research
	Target Types	All enemy units
	Range	0
	Area of effect	20	Cooldown time	70 s
Effects	Time around the Necron Lord slows down and enemy units within the area of effect get their movement speed reduced by 40%. The ability only lasts for 15 s, but refreshes every 2 s until 18 s, potentially extending the ability to 33 s long for a single target or slowing new units that fall within the area of effect during the refresh. Also has a passive movement speed reduction of 10% to all enemy units within a radius of 5 from the Necron Lord.

Phase Shifter

	Phase Shifter			Hotkey: H
	Requires	Phase Shifter Research
	Target Types	All allied Necron units
	Range	0
	Area of effect	10	Cooldown time	90 s
Effects	The Necron Lord and any friendly troops within the area of effect have their morale restored, become invulnerable, gain 10 health per second, and cannot use their weapons for 15 s. The health regeneration effect is tripled by the Phylactery for the Necron Lord only. Refreshes every second and does not persist, affecting only the units within the area of effect during that second.

Lightning Field

	Lightning Field			Hotkey: L
	Requires	Lightning Field Research
	Target Types	Anything
	Range	6
	Area of effect	5	Cooldown time	Variable
Effects	90% of the damage taken by the Necron Lord in melee is reflected back and also inflicted on the enemy. All of the damage taken by the Lord in melee adds by the ability's charge along with 45% of the damage inflicted by the Necron Lord in melee. The ability can store a maximum of 900 points of damage. The stored energy can be unleashed as a storm of lighting in a circle around the target when the ability has reached at least a 20% charge. When cast, the ability deals a flat 315 damage to all enemy targets at maximum charge, although damage scales smoothly as the ability charges up.

Solar Pulse

	Solar Pulse			Hotkey: P
	Requires	Solar Pulse Research
	Target Types	Target ground
	Range	15
	Area of effect	20	Cooldown time	70 s
Effects	Creates a Solar Pulse on the targeted location that blinds the enemy and guides the Necrons. Enemy units within its area of effect have their sight range and detection range reduced to 10% and are unable to use ranged weapons. Also, the Solar Pulse has a sight and detection radius of 15. The Solar Pulse lasts for 20 seconds.

Mass Resurrection

	Resurrection Orb			Hotkey: M
	Requires	Resurrection Orb Research
	Target Types	Friendly destroyed Necron Warriors, Flayed Ones, Wraiths, and Immortals
	Range	0
	Area of effect	26	Cooldown time	180 s
Effects	All destroyed Necron Warriors, Flayed Ones, Wraiths and Immortals within the area of effect reassemble and stand up with 30% of their original hit points. This ability also provides a passive 25% bonus to the chance Necron troops within a radius of 25 will get up on their own when slain. The Necron Lord cannot resurrect troops beyond the current maximum squad population plus 4 when casting this ability.

Veil of Darkness

	Veil of Darkness
	Requires	Veil of Darkness Research
	Target Types	All friendly units and buildings
	Range	0
	Area of effect	20	Cooldown time	Passive ability
Effects	A permanent passive ability that makes the Necron Lord and friendly units and buildings within the area of effect infiltrated as long as the Necron Lord has at least 50% health.

Nightmare Shroud

	Nightmare Shroud			Hotkey: N
	Requires	Nightmare Shroud Research
	Target Types	All enemy Infantry, Heavy Infantry, Commanders, and Daemon Medium
	Range	0
	Area of effect	15	Cooldown time	95 s
Effects	All nearby enemy infantry are forced to flee the Necron Lord for 8 s and any morale-vulnerable troops take 100,000 morale damage.

Essence of the Nightbringer

	Essence of the Nightbringer			Hotkey: S
	Requires	Essence of the C'tan Gods
	Target Types	Self
	Range	0
	Area of effect	0	Cooldown time	300 s (shared with Essence of the Deceiver)
Effects	The Necron Lord channels the essence of the unstoppable C'tan god the Nightbringer. After 60 seconds the Nightbringer manifestation disappears and the Necron Lord is returned. If the Necron Lord has Lightning Field researched, any charge on the ability will be lost.

Essence of the Deceiver

	Essence of the Deceiver			Hotkey: D
	Requires	Essence of the C'tan Gods
	Target Types	Self
	Range	0
	Area of effect	0	Cooldown time	300 s (shared with Essence of the Nightbringer)
Effects	The Necron Lord channels the essence of the shadowy C'tan god the Deceiver. After 60 seconds the Deceiver manifestation disappears and the Necron Lord is returned. If the Necron Lord has Lightning Field researched, any charge on the ability will be lost.

Wide Slash

	Wide Slash
	Requires	Nothing
	Target Types	All enemy infantry
	Range	Melee
	Area of effect	0	Cooldown time	Passive ability, once every 5 hits
Effects	Pummels the ground and smashes the enemy target, knocking him back (20-30 force).

Weapons

Staff of Light

	Staff of Light
Damage Per Second Values Infantry Vehicles Buildings Daemons Morale Base Damage Low Med High H.Med H.Hi Cmdr Low Med High Air Low Med High Med High DPS Base Min Max Min.D Initial DPS: 14.1 27.6 23.0 20.7 16.1 11.5 9.2 4.6 2.8 9.2 11.5 4.6 2.8 16.1 2.8 1.1 3 55.7 75.5 4
Cost	Default Weapon	Range	25	Setup Time	0 s
Build Time	Default Weapon	Accuracy	70%	Refire Rate	1 s
Area of Effect	0	Requires	Nothing

Staff of Light (melee)

	Staff of Light (melee)
Damage Per Second Values Infantry Vehicles Buildings Daemons Morale Base Damage Low Med High H.Med H.Hi Cmdr Low Med High Air Low Med High Med High DPS Base Min Max Min.D Initial DPS: 34.4 85.9 85.9 85.9 85.9 45.8 34.4 28.6 114.6 11.5 45.8 40.1 22.9 34.4 114.6 20.8 50 125 150 5
Cost	Default Weapon	Range	Melee	Setup Time	0 s
Build Time	Default Weapon	Accuracy	100%	Refire Rate	1.2 s
Area of Effect	0	Requires	Nothing

Researchable Upgrades

Max upgrades: 3 + Summon Nightbringer Research.

Chronometron Research

	Chronometron			Hotkey: C
	Cost	100	Research Time	0 s
	Researched From	Forbidden Archive
	Requires	Dormant Monolith
Effects	Gives the Necron Lord the Chronometron ability.

Phase Shifter Research

	Phase Shifter Research			Hotkey: P
	Cost	75	Research Time	0 s
	Researched From	Forbidden Archive
	Requires	Nothing
Effects	Gives the Necron Lord the Phase Shifter ability.

Lightning Field Research

	Lightning Field Research			Hotkey: L
	Cost	100	Research Time	0 s
	Researched From	Forbidden Archive
	Requires	Nothing
Effects	Gives the Necron Lord the Lightning Field ability.

Solar Pulse Research

	Solar Pulse Research			Hotkey: S
	Cost	125	Research Time	0 s
	Researched From	Forbidden Archive
	Requires	Dormant Monolith, Summoning Core
Effects	Gives the Necron Lord the Solar Pulse ability.

Phylactery

	Phylactery			Hotkey: Y
	Cost	150	Research Time	0 s
	Researched From	Forbidden Archive
	Requires	Awakened Monolith
Effects	The Necron Lord is affected in the following ways: Health Regeneration Rate is tripled. Ranged damage taken is reduced by 60%.

Resurrection Orb Research

	Resurrection Orb Research			Hotkey: R
	Cost	275	Research Time	0 s
	Researched From	Forbidden Archive
	Requires	Dormant Monolith, Greater Summoning Core
Effects	Gives the Necron Lord the Mass Resurrection ability. It also increases the chance of nearby (within 25) Necrons to reassemble by 25%.

Veil of Darkness Research

	Veil of Darkness Research			Hotkey: V
	Cost	325	Research Time	0 s
	Researched From	Forbidden Archive
	Requires	Engaged Monolith
Effects	Gives the Necron Lord the Veil of Darkness ability.

Nightmare Shroud Research

	Nightmare Shroud Research			Hotkey: N
	Cost	350	Research Time	0 s
	Researched From	Forbidden Archive
	Requires	Engaged Monolith
Effects	Give the Necron Lord the Nightmare Shroud ability.

Essence of the C'tan Gods

	Essence of the C'tan Gods			Hotkey: C
	Cost	750	Research Time	60 s
	Researched From	Energy Core
	Requires	Nothing
Effects	Allows the Necron Lord to use the use the Essence of the Nightbringer and Essence of the Deceiver abilities.

Dormant Monolith Add-ons

Awakened Monolith

	Awakened Monolith				Hotkey: M
	Cost	340	Build Time	70 s
	Requires	Summoning Core
Effects	Moves the Necrons into Tier 2 with the following effects:</b> Allows for the production of Immortals. The Greater Summoning Core can be built. New upgrades are available from the Forbidden Archive and Summoning Core. Strengthen Powergrid can be researched. Cost of the Necron Lord increased by +50  (stacks with additional Awakened Monolith and Engaged Monolith add-ons to a maximum of 475  ). Hitpoints of the Necron Lord increased by 450 (stacks with additional Awakened Monolith and Engaged Monolith add-ons to a maximum of 4500). Hitpoints of the Flayed Ones increased by 150 (stacks with additional Awakened Monolith and Engaged Monolith add-ons to a maximum of 1450).

Engaged Monolith

	Engaged Monolith				Hotkey: M
	Cost	400	Build Time	70 s
	Requires	Awakened Monolith, Greater Summoning Core
Effects	Moves the Necrons into Tier 3 with the following effects:</b> Allows for the production of Pariahs and Heavy Destroyers. The Energy Core can be built. New upgrades are available from the Forbidden Archive. Plasma Battery Storage can be researched. Cost of the Necron Lord increased by a further +50  (stacks with additional Awakened Monolith and Engaged Monolith add-ons to a maximum of 475  ). Hitpoints of the Necron Lord increased by 450 (stacks with additional Awakened Monolith and Engaged Monolith add-ons to a maximum of 4500). Hitpoints of the Flayed Ones increased by 150 (stacks with additional Awakened Monolith and Engaged Monolith add-ons to a maximum of 1450).

The Dawn of War Player's Guide

The Dawn of War Player's Guide - Thought of the day: Knowledge is power, guard it well.
Space Marines	Chaos	Eldar	Orks	Imperial Guard	Tau	Necrons	Dark Eldar	Sisters of Battle
Infantry Servitor Scout Marine Squad Space Marine Squad Assault Marine Squad Grey Knights Terminator Squad Assault Terminator Squad Skull Probe Apothecary Force Commander Librarian Chaplain	Infantry Heretic Cultist Squad Chaos Space Marine Squad Raptor Squad Khorne Berzerker Squad Horror Squad Possessed Squad Obliterators Chaos Lord Chaos Sorcerer Daemon Prince Bloodthirster	Infantry Bonesinger Guardian Squad Ranger Squad Howling Banshee Squad Dark Reaper Squad Fire Dragon Squad Warp Spider Squad Harlequin Farseer Seer Council Avatar of Khaine	Infantry Gretchin Slugga Boy Squad Shoota Boy Squad Stormboyz Tankbustaz Nobz Squad Flash Gitz Mega Armoured Nobz Mad Dok Big Mek Warboss	Infantry Techpriest Enginseer Guardsmen Squad Heavy Weapons Team Kasrkin Ogryns Command Squad Commissar Psyker Priest Vindicare Assassin	Infantry Earth Caste Builder XV15 Stealth Team Vespid Stingwing Strain Fire Warrior Team Kroot Carnivores Kroot Shaper Pathfinder Team XV88 Broadside Battlesuit XV8 Crisis Battlesuit Kroot Hound Pack Tau Commander Ethereal Shas'Ui Bodyguard	Infantry Builder Scarabs Necron Warriors Wraith Flayed Ones Immortals Pariahs Necron Lord Essence of the Nightbringer Essence of the Deceiver	Infantry Tortured Slave Mandrake Squad Warrior Squad Hellion Squad Scourge Squad Wych Squad Warp Beast Pack Archon Haemonculus	Infantry Ecclesiarchal Servitor Missionary Battle Sister Squad Seraphim Squad Celestian Squad Death-Cult Assassin Sister Repentia Squad Canoness Avenging Angel Confessor Living Saint
Space Marines	Chaos	Eldar	Orks	Imperial Guard	Tau	Necrons	Dark Eldar	Sisters of Battle
Vehicles Rhino Land Speeder Dreadnought Hellfire Dreadnought Land Speeder Tempest Predator Whirlwind Land Raider	Vehicles Chaos Rhino Defiler Chaos Predator Hell Talon	Vehicles Falcon Grav Tank Vyper Wraithlord Nightwing Shuriken Grav Platform Brightlance Grav Platform Fire Prism	Vehicles Wartrukk Wartrak Killa Kan Fighta-Bomma Looted Tank Squiggoth	Vehicles Chimera Sentinel Hellhound Basilisk Marauder Bomber Leman Russ Baneblade	Vehicles Devilfish Troop Carrier Skyray Missile Gunship Drone Squad Drone Harbinger Barracuda Hammerhead Gunship Krootox Greater Knarloc	Vehicles Tomb Spyder Attack Scarabs Destroyer Heavy Destroyer Lord Destroyer Restored Monolith	Vehicles Reaver Jetbike Raider Talos Raven Ravager Dais of Destruction	Vehicles Rhino Transport Immolator Lightning Fighter Exorcist Penitent Engine
Space Marines	Chaos	Eldar	Orks	Imperial Guard	Tau	Necrons	Dark Eldar	Sisters of Battle
Buildings Stronghold Listening Post Plasma Generator Thermo Plasma Generator Chapel-Barracks Armoury Machine Cult Sacred Artifact Orbital Relay Heavy Bolter Turret Mine Field	Buildings Desecrated Stronghold Listening Post Plasma Generator Thermo Plasma Generator Chaos Temple Chaos Armoury Sacrificial Circle Machine Pit Daemon Pit Heavy Bolter Turret Mine Field	Buildings Webway Assembly Listening Shrine Plasma Generator Thermo Plasma Generator Webway Gate Aspect Portal Soul Shrine Support Portal Support Platform Mine Field	Buildings Settlement Da Listenin' Post Generator Bigga Generator Waaagh! Banner Da Boyz Hut Pile O Gunz! Da Mek Shop Mine Field	Buildings Field Command Listening Post Plasma Generator Thermo Plasma Generator Infantry Command Tactica Control Mechanized Command Mars Pattern Command Heavy Bolter Turret Mine Field	Buildings Cadre Headquarters Listening Post Plasma Generator Thermo Plasma Generator Tau Barracks Path to Enlightenment Kroot Shaping Center Vehicle Beacon Kauyon Command Post Mont'ka Command Post Coalition Center	Buildings Dormant Monolith Obelisk Plasma Generator Thermo Plasma Generator Summoning Core Forbidden Archive Greater Summoning Core Energy Core Gauss Turret	Buildings Kabal Fortress Tower of Loathing Plasma Generator Thermo Plasma Generator Slave Chamber Hall of Blood Haemonculus' Laboratory Dark Foundry Wych-Cult Arena Soul Cage	Buildings Ecclesiarchal Chapel Listening Post Plasma Generator Thermo Plasma Generator Adepta Sororitas Convent Pristine Sanctuary Manufactorum Holy Reliquary Shrine of the Living Saint Inferno Turret Purgatus Mine Field