Warhammer 40K: The First Necrons are BONKERS!

The Necrons have come a LOOOONG way since their first appearance right around 2000. With the all-new Necrons here, take a look at how they all began.

Today’s gamers see the mighty Necron race as the ancient deathless armies of the various tomb World Dynasties – come to reclaim their lost empire. Their 9th Edition codex is potent (after just a few Balance Updates), and the army had a complete overhaul with almost 25 new units. It’s not every army who gets the honor of being the posterboy bad-guys in a 40K Launch Edition boxed set.

We’ve come a long way.

But today we will will go digging for the Necron’s origins. Fewer still remember their early 3rd Edition 2002 codex and the secrets within of their long war alongside the C’Tan against the Old Ones. But fewer still can go back to the Necrons original introduction to the game as a very minor faction.

It was 2003 and the Necrons had a mysterious past with little to no details, and only a handful of models.

This ancient armylist was included in 2001’s 2nd Book of the Astronomicon.

Original Necron Armylist

First, we will tackle their armylist. Back then the army had only 5 units:

• Necron Lords
• Necron Immortals
• Necron Warriors
• Necron Scarabs
• Necron Destroyers

Army Special Rules

The army had their original hallmark army rule: Phase Out, which would automatically end a game with a Necron loss if they suffered 75% model casualties. Their fluff was vague and only referenced scattered attacks by the Necrons across the galaxy and that the race was ancient, predating the Eldar.  They possessed We’ll Be Back, granting a 4+ ability to get back up the turn after they had been killed, and the early origins of Gauss Weapons were included.  It isn’t much but proved to be a viable seed to grow an entire faction from. And how that seed has grown into a mighty (bitter, metallic) tree.

The Pretorians find a nasty surprise in the desert. 

Oh people hated the self-destructing Scarabs! Note the replacement of a repaired Destroyer with a Necron Warrior. Early days indeed.

Necron Original Miniatures

Now let’s take a look at these miniatures in detail:

The  Necron Lord has always carried a Staff of Light, a nasty weapon even in its early incarnation. The Immortals were large and hulking with bulky Gauss weapons. Necron Warriors came in a variety of poses from triumphant to skulking and the Destroyers were just downright odd – more of a jetbike-sled from The Terminator with a teensy Warrior at the controls on the side.

If you look sharp, you can still find these on eBay occasionally.

To me the Original Necron Lord is the best of the lot, with some design hallmarks that still can be seen in the brand new range.

Minor Factions

It is also nice to see back when GW would make up a small set of minis (5), and introduce them as a playable minor faction in a White Dwarf. It’s roughly similar to the little mini-codexes that came with the Rogue Trader, and Kill Team boxed sets. I hope GW keeps up the tradition and brings more funky stuff our way that isn’t quite ready for a standalone Codex.

Fast-forward 20 Years

Those original clunky Necrons have come a long, long way!

~My how the Necrons have grown over the intervening years! How many of you have ever seen these minis on the tabletop?

Dad, Gamer, Publisher, Pilot, Texan. All games all the time since junior-high.
I started BoLS Interactive in 2006. I’m a lifelong tabletop & RPG gaming enthusiast, and internet publisher working to entertain and inform my readers every day.
I’ve been playing RPGs and Tabletop Games since the 1970s. I’m been playing and covering Warhammer and Warhammer 40K for over 35 years.

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