Codex: Necrons 10th Edition review: "Harder, Better, Slower, Stronger"

The tomb worlds are stirring once more as the new Codex: Necrons arrives for Warhammer 40K 10th Edition. This 136-page hardback tome adds a ton of variety and new playstyles for the army and it’s definitely a lot more fun to play than the Index rules. But, is it worth picking up?

As you’d expect from a 40K Codex, there are pages upon pages of lore and backstory that explain who the Necrons are, introducing the major players within the faction and the various units that make up the army. These are backed up by stunning imagery, both in the form of artwork and photographs of painted models on the battlefield.

Beyond that, and much like Codex: Tyranids, the main reason to pick up the Necron Codex is for the rules that let you play Warhammer 40K with the army. This includes core army rules, unit datasheets, and five army Detachments alongside rules for playing Combat Patrol (a smaller, entry-level version of 40K) and Crusade (a narrative-focused game mode).

I’ve been playing Necrons since the start of 8th Edition, so I was super excited to get my hands on our 10th Edition Codex. Outside of a few niggling issues, it’s a fantastic rulebook that offers some diverse and fun options.

Their number is legion

There are a total of 47 datasheets in Codex: Necrons 10th Edition, which the eagle-eyed of you will notice is fewer than we had in the Index. Several characters have been moved to the Legends section of 40K as their models are ancient and made of resin, which Games Workshop is slowly trying to eliminate from its line-up.

Of those that remain, most of them are the same as they were in the Index, but there have been some tweaks, both positive and negative. This book revitalises underused units, like Canoptek Wraiths, but it does overcompensate on nerfing some of the units that were great in the Index – so your Warriors and Lychguard will probably be going back on the shelf (for competitive games anyway).

Necrons are an immortal race of robots, having long-since given up their mortal bodies (and souls) for eternal life. This manifests in game with their main army rule, reanimation protocols. This allows slain or deranged Necrons to come back to life at the start of your turn, and it can be buffed or triggered again by certain units and stratagems. It makes your army feel unstoppable – a slow but inexorable tide of silver that washes across the battlefield. This can feel quite overwhelming for your opponent, but Games Workshop has toned down the worst excesses of this rule from the Index (namely Warriors who could go from a 20-man unit down to one, and back to 20 in the course of a turn in the Index). It’s still a strong rule, but you can’t abuse it as much here, which is great for the health of the game (and the health of your friendship with your opponent).

Alongside the datasheets, the Necron Codex has five new Detachments for you to play in your games. Unlike previous editions which split the subfactions by dynasty (aka your paint scheme), the new Detachments are tailored towards a style of play rather than a specific dynasty. This means you're not locked to a certain playstyle just because you wanted to paint your robots red or blue. It’s not like anyone actually enforced the old system anyway, but it’s good to see Games Workshop acknowledging that finally.

Each Detachment has its own unique rule, four enhancements (buffs for your characters), and six stratagems (abilities that you can trigger by spending your limited supply of command points in game). The five Detachments are: Awakened Dynasty, Annihilation Legion, Canoptek Court, Obeisance Phalanx, and Hypercrypt Legion.

Some are better than others; the Canoptek Court and Hypercrypt Legion are stronger than the other three in a competitive game, but they all offer unique playstyles and ways to play your army. The only real disappointment is the Destroyer-focused Annihilation Legion, which is so underpowered that even if you are running a full Destroyer army you’d be better off playing as the Awakened Dynasty as the buffs there are stronger.

My favorite Detachment is the Hypercrypt Legion, which is all about teleporting your units around the board. It’s often said that the most important aspect of Warhammer 40K is movement, and the ability to just teleport wherever you need to be is a huge asset (and it’s just a ton of fun teleporting a Monolith behind your opponent’s army and watching them panic).

Their name is death

It’s not a perfect book by any means, but the Necron Codex does a great job of bringing much needed diversity to the army. In the shift to 10th Edition, every army lost their Codex and was given an Index to tide them over. While these stopgap rules were great, they lacked the depth, diversity, and flavor of a full Codex. 

It’s also worth mentioning that in terms of competitive play, this Codex will be out of date in no time at all, thanks to Game Workshop’s quarterly balance updates and FAQs. Indeed, one of the Canoptek Court’s most powerful (if we’re honest, too powerful) stratagems has already been toned down. This makes for a more balanced game, but it doesn’t leave you feeling great about your $60/£35 purchase, knowing the rules will be superseded so quickly.

You do get a digital code alongside your Codex, giving you access to all the rules on the Warhammer 40K app, and this digital ruleset is constantly updated with the newest rules. It’s a real shame that you can’t just buy the digital rules at a lower price to be honest, but this is no accident – Games Workshop knows that 90% of players would just buy the cheaper, digital-only option and they’d lose money, so they don’t give you a choice.

That’s not to say this isn’t a great book. It’s jam-packed with lore and short stories alongside stunning artwork and photos of beautifully painted armies, showing off all the most famous dynasties and their iconic paint schemes. There is even a painting guide for the box art scheme too.

Should you buy Codex: Necrons 10th Edition?

If you’re planning on playing Necrons, you need the rules, so you need Codex. You can buy the datacards to get your unit rules, but the Codex is the only legal way to get the Detachment rules. So, the real question here is “should you play as Necrons in Warhammer 40K 10th Edition?,” and that depends wholly on if you think their playstyle will suit you.

Necrons are typically slow and tough with middling damage output, and this Codex continues this trend. If you enjoy playing an army that can take a punch and not go down (or go down and then pop back up), then Necrons are the army for you. If that sounds like your thing, then this Codex will be a perfect companion to your army. If you want to start collecting a silver tide of your own, then the Combat Patrol: Necrons box is an ideal starter set to pick up alongside this book.

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