Necron Warrior

[[File:Necron_Warrior.jpg|200px|thumb|My peashooter can puncture a hole in your most powerful tanks. Until 8th edition and onwards, that is.

The Necron Warriors are the rank-and-file basic soldiers of the Necron phalanxes. They were civilians before the pact with the C'tan and biotransference; because they were not nobles or soldiers, and therefore judged to be of minimal importance, little care was taken with their biotransference and their bodies bear no adornments or extraneous hardware. Necron Warriors have no identifying marks (except for possibly sharing the colors of the dynasty that owns them) and no capacity for initiative. Nothing of the personalities they once had remains, and they are even denied voices (though they make scream-like noises when they are severely damaged) -- "Identity matters only to those who have the ability to think," and "...the concept of glory is wasted on the inglorious," as Imotekh the Stormlord says. It's not clear if these limitations and losses were accidental or deliberately planned, and frankly it's hard to say which possibility is scarier.

With their limited mental capacities, Necron Warriors require constant instructions like Rubric Marines from the Thousand Sons, only more useful. Without the will of their commanders to provide guidance, a Necron Warrior will revert to a guard routine, repelling enemy attacks with precise volleys. What they lack in initiative, though, they make up for in determination: once issued an order, a Necron Warrior will not stop until it either is slain or carries that order through to completion. Their innate durability ensures that the task will be done, for the Necrons are implacable foes that will continue to fight through otherwise-lethal injuries, recovering from dismemberment and even decapitation in a matter of minutes. Necron Warriors are not entirely fearless: most of their natural emotions were purged during biotransference, but self-preservation remained. This instinct, though, is not always ensured to activate: a Necron Warrior’s connection to reality is tenuous, and the true danger of the task before it might not register. If this is the case, then the Warrior will continue fighting, oblivious to peril, and marching through enemy gunfire or minefields that would see it destroyed.

Though a Necron Warrior still remains a terrifying soldier in M41, closer inspection reveals the toll that age and countless battles have inflicted on it. Its limbs, though strong, are corroded and worn, covered in fluids leaked from their joints. Though precise, they are slow. Their movements are jerky; the result of misfiring synapses. It would almost be a pitiful sight, were it not for the malign gleam to its eyes that reveals its merciless nature.

Crunch

For all these reasons to pity the Warriors, most people fighting them find it hard to feel sympathy for them, because they are so tremendously powerful for basic infantry. In most respects, they are equals to Space Marines and available in greater numbers (while being substantially cheaper prior to 6th edition). Their standard weapon, the gauss flayer, is actually better than a bolter, in fact, it competes with the Tau Pulse Rifle for "Best basic infantry weapon in the game", while their "Reanimation Protocols" rule (formerly known as "We'll Be Back!") makes them even tougher, at least until AP4 weapons start bypassing their defenses(,however you can fit them into a Reclamation legion and make these necronscrips a pain to get out of the world, just the simple happiness on your opponents face when he kills a single one, should you not remind him about that you should have some T5 out there).

They may be unfairly stripped of their souls and identities because of poor decisions made by their rulers without their consent, but it's hard to feel sorry for them when you kill them and they just get right back up, and it's even harder when you see their neighbor wearing your buddy's face. In all fairness, Bob's ugly mug has never looked better, and that's saying something.