The Phaeron's Armoury: The New 1-DP Necrons War-Engine Detachment (11th Edition)
How to play The Phaeron's Armoury — the new 1-DP detachment that gives Necron Titanic Fly war engines +6" Move, plus defensive and Tesla-boosting stratagems.
SprueSentry strategy commentary for 11th edition, not official rules. Games Workshop updates points and rules regularly — always confirm against the current official rules and your latest dataslate before a game.
The Phaeron's Armoury is one of three new Necrons detachments in the Warhammer 40,000 11th edition Faction Pack (June 2026). At 1 Detachment Point it's built to add one durable, now-mobile superheavy — a Monolith, Obelisk or Tesseract Vault — to a larger list.
This is SprueSentry strategy commentary, not official rules. The rules below are confirmed from the current Faction Pack; the 1-DP cost is from community coverage (the app is the final word), so confirm before a game.
What the Empowered Engines detachment rule does
The detachment rule gives your Necrons Titanic Fly units +6" Movement — letting Necrons' biggest, slowest war engines reach the midfield fast and threaten objectives they'd normally never contest. Note the keyword requirement: it only helps *Titanic Fly* units (Monolith, Obelisk, Tesseract Vault). Titanic-but-not-Fly models like the Seraptek Heavy Construct and Gauss Pylon don't get the bonus. The detachment has the HYPERCRYPT** tag, so it can't be paired with Hypercrypt Legion.
Stratagems and when to use them
- Subsurface Quantumweave (defensive) — the targeted Titanic Fly unit takes -1 AP on incoming attacks until that attacker finishes. Use it to blunt the first big shooting or melee threat against your engine each turn.
- Particle Pulse (Shooting) — an enemy unit near your Titanic Fly model gains +3" detection range, an anti-hiding effect that flushes out targets trying to dodge your war engine's guns.
- Cosmic Storm (Shooting) — an Obelisk's or Tesseract Vault's Tesla Sphere weapons gain +1 AP for the activation, sharpening their anti-infantry output.
Enhancements worth taking
- Prelocational Optimiser — if the bearer's unit was set up this turn via a Monolith's Eternity Gate, its ranged attacks gain your choice of Lethal Hits or Sustained Hits 1 when it shoots. Rewards teleport-in aggression.
- Mortality Shroud — unusually, a unit upgrade for an Obelisk rather than a character enhancement: in the opponent's Battle-shock step, weakened enemy units within 8" must test, pressuring nearby damaged units.
(Points live in the app; confirm there.)
Key units
- Monolith — the flagship: +6" Move makes it a fast midfield threat, and its Eternity Gate pairs with Prelocational Optimiser to deliver buffed teleporting infantry.
- Tesseract Vault — a durable, hard-hitting centrepiece that gets +6" Move and loves Cosmic Storm on its Tesla Spheres.
- Obelisk — gets +6" Move, is the Mortality Shroud carrier, and also benefits from Cosmic Storm.
- (Not) Seraptek Heavy Construct or Gauss Pylon — Titanic but not Fly, so they don't gain the Move bonus; don't build around them here.
When to take The Phaeron's Armoury
At 1 DP it's a cheap way to bolt one durable, mobile superheavy onto another detachment without committing your whole list to it. Because its rule and stratagems only affect Titanic Fly units, it does little unless you actually field one of the big engines — so take it specifically to make a Monolith, Obelisk or Tesseract Vault a genuine mobile threat. Mind the HYPERCRYPT tag: it can't pair with Hypercrypt Legion.
Sample gameplan: deploy your war engine and use the +6" Move to push it into the midfield turn 1-2, onto a central objective it's too durable to be shifted from. Blunt the first big threat each turn with Subsurface Quantumweave, teleport an infantry unit carrying Prelocational Optimiser through the Monolith's Eternity Gate to drop them with Lethal or Sustained Hits, and fire the Obelisk or Tesseract Vault with Cosmic Storm. Use Particle Pulse to flush out anything hiding from your guns.
Common questions
How much does The Phaeron's Armoury cost in Detachment Points?
1 DP (per community coverage; the Warhammer 40,000 app is the final word). It's a support detachment to bolt onto a larger 2-DP core at a 2,000-point game.
What is The Phaeron's Armoury detachment rule?
Empowered Engines: your Necrons Titanic Fly units — Monolith, Obelisk, Tesseract Vault — gain +6" Movement, letting your biggest war engines reach the midfield fast. Titanic-but-not-Fly models like the Seraptek and Gauss Pylon don't benefit.
Can I combine The Phaeron's Armoury with Hypercrypt Legion?
No. Both carry the HYPERCRYPT Unique Tag, and two detachments can't share a tag. Pair The Phaeron's Armoury with a non-HYPERCRYPT 2-DP core instead.
Is The Phaeron's Armoury worth taking without a big war engine?
No. Its rule and stratagems only affect Titanic Fly units, so take it specifically to make a Monolith, Obelisk or Tesseract Vault a fast, durable midfield threat. Without one of those it does almost nothing.
Written by SprueSentry with SprueSentry editorial (hand-authored, research-grounded), grounded in the cited sources — original commentary, not Games Workshop rules text.