What Are Ophydian Destroyers?
Ophydian Destroyers are Necron close-combat ambushers. These serpentine Destroyers have replaced their lower bodies with segmented metal tails, letting them tunnel through the ground and burst out beneath their prey with bladed limbs flailing. They are the Necron equivalent of ambush predators: patient, precise and lethal when they strike.
In the lore, Ophydian Destroyers are Necrons who have succumbed to the Destroyer curse, an obsessive drive to annihilate all living things. Where Lokhust Destroyers express that hatred through heavy guns, Ophydians, like their Skorpekh cousins, crave the closeness of melee. They have rebuilt their bodies around burrowing tails and hyperphase weapons, giving up what remained of their old nobility for killing at close quarters.
Their relationship with the wider Necron dynasties is uneasy. Most overlords view Destroyers with a mix of distaste and pragmatic acceptance: they are useful weapons, but their obsession makes them unreliable for anything other than killing.
On the tabletop, Ophydian Destroyers fill the role of a melee unit that arrives from reserves wherever the enemy is weakest, forcing opponents to guard their backfield and protect vulnerable units from sudden assault.
Ophydian Destroyers on the Tabletop
Ophydian Destroyers are a small unit of tough, multi-wound melee models. The kit contains three models, and the unit can be taken at three or six models. Their two defining traits are:
- Deep Strike. They can arrive from strategic reserves anywhere on the battlefield, which is how they represent tunnelling up beneath the enemy.
- Reanimation Protocols. As Necrons, they benefit from the army’s signature self-repair, which can restore lost wounds and bring destroyed models back during the game.
Their exact Movement, Toughness, Wounds, weapon profiles and any unit-specific abilities are set by the current Necron datasheet, and their points are in the Munitorum Field Manual. Check both before you build a list, as they change with codexes and balance updates.
Hyperphase Weapons and Melee Output
Ophydian Destroyers fight with hyperphase weapons, Necron blades that vibrate across dimensions to slice through armour and flesh. They’re built to cut down infantry, and a full unit of six can do serious damage to most infantry squads, including elite targets.
Their strength is consistent damage on the charge rather than a one-off spike, so you can plan around what they’ll realistically do. They are not a tank or monster killer, and they won’t win a straight fight against dedicated melee elites. Pick fights they can win.
Deep Strike Tactics in 11th Edition
Deep Strike is the core of how Ophydians play. In 11th Edition the rules work like this (see our How to Play Warhammer 40k guide for the basics):
- You put the unit into strategic reserves in the Declare Battle Formations step. Deep Strike units count towards the cap of half your game’s points in reserves.
- Reserves can’t arrive until battle round 2, and anything that hasn’t arrived by the end of battle round 3 is destroyed.
- When they make their ingress move, a unit where every model has Deep Strike can be set up anywhere on the battlefield more than 8″ horizontally from all enemy units, including inside the enemy deployment zone.
- After arriving they can’t make another move until the start of the next Charge phase, but they can declare a charge that turn.
When to Deep Strike
Deep Strike is most effective when the enemy has vulnerable units in the backfield that they haven’t screened: artillery, ranged support units and characters on their own. If the enemy is pushing forward to take objectives, their backfield is often lightly defended, which is exactly where Ophydians want to appear.
Against armies that spread cheap screening units across their deployment zone, such as Astra Militarum infantry or Tyranid gaunts, finding a landing spot is much harder. Against those armies, consider deploying Ophydians on the table and moving them up normally.
Where to Deep Strike
The ideal landing spot puts Ophydians within charge range of a high-value target while limiting how many enemy units can hit back next turn. Corners and flanks often work best, because the enemy can only respond from one or two directions.
Always measure carefully. Because you arrive more than 8″ away and engagement range is 2″, you need to roll at least 7 on 2D6 to make the charge, and more if terrain or other models get in the way. Ask yourself where the Ophydians will be if the charge fails. If the answer is “in the open in front of the enemy’s guns”, consider a safer spot that still applies pressure.
Rapid Ingress and Charge Reliability
The core Rapid Ingress Stratagem (1CP) lets a reserve unit arrive at the end of your opponent’s Movement phase, though not in the first battle round. Landing Ophydians this way gives them your whole next turn to move and charge, and lets you react to where your opponent has just moved.
Command Re-roll can re-roll a charge roll in full. Remember that in 11th Edition a unit can benefit from only one Stratagem per phase, and Command Re-roll is a Stratagem, so plan which unit gets your CP in each phase. Check the current Necron detachments for any charge or ingress bonuses.
Ambush From Below: Disruption Tactics
Even when Ophydian Destroyers don’t kill their target immediately, their presence behind enemy lines causes huge disruption. An enemy that must turn round to deal with Ophydians in their backfield isn’t advancing on your objectives or shooting at your main force.
This disruption can be worth more than the damage itself. If your Ophydians force your opponent to spend a much more expensive unit’s whole turn dealing with them, that’s a good trade even if the Ophydians die afterwards. Just keeping a unit in reserve forces your opponent to leave space and keep screens back, which means fewer units on objectives.
Coordinate their arrival with your main army’s advance. While the enemy is distracted by Ophydians in their backfield, your Necron Warriors and vehicles should be pushing forward to take the central objectives. Backfield disruption plus midfield pressure is very hard for an opponent to answer at the same time.
Reanimation Protocols and Survivability
Reanimation Protocols are especially valuable on Ophydian Destroyers because each model has several wounds and is expensive. Restoring wounds or bringing back even one model recovers a lot of value.
After an assault, surviving Ophydians can rebuild the unit, so an opponent who thought the remains were a manageable threat may find more models back in the fight the following turn. As long as one model survives, the unit can come back, so make your opponent commit to finishing it off.
Army Integration and Synergies
Ophydian Destroyers work best as part of a plan that pressures the enemy from several directions at once.
Necron Warriors and Immortals: your core infantry advances and holds objectives while the Ophydians strike behind the enemy. The opponent has to push forward to contest objectives and protect their backfield at the same time, and struggles to do both.
Skorpekh Destroyers: the other melee Destroyer, which advances across the surface. Running both gives you melee threats from the front and behind, forcing the enemy to screen in every direction.
Support characters: characters that improve reanimation or durability make Ophydians tougher, but they rarely keep up with a unit that arrives from reserves. Remember that if you attach a character without Deep Strike, the whole unit loses the ability to deep strike. Check the current datasheets to see which characters can join them.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Landing in a killing ground: don’t arrive where several enemy units can shoot the Ophydians next turn. If the charge fails, they’re stranded more than 8″ from the target. Choose spots where terrain or board edges limit how many enemy units can respond.
Picking the wrong target: Ophydians are excellent at killing support characters, artillery and ranged units. They’re poor at fighting dedicated melee units or big blocks of infantry that can absorb their attacks and hit back. Choose targets they can kill or cripple in one fight.
Forgetting about screens: good opponents use cheap units to deny landing spots near their valuable units. Before committing to a Deep Strike plan, have a backup if they screen well.
Leaving them in reserves too long: anything still in reserves at the end of battle round 3 is destroyed. Plan to arrive in round 2 or 3.
Over-investing in reserves: too many points off the table leaves your on-table army thin for the first turns, and you’re capped at half your points in strategic reserves anyway.
How Good Are Ophydian Destroyers?
Ophydians are a solid pick for Necron armies that want a disruptive melee element. They aren’t an auto-include, but in missions that reward board control their ability to appear almost anywhere gives you flexibility few other Necron units can match. How strong they are at any moment depends on their current datasheet, points and the detachments you take, so check our factions ranked page and the latest Munitorum Field Manual.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Ophydian Destroyers good in 11th Edition?
They’re a solid choice for Necron armies that want a melee threat arriving from reserves. They are best in missions that reward board control and against opponents who leave their backfield open, and less effective against armies that screen well. Their exact strength depends on their current datasheet and points.
Should I deep strike Ophydian Destroyers or deploy them on the table?
Deep Strike is usually better because it maximises their surprise and disruption value. Deploy them on the table against armies that screen so well that a good landing spot is unlikely, or when you need their melee pressure early. Remember that reserves can’t arrive until battle round 2.
How do I improve the charge after deep striking?
In 11th Edition you arrive more than 8″ away and need to get within 2″, so the charge needs a 7 or more on 2D6. Command Re-roll can re-roll the charge, but it counts as that unit’s one Stratagem for the phase. Rapid Ingress is another option: arriving at the end of your opponent’s Movement phase gives you a full turn to close the distance.
What should Ophydian Destroyers target when deep striking?
Prioritise vulnerable support units: artillery, characters without bodyguards, ranged support units and anything sitting on a backfield objective. Avoid charging dedicated melee units or large infantry blocks that can absorb your attacks and hit back.
How many Ophydian Destroyers should I run?
A single unit of six concentrates your damage and is the most common way to field them. Units of three are cheaper but much less threatening, so a failed charge hurts more. Check current points before deciding.
Do Ophydian Destroyers benefit from Reanimation Protocols?
Yes. As Necrons they benefit from Reanimation Protocols, which can restore lost wounds and return destroyed models. This is especially valuable after an assault, giving the unit a second wind that can catch opponents off guard.
What is the difference between Ophydian and Skorpekh Destroyers?
Both are melee Destroyers armed with hyperphase blades, but they move very differently. Skorpekh Destroyers stride across the surface on multi-jointed legs and fight from the front. Ophydian Destroyers have serpentine tails and burrow beneath the ground to ambush enemies from unexpected angles. Running both gives a Necron army melee pressure from the front and from behind.
How many models come in an Ophydian Destroyers box?
The Ophydian Destroyers kit contains three models, which is the minimum unit size. A full unit of six needs two boxes. The kit includes their hyperphase weapons and serpentine bodies. It doesn’t build Skorpekh Destroyers, even though the two units share a similar design.
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