Magic: the Gathering x Warhammer 40K: Necron Dynasties

One of the most popular Magic: the Gathering products last year was the Universes Beyond commander decks showcasing the incredible world of Warhammer 40K. Featuring 160 new cards across the four pre-constructed decks, as well as powerful reprints with Warhammer 40K flavour, the decks are a must have for fans of either franchise and play wonderfully together as a set.

You can choose to battle with Forces of the Imperium, the Tyranid Swarm, the forces of Chaos in the The Ruinous Powers, and finally, the robot-Egyptian-skeleton-esque Necrons in Necron Dynasties.  

The lore of the Szarekh and the Necrons

"When the Silent King saw what had been done, he knew at last the true nature of the C'tan, and of the doom they had wrought in his name.”

– The Book of Mournful Night

Szarekh, known as The Silent King, ruled the Necrontyr Empire during a ferocious and desperate war against the Old Ones. Facing defeat, he formed an alliance with the C’tan, known as The Star Gods, and transferred the minds of the Necrontyr from flesh bodies into living metal in a process called Biotransference, creating the Necrons. However, Szarekh had been deceived, and while the Necrons were immortal and emerged victorious against the Old Ones, they had become soulless slaves to the C’tan. Once the Old Ones were defeated, Szarekh led a revolt against the C’tan, defeating them and shattering them into shards.

Exhausted by years of war and seeing the emergence of other powerful races, Szarekh ordered the Necrons withdrawn to their Tomb Worlds for The Great Sleep, planning to reawaken in 60 million years and take on the universe once again. Now, they are starting to wake up, driven by a single goal: to restore their ancient ruling dynasty to glory and rule the galaxy once more.

Each of these living machines is part of a Necron Dynasty. These were once great houses, but many were destroyed after the war with the Old Ones and the C’tan rebellion. It’s not known how many survived. A Necron Dynasty’s members act independently from each other Necron Dynasty and pursue their own agendas, ruled by Overlords, while the most powerful are ruled by Phaerons. As for Szarek, he suffers; the guilt as bitter now as when he first realised the purgatory to which he has consigned his people. He seeks to atone for the fate he has created and won’t let anything stand in his way.

Game plan

MTG Necron Dynasties is a mono black deck with a classic black theme: death, or more precisely, cheating death and having your machines of death return to the battlefield over and over again! The deck’s filled with immortal Necrons forged of living metal who can’t die. You want to get artifacts in your graveyard, and then use cards such as Living Death to bring your whole army back while destroying what’s in play. Dread Return is another reanimation staple, while the ‘unearth’ mechanic lets you bring back troops for a final attack. Cranial Plating is a powerhouse with a storied history in Magic’s competitive scene, turning even the lowliest creature into a game-ending threat. And with Szarekh at the helm, you’re never going to run short of resources.

Attack, die, rebuild, and outlast is your approach, bringing back the living machines over and over to out-grind your opponent. Some cards of note:

Out of the Tombs

Out of the Tombs does work in this deck. Not only does it quickly mill you, giving you endless Necrons to bring back from the grave, but it also allows you to cheat death yourself by ensuring you don’t draw that final card. But be careful; if they remove it while you’ve no library, or in the unlikely event you run out of creatures in your graveyard, it’s game over. Perfectly on theme for the deck, and what the colour black is all about: power at any cost.

Canoptek Scarab Swarm

Canoptek Scarab Swarm is a haymaker. Once your graveyard is nice and full of expended Necrons, you can use the Scarabs to exile them and build an army of evasive 1/1 fliers, giving your opponent a single turn to deal with them before you attack in the air, most likely for lethal damage. Patience is key; you only want to start exiling your graveyard resources once victory is assured. Remember you can also use it on your opponent’s graveyard too – it’s less likely to be as stocked as yours, but it could be after a drawn-out battle, and puts an end to their own graveyard shenanigans.

Anrakyr the Traveller

Anrakyr is another legendary creature, meaning you can swap him in over Szarekh if you want him to lead your army instead. Anrakyr is incredibly powerful, allowing you to use life instead of mana to cast an artifact from your hand or graveyard; enabling you to play a monster way ahead of schedule, like a Technomancer, or bring back the exact card you need. Thankfully you also only need to attack with Anrakyr to trigger the ability, he doesn’t need to connect with your opponent. So even if you know you’re running him into death, don’t worry, MTG Necron Dynasties has no issue bringing him back.

Deck features

The Necron Dynasties MTG deck comes with never-before-seen Magic: the Gathering cards in Warhammer 40,000 flavour and the Universes Beyond card frame, including 42 brand new Magic the Gathering cards.

Deck contents

Each Necron Dynasties MTG Commander Deck set includes one ready-to-play Black deck of 100 Magic: The Gathering cards (two legendary traditional foil cards, 98 non-foil cards), one foil-etched Display Commander (a thick cardstock copy of the commander card with foil etched into the card's border and art), 10 double-sided tokens, one deck box (can hold 100 sleeved cards), one life tracker, one strategy insert, and one reference card.