Warscythe & Hyperphase Sword

Lore & history

Among the nobility of the Necron dynasties and their undying Lychguard bodyguards, close-quarters combat is governed by ancient codes of honour that predate the War in Heaven. A Necron Overlord, Phaeron or Vargard does not deign to brawl with crude chains or chemical explosives; he strides into the fray bearing a Warscythe or a Hyperphase Sword whose emerald-glowing blade phases across dimensional boundaries as it swings. To the horror of Space Marine Captains, Aeldari Autarchs and Imperial Knights who attempt to parry a Warscythe with an iron shield or even a crackling Storm Shield, the Necron blade frequently passes straight through the defensive barrier as if it were smoke before solidifying inside the victim's chest.

Forged from living metal—necrodermis—and wired with hyper-dimensional phase-shifters, the Warscythe is the traditional badge of high command across the Infinite Empire and the standard two-handed polearm of Lychguard phalanxes tasked with decapitating enemy warlords and hacking apart armoured walkers.

Among the madness-afflicted Skorpekh Cults, this same dimensional-blade science is pushed to an even more savage extreme in the form of massive Hyperphase Threshers and Reap-Blades grafted directly onto the Destroyers' multi-limbed frames.

Design, mechanism & battlefield effect

Inside the haft of a Warscythe or the hilt of a Hyperphase Sword sits a sub-atomic phase-oscillator synchronized with the weapon's emerald necrodermis blade. As the blade arcs toward a target, it vibrates millions of times per second between realspace and an adjacent dimensional pocket.

Because its molecular structure is partially out of phase with normal matter until the microsecond the weapon's sensor-matrix detects the core of its target, the blade ignores the density of ceramite, adamantium and even refractive energy shields, severing tank barrels and Terminator plate with effortless, surgical silence.

Patterns, variants & doctrine

The Warscythe is a heavy, two-handed polearm carried by Overlords and Lychguard, while the one-handed Hyperphase Sword is paired with a Dispersion Shield by Lychguard phalanxes. Skorpekh Destroyers wield twin Hyperphase Threshers or massive two-handed Hyperphase Reap-Blades, while Overlords of the Mephrit and Novokh dynasties often carry Blood Scythes or Voidscythes capable of felling an Imperial Knight in a single sweep.

Notable patterns & relic examples

• Overlord's Warscythe & Voidscythe: The ancient dimensional-phasing polearms of the Necron nobility, capable of bisecting a battle tank.
• Hyperphase Sword & Dispersion Shield: The sword-and-shield panoply of Lychguard bodyguards, deflecting shots while slicing through armour.
• Hyperphase Reap-Blade & Threshers: The massive, twin-handed phase-blades grafted onto tripod Skorpekh Destroyers.
• Rod of Covenant: The double-ended phase-blade and particle-caster polearm carried by Triarch Praetorians.

Wielded & Fielded By

Characters (8)

• 
  Szarekh, the Silent King · Last of the Silent Kings
• 
  Imotekh the Stormlord · Phaeron of the Sautekh Dynasty
• 
  Nemesor Zahndrekh · Overlord of Gidrim
• 
  Vargard Obyron · Vargard of Nemesor Zahndrekh
• 
  Trazyn the Infinite · Overlord of Solemnace, Archaeovist
• 
  Orikan the Diviner · Cryptek Chronomancer, Astromancer of the Triarch
• 
  Anrakyr the Traveller · Overlord of Pyrrhia
• 
  Illuminor Szeras · Cryptek Technomancer

Units (6)

LychguardTriarch PraetoriansFlayed OnesC'tan ShardsDeathmarksImmortals

Related weapons & vehicles

Guardian SpearChainswordPower FistPower SwordThunder HammerChainaxePlague Knife & BaleswordAgoniser & Huskblade

Primary Faction

Necrons