Fandom Factions: The Khertet Dynasty

Welcome to the first instalment of what I hope will be many Fandom Factions, the new name for the old Art of Warhammer "Another Army" posts that focus exclusively on an army that has been built and painted by various hobbyists from around the internet. Today, as an introduction to this series and to give you readers an idea of how far my Necron army has progressed in the last 10 or so years, I've decided to spotlight my own Khertet Dynasty as the very first Fandom Faction. Hopefully this will give you an idea on how this section will work going forward as well as provide you with an interesting read!

How many points of tabletop ready miniatures does your army currently stand at?

Currently my Necron force stands at 3,265 points at time of writing. This includes at least one of every Destroyer Cult unit, 40 Warriors, a unit of Immortals, an Overlord, 5 Crypteks, a smattering of other infantry, 2 C'Tan Shards, a Canoptek Reanimator, a Canoptek Doomstalker and a Nightscythe.

The Khertet Dynasty in full force

What inspired you to collect this faction?

Back in what seems a lifetime ago when I first set foot into a Games Workshop blissfully unaware of how that decision would change my life, I remember playing my very first intro game of Necrons vs Ultramarines back when Necrons only recently came out as a White Dwarf army with 5 units. Though I decided to collect Ultramarines at first (mainly because Marines came in the starter box), Necrons always had a magnetic pull for me and I enjoyed painting them on the side as I was going through my awkward "drybrush everything" phase, which suited Necron aesthetics very well.

Whilst I had a constant love/hate relationship with my Ultramarines having abandoned them several time in 3rd edition to start new armies only to give up after a week to go back to them, when Necrons finally got their first full codex I went all in - I slapped down my money and got the starter army with the limited edition Necron Lord, painting the whole lot in a single weekend. It was at this point I realised just how much I loved painting these metal guys and, after getting absorbed into the lore of immortal killing machines that just would not stay down that I knew that Necrons were the army I was meant to play. My army has gone through a couple of aesthetic designs (and Dynasty names) since then but I finally am settled on my current scheme.

Nemekh the Summoner, Phaeron of the Khertet Dynasty, was the first model to be painted in D J's current scheme

Can you give us some insight into your colour scheme?

It took a few attempts to get the colour mixture I wanted. My first Necron army was your standard Boltgun Metal (or Leadbelcher for you younger hobbyists!) with green eyes and glyphs, mainly because back then Necrons were soulless slaves to the C'Tan and so any prospect of individuality or creativity just didn't fit my head canon.

Then when Necrons got their big update and lore rewrite in 5th edition, I decided to use the newly conceived Dynasties to rather originally create a new colour scheme of blue and gold (to fit with the typical Egyptian theme) and baptised my army the "Imhotep Dynasty" which obviously didn't stick -  original I know! I also refused to use flat colours for some reason and used blue glazes and washes to stain the metals instead of using straight layer paint. If only contrast paints existed back then!

It wouldn't be until 7th edition that my Necrons would take the form they have now, in particular I was taken by the lore of the Thokt Dynasty and how their energy glows were blue due to the blue energy veins that runs through their tomb world that they use as a power source. I had previously written something about my Dynasty siphoning power from C'Tan Shards of the Burning One back in 6th edition and so the green rods of yesteryear were replaced with glorious reds and oranges. I also developed a powerful love for "The Fang" layer paint since those days and had gotten over my fear of non-metallic surfaces, thus the alien-like blacks with grey-blue highlights replacing the blues of my old army were born and frankly I've never looked back. 

The C'Tan Shard of the Burning One inspired D J's current scheme

Does your faction have a backstory?

The Khertet Dynasty was once, back before the War in Heaven one of the most powerful and active Dynasties in the Necrontyr Empire, regularly venturing out into the stars to conquer and destroy their rivals - this was due to the recurring visions Phaeron Szarazs had of his own death at the hands of the Nightbringer, once known in Necrontyr mythology as the god of death. To spare himself from the Nightbringer's wrath, Szarazs (who eventually became known as the "Mad King") ordered his own Dynasty to go out into the stars and offer their rival Necrontyr as sacrifices to appease the god, forcing all but the nobles of the Dynasty to wear obsidian masks so the Nightbringer would only know to spare the upper echelons having gazed upon their faces.

Post the Great Awakening the Dynasty found itself but a shadow of its once former glory with many of its tomb worlds falling to cataclysmic events over the last the sixty million years they slept. This led to one of Szarazs's former generals, Nemekh the Summoner whose tomb world lay in the Segmentum Obscurus to take over the Khertet Dynasty, eager to restore the Dynasty to its former glory. However, with Szarazs's powerful command protocols still active despite his transformation into a dreaded Skorpekh Destroyer the Khertet Dynasty finds itself plagued with more and more of its numbers falling to the Destroyer curse.

Szarazs leads the increasing number of Khertet Destroyers into constant battle

What are your favourite models in your faction?

For its sheer size and paint job I am immensely happy with, my C'Tan Shard of the Void Dragon is definitely up there for me, but other than that I was very happy with how my 5 Crypteks came out. It was a project I had concocted back in 5th edition when Crypteks, or more specifically Harbingers were introduced. I wanted one of every Harbinger each representing one of the 5 elements (including spirit) as well as 4 of them representing a Horseman of the Apocalypse. I didn't have the bits available to me back then to do a good job of converting them, however thanks to the many Cryptek kits we have now I have been able to do the project justice I think.

D J's 5 Crypteks of the Armageddon

Any interesting facts about your faction?

The Dynasty's name, "Khertet" comes from the name "Neter-Khertet" which means "Divine Subterranean Place" in ancient Egypt and relates to the Egyptian's version of the underworld. Also my Lokhust Lord had a very rich history of really bad luck in my 9th edition Crusade Campaign when he was a Necron Lord, so much to the point an opponent changed his epithet from "The Indiscriminate" to "The Tragic", but he has since become incredibly badass now he has fallen to the Destroyer Curse.

Zarakeph's career really took off when he lost his legs

So what's next for your faction?

Not 100% sure at this moment in time. I want to expand my Canoptek units beyond just a Reanimator, Doomstalker and Scarabs so Wraiths and Spyders will likely be on the cards soon. I also want to add more vehicles to the mix, a Ghost Ark or maybe a Doomsday Ark. I will have to see where the mood takes me I guess!

Thanks me! If you have enjoyed this article, please be sure to comment down below and let the owner of this army know! And if you would like to be featured in future Fandom Faction articles please email us at dj.driver.theprojectside@gmail.com with up to 6 pictures of your army (including a full army shot if possible) and answers to the 7 headlined questions outlined above in this post. We will endeavor to feature as many submissions as possible, however if there are any issues we will let you know as soon as we can.