Warhammer 40,000 · Necrons

Sautekh Dynasty (Necrons) Paint List for Warhammer 40,000

beginner Necrons

Classic silver metal with bright green Gauss energy. The Sautekh look is the iconic Necron scheme: fast to paint, immediately readable and very effective on the tabletop.

Necrons reward a simple workflow: metallic body, dark wash, then bright green energy. Spend your precision on the weapon coils and eyes because that is where the scheme comes alive.

Recommended undercoat black — Several priority paints in this army converge on black.

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Paint list

Sorted by priority

🔴 Must-Have

The core Necron recipe in four paints

Leadbelcher (Citadel) — Whole body · 2 full coats
Nuln Oil (Citadel) — Whole body · Generous wash
Caliban Green (Citadel) — Weapons and eyes (base) · 2 opaque coats
Moot Green (Citadel) — Weapons and eyes (layer) · Layer on Caliban Green

🟠 Core

Highlights and metallic finishing

Runefang Steel (Citadel) — Body (highlight) · Drybrush on metal
Warboss Green (Citadel) — Weapons and eyes (mid-tone) · Mid-tone layer

🟡 Recommended

Details and basing

Retributor Armour (Citadel) — Royal ornaments · Fine brushwork
Dryad Bark (Citadel) — Base (ground) · 1 coat
Biel-Tan Green (Citadel) — Weapons (shade) · Wash into the green recesses

🟢 Optional

Advanced glow effects

Moot Green (Citadel) — Eyes (optional OSL) · A few light touches around the eye

Painting order

Recommended steps

1 Step 1: Prime with Leadbelcher spray, or prime white and basecoat with Leadbelcher

2 Step 2: Apply a generous Nuln Oil wash over the metallic body

3 Step 3: Drybrush Runefang Steel across the raised details

4 Step 4: Paint the weapons and eyes with Caliban Green

5 Step 5: Shade the green recesses with Biel-Tan Green

6 Step 6: Layer Warboss Green over the brighter energy sections

7 Step 7: Finish with Moot Green highlights

8 Step 8: Add gold trim with Retributor Armour where needed

Tips

Hints for this army

1 Leadbelcher spray is excellent for Necrons because it gives you a strong metallic base in one pass and speeds the whole army up.

2 For Gauss energy, keep the greens opaque enough to stay bright: Caliban Green first, then Warboss Green, then a sharp Moot Green finish.

3 Paint the glowing green effects last. If you slip onto the metal, the correction is easy; fixing metallic paint over finished glow is usually slower.