Saunders brought the spark of life back to the thread first...I just fanned the flame a little (before whafrog could douse it forever
)
I like the Necromancer and believe he would be more acceptable in most fun games. Someone sees you pull out Sauron and they will often expect a dull, drawn out battle much the same feeling the Balrog inspires in a lot of people. But the Necromancer is not nearly as bad.
If you use him, I suggest keeping a Bat Swarm or two and perhaps a bodyguard unit (what better than a Castellan, right?) around. The Bats are fast enough to block most models that are looking to engage the Necromancer and have a larger base to assist with that role (ZoC denial). They are pretty resilient so they'll last longer than a Giant Spider, for example, and their special rule helps equalize combats well. Then you have the Casteallan, or perhaps even just an unnammed Captain with decent Fight, to be assist with physical engagements.
(Actually...I can't recall...did they give him Monster status for special attacks? I think that's what I was considering that he should but they didn't but I may be wrong)
I'm really curious to see if/how they give an alternate Profile for the Necromancer after the next movie. Although I think he's still a little overpriced I generally like the current version.