You know the old saying: you can take the Juve out of the Underhive, but you can’t take the Underhive out of the Juve. As I said in an earlier post, I first ventured into the dark corridors and twisted architecture of the Underhive in games of Confrontation, the staggeringly granular system that would later evolve into old-school Necromunda. Many years have passed, and I’m now preparing myself for a return to that old haunt.
Part of me never left. As much as I’m enjoying the latest incarnation of 40k, I’ve always preferred the close-quarters experience of skirmish over mass battle games. As we prepare to begin a new campaign, I’m thrilled to finally be diving into the new edition.
With fond memories of the old metal figures, I’ve been delighted by the high standard of the new Necromunda miniatures. The plastic miniatures facilitate conversions, which is great considering that WYSIWYG is a pretty big thing in the game, and the miniatures themselves are just as flavourful as the old ones were, just with more detail. Escher and Goliath are stunning, and the Orlocks were my original choice of gang back when I was considering getting back into the game. Van Saar blew me away, seemingly riffing on less grimdark, more hard SF influences, but it wasn’t until I saw Delaque that I started to feel that pull.
You know what I mean when I say ‘that pull’. The feeling you get when you look at a faction and immediately know that it’s the one for you. Whether it was The Guild in Malifaux, Nomads in Infinity, Nighthaunt in Age of Sigmar, Dark Angels in 40k or Morticians in Guild Ball, I just instinctively knew what my faction was going to be in each of those games. And when Delaque dropped and I saw how, well, vampish their revamp had been, I bought in.
The old Delaque miniatures had a unique look, but I couldn’t take them as seriously as the other factions. Alternative models like those from Heresy Miniatures ramped up the fun aspect of this kind of aesthetic, and they’re an absolute blast. But when the new Delaque box appeared, I spotted so many points of inspiration. From the sinister gunmen of the classic game Syndicate, to the creepy Guild entourage from Dune, they even seemed to be reminiscent of Cenobites from Hellraiser - albeit a sci-fi version of them. As soon as I saw the models I couldn’t wait to paint them.
Well, this is my first foray into the new Necromunda and the intricacy of the models surprised me. Looking at the sprues was actually a little daunting, but I’ve built Malifaux and old Infinity sculpts. I can build anything. After a bit of thought, I put my first Delaque ganger together, electing to have him creeping forward with two knives. The bases that came with the models are a great addition, saving me the effort of having to order resin ones. What a nice surprise!
I’m not an expert on the rules of this new edition yet, but I’ve had a look at the gang-specific Tactics Cards and they seem amazing. In fact, some of these shenanigans remind me a little of the Morticians in Guild Ball: just trolling the enemy with some controlling and discombobulating tricks. Dancing Shadows has a chance of negating an entire attack action; Faceless switches two friendly models, even ones that are currently engaged in melee. Over Here reminds me of Obulus of the Morticians forcing an opposing model to move in a direction of his choosing.
Our new tokens will suit my Delaque gang perfectly.
My favourite, and the one I cannot wait to use, is Labyrinth. Being able to move obstacles can really stymie the opponent, potentially block off passageways or leave enemies out of cover. It seems like the sort of ability your enemies will always expect you to use, forcing them to deploy in a sub-optimal way so not to be caught out by it - the kind of tactic that benefits you even when you don’t use it.
Even more exciting than the minis and the cards is the new terrain that Grantt has been designing. The Hive Sector terrain set is amazing. I had a go at putting a table together last week, and it was like building lego. We were coming up with all sorts of configurations, with a myriad walkways, ladders and levels. If you’re interested, you can take a closer look here.
When we start our campaign, I’m sure you’ll see some battle reports and other content show up here. As I say, I’m really excited to be finally returning to the Underhive. I’m just sorry it took me this long.
So are any of you running Delaque? Any tips on how I should build the rest of the gang?
Thanks for reading! Now for the fun part. Because we love you all, we’re offering 10% off every single product in the store, including the new Hive Sector terrain! Just use the discount code ‘itschristmas’ and see the cost plummet faster than a drop pod full of devastators. The code is valid from the 18th of December 2018 to the 10th of January 2019. Go ahead, treat yourselves (and your minis) to some new accessories!