N18 complete new to necromunda: Delaque

[Steffen Rabenau]

Hey, there.
I´m totally new to the game, but I just watched some videos in preperation. My aim is to find a balance between the narrative playstylefocus and the ability to compete in a campaign. So I really love the Delaquebackground and wanted to get some psykers in there. On the other hand I thought one guy with some range could be handy. And to give my basic troops something special I put one pyromantic in there. Did I already did something stupid?

Thanks for every advice!

Kraken

 

[Hobo86]

there are a few relevant comments by @HugeSamples in this recent topic;

N18 - Psychic delaque starter roster

Hi all, I am messing about with a delaque list starting with a psycher that can actually get going in a campaign. This is the best I can come up with. 1) is this too powerful/ or too 1 dimensional? 2) while I can get xp on the gheist like this will I ever use it with the expensive harness...

yaktribe.games

you can build them around the psychic skills or even completely without.

 

[HugeSamples]

Alright, let's do this!

Your Master of Shadows didn't pick a starting skill and is equipped for very short range (pistols), which puts him at risk. You also took the Whisper: Terrible Truths. Ask yourself this question: are you going to run your leader up to within 3" of an enemy to maybe make them go insane? If your leader is within 3" of an enemy, that enemy had better be dead by the end of his activation. Play what you like, but to me, that's too risky for a model you cannot replace.

Your Nacht-Ghul didn't pick a starting skill (I recommend Spring Up). You also took the Whisper: Sight Blight. To be honest, I have no idea how this power is supposed to work as written. To quote myself:

Do you need to do per-model bookkeeping for who is and isn't revealed as people enter and exit its range? Pitch Black was replaced with Visibility(x); do you need to roll on a table to see what range applies? (I would rule it as always applying the old Pitch Black range of 3".)

That said, anyone within range of Sight Blight is also in range to shoot your Nacht-Ghul. Nacht-Ghuls tend to be glass cannons. Also note that Sight Blight is not smoke—people can shoot through the bubble if they aren't affected by it. I'd probably forgo making this model a Psyker.

While we're talking about Psykers, note that being an Unsanctioned Psyker comes with heavy drawbacks:

• Any time they are taken out of action, your opponent gets a free D3x10 credits.
• If they are captured, they are sold immediately for full value, with no chance of rescue.

Your Phantom isn't legal. Shooting is a secondary skill and cannot be taken at creation. Furthermore, you also gave him a second skill (Spring Up? Maybe that was meant for your Nacht-Ghul?). I personally haven't had much success with long rifles, but there are those who swear by them. If you do go with a long rifle, the laspistol seems unnecessary at creation. Flak armor is never really worth the credits—go Mesh or go naked.

Your Psy-Gheist hasn't chosen a power. I'm not sure I'd use one as a smoker, but it's probably not terrible.

Skipping ahead, I'd probably put the smoke grenades on your Shadows.

Your Shadows are fine, albeit a bit boring, being clones of one another.

Your Ghosts seem fine (minus the smoke grenades). You also didn't assign one to be a Specialist. You get one Specialist at the start of the game. You should make one a Specialist, regardless of whether you're going to give them a special weapon or not. They get to pick their advancements rather than rolling randomly like regular Ghosts.

Overall, your gang doesn't have much in the way of "teeth." You probably need some stronger guns—plasma guns/pistols, web guns/pistols, grav guns/pistols—peppered in there. Do note that Ghosts do have pretty nice pistol access, but use caution: it's pretty easy to overspend on fancy pistols.

 

[Steffen Rabenau]

Thank you so much! I understand all the recommendations. That really makes sense a lot. I adjusted the gang.
I'm really thankful for all the thoughts you put into your response. Now I got the feeling I'm not building too much nonsense, because I don't want to magnatize everything. The starting loadout should be fine and I feel like I now got some versatility in there. Thank you!

 

[HugeSamples]

You're getting there!

I encourage you to give each member of your gang more personality. Right now, everyone has Spring Up, which is a solid skill, but mixing it up can make your gang more interesting. Similarly, consider how weapon choices can tell a story—what makes Shotgun Ganger 1 different from Shotgun Ganger 2?

For example, you could give your Long Rifle Champion the Overwatch skill to help control the board. When it comes to your Delaque leader, think about what role or range you want them to operate at, and pick gear and skills that support that.

You might find your credits go further if you invest in other equipment instead of Flak armor. Also, Auto Pistols tend to be better in close combat than Las Pistols, so your Nacht-Ghul could benefit from one—or even a Plasma or Flechette Pistol if you have the credits.

Of course, your play group may have its own preferences or meta, so it’s worth discussing what kind of campaign everyone wants. You don’t want to bring a knife to a gunfight!

Ultimately, this is your gang—play them in a way you find fun, regardless of my advice or anyone else's.

 

[quindraco]

Thank you so much! I understand all the recommendations. That really makes sense a lot. I adjusted the gang.
I'm really thankful for all the thoughts you put into your response. Now I got the feeling I'm not building too much nonsense, because I don't want to magnatize everything. The starting loadout should be fine and I feel like I now got some versatility in there. Thank you!

Some thoughts on the gang as it is now:

• You have 3 ghosts and 0 specialists, which makes no sense. Promote a ghost to a specialist.
• Flak armour is generally a waste of credits.
• Aschepetyr's equipment does not make any sense; they would make a lot more sense if you demoted them to a juve to save credits (they're barely using their BS and aren't using their WS, and want more M). It would also make sense to take their smoke grenade away and hand it to another juve. And as noted, just don't buy them flak.
• Hugon has no credible plan to hit anyone, ever, in any context. Kornelius is only slightly better. Recruitment Shadows are best with smoke grenades, template pistols, or paired pistols/melee that need to hit.
• You'll learn as you go, but psy-gheists are very bad. Jeedor, as built, is only really going to be able to contribute by throwing smoke grenades, and might as well be a juve for cheaper.
• You should do what you can to get Solon Serpent's Fangs. Aside from things like selling off your flak, you can sell off Solon's laspistol (and shivver sword, of course) to help cover the cost.
• Raynar has Faceless but hasn't got photo-goggles or an infra-sight and you brought smoke grenades in the gang, so when Raynar activates last, you may into issues with smoke being in the way.

Here's a gang summing up my points, based on yours. To make the whole thing work, I did also sell off Solon's mesh armour and replaced Harsh's shotgun with a lasgun to get some more credits. Olars now has a long rifle, but a shotgun has the same cost if you really want a shotgun there. Kornelius is intended to charge into melee and Jeedor is intended to shoot people at 6" away with both pistols at once, and they both have smoke grenades to throw on the approach. Aschepetyr has been demoted to juve, giving their flamer +1" of range, and I found the credits to make Hugon similarly a potent template threat. Solon can now kill just about anything they charge and Raynar doesn't mind smoke being in the way.