Necromunda Skirmish Thoughts
- Nicholas Smith
- 2 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Greetings, one and all,
Now that I've had a few days to compose myself and think about the new necromanda reveal, I'd like to share some thoughts and hopeful speculations about what the next edition might bring.
First Impressions
I think, like many people, when I first saw that Necromunda was getting a new edition, I had a mix of feelings ranging from excitement, to trepidation, to “oh my god, my entire collection is now null and void”. But after a little thought, soul-searching, and several glasses of whiskey, I've concluded that this new edition isn't a bad thing. And I'll spend the next few hundred words explaining why I believe Necromunda Skirmish isn't a bad thing.
A Vast and Expansive World
The current edition of Necromanda must be a daunting experience for new players to approach. Yes, as we all know, you only really need the core rulebook and the “House of -” book for your gang to get started, but if you really want to get into the expansive world of Necromunda and play as many of the campaigns as possible, then you are looking at buying as many as 19 different books, as well as over a dozen PDFs and, for those truly dedicated, well over 350 unique gang tactics cards.
For new players who really want the full Necromunda experience, that is a huge financial expense which puts it beyond most people. But with a new edition, these players can get in on the ground level, with all the expenses able to be spread out over many years, making it far more manageable and hopefully encouraging more players to take up the game.
Availability
Okay, let's not beat around the Bush here. Gamesworkshop has never been particularly good at keeping Necromander products in stock. (At the moment I'm currently trying to organise a campaign, and the number of problems we're having getting hold of basic stuff like rulebooks is making it rather difficult…. Though I guess now we know why.)
Now, this might be a fool's hope, but with a new edition, hopefully Gamesworkshop will increase the availability of Necromunda models and products, which I think we can all agree is a win-win for us all.
So I'm going to split the next two seconds into predictions and hopes. The main reason for this is that predictions are things I'm pretty certain are going to be in the next edition, though I have no insider information, while hopes are just a list of things that I would like to see in the game, but have no evidence to support that they will be.
Predictions
My predictions for the next edition will be that Specialists play a much bigger role in gangs, much like they already do for the Van Saar Tech Hunters, whose Specialists have even more specialised roles eg. (Augurtech, Bioteknist, Gunntek and Teknomat) I think this is a pretty solid prediction.
Looking at the new gangs, each seemed to have a model that is more specialised, such as the medic models we see in both gangs as just an example. But I think this is a bit of a double edged sword, because while at the moment Specialists are just Gangers that can carry another special weapon for the gang (for my gang normally a grenade launcher), allowing more firepower to be brought to games, if the Specialists evolve into being medics, marksmen, techies and the like, while this will bring more options into games it also starts to feel less like a bunch of Underhive scum fighting each other, and starts to feel more like actual organised and trained squads. And we already have a game for that… It’s called Killteam.
Things I’m Hoping For
Okay, as I've just come off of reading a lot of the early 2000s Necromunda novels, (Survival Instinct and Bad Zone, in case anyone's interested), I'd love to see some of the more weird and wacky things from those books coming to the fore. Three factions/gangs/monsters? which have more or less completely disappeared in this edition are the Ratskins, Plague Zombies and Scavvys. Now, I fully understand why Ratskins might be considered controversial, given their clear cultural appropriation of Native Americans, so I do believe Gamesworkshop is probably correct in omitting them from the games (bar Scabby of course). However, that doesn't excuse why Plague Zombies and Scavvys have disappeared. Bring them back. The Plague Zombies would l make a brilliant PVE scenario, while the Scrags could make a very interesting gang, given the range of mutations and wyrd powers they display.
Final Thoughts
Like any time a new edition is announced, It's natural to feel wronged, apprehensive and angry. These are all valid human emotions. We do not like change, especially when that change involves something we love. Personally, though, I am going to buy the new edition. I’m very interested in seeing where the game developers have taken my beloved Necromunda. But I will still be playing this current edition for many years to come. I still have a couple of gangs and campaigns that I've not played yet, and I really want to play a gang of Beastmen all equipped with frenzon collars and chain axes at some point.
As a final aside, I'd like to offer some advice. Don't listen to the rumours and the fear mongers. I have seen some truly preposterous suggestions that I won't list here for fear of spreading misinformation further.
Until next time, I'll see you all in the Underhive.
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