BCK's Necromunda Thread of Stuff

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Me and a friend are going to split a starter box soon and I seem to recall people saying the Eschers were at a pretty heavy disadvantage when the box was first released. Is this the case?

 

Also, any general tips and other stuff like gang building, good v bad weapons, etc. 

[Ranulf]

S'up Kage!

 

My .02 cents for what it's worth:

 

Pros:

• Cheap access to Lasguns, like really cheap - you pay for a Lasgun what others pay for Stub guns. Lasguns can later be upgraded with Hot-Shot Power Packs, giving them a stat-line very similar to Boltguns minus the Rapid Fire and 1 Damage but with an extra 6" of short-range accuracy. Plus, a Lasgun + Hotshot for Escher is less than half the cost of a Boltgun and has a better ammo roll. You can do the same with Laspistols, with only a small increase in initial cost.

• Toxins - it's not a game-changer, but making those wound rolls easier is nice, as a weapon with Toxin is effectively S4 in the broad strokes. Pre-nerf, Escher Juves with twin Stiletto Blades were dangerous, now they're just useful. Using Toxins in conjunction with the Chem-Synth wargear makes them deadly, but you're shelling out more creds and requiring and INT check to make it work.

• Gas - works in a similar way to Toxins but allows no armour save. Downside is that some wargear (Respirator, Filter Plugs) nerfs the effects of gas in a big way.

• Escher Juves are hella cheap, on par with Cawdor as the cheapest and start with WS 4+. Couple this with Toxin melee weapons to get around their S2 starting stat and they're good value.

• Movement value of 5" and great Initiative values means you can get around fast - if you're playing on a 3D table (as opposed to basic Zone Mortalis) it means you can leap gaps and jump down levels (more than 2") with a high chance of success. Some gangs (read: Goliath) just can't do that.

• The pairing of the aforementioned Initiative values with Agility skills makes for awesome results. Sprint (Agility) gets you where you need to go fast, Spring Up (Agility) allows to you avoid being pinned (massive advantage) and Step Aside (Combat) lets you ignore a successful hit in combat. Step Aside paired with weapons that Parry and the Parry skill can make you a PITA to deal with in melee.

 

Cons:

 

• House Escher has the worst Cool values of all the house Gangs. This a draw back when it comes to Nerve Tests and Bottle Tests - To mitigate the chances of failing the Bottle Test, a larger than average gang can help. However, more members in a gang means a higher likelihood that you'll have members within 3" of each other when somebody is seriously injured or taken out of action - meaning you'll have to take more Nerve Tests...

• A lack of ranged heavy weapons to start - there's only the Heavy Stubber. Not a huge disadvantage, but it robs you of the chance to kick off with a Heavy Bolter that is far more effective. 

• Nightshade Thrower is a badass looking weapon that has its uses, but is overpriced. Don't fall into the trap of starting two Champions with two Nightshades.

General advice with most gangs starting out is that boys girls are more useful than toys. If you load up 6 or 7 girls with all the toys, one bad game at the start of a campaign that lands a couple of fighters in recovery can sink you so bad you never recover. Numbers can help you absorb bad luck early on - something made easier with 55 credit Escher Gangers with Lasguns. (Just beware of Lasgun-spam hate )

 

That's what i've got for now, hopefully others can chime in. 

 

-Ran

 

  

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Thanks, Ranulf! Still not sure who is getting what gang out of the box but I'd like to have a go at the Eschers with some modeling ideas I have. Once I get the rules I'll go back over your tips, but one thing I definitely learned a long time ago playing marines is the more boots you have on the ground, the better. Since I have no idea what kind of purchasing mechanic there is for the gangs, would it be possible to put all 10 models on the table to start? More?

[Ranulf]

Best way to illustrate pre-rules would be a sample list based off the equipment included on sprue.

 

So, unimaginative and not all that exciting, but a solid starting list that puts 10 bodies on the table, along with the (starting max) 1 Leader and 2 Champions for taking Post-Battle actions. 

 

++ House Escher [995 Credits] ++

 
Leader [215 Credits]
Plasma Pistol, Power Sword
 
Champion [245 Credits]
"Nightshade" Chem-thrower, Chem-Synth
 
Champion [135 Credits]
Laspistol, Stiletto Sword
 
Ganger [55 Credits]
Lasgun
 
Ganger [55 Credits]
Lasgun
 
Ganger [55 Credits]
Lasgun

 

Ganger [55 Credits]
Lasgun
 
Ganger [80 Credits]
Shotgun
 
Juve [50 Credits]
Laspistol, Stiletto Knife
 
Juve [50 Credits]
Laspistol, Stiletto Knife

 

+++

 

Leader will need a Power Sword conversion or use a Stiletto Sword as 'Counts-as'. IIRC, everything else in is the box.

 

Nightshade Champion gets Chem-Synth to improve the lethality of her Gas Weapon. (useful if your main opponents are going to be T4 Goliaths)

 

Four Gangers with Lasguns to lay suppressing fire and try to pin enemy fighters while your Nightshade Champion and Shotgun Ganger moved together to close distance and the Leader, Melee Champion and Juves (x2) are an assault force.

 

Turns in 'munda are a model for model activation with the exception of Leaders (who can activate 2 others in 3") and Champions (who activate 1 other in 3") - With this in mind, your Leader runs with a Juve, (ablative armour) Melee Champion runs with a Juve, (ablative armour) Nightshade Champion runs with Shotgun Ganger (complimentary weapons)

 

You could group more together with your leader, but too many girls in a blob is just asking for template woes. Also, if the Juves get dropped, your Leader / Champions have a better chance to pass a Nerve Test given their relatively higher Cool attributes. (Read: Relatively)

 

One big downside with the above list is that it puts (ablative juves notwithstanding) your Leader and Champion(s) in harm's way - something that isn't great for your post-battle sequence if they get blasted or chopped to bits....

 

Overall, you could strip some of the elements out of the list to get more wargear OR more numbers in, but you'll obviously need another Escher box or sprue for it.

 

-Ran

 

 

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Thanks for the list! I will definitely have plenty of weapon bits for other options. Are shotguns worth taking in number? I have a lot from my GSC box. 

[Ranulf]

Shotguns are solid weapons even with the base ammo but the really cool stuff comes from additional ammo types - though you'll pay in credits for the privilege. Acid and Inferno shells have the Blaze rule - fighters who are subject to the Blaze condition (on-fire) suffer all manner of effects, the most amusing of which is a 2D6" forced move in a random direction - hilarity ensues if they pitch themselves off a ledge as a result. 

 

Escher gangs can take Acid Shells at startup, although they're painfully short ranged. Oh, and you get two Shotguns in the Escher Gang box.

 

The downside of Shotguns actually has nothing to do with the weapon itself, it's just that given the cost of Lasguns for Escher, a Shotgun costing six times as much with basic ammo just isn't as appealing - add in Acid Shells and it's a combo that costs nine times as much as a Lasgun!

 

That said, unless you're going ultra-competitive, I'd recommend taking one or two (basic ammo) and adding specialist ammo later on, it's just more fun than Las-Spam.

 

-Ran

Edited May 2, 2019 by Lord Ranulf

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Shotgun is six times as much as a lasgun? Dang. As for heavy weapons, is it feasible to start with one on either side? Speaking of the other side, any tips for the Goliaths?

[Ranulf]

A single heavy weapon is feasible in a starting gang, but trying to fit in two can compromise your starting numbers and general level of equipment.

 

Tips for Goliath - where to start. 

 

They can be a high-risk / high-reward gang in a campaign. Their greatest advantage is that everyone bar Juves start with S & T values of 4 - meaning the majority of weapons will be wounding them on a roll of 5+ and even unarmed, they hit hard in melee. (remembering that good armour saves are few and far between in 'munda) If they get a good start in a campaign and start making credits to expand on their base numbers and equipment, then they can quickly steamroll into a terrifying prospect to face.

 

The high-risk refers to how you start them - the big drawbacks to the gang are the high cost of fighters and equipment, the limited options in the box set and the ongoing issue of a  movement value of 4". It's very easy to tool up the fighters and end up with a gang size of 6 or 7 dudes to begin with - a couple of unlucky starting matches that see even 1 or 2 of your fighters go into recovery as a result of injuries (or even death) and you may end up so crippled that your gang never recovers. Also keep in mind that high toughness doesn't prevent them getting pinned - if you're outnumbered badly and you're constantly getting pinned by superior firepower, then you won't be advancing into melee.

 

Some bullet points:

• The Grenade Launcher is almost an auto-include - it's cheaper than most gangs and a reliable source of ranged firepower to help cover your advancing melee dudes. The question of who to put it on is debatable - giving it to a ganger frees up your champion to be geared for melee combat, while giving it to a champion allows you to keep him in cover and hopefully uninjured for the post-battle phase. 

• Brute Cleavers are devastating, if a little on the expensive side. The AP -1 will negate the armour save of most gangs and Disarm is nasty against dedicated melee opponents if you pull off a natural 6 when rolling to hit. Likewise with the Renderizer - put it on a Champion as his sole weapon and focus on hurting people badly face-to-face. Spud-Jackers are another respectable choice - cheaper than Brute Cleaver, hits harder and includes Knockback, though it loses the AP -1.

• The Krumper Rivet Cannon is garbage, leave it on the sprue. If you're that close you should be brutalising people in melee.

• High starting strength also means long range on grenades - and a melee-heavy gang really benefits from using Smoke Grenades.

• Great Cool values mean that even if your gang fails a Bottle Test, most of your guys will stick around to fight it out.

• Stimm-slug stash - used at the right time it can get you into combat faster and all but guarantee you're taking someone's head off. Downside is the cost, you're already paying a premium for everything and your melee fighters are already badass, so dropping 30 creds a fighter is mostly for the movement boost. I'd take more dudes first and think about getting this later.

• Poor movement and Initiative scores means that scaling 3D terrain is going to be a PITA for your boys.

-Ran

[Darnok]

Great advice for both gangs, almost tempts me to get another gang box.

[Toxichobbit]

It's worth considering taking Inspirational (I might have the wrong skill name, at work so can't check) on your Leader. It's a skill that lets nearby fighters use the Leader's Ld for cool tests, instead of their Cl. Given that your Leader's Ld is respectable and your gang's Cl is bad, IMO it's a good starting investment.

 

 

Leader will need a Power Sword conversion or use a Stiletto Sword as 'Counts-as'. IIRC, everything else in is the box.

 

 

The stiletto sword in the box is actually a power sword, so no counts-as needed.. I have no idea why GW decided to include 4 power swords for Escher, but they did. Luckily it takes nothing more than a little bit of filing to turn them into stiletto swords.

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

A single heavy weapon is feasible in a starting gang, but trying to fit in two can compromise your starting numbers and general level of equipment.

 

Good to know. I asked primarily because I saw this picture years ago and I've long since decided if I ever got into 'Munda and went with Eschers, I would have to make a heavy gunner. 

 

 

Thanks again for all the tips, and maybe you should make some threads on Strats/tips for all the gangs.

[Toxichobbit]

I was in no way influenced by that picture when creating my starting gang...

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

I can't see any resemblance. ;)

[Toxichobbit]

I'm in a similar position to you BCK, except I'm doing both Goliath and Escher, as I was the one in my gaming group to grab the box set. Here's the two starter gangs I've come up with, alongside explanations where relevant. Neither of these gangs can be built straight out of the box. Both use at least one FW upgrade set and the Goliath's also use extra stub guns. Hopefully though, this might give you some insight into starting a Goliath or Escher gang, though I'm playing in a campaign and my gangs are not designed for efficiency or competitiveness, but rather cool factor and lore friendly with reasonaly effective loadouts.

 

Escher

 

Leader - 215 credits

Plasma pistol, power sword, flak armour.

Inspirational.

 

As explained above, I went with Inspirational in order to somewhat negate the low Cl of other gang members. Escher's Cl is awful, but their Ld is actually pretty good, especially on the Leader. Hopefully the Leader can keep a few people in the fight when otherwise they'd have done a runner. Even better would be the Necromunda team actually finding more use for the other mental skills and not putting 90% of the important stuff as Cl related . Topic for another time though.

 

Chamption - 130 credits

Laspistol, shock whip, flak armour.

Spring Up.

 

Fairly basic melee armament. I went with the shock whip because it looks cool and I wanted one of my ladies to be wielding one. Actually, I want one of my ladies to be wielding two, but that's really impractical. Laspistol is a decent and reliable basic sidearm. Spring Up allows her to use her fantastic I as a "save" against being pinned.

 

Champion - 225 credits

Heavy stubber, flak armour.

Dodge.

 

You already know why I took her . Dodge is to add a little extra survivability. Step Aside is actually a much better survivability increase for Escher, but only works in melee and I would like to avoid that as much as possible with her.

 

Ganger - 55 credits

Lasgun, flak armour.

 

Ganger- 55 credits

Lasgun, flak armour.

 

These two are for pinning enemy models. Lasguns aren't amazing for taking people out, but they are good for forcing enemies to be pinned and reducing their options.

 

Ganger - 85 credits

Needle rifle, flak armour.

 

My one ganger with a special weapon. She's there to support my heavy stubber Champion and provide some more really long range, accurate(ish) firepower. She'll be getting a chem-synth asap.

 

Ganger - 85 credits

Laspistol, chainsword, flak armour.

 

Chanswords are cool. I'm not sure whether she'll run with the leader or shock whip champion yet, or if she'll range out on her own.

 

Ganger - 95 credits

Needle pistol, stiletto knife, flak armour.

 

I liked the idea of a close range toxin/poinson ganger. Fits with the Escher theme and looks cool. Stiletto knives aren't the best melee weapon, as Toxin is literally the only thing they bring to the table (no str bonus, AP, accuracy modifier etc), so she'll mainly be using her pistol, only using the knife if she gets stuck in melee or when the pistol inveitably runs out of ammo.

 

Juve - 25 credits

Stub gun.

 

To accompany my Leader and give her some protection. She's actually modelled with 2 stub guns, but my gaming group are fine with starting gangs having extra equipment modelled on them for later upgrades as long as it isn't too egregious and we get the upgrades asap. Stub guns are good on Escher Juves because they give the option for Dum Dum Rounds, which helps increase their Str at range and in melee, and they're really cheap. As Lord Ranulf noted, stiletto weapons are also good for Escher Juves becuase they effectively bypass their low Str in melee. I'll be adding a stiletto knife to her later.

 

Juve - 30 credits

Autopistol.

 

Autopistols aren't quite as cheap as stub guns, but allow for a spray and pray approach which helps mitigate the bad BS of Juves. They're probably not as good as stun guns for Juves but I wanted variety. She's modelled with a stiletto sword, which will be her first upgrade. She'll be going in alongside my shock whip champion.

 

Upgrade wise I'm first going to go with fully equipping the Juves, so a second stub gun, dum dum rounds and a stiletto sword. I might grab flak armour for them too, in order to give them a bit of defense. Chen-synths on the two toxin ladies will be next, then after that another ganger with either a shotgun or autogun. The autogun is more expensive than a lasgun, so I wouldn't take multiple, but I like variety and play with a group that are on the same page as me so I don't have to worry about the most efficient builds. Autoguns are better for getting actual damage output, though they really need to be used at medium/close range, where as lasguns work better at longer ranges. So it's not a case of the lasgun being better than the autogun by default. The reason lasgun spam happens with Escher is because they're in the cheapest weapon bracket in the game for them, but autoguns are still the standard price that everyone pays.

 

I'll add the Goliath in the next post.

Edited May 4, 2019 by Toxichobbit

[Toxichobbit]

Goliath

 

I could only fit 9 fighters in this gang. I could have made compromises on weaponry to get another Juve, but I really wanted some of the more expensive, powerful guns.

 

Leader - 210 credits

Plasma/stub combi-pistol, chainsword, furnace plate armour.

Commanding Presence

 

The weapon loadout is chosen to allow my Leader to do a bit of everything at close range. He's got devent shots (plasma), reliable shots (stub) and can fight well in melee with a Parry (chainsword). Plus the Goliath chainsword looks vicious. I took Commanding Presence to let him activate a third fighter when he activates and help to mitigate only having one Champion in the starting gang.

 

Champion - 180 credits

"Renderizer" serrated axe, shotgun, furnace plate armour.

Fearsome

 

I love the model for this guy, so had to include him in my starting gang. He's completely unsubtle - his only purpose is to blast or chop whatever is in front of him. I took Fearsome on him because looking at the model, he should cause fear (big serrated axe, skulls hanging from his belt, full face mask). Nerves of Steel would have been a better choice, but I just couldn't bring myself to sacrifice how fitting Fearsome was. I'm sure I'll regret that when he's pinned and can't get in to use his axe. The shotgun should help at least.

 

Ganger - 130 credits

Combat shotgun, fighting knife, furnace plate armour.

 

This is the guy I'd make equipment sacrifices on to fit in a third Juve. I decided against it though, because the Goliath combat shotgun looks awesome and is brutal up close. The compromise for such an expensive gun was only taking a fighting knife as his melee weapon. On the plus side, the knife it looks cool. I sourced an unsheathed fighting knife (one of the original Necro ones that came on metal sprues) for this guy as the Goliath gang only comes with sheathed ones. It's easy enough to find knives, I think everyone on this board probably has some spare.

 

Ganger - 80 credits

Stub cannon, furnace plate armour.

 

Ganger - 80 credits

Stub cannon, furnace plate armour.

 

These two are basic guys to make up the numbers. They're pretty decent in short ranged firefights because the stub cannon hits really damn hard.

 

Ganger - 95 credits

Two-handed hammer, furnace plate armour.

 

This guy will be going in with the leader, to add some more heavy hitting in melee. Also, the FW two handed hammer paired with the knuckle dusters looks amazing.

 

Ganger - 130 credits

Grenade launcher, brute cleaver, furnace plate armour.

 

Ranged support guy. Grenade launchers are cheaper for Goliath's than for other gangs (except Orlocks maybe?) so most gangs include at least one. They're also good, versatile weapons. Frag terrifies groups of enemies, while krak is good for putting damage on stuff you might not want to get into melee with, like Brutes. The brute cleaver is a bad pick on him, it's an expensive melee weapon on a guy who won't see much melee. But it just fitted so well with the pose that I ran with it. I might actually look into cutting the fighting knife arm off the combat shotgun ganger and swapping it with the brute cleaver arm on this guy, if the poses fit, because that would make much more sense gaming wise.

 

Juve - 45 credits

Stub gun, fighting knife, dum dum rounds.

 

Juve - 45 credits

Stub gun, maul, dum dum rounds.

 

Two Juves to accompany my Leader and Champion. The dum dum rounds aren't needed, I just used them to spend my last 10 credits. If I wanted to re-organise the gang they'd be dropped along with the combat shotgun to fit in a 10th guy.

 

As you can see, I've definitely made some compromises to efficiency for the sake of coolness with this gang. I know it's not the best and I'm cool with that. I found it harder to make the Goliath gang than the Escher because the basic cost of fighters is so much higher. It's tricky to balance the number of guys you have with some nice toys. Also, I build the models for this gang without looking at the weapon stats (though I did obviously check credit costs) and just guessed the approximate efficiency of weaponry, bulding mainly for looks. In that respect though, the gang is a success because they look awesome, even if they aren't painted yet .

 

For upgrades I'll be saving up for a second Champion, this time armed with a heavy bolter. There's not much in the way of extra equipment modelled on these guys that I haven't paid for, unlike the Escher. Just the odd knife, respirator or grenades on their belts. The Champion is going to be very expensive, so I haven't considered anything beyond him yet.

Edited May 4, 2019 by Toxichobbit

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Thanks for the lists and glimpse into your thinking for these. Not knowing too much about the game yet, I'm wondering how good the Eschers would be against the big guys in melee. Could a melee leader reasonably stand against a Goliath leader?

 

Also, I'm now seriously considering making this guy a hired gun. 

 

[Toxichobbit]

I love him. Honestly wouldn't care what you use him as, as long as you use him :D.

 

A word on hired guns though - unless your group uses house rules, they're .... well bad is the politest thing I can say about them. Bounty Hunters are useable, though can still just be a waste of credits (literally, if you're really unlucky you'll drop a ton of credits on them and they'll leave the gang before you even get to use them) but Hive Scum are just awful.

 

Also, his melee weapon will be a servo claw, as power fists aren't a thing in Necromunda (yet...).

 

Escher are perfectly capable of taking down Goliath in melee, but Goliath are definitely more survivable. Better toughness, better save (you have to flank them to reduce their armour save). So with an Escher leader vs a Goliath leader, she'd have a decent chance against him if she can ge the charge and take him out quickly. If the fight goes on for a round or two though, or the Goliath gets the charge, my money is on the big guy. The best bet would be to use the Escher's superior speed and long range firepower to pin down the Goliaths as much as possible and take them out one by one. If you try to match them one on one, it's not going to go well because they can just use their superior survivability and hitting power to overwhelm you.

[Brother Dallo]

Oh yeah, that guy.

 

I still think he looks like Brick from Borderlands.

 

I still think that's a good thing. :p

 

Looking forward to seeing you get into Necromunda.

 

Dallo

[Stoic Raptor]

I still think he looks like Brick from Borderlands.

 

I still think that's a good thing.

 

"And you, beef stick in the back... I'm not going to make fun of you. Your burps smell of blood, and you growl like a rabid animal."

 

He looks great!  Kage, I really want to see him painted up.

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

I was gifted an Orlock gang box today so maybe that converted figure could be an Orlock leader. And speaking of Orlocks, any tips for them?

 

*edit*

 

I also think there might be more GS beards in my immediate future - not unlike this one. 

 

[Darnok]

I may or may not have purchased a Goliath box some minutes ago. My FLGS had it at 48% off - so 17€ instead of the usual 32,50€ - and I just could not resist.

 

All the advice in here will be put to good use soon!

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Nice!

[Rockythedog]

I just recently got the box set, so when I come to build the gangs, do I want to be looking at magnetising for different load outs?

Doe the gangs members load outs stay static, and the changes come with bringing in extra gangers, or can they change kit between games etc.

[Toxichobbit]

I was gifted an Orlock gang box today so maybe that converted figure could be an Orlock leader. And speaking of Orlocks, any tips for them?

 

I don't know much about Orlocks, but I do know that the box set comes with a considerable number of combat shotguns that you probably won't want. My friend who did Orlocks converted some of them up to be normal shotguns, because the price is much more reasonable (especially for Orlocks), shotguns are good and the FW Orlock shotgun is ... weird. It looks like it has a pump over and under the barrel, which is something I've never seen before. Is that even a thing, or was someone at FW just feeling fruity. Anyway, I'll see if I can get him to bring them over for our Necro games tonight and get a photo for you.

 

I may or may not have purchased a Goliath box some minutes ago. My FLGS had it at 48% off - so 17€ instead of the usual 32,50€ - and I just could not resist.

 

All the advice in here will be put to good use soon!

 

Goliath are good fun to build, but I'd suggest getting some more weapon options than the basic box. If you're ok re-posing though you can get some really nice looking models.

 

I just recently got the box set, so when I come to build the gangs, do I want to be looking at magnetising for different load outs?

Doe the gangs members load outs stay static, and the changes come with bringing in extra gangers, or can they change kit between games etc.

 

Ok, so it's a bit more complex than that.

 

For campaign play:

 

Load outs are static to a degree. Weapons cannot be removed from a fighter, you can only add more weapons. So whatever weapons you give your starting gang, they're keeping. A fighter can carry up to three weapons, though some weapons count as two. There's no way to bypass that rule, even with skills/equipment that allows two handed weapons to be used one handed (Bulging Biceps, Suspensors). Equipment can be freely removed from fighters (I think - need to check) and at least in our group, we don't worry about staying WYSIWIG with equipment, only weapons. Most fighters get a selection of pouches, grenades, backpacks, respirators and other random gear modelled on, but might not have that exact equipment during a campaign as it would be super restrictive and nobody in our group bothers to crouch down and check what type of grenades are on a models belt before making decisions in game - they just ask their opponent instead (much easier).

 

The exception to this is Leaders and Champions. They can have multiple loadouts. though those loadouts are individually static. So for example, in my Escher gang above I have a leader with a plasma pistol and power sword. If I wanted to give her different weapons, I'd build a new loadout for her with those different weapons. What you're doing is changing the loadout, not changing individual weapons, so it's not a case of swaping out the plasma pistol for a boltgun and calling it good. I'd need to build a new loadout where some or all of the weapons were different, which in turn means I need a new model to represent that new loadout and I need to fill in a new referance card for the Leader. When I played a campaign game, I could use either of the two loadouts for my Leader by simply picking the relevant card and model for that game (either by chosing, or randomly, depending on scenario).

 

I'm not sure about one off games/competitive, because we only ever play campaign.

 

When it comes to magnetising, I'd only make the effort if I wanted to have different loadouts for my Leader and Champions. I wouldn't bother magnetising the Gangers and Juves, because their weapons won't change. I also probably wouldn't magnetise Escher, because that'd just be too fiddly. Goliaths I might consider magnetising (If I hadn't converted most of them, which involved pinning and sculpting).

[Stoic Raptor]

I found some plastic MkIII Marine sprues in a second-hand bin - I grabbed it as an inexpensive opportunity to get some of the more esoteric weapon options for converting Goliaths.  An under-slung heavy bolter, chainswords, boltguns, a plasma gun and meltagun, a plasma pistol and bolt pistol, a power sword, power hammer and two power fists... haven't used any of it yet but it's full of potential.