Project Log Flashheart's Scurriers - Master Ciaphas' Van Saar gang

[Master Ciaphas]

Hail!

 

This is my first foray into the Underhive - so be nice! :-)

 

A group of friends of mine have decided to start a Necromunda campaign - and naturally, I would not be left out of the fun. Back in the 90's I had my heart dead set on Van Saar, but never got around to getting into the game. Flash-forward to 2019, and I get the chance to redeem on that ancient desire. Added to that, I managed to get a fine deal on a gang along with their dice and tactic cards, my fate was sealed, and I got a Van Saar gang!

 

Now, the question is, what shall I do with them?

 

First up, the games we will be playing will be both Zone Mortalis as well as Sector Mechanicum. I think most of the games, though, will be Sector Mechanicum.

 

Secondly, the other players will be House Orlock, House Delaque and House Cawdor. Once in a while, there might be rare showings of House Goliath and Escher, too, as two of the other players have these as well.

 

Thirdly, with that in mind - how should a complete and utter Newbie equip the basic GW gang box of Van Saars? I would, in time, be willing to buy one of the Forge World extra sets, of either Weapon Set 1, 2 or the Shield Set.

 

What would a nice sample list look like, that would not be full of traps and dead-ends, but that might give good, enjoyable games?

 

I was thinking something along the lines of:

 

Alucard Flashheart - Leader

- Bodyglove, Mesh Armour

 

Champion

- Bodyglove, Mesh Armour

 

Champion

- Bodyglove, Mesh Armour

 

Specialist

- Bodyglove, Mesh Armour

 

Ganger

Ganger

 

Ganger

 

Ganger

Juve

 

I would like to have an energy shield or two, solely because they look like fantastic...but are they worth it?

 

Cheers for any and all advice! I commence building the first of the gang this weekend (perhaps listening to Morrissey's "First of the Gang"...)

 

Faithfully,

Master Ciaphas

[Reyner]

Here is my Van Saar Gang:

https://yaktribe.games/underhive/gang/hauser%27s_half-lifers.10186/

 

I haven't played yet (campaign starts next month!) but I have avoided Heavy Weapons so I could start with a bigger gang and not used Overseer as it's pretty boring. To make your leader really tanky you could go with the energy shield and a plasma pistol. 

[Master Ciaphas]

Hail!

Thank you for the inspiration, Reyner!

 

I was mucking about on YakTribe, and I came up with this seven man gang of miscreants, cheats and ne'er-do-wells, whose moral compasses are borrowed from Archer:  https://yaktribe.games/underhive/gang/flasheart%27s_scurriers.59129

 

There are still about 50 creds left over for toys.

 

I thought about going the Overseer route for my leader, as that seems very effective - but the rule of cool would point to him having an Energy Shield, Mesh Armour and a Plasma Pistol.

 

Any thoughts on the gang before I start assembly is very much appreciated!

 

Faithfully,

Master Ciaphas

Edited July 10, 2019 by Master Ciaphas

[Reyner]

For some reason the link is directing me to an Escher gang made up of Disney Princesses haha! Necromunda is all about Rule of Cool so I would have the leader rock the shield and plasma pistol and whatever skill takes your fancy. Overseer is really broken if you combine it with a fast shot plasma gunner who can fire 4 times or it's other use is to have a heavy weapon champion be able to move up and then activate again to fire the heavy weapon - but once you have a Suspensor on that heavy weapon it's not as useful (unless it lets you fire a Multi Melta twice which would be horrifying!)

 

 

edit: originally I had my Suppression Laser champion rocking a Radgun so he could do a double move and fire it with no aim debuff as it was a template :D but I moved some points around for the Juve and downgraded the Radgun to Suppression Laser. 

Edited July 10, 2019 by Reyner

[Master Ciaphas]

Hail!

 

Hah - cheers; fair enough - I have fixed the link! Now it actually directs to my gang!

 

 

 

Faithfully,

Master Ciaphas

[Reyner]

Looks good

[Master Ciaphas]

Hail!

 

Excellent, cheers! I will see what can be done; I think I might start by assembling two Van Saar gangers with humble lasguns this weekend, and then painting them up with a test scheme. I am thinking grey fatigues with dark green armour plating?

 

Also, I was actually introduced to the game Sunday. We had a blast playing the basic Tutorial Mission and the first skirmish scenario: Tunnel Skirmish. I got the Goliaths, whilst my opponent got House Escher.

 

The first game was like this:

 

 

And ended shortly after this:

 

As the last two Eschers were blown apart. Quick and very brutal. 

 

We then tried the first "proper" scenario, and I continued with the Goliaths. It turned into another grim and brutal affiair, with my opponent capitulating middle of turn three, as he had two gangers Out of Action, two gangers Seriously Injured (one of which was his Champion) and two gangers pinned - and he had failed his bottle test. That game looked like this:

 

 

 

And ended here, "Splitter" Korg ready with his shot-gun to take out a number of hurting Eschers:

 

Good fun (though alas mostly for me), but these two opening games were horribly unbalanced. Are Eschers just plain worse, or was it the fault of faulty GW mission writing?

 

Faithfully,
Master Ciaphas

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

One of the complaints about the starter box is that the Eschers are severe underdogs unless you cheese out on poison weapons vs Goliaths. 

[Toxichobbit]

The boxed game gangs are, like BC Kage said, horribly balanced. Escher are good, but one on one they're no match for a Goliath (that applies to other gangs too). However Goliath are expensive, so in starting gangs they tend to either have less fighters and/or less equipment than other gangs. The boxed game gangs though are equal size and the Goliath are (I think) better equipped). Strength and Toughness 4 are huge advantages, so if everything else is equal the Goliath are better. They do have their weaknesses though, including a fear of spiders.

 

On another note, you've got a Specialist in your starting gang. You can't do that - a Specialist is a Ganger who's got a specific result on the advancement table which has, in turn, given him access to the full range of skills and advancements similar to your Leader, Champions and Juves. What you can do is take one Ganger in your starting gang with a special weapon, which might be what you mean by Specialist? If so, they're still a Ganger, just with a better gun than everyone else.

[Master Ciaphas]

Hail!

 

Thanks for your comments! I am actually very excited to start putting my Van Saars together this weekend!

 

As for the starting gang (and I was thinking more along the lines of campaign, than one-offs), I was mucking about on YakTribe and came up with the following:

 

Alucard Flashheart - Leader

- Bodyglove, Mesh Armour, Plasma Pistol, Energy Shield. Skill: Mentor

 

"Dutch" Vanderbilt - Champion

- Bodyglove, Mesh Armour, Combi Las/Plasma. Skill: Fast Shot

 

Heynrich Van Saar - Champion

- Bodyglove, Mesh Armour, Las-carbine. Skill: Fixer

 

Bastyaen - Ganger

- Bodyglove, Mesh Armour, Lasgun

 

Clement - Ganger

- Bodyglove, Mesh Armour, Lasgun

 

Goedkin - Ganger

- Bodyglove, Mesh Armour, Lasgun

 

Leenaert - Ganger

- Bodyglove, Mesh Armour, Lasgun

 

A grand total of seven bodies, not a lot, I gather, but there is still some 50 credits left over. Is this even a viable starting build, or will it get hammered and thrashed by a starting gang of Delaques and Orlocks? What should the last 50 creds be spent on? I am thinking more toys.. or perhaps a juve with twin las pistols?

 

Faithfully,

Master Ciaphas

[Reyner]

Another body can't hurt grab a Juve :)

[Darnok]

Whenever I read "Bodyglove", I think of this:

 

http://i.imgur.com/KeYSnf6.jpg?1

 

 

Sorry.

[Master Ciaphas]

Heh

 

Alucard Flashheart would agree with you! But then again - he is a cheeky one :-)

[Master Ciaphas]

Hail!

 

Well - I have managed to pick up a box of Van Saars on the cheap, and have spent yesterday and today assembling them. Hot darn they are fiddly! And worst of all, there is no las/plasma combi weapon in the starting box - so I guess I will have to invest in the Forge World Weapons Set #1. 

 

Here a few pictures of the humble beginnings!

 

 

 

Faithfully,

Master Ciaphas

[Reyner]

Proper fiddly aren't they? :D these look good at least Weapon Pack #1 gets you a Plasma Cannon aswell 

[Master Ciaphas]

Cheers!

 

Indeed - Weapons Pack #1 does seem to include a plasma cannon. It is odd, however, that the description of Weapons Pack #2 is the same as #1, even though there clearly are different weapons in the pack. Just sloppiness from the FW Web Maintenance grots, I suppose.

 

As with the models, I have made some wee progress on them, and expect to be done with the bases tonight. I am opting for a worn, off-white scheme, as I think that will contrast nicely with the black armoured bodyglove and dark green armour plates look, that I am going for. With regards to eye lenses and optics - which do you all suppose would work best - white-ish blue or glowy red?

 

Regards,

Master Ciaphas

[Reyner]

Whitish blue I'd say :) 

[Master Ciaphas]

Yeah, that is also what I am most partial to!

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Orangey red would also work - why don't you try both on different models to see which you like better, and then repaint the one you like less?

[Master Ciaphas]

Hail!

 

This thread seems to have been neglected by me. That said, I have actually managed to get in my first "real" game of Necromunda. I played my Van Saar gang against an Orlock gang. I fielded the following stout-hearted folks:

 

Leader w. plasma pistol, mesh armour, armoured bodyglove, energy shield. Trait: Overseer

Champion w. plasma gun, mesh armour, armoured bodyglove. Trait: Fast Shot

Champion w. lascarbine, , mesh armour, armoured bodyglove. Trait: Munitioneer

 

Ganger w. lasgun, mesh armour, armoured bodyglove.

Ganger w. lasgun, flak armour, armoured bodyglove.

Ganger w. lasgun, armoured bodyglove.

Ganger w. lasgun, armoured bodyglove.

 

Juve w. twin laspistols, armoured bodyglove

 

We played the Zone Mortalis mission: Tunnel Skirmish. I won the priorty roll and started with my leader and champions in the center, while trying a flanking move with two gangers and the juve. 

 

 

The leader and the remainder of the gang held the center, while a ganger was sent to loot a cache in the middle. Obviously the reason why we were all there.

 

The Orlocks made a very good showing, and their Leader proved a monster with his combat shot gun. 

 

In the end, my gang bottled out, as I had one ganger out of action, and another four seriously injured. Three of them injured by the Orlock Leader. Brrrr. 

 

 

My champion with the plasma gun earned the nickname "Lucky", as she managed to only become flesh wounded, despite being fired at by a harpoon cannon and several autoguns througout the game. Luckily, my opponent could not hit the side of a barn. In the end I still managed to squeeze out a win, as I OOA his harpoon champion and a ganger, and only had a a ganger OOA before I bottled. Had we been playing a campaign game, however, I think I would have been the one worse off, as with four gangers seriously injured and one killed, I would be massively crippled for the following games?

 

After the game, I was inspired to finish off painting my 8 man (m/f)  gang and promptly set to it. Here was the following result:

 

 

 

I still have two gangers unpainted - one will be given a plasma cannon (yes, I have bought the FW weapon upgrade kit) and another will be given a combi las/plasma. Before that happens, however, I need to make a mold so that I can cast another or two more of the combi-las/plasma, as I certainly want the option to field more of them. That also means, that I will be buying a second box of Van Saars, as I want to be able to have all the "fun" weapons available - funnies such as the rad-gun, grav-gun, flamers etc. I might even do a close-combat specialist with a servo-claw and shield or a shock stave and shield. Just because it looks cool.

 

Cheers!

 

Master Ciaphas

Edited February 7, 2020 by Master Ciaphas

[Master Ciaphas]

Hail!

 

So, besides painting a lot of armour trim on a Warlord Titan, I have also assembled the next reinforcements for my Van Saar gang. This time the more expensive options of a gravgun, a plasma cannon and a twin-plasma pistol. Awesome models, that I am looking forward to painting. With these three assembled, I still have another nine left to do. 

 

 

I know that one will be assembled with a meltagun - and that at least two will be given combi-las/plasma guns. That still leaves another six up for equipment - and I would very much like some input and advice. 

 

As for the total of my remaining 12 gangers (incl. those I assembled yesterday),  I am thinking the following:

 

- juve with las sub-carbine & servo-claw

- ganger/champion w. 2 x plasma pistol

- ganger w. combi-las/plasma & energy shield

- ganger w. combi-las/plasma

- ganger w. meltagun

- ganger w. plasma cannon

- ganger w. gravgun

 

That still leaves five to have fun with. I have the FW Weapon Pack #1 to play with (and am making a model of the las/plasma gun) - and in total two plastic boxes of Van Saar Gangers. So what would be your advice for kitting them out? I think with the above that I have plenty for casual skirmish games - but as the meat and blood of Necromunda is in the campaign system, I would rather "future proof" the last five for campaign upgrades - and I would love some advice in that regard!

 

Cheers and thanks in advance!

 

/Master Ciaphas

[Master Ciaphas]

Hail!

 

So, yet again a little post in this thread. Yesteday I had another game of Necromunda, this time the first game in a new campaign: "The Becca Passage"; a Dominion campaign arbitrated by a friend of mine. I played against his Promethium Council from House Orlock. 

 

Set-up (center)

 

Set-up (my left flank)

 

Promethium Council

 

We played Mission 1: Tunnel Skirmish which me as the attacker and Orlocks as defender (not that that made a difference). With his nine vs. my eight gangers, he out-activated me. The terrain forced us into a stand-off, as both hid behind terrain and doors, until my champion Heynrich Van Saar opened up the ball and everybody started shooting. 

 

 

When the smoke cleared, I had OOA an Orlock Champion and a ganger, whilst seriously injuring a juve and having put two flesh wounds on his other champion (wielding a terrifying harpoon cannon-thing) and a flesh wound on another ganger. In return I had only suffered a single flesh wound on a champion. All in all, the Dice Gods favoured me greatly, as throughout the entire game I only had to make one (1) armour save (which I failed), but still. The Orlocks could not hit a barn door, and when they did, they did not wound. 

 

Post-game my leader ended up with 6 XP, my plasma gun champion with 4 XP, my las carbine champion with 2XP. I also got a grand sum of 80 credits and +3 Reputation. All in all, not too shabby start for the most suave of the suave gangs in the Underhive :-)

 

Next I think I have to finish painting a few more gangers - in essence the three I have posted above. Sadly, I have completely forgotten the paint recipe I have used for the green bits...so I hope I will be able to match it again, so that it does not look too far off!

 

Kindly,

Master Ciaphas

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Congratulations on your victory!

[Master Ciaphas]

Cheers and thanks. I am still very much a newbie, so I have no idea what I am to focus on - but I have realised, that being out-activated is not a good thing! 

[Master Ciaphas]

Right then. It is on! On Sunday I will be pitting my Flashheart's Scurriers against the vile, underhanded scum of House Delaque. My opponent will be fielding this gang:

https://yaktribe.games/underhive/gang/the_silent_serpents.101280/

 

And mine, for the record, look like this:

https://yaktribe.games/underhive/gang/flashheart%27s_scurriers.59129/

 

We will be playing in a Sector Mechanicus battlefield, rather than a Zone Mortalis, as I only have SecMec terrain and no ZM. With that in mind, I am particularly worried about the fact that the Delaques have longer reach on their weapons, which hit as well or better than me. 

 

Any advice on how to tackle the Delaque scum? (and this campaign does not use Tactic Cards; instead each gang is provided 2 re-rolls pr. battle).

 

Cheers in advance!

 

Faithfully,

Master Ciaphas