Necromunda New Edition

[Madao]

12 minutes ago, Lord Marshal said:

Pre-orders next week. That means if you're a youtuber you've got a week left to get ready to tell us why your favourite game you never played, painted nor talked about before has been ruined forever.

The first rule of Necromunda is you don't talk about Necromunda

Edited July 26 by Madao

[jaxom]

There's a solid core of YouTube channels for Necromunda content, but I think it's an entirely different Algorithm culture compared to "mainstream" GW product coverage. It's kind of like how there's a thriving 2ed battle report community on YouTube which you won't find from watching Let's Play videos by tournament champions and people who occasionally get mentioned in a WarCom article.

 

Off the top of my head, I don't remember any Necromunda channel I've seen do a "Thank you for sending me this product, GW."

[Silvereyes]

I was going to say, I find it weird how quiet they've been about this, the only stuff besides the announcement being a few questions answered during that Q&A video. Would of thought they'd at least do like a weekly article slowly showing off what's changed and what's new etc. Guess we'll get a slew of articles over the next week talking about stuff. Not to mention we should get the Goonhammer review on Saturday as well.

 

The plastic tokens does seem to suggest that we might be losing some of the more esoteric status conditions, like webbed, gassed etc? But does confirm we've still got fire and insanity. And looks like wounds and flesh wounds are still a thing. Interesting that they are now doing 50mm Necromunda bases. Are there many Necromunda models that use that base size? Perhaps a hint for something in the future? 

 

I will definitely be getting the books at the very least. I may even just pick up the core set, and sell off the Goliath and Escher models since I would want everything else in that box.

 

I don't know, I am quietly hopeful. I think Necromunda could benefit from a refresh. But I am also aware that there will probably be some kind of GW nonsense here as well.

[Castigator]

The pricing is almost reasonable (for GW).

Core Set - £98

All Books - £32.50 each.

Campaign and Scenario Cards - £23.50

Core Gang Tactics Cards - 13.50

Factoria Pipes - £36

Gang Crews - £57

 

Add in a bit of discount and it's certainly an affordable entry for a GW game.

[Lord_Ikka]

Pretty much what I expected from the gang crews box; basically the regular gang box, the specialist box, and a weapons upgrade sprue. Not bad. If the price for US is under 90, that's a good way to get a very decent starter/mid-campaign gang for anyone. I'm looking at a Delaque box at minimum, they're the only gang that I want that I don't have at the moment, and the Goliaths for a "gotta-have-them-all" roundup. 

[Nephaston]

2 hours ago, Lord_Ikka said:

Pretty much what I expected from the gang crews box; basically the regular gang box, the specialist box, and a weapons upgrade sprue. Not bad. If the price for US is under 90, that's a good way to get a very decent starter/mid-campaign gang for anyone. I'm looking at a Delaque box at minimum, they're the only gang that I want that I don't have at the moment, and the Goliaths for a "gotta-have-them-all" roundup. 

£57 works out to US$94 in GW money maths

[Antarius]

On 7/17/2026 at 4:03 PM, shamsael said:

I'm bugged when I see people say "it looks like they ran it through chat GPT" or "they tried to make it sound legalistic but didn't know what legalistic meant" or any number of other variations that to me sound like someone assuming that text flying over their head must be stupid because they can't grasp it.

But those two are completely different statements and not at all variations of the same statement. I certainly agree with the latter one (seeing as I was the one who said it), but I don't think the HH3 rules looks anything like ChatGPT language. It's a very human kind of convoluted.

As for the complexity, well, I've read Kant and I managed to parse him (but, let's face it, it's not like his ideas would have been any worse if he had actually communicated them a bit better), so it's not that I can't handle complexity or even convolution. I just don't think it makes for good rules writing, because I think it communicates the rules in a much less clear manner than it might with no real gain.
I mean, even if we pretend that the widespread criticism is just because most of the player base can't grasp the actually brilliant rules writing, I'm not sure it's exactly a mark in favour of said rules writing. Because presumably, the rules are meant to be understandable to the audience it's aimed at.

Clarity is what's needed when communicating a set of rules that people need to actually understand, remember and agree on to use, so anything that obscures clarity, whether it's ambiguous wording or needless complexity is counterproductive.

[Lord_Ikka]

3 hours ago, Nephaston said:

£57 works out to US$94 in GW money maths

Eh, not terrible. Depending on the rules, getting a crew box will be on the back burner- got other projects and other gangs that haven't ever hit the boards.

[Antarius]

It looks nice, but I'm going to hold off for now. I've got lots of current projects and I want to see what the consensus on the rules/game is before I try convincing myself that I need to buy it...

[Emperor Ming]

Looks like they reduced the starting gangs to 8 and 8 from 10 and 10?

Edited July 27 by Emperor Ming

[Morovir]

Doubtful - looking at them, these seem more like the Van Saar Tek-Hunters gang rather than new starting gangs.

[Lord Marshal]

First article on the rules changed.

[jaxom]

Light on details, but I liked what I read.

[Castigator]

I thought there was quite a bit of info for a first article.

Courtesy of James from Necromunda Underhive from Discord. 

NECROMUNDA:

WHAT ACTUALLY CHANGED

JULY 2026

1. GANG BUILDING AND FIGHTER ROLES

• Every Ganger picks a specialisation and gets a free skill. There are eight specialisations. Gunner,

Scout and Medic are the three GW has named so far.

• A Ganger becomes a Champion at 37 XP. They resolve an Advancement, replace the Ganger subtype

with Champion, and otherwise stay the same fighter. An Escher Gang Sister stays a Gang Sister; she

does not turn into a Matriarch or Death-maiden.

• Fighters can have several subtypes at once. A Gang Sister can be both a Ganger and a Specialist.

Other subtypes include Mounted, Pet, Flying and Beast, each with its own shared rules.

• Every Leader and Champion gets Inspiring. Friendly models in line of sight can use a Leader's Cool for

Nerve checks within 12 inches, or a Champion's within 6 inches.

• Brutes and Hangers-on are no longer limited by Reputation. Together, they can make up no more than

half of the roster. They also do not get Post-cycle Actions.

• Every Brute gets Juggernaut. Hangers-on can be left out of random starting crews and Reinforcement

decks. If a Brute or Hanger-on leaves the roster, their weapons and wargear disappear instead of going

into the Stash.

• Weapon restrictions are much looser. Leaders, Champions, Gangers and Prospects can generally use

anything available to the gang or bought from the Trading Post. Specific exceptions still apply. The rule

does not include Juves, Crew, Brutes or Hangers-on.

• Beasts, Flying models and Loners now have standard rules. Beasts cannot Interact, Treat Ally or help

with Recovery. Flying models can move between levels without climbing and pass over intervening

terrain. Beast and Loner Leadership normally cannot be used for Bottle checks.NECROMUNDA: WHAT ACTUALLY CHANGED

NECROMUNDA NEW EDITION RULES - JULY 2026

 

 

2. CAMPAIGNS AND POST-CYCLE ACTIONS

• The current post-battle sequence is being split in two. Some steps happen after each battle and others

at the end of the campaign cycle. The Post-cycle Sequence is Post-cycle Actions, Collect Income and

Update Roster.

• Every eligible model gets one Post-cycle Action. Models that are In Recovery or Critically

Injured/Damaged cannot act. Brutes and Hangers-on do not get an action.

• Train: gain 2 XP.

• Work Territory: a Leader, Champion, Ganger or Prospect adds 15 credits to the Stash. No more than five

fighters can do this in one cycle.

• Visit Trading Post: a Leader or Champion lets the gang buy equipment.

• Develop Tactics: a Leader or Champion adds a new Gang Tactic to the roster.

• Medical Escort now costs 30 credits instead of 2D6 x 10. On a 1, the patient dies. On 2-3, they suffer a

result from the 50s on the Lasting Injury table. On 4-6, they go into Recovery with no lasting injury. Every

extra 50 credits adds +1 to the roll.

• Fit Bionics removes a Lasting Injury for 50 credits. Each injury is paid for separately, and Critical Injury

cannot be removed this way. The patient gives up their own Post-cycle Action and cannot also receive

Medical Escort that cycle.

• Vehicle repair is a flat 50 credits per result. Visit Chop Shop removes any chosen Lasting Damage

result, including Critical Damage. The current percentage-based repair cost and Persistent Rattle result

are gone from this action.

 

 

3. COMBAT

• Melee is resolved in Initiative order. The active fighter no longer makes all of their attacks before every

survivor makes full Reaction attacks. A fighter attacking outside their own activation gets one attack.

• The Firepower die is no longer rolled for every ranged attack. It is only used by weapons that fire a lot

of rounds or are especially prone to malfunction. GW has not said which weapons those are yet.

• Once a gang bottles, you no longer make a Cool check for every fighter. Bottle tests use the best

eligible Leadership on the table instead. GW has not shown the exact roll or modifiers.

• Save is now a stat on the fighter profile. Armour, cover and other equipment modify it.

• Cover improves Save. GW has not said whether partial and full cover still give the current -1 and -2 hit

penalties.

[alfred_the_great]

So is this thumbs up or thumbs down? 

[Aramis K]

Reading this makes me realise I am interested in Necromunda, and was just put off for years by the layers and layers of books.

Somewhere along the way it expanding and adding depth just made the whole thing seem overwhelming. Not something one can just Try, you have to Commit. 

[Castigator]

22 minutes ago, alfred_the_great said:

So is this thumbs up or thumbs down? 

It's still early days but so far it looks like an improvement. 
I'm not happy that my beloved Escher gang the Voodoo Dolls have lost a point of Initiative but the changes to Close Combat have probably necessitated a change to 'balance' their effectiveness in combat.
My optimism has increased a little  

[Castigator]

21 minutes ago, Aramis K said:

Reading this makes me realise I am interested in Necromunda, and was just put off for years by the layers and layers of books.

Somewhere along the way it expanding and adding depth just made the whole thing seem overwhelming. Not something one can just Try, you have to Commit. 

I can understand that feeling (I've felt that way about 40k since they introduced an App that is required alongside a rule book to play the game).
Hopefully this will make the game feel more accessible to new players. Necromunda plays more like 2nd/3rd edition 40k so if you're remotely familiar to those editions then the game is very intuitive.....well it is to me but it is my main game these days 

[Evil Eye]

Huh, it sounds like by some miracle they've actually managed to not completely mash the depth out of the game. I will be honest I was very worried from the looks of the starter box, and the terrain (or lack thereof) within that they were dumbing it down heavily, but I'm glad to see I was wrong. I might actually dive in now!

 

Of course, if it does turn out to be a disaster I have a backup plan...

 

[phandaal]

On 7/26/2026 at 11:58 AM, Lord Marshal said:

Pre-orders next week. That means if you're a youtuber you've got a week left to get ready to tell us why your favourite game you never played, painted nor talked about before has been ruined forever.

 

"The END of NECROMUNDA!!"

 

or

 

"GW just ENDED Necromunda FOREVER!"

 

or, the more speculative

 

"Did GW just RUIN Necromunda??"

 

followed by

 

"Is Necromunda BACK??"

[No Foes Remain]

3 hours ago, Aramis K said:

Reading this makes me realise I am interested in Necromunda, and was just put off for years by the layers and layers of books.

Somewhere along the way it expanding and adding depth just made the whole thing seem overwhelming. Not something one can just Try, you have to Commit. 

100% in the same boat (or Hive?), I've wanted to do a custom gang for a while but all the books have put me off it. Thrown this stuff to a mate of mine who plays Necromunda and he's dubious but the changes look good so far...

[Captain Idaho]

3 hours ago, alfred_the_great said:

So is this thumbs up or thumbs down? 

 

Keep those thumbs middle of the road.

 

Remember 3rd edition Heresy that the articles made look great and everyone got excited and people said "told you it was too early to worry" etc etc

 

I'm cautiously hopeful I'll be proven wrong, but Heresy is still a sore contention.

[Joe]

I made the same comparison earlier in the thread. Let's see how it looks when we have the rules in hand.

[Lord Nord in Gravis Armour]

1 hour ago, phandaal said:

 

"The END of NECROMUNDA!!"

 

or

 

"GW just ENDED Necromunda FOREVER!"

 

or, the more speculative

 

"Did GW just RUIN Necromunda??"

 

followed by

 

"Is Necromunda BACK??"

 

I'm out here waiting for the inevitable "Necromunda just torched her own career! She'll never recover!"

[Silvereyes]

5 hours ago, Castigator said:

• Every Ganger picks a specialisation and gets a free skill. There are eight specialisations. Gunner,

Scout and Medic are the three GW has named so far.

 

I really like this. Helps make Gangers feel more valuable, and a bit closer to Champions. Also means they could be more designed for support roles.

 

5 hours ago, Castigator said:

• Fighters can have several subtypes at once. A Gang Sister can be both a Ganger and a Specialist.

Other subtypes include Mounted, Pet, Flying and Beast, each with its own shared rules.

 

Should make fighter types a bit easier to manage, and have less weird ones that are difficult to fit into your gang.

 

5 hours ago, Castigator said:

• Brutes and Hangers-on are no longer limited by Reputation. Together, they can make up no more than

half of the roster. They also do not get Post-cycle Actions.

 

At the risk of boasting, but I did predict this. Really though, it seemed fairly obvious. A good chunk of the Necromunda range is independent resin characters, and in 2nd edition, you really need to go out of your way to include them in your gang. With this rules update, and all the datasheets being consolidated into 2 books, hanger-ons should be far more tempting for a gang.

 

5 hours ago, Castigator said:

• Train: gain 2 XP.

 

Thank god. One issue with Necromunda's XP system that a lot of RPGs suffer from is that your best fighters get more kills, therefore gain more XP, getting more powerful, therefore getting more XP etc, while your less useful fighters remain stagnant. At least with this, less useful fighters can at least gain some XP if they aren't achieving kills.

 

5 hours ago, Castigator said:

• The Firepower die is no longer rolled for every ranged attack. It is only used by weapons that fire a lot

of rounds or are especially prone to malfunction. GW has not said which weapons those are yet.

 

Interesting. Worth remembering that in 2nd edition, the reason you always roll the firepower dice with a gun, even if it doesn't have something like Rapid Fire, is to see if it triggers an ammo check. That Las Gun profile in the article doesn't have an ammo start. (Doesn't have accuracy modifiers, probably because of how they've changed that, and it now has a new stat called "L"? Replacement for Damage?) So maybe some guns are just reliable, or can something else trigger an ammo check?

 

I like the sound of all of this really. Yeah, still too early to tell. They're definitely not trying to turn into Kill Team at least.