Since '95, I've been a big fan of the world of the Underhive. The universe is so unique to yet part of the grimdark of the 41st millenium. I fell out of it when I went off to college (the first of many times) and stuck with 40k when I returned. That meant the Underhive took a back seat until 2019, when the new edition came out. This last year has seen Necromunda return to eminence, and how there's a newer new edition coming. And this one is based outside the Underhive!
At some point in the early 2000's, GW released unofficial rules for playing in the Ash Wastes outside the hive city. It was neat insofar as it included the Gorkamorka-concept vehicles and bikes, but the models were atrocious and this wasn't really what Necromunda was about. These rules weren't enough to draw me back to the game of gang warfare, but that's different now.
You see, the old rules for Necromunda were really about sneaking and snapping shots in the crowded confines of the manufactorum sectors of the Underhive. The rules were really focused on cover, hiding, overwatching dashing figures, and opposed roll-offs. This made open-table gaming clunky and unbalanced, with Gorkamorka barely overcoming these pitfalls with the focus on vehicles and speed. The new rules for Necromunda focus on action management, min-maxing modifiers, and upgrades, shifting that clunkiness out. In other words, I think this is going to work very well!
I'm really excited for some more unique models- those raiders are awesome! I always like the concepts of civilian- or unregulated-fighters in the grimdark where conscription is almost a best-case scenario. And riding those giant flea-things?!? YESSSS! I'm not looking to make Chaos cultists or anything like the 40k community is surely foaming at the mouth for; I just want that same uniqueness that Necromunda is really leaning into. Each of the major gangs is totally unique from each other (even the wargear autoguns and lasguns are no longer 'universal' options!), the cultist gangs are unique (minus the 40k models ported over), and now these models continue that trend.
I'm even more excited about the terrain- not everything is a ruined Administratum! We always think of the massive, gothic structures dominated the grimdark, but a million worlds and a score of millennia should lead to a lot of variety in human construction. Add the variety of environments and we should see the oppressive gothic style of old rarely. This sand-people-style terrain (thanks Star Wars!) is totally unique and, of course, amazing. I look forward to grabbing a couple of sets just like I did for SW:A.
The only issue that I have is the new set coming with more Orlocks. I already have two gang boxes for them and wasn't really planning on expanding much more than that. But this seems to be less of an issue when we look and see that there are new dice in the box (likely necessary for the vehicles and mounts) and a big rulebook. I'm hoping this rulebook is just the same rulebook as the Underhive one plus the riding rules; I can't imagine this is a 3rd edition and replaces the current one (which has already been expanded). So getting more models I already own alongside new rules and dice isn't such a big deal.
In fact, I expect the box to be $400... and I STILL plan to buy it! (Please GW, don't make this box that expensive...) If you're a Star Wars Legion player, this might draw you into the grimdark. As a 40k and Necromunda player, I'm really geeked to bridge that gap and get my battles outside the Underhive on! Let me know what you think in the comments below.
Until then- Happy Gaming!
