House of Blades is available to pre-order from Saturday, along with the new Death-maiden and Wyld Runner kit, so we thought we’d take the opportunity to share an idea for a new gang with you. Join us as we recruit a 1000-credit Escher gang, ready to take on the worst the underhive has to offer.
Every gang needs a Leader, and we’re going to get an Escher Gang Queen and tool her up so that she can inspire the fighters that follow her. A combi-weapon (bolter/needler) gives her some deadly ranged options, while a shock whip should stop anyone coming too close. We’ll also master-craft the whip for that crucial re-roll to hit.
Serving as gang Champions, we’re taking a couple of Death-maidens. Their lethality more than makes up for their inability to perform group activations. Both armed with a needle pistol and venom claw, their job is to make the most of terrain to sneak up on enemy fighters and eviscerate them.
We’re going to need a little bit of covering fire while our Death-maidens get into position, so we’re recruiting a pair of Gang Sisters (the new name for Escher Gangers). The lasgun is just the sort of reliable weapon that you need in the underhive, which is why we’ve gone for a pair of those.
To round the gang out, what could be better than a couple of Wyld Runners? One carries a whip, which is not only great for training her three Phelynx but it’s also handy for training any enemy fighters that dare to attack her.* With their venomous bite, those Phelynx will surprise a few hostile gangers too. Finally, we have a Wyld Runner with a wyld bow. Having the Silent trait,** it’s super useful in certain scenarios (such as taking out a sentry on top of a watchtower).
That leaves us with 45 creds unspent, but we’ve found it’s often a good idea to keep a few in your stash just in case something unexpected happens in your first game.***
This is a gang that likes to get up close and personal – the Gang Queen and Death-maidens should be able to take out most enemy fighters in close combat (although we wouldn’t recommend them taking on an Ambot without some support). Keep the Wyld Runners and their Phelynx close by and find some excellent vantage spots where the Gang Sisters can keep enemy heads down with their lasgun fire.
As your campaign develops, you can grow your gang any way that you like. Recruit some more Wyld Runners if yours have been promoted to Escher Gang Matriarchs or even hire that notorious Escher Bounty Hunter, Kria ‘the Huntress’ – the underhive is your ultra-violent oyster.
The House of Blades and the Death-maiden and Wyld Runner kit are both available to pre-order from Saturday. In the meantime, grab an Escher Gang so that you’re ready to carve out your own little corner of Necromunda. Make sure you join us throughout the week as we’ll be taking a closer look at the lore and rules in the House of Blades book.
* Just don’t let her hear you claim she only carries it to copy her Gang Queen.
** In scenarios that use the Sneak Attack special rules, no test is required to see whether the enemy raises the alarm when you fire a Silent weapon.
*** It could be just enough to pay for a visit to the doc.