Tactics and Tribulations

The YYC Underhive War Campaign continues to roll on, and as you can probably tell by now, I’m having a blast! With all my Necromunda gear packed up and ready to be shipped across the Atlantic, I’m squeezing in as much gaming as possible before my UK move.

After the rocky start with The Outsiders, I was determined to show that Delaque can hold their own. A strong start with The Dark City Dogs has kept me motivated, and I'm ready to prove myself with every sneaky trick I can throw out. Before we dive into the battle reports, I thought I'd take a quick detour and share a look at the Tactics Deck I built for the Dogs.

The Tactics Deck

As I’ve mentioned before, House Delaque’s real strength isn’t in their stat lines or weaponry but in their ability to manipulate the game off the table. And that’s where the Tactics Deck comes in—it's a cornerstone of my strategy.

When building my deck, I aim for a balance between situationally powerful cards and cards that are just generally useful. This balance is especially important since most of our games use the Custom 2 setup, where you pick two cards at the start of the game and draw additional cards based on the difference in gang value.

Here’s how I’ve structured my 18-card deck:

Cards I Only Want to Pick

The Core of the Tactics Deck

• Mass Infiltration: Played during deployment, I get to choose d3 fighters to gain Infiltrate for the battle.

• Darkness Descends: Played at the start of any round other than the first, this card shuts off the lights, plunging the game into darkness, reducing visibility to 3 inches.

• Whispered Threats: Played when my opponent takes their first bottle check, forcing them to roll 2d6 instead of 1d6.

These cards are all very powerful if chosen, but I don’t want to randomly draw them. Mass Infiltration is fantastic early in the campaign, when access to Infiltrate is limited, but later on, it’s just a great way to put Shadows or Web Pistols right in the enemy’s face. Darkness Descends is a game-changer for opponents who rely on ranged firepower, especially when I’ve got Photo Goggles on my key fighters. But against melee-focused gangs like Corpse Grinders, it can sometimes be more of a hindrance than a help, so it’s a card I’d rather choose wisely. Whispered Threats is fantastic in Custom 6, but in a game with a higher model count (like against Cawdor), it loses some of its punch.

Cards I Like to Pick or Draw

I will situationally pick these cards, but i’m also never sad to draw them at random.

• …Click: Played after an enemy shoots, this forces them to automatically fail an ammo check.

• Deceit: Played after rolling for Priority, it lets me swap dice results with my opponent.

• Shifting Shadows: Allows me to remove a friendly Delaque fighter and place them anywhere within 4 inches of their previous location.

• Desperate Effort: Lets me activate a fighter who’s already acted, but they become pinned at the end of the extra activation.

• Group Tactics: Allows me to activate up to two additional friendly fighters, as long as they make the same combination of actions.

These cards are versatile and can be crucial in different situations. …Click is a lifesaver when facing an oppressive gun, especially if it has the scarce trait. Deceit pairs beautifully with my Nacht-Ghul’s sudden arrival, allowing me to either ensure a charge or control priority at a key moment. Shifting Shadows is excellent for repositioning key pieces, whether it’s getting a Web Gun into a better spot or simply moving out of a bad combat situation.

Bulk Cards I’m Happy to Draw

these are versatile cards that I am never unhappy to see.

• Adrenaline Surge: Grants an additional action to a fighter.

• Chain Attack: After taking an enemy out of action in melee, the fighter can move up to d6 inches and fight again.

• Thundering Charge: Allows you to charge with double the movement instead of moving +d3.

• Shooting at Shadows: Gives a 2+ chance to negate a ranged hit.

• Suppressing Fire: Pins the target after a missed shot.

• Blazing Fury: Makes a fighter's shoot action count as a simple action.

• Duck and Cover: Lets a fighter make two fire actions with the same weapon and then move d3 inches.

• Crossfire: Automatically hits a target who’s already been shot at by a friendly fighter.

• Long Shadows: Forces enemies to pass an Intelligence Check to shoot when in cover at long range.

• Shape Shifting: Replaces a Seriously Injured Delaque fighter with a different model, helping protect my valuable models from injury rolls.

These cards don’t form the backbone of my strategy, but they can certainly help when needed. Shooting at Shadows is great to throw out when I need to negate a ranged hit, and Crossfire can be game-changing if I need to ensure my Meltagun hits a key target like an Armbot. Shape Shifting is a lifesaver to protect key models from serious injuries, especially if my Nacht-Ghul or another champion is about to go down.

Putting It All Together

The cards I pick are tailored to the specific matchup and scenario, with adjustments made as the campaign progresses. Mass Infiltration is a go-to early on, especially before I can secure a Needle Ways, but once I’ve got the flexibility to infiltrate multiple gangers from my territory, it becomes less essential.

Out of my 18 cards, only Mass Infiltration and Darkness Descends are potential dead draws in certain matchups. But given the low odds of drawing both cards in a random setup (less than 1%), I’m comfortable with this balance.

Implementing It on the Tabletop

Now that I’ve covered the Tactics Deck, let’s dive into how these cards played out in my Week 2 games:

Game 1: Challenged by the C-Org

For this game, we fought over a Collapsed Dome using the Gathering Intel scenario from the Delaque book. It was an exciting challenge, and I was eager to try something different.

My main concerns were C-Org’s Heavy Stubber and Grenade Launcher—both upgraded and capable of shredding my lightly armored gang. We were playing on a 3x3 table with scattered terrain, so there were long fire lanes to watch out for. Thankfully, I had Darkness Descends and …Click in my Tactics Deck to help mitigate those threats.

The scenario required me to plant listening devices in all four corners and the center of the table, but my initial plan quickly ran into trouble. I lost Priority in Turn 1, and C-Org’s Gang Leader charged into one of my Shadows, taking them out of action. Anu’s Overwatch shot missed miserably (of course).

At that point, I realized my mistake. Rather than countering C-Org’s moves, I’d gone for revenge. This allowed him to capitalize on my misstep. But, I played …Click to shut down the Heavy Stuber. And then to nullify his Grenade Launcher I used my Shadows’ Smoke Grenades to obscure line of sight.

Mr. Green takes advantage of the darkness to advance into cover

By Turn 2, we were both bloodied, and I played Darkness Descends, which really worked in my favor. The reduced visibility turned the tide as Shamash arrived from the shadows and began taking out C-Org’s gangers as I closed the net with my Photo Goggle wearing Gangers.

In the end, I won, though I didn’t plant all the listening devices, so I missed out on the credit bonus. Darkness Descends was crucial in turning the tide on C-Org when he massively outgunned me. His deployment across all four corners left him unable to consolidate enough strength in the center, and due to the reduced visibility, I was able to isolate each group and pick them off.

Game 2: I Challenged the Steel Claw

After a missing out on the bonus credits in the last game, I was determined to make up for it. I challenged Uncle Mike for a game on his amazing Sump Sea board.

Uncle Mike’s Sump Sea board really is a joy to fight over!

I invested the credits I had earned in Hazard Suits, Armored Undersuits, and Ablative Overlays for Shamash, Nanna, and Anu. The goal was to give my fighters a solid 3+ save against the first hit, which would drop to a 4+ and 5+ for subsequent hits.

This game, I chose Mass Infiltration and Darkness Descends as if I rolled well on infiltration, it could let me get a shorter path to the loot boxes, and the reduced visibility should stop Mike’s heavy Stubber from dominating. Mike set up to counter my Infiltration, and we both deployed defensively. In the first turn, Anu tried to take a shot but missed (of course).

By Turn 2, I activated Darkness Descends and brought Shamash in behind Mike’s lines. He quickly neutralized a few of his fighters. Meanwhile, Mike’s Wreckers closed the gap fast, taking down one of my Shadows and positioning to charge Anu.

I had to make sure I didn’t let Mike get too close with his Heavy Stubber, and Mr. Blue and Mr. Green took up solid positions covering the open ground between him and Anu and Nanna. By the time we reached the final turns, Mike was down to just his Gang Leader and Champions. With the Lights still out and me holding the better positions, he bottled out, giving me the win. Thanks to my Territory Income, and  rolling incredibly well for the Loot Crates I walked away with over 400 credits from this single game!

Game 3: Challenged by The Black Flame Cawdor Gang

For Game 3, I invested in Web Pistols for my Shadows and added Inanna, a Phantom with Infiltrate and a Meltagun, to the gang. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get any additional Hazard Suits, which left me feeling vulnerable against another Cawdor gang.

I went with Mass Infiltration and Shooting at Shadows as my Tactics Cards, hoping to capitalize on the chaos of Template Weapons before my opponent could retaliate.

We played Cauldron of Lies, and my plan was to get five of my fighters to touch his board edge. I infiltrated Inanna, Ea Marduk, Alpha (a Shadow with Smoke Grenades), and Delta (a Shadow with Web Pistol). Shamash was deployed from the Shadows later, and Nanna stayed back to bluff my intentions.

The Cawdor gang didn’t suspect a thing…

I won Priority and opened the game with a Group Activation from Inanna, sending Ea Marduk forward to Web half of the opposing gang while Inanna herself moved in to take a shot. The Web Gun worked, but the Meltagun missed—apparently, my champions and leaders just don’t like hitting! With my Web Guns in action, the Cawdor gang was effectively stalled out, and to add insult to injury, I landed a smoke grenade over the downed fighters to ensure than anyone who did stand up, or came to their aid was not going to have line of sight on to me.

The following turn, despite the great setup, I forgot to use Shooting at Shadows when the Flamer, with an excellent use of Adrenaline Surge set most of my fighters on fire. It became a chaotic turn as I tried to manage flames.  At that point with half of my fighters on fire, and me failing my Bottle Check, I opted to voluntarily flee the field, giving up the Collapsed Dome, but preserving most of my fighters, with only a Shadow succumbing to his injuries (the Gang Hierarchy were too busy shopping to take him to the doctors, especially when a new Juve was just recruited for free from our Settlement…)

In the end, I didn’t win the game, but the experience reinforced that Hazard Suits are now a top priority for me.

Week Two Wrap-Up

Week 2 has been a solid progression for The Dark City Dogs. With a 2-1 record, my gang’s performance has improved, and my income from Territory has been fantastic. My Gang Rating has hit around 2000, and I’m starting to eye the top spot, with Andrew’s Choir of Ash firmly in my sights.

All in all, I’m happy with how things are going, and while I’ve been learning plenty, it’s clear I need to avoid putting my gangers in fireball-shaped formations in the future!

Anu may have earned the title of “Worst Shot in the League,” but Ea Marduk and Shamash are quickly earning their reputation as feared fighters. Meanwhile, Nanna is slowly getting better, and I’m looking forward to seeing what next week brings.

If you’ve got thoughts on how I’ve been handling my Delaque tactics, or if you’ve had any similar moments in your own campaigns, drop a comment below! And don't forget to share your experiences with me—whether it’s how you’re coping with the new rules or what strategies have worked (or failed!) for you.

Looking ahead, there’s plenty more to come, so be sure to follow along for Week 3 and beyond. Keep an eye on the DiceHate Discord for updates, or check out my social media for sneak peeks at upcoming battles.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll catch you next time.