Technology & Faith: The Web Tightens in the YYC Underhive War
Hello to all of my Underhive Scummers, it’s been a while since I wanted to pivot This Week in Hating Dice back into being more of a general article, and I felt we were getting a little too deep in the weeds for Necromunda content.
But that just put the pressure on me to move forward with my plans for DiceHate.com a little faster than anticipated and get a Necromunda-focused section underway sooner.
Necromunda Campaign Recap – Week One and Week Two
Before we dive into the battles of Week Three, let’s quickly recap how my Necromunda campaign has unfolded so far. If you missed the earlier reports and want to see how the campaign started, you can read about Week One here, but for those who want to skip ahead to the action, here’s a quick summary.
My original plan was to play some good, honest Necromunda with my Delaque gang, the Outsiders. That went about as well as you would expect—it was so counterintuitive to normal House Delaque gang tactics that I was forced to retire the gang two games into Week One...
I took that as an opportunity to up the sneakiness level and rejoined the campaign with the Dark City Dogs. I managed to squeeze in one game against a Corpse Grinder Cult in Week One, so I wasn’t too far behind, and after a well-placed Web Gun blast, I came away with a win and a Bone Shrine for my troubles.
Week Two was where things really picked up—I pushed hard and got in three games, putting me back on pace in the campaign. I went 2/3, securing a Promethium Cache and a Collapsed Dome, though I suffered a loss to Cawdor over a second Collapsed Dome.
The Dark City Dogs also recruited a Rogue Doc, Dr. Aphra, she will hopefully prevent them from going the way of The Outsiders…
With my money-making schemes in full swing, I entered Week Three with my tail up, even if I was coming off the back of a loss. I felt like I was hitting my stride with the gang and becoming more comfortable with which way to lean in different matchups. Having gotten back on parity with the average number of games, I was feeling confident that I was going to have a good showing and represent House Delaque correctly, showing what they can really do.
With my ill-gotten gains, I upgraded my House Delaque gang with Photo-Goggles, Infra-Sights, and Hazard Suits—essential for countering Cawdor flamers and ensuring that Smoke and Darkness wouldn’t be a problem.
When Ian challenged me with his Van Saar gang, the Neon Basilisks, I wasn’t expecting him to match me on gear, weapons, and accuracy. This was going to be an intense fight. We were both near the top, trying to catch Andrew’s Choir of Ash. A win here could eliminate a rival before Downtime.
Van Saar vs. Delaque Battle Report – A Cauldron of Lies Mission Breakdown
Before the game, I chatted with Ian about what type of match we wanted to play and which scenario to run. Since I had Nanna, my Psycho-Mancer with Precognition, I knew I’d be the attacker and would have control over the scenario selection.
We decided to play a mission Ian hadn’t tried before. I gave him the choice between Listening Devices and Cauldron of Lies, two unique missions from the House Delaque supplement. Since he had seen my last match where I "turned out the lights" with Listening Devices, he opted for Cauldron of Lies instead.
We had a great table setup and played on a 3x3 board, which meant 6” deployment zones. With this being my third game of Cauldron of Lies, I decided to play for the Loot Casks as my secret win condition.
I placed all five Loot Casks in a line, equally spaced around 8” from my deployment zone. Ian (I learned after the game) went for Kills as his win condition and placed his loot boxes around the center and his left flank.
I deployed Anu up high to hopefully provide Overwatch cover with his long rifle if the Van Saar got close. Shamash was sent into the Shadows to arrive later, while everyone else set up facing one of the Loot Casks, with my Infiltrating Phantom positioned between two of them—but not quite close enough to teleport them both into my deployment area on Turn One.
I had paid Uncle Mike’s Steel Claw Orlocks for use of their Toll Crossing to secure first activation, but regardless, I was expecting a quiet first turn. Then, when it came time to Veto Win Conditions, I chose Kills, and Ian chose getting Loot Casks into deployment for this turn.
Nanna can almost smell the credits in the loot crate, but the instructions were clear, just move it, don’t open it…
That meant that the game was effectively going to be over on my first activation of Turn Two if I wanted it to be—but I didn’t tip my hand just yet. I wanted to see if Ian had something up his sleeve.
The turn proceeded as expected: Ian moved his Van Saar gang into position for Round Two, while I activated from right to left, pulling a Loot Cask into my deployment zone with each activation.
It didn’t take Ian long to realize that he had messed up, as he didn’t have a cunning plan after all. I bluffed with “Maybe I didn’t pick that one…” but we both knew the writing was on the wall at that point.
The only activation of note was Anu moving up to get line of sight on one of Ian’s fighters—and actually hitting and wounding! Don't worry, he passed his save, so nothing too crazy happened...
Turn Two – House Delaque Tactics in Action
In a display of classic House Delaque tactics, I deployed Shamash in an aggressive position, ready to engage one of the Van Saar Champions. Then, we moved on to banning win conditions—I picked Opponent’s Table Edge, and Ian picked Killing, leaving Loot Casks as the only active win condition.
We rolled for Priority; I promptly won the roll and asked Ian what he wanted me to do.
I could charge in with Shamash and spill some blood.
Or I could move the last Loot Cask and end the game immediately.
Now, Ian had played the Van Saar Gang Tactics Card that lets him look at my hand and discard a card. He discarded Deceit, and my random draw was Shooting at Shadows, which gave me a 2+ save against a shooting attack. My other card was Desperate Effort, so I showed that card while asking Ian his preference.
Shamash is leading the gang in Kills, and would be further ahead if the enemy would stop running away after he introduces the to his Serpents Fangs…
If Shamash charged into combat, he had a decent chance of surviving enemy fire, and I could activate him again before the end of the turn by burning some group activations.
Ian accepted his mistake like a champion and asked that I just put him out of his misery. So, I moved the fifth Loot Cask back into my deployment zone, triggering the Victory Condition—and ending the game. My reward? A Workshop for my troubles.
Mission Balance – Thoughts on Cauldron of Lies
After the game, I had thoughts about Cauldron of Lies, and it started the ridges forming on my brain again.
I’ve already started work on a series analyzing individual Necromunda missions, with the intent to focus on Core Rulebook scenarios first. But this made me rethink that plan—it could be interesting to bounce around and analyze missions from different books.
My goal is to present:
An overview of a scenario
Tips for playing as attacker or defender
Any rebalancing suggestions
Especially for older missions, where rules assumptions may no longer be relevant to how Necromunda is currently played.
I won’t go too deep here, but Cauldron of Lies originally used “standard” deployment rules—which have changed since the mission was written.
On a 4x4 table, it’s actually possible for both players to auto-win on the first activation, which obviously isn’t ideal.
I think an easy fix would be:
Requiring the Loot Casks to be within 3” of your table edge instead of instantly scoring upon entry.
Adjusting the deployment zone distances, requiring the Casks to be placed at least 8” away from the deployment zones.
Once I get the full article out, I’ll go deeper into each fix and its implications. It’s an interesting scenario, but it needs a little polishing to work correctly in the current edition.
But as I said, the true deep dive is for a later article...
Cawdor vs. Delaque Battle Report – At Last, We Will Have Our Revenge…
My second game in Week 3 was my Challenge against Andrew’s Choir of Ash. After the absolute thrashing he gave me when I was playing The Outsiders, he was sitting at the top of the league in almost all categories. Having defeated Ian (but not done anything to knock him down), I knew I needed to be looking upwards and not over my shoulder if I wanted to climb to the top.
This was the first game of the campaign where I did not plan to hold back anything. I knew Andrew was expecting my best after the last game, and I was determined not to disappoint. I spent time reading through the rulebook, trying to find something that would be advantageous for me but also feel different from what he had been playing the last few weeks.
It may look like a flame template, but i assure you its web fueled goodness…
The Setup – House Delaque’s Deadly Web
I settled on The Trap.
This would force Andrew to (hopefully) deploy all his models in the center, where they would be prime targets for Web Gun action.
Even with his numbers advantage, I was sure I could at least even things out early.
Andrew fielded a solid crew with his Ambot, Leader, Champion, and a few template weapons—not to mention his extra Bone Pickers, as expected. Knowing I needed to go hard, I took a mix of control pieces and heavy hitters:
Anu, with his Long Rifle and Overwatch skill, would help control activations.
Nanna, accompanied by Squirm the Psychoteric Worm, would pin targets using the Spatial Psychosis wyrd power.
Shamash was hungry for blood after missing the action against the Van Saar.
Ea Marduk & Inanna made a deadly pair, especially since I had spent XP to boost Ea Marduk’s movement to 7”, ensuring his Web Gun was always in position.
Inanna had Infiltrate and Group Activation (1), meaning I could:
Move Ea Marduk up
Hit a cluster of models with the Web Gun
Follow up with a Melta Gun shot, hitting on 2+ for a confirmed kill.
Delta, one of my Shadows, also had 7” movement and was armed with a Web Pistol, Autopistol, and Stiletto Knife—perfect for flanking and disruption.
We played on Uncle Mike’s Zone Mortalis board, which was tighter on space but looked fantastic with his custom wall sections, adding a cinematic touch to the game.
The Battle Begins – Web Guns and Firefights
Andrew split his gang into three groups but failed his rolls to deploy outside the center. Instead, he created a daisy chain formation, avoiding clumping his fighters.
I played my first Gang Tactics Card, having selected Mass Infiltration and Group Tactics. I was hoping for more infiltrators—but of course, I rolled a 1 on Mass Infiltration, so only Ea Marduk infiltrated.
Deployment Breakdown:
Nanna & Squirm set up wide, with the plan to stay safe while casting Spatial Psychosis.
Anu took cover with a clear shot down the center of the board.
Delta covered an escape route opposite Nanna.
Shamash, as always, waited in the Shadows for the perfect moment to strike.
Because Andrew failed to deploy outside the center, it was impossible for him to take priority in Turn One.
With glee, I Group Activated:
Inanna & Ea Marduk moved up
Web Gun blast covered 5 of Andrew’s 8 fighters
4 were webbed, only the Ambot survived—but it was pinned
Inanna moved up, lined up her Melta Gun, fired at the Ambot—and failed to wound!
This was not good...
Andrew Strikes Back – Fire and Fury
Andrew activated next and played a Gang Tactics Card, allowing him to recover a seriously injured fighter—who now only suffered a Flesh Wound.
What do you mean the Ambot didnt get webbed, and the Melta Gun missed…
His Grenade Launcher Champion stood up, brushed off the cobwebs, and fired back at Ea Marduk & Inanna.
He hit and wounded, but my Hazard Suit, Armored Undersuit, and Ablative Overlays held firm.
Unfortunately, that was only the first activation—his Gang Leader crawled away, making room for reinforcements.
Then, the Ambot stood up and unleashed hell with its Melta Weapons.
Thankfully, it wasn’t at short range, or Inanna would have been vaporized—but she was taken out of action.
With Inanna down, I had to adjust my strategy.
The Web Tightens – A Fight to the End
Andrew recovered a few fighters, while I repositioned Nanna for pinning, and Delta moved up to apply pressure.
Andrew won priority and activated his Ambot.
Luckily, Anu was ready—Overwatch shot connected!
The Ambot was pinned, but still dangerous.
It stood up and missed its Melta Claw attack by rolling below a 6+—which could have ended the game.
Then, I activated:
Ea Marduk stood up and fired another Web Gun blast—even more of Andrew’s gang was caught!
Andrew only had his Grenade Launcher Champion unwebbed, along with a single ganger and his Leader, who used a Cherub to absorb damage (I think that’s what happened—there was a lot going on!).
Andrew activated his Grenade Launcher, but his shot scattered into his own fighters, only wounding the Ambot—who still had full wounds despite being webbed.
With Shamash finally charging in, he easily dispatched the Cawdor Grenade Launcher in melee, inflicting a Humiliation result.
During the End Phase, the dice favored me—most of Andrew’s gang stayed down, and one succumbed to the Webbing, going out of action.
Victory & The Fallout – What Comes Next?
Andrew won priority in Turn Three and went for a big play with his Leader—recovering from pinning, he fired his Flamer over the webbed Ambot, catching Ea Marduk.
Even with his Hazard Suit, Ea Marduk took a wound, went down, and was out of action immediately.
With my opponents in tatters, Shamash moved in and Coup de Grâce’d one of Andrew’s downed fighters. Squirm followed suit, finishing off the Ambot.
Andrew failed his Bottle Test and fled into Turn Four, securing me a hard-fought victory.
The Spoils of War – How Should I Spend My 450 Credits?
This could be my Ambot, there are man others like it, but this one would be mine…
With this win, I gained a Wastes Territory, which I planned to upgrade into a Settlement using a Fuel Rod and Cred-Sniffer.
Now, the big question:
Do I double down on stealth and recruit a second Nacht-Ghul?
Do I bring in muscle, adding a Brute for close combat power?
Or do I spread the wealth, upgrading weapons and gear across my gang?
What would you do? Drop a comment or join the Discord to discuss!
