The promise of the new 2026 Necromunda edition is that if we had a gang, it would be valid within the new rules. So I wanted to put that to the test because I have a fair number of gangs. Would my old gangs still be valid within the new rules?
To be honest, having scanned most of the lists for the gangs I own, I think the outcome will be mostly. We’ll eventually get there but I think my Ironhead Squats will be just fine. But… I didn’t put a lot of work into building that list. There wasn’t a whole lot of pushing and pulling on the rules, doing things that may have been technically legal but possibly not as intended.
The N23 ruleset was many, many things and one of those things was that, in being so complex, that same complexity allowed for a lot of edge cases that could be played for fun and with character. I do feel like these rules have a little less character, especially in terms of how armor is now handled. So I’m curious if some of my more… creative gang lists remain valid.
And today we’re going to do that with the best gang and gang list there is, the Escher. Because they are the definition of cool and they’re a gang I have a lot of experience with. Also, they’re my biggest gang by a long shot which means they have the most to risk from changes as things come and go off the equipment list.
Speaking of which, let’s start with the equipment list. Look at this shit:
I don’t know who came up with this absolute bollocks but breaking out weapons into this number of categories? Do we really need a category for “Primitive Weapons?” Goliath literally has a category “Repurposed Tools.” For the love of god, why? Also, when a category only has one item… maybe we should wonder if that category is necessary. This feels like change for change’s sake. There was nothing wrong with “Special Weapons” being a category that included a Plasma gun, a Metagun, and a Grenade Launcher.
They all seem pretty special to me.
And, lest you think this is an Escher thing, it is not. This is what the Trading Post looks like now. This is one area where I really feel like they screwed up. They made the lists less readable and less orderly by trying to put things into more categories. Unfortunately, I think we’re stuck with this format for at least the rest of this edition.
Anyway, onto my old N23 skirmish gang list for the Escher. This is 1200cr and meant to allow an extra toy or two because it’s a one-off game.
Abigail is almost the Escher leader out of the box with her combi-bolter/needler. The big change I made to her was swapping her shock whip for a power sword.
Comparing her old stats to her new, you can see that she’s actually gotten cheaper, just 295cr versus 300cr. But she’s not exactly the same. She has a base save of 5+, which isn’t bad. But I gave her a Refractor field for 50cr so now she has an unmodifiable 5+ save. Which is better because never having to factor in AP is better but, previously, she had Light Carapace that granted a 4+, which is now gone from the Escher list.
Abigail also had Step Aside, a former Combat skill that allowed her to avoid attacks in close combat on a successful Initiative check. The closest thing I could find to that was Dodge, which is an unmodifiable 6+. Considering that her Initiative stat used grant a 2+ save that kind of inverts things here a bit… but I guess an extra save is an extra save.
Lastly, while still listed as the “same weapon”, a combi-bolter/needler, I’m not sure how good the new bolter half is. There are three different checks for ammo on this gun now: Rapid Fire (1), Ammo (3+), and Scarce (3+). Ammo is now rolled after every use of the weapon, so it must always survive a 3+ or it will be unloaded. Rapid Fire uses the old Rapid Fire dice and, on a jam, requires a reload. If both the Ammo check fails and the Rapid Fire dice returns a jam, the weapon can’t be used for the rest of the game. Scarce then means that a 3+ is required when performing a Reload action. At least this can’t permanently jam you up but it’s one more thing.
Is this as good as the old 6+ Ammo on the bolter? I suppose time will tell.
So… Abigail can definitely continue to be used in game as modeled. Is she as good as she once was? I’m not sure. I’m still waiting to see how this whole save check thing works and how fast it removes fighters from combat. But, so far, this seems pretty minor.
Looking at my Matriarch, Drummer, now…
She’s immediately a little more expensive and this is entirely due to armor. Old Drummer had Mesh Armor, which remains a thing in this edition but only grants the +1 save in Close Combat. So… 10cr more for a Refractor field turns her into an unmodifiable 5+ save. Slightly better than before against high AP weapons.
She’s still armed with her plasma gun but, sadly, there’s no longer an over-charged profile. And her old Dodge skill carries over perfectly one-to-one. So we’re basically talking about the exact same fighter here!
Stinky, my Death Maiden, is also more or less unchanged. Her Weapon Skill has been nerfed by a point from 2+ to 3+. And, as mentioned above, she’s been given a Refractor Field since mesh only really helps in Close Combat. With a Death Maiden, I’m not really worried about her getting hit in Close Combat. She’s so fast and has such high Initiative, she’s almost always bound to get a hit in early. I’m more worried about getting her into combat. So the unmodifiable 5+ really helps her sprint across a battlefield to then murder someone horribly.
Interesting to note here is that old-Stinky had a chem-synth. In the core rules, there are no chem-synths. They’re still modeling Escher girls with them so I expect them to return in the Escher Journal but, until then, her toxin weapons basically act as they would on an old Toughness 3 fighter.
Here’s the big one… Leaf, my former specialist!
Prior to this edition, I always outfitted her with a Grenade Launcher because… checking… yes, it was on the house list.
Guess what is no longer on the house list? That’s right, a Grenade Launcher. Which is interesting because they put out a weapon’s kit that specifically had this. But then… didn’t it offer other things?
I will be genuinely curious to see if this pattern plays out for other gangs
I’m being sarcastic but this is basically me thinking that (as all the rumors say), GW wants to put the resin part of their business to bed. And, previously, the grenade launcher was only part of the resin Escher Champions weapon kit. Along with extra attachments to a combi-bolter. You could get a melta- or plasma- barrel to attach to an included combi-bolter that had no pre-attached attachments. But, looking at the house list above, the number of combi-weapons in the Combi-Weapons section has been reduced to… one. Oddly, it’s the same number of combi-bolter combinations they currently make in plastic.
I will be genuinely curious to see if this pattern plays out for other gangs that once had resin weapon sprues.
I also think it’s a little disappointing. While I understand why Games Workshop might try to limit most things to what they’re currently offering, Necromunda has always been a converter’s hobby. I know people that never play gangs as they come out of the box. Just because GW doesn’t currently offer it, taking it off the house lists removes a lot of potential for conversions that is a little sad.
Back to Leaf though, since everyone is now a specialist, there wasn’t a whole lot special about her any more so I did the most awful thing I can think to do to an Escher fighter, I gave her a needle rifle.
Now… up until yesterday, I was very anti-needle rifle and it was not because of the weapon, per se, but who could take it. Until yesterday, it was in the Special Weapons category and only a Leader, Champion, or Specialist could be armed with a special weapon. For leaders and champions, this was a nonsense option. They have multiple attacks and a relatively high number of wounds. Everything about their profile says they should be Close Combat pieces.
Specialists were just gangers who could take special weapons. The problem here is… the needle rifle is just boring! It’s a single shot weapon carried by a fighter that could carry a chem-thrower or a flamer or a plasma gun or a meltagun! They could do real damage with an actually fun weapon. Instead, they would fire off a single shot that, most likely armor would deflect anyway. For a ruleset that only allowed people to take a single specialist at the start, it was a poor way to use her.
Now, everyone can have everything. So, why not give a ganger a needle rifle. Because you’re not wasting your specialist any more, it’s not entirely different than giving her a las gun. More expensive but a little more fun than las. It’s actually an okay option. And, if they bring back chem-synths as per my prediction, there’s a cheap and cheerful way to make it even a little bit better.
In one way, needle rifles are really more on theme for Escher than las guns anyway. And a fighter with a 4+ to hit and an AP of -1… they might actually be effective this edition.
I’m not going to do all the sisters, just one representative of the “class”, so to speak. In this case, it’ll be Sister River, your bog-standard Escher las gunner. I gave her throwing knives because I thought it was funny, not because they’re particularly effective.
Her stats are almost identical to what they were in the previous edition. So it’s really just her weapon that’s changed. There’s no more +1 to short range. But, because all gangers are specialists now, I was able to select a specialty for her. And I had a pretty good selection to choose from but, for a girl like her, I chose the Sniper speciality which brings with it the Precision Shot skill.
Maybe I could have gone for something more creative but I gave all three of my las gunners the same skill because a hit on a 6 that negates all armor is pretty goddamned effective. Possibly, annoyingly so. Since she hits on a 4+, this basically means that 1/3rd of her hitting shots should negate armor. That’s actually a real boost to her as a shooter.
Defensively, she’s worse off. I can’t afford to put Refractor fields or even Mesh armor on everyone at 50 and 40cr respectively. So… basic “flak” it is. That’s a downgrade.
Last I have my juve. She doesn’t get any skills and I usually don’t give juves armor anyway, so this is actually a step up for her.
Juves serve two purposes in my gangs, to run out ahead of fighters who matter and soak up the hits, and to throw a wrench into my opponent’s plan. Nothing is a giant middle-finger in an opponent’s eye more than running a juve into close combat with their leader. Oh, sure, she’s probably dead after that. But lucky shit sometimes happens. And, if nothing else, I’ve tied up the leader for a round at the cost of the cheapest fighter on the table. It’s sometimes effective but often hilarious.
Juves essentially remain the same from the last edition, so… no real notes.
Wrap Up!
Verdict: Yes, you can mostly play the gangs you already have with this edition. It’s not a perfect one-to-one conversion and, especially the higher up in the gang hierarchy you go, the more changes you’ll see. But if I had a couple of Escher boxes and the plastic weapons sprue and that was my Escher gang, that gang could absolutely still be played. But…
If your fighters depended on edge case rules, skills that no longer exist, or weapons that were only ever available in resin… well, my friend, you’re going to be painting up some replacements.
