Let’s run a hypothetical for a moment. And it’s a hypothetical because I’ve been lucky enough that I’ve never been in a situation this bad. But, give me a second to spin this out to make a point.
I show up at a game event and shake my opponent’s hand. I pull out all of my lovingly modeled Escher, Sunny, the las gunner who just loves to kill things, Stinky, my murder-zombie, all the girls and I point out that each of them is armed as shown. Drummer with her plasma gun, Leaf with her needle rifle. Even Wind, my juve, has her las pistol and stiletto knife. I’d planned out my list before putting glue to plastic and the result was a gang that perfectly matched that list.
Then my opponent pours his box of minis onto the table. And there is the entire box of Ironhead Squats, every single one of them armed with either an Ironhead Boltgun or an Ironhead Autogun. Oh, except that guy, who has the standard power hammer and auto-pistol. He sets them in a row and announces that two of the four guys with autoguns actually have heavy stubbers. And one of the two boltguns is actually a mining laser. And the auto-pistol on the leader is actually a bolt pistol.
He was told that the miniatures for this event didn’t have to be WYSIWYG, so he built this list last night and thought he’d give it a shot. And you can tell which guy is which because, even though they’re all still gray plastic, he marked the proxies with a Sharpie on their bases. Looking forward to a great game!
The organizers of the event said WYSIWYG didn’t matter but my first inclination in this instance is just to walk away. Because this person isn’t even trying.
Every day on every Necromunda forum I read, I see the same question over and over: Do my models have to be WYSIWYG or can I get away with this or that? WYSIWYG, of course, means “What You See Is What You Get” and what it usually refers to is that the miniature you’re playing is actually equipped more or less as shown. But every time I read this question, what I really read is, “How much work can I put on my opponent?”
every time I read this question, what I really read is, “How much work can I put on my opponent?”
A player who has gone through the bother of planning their list and building their models accordingly has not just done themselves a favor by making a gang they can be proud of, they’ve done their opponents a solid by making it easy to play against them. No one should ever be in the position of making a charge at an enemy fighter with a las gun only to be told, “Oh, that’s my dual wielding plasma pistol.” Motherfucker, say what?
My hypothetical is just that because I have never played against someone like that. I’ve never met anyone who would try to play an event with unpainted models much less try to get away with so many proxies for other things. But every time I see the question asked, “How WYSIWYG do I need to be” I find myself wanting to answer, “As much as you possibly can.”
The average starting Necromunda gang is about eight fighters, give or take one. The number of models in a standard starting gang box is ten. Planning out a 1,000cr list is usually what most people do before building anything because, while a Necromunda box isn’t going to break the bank, it’s also not free so why not be efficient with it. Then, once that list is built, it should be trivial to ensure that each fighter is seen carrying at least their primary weapon. This should leave one or two models left over because, here’s the important part: the initial gang list will probably need to be revised.
I had this with my Sinking Blue Escher gang.
I’d planned for a needle rifle champion and a shock whip/stub gun specialist. Neither were what I’d hoped them to be and a few games quickly revealed this. And the Wyld Runner wasn’t great either. Further revisions revealed that what I really wanted was a plasma gun. Until I was able to get her built and painted up though, I did ask my opponents if I could proxy my needle rifle as a plasma gun.
And here’s where I think the important line is: How WYSIWYG should you make your models? As best as you can. Do people allow proxies? Usually, within reason.
Using my hypothetical, keeping track of which autoguns are actually heavy stubbers and which boltguns are actually mining lasers required me to keep track of my opponent’s models in a way that’s not fair in what’s supposed to be a collaborative experience. Which is why, when I arbitrate campaigns, the rule I apply to proxies is, “Yes, you may proxy a miniature but that miniature may not be armed the same as any other miniature within your gang.”
Thus, using my own gang as an example, because I only had one needle rifle, it was okay to proxy her as a plasma gun. But what wouldn’t have flown was trying to proxy one of my four las gunners and say this one, this one right here, she’s not like all the rest, she has a plasma gun. The difference is my opponent knows the different model is different. I’m not asking him to keep track of which, between like models, is the odd duck.
… as with most subtle differences, it’s also important.
It sounds like a subtle difference but, as with most subtle differences, it’s also important.
Having a couple of models left over also leaves a margin for experimentation. Okay, so the shock whip wasn’t a great idea, maybe I’ll try something else. And campaigns are an even better place to eventually build these out.
I’m not the world’s fastest painter and I’m definitely not the world’s best. But, in the course of a campaign, I’ve often had fighters promoted and new weapons purchased. And if the main weapon on one ganger changes, I’ve found it’s really not a hardship to assemble, prime, and paint a single figure in the course of a weekend or, at worst, over the next week. I literally did this in my Psyker Sarah gang when one champion got a plasma gun and another got a melta-gun. In their cases, I probably could have continued using the champs as they were sufficiently distinct from the rest of the models on the table but, if we’re being honest with ourselves, it’s always much more satisfying to see fighters armed as stated than standing in for something else.
That satisfaction brings me to my very last point. I always think people should consider what kind of collection it is they want to have. You can have eight las gunners and make your opponents figure out what is a proxy for what. Or you can build out the various weapons, maybe not all at once but starting with your list first and then as they’re needed. And, at the end of the day, build an awesome collection that’s also just great to look at and show off. I always want the latter because I don’t know when I’ll get my next game in but I’ll have those minis until we both burn in a house fire. And that’s why WYSIWYG is a life philosophy.
