Necromunda: House Goliath Tactics
House Goliath is under the Spotlight from Games Workshop today – Don’t Skip Leg Day!
Do you even LIFT? If you’re a member of House Goliath you’re TEAM LIFT! They are the strongest and toughest gang around and we’re taking a look at what makes these slabs’o’beef tick!
The Stats
Just by looking at the stats you can see where these Warriors of House Goliath exceed and have trouble – They have Space Marine-like toughness and strength but suffer when it comes to the mental side of the house. One of the strange mental strengths of the Goliath Gangers is their relatively good Cool stat. They can surprisingly keep a cool head under pressure. Maybe they are always amped up so seeing one of their fellows get taken out doesn’t bother them…or maybe they are too dumb to notice! Just don’t let them know I said that…
“Just watch out when you’re recruiting Juves in Gang War! Juves in the new Necromunda are the lifeblood of any healthy gang, accumulating new Skills and advancements faster than their comrades. However, Juves often possess a weakened profile; Goliath Juves, for instance, only have a Strength and Toughness of 3. You’ll have to work hard to keep them safe in the early battles of your campaign, lest you hurt your gang’s future prospects.”
Oh don’t worry – those Juves will get on the training regimen soon enough! You just have to stay healthly long enough to work through your plateau and them BOOM – instant gains, brah!
The Gear
“What might surprise you about the Goliaths is their deadly ranged weaponry. The combat shotgun is a fantastic choice for any ganger, capable of firing heavy slugs or delivering a template-shaped burst of shrapnel, while the stub cannon takes the principle of a revolver and super-sizes it, creating a weapon few outside the gang could even lift. Meanwhile, for the toughest of targets, the ‘Krumper’ rivet cannon is a deadly piece of heavy-duty hardware. With a ferocious rate of fire, decent AP and high Damage, this weapon doesn’t possess great range but can chew through enemy fighters with ease close up and is particularly nasty in Zone Mortalis games, where short-ranged shooting reigns supreme.”
Rivet cannons, combat shotguns, and super-sized revolvers! The Goliath Gangers like to get up-close and make it PERSONAL! The bigger the gun, the better!
“You’ll be able to arm your gangers with brute cleavers, fighting knives, spud-jackers, power hammers and the savage renderizer. Which ones you use will come down to personal taste; we’d recommend experimenting with wielding a different close combat weapon in each hand. The brute cleaver, for instance, can disarm a foe, while the spud-jacker can knock foes back, making them handy secondaries.”
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I don’t know about the rest of the Houses and their weapons, but I think we can all agree that Goliath has the BEST names for all their weapons. I don’t know what a spud-jacker is but I think it’s going to put the fear of the Emperor in any potatoes out there!
One other thing to note is that the range of Grenades are based on the user’s Strength x 3. So your typical Goliath Ganger will be able to toss them 12″ which is a pretty good ways away – plus it’s a fantastic way to punch through doors. Just remember to pull the pin and throw the grenade and not the other way around…
The Skills
Goliath is known for their brawn and that’s one of their key skill trees in game. Early on, they’ll be able to pick-up skills from both Brawn and Ferocity with later skills in Combat and Shooting. But for now, let’s take a look at those Brawn Skills:
This one is pretty self-explanitory! When a fighter with this skill charges, they get +1 Strength and their weapons get Knockback! You do not wait to face a Goliath Ganger on a ledge…
Bulging Biceps allows them to ignore the Unwieldy Trait – this is fantastic for swinging those weapons first instead of last or carrying the biggest guns possible!
Goliath Tactics In Game
GW had this bit to say about using this gang on the tabletop:
With Goliaths, you’ll want to keep your gang close together, making good use of cover before you’re close enough to the enemy to start shooting at them. You’ll be most effective at mid-to-short range – remember, even an ostensibly “ranged” Goliath ganger is a force to be reckoned with in close combat. One strategy you may want to try is using “sacrificial” gangers to try and bait out enemy charges. Thanks to the high Cool characteristic of the rest of your gang, watching a comrade go down is unlikely to trigger a failed Nerve test. In your next activation, you’ll be free to follow up with a deadly charge from several of your fighters, before forming up again into a defensive wall.
So stick together, use cover and then unleash a devastating charge! Honestly, this sounds like the best strategy for most team-based shooters…Goliaths are going to be tough individually but they will get taken-out if left alone. So don’t run solo! Like we pointed out earlier: Goliath’s are Team LIFT!
Necromunda is up for Pre-Order now and ships out November 24th, 2017!
Lift with you legs, not your back!
