Grimdark Future/Tactics/Gangs of Hive City

Why play Gangs of Hive City?

The Hive City Gangers are like the Wormhole Daemons in that they're really a bunch of smaller armies put together from the bits of smaller ones. Each of these gangs have their own particular focus, but you can easily tell that what each one works best with. You'll also notice that the gangs are flimsy and are limited in their roles.

<tabs> <tab name="Grimdark Future"> Sorry, you can't bring your not-Necromundans into the big game. I mean, you're just bringing a bunch of civilians into a much bigger battlefield - without some bigger guns and tanks, you'd be better off refluffing them as HDF or Feudal armies. </tab> <tab name="Firefight">

Pros

• Multiple armies in one
• Each army covers a specific role

Cons

• Your army has pitiful armor
• Very limited roles
• Narrow unit choice
• No Casting

The Cult

The cult is rather mobile, each model possessing Strider so they can reach whatever cover they need. With the help of their leaders, short-ranged combat becomes their specialty. While they're capable of holding up in combat, they're no more spectacular than the rest of the gangs.

Special Rules

• Cult Icon: Allies in melee within 12" of this model get to either add an extra attack or +2 AP to their attacks. Both of these are quite helpful.

• Redemption: Allies within 12" get to fire twice when they shoot to enemies within half their gun's range.

Heroes

• Cult Leader: Your most elite hero and model, though they only have a 4+ to quality and defense. Their big specialty is in their versatility, as they have access to the entire cult armory. They're also able to buy both Redemption and Cult Icon, boosting everything for the army, though it comes at a cost. Fortunately, these are the cheapest boosts of all the gangs.
  • Melee: If you want more than a mere CCW, you'll likely need to sacrifice your shooting. The cheapest options you have is wither dual-wielding CCWs or getting a great weapon for AP 2. The chainsaw glaive gives you double the attacks with Rending. You also can buy a spear (for Deadly 3 but no AP) that has either an assault rifle or shotgun strapped onto it, which is quite a present against heroes...if you can pierce their armor.
  • Shooting: With few exceptions, your shooting will often be short-ranged. That's perfectly fine, especially with Redemption. If you're that pressed for points and don't care about melee, you can just go guns akimbo for a second pistol and only one CCW attack. If you can spare a few, you can instead buy a sawed-off shotty (for half the range but two AP 1 shots), flamethrower pistol (lots of attacks at very short range), heavy pistol (AP 1 on your pistol) or assault rifle (double the range and you can buy a flamethrower as an attachment). For 10 points, you could instead grab a heavy flamethrower (lots of shots at AP 1), flamethrower, grenade crossbow (which decent range and a small blast with AP 1), or a long-range machinegun. The sniper rifle is your most expensive gun, but arguably not worth it considering how far apart you'll need to be for Retribution.

• Cult Champion: A bit cheaper than the leader, but has a sad 5+ defense. They have all the armory access the leader does, but can only buy either Cult Icon or Redemption, not both.

Infantry

• Cult Veteran: The most elite among the gangers. They have access to all the guns and maintain the champion's stats.

• Cult Ganger: These guys only have a 5+ quality. Thus, you start losing access to weapons - so far, you only lack access to snipers and flamethrowers (both as its own or as a rifle attachment).

• Cult Rookies: The weakest of your army, but you get three of them. While they can use all the melee weapons (thus allowing them to be chaff), you also get a few of the guns available and nothing with good range beyond the assault rifle.

The Hidden

The Hidden are ded kunnin'. Their MO focuses on making the first strike and sever the head. Thus, you have an entire army with Stealth and

Special Rules

• Silent Assassins: Allies within 12" of this model get +2 AP when they charge an enemy that was out of their line of sight when they were activated.

• Spymaster: This model and up to half the army can be deployed after your enemies have been set up, including all Scout moves. You'll need to build around this setup and make sure your goons survive because this will eat into your allowance.

Heroes

• Hidden Leader: Your most elite hero and model, though they only have a 4+ to quality and defense. Their big specialty is in their versatility, as they have access to the entire hidden armory. They're also able to buy both Silent Assassins and Spymaster, making them more viable in setting things up. That said, you're probably not as well-served doing so, meaning you're more likely to use the Hidden Champion.
  • Melee: Despite having Silent Assassins, the Hidden don't really have much in the way of melee. If you don't want to go wual-wielding and sacrificing your guns, you can get either the web shooter for Rending or the shock staff for both Rending and another attack. Note that unless you do use Silent Assassins, there's no AP here - a major issue you'll need to build around.
  • Shooting: You've got plenty of shooting that won't sacrifice your CCW. If you do, however, you can just go guns akimbo for free. Your cheapest options are the throwing knives (super short-range but Sniper), the flamethrower pistol, needle pistol (poisoned), web pistol (Rending), plasma pistol (AP 2), shotgun (two attacks), or assault rifle. For 10 points, you got more options: the flamethrower (both normal and heavy), gravity rifle (18" A2 Rending), plasma rifle (assault rifle with Rending), and fusion rifle (short-range but super-lethal). The web rifle (24" A2 Rending) and sniper rifle end up at the costliest.

• Hidden Champion: A bit cheaper than the leader, but has a sad 5+ defense. They have all the armory access the leader does, but can only buy either Silent Assassins or Spymaster, not both.

Infantry

• Hidden Veteran: The most elite among the gangers. They have access to all the guns and maintain the champion's stats.

• Hidden Ganger: These guys only have a 5+ quality. Thus, you start losing access to weapons. These gangers suffer more than most considering how many guns are available to the Hidden.

• Hidden Rookies: The weakest of your army, but you get three of them. While they can use all the melee weapons (all two of them), you also get a few of the guns available and nothing with good range beyond the assault rifle. That said, the throwing knives give you a major advantage at harassing lesser-armored heroes before going down.

The Femmes

The femmes are a gang of speedy amazons. Each of them has Fast, and the leader's rules give them means of adding more attacks. This alongside their rather balanced range of guns and choppy bits makes them well-balanced.

Special Rules

• Matriarch: When this unit is activated, two models within 6" gain the Furious rule when they decide to charge on their next activation. This tends to require a bit of setup, but it's pretty neat.

• Psychotic: Allies within 12" get Relentless. Pretty decent if you can get the setup right.

Heroes

• Femme Leader: Your most elite hero and model, though they only have a 4+ to quality and defense. Their big specialty is in their versatility, as they have access to the entire femme armory. They're also able to buy both Psychotic and Matriarch, boosting everything for the army, though it comes at a cost.
  • Melee: If you don't give a damn about shooting, you can just go dual wielding. Otherwise, you could buy a chainsaw sword (4 attacks) and energy sword (AP 1 Rending) give you some decent boosts, you can spend a bit more for a shock whip for even better (A3 AP 1 Rending).
  • Shooting: The weapons available for femmes are actually a decent mix for mid-range combat. For free, you could go guns akimbo for free with double pistols. Your cheapest options are the flamethrower pistol, needle pistol, plasma pistol, shotgun and assault rifle (with a needle rifle attachment available for better-ranged Poison). For 10 points, you get the machinegun, flamethrower, needle rifle and plasma rifle. Your costliest options are the acid thrower (a flamethrower with Poison) and fusion rifle.

• Femme Champion: A bit cheaper than the leader, but has a sad 5+ defense. They have all the armory access the leader does, but can only buy either Matriarch or Psychotic, not both.

Infantry

• Femme Veteran: The most elite among the gangers. They have access to all the guns and maintain the champion's stats.

• Femme Ganger: These guys only have a 5+ quality. Thus, you start losing access to weapons. This costs quite a few guns, but you can at least keep some machineguns to act as a Relentless bunker.

• Femme Rookies: The weakest of your army, but you get three of them. While they can use all the melee weapons (thus allowing them to be chaff), you also get a few of the guns available and nothing with good range beyond the assault rifle.

The Brutes

The brutes are giant tides of muscle. While they're all with Furious, they suffer with Slow. This makes the entire gang a bit cheaper than the rest of the gangs. If you take the brutes, you're going to need to make sure they can make it to the fight and guarantee their wins.

Special Rules

• Pit Fighter: Allies within 12" of this model get to an extra attack when in melee. You'll definitely be wanting to use this a lot.

• Stubborn: Whenever any model within 12" fails a morale check, this model can roll a die - on a 4+, the model passes instead.

Heroes

• Brute Leader: Your most elite hero and model, though they only have a 4+ to quality and defense. Their big specialty is in their versatility, as they have access to the entire brute armory. They're also able to buy both Pit Fighter and Stubborn, boosting everything for the army, though it comes at a cost.
  • Melee: You've got a LOT of options for melee. Your cheapest are either dual-wielding (sacrificing the guns), a great weapon (AP 2 that also sacrifices shooting), chainsaw sword, energy sword, heavy cleaver (AP 1 with Blast 3, thus managing mobs), or energy hammer (AP 1 Deadly 3, ideal for hero-killing). More expensive is the energy wrench (AP 2 Deadly 3, more hero-killy) and the sawblade axe (AP 2 Rending, but costs shooting).
  • Shooting: Despite being the brutes, you get quite a bit of guns to suit whichever range you need - useful since you're slow. For free, you can go guns akimbo for more shooty (and your pistols can slap on plasma pistols as add-ons). Your cheapest guns are the hand flamethrower, assault rifle (able to slap on attachments for flamethrower and fusion rifle), shotgun, combat shotgun (12" A3) and rivet shooter (AP 1 Rending). Next up is the shot cannon (18" A2 AP 1), flamethrower (both normal and heavy) and grenade launcher. Your costliest guns are the heavy machinegun (granting AP 1 on the machinegun) and fusion rifle.

• Brute Champion: A bit cheaper than the leader, but has a sad 5+ defense. They have all the armory access the leader does, but can only buy either Pit Fighter or Stubborn, not both.

Infantry

• Brute Veteran: The most elite among the gangers. They have access to all the guns and maintain the champion's stats.

• Brute Gangers: These guys only have a 5+ quality and, unlike other gangs, you get three of them. Thus, you start losing access to weapons. Only one of these brutes can grab a flamethrower, grenade launcher, or machinegun (heavy or base).

• Brute Rookies: The weakest of your army, but you get three of them. While they can use all the melee weapons (and they are quite evil at that), you also get a few of the guns available and nothing with good range beyond the assault rifle.

The Miners

The miners have Scout as a universal rule, meaning they can move to the right positions before the game starts.

Special Rules

• Fighting Spirit:' Allies within 12" of this model can shoot after rushing. This is pretty neat since this helps them with getting in range to blast the enemy.

• Proud: Allies within 12" add an additional attack in melee. Cool.

Heroes

• Miner Leader: Your most elite hero and model, though they only have a 4+ to quality and defense. Their big specialty is in their versatility, as they have access to the entire miner armory. They're also able to buy both Proud and Fighting Spirit, boosting everything for the army, though it comes at a cost.
  • Melee: If you want more than a mere CCW, you'll likely need to sacrifice your shooting. The cheapest options you have is wither dual-wielding CCWs or getting a great weapon for AP 2 and both deny shooting. If you want to keep your gun, you'll need to pony up for either a chainsaw sword or an energy fist (AP 3, lethal for bosses).
  • Shooting: With few exceptions, your shooting will often be short-ranged. That's perfectly fine, especially with Redemption. If you're that pressed for points and don't care about melee, you can just go guns akimbo for a second pistol and only one CCW attack. If you can spare a few, you can instead buy a sawed-off shotty, flamethrower pistol, plasma pistol or assault rifle (and you can buy a fusion rifle as an attachment). For 10 points, you could instead grab a combat shotgun, flamethrower (base or heavy), harpoon gun (18" A1 AP 1 Deadly 3), or a long-range machinegun. Your costliest guns are the heavy machinegun and fusion rifle.

• Miner Champion: A bit cheaper than the leader, but has a sad 5+ defense. They have all the armory access the leader does, but can only buy either Proud or Fighting Spirit, not both - And at a cheaper price.

Infantry

• Miner Veteran: The most elite among the gangers. They have access to all the guns and maintain the champion's stats.

• Miner Ganger: These guys only have a 5+ quality. Thus, you start losing access to weapons. While these gangers lose quite a few guns, you still have plenty to pick from

• Miner Rookies: The weakest of your army, but you get three of them. While they can use all the melee weapons (but you might not wanna, their melee weapons are rather minimal), you also get a few of the guns available and nothing with good range beyond the assault rifle.

The Artisans

The artisans are the master shootists bar none among the gangs. Everything about them is about their guns and they get quite a few powerful heavy guns.

Special Rules

• Cyber Eyes: Your vision is enhanced. All artisans add +1 to all shooting rolls.

• Overseer: Allies within 12" of this model get to add +6" to their guns' range. Quite the killer move.

• Radiation Power: Allies within 12" add +2 AP to their guns, but if they roll a nat 1 to hit, they eat a hit. Note that this doesn't outright kill your guys, but it's not much different.

Heroes

• Artisan Leader: Your most elite hero and model, though they only have a 4+ to quality and defense. Their big specialty is in their versatility, as they have access to the entire artisan armory. They're also able to buy both Overseer and Radiation Power, boosting everything for the army, though it comes at a cost.
  • Melee: You've got a few decent weapons despite being the shooty faction. If you don't decide to go double-sword (and why would you, you moron?) you can grab either the shock baton (with Blast 3, pretty neat for mobs), energy fist, or energy shield (adding +1 to defense - actually quite good).
  • Shooting: Now you're talking! If you're that pressed for points, you can just go guns akimbo for a second pistol and only one CCW attack - and you'd be best off for it because you have more shots. If you can spare a few, you can instead buy a , flamethrower pistol, plasma pistol or assault rifle (double the range and you can buy a plasma or fusion rifle as an attachment). For 10 points, you could instead grab a burst laser (slightly better range for AP 2), radiation rifle (A3 Rending), gravity rifle, plasma rifle, or fusion rifle. If you want heavy weapons, you've got three options, and all are costly: the radiation cannon (36" A1 Blast 3 Rending) is the cheapest of the lot, while the plasma cannon (36" A1 Blast 3 AP 2) gives you a blast with reliable AP and the heavy fusion rifle (24" A1 AP 4 Deadly 6) is just if you feel so desperate.

• Artisan Champion: A bit cheaper than the leader, but has a sad 5+ defense. They have all the armory access the leader does, but can only buy either Cult Icon or Redemption, not both - And at a cheaper price.

Infantry

• Artisan Veteran: The most elite among the gangers. They have access to all the guns and maintain the champion's stats.

• Artisan Ganger: These guys only have a 5+ quality. Thus, you start losing access to weapons. For the artisans, this means that your gangers can't be heavy weapons specialists - a bit reasonable with how inaccurate they are.

• Artisan Rookies: The weakest of your army, but you get three of them. While they can use all the melee weapons, you also get a few of the guns available and nothing with good range beyond the assault rifle. That said, the burst laser is a great alternative for forces with good armor.

The Bodyguards

The bodyguards are a bit starved for gear, but what they have is the ability to control the battlefield. Alongside quite a lot of weapons that give them Blast, they also have Fearless and rules that make sure that they keep an edge on the battlefield.

Special Rules

• Boot Stomp: Allies in melee within 12" of this model get to add +1 AP to their attacks. a decent enough boost.

• Maintain Order: Upon activation, select one enemy unit within 12" and roll a d6; on a 4+, they have to move 6" away from this model. Used correctly, you can pretty force the enemy away from melee and strip away boosts like Redemption or shotguns.

Heroes

• Bodyguard Leader: Your most elite hero and model, though they only have a 4+ to quality and defense. Their big specialty is in their versatility, as they have access to the entire bodyguard armory. They're also able to buy both Boot Stomp and Maintain Order, boosting everything for the army, though it comes at a cost.
  • Melee: When it comes to melee, your options are quite slim. If you don't spring for dual CCW, you'll need to pony up 10 points for anything. The shock baton gives you Blast 3 while the Assault Ram gives Blast 3 at the cost of only one attack and an assault grenade launcher (also at Blast 3). This gives you a lot of power over mobs. If you plan to go full shooty, then you can trade your weapon off for an assault shield for +1 defense.
  • Shooting: With few exceptions, your shooting will often be short-ranged and usually lacking in AP. The cheapest option you have is to dual-wield pistols, reducing you to a lone CCW attack. If you still want some manner of combat (or a shield), you can instead going for a heavy pistol, shotgun, assault rifle or sonic rifle (18" A1 Blast 3). If you pay for more, you can grab a heavy assault rifle (adding +1 AP to the assault rifle), heavy sonic rifle (sonic rifle with double range), grenade launcher or a sniper rifle.

• Bodyguard Champion: A bit cheaper than the leader, but has a sad 5+ defense. They have all the armory access the leader does, but can only buy either Boot Stomp or Maintain Order, not both - And at a cheaper price.

Infantry

• Bodyguard Veteran: The most elite among the gangers. They have access to all the guns and maintain the champion's stats.

• Bodyguard Ganger: These guys only have a 5+ quality. Thus, you start losing access to weapons.

• Bodyguard Rookies: The weakest of your army, but you get three of them. While they can use all the melee weapons (thus allowing them to be chaff), you also get a few of the guns available and nothing with good range beyond the assault rifle. Thankfully, giving them shields can make them slightly tougher if you want.

The Cannibals

The cannibals are the purely melee faction. While the brutes could at least double as heavy weapons guys, the cannibals hold no such delusions. They only have Furious and nothing else.

Special Rules

• Berserker: Allies in melee within 12" of this model get to add +1 attack in melee. a decent enough boost.

• Feeding Frenzy: Allies within 3" of this model get +3" to their charging distance. Another important boost because of how crap your shooting is.

Heroes

• Cannibal Leader: Your most elite hero and model, though they only have a 4+ to quality and defense. Their big specialty is in their versatility, as they have access to the entire bodyguard armory. They're also able to buy both Berserker and Feeding Frenzy, boosting everything for the army, though it comes at a cost.
  • Melee: C'mon, this is where you want to be anyways. You might lose your gun for the most part, but that's a sacrifice you might be willing to make. Among this options are the dual-wielding CCWs, the great blade, and boning blade (A3 AP 1 and lets you keep the gun). The costlier options consist of the chainsaw cleaver (A4 AP 1 that doesn't take the gun), chainsaw glaive (A4 Rending and keeps the gun), the heavy chainsaw cleaver (A4 AP 2that keeps the gun) the heavy chainsaw cleaver (A4 AP 3), dual chainsaw cleavers (a literal hurricane of chainsaws), rotary saw (A6 AP 1 Rending at heavy cost), and the dual heavy chainsaw cleavers (even more expensive, but even deadlier).
  • Shooting: With few exceptions, your shooting shooting is...honestly forgettable. Your cheapest options are the flamethrower (in basic, pistol or heavy varieties) and harpoon gun (18" A1 AP 1 Deadly 3 to smash enemies). Really, if you plan to go shooty, flamethrowers are your only options and they do quite decently for that.

• Cannibal Champion: A bit cheaper than the leader, but has a sad 5+ defense. They have all the armory access the leader does, but can only buy either Berserker or Feeding Frenzy, not both - And at a cheaper price.

Infantry

• Cannibal Veteran: The most elite among the gangers. They have access to all the guns and maintain the champion's stats.

• Cannibal Gangers: These guys only have a 5+ quality, but their melee obsession gives you three of them. Thus, you start losing access to weapons. Thankfully, you still get the flamethrower if you insist of making them shoot.

• Cannibal Rookies: The weakest of your army, but you get three of them. While they can use all the melee weapons (thus allowing them to be chaff), you could also go for flamethrower pistols if you need control.

Army Building

Tactics

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Grimdark Future Tactics Articles
General:	General Tactics
Alien Hives:	Alien Hives - Soul-Snatcher Cults
Aliens:	Dwarf Guilds - Eternal Dynasty - Jackals - Orc Marauders Robot Legions - Saurian Starhost - TAO Coalition
Battle Brothers:	Battle Brothers - Custodian Brothers - Prime Brothers
Elves:	Dark Elf Raiders - Elven Jesters - High Elf Fleets
Havoc:	Havoc Brothers - Machine Cult Defilers - Wormhole Daemons
Humans:	Battle Sisters - Feudal Guard - Gangs of Hive City Human Defense Force - Human Inquisition - Infected Colonies Machine Cult - Titan Lords - Rebel Guerillas
Ratmen:	Ratmen Clans - Vile Rattus Cult