Goliath Advice

[StyrofoamKing]

Hullo!  I'm normally a Mord player (with a lot of old WF figs,) but my local group is likely to play a Necro campaign next.  Fueled by both my love of converting (and my cheapness), I've decided to go with Goliaths, converted from WF Chaos Maruader and 40k Catachan bits.  Now the question that remains is what should the gang consist of?

~I've never played Necro before, so I have no idea of a what Heavy-to-ganger-to-juve ratio most recommend.   I'm thinking somewhere between 6-9 members.  Should I go with 1 heavie or two?

~While I am a fluff person at heart, I'd love to not get COMPLETELY creamed.  Also, most of my Mord warbands were closer to Hand-to-Hand... which means I'm probably going to get shot to pieces if I don't prepare for that accordingly in my starting selection.

~To me, Goliath=Strength. With this flavor in mind, I'm liking the idea of mostly Boltguns and Shotguns, to get that fiercesome, flesh-piercing advantage.  Good call or bad call?

EXTRA NOTE: Is I have few 40k bits, any Heavy Weapon I give out will probably be built from scratch, using putty, sprue bits, and drinking straws.  I'm guessing the sustained fire weapons would probably look closer to a minigun, right?

[Ravendas]

1 leader, 1 or 2 heavies, 5 gangers, 3 juves is a good starting group.

I'm actually playing Goliaths now, and I started with these 11 models:
Leader: Chainsword + Boltpistol
Heavy: Heavy Stubber (very very highly recommended)
Ganger1: Club + Boltpistol (leader's bodyguard)
Ganger2 and 3: Boltguns
Ganger 4 and 5: Shotguns with Manstopper
Juves 1-4: Autopistol + Club


I like juves a lot. Some people don't like them so much. I see them as quickly leveling models that can become highly specialized if lucky, cheap cannonfodder if unlucky. Especially if you are playing goliaths and plan on going into hand to hand a lot, the extra numbers will help ensure some get into hth range, and overwhelm the enemy.

Also with this build, I think I started with 50 creds in my stash, which helped my pick up a few random pieces of gear later on.

One thing you can do with your leader is kit him for hand to hand, like I did, or give him a special weapon, like a plasmagun. The plasmagun is an awesome choice, but a bit expensive. I went with hand to hand for my leader just because I feel that's what a Goliath leader should do (and he does it well).

[StyrofoamKing]

Thanks much.  If I did go with a second Heavy, should I go with a second Stubber, or stick him with a flamer?

[Ravendas]

1 heavy with 1 stubber = 180creds. A pair would be 360 creds, a full third of your starting cash. That's a lot to drop on two models.

I think a heavy with a flamer would be excellent, in addition to the heavy with the stubber. The flamer heavy could support the hand to hand group as they advance, while the heavy stubber can cover firelanes. Then once the heavies start leveling, you can swap their weapons depending on what kind of skills/stats they get. +1bs? He gets the stubber!

Oh and one thing I noticed about my heavy with a stubber (back when he was alive), is that he didn't fire too often. It's not that he was useless, it's just because it's move or fire, he is typically pretty static on the battlefield. What he is good at is cutting off areas. Most people fear stepping into a heavystubber's sight, so you can use it to funnel the enemy into one area, or deny them from going to another area. Even if it doesn't fire a shot, if it's used right it can be very helpful.

[Mastermime]

I would say kit out your Leader with something like a chainsword and an auto pistol, 1 Heavy with a Stubber used as Ravendas sugessted, 3 Gangers armed with clubs and Autopistols, 2 with shotguns and 2-3 juves armed with auto pistols. Goliath are typically quite weak due to their poor skill sets however if used en masse their weakness can become an advantage. However by taking ferocity skills you run the risk of rolling too many Killer Reps and never scoring a single wound.

[Ravendas]

It's funny that causing fear is a negative in hand to hand. Once you declare a charge and find that you are in range, then they take a test to run away. If they do run away, your charge fails and you are left hanging out in the open.

You miss your turn, your opponent misses his turn (possibly more if he doesn't recover), and you are a sitting duck.

[Mastermime]

We house rule it that the opponent is technically fleeing combat so you get a free hit against them. Otherwise my three Crusaders and my Zealot with Killer rep might as well stay on the team bus.