Review: Necromunda Hive Secundus

Arm yourself with the finest weaponry, ensure your lumens are fully charged, and enlist the most fearsome Spyre Hunter you can find as you prepare to delve into the terrifying depths of the Underhells. Join me as I review Necromunda: Hive Secundus, exploring the contents and the detailed miniatures that bring the dark underbelly of Hive Secundus to life.

The new Necromunda Hive Secundus box can be preordered from Saturday, July 20, 2024. It goes on sale two weeks later, following a two-week preorder window.

Included in the box are:

• 8 Van Saar Tek-hunters
• 2 Orrrus Spyre Hunters and a Caryatid Prime
• 6 Malstrain Genstealers
• 4 Malstrain Tyramites
• 8 Brood Scum
• sculpted Necromunda bases for all models
• a bulkhead sprue with 5 barricades and 2 doors
• 2 double-sided paper mats
• a 176-page softback Necromunda: Hive Secundus Rulebook
• a deck of reference cards and 2 reference sheets
• 2 sets of dice, templates, a range ruler, and a sheet of cardboard tokens

A look at the Hive Secundus models

Van Saar Tek-hunters review

The Van Saar Tek-hunters come on two identical medium-sized sprues, along with textured 25mm bases. Each sprue contains four different Van Saar bodies, which can be assembled into the following Tek-hunters:

• Body 1 can be built either as a Gunntek with long las and refraction cloak, or as an Augurtek with lasgun
• Body 2 can be built either as an Augurtek with las carbine, augurspex, and vox array, or as a Bioteknist with lasgun
• Body 3 can be built either as a Bioteknist with servo-medicae and laspistol, or as a Gunntek with lasgun
• Body 4 can be built either as a Teknomant with combi-weapon (flamer or man-catcher), or as a Teknomant with rad gun

Patreon bonus content: Full resolution, uncompressed versions of these sprue images (and backsides of the sprues) can be downloaded here.

Since the sprue is included twice, you can choose to build each ganger type twice. Each head and arm pair is designed for a specific body, but since the neck joints are largely identical, with some experimentation, heads can be swapped. The same goes for the arm pairs.

The Orrus Spyer Hunters & Caryatid Prime sprue

The medium-sized sprue for the Orrus Spyre Hunters contains three models: two Orrus Spyre Hunters on 40mm Necromunda bases, and one Caryatid Prime on a 25mm base.

For both Spyre Hunters, you can choose between power talons and power fists, as well as bolt launchers, volkite dischargers, and disintegration matrices. There are enough parts included to equip both models with all possible options, so you can arm both Hunters identically. The left and right arms fit both models and can be swapped for more variety, and there are four interchangeable heads. However, there are no other posing options, and the Caryatid Prime has no build options.

Patreon bonus content: Full resolution, uncompressed versions of these sprue images (and backsides of the sprues) can be downloaded here.

In my opinion, the reimagined Orrus suits are one of the highlights of the box. The only downside is that three out of the four feet pieces have tactical rocks moulded onto them, which cannot be removed easily. Additionally, my sprue had rather noticeable mould lines.

Malstrain Genestealers, Tyramites and Hive Brood reviewed

The Malstrain Genestealers and Tyramites come on a medium-sized sprue, which allows you to build three Genestealers on 32mm bases, and two Tyramites on 25mm bases. This sprue also includes five different heads for the Hive Brood, and is included twice in identical form.

Patreon bonus content: Full resolution, uncompressed versions of these sprue images (and backsides of the sprues) can be downloaded here.

For the first Malstrain Genestealer, there are two different heads included, the same for the second one, and the third one has a choice of three heads, allowing for some variety despite the duplicate sprue. For the arms, you can either use the pre-made poses or cut away the pins, allowing for some degree of interchangeability and free positioning on ball joints. Additionally, each of the two Tyramites has two different “faces” to choose from.

For the eight Hive Brood models, you combine the heads from the Malstrain Genestealer sprue with the existing Hive Scum sprues. The Hive Scum sprue contains four models with various weapons and is included twice.

The bulkhead terrain

The terrain in the box is sparse. There is only one of the bulkhead sprues from the very first Necromunda starter box, as well as two game mats made of thin paper. This allows you to play the Hive Secundus campaign from the rulebook, but the game mats are designed with the expectation that you’ll purchase the Ruined Zone Mortalis and Hive Data Stack Cluster terrain pieces separately.

Necromunda Hive Secundus book contents

The included softcover rulebook has 174 pages. In addition to nearly 30 pages of new lore, the book also contains the complete core rules (except for the vehicle rules from Necromunda Ash Wastes). This is not a straightforward reprint; the layout and artwork have been adapted to match the contents of Hive Secundus. I’m pleased to see that, compared to earlier Necromunda books, a lighter background has been chosen, making the text more readable.

It’s fair to say that among all of Games Workshop’s skirmish games, Necromunda has the most complex (and convoluted) rules. The structure of the rules section is unusual. Conditions and ganger profiles are explained first, followed by gang creation, before delving into the actual gameplay mechanics.

The rest of the book is dedicated to the Underhells campaign, which can be played with the materials from the box. The Malstrain player will also become the Arbitrator, while the other player takes command over a Secundan Incursion gang. There are seven scenarios, as well as rules for Secundan Incursion gangs and Forces of the Malstrain. However, these only cover the models from the box. If you want to reinforce other gangs with Van Saar Tek-Hunters and/or Spyre Hunters, play other Spyre Hunters besides the Orrus, or utilise dramatis personae, you will need to get the Book of Desolation.

Value

Necromunda Hive Secundus is a rather thin box, but the variety of new models (as well as older models with upgrades) makes this box attractive. Additionally, it includes a thick softcover book, reference cards and play aids. However, the included terrain and paper game mats are sparse and rely on you purchasing the Zone Mortalis terrain and gaming boards for a complete experience.

Compared to Necromunda Hive War, which has similar contents, this box contains only a single sprue of terrain but includes more models. Hive Secundus is slightly cheaper than Hive War at an RRP of £105 / 140.00 € / $170, which I think is okay(ish).

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I hope you found this review helpful, feel free to leave a reaction or comment below, or post your questions here or discuss on our Discord channel.