Crooligans or Necro Punks?

[Shimian]

Hey guys,

I am looking for a comparison of the models mentioned above. I got them both, but I only use Necro Punks as scheme runners. I tried Crooligans twice but they were slaughtered every time. I find the Necro Punks far more durable and mobile with their leap. So maybe someone can point out why I should use a Crooligan when I could also use a Necro Punk instead

 

Kind regards from Germany

Sebastian

[Greebo]

I also use Necropunks most of the time, because they are awesome! They are durable, fast and can interact twice in a turn without any exterior help. 

Even though I love the Punks I always consider taking Crooligans for a point less. Situations where I think Crooligans are usable are schemes or strategies with (2) interacts, especially Stake a Claim. Another situation would be crews that target Willpower like Reva or Terror Seamus. I also consider then when I know I'm facing  shooty faction to tie up their snipers or important models early, using from the shadows. 

 

Grüße aus Hessen

[EnternalVoid]

Both have different uses.  Crooligans love stuff like Distract, Cursed Object, and the similar schemes in Gaining Ground.  They like being able to interact while engaged and using it to disengage.  They are also cheaper than Necropunks.  The fact it is a place action means they can leap to other sides of walls, up onto buildings, and into places that push or move actions would not be able to get to as easily.  The fact they can have from the shadows means that while they cannot interact first turn, they can be in a position to reach a tricky spot first turn with out having to cross as much ground.  They also have Df6 which can make it rough for things with lower attack scores to actually get the hits in against them.  Also technically I would rate the Crooligan's attack slightly better as it has built in Infect which I hold higher than a Necropunk's flurry.

In turn Necropunks have more durability and a different sort of mobility.  But it also costs 5ss.  Its Leap makes it better for dropping multiple scheme markers in a single activation but unlike the Crooligan that requires possible dropping a 7+ card from your hand.  It means the crooligan is a little more independent but more limited.  So Necropunks are likely the stronger rounded model, but pays for that a bit.  So I would say Crooligans are for when you have a plan to harness their difference and know how you are going to make them work where Necropunks are a better standard scheme runner choice when you want to be more flexible... but you are dropping 1-2ss more to upgrade from one or two crooligans to one or two necropunks.

[Mister Feral]

Why not take one of each and see how both perform?

I usually run Crooligans over Necropunks because I have the models painted up - although I imagine I'll give the latter another test run when they're painted up too.

[benjoewoo]

Necropunks are strictly better at taking multiple interact actions a turn or dropping multiple scheme markers a turn.

If neither of the above is necessary over a 5 Turn game, you pick the one that suits your crew the best, as in for hiring and combo purposes. Necropunks can flurry, making them one of the more deadly scheme runners--HtK and Re-attach also make them fairly durable. Crooligans have better defensive stats, a -1 Wp aura that combos nicely with some of Ressers favorite models and masters, have actions to mitigate shooting/amplify damage, and have superior mobility in terrain setups where you have high Ht terrain or a lot of enclosed terrain. Leap does not go into enclosed terrain, but Always on the Move does because it is a placement effect. Leap must factor terrain Ht in if you end the movement on terrain, whereas Always on the Move does not. Always on the Move also moves Crooligans further than Leap, though the difference is usually negligible. However, Leap allows Necropunks to take two interact actions per turn in different positions, while Always on the Move only allows Crooligans to take two interact actions from one position.

Fortune cookie advice: depends on your strats, schemes, terrain, and crew needs. I usually take Crooligans over Necropunks because I generally prefer the extra SS for my pool or an upgrade, and I try to avoid taking two schemes that require dropping a ton of markers. In GG 2016, most marker schemes can be denied by enemy models being positioned too closely, making them difficult to score full points on if your opponent hires any long range fighters and you take two such schemes.

[godswearhats]

So many variables go into answering this question. Ultimately, Crooligans are less resource intensive which is why I prefer them over Necropunks. They cost 1 less soulstone to hire (or summon), they have 1 higher Df and Wk, and their movement trick is a placement.

I'd have to look for a reason to take a Necropunk. Both models have 4 wounds, so I expect anyone trying to kill them to be able to do so pretty easily. The Crooligan is maybe more survivable vs your average scheme-running minion because the Ml of most scheme runners is only 4 or 5 so they are less likely to hit; but the Necropunks make up for this with their Hard to Wound and healing abilities, so this may actually be a wash.

I suspect your Crooligans died because you deployed them too far forward with From the Shadows. Try keeping them no more than 6" forward from your deployment zone, and ideally behind cover so that they can't be seen!

[Kogan Style]

12 hours ago, godswearhats said:

I'd have to look for a reason to take a Necropunk. Both models have 4 wounds, so I expect anyone trying to kill them to be able to do so pretty easily. The Crooligan is maybe more survivable vs your average scheme-running minion because the Ml of most scheme runners is only 4 or 5 so they are less likely to hit; but the Necropunks make up for this with their Hard to Wound and healing abilities, so this may actually be a wash.

A Necropunk requires a full activation to be killed by a model with  damage track of 3/4/5  whereas a Crooligan can be killed in one AP by the same 3/4/5 damage track. Necropunks also self heal and can leap away from combat meaning the scheme runner hunter has to chase them down. The Crooligan's place requires an interact so unless you have chosen an interact with enemy scheme you can't escape combat easily.  

I do like Crooligans, especially when its corner deployment (also Flank if I want a model hidden away) or there are a lot of interacting schemes that they can help with. The -ve WP has a place with a few masters (Seamus, Reva to name a few) and they are a stone less, but I prefer the Necropunk overall for a dedicated Scheme Runner.

[godswearhats]

1 hour ago, Kogan Style said:

A Necropunk requires a full activation to be killed by a model with  damage track of 3/4/5  whereas a Crooligan can be killed in one AP by the same 3/4/5 damage track.

I feel that if my scheme runner has gone anywhere near a 3/4/5 damage track model then I've misused them! Or else I've deliberately baited out one of their beaters with my little scheme runner :-) Being Ht 1 has a lot of advantages over Ht 2 as well. However, your point is well taken - I agree that Necropunks can take more of a beating. At 5SS tho, they are competing against Rotten Belles, Nurses and even Ashigaru if I want to hire them.

[Adran]

5 minutes ago, godswearhats said:

 Being Ht 1 has a lot of advantages over Ht 2 as well. 

Really? The only advantage I can think of is that if you have Ht 1 blocking terrain, you can't bee seen by other Ht 1 models, and in that rare case when the stars aline you can't be used to block line of sight between 2 ht 2 two models.

 

personally I almost always prefer the necropunk. The cruligan is restricted to 4 scheme markers in a normal game, where as the necropunk can do 7.  But for thinks like Stake a claim, they both are restricted to 2 claim markers in  the game.

[godswearhats]

I think you've uncovered a key point. I don't take Crooligans primarily for dropping scheme markers. I take them for interacting with opponent's models for schemes like Exhaust Their Forces.

[benjoewoo]

9 hours ago, Adran said:

Really? The only advantage I can think of is that if you have Ht 1 blocking terrain, you can't bee seen by other Ht 1 models, and in that rare case when the stars aline you can't be used to block line of sight between 2 ht 2 two models.

 

personally I almost always prefer the necropunk. The cruligan is restricted to 4 scheme markers in a normal game, where as the necropunk can do 7.  But for thinks like Stake a claim, they both are restricted to 2 claim markers in  the game.

I think this will emphasize your point--can't the Necropunk do 10, in a theoretical setting? 5 required turns, Crooligan drops 2 scheme markers per turn, meaning 10 total max without other model interactions?

[Adran]

6 hours ago, benjoewoo said:

I think this will emphasize your point--can't the Necropunk do 10, in a theoretical setting? 5 required turns, Crooligan drops 2 scheme markers per turn, meaning 10 total max without other model interactions?

You can average 3 every 2 turns, unless they are disappearing. Because you need to drop leap drop, walk drop leap, drop leap drop etc to keep the 4" gap required for the interact action. 

[benjoewoo]

Ah yes, forgot they'd start next their own dropped marker on even turns.