Holdenstein wrote:A priest giving everyone the bird and a battle engine with six inches of ground clearance at the front. This is my least favourite.

AgeOfEgos wrote:
Is this the PP version of Apocalypse?

Death By Monkeys wrote:

Holdenstein wrote:A priest giving everyone the bird and a battle engine with six inches of ground clearance at the front. This is my least favourite.

Okay, good. I'm not the only one thinking that the priest is turning the volume up.

And - yippy, a mobile pipe organ. Does it fire missiles? Oh, that would be unique. Either way, it's fail.

warpcrafter wrote:No way one guy, even on meth and pcp is pulling that thing.

Laughing Man wrote:

warpcrafter wrote:No way one guy, even on meth and pcp is pulling that thing.

Orly?

Gr3y wrote:
Wrath is the new expansion for Warmachine coming out next year. It's introducing "War Engines" which are big (110 mm base) heavy support weapons.

Necros wrote:Is that big tank gonna be all metal? or plastic?

Wuyley wrote:

Any word on what the Mercs are going to get? If it is a tank, gg.

BrookM wrote:Nyeeeeeeh, I've found my Imperial space pope wagon. All I need now is a breathing corpse with a humongous hat and a big ass staff. It also needs more slaves pulling that thing.

George Spiggott wrote:Yep, there are five of them being released. Cryx, Khador, Cygnar, Menoth and Retribution.

But then Mercenaries are not 'a faction'.

Real pet peeve of mine, but I never said any such thing. I have always said that Mercenaries are not in fact one faction, they are a unique mix of several playable armies, and are in effect multiple mini-factions. They occupy a singular and exciting space in the game and the background of the world, one that we value tremendously. But part of that is the fact that Mercenaries will not always get the exact same releases as the other full factions. One reason Mercenaries are not a faction is that they do not all work together, and they have no cohesive leadership or organization. They lack many of the elements of being a full faction. Yet they make for some of our most exciting and interesting characters, warcasters, and extremely thematic playable armies in the game. We now have multiple interesting mini-factions, several of them fleshed out to a considerable extent, and that will continue in time. In several of our books the Mercenaries have received a higher number of releases than every other full faction, due to the ease with which Mercenaries can be slotted in at odd times of the year as bonus features, appealing to multiple factions that can hire them and include them in their armies.

But part of playing with the Mercenaries is knowing that your release schedule is a little different. Some Mercenaries only play Rhulic mercs, for example, and might not be as excited by non-Rhulic releases. There are not so many Highborn Covenant themed mercenaries as certain others. And occasionally when we're releasing new rules and new model types, Mercenaries don't always get them at the same time as everyone else. Cavalry did not arrive for Mercenaries when they did for the rest of the factions, neither did epic warcasters.

This has mistakenly led some people to think we "hate" mercenaries or somehow dislike them. Nothing could be further from the truth. Mercenaries give us a tremendous outlet to explore many aspects of the setting that otherwise we could not within the full factions. We are able to provide glimpses of some of the nations and peoples who are not fully embroiled in the wars of the Iron Kingdoms, yet who do thrive on those wars or participate on the fringes. I think several of the most vital aspects of our setting are encompassed within the Mercenary header, including the Rhulfolk, our privateers, and of course Asheth Magnus. What would our awareness of the Khadoran invasion of Llael be like if not for the perspective of Ashylyn or others affected on the other side by this? Much of the gritty fighting-for-coin flavor of the working mercenary would be lost if not for the Steelhead Mercenary Company. Mercenaries have been an integral part of our setting from the earliest days. But from a development standpoint, they will not always be getting the same toys as everyone else at the same time. As you know, even the full factions do not always get exactly the same toys at the same time. Even when Mercenaries in general receive a model or a model type, it does not mean every sub-faction within the Mercenaries will get one at the same time either. The freedom to be a little more loose and exploratory with Mercenary concepts is one of their most appealing elements.

Back to the topic at hand, it is indeed true that the driver is safely inside the front of the armored compartment, where he hopes he will not get shot in the face by a trencher sniper. The horses are well trained and he does have the means from within the carriage to dictate where they go. As for other talk on the thread, I always find the notion of the steampowered clockwork horse to be rather amusing. Such a thing would be far more complex and finicky, plus likely extremely less efficient than the living flesh and blood horse. While such complex mechanisms have a place in our setting, they aren't ubiquitous. Horses are still quite valued as very efficient and useful creatures across the board. Steam engines haven't replaced everything in the Iron Kingdoms, and this is one area where horses work just fine. Note that warjacks are still often hauled from one place to another on wagons by similarly strong horses, as is the coal used to power them. I personally find this concept far more in keeping with our setting than any steam-powered tank would be. Warjacks definitely occupy that niche. But cannons are still important in our warfare, and many of those get hauled from one battlefield to the next by teams of horses. The Khadorans have simply expedited the whole thing and been courteous enough to provide these crews with a more sheltered and mobile place from which to fire them. Personally I'd rather be in there than reloading a mortar out in the open.