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This sounds dumb, but are mercenaries an actual faction that can be played as a stand-alone force – the same way that someone plays Cygnar, Khador, etc? Or are mercs only allies that must be taken with one of the other four armies?

NO!

Just kidding. Yes, they are. For years the line was "Mercs aren't a faction," but with
the release of Superiority they introduced the concept of Mercenary contracts. Essentially
a mercenary army is limited by its model selection based on the wording in the contract.

The contracts are thematic, based around either alliances or warcasters or themes. So The
Magnus Agenda is based around the traitor Magnus and has, as a feature, the ability
to field one unit of "Cygnaran Deserters," which would be a unit of Long Gunners or
Trenchers.

Mercs can be played as a stand alone force.

Thanks, that's what I was trying to figure out. So there are five armies in WM - right? Cygnar, Khador, Menoth, Cryx, and Mercs?

I'm trying to pick one, as I start out in WM.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
OK – wikipedia to the rescue.

Mercenaries run the gamut, possessing many different types of abilities. Each mercenary will fight for two or more of the main factions; in addition, there are mercenary contract armies composed solely of mercenary troops and designed to fight for minor powers such as the Highborn Covenant and the Four Star Syndicate. Ashlynn D'Elyse, Magnus the Warlord, and Gorten Grundback are prominent mercenary warcasters.

So - many merc WCs have to be taken with one of the "big four," and are not a separate army. But there are other “contract” WCs that can be taken alone, if someone wanted to play just mercs. Overall tho, it sounds like taking a merc army would be a poor start for a new player, because I would be limited to just a few (or one?) WC, whereas if I picked one of the Big Four, I would have access to several.

Do I have it right?

Yes.

Warcasters by Contract

Searforge Commission:
**Gorten
**Durgen

Four Star Syndicate
**Captain Broadsides Bart
**Durgen Madhammer
**Fiona the black
**Gorten
**Magnus

Highborn Covenant
**Ashlynn d'Elyse
**Captain Broadsides Bart
**Fiona the Black
**Durgen Madhammer
**Gorten

Magnus Agenda
**Magnus

Talion Charter
**Fiona the Black
**Captain Shae
**Captain Bart

OK then, now I think I'm getting it. Let me ask a related question about the game in general - not just mercs

Is it the WC you choose that determines (broadly) the tactical strengths of your army, or is it the faction?

Put another way: Are all (say) Cygnar WCs variations on the same tactical theme (ranged, from what I read about Cygnar), or does each faction have a melee WC, a ranged WC, etc?

My understanding is that the Mercenary contracts are up for a major upheaval come MkII. Should be interesting to see I'm really looking forward to a little Cephalyx/Mercenary action.

D'Ork wrote:OK then, now I think I'm getting it. Let me ask a related question about the game in general - not just mercs

Is it the WC you choose that determines (broadly) the tactical strengths of your army, or is it the faction?

Put another way: Are all (say) Cygnar WCs variations on the same tactical theme (ranged, from what I read about Cygnar), or does each faction have a melee WC, a ranged WC, etc?

Each faction, in general, has casters that fall within two of several common roles. However, note that the faction really defines how the caster works with that role. A Cyngar melee caster will have better ranged support than, say, a Khador melee caster, but the Khador melee caster may be more effective army wise in melee. Here is a sampling of the general roles in casters in WM:

Jack Caster -- These casters have spells that effect entire battle groups of warjacks in their control areas. Notable casters would be: Karchev (Khador), Darius (Cygnar), Kraye (Cygnar), Amon Ad-Raza (Protectorate), Reznik (Protectorate), Broadside Bart (Merc, see above list for contacts he will work with).

Spell Caster / Spell Killer -- These casters have high FOC stat that have multiple offensive spells. Usually these casters can win games by killing an enemy with offensive spells, or using spells to setup a direct assassination. Notable Casters would be: The Coven (Cryx), Epic Haley (Cygnar), Zerkova (Khador), Severius (Protectorate), Fiona (Merc)

Support Casters -- These casters normally have several upkeep spells that buff models and / or units, or CONTROL area spells that benefit the entire list. Typical casters would be: Vlad (Khador), Styrker (Cygnar), Severius (Protectroate), Magnus (Merc)

Melee Casters -- These casters can destroy jacks and other casters in a single turn. Examples are: The Butcher (Khador), Epic Stryker (Cygnar), Feora (Protectorate), Terminus (Cryx)

Feat Caster -- These casters have incredibly powerful feats, usually at the cost of other aspects (defense, offense, or something else). Examples are: Sorscha (Khador), Kreoss (Protectorate), Siege (Cygnar), Denegrha (Cryx), Gorten (Mercs).

There are other roles, but that gives you the general idea.

Nice breakdown. I'd like to use your "caster types" in the articles at some point.

What other roles are you thinking of?

malfred wrote:Nice breakdown. I'd like to use your "caster types" in the articles at some point.

What other roles are you thinking of?

Limited to mostly Cygnar there is the Ranged caster (Caine, eCaine, Stryker for Snipe, and Siege).

Most factions haev some form of board control casters (Gorten, Harbinger, Irusk)

There are attrition casters, which are mostly tied to protectorate (Harbinger, Testament, High Reclaimer)

There are Denial Casters, though this is a harder one to define. This would be something like the Harbinger where she removes your upkeeps, keeps her models alive, etc.

Thats the other roles off the top of my head. The above list is really only warmachine related as well, I'm sure there are some hordes only themes, as well as some from the Retribution that I'm not thinking of.

D'Ork wrote:Thanks, that's what I was trying to figure out. So there are five armies in WM - right? Cygnar, Khador, Menoth, Cryx, and Mercs?

I'm trying to pick one, as I start out in WM.
Do I have it right?

No WM has six armies, you forgot Retribution...

http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Warcaster_Types

http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/%27Jack_Warcaster

Working on Spell Killer later today.

Mercenaries aren't a faction.

Mercs aren't a faction by strict definition. However, a lot has been done to "factionalize" them to add more personality and allow players options to play them as strong as a faction.

Right now, I'd say they're a good alternative for people who like warmachine, but don'e like the current main factions.

Game-wise, mercs do suffer from not having those faction combos and faction tuned support options. But Mercs do get a bit of that via the contracts.

I was just being a wise guy. Mercs are absolutely playable as an army. 4 of the contracts are very flavorful. The 5th, 4 Star Syndicate is pretty vanilla, but offers the most options. Still not a faction

While we're talking about this are the Mercs getting a single book for Mk2 or are they splitting it up somehow? Anyone know yet?

Faction Deckin January and they're getting the last book in June.

Likely a single book, a nice compilation of all the mercs will really help merc players, and might get more interested. Hopefully that includes the privateers.

Mk2 is all about consolidation and getting new players easily in to Warmachine.

I don't have the link, but PP staffers have spoken out about the Forces of Warmachine: Mercenaries book. It will include all of the mercenaries- however we don't have any word on the allied units.

It will have three sections in it, one for Privateers, one section for Dwarves, and a section for general mercenaries.

We know that the Mercs will be getting some new 'casters, and I believe that there is going to be one new Dwarf and one new Privateer 'caster. We do not know if there will be any new general merc 'casters.

George Spiggott wrote:My understanding is that the Mercenary contracts are up for a major upheaval come MkII. Should be interesting to see I'm really looking forward to a little Cephalyx/Mercenary action.

I've been under the same impression, but I really think that PP are going to try and make sure that people can keep playing the forces that they've made.

So, here's what I think will happen: For the mercenaries, the concept of Warcaster Tiers will be mingled with the idea behind the contracts. Maybe all Merc forces will be allowed to have any mercenary in them, but if you follow a tiered force, you'll end up with some interesting bonuses.

odinsgrandson wrote: So, here's what I think will happen: For the mercenaries, the concept of Warcaster Tiers will be mingled with the idea behind the contracts. Maybe all Merc forces will be allowed to have any mercenary in them, but if you follow a tiered force, you'll end up with some interesting bonuses.

man if this happens it would make me really happy. I have a big mix mash of mercs, making it hard to field them as a true faction.