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Just saw this game and I'm loving it! I'm going to play the CCC with IG shock troopers as proxies and quick start rules to play a few tester games with friends.

Thanks to beasts of war this system is being enjoyed a lot. Its certainly not dead. Novels are being written, fluff added to the website.

They are releasing a new game that will also fund future MERCS.

It's certainly looking up

Play before you buy is our recommend to everyone. My game group really regretted buying into this game.

How come?

we found it grew stale quickly, despite home-brewed creative scenarios.

cut and paste abilities equating a bit of boredom and trite examples of tactics.

With only 6 figs to choose from, some minis were still rarely if ever used while others were a bit overpowered. Builds became dissappointingly predictable.

Armor failure became a frustration rather than a nice cinematic and tactical aspect of the rule set.

card movement was not our thing, nor was their use of cover

there are better games (Dust Warfare, Infinity, Gruntz, even 40K Kill Team) with more variety, far better rules and definitely more engaging fluff.

This was just our experience, a lot of respondents here seem to dig it a lot. We are seasoned old grognards, however, and tend to choose well.
Not this time in our eyes.

The card movement is a neat little gimmick, but holy hell is it a pain in the ass to use with terrain. Moving terrain is constant.

Like any other critiques about the game, posting them on the forum gets you attacked by a pride of lions. It all boils down to them saying "you don't understand the creators' intent".

No, I really do understand they wanted to make the game easy to get into and be able to play with 2D terrain.

But I don't know a single wargamer who would choose 2D terrain over 3D.

Nor was I aware you couldn't use a ruler/measuring tape on a 2D board.

Game has a lot of promise to it, but damn, are the fans of MERCs over protective of the game.

I do recommend the game as a side game. Inexpensive and can get your force painted in a matter of days and none of the minis are difficult to put together.

I really think the minis are awesome for all of the factions, but I have to say I am tempted to just use them with a different ruleset than the official one. I really dislike the card-based movement and measuring style, however innovative I respect it to be.

The card system is interesting. It seems that whenever I have demoed the game to people at my local store, their main critiques of the game are based solely on two factors - either the card movement-system or the limited number of figures currently available. My own personal opinions vary per these factors.

The card system I could take or leave. Truthfully throughout all the games and demos I’ve played, I’ve never experienced any real troubles using the card movement, even within the confines of tight terrain (which, as a Black Ops, I am obliged to thank because of the card system). Moreover, I love the card-range system for ranged weapons (three levels of range per card increment is simply awesome IMO). Albeit, I’ll admit the card system does need some work (in fact a lot of the mechanics need work).

Alternatively, there are many factors that I like about the MERCS franchise: the beautifully sculpted miniatures, the completely unique artwork and the “tactical” game mechanics. Although, my favorite part of the MERCS franchise is simply that it’s buyer friendly. As my colleague would say, MERCS is a “University Wargamer’s Wet Dream”. The fact that I can buy a box with all the components that I need to play the game and still bring the girlfriend to a 5-star dinner is absolutely amazing. Furthermore, as I had already briefly mentioned, the fact that the MERCS universe is set in a neo-dystopia world, which I absolutely love, makes the game and the franchise all the more desirable.

Lapidus wrote:The card system is interesting. It seems that whenever I have demoed the game to people at my local store, their main critiques of the game are based solely on two factors - either the card movement-system or the limited number of figures currently available. My own personal opinions vary per these factors.

The card system I could take or leave. Truthfully throughout all the games and demos I’ve played, I’ve never experienced any real troubles using the card movement, even within the confines of tight terrain (which, as a Black Ops, I am obliged to thank because of the card system). Moreover, I love the card-range system for ranged weapons (three levels of range per card increment is simply awesome IMO). Albeit, I’ll admit the card system does need some work (in fact a lot of the mechanics need work).

Alternatively, there are many factors that I like about the MERCS franchise: the beautifully sculpted miniatures, the completely unique artwork and the “tactical” game mechanics. Although, my favorite part of the MERCS franchise is simply that it’s buyer friendly. As my colleague would say, MERCS is a “University Wargamer’s Wet Dream”. The fact that I can buy a box with all the components that I need to play the game and still bring the girlfriend to a 5-star dinner is absolutely amazing. Furthermore, as I had already briefly mentioned, the fact that the MERCS universe is set in a neo-dystopia world, which I absolutely love, makes the game and the franchise all the more desirable.

Those are all very good points. I am also Black Ops, and it seems that for potential players (especially those players adapt to the 40k or Warmachine systems) the card movement is the most disliked factor of the game. However, do I find it annoying to use? No. Do other people find it annoying? Yes and no. I have found that some people, those who conservatively stick to tape measurement movement, tend to be less accepting of the card system, while those who have either just started wargaming or are more inept to the bigger systems tend to accept the card system of movement.

I also like the use of cards for ranged weapons. The division of melee, short, and long range, according to the cards, is perfect.

Moreover, I also like MERCS because it is both financially cheap and easy to learn (as oppose to "mathhammer" or infinity; where you need a degree in mathematics to understand). As I tell people when I demo the game, just as long as you can count to ten, you will do good in MERCS.

However, as you Lapidus said, there is a need for some of the mechanisms in MERCS to be double-checked, clarified, and updated.

Quick fix of the rules maybe coming in a digital format until 2nd edition hits

I've just picked up the ccc starter and the keizai waza starter, was tempted by this game when it first came out and finally took the plunge with the coolest looking models. I've been watching the videos on beasts of war and I like what I've seen, but if it doesn't pan out atleast I've got some Jazzy models to paint .

 Shrapnelsmile wrote:


card movement was not our thing, nor was their use of cover

Without getting fanboyesque,... If you weren't using cover you were doing it wrong,.... The game is all about the use of cover and tactical movement. You never want to be in the open in this game,... Cover is a +1, but in the open is a -1 to your Target Number.

Were you only using the QuickStart or basic rules? The Advaced Combat Manuvers such as Bounding, Overwatch, and Suppression are what really set this game apart from most.

I'll admit that the card movement is a bit of a gimmick, but there are instructions for using card edges for measurement,.... I only play with 3D terrain,... And it has never been much of a problem.