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Hi everyone this is my first ever forum post and if this is in the wrong place i am so sorry.


i want to build an army with several different models and characters all "imperial mercenaries" and i dont know that super much of the backstory that is out there but the question is, can i make an army made up by different squads from different races.
Like a squad of Orks, squad of Tau's and a bit of that and so on and still play it as a imperial army?

i want to have like a couple of Tau's and Kroots to be saying bah to the greater good and join this army to fight for riches, aswell the same for the Orks. but i want them to have equipment and colorschemes that fit the humans and so on.

is that possible and still playable ?

Not without proxying or going *spit* Unbound.
And no, it would not be an imperial army. It would be a bunch of armies allied together.
Also, this basically defiles the fluff (Kill the Xeno)
Sorry if that was too harsh.

Well no, I'm sure there's Xenos inquisitors who use alien mercenaries like that. And Rogue Traders.

You'll only be able to do it if you go unbound but that sounds like a cool use of unbound to me.

Not to harsh but what does unbound mean?

and if mercs dont work would like allied squads work and make them have similar equipment and colors?

Do you want to use only the models or do you want to use the models and the rules?

Only models: just tell your opponent, what all the different races represent, e.g. all basic infantry are guardsmen with las rifles.

Models and rules: unbound.

Well, outside of Tyranids, the army COULD possibly make sense, but there's an issue of synergy that might be missing. I know that, on the Ork end, the Bully Boyz formation would make sense as a practical choice. Then it is a matter of how you want to portray Dark Eldar, Kroot/Tau, and maybe even Necrons (not all of them are homicidal in the new fluff after all).

Oh now i get it.

Yeah i want to play it as a army with the proper rules for that race and use other models with that equipment. Like a tau squad with las rifles, and a ork squad for heavy weps etc.

 Warboss Von burkenberg wrote:
Not to harsh but what does unbound mean?

and if mercs dont work would like allied squads work and make them have similar equipment and colors?

Unbound is basically you just use whatever models you want in your army. But Mercs does work fluff wise. Like I said Rogue Traders basically do what they want, and radical Xenos Inquisitors would probably use alien mercenaries.

Unbound means take whatever units you want to take...some people don't like playing against Unbound armies.

Whatever route you go, Allies or Unbound, you will still run into a problem with your similar equipment issue though. Xenos units generally have wildly different equipment than Imperials, from armor to weapons.

I suppose one way around this might be to put heads of your xenos on Power Armor...this still betrays fluff because Power Armor is supposed to be designed for genetically enhanced humans IIRC...but you could pretend "special Power Armor" was created for your Xenos mercs or something.

Color schemes are totally up to you...you're the one painting your models.

 Warboss Von burkenberg wrote:
Oh now i get it.

Yeah i want to play it as a army with the proper rules for that race and use other models with that equipment. Like a tau squad with las rifles, and a ork squad for heavy weps etc.

To clarify again: you want to play Astra Militarum, but some guardsmen will be tau with las rifles (but still use guardsmen rules)?

@Hanskrampf

Yes exactly.

 Hanskrampf wrote:

 Warboss Von burkenberg wrote:
Oh now i get it.

Yeah i want to play it as a army with the proper rules for that race and use other models with that equipment. Like a tau squad with las rifles, and a ork squad for heavy weps etc.

To clarify again: you want to play Astra Militarum, but some guardsmen will be tau with las rifles (but still use guardsmen rules)?

If this is all you'rE trying to do, than I don't see a problem...put the fluff issues to the side, invent your own fluff for your IG, do what you want!

Thank you all for the response!

i will try to figure out some fluff and some ways i can build theese figures, maybe i will start a project log on here aswell in a near future.

Thanks again!

Kroot, Orks, various humans and other aliens are all known to merc for the Imperial Guard.

SO yea go right ahead man. Just use guardsmen stats and there shouldnt be a problem, or go unbound as explained above and use their actual stats.

The Allies rules should work for you, to my knowledge Tau don't hire themselves out but an IG/Orks army makes sense, and if there are more Kroot than just the Troops unit somewhere (I know IA3 has Knarlocs) that would work too.