Company of Iron - Warmachine/Hordes Skirmish Rules

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**Brian2112**

Haven't seen this posted in news yet...

http://privateerpress.com/press-releases/company-of-iron-announced

Privateer Press announces New Product, Company of Iron, to Release Later This Year
June 9, 2017

Bellevue, WA — Privateer Press has announced its upcoming game set in the world of WARMACHINE and HORDES: Company of Iron.

Company of Iron is a squad-based skirmish game that reinvents WARMACHINE and HORDES battles as smaller confrontations between fewer warriors and their character leaders. Average games are played with 10–15 miniatures, and Company of Iron is compatible with the majority of the existing miniatures in the WARMACHINE and HORDES product lines. The rules for Company of Iron have been streamlined and do not include warcasters or warlocks but can include light warjacks and light warbeasts.

The Company of Iron box set is designed for two players and will contain two 20-point armies, including a unit of Cygnar Stormblades and a unit of Minion Farrow Brigands. Additionally, two all-new character solos will be included to lead their respective units: Lieutenant Gwen Keller and Agata, Queen of Carnage. These new models can be used in both Company of Iron and in WARMACHINE and HORDES. All components needed to play the game are in the box set, including rules, tokens, and two types of cards that allow players to choose specialties for their squad leaders as well as battle plans that can provide powerful effects and advantages in combat.

Company of Iron uses the core rules of WARMACHINE and HORDES but has been tailored for the scale of the game and the absence of warcasters and warlocks. Emphasizing its fast-paced skirmish scale and the focus on small squads and solos, gameplay revolves around players taking turns activating one model at a time as opposed to the alternating activation in WARMACHINE and HORDES, in which players activate their entire army during a single turn.

“We have designed Company of Iron as an ideal entry point for new players who want to play in the world of WARMACHINE and HORDES,” said Chief Creative Officer Matt Wilson. “But it’s also a product the existing WARMACHINE and HORDES community has been requesting for years, and it scratches that itch for players craving a fast-paced tactical experience that can be played with a shorter time commitment.”

Company of Iron will arrive in stores in October 2017 with an MSRP of $74.99. Players can get their first look at it at the Privateer Press booth exhibiting at the upcoming Origins Game Fair next week.

**DarkTraveler777**

That is pretty neat. Iron Kingdoms Kill Team, essentially.

I always wanted to play games without Warcasters, so this could be a fun exploration of the smaller, day-to-day battles in the Iron Kingdoms.

**spiralingcadaver**

That's kinda' neat, might actually get me to dust off my collection. Speaking of which, wasn't the company switching WM/H to fully downloadable rules? Did that ever happen?

**Neronoxx**

DarkTraveler777 wrote:
That is pretty neat. Iron Kingdoms Kill Team, essentially.

I always wanted to play games without Warcasters, so this could be a fun exploration of the smaller, day-to-day battles in the Iron Kingdoms.

This seems like an odd choice to me - removing the main unique element from the series.
If its a fully detailed skirmish system, I can see that being fun. But if it's not basically an entire stand alone game, I see this failing to take off.
Either way, interested to see more.

**Fenrir Kitsune**

Not having to have preselect characters would be interesting. Hopefully it's less rules intensive and don't need as much in game book keeping.

Plus, maybe just maybe people might use terrain.

**lord_blackfang**

I don't get it. This is what Battlegroup box games are for.

**Fenrir Kitsune**

lord_blackfang wrote:
I don't get it. This is what Battlegroup box games are for.

Do those require the use of a special character?

**LunarSol**

spiralingcadaver wrote:
That's kinda' neat, might actually get me to dust off my collection. Speaking of which, wasn't the company switching WM/H to fully downloadable rules? Did that ever happen?

Yes. Models stopped coming with cards a month or two ago and you can either get your cards from War Room or they are available here:

http://cards.privateerpress.com/

**Chopxsticks**

I hope they pull from AoS skirmish and modesl in a unit activate individually and you dont need to take all the models in a unit. I kinda felt Warmachine Hordes was already a skirmish game, so this is gonna be interesting..

**Neronoxx**

Chopxsticks wrote:
I hope they pull from AoS skirmish and modesl in a unit activate individually and you dont need to take all the models in a unit. I kinda felt Warmachine Hordes was already a skirmish game, so this is gonna be interesting..

Right. Diet-diet coke.

**infinite_array**

I'll be interested if I can do a Trenchers with a Grenadier, Steelheads with a Vanguard, or Pirates with a Buccaneer.

**Barzam**

Uh, isn't Warmahordes already a skirmish game? This sounds like it's just the regular game without a Warcaster. Or am I missing something?

**BrookM**

This could be their equivalent of Combat Patrol?

**Schmapdi**

It's apparently based on the league they had last year where solos could gain abilities and whatnot.

http://privateerpress.com/community/privateer-insider/insider-6-9-2017

**NinthMusketeer**

Neronoxx wrote:
Chopxsticks wrote:
I hope they pull from AoS skirmish and modesl in a unit activate individually and you dont need to take all the models in a unit. I kinda felt Warmachine Hordes was already a skirmish game, so this is gonna be interesting..

Right. Diet-diet coke.

Coke Zero?

**Vertrucio**

Warmachine stopped being a skirmish game a long time ago, and its designers are still playing catch-up to that fact.

**Yodhrin**

NinthMusketeer wrote:
Neronoxx wrote:
Chopxsticks wrote:
I hope they pull from AoS skirmish and modesl in a unit activate individually and you dont need to take all the models in a unit. I kinda felt Warmachine Hordes was already a skirmish game, so this is gonna be interesting..

Right. Diet-diet coke.
Coke Zero?

Caffeine-free Coke.

**MikeRC97**

The difference is explained in the original post - Warmahordes is UGO-IGO, with some units being solo and others squads. This will be alternate unit (one model, i.e. all units function as solos) activation, like chess.

"Skirmish" wargaming is not a clearly defined term, it gets used for 40k kill team (squad based) and SWA (individual model units). Most people just think of it as smaller model count gaming.

**DarkTraveler777**

MikeRC97 wrote:
"Skirmish" wargaming is not a clearly defined term, it gets used for 40k kill team (squad based) and SWA (individual model units). Most people just think of it as smaller model count gaming.

Quoted because I agree. I always take "skirmish game" to mean a game of about 15 models or less and or the game has a focus on individual actors rather than units of soldiers. However, that is my personal definition.

Outside of Battlegroup games, I don't think Warmachine has ever really been skirmish-y. Even in MK1 I'd run Cygnar armies with multiple units of infantry along with Warjacks and my Warcaster/solos. For an "elite" high-points-per-model army like Cygnar I'd have 25+ models on the table. If I ran Cryx, that would easily double the model count since they were the spammy, horde army.

**Grot 6**

This months magazine has a pretty cool ship boarding party sneak peek available.

It is a bag of awesome....

**highlord tamburlaine**

Color me interested if it's individual unit activation.

I wonder if the stats will be somewhat different.

Definitely a good excuse to scoop up a few more random Khador figures!

**Chopxsticks**

I was just about to part with my Khador army but If I could skirmish with a couple warjacks and 1 or 2 models from a unit that would keep me interested. Give it the AoS Skirmish treatment, otherwise whats the difference vs regular WM/H

**AduroT**

Warmachine was called Skirmish back in the day because it was compared to Warhammer. Since then its had some army scale creep, and other even smaller games have come out so it's definitely lost its Skirmish nomaclature imho though I understand why someone might call it one due to grandfathering the term in.

I'm curious how this Company of Iron will play out. Initially it makes me think of Frostgrave with one special character leading a bunch of mooks.

**MikeRC97**

highlord tamburlaine wrote:
Color me interested if it's individual unit activation.

I wonder if the stats will be somewhat different.

Definitely a good excuse to scoop up a few more random Khador figures!

http://privateerpress.com/community/privateer-insider/insider-6-9-2017

From the article:
"The biggest change is in how models activate. Each model in Company of Iron acts independently, and players alternate activating one model each during a round."

I'm definitely looking forward to this.