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I saw a box of figs the other day at my flgs. If I recall correctly they were for Warmachine and it was a set of about 6 pirate-type figures. However when I looked at the books (which, admittedly was NOT in an in-depth manner), I couldn't tell which one would give me the rules I needed. Are their box sets typically playable right away or will I need to find a commander? I just want to dabble in it, I'm not ready to commit yet, I still love my Warhammer. The models just looked like they might be fun to paint.

If it is the large box it should have your "leader" in it.

I bought the starter box for the circle (Hordes). It had my character (warlock) and a large warbeast and a two light warbeasts. I think you can play a low point game with that...I believe that box is 275 points. Normally people play at 500 or more. I just bought two solos and a heavy hitting unit (Tharn Ravagers) with shaman and unit attachment solo. I think that put me at 500 or more.

Anyway, the rules for the game are so nice. I love how my warbeasts can actually pick people up and throw them....or trample them or head but other beasts....it's amazing!

I have lost my interest in GWs now.

Oh, and in this game, you don't have to wait 4 years for your army book to get updated just to be competitive. When there is an update, all armies get something....at the same time.

Which pirates were they?

Sea dogs and Pressgangers are a part of the official "pirates" faction,
which isn't really a faction but a mercenary contract.

If it's pirates you want, they have a Forces of Warmachine book just for
that army's rules. It's a mercenary contract called the Talion charter. Thing is,
they probably won't get another update aside from being able to be used in
other Mercenary Contracts or as mercenaries for other armies.

Mercenary Contracts are like a sublist that allows you to field various flavors
of mercenary armies.

For the basic rules, you'll want to pick up Warmachine Prime. Eventually
if you want to see the full range of warjacks available to the Pirate factions,
you could borrow the other books that have mercenary warjacks: Escalation
and Superiority. There are also regular mercenaries in all books except
in Apotheosis.

So far, the only other pirates I think they have are for Cryx, the undead
faction of Warmachine. In that case, you'll want the basic rulebook Prime,
and then ask around based on the type of leader you want to use.

Found 'em!

It was these guys that caught my eye:
http://www.privateerpress.com/WARMACHINE/gallery/default.php?level=picture&id=391

What would I need to field them? Where could I go from there if I ended up wanting to invest in the game?

As Mercenaries, I think any faction can use the Press Gang. However, they
work best in conjunction with other pirate models.

Warmachine: Prime
Forces of Warmachine: Pirates of the Broken Coast

If I were you I would pick up the Prime book and go over the rules & fluff before deciding on a faction (note that there isn't much on pirates in this book but there are other mercenaries. That said press gangers work best with other pirates and some of the pirate jacks are beautiful).

Ok, so I picked up the box of Press Gangers today. According to the back of the box I've got 1 Boarding Master, 1 Lass and 4 Swabs. I'm not really looking to play games, I just like the models. However, if I was to actually try to field these guys, who/what would I NEED to add? For all I know, I may just enjoy painting them and throw them on ebay or something...

Well, since they're pirates, I'd assume you'd like to continue the pirate theme. Two great Units/Solos to take with them would be a unit of Sea Dogs (The Press Gang make more Sea Dogs for you) and First Mate Hawk (Who makes the Press Gang and Sea Dogs his REALLY hard.) Doc Killingsworth, the ship's doctor and cook (sometimes at the same time) will make your Press Gang harder to kill. Bosun Grogspar will make them REALLY hard to deal with.

For a caster, you've got three options, Captain Bartolo Montador, Captain Phineas Shae, and Fiona the Black. (Of course, that's only if you want a pirate themed army.)

From there, any models that'll work with the Talion Charter Mercinary Contract will continue the theme while providing an army with a ton of symetry.

See here for more models that would fit with your army.

Awesome! Thanks for the link... looks like some good info though (though I won't really know for sure, not having played a game, lol). At least it gives me an idea of what models I can get if I want to continue with them.

I also noticed elsewhere on the boards someone was conducting a poll of "popular armies." It's encouraging to see I picked one of the lesser played ones.

I may be investing more in this game... Time to put the models together, paint them up, and find someone to play against.

Less played on Dakka.

I believe most frequent winner of the Gencon Nationals (Masters, whatevers)
is Khador.

Very true... not having seen any games played locally and living near the Atlantic, our areas probably overwhelmed by pirates, lol Though when looking for painting references via google and coolminiornot, I couldn't locate many pics.

@13th Exile: That site's a great resource! Thanks, I'm still plowing through it.

Would anyone happen to have a good suggestion for paint schemes? I'm having trouble finding any pirates on coolminiornot as well as in Dakka's own gallery

I'm actually painting up a bunch of pirates right now. The best advice I can give you is try to use the pics on battlecollege or on the box. For myself, I'm trying something different. As their all pirates, I'm painting them in varying looks but attempting to keep one main color on all the models. (For my army, it'll be GW's Scaly Green) That way, I'll be able to diferentiate on the table.

Just go with what you think a pirate would look like. I'm planning on lots of stripes and polka-dots to keep my options open.

GL and HV

Mine are red, blue and brown, with some yellow splashed in. For the
Press Gangers, I went with a central color of gray around which I
put the reds and blues.

So I've finished assembling my Press Gangers finally and picked up Hawk and Capt. Bart to go with them. I'm debating about exchanging Bart for Shea though as I just read a little fluff on Hawk and heard that they run together.

I also peeked through the Warmachine rulebook and gandered at the Khador models. I may be ditching these pirates...

Keep them all.

Most of the pirates will work for Khador, so don't ditch them until you've tried them together a few times. You might come up with a mix that you like.