i find the merc units most helpful in defending the republic i would like to give a shout out you boys /gals .i say war for profit is way better then war for patriotism
any day then you aren't fighting under false pretences

@mortuari
Y'know, a while back, I had a house rule game that allowed Merc's to use formations if they were from the same unit. Mine was a Light Horse army, below, that your 'two blades' comment earlier jogged my memory of. I had fun with it. The Raidens served as my basers/capture threat. The Morgan was the long range threat, covering the backs of the two rampaging Blades. The Sortek, well, basically as insurance on nobody basing the Morgan. I was fascinated by all that armor piercing the Horsemen could put on the field, and the Morgan was played just like a SW tank would be played.

Blade 138
Blade 138
DI Morgan 73
Sortek 32
Raiden x 4 17 68
449

I really wish they would allow Mercs to use formations....

The problem with any house rule that allows mercs to formation is that it throws off the point values of the units involved compared to factioned units. An example would be the merc/Highlander Cygnus. The HL version costs more and sucks worse. Pretty much its only advantage is that it can potentially make formations, an advantage that becomes meaningless if you allow mercs to make formations. Just one example, but you get the idea.

@ stahlie - Pretty interesting army build, but that would be operating under the assumption that mercs would be able to formation(ELH Raidens are EXCELLENT in my opinion). Good solid army build nonetheless. Personally i like to use Lori Kyle, she's an extremely funny mech, the only other mech i derive more enjoyment out of is probably Sadia Wolf's wonky dial. :classic: Now if they only gave the ELH a powerhouse mech....(eg: not something that costs 206 points and has 20 defence. *cough rifleman cough*)

@ Warflail - Yeah, i agree. Mercs are undercosted to reflect their inability to formation. If we gave them that, they would be as effective as current line troops and yet have point values lower than equivalent troops.

Sometimes that means good synergy (VTOLs for example cant make formations anyway... or units like the Kanazuchi that have stats good enough to engage solo) but often that means bad synergy (any merc with a berserker dial, infantry with stats requiring formation attacks/movement to be useful, etc).

Such is the nature of the game, I suppose. I really just wish Wizkids would avoid making so many crappy units of ALL types/factions. And make a point to make really essential unit types (Peasants, mega-infiltrating infantry, good artillery, etc) available as a merc, so the assorted factions arent so horribly lopsided insofar as relative overall power.

@'flail
At the time, my basically CBT-retread core of players were waxing nostalgic about the good old days of dark blue Archers, Dragoon Lances, and Merc's in battle. :)
We know there are reasons for Merc units having the SEC-to-points advantages, to make up for the solitary nature of how they operate. We went with it as a 'one-shot' fun night. It's not something we regularly allow in game play, because we realize it undercosts merc units.

@mortuari
I remember I used 2 blades because of the armor piercing aspect of their weaponry. I wasn't really looking beyond that. (Yeah, that and the fact I had 2 Blades and no Kyle. Genius, huh?) :)

@ stahlie - The blades are very decent, they're fun to play running about the board quickly. They are excellent harassers, although the 18 defence sees them quickly being charged and killed. I like them though, handy if you don't have any other merc evade mech. (Macolovia, Rosin..) Gotta love all that red on their dial. :classic:

More fun armies to try! :classic:

Merc Army (Combined Mercs) - Force Recon Army
Thos Cardella - 173 points
Balac Strike VTOL - 43 points
MHI Crane Heavy Transport - 40 points
Purifier Battle Armor - 13 points
Fa Shih Battle Armor - 29 points
Mobile HQ - 24 points
Crimson Hawk - 127 points

Total: 449 points.

Force Recon Army Strategy:
Thos is an excellent mech. Agility, Camou, 11 attack and a 14" range. Basically, Thos would anchor the center while the flanks attack.

The Balac can swing by on either flank, guarding Thos against enemy flankers. The Purifier and Fa Shih are in the MHI Crane, which should be pushed(Best Defence Value on 2nd click;19 in the air, Best Movement Value on 3rd click; 17.) The Purifier will base anything out of range of the Fa Shih, or tie a unit up while the Fa Shih moves into position. (10" move vs. Fa Shih's initial 6 movement.)

The mobile HQ should be pushed ASAP, as it starts without command and needs to deal with the order deficiency. (Command on 2nd click only.)

The Crimson Hawk is a decent unit, move it up either alongside Thos or to support the Balac. (10" move with 10 attack, 20 Defence, 3 clicks of no heat effects allows the CHawk to move across the board reasonably quickly.)


Merc Army (Combined Mercs)
Collin Tolek - 285 points
Collin Yukinov - 139 points
2 x Purifier Battle Armor - 26(13x2) points

Total: 450 points.

OR

Collin Tolek - 285 points
Blade - 138 points
Crow Scout Helicopter - 27 points

Total: 450 points

*** Most important thing is to place water terrain.
Strategy:
Collin Tolek is a beast. (8 move, 22 defence, 6 AP.) He has a decent heat dial, and best, no ammo explosions! The only real issue is that he suffers from having only 12" range. Essentially, you run Collin from water to water towards the enemy DZ, i find that most people get intimidated by the potential 6 AP damage and tend to stay out of his way.

Collin Yukinov is another excellent Mech, (Agility and a 4 damage 14" energy attack.) He can infiltrate 8" up the board too. His agility will keep chargers at bay and his 14" attack makes sure he can't be ignored. He should pally up with Tolek because he has a better arc - to prevent opponents from flanking Tolek.

The 2x Purifiers are there as fillers. :classic: They have 10" move and should just steadily move towards the opponent's DZ when you can spare the orders.

In the second army, Collin Tolek is still there as your beat-stick, but the Blade is now there for flanking actions, if people attempt to take a shot at Collin, the blade should run to their rears to discourage them.

The Crow scout is an excellent little VTOL, it has a 22" move with evade on its second click, so its a VTOL meant to be pushed, so push it! It is EXTREMELY fragile however(5 clicks of life) but is an excellent harasser and as such, should be used in that capacity.

Good hunting!
mort :classic:

Total Mercenary listing for MWDA as of 7th January 2004. (CA's release.)

Eridani Light Horse
1. Raiden Battle Armor - 17 points
2. DI Morgan Assault Tank - 73 points
3. AgroMech Mk II MOD - 78 points
4. Lori Kyle - 160
5. Corporal Saturina Perara - 28 points
6. Jorges Koffler - 97 points
7. Sortek Assault Craft - 32 points
8. Blade - 138 points
9. Purifier Battle Armor - 13 points
10. Rifleman - 206 points

Hansens Roughriders
1. SRM Battery - 11 points
2. Crow Scout Helicopter - 27 points
3. Locust - 110 points
4. Fa Shih Battle Armor - 29 points
5. Condor - 39 points
6. Gus Edgington - 272 points
7. Fulcrum Heavy Hover Tank - 46 points

21st Centauri Lancers
1. Rosin Douglas - 157
2. Thos Cardella - 173
3. ConstructionMech MkII MOD - 85 points
4. Clan Battle Armor - 15
5. Mars Assault Tank - 107
6. Cavalry Attack Helicopter - 40

Wolf's Dragoons
1. Collin Yukinov - 139
2. Shock Troopers - 18
3. Sniper Artillery - 58
4. JI100 Recovery Vehicle - 25
5. Collin Tolek - 285
6. MHI Crane Heavy Transport - 40
7. Galleon Light Tank - 33
8. Geo Keane - 288
9. Shoden Assault Vehicle - 61
10. Shockwave - 193
11. Maclovia Saavedra - 182

Kell Hounds
1. Nikol Brahe - 174 points
2. Giggins APC - 29 points
3. Arbalest - 119 points
4. James Odom - 124 points
5. Mobile HQ - 24 points
6. Uller - 125 points
7. Gray Death Battle Armor - 17 points
8. Behemoth II Tank - 98 points

Ronin
1. Kanazuchi Battle Armor - 18 points
2. Balac Strike VTOL - 43 points
3. Crimson Hawk - 127 points
4. Zahn Heavy Transport - 30 points
5. ForestryMech B - 86 points
6. Special Forces Team - 14 points
7. ForestryMech MOD-B - 70 points
8. Miko's Blades Ichi(Infiltrator MK I Battle Armor) - 12 points
9. Miko's Blades Ni(Gray Death Battle Armor) - 14 points
10. Miko's Blades San(Inner Sphere Battle Armor) - 18 points
11. Miko's Blades Yoh(Purifier Battle Armor) - 20 points
12. Geof Morgan - 243 points


TOTAL: 54 units.

A more detailed list with collectors numbers can be found in one of my earlier posts.

Enjoy!

mort :classic:

Hey All...
I have started collection Wolfs Dragoond, and i want to play WD regiment pure, but im thinking the lack of good infatry is hampering them ALOT. There only infatry, shock tropers, are decent, but they cant really fight, and they wont use bypass much.

If i wanted to get a merc. fastion that can fight on its own, what would i use? Im not really good at bezerker dials, and i dont wanna play ronin...are there any other options.

Please LMk

Also, are ther any good WD pure armies u all have?

What are the best ways to use the Miko's Blades?
I just got these and Mercenary is my fav faction. However, their lack of ability to make formations limits them like all Merc infantry.
The best ones are the Ichi (Infiltrator mkI) and Yoh (Purifier).
The Ichi is simply amazing for it's 12 pt. cost, with a 16" infiltrate, effective 3 melee damage (flamers), and it gets evade too!
The Yoh is really mobile, with 12" JJ, and has 8 attack with 2 energy damage and 2 targets at 8".

The Ni and San (Gray Death and Inner Sphere BAs respectively) are both sort of blah, but good nevertheless. The Ni Gray Death is actually pretty good, it just has no SEs whatsoever. It's versatile though.

Since these guys are Merc infantry, it seems best to use them in an infantry drop or something like that, since they'll get chewed up travelling out of pretend-formation alone, and pretend-formation are order intensive. By pretend formation I mean traveling in base contact with other units, but obviously not technically in formation.
Anyway, I would like others' thought on the Miko's Blades.

I've only used the Ni and Yoh. The 8 attack on Ni helps take on smaller vehicles and other infantry fairly easily. The 12 range on Yoh also suprises some people. I think the best part is the combination of the 270 degreee front arc and the 0/8 weapon range. It makes it really difficult for anyone that is trying to hide a damaged unit, or to get into range to attack your stuff while still being out of your weapons range.

I've read through all the posts and I like it all. I'm a mercenary fan, primarily Dragoons and Kell Hounds but I like them all.

I'm excited about the prospect of a lot of new mercs in Falcon's Prey.

Question for the group: What is a good use for the Dragoon's Shockwave? With that horrible defense it stands no chance as a similiar costed unit would. It would be good for fending off non AP artillery since defense doesn't matter. Has anyone made effective use of one in a tournament? I remember I pulled one in the CA Marquee and was afraid to put it into play fearing all of the chargemonkeys available.

Thoughts?

@ everybody - Okay, from the breakdown, the mercs get a decent bit of loving...

3 Infantry types - one of which is gonna be the Gnome BA
4 Vehicle
2 non-unique mechs - one is gonna be a griffin
1 Unique - Tundra Wolf (Tina Matsu Hrung)
2 LEs

12 units! I couldn't be happier.

@ mistertwig - You've picked the right faction to start if you want to play pure! Wolf's Dragoons have 2 agility mechs(Maclovia + Collin) and 2 decent fatties(Geo and Collin) coupled with a decent artillery piece, a repair vehicle and their shock troopers are decent too. Fear not! For if the snippets are right, the WDs are getting the Gnome BA, so hang tight! August isn't that far off! :classic:

@ Vladimir_Minch - Here are some statistics and thoughts on Miko's Blades....

1. Miko's Ichi (Infiltrator MKI BA) - They hold the dubious honour of being the furthest infiltrating unit the mercs have atm. Followed by the Special Forces Team with an effective 12" infil. versus their 16". They're rather ordinary in my opinion, but for 12 points, they're reasonably good value for a swiss army knife type of unit. Very good as filler. :classic: Also, random note: Ichi means one in Japanese, so it's Miko's Blades One. Rating....7/10.

2. Miko's Ni (Gray Death BA) - Another rather ordinary unit with the exception of it never losing its 2 damage coupled with its very generous 270 degree arc and an 8 attack value - all for 14 points! That's a bargain if i ever saw one. Flexibility is key here, and i like how both Ichi and Ni can be put in very generalized roles. If they had JJ, i'd never field a ronin army without them. Random note: Ni means two in Japanese. Rating....7/10.

3. Miko's San (Inner Sphere BA) - Okay, i'll admit for the record that i really dislike this unit and will probably never field it. Yes, it does have 8 attack, yes it does have a 270 arc BUT it's slow up till the point it takes 3 damage and gets JJ...its interesting to use, and if you slingshot it with a giggins, its utility goes up, since its quite pushable and does go down fighting. Its a seriously offensive piece, and i do mean that both ways. Random note: San = three in Japanese..yeah you guessed it. Rating....5/10

4. Miko's Yoh (Purifier BA) - Now this unit rocks! 20 points of 12 move, JJ followed by evade, 8 attack, 270 degree arc and it retains its damage all the way down. I find you get the greatest utility out of this unit when you slingshot it with a transport of some kind. Most people don't expect the 12" move on this fellow. I think of them as a kind of mini-scorchers, they're surprisingly good value, and i admit, i love 'em! Random note: No idea what Yoh means in Japanese unfortunately. Rating....9/10

Overall Rating - 7/10.

Overall comments:
Nice to have, but by no means necessary. The Ni and Yoh tend to get better mileage i find because Ichi just doesn't have the life to slug it out, good for killing other infiltrators like ATVs, but other than that, not terribly good. San has a tempermental dial, and works best in CC - trouble being they just can't leg it there fast enough.

@ Wantec - Hey! Excellent points. Overall, i do find the mercenary infantry pack quite ordinary, as in, nothing spectacular. But i think they're pretty decent pieces that pack surprising punch. Not game-breakingly so, which makes me one happy merc.

@ Novafire - Welcome to the thread! Heh. :classic: A good use for the WD Shockwave? A doorstop maybe? I admit, i was extremely disappointed with this unit, an elite, 193 point unit with 18 defence; true, its hardened, but generally nobody fields non-ap arty anymore and come on, 18 is charge/capture bait. Having said that however....It does have a 14" range and average primary and secondary weapon stats with a 270 degree arc. It can be played as a keep-away kind of mech, with a potential 14" alpha strike coupled with streaks for hiding behind blocking to annoy people. Its SEs do not complement each other, coupled with its lack of mobility is a definite point sink. You should only field this if you get it in a sealed tourney and there's nothing better. I'm sorry, but this unit, aside from it looking good, is about as useful as nipples on a hippo.

You did the right thing in not playing that, what with all the 11 attack chargemonkey's around. One cheeky thought tho', after being charged, generally for 4 clicks from the likes of raiders/mjolnirs, it ends up on its 3SU Alpha Strike click and 9 attack. Alpha Strike away! It's not really a workable tactic...but its amusing to get alpha-ed after getting charged, its stats don't drop off all that much, and 8 damage generally insta-kills or salvages these harassers. Throwing away 193 points to kill roughly 80-90 point less units doesn't appeal to me in the least, so an extremely #### unit.

OH YEAH, we got two new LE's, a SalvageMech MOD and a Templar. The Templar has a 7 damage WITH Pulse and a 10 attack out to 10". The SalvageMech MOD has 3 clicks of 10 attack, 8 clicks of repair (none are single use) and a 270 degree arc.

Here's an almost all merc army that uses the Shockwave.

1x Special Forces Team
1x Gray Death Battle Armor
1x Kanazuchi Battle Armor
1x JI100 Revocery vehicle
1x Merc Shockwave
1x Liao Shockwave

The key is to keep the two shockwaves in base contact with each other. The Liao one has point defense and a 22 defense. All the units have damage values and the RV can repair any unit in the army. The Gray Death BA can help defend against infantry formations and the SF Team and the Kanazuchi BA are great harassers with their 8 IT attacks.

I haven't had a chance to try this army, but I've been wanting to find a way to use the Merc Shocwave