New Project, New Posts: Mercs!

So, I'm the first to admit that I've pretty much not done squat on this blog for a while, and I feel bad about that. So, from here on out, I'm planning on doing at least 1 post a week - be it battle report, tactics update, or army list post. To help this along, I'm also starting Mercs! (entirely coincidental)

There are 3 main reasons I'm getting into Mercenaries:
1.  Horgenhold Forge Guard - I've wanted to use these guys since I started playing Warmachine!
2. General Ossrum, the Earthbreaker, and Gun Bunnies - technically that's three in one, but shaddup you...
3. Variety - Khador, Circle, even Trollbloods are all pretty static in playstyle. Between Contracts, Rhulic/Human/Iosan/Nyss/Pirate models, and Gun Mages/Kayazy, just about everything plays a little bit different. Plus, I can make use of Harlan Versh again - I love that guy!

The first stop on my Merc Trek is Searforge - more specifically, General Ossrum, who has just about everything I want in a warcaster, and a great tier list to boot!

State of War - Ossrum's Tier
The tier list is pretty simple - only Rhulic models, 2 or more ranged units, 2 or more solos, and 3+ warjacks in the battlegroup. For those, you get (in order): 1 unit gains Advanced Deploy, 1 Trench Template (and 1 more for each additional 2 units), Start the game with Ossrum's upkeeps already cast, and Warjacks in the battlegroup gain +2 speed during round 1.

Ossrum 15pt - Searforge Commission
General Ossrum (*5pts)
* Ghordson Basher (7pts)
* Wroughthammer Rockram (8pts)
Herne & Jonne (3pts)
Thor Steinhammer (2pts)

For some reason, the 15pt list is the one I have the most issues with. This is also the list that is most in flux, as it's in the running to be the first list I build to.

Ossrum 35pts - State of War Tier 3
General Ossrum (*5pts)
* Grundback Gunner (3pts)
* Ghordson Basher (7pts)
Hammerfall High Shield Gun Corps (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
* Hammerfall High Shield Gun Corps Officer & Standard (3pts)
Herne & Jonne (3pts)
Horgenhold Forge Guard (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Ogrun Bokur (3pts)
Thor Steinhammer (2pts)
* Grundback Blaster (3pts)

Gotta love them gun bunnies, and in this list I've got the whole Hen-and-Chicks. The Basher, Gunner, and Forge Guard are there to deal with problem high-ARM models, while the High Shields under Snipe (and CRA if necessary), Herne and Jonne, and the Blaster dish out damage to infantry. Herne and Jonne or the Blaster can deal with Kayazy or other High-DEF models, while the Bokur can client to Ossrum and help keep him and Thor alive. I'm on the fence about bumping the Blaster up to the battle group - on the one hand, it works better with focus and would give me the tier 4 bonus; on the other, it's more of a load on Ossrum's already stretched-thin focus. Time will tell here.

I worry how it'll deal with Heavy Jack/Beast spam, but at 35pts that might not be as much of a problem with the Forge Guard and CRA-ing High Shields. Heck, even the Bokur can do some serious damage to a jack if it gets near his client, however that's inviting trouble if I'm letting a jack get that close to Ossrum. If it turns out I do need more heavy crackers, it's a simple matter do give Thor the Basher and swap the Gunner and Blaster for a Driller. I'd love a Rockram, but to do so I'd also have to drop the Basher and Gunner and add 2pts of something else - which, given my choices and tier restrictions, invariably has to be Lord Rockbottom. Honestly, not a bad call with 3 units running around, but I want to see how the Basher and bunnies perform first.

Boosting up to 50pts is actually pretty easy:

Ossrum 50pts - State of War Tier 3
General Ossrum (*5pts)
* Grundback Blaster (3pts)
* Ghordson Earthbreaker (19pts)
Hammerfall High Shield Gun Corps (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
* Hammerfall High Shield Gun Corps Officer & Standard (3pts)
Herne & Jonne (3pts)
Horgenhold Forge Guard (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Tactical Arcanist Corps (4pts)

Lord Rockbottom (2pts)
Ogrun Bokur (3pts)
Thor Steinhammer (2pts)

So, we lose 2 bunnies (the Basher and the Gunner) but gain an Earthbreaker (!!!), TACs, and Rockbottom (with now 4 units on the table, it becomes a bit more useful that they not run, and that extra spray is kiiiiinda nice at 50). The Tactical Arcanist Corps is an interesting unit, and I'm very tempted to have one stick around Ossrum and put up a cloud effect every turn, which would really skyrocket his survivability. Their addition also bumps the number of units in the army to 4, meaning it generates another trench template per the Tier 2 benefit. The inclusion of the Earthbreaker means the list won't make the tier 4 benefits - there are literally no available points for even a 2nd gun bunny unless I want to drop the High Shields to a min unit.

Therein lies the main problem with this list - short of new Rhulic models coming out in Vengeance, this is pretty much the only iteration of this list I can field. Every model available in Ossrum's tier (that I'm interested in anyway) is being used. This does leave Gudrun, Brun and Lug, the Ogrun Assault Corps, and the Horgenhold Artillery Corps, but from what I can tell all of these aren't really up to the level of the units already in the list.


At this point, these lists are pure speculation -- I'm not certain that the benefits of State of War/Searforge outweigh the (somewhat crippling) model restrictions, but I'm going to do some proxying and see what works and what doesn't. Regardless, I want (and intend to regularly use) 90% of the models in the 50pt list, be it in Searforge or Highborn Covenant. Speaking of which...

Highborn Covenant

I REALLY like the Highborn Covenant contract, probably as much as the Ossrum Tier. The reason is simple - OPTIONS. Gun Mages, Rhupert, Versh, Aiyana and Holt, Gastonne Crosse, Lanyssa Ryssyl, Eiryss2, Gorman (my abject hatred of facing this dirty little bastard is not strong enough to prevent me using him in kind. Juicy, Black-Oil-Grenade Hypocrisy), etc, etc.  Here's a rough idea of the 50pt Highborn list, again with Ossrum:

Ossrum 50pts - Highborn Covenant
General Ossrum (*5pts)
* Ghordson Earthbreaker (19pts)
Arcane Tempest Gun Mages (Leader and 5 Grunts) (6pts)
* Arcane Tempest Gun Mage Officer (2pts)
* * Mule (8pts)
Horgenhold Forge Guard (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Tactical Arcanist Corps (4pts)
Gorman di Wulfe, Rogue Alchemist (2pts)
Harlan Versh (2pts)
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord (2pts)
Thor Steinhammer (2pts)

This list has some notable differences from the tier list, notably the inclusion of Gun Mages with a Mule, as well as Gorman, Versh, and Rhupert Carvolo - all of which are a lot more useful with other casters than a lot of Ossrum's Tier. The Gun Mages are just plain better than High Shields, and adding in a Mule (a great target for Fire for Effect, since it can also get snipe or crit-brutal from the gun mages) really bumps up the ranged threat, forcing my opponent to do something about them and possibly opening up nice opportunities for the Forge Guard and Earthbreaker.

The most appealing thing about choosing Highborn over State of War is the options it opens up - I can drop the Mule for a Vanguard and Eiryss2, swap around the TACs for Aiyanna and Holt, or even little things like swapping Versch for Macnaile. The tier list is veeeery stagnant - what's there is there to fill a requirement, with very few exceptions, and that doesn't make for very fluid list building if I wanted to shift gears later on.


Needless to say, this is going to be a loooong term project, and I'm still playing Trollbloods in the meantime. I've also started playing Flames of War with the Tower Games league, so expect some posts on that in the near future!