Friday, October 16, 2009

Mercenaries in 40k


Have you ever just picked up a random box of miniatures for an army you don’t have, on a whim because you thought they were groovy only to have the box years later collecting dust on your gaming shelf?

I have a box of Kroot and three blisters of Kroot hounds that I picked up upon the initial Tau release. I absolutely love the alien look of them, I had even debated building a Kroot Mercenary army when the article first appeared in WD.

I have been working on more background material for the Soul Reapers. I have made mention that the Reapers use Stygian Mercenaries to scout planets prior to an attack or raid. I think I have finally found a use for my Kroot.

Does anyone else think that Mercenaries are sorely missing from 40k? I think it could be a fantastic stand alone army or allies list that would add a lot of flavor to some of the existing armies. Hell they would be great for scenario and campaign games. The only armies I see that would not use for mercenaries are Imperial Marines, Tyranids, and Necrons.

Think of all the groovy conversions that could be done! Mercenaries would be a modelers dream army, the combination's of WFB and 40k bits would be almost limitless.

So, what if I add a 0-1 choice of Stygian Mercenaries to the Soul Reapers Min-dex as a fast attack selection? Using the Kroot stats and entry right out of the Tau Empire book minus the Krootox riders; then add the option for them to take a teleport homer for 40 points.

I'm really thinking that a Mercenary army list will be my next major side project for 40k once my Soul Reapers mini-dex is completed.

Thoughts or comments welcome.

Jim

6 comments:

  1. Guilty as charged with picking up random boxes of models! :)

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  2. I had a box of these I bought just the same time as you did and I sold it off a couple weeks ago. If I remember correctly there was a Mercenaries army list during the 3.5 Edition days but it's bitten the dust. There is an updated unofficial 5th Edition mercenaries list somewhere on the net (it's a very good list too) that you can use for friendly games.

    As for the Kroot.. Yes they are all kinds of awesome as far as the models go. But if I collect a Tau army (and I will..) I would rather go for the Tau infantry and suits instead. The Kroot would make a very nice ally choice for all kinds of armies, though.

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  3. I absoloutely love those Kroot,and lots of the more minor alien races...The sheer amount of conversion possibilities fro mercanaries is amazing.

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  4. Just do it... GW can't say what and when you and your friends play on the gaming table. Back in the day their just weren't the rules so we made it all up. Ran a 40k RPG for a year.

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  5. Got for it! I'm currently working on a Mercenary 40K army based around a human planet outside of the Imperium. Think "Deadwood" meets "Mos Eisly". The majority of the figures come from the Necromunda range, so I've got bounty hunters, female gangs, cultists, and abhumans (ogruns, squats, and ratlings). I've got plans to make rules for the giant too - wouldn't it be sweet to see a 40K giant smashing tanks and eating Marines? Then I can work in rogue Eldar, fallen Marines, Freebooter Orks, etc. Endless possibilities!!

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  6. Thanks for the encouragement! I am a casual, for fun player first and foremost. So I am totally kool with having homebrew lists and house rules.

    I rarely go to tournaments and I really only go to them to see old friends and possible meet new ones that I can share my version of 40k fun with.

    Cheers,
    Jim

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