Might be coming back

[photogasm]

I might be coming back to Warmachine after I decided to leave the miniatures wargaming hobby a few years ago, and I was thinking of starting a Privateer (mercs) army.

I have a few questions:

1. What books do I need to do a pure Privateers army?

2. Last time I played, there were only 4 factions. Can you field an all Merc army now? Are there any special rules?

3. What's this about 35 point games in Mk II? Where can I find Merc unit points right now if anywhere?

4. In your opinion is an all Privateer force viable?

Thanks guys. (I posted this in New Players, but got no replies, so I reposted here, hope that's ok).

[Stomphoof]

I may just be starting a new Merc army myself, but here is what ya need:

You need the Contracts, which you can find here: http://killdrath.is-a-geek.com/warmachine/docs/mk2merc.pdf

You will also need the Warmachine Mark 2 pdfs, which can be found here: http://privateerpress.com/company/mkii-rules-and-model-info-available-for-pdf-download

There is a new ruleset out, and it changed how the points work. You can get all the cards and the rules for free but they are NOT by any means fancy. The links above are all you need to get started.

As for your 4th question, I have no idea. Pirates do seem viable though to me.

[Hellspawn]

4. In your opinion is an all Privateer force viable?



Since photogasm hit your other questions, I'll hit this one.
Yes, they're viable, but you have to be careful. This is an army that depends on it's solos, and works like a chain. Rockbottom gives sea dogs tough, Killingsworth makes the tough more viable, Grogspar keeps them from being knocked down after a successful tough roll, and Hawk buffs thier abilities. This will likely be the core of your army.
You could also go the jack route with Bartolo as your caster buffing his ranged jack's abilities, backed up by deck guns and McNaile.
It's to you to develop you're own playstyle to which you are comfortable though. You may come up with something completely different. This is just what I've ran and seen ran.
The other downside to a privateer list is it's limited choices. If you're adamant about only running pirates, than you won't really have any tricks that experienced players haven't seen. Pirates tore it up when they first came out, but once we learned how to unlink the chain they started getting smeared. It's a very squishy army de-soloed.
It is a good starting point though. You could go privateer at first, then branch out to the other merc contracts. Eiryss, Rhupert, Reinholdt and Steelheads will alter the way you play the same casters, and add a lot of options to your game. Mess around, proxy some models you think you might like, and have a good time.

[kill4koin]

I might be wrong on this, but your link to the contracts are from the April edition of MKII rules, not the fall release which didn't have contracts. I haven't seen anything that confirmed the contracts stayed intact.

Can anybody confirm the contracts are still the same and the only thing that will change is the "tiers?"

[Stomphoof]

http://www.privateerpressforums.com/showthread.php?t=4882

This is a sticky of all the current models and which factions they work for, and the current available contract information.

[Rosicrucian]

I might be wrong on this, but your link to the contracts are from the April edition of MKII rules, not the fall release which didn't have contracts. I haven't seen anything that confirmed the contracts stayed intact.

Can anybody confirm the contracts are still the same and the only thing that will change is the "tiers?"

We actually have no idea. However, in September we were told by PPS_DC on the forums to use the field test contract rules until we got the new rules in our forces book.

[Faultie]

We're in contract/tier limbo right now, and it's not a good place to be, frankly.

[Mr.B]

We're in contract/tier limbo right now, and it's not a good place to be, frankly.

It's perhaps much like a sad version of purgatory. :(