Advice on Budget Merc Force

[joshuaslater 1863]

Okay, I want to start a Hanged Men Merc Force and I could use some input now that new models are coming out. This is going to be a force of COOL LOOKIN' models that I dig; I'm not concerned about it being tactically the most viable force. My questions will be related to how many to buy. I don't want to end up with more adepts than I can field in a 1500 point game. I'm AVOIDING GUNPOWDER/GUN CARRYING MODELS!

For starters:

1. Boris Mingla--how many evil fighters named Boris has Reaper produced over the years? Cool model and the perfect place to start.

2. Mack Hardwick--he'll look great on the table and be equally useful for other games, and I can see him leading a bunch of thugs.

3. Jos Gebblar--gotta have him.

4. Leisyn--wizard of chaos. Great looking model, period.

5. Gars Necka--evil chick wizard. Love it.

6. Darkthrall Priestess--surrounded by Cultists. Might have to get two of her.

 

So I have a bunch of Leaders and Solos and I may not be able to field all of them. Now comes the real issue.

 

How many Dark Dwarves should I get? I know they're Adepts, but I want to pick up about 3 of this first pose coming out. With the chain weapons pack I'll have some variety.

 

How many Cultists? Again, I'll prolly pick up 3 and do some conversions.

 

This leaves one thug pose. I can't see buying multiples of this model. WILL REAPER BE PUTTING OUT THESE GRUNTS IN THREE PACKS WITH DIFFERENT POSES, OR SHOULD I JUST SETTLE FOR ONE POSE?

 

Any input appreciated.

[Stubbdog 77]

Well I have posted several 1000, 1500, and 2000 point lists lately related to some fun hang men lists I have planning to use.

 

Cause of how expensive they are (point wise), the dark dwarves are kept to about 10%of the force. For me they have been acting as shields for the pirate gunners which you said you want to try and avoid.

 

For me, the cultists are great if you give them musician, and watch them speed across the field. They are not mobsters from the goblin point of view, you are not going to outnumber people when your models cost 26 pnts, but you can have a mob of them together under Boris, Hedasaa or Mack. So, they can outnumber the enemy on a troop level basis and hit fast.

 

The thugs to me is where the power of the troop comes for now anyway. With two swings at 2 (3 if you give them a totem) and mob, for only 25 points, again you are not going to ounumber your enemy overall but you can on a troop level basis.

 

Obviously, spellcasters could work well in this group too. Because of the speed of the soldiers (assuming you gave them musician) means that for the most part the enemy will have to deal with fast approaching grunts, leaving your casters to have a little more leeway in terms of options.

 

But, that is my two cents.

[cristomeyers 12]

Don't forget that Gars is Sinhan, not Hanged Men. Unless I've missed something (entirely too possible).

 

If you're avoiding Gun toters, then your army is going to lack any non-magic ranged combat, but hey, if that's your thing, go for it.

 

As to building on a budget, the first thing to do is compose your 1500 point list. This will give you an idea of how many models it will take to get up to 1500 and it's much easier to account for things like extra equipment and spells and such. If things are getting too expensive, you can switch out models for equipment (i.e. a GMA for Boris). Hopefully, some solos will come out for the Hanged Men soon to help round out your force. As far as I know, there's only the one Thug for now. I'd look at the Dark Heaven line for other Thug-looking models, should cost about the same. I know that Dark Heaven has some Dark Dwarves that you can use to add some variety.

 

It looks like your army is going to revolve around 3 troops, Boris, Mack, and Hedassa. Hedassa can't have an elite, so your mages are going to be split between Boris and Mack. Give Boris the Dark Dwarves and outfit Mack with his thugs and you've got a Hammer (Mack) and an Anvil (Boris), create a swarm unit with Hedassa by maxing out his troop capacity with cultists and you've got the Fire. Crush your opponent between the Hammer and the Anvil and if the steel is a little hard to work, bring up the Fire.

[rgtriplec 819]

Since you are using Gars who is not Hanged, I added a cleric in this list instead of three mages. It really doesn't matter who you take as a merc since they have no faction abilities unless they are led by Orba Sinhan and even then the abilities are nothing to write home about. I figured three Mages was a little overkill with so few points left for magic. Corm on the other hand can bless for free and is a healer and is pretty fast, tough and can fight a little. Here is my list. If you don't want Corm drop 'em and add Leisynn but IMO that would be a huge mistake. I posted the list below because the mods will move it here anyway.

 

http://www.reapermini.com/forum/index.php?...mp;#entry362800

[Shakandara 2260]

This leaves one thug pose. I can't see buying multiples of this model. WILL REAPER BE PUTTING OUT THESE GRUNTS IN THREE PACKS WITH DIFFERENT POSES, OR SHOULD I JUST SETTLE FOR ONE POSE?

This was addressed and clarified in another thread on the forums (though it is late, and I'm disinclined to find the relevant post for you at the moment). The short answer is yes, we will see an additional pose (but not 2) for the new single-pack soldiers, but they will not be available until the "army packs" are released. The 3-packs are going the way of the dodo. And I wouldn't go holding my breath for how long you might have to wait before you will see the Thug, Cultist, or Dark Dwarf army packs. It will certainly be easier for Reaper to release existing multi-pose soldiers in the army packs, since they don't have to wait on a sculptor to produce another figure before they release them...

 

EDIT: Eh, so I went and found the post anyway. Go Here.

 

~v

[joshuaslater 1863]

GUNS, GUNS, GUNS!!!!!

 

I went to my FLGS and saw the Hanged men Pirates with the leader and grabbed two packs of'em. The sculpts were great, so I figured I'd grab'em. I also found Hedassa, so I'm off to a good start.

 

I'm thinking three of each pose now for the Dark Dwarf, Thug, and Cultist. That way if only one other pose comes out, I can repeat the process, and if a less expensive pack comes out, I won't be left with too many. I'm off to a good start.

 

I don't even care about any army special ability anymore. The Pain Cage is getting kind of played out with my Darkspawn.

[cristomeyers 12]

If you're looking for thug proxies, there's a Dark Heaven blister (I think it's in the 2600's somewhere) called Townsfolk: Bandits. They don't have that "Brute with a club" look, but they'd add some variety.

[joshuaslater 1863]

Not a bad idea. Thanks.