Tonight were going to be talking about the next game on the platter after I work some magic on Firestorm. Don't get me wrong, I cannot get enough of that game. With all the exploding dice, gorgeous models, boarding parties.... *ahem* However, with college on the horizon, and Games-Workshop jacking up their prices, it is safe to say that I need to find another game to bring to the uneducated masses of students who squabble over Xbox One vs PS4 besides Firestorm Armada (there are weird people who want actual infantry on the table)
Enter the MERCS.
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| See what I mean? |
I love this style for the game, as it adds a lot of character. It is even reflected over to the models themselves, but we can get to that later.
MERCS is a D10 based system, where squads of 5-8 men descend into covert operations against each other on tight, claustrophobic tables. Forget the 4x4, we're talking in the 2x2 and 2x3 range here folks. It also forgoes the industry standard tape measure and templates as the go to tools for getting your plastic warriors into combat. No, this game is all about the stat cards being multi-purpose, and they do get a lot of use in the game.
Backstory:
So, this is going to be a Spark Notes version of the story of MERCS, but it gets the point across. America is a dying bread, falling behind economically to the rest of the world thanks to an intrusive government and cheap foreign labor. Feeling left out of the world, America lifts the flood gates on monopolies, and this eventually leads to a world dominated by MegaCorps, where national borders have been dissolved in order to make profit. This eventually leads to the construction of MERCS in order for MegaCorps to fight each other in secret, while a group of freed citizens try to topple the economic powerhouses through terrorism. Thats pretty much it in a nutshell. Countries try to compete economically and cause themselves to get extinct because of it and companies now fight shadow wars.
Models/Faction:
While this game seems to lack the variety of models and sculpts of other games, it makes up for it by having solid rules, that are balanced, and the factions are quite well developed to have different feels to them.
CCC
The Beginning faction. Based in good ole America, CCC is a mega steel company in the game. This leads them to have excellent armor, and - being good ole Americans - they have access to some solid firepower. This is the faction for beginners. And they have the pyro character. Which is awesome.
FCC
The Free Corporate Control is a group of terrorists who believe that the MegaCons should be torn down and destroyed. They are the rebels, and the mercenaries. They will not stop until their secret agendas are completed. They are an interesting choice in that they have the ability to field other MegaCons MERCS in their army.
ISS
Keizai Waza
Keizai Waza is the MegaCorp based in the Far East. They are the transformer ninjas of the game. Their fluff states that they have continued to follow a strict code of honor, even into the future and as MERCS, and that they have adopted technology that the other MegaCorps have deemed too destructive and dangerous - Nuclear power. Awesome models and background makes this one of the most popular factions in the game.
KemVar
KemVar is a group of South American companies that have joined together to become the leading giant in energy production. They also support some of the stealthiest units and parkoring assassins to bulster their ranks in the game. This faction is also known to have very few models, but big bonuses on the fronts of surprise and equipment bonuses.
sefadu
sefadu is the African company of the game, backed by the power and money of the CCC, they are a growing power to be watched and wary of. They feature thematic units that represent African culture in their faction, such as the spear the leader carries to war. They are extremely agile and the fasted faction in the game, but they sacrifice armor for this mobility. Compare them to the Eldar of 40k, or an all cavalry High Elves army in fantasy - but about $300 cheaper.
Texico
Texico is the weakest faction in the fluff of the story, on the very edge of foreclosure as they try to take back their only major source of income - the Panama Canal. As you can see from the models, they are extremely cowboy and mexican feeling, with influences from ancient Central American culture evident in the club weapons. However, Texico's most known model is the Marshall with his dual revolvers. Texico is a very unit based faction instead of a model based army. They must all function together or falter together.
USCR
Good ole Russia, always has to have the biggest and heaviest units in the game. They feature the biggest MERC in the game with the Behemoth - a model feared by all of the factions in the game and in the fluff. The Russians are a powerful force in the world of MERCS, with complete freedom being allowed to all of the citizens, but they choose to live as one. This creates a bit of a mind melt to the other MegaCorps, but no matter - they are all much more worried about getting squashed into paste by their massive MERCS than the social-economic path the USCR follows.
Closing Thoughts:
Now that you have seen all of the factions and have a little bit of a better understanding of the game and its background, hopefully you too will be ready to suit up and begin your MERCS collection today. I know I have a box of Texico and a box of Russians in my future. The rules are a free download on their site, as well as more in-depth looks at all of the factions and the models. Until then, Tarum et clama dimit belli canes!
MERCS Homepage http://mercsminis.com/
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