Age of Sigmar: 3 (More) Awesome Mercenary Companies
With all the new mercenary companies in the General’s Handbook, players have a huge selection of options to add extra flavor to their army, regardless of alliance. Here are three more awesome mercenary companies, and how they can be used on the battlefield.
Last week I listed my three favorite companies, but there are several others that seem like a ton of fun.
The Sons of the Lichemaster
Heinrich Kemmler was the most powerful human necromancer in the Old World, and the legacy he left behind has been picked up by this coven of death mages. The company consists of a Necromancer, up to three units of Zombies or Skeletons in any combination, and an optional Corpse Cart with an Unholy Lodestone. The company lets any Skeleton or Zombie units wholly within 18” of the Necromancer add 1 to their attacks characteristic. This can be exceedingly nasty if you take the Skeletons or Zombies in big enough units. For the Zombies, you can get 2 3+/3+ attacks if you take them in units of 40 or more (increased to a 2+ to hit if you also take a Corpse Cart) and the option to add more models to the unit depending on how many they kill. If you decide on Skeletons and take them in a unit of 30 or more, you will get 4 3+/4+ attacks with their swords, and a slightly higher armor save. So you get the choice of 80 attacks with a slightly better chance to cause damage or 160 attacks with a bit more staying power, so it’s really up to how you want your army to function.
Take this company to create a roadblock for a more mobile army, or add an objective grabber to deter speedy opponents.
Grugg Brothers
So what’s better than an angry drunk Gargant rampaging through your enemy’s battleline? How about three of them that get stronger the closer they are to each other? That’s what you get with this mercenary company, which consists of up to three Aleguzzler Gargants, an already frightening prospect. However, the gargants get even more frightening as they try to show off to the others, getting to re-roll hit rolls of 1 if they are within 6” of one other unit from the company or all hits if they are within 6” of 2. This is pretty powerful considering that two of the giant’s three attacks only have an attacks characteristic of 1, so you want to make sure you hit with them.
Use this company if you have an army without many monster units, like Stormcast, or if you need to add an extra large punch to an army without much hitting power.
The Blacksmoke Battery
When you need to send a message from far away, there isn’t much better than a dwarven cannon or an old fantasy machine gun. This company provides just that, containing an optional Engineer (which you should always take), up to three Cannons or Organ Guns in any combination, and an optional Gyrocopter or Gyrobomber (which you should also always take). On its own this is already a pretty beefy list, with the Engineer buffing the warmachines and healing them should they come under fire, and the Gyrocopter flying in to deal with faster vanguard units. But once the ability of this company kicks in, it gets even nastier, letting the warmachines add 1 to hit rolls against any units within 12” of the fliers. You’ll definitely want to get your Gyrocopter that close, since the Steam gun gets a lot more powerful the closer you are to the enemy. Position the units in this company right and you can lay down a withering amount of fire that very few armies can stand against.
Use this company for armies with great combat prowess but not much shooting, or to soften up fragile melee units before they can hit your battleline.
~Have you had any luck with mercenary companies in your games? Tell us about it!
