MERCS. ANyone heard of it?

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kturock ( 590 )
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MERCS. ANyone heard of it?

Post by kturock »

Here's the blurb from Warstore:

MERCS is a fantastic near future Sci-Fi tabletop skirmish game. Fast moving, with a strong emphasis on good tactics, and supported by ultra dynamic miniatures, MERCS teaches inexperienced players solid fundamental gaming skills and rewards good players with advanced realistic combat action. MERCS created by industry artists with a passion for high quality, superior production, and dynamic design.


For beginners and advanced players, the MERCS Rule Book is extremely easy to read, with in-game examples, clearly labeled high resolution photos, and sidebars for expanded explanations on difficult concepts. Created to make teaching and looking up questions easier, the quick reference sidebar provides an easy way to find the answers you're looking for fast! Complete breakdown of CCC, KemVar, USCR, and FCC. Find out everything you need to know about your faction and determine the strengths and weaknesses of your adversaries.


So, anyone heaerd anything about it?
Good?
Bad?
Ugly?

EDIT:
well it looks like the minis are a bit bigger than GW 'standard', 27mm-32mm tall, with 1 model at 42mm, but even more expensive. Most are about $9 per model, with 1 faction at $12 per model. There seem to be only about 4-5 minis per army and only 4 factions/armies.
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Re: MERCS. ANyone heard of it?

Post by Adunaphel »

Hey Kturock,

Ever since you posted your question, I have done a bit of checking on the MERCS game.

It is set up to be a 5v5 game. So, it is a skirmish level game.

Right now, there is just the rulebook and 4 of the "megacon" (read as Megaconglomerate) squads.
Each squad has about 5 mini's right now, but they are working on having up to 10 different mini's and options for your squads.
There are plans for up to 16 of them from various factions with cultural elements in the figures.

A link to the game is here: http://www.mercsminis.com/

A link to a review of the rulebook is here: http://nerd-chronicles.blogspot.com/

I was really captured by the miniatures (especially the USCR and Yellow Jackets). I also liked the idea that it was small scale battles in a smaller space and in less time than 40K.

I think that I have pretty much made a decision to move away from the GW behemoth and try something new and different. This game has caught my eye and I will shortly have the rulebook and most of the available minis and I will be able to give you a more complete look at it.

I think that MERCS "card" movement is going to be very strange for most 40K players, but it does look somewhat effective. I have been perusing their boards and I really like how the company's workers are willing to LISTEN to the gamers who are interested in their product. I think that it's a bit refreshing.

I hope that helps. I might be trying to get some more information/opinions up in the discussions area as I can. As I said, I really like their miniatures and their "world setting" has potential for some very interesting gaming.

Karl
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kturock ( 590 )
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Re: MERCS. ANyone heard of it?

Post by kturock »

I don't know if you remember, but 40k and then later, Warzone started off like that. Small, units of no more than a dozen models.

40k had fantasy and sci fi races.
Warzone had megaconglomates and evil/monsters.

Doesn't Hordes & Warmachine use cards and for small units?
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Re: MERCS. ANyone heard of it?

Post by Adunaphel »

Yes, I realized that 40K started as skirmish (although I got into during 3rd edition). Warmachine started with the battleboxes and small fights (which I liked until it became pretty much the same as GW's main games). The cards in Warmachine are pretty much for reference. In MERCS, the cards are actually USED for movement. Sort of like the Pirates of the Carribean constructable card game.

Will this game end up going beyond it's skirmish beginnings? I have no idea. I could see where a company would LOVE to have what GW has. But, because they are so small, I don't see them getting there though. We'll see. Right now, they seem to be happy with trying to get the various factions done and with up to 10 different models in each so that the player has choices for their 5 man squad. Seeing as they are hoping to get two more factions out in 2011, I can't see them moving to huge battles all that fast.

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Re: MERCS. ANyone heard of it?

Post by MagickalMemories »

Moved thread from "Have Questions" to here, since it's gained new life.
It's more appropriate here.

Please, continue the discussion. Though I doubt I'll end up playing the game, you have my attention.


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Re: MERCS. ANyone heard of it?

Post by Adunaphel »

Allright, kturock. I have the rulebook and I have gone through it enough to answer some questions. I also have all of the available mini's if you have questions about them.

The rulebook is absolutely beautiful. It is full color with heavy pages and is simply stunning to look through. It is not a huge rulebook, but it has a decent mix of everything you would hope for in a rulebook (60 pages or so of rules, fluff, modeling, scenarios, etc...).

It is most definately a skirmish game. At this point, you are pretty much limited to 5 man squads. It has an initiative roll for each member to determine order in each turn and every squad member can either move or perform an action. Movement is done with the handy dandy reference cards for each squad member. This would be where most veteran tabletop players will probably groan, but I think it is a nice change. You don't have to have a ruler at all in this game.

Most games can be played in a 2'X3' area and they shouldn't take more than an hour to play. I haven't had a chance to play yet, but I plan on having my gaming group (and my family gaming group) playing some games soon.

The miniatures are VERY nice. The poses are very natural and the different squads each have their own look and feel (as well as rules that make them play vastly different).

All in all, it looks like a very nice skirmish level not-so-distant future miniatures game.

Any questions???
I hope I can answer them.

Karl
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kturock ( 590 )
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Re: MERCS. ANyone heard of it?

Post by kturock »

Thanks for the info..

though I doubt I'll get chance to play anything, and know I won't get to buy anything for a while.

please post more as you get to try the game.
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Re: MERCS. ANyone heard of it?

Post by Shane »

I'd be willing to hear more, I've played AEWWII, Dark Age, Rezolution and Urban War. What does this have, that can make me want it?
Always looking for well sculpted Female miniatures.
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Re: MERCS. ANyone heard of it?

Post by Adunaphel »

Hello Shane,

Unfortunately, I have never played ANY of the games you listed. So, I can't give you any details as far as similarities or differences.

Once I play some games I can certainly give you some more substance to the game itself on how it plays. For now, I can tell you that the miniatures are top notch (although, at $10/mini they are not the cheapest miniatures out there) and the rulebook really is a beautiful book. And at $35 ($30 on Amazon) it is worth it just as a coffee table style book.

The setting is nicely thought out. It is fairly believable and lends itself to all kinds of narative play between the different factions. I can envision a campaign structure that could be fairly easily implemented and quite a bit of fun. Because the factions are reconnaissance arms of huge megaconglomerate corporations, the sky is the limit for espionage, infiltrations, and sabotage.

Obviously, with the game being so new and the company being so small, they have yet to tap into alot of what their world could offer. There are a ton of things that would be cool for the game, but we shall see if they can even stand the test of time against the big boys out there.

Once I have gotten a few games in, I will see if I can update this space.

Karl
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Re: MERCS. ANyone heard of it?

Post by csr556 »

I have played AEWWII and rezolution, and I have purchased the book and some figures for this game as well.

First, everything you need is on the cards you have to buy for the factions. The cards are used to hold the rules and stats for the miniatures, used for movement and also as templates for those weapons requiring them. There are only 5 mini's needed to play a game, but each Megacon (faction) has 6, so there is still some tactical planning required. This means a lot less of a price input to start and a lot less to carry around.

The game is designed to be played on 2D maps, but can be used on 3D terrain that most wargamers already have. I like the 2D maps since I can use AT43 maps, star wars maps, or buy maps online cheaper than a lot of 3D terrain.

As stated before, the minis are greatly detailed, as are the rules and Megacons. everything seems to be well balanced (I've only had 1 game, but have read plenty reports on their boards.

Like Aberrant and AE-WWII the developers not just troll the boards, but actively participate in discussions and ideas.
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Re: MERCS. ANyone heard of it?

Post by LadyAnara »

Thanks for posting this guys.

Mercs is on my list games to check out. I am currently looking at Infinity too.
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Re: MERCS. ANyone heard of it?

Post by capsfan34 »

I am currently doing demo's and have two factions for it. I love it. The play style is unique with the cards being used for movement, range, and the stats.

It is a very fast paced skirmish game where if you utilize your surroundings with cover and such you will survive longer. 5 man fire squads are the max in your "army". But if you want to do a 1v1 you can do that also.

I highly recommend this game.
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Re: MERCS. ANyone heard of it?

Post by KiltedWolf »

I too am just getting into this game, after having the rulebook since last year. I am very drawn to the skirmish level, low model count, and small board size. They are a small company but seem to be paying attention to their customers. I currently have the CCC and Sefadu factions, and am looking forward to the Texaco faction later this year. The game seems to reward an aggressive play style (ala Warmahordes), and "real-world" tactics rather.

There are a couple of things that need ironing out, but the only one that comes to mind at this time in my limited play knowledge is: there is a chance you might need an 11 on a 10-sided dice to hit -- i.e., it is impossible. We're not talking about shooting through a wall, just adding up bonuses due to cover and armor types. I don't like impossible -- highly improbable, but "nothing" should be impossible. Still, it could be argued to just try a different tactic.

All in all I see good things for this game, and for those of us with limited time or budgets, games like these rock.

Cheers!
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Re: MERCS. ANyone heard of it?

Post by capsfan34 »

Not to turn this into a rules thread but if you need an 11 to hit that means you don't shoot because you can't hit at all. That is where the tactics and positioning come in to get those FN's low.
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