Blindwater at 25pts for the Journeyman League

Due to a hectic schedule, I didn't manage to get in any 15pt games in the Journeyman League. Sad, but what do you do? My plans for 15pts involved adding a pair of Croak Hunters, which would give me a bit more credible pop-and-drop threat.


At 25, I've run the following:
Bloody B
-Wrastler
-Spitter
-Snapper
5-strong Gatorman Posse
Croak Hunter

I ran up against the following:
pStryker
-Ironclad
-Lancer
Gun Mages
-Officer
-Marshalled Charger
Squire
Gorman
Strangeways

I ended up winning; I was worried as my initial engagement with his jacks did precious little damage, and the turn I didn't have Iron Flesh on the posse was the turn I lost a few. We both had some 'bleh' dice, though mine rebounded in the end and I managed to pull it out, or more like I managed to kill his stuff that could boost. Grandpa Turtle beat Stryker within 2 boxes of death, and then the Snapper finished him off. I lost the bulk of the posse, but managed to deliver the Wrastler into his Ironclad while the posse worked the Lancer over.

Thoughts on the List

Barnabas and Order of Activation
Oh, this is very much a learning curve. He's usually the first to activate, as you're going to want swamp pits (either to slow the other guy down, or deny shooting) or you'll be using your feat as setup/denial.

This means you'll be going without Iron Flesh for a turn, as you're going to do the setup (and you'd have to drop IF off your posse) with Barnabas, thus giving the other guy a chance to hit your DEF12-13 gators. I mean, Barnabas can walk up and mug something with his axe to put it up, but at that point I'd be doing it on myself.

Since he IS activating first, you'll want to leave him space to move it on up. I made the mistake of bricking up off the bat, then realized Barnabas would want to move up and put Swamp Pits in useful places.

I also think that the threat of putting jacks into shallow water is overestimated by the opponent. Can you do it? Of course. However, Swamp Pit's stipulations about not going over bases (and being completely within his control area) mean you'll have to be close, and you probably want a throw target in there (IE: a feralgeist, or something). I think what gets people all worked up is the notion that you theoretically COULD render a jack inert; that's one hell of a setback as they're not getting use out of it for a couple of turns (gotta reactivate it, then gotta get it back into the fight).

The Wrastler
'Rise' is hilarious against folks that have knockdown spells like Stryker's Earthquake. It IS very nice to be able to have infantry 'shake effect' (especially when you wanted that charge...) and it'll let you have more fury on your beasts for the killin'. That aside, I'm often a bit cautious with this guy, as I need him to crack heavy armor.

The Spitter

Come on. You NEED a bloody ranged attack in this army. In a pinch, he can do melee, though MAT5 is kinda limiting. As others have noted, AoEs on a warbeast are friggin' sweet, as I can boost damage rolls at will. Grandpa* gets honorable mention during Stryker's feat turn; he had a wonderful shot lined up against gun mages (HA! I don't care about your ARM, you gonna MELT!)...which he promptly whiffed. It proceeded to scatter onto Stryker, Strangeways and the Squire. My opponent and I were both amused. This would've been cooler if it weren't feat turn, but Corrosion is Corrosion.

The Snapper
This guy was more an animus-bot than anything else. Spiny Growth on high-ARM/high-DEF targets is very nice; this is something I knew. It's also very beneficial on heavies, because I can't afford to take/run that many of them.

The Posse
Iron Flesh + Dirge of Mists = STUPID TOUGH, especially with an elevation bonus. PS13 attacks aren't bad against infantry and the occasional light warjack, but now I understand people's concerns about killing heavy armor with gators: you're gonna need a Wrastler or Parasite. Against infantry? Come on. Re-rolling attack rolls, MAT7, multiple attacks? Yeah, I think they've got this. Reach and medium bases make them a pain to bypass, and of course ARM16, 8 hit boxes, and Unyielding just sweeten the pot.

The Croak Hunter
This guy didn't do much aside from draw fire. Gorman walked over to distract him (which is valuable in and of itself) as the Hunter was jogging off to the side, taking a wide flanking path. Comically, Gorman and the Hunter spent the entire game whiffing at each other; when you need an 8 to hit and you have only one swing and you can't boost, well...yeah. It was the slap-fight of the game. Gorman managed to land one hit, but his PS6-7ish pointy object isn't that scary against ARM14 with hit boxes.

Overall
A shooty-heavy army versus Barnabas is admittedly a rough matchup, though I was still worried about his feat turn and heavy hitters. I got a bit lucky on the dice in the middle. I also chucked the posse up there to jam up his jacks, and I think that ended up being prudent as I was able to move the Wrastler into position to KO the Ironclad. Once it and the Lancer went down, it was all over but the crying, as gun mages won't take a couple of Gatormen and a couple fresh heavies. I've only used Barnabas himself in melee once, and that was against a Legion warpack (ate a shredder, got some Iron Flesh) in the battle box part.

And the next decision: do I want to switch 'locks, or keep rocking Barnabas? My Calaban is mostly painted, and Maelok is almost fully assembled.

Reznik v Stryker, Thoughts

I got another training match in, this time dialing it back to 25pts for my cohort.

The lists were:
pStryker
-Ol' Rowdy
-Lancer
-Charger
10 Sword Knights
Rhupert the Piper
Arlan Strangeways
Squire

VERSUS!

Reznik
-Vanquisher
-Reckoner
6 Exemplar Errants
-Officer, Standard
4-man Choir
2 Vassals of Menoth
The Book

The scenario was Mosh Pit, with a hill in the middle and me going first.  There was a hell of a scrum, and at the end, there were a few Errants, a few choir boys, a vassal, and a dead Reznik.  I had Stryker, Rowdy, Arlan, and a depleted Squire on the board with Rowdy presiding over Reznik's spaghetti-sauce-like remains.

Thoughts On...
Stryker
On paper, I wasn't too impressed with him; he struck me as a buff-bot.  With the bloody Witch Hound and immunity to knockdown book in the back, Earthquake didn't feel like a hell of an option.  Still, Arcane Shield was an MVP on Rowdy, and Snipe on a Charger makes it a hell of an assassination threat.  Stryker's major contribution, other than a timely Earthquake when he switched over to the Continuous Fire passage during my feat turn, was repeatedly disrupting things with his sidearm.

Ol' Rowdy
Arcane Shield and Rowdy's natural ARM19+1 make him stupidly durable.  Past that, the focus efficiency and Grudge make him nice.  He basically did ALL the heavy lifting for jack-killing, and was able to go after both of them thanks to Stryker disrupting both of them.

Lancer
I'd grabbed him because of Earthquake, and because Sword Knights + Reach Jack = Happy Stabbing Action, in theory.  In fact, this guy almost knocked the cortex off of the Reckoner (...then a Vanquisher boosted a hit on him and ripped the shield off...).  He did boost one Earthquake onto a knocked-down sword knight, knocking both of the guy's jacks over.

Charger
This guy was ALMOST the star.  Add snipe, and hilarity ensues for potential assassination attempts.  He almost nailed Reznik TWICE; the first round he had a full focus load and knocked about 10 boxes off with the first shot, then...wiffed.  Then, wiffed again.  Then, took one more shot, missed, and Reznik went ARRGH ENGINE OF DESTRUCTION and I didn't have a Charger any more...

Sword Knights
Cheap bodies FTW.  I might've buffed them, but Blessed on the crossbows of the Errants (and that 'fire' thing from the Vanquisher) meant they ran up, killed some Errants, and then pretty much died.

Arlan Strangeways
All things considered, this guy was workable enough.  He's gold when, y'know, you have a caster without a ton of focus.

Squire
Um.  Why WOULDN'T you bring this?

The Piper
Fearless + Tough for the win.  I like the Pathfinder option, but fearless + tough is always useful and makes the Knights last a little longer.

Reznik
Engine of Destruction is painful.  Iron Aggression is stupidly efficient, and if your battle plan involved upkeeping spells or allocating focus, he can screw it over. Hell, casting spells on warjacks is a bad idea period with this guy.  I forgot how nasty Engine of Destruction could be, and if he'd had a way to give Reznik pathfinder, I might very well have lost this game as he would've gotten the jump on Rowdy and possible killed him.

Reckoner & Vanquisher
Honestly, disrupting one of these all game long and beating the other to death kinda neutralized them. Well, then Rowdy beat the CRAP out of them.

Errants
They spent the game killing Sword Knights.

Choir, Vassals, Book
It's solid Menoth support.  Shocked?  Shouldn't be.

Overall
I'm impressed with both Stryker and Reznik.  Are either of them top-tier?  Not necessarily.  Still, I'm impressed with Reznik's ability to seal the deal himself; if he's within a foot of you and has a charge lane, you're probably going to die.  Stryker's pistol was one of the bloody MVPs of the game, allowing me to get 'jack superiority in the mosh pit and let an ARM23 Ol' Rowdy go through a pair of heavies.  Past that, infantry died/was irrelevant.  All things considered, it was fun just because it was one of those epic slug-fests.

Moonlighting with Mercs: Merc 'Modules' and Units, the Cores You'll Build Around

This is, at the moment, the last article I plan on doing for mercs.  I've spent five posts explaining what mercs will work for which factions, and the compatibility of the respective warcasters.

This time out, I'm going to focus on the units (and their support) themselves, and discuss what you get from each of them.  I mean, you need to know who does what, right?

The Steelheads
Work For: Cryx, Cygnar, Menoth, Khador
The Steelheads have a little bit of everything: you want melee troops, you get Halberdiers.  You want guns?  Riflemen.  You want Cavalry?  You got Steelhead Cav, and a cav solo in Stannis Brocker.

The cheapest entry comes with the Halberdiers: They're a 4/6 cost unit for 6-10 guys.  They have low-to-average stats across the boad, with DEF/ARM13, and a piddly-looking MAT5.  Note that they do have Powerful Charge and Set Defense, so they can give and take some love to open an engagement.  Note also they have reach and are dirt cheap.  Combined Melee Attack lets you hit high-DEF targets, or tag-team larger stuff.  Importantly, they're cheap.  If you want just to hold another guy up, 1-2 units of Halberdiers flood the boad with bodies, and if you throw Alexia & the Risen behind it, you're basically dumping 11-17 points on a LOT of delaying tactics.

The Riflemen could use a range booster, but they're hideously accurate with Combined Ranged Attack and Combined Arms.  They are expensive at 6/9, but the accuracy is what saves them.  You are not likely to miss if you team up for your shots.  I would consider these guys behind a unit of Halberdiers, because these guys are pretty terrible in melee.

If you don't need in-faction buffs, the Cavalry can hit hard when combined with Halberdiers.  You get Reach and two swings out of each guy.  While the MAT5 and PS12 look piddly, factor in Flank with Halberdiers, and suddenly you've got MAT7 weaponmasters cranking out two attacks each.  Add in a sidearm and Assault, and you can do some serious damage on a charge to a number of targets.

Finally, there's Stannis Brocker.  IF you're going to take more than one Steelhead unit (and you're not just doubling up on Halberdiers as fodder) then consider him to help you with traffic issues.  He's no slouch in combat on his own, but Tactician (for ignoring each other for LOS and moving through each other) can be a big boon when it comes to getting your sell-swords into position.

Steelheads in Summary
These guys aren't what you're looking for if you MUST have access to faction buffs.  Why?  Either you're taking one unit of Halberdiers as fodder (and, well, come on.  At 6, they're cheap.  At 8, they're comparable to everyone else...) or you're looking at Halberiders + more expensive guys; Rifleman for a regular battle line or Cavalry for a nasty 1-2 hit.

An exception to the above is Reznik's tier in No Quarter, as you can get the Attendent Priests for free.

Also, these guys work for EVERYONE (other than Retribution).  From a money standpoint, these guys offer good bang for the buck.  You're looking at ~20ish points to take Halberdiers and either Rifleman or Cav + Stannis Brocker, which leaves you room for support/battlegroup in a 35pt list.  Not bad at all.

The Sea Dogs
Work For: Cryx, Cygnar, Menoth, Khador

Are pirates your thing, instead of organized mercs?  Then you can get some Sea Dogs.  While the Steelheads are pretty self-contained (self-contained accuracy via CMA/CRA, only Cav really wants other guys for suppot), the Sea Dogs just get nastier as you start adding in solos.

You start with an infantry unit, the Sea Dog Crew.  It's 5/8 for some guys with so-so stats.  They have SPD6 (nice), MAT5/RAT4 with a PS8 Melee weapon and PS10 pistol (laughable), DEF13 (average) and ARM12 (bad joke).  They can help each other out with Gang, for +2 to hit/damage, and they can use the pistol in melee.  Sound comical, right?

Well, you can get more guys with the Sea Dog Rifleman.  They're a point a piece, but instead of the pistol they have a RNG14 Rifle with CRA and Take Up.  You can get a few more bodies.  Not bad, right?  Still going 'So What?'

Now, let's go get Mr. Walls.  He's 2pts and attaches to a Sea Dog Crew unit.  He's got Gang, and slightly better survivability in melee due to Tough and an angry monkey. (No, really.)  He brings two wonderful things to the unit:
1) Tactics: Advance Deploy
2) No Quarter: mini-feat good fo Pathfinder, Terror, and Fearless.

So, Mr. Walls lets you start out further, and get there faster, AND respond to your enemy's deployment.  Now we're starting to see something...

Now let's go grab Lord Rockbottom.  He's got a neat Spray attack and Commander.  However, he also has a fun little ability called 'Paymaster' and he can use it to help a Sea Dog unit in his command range 5x per game.
1) Money Shot: +2 to ranged attack/damage rolls
2) Payday: BOOSTED MELEE ATTACK ROLLS and Overtake
3) Walk It Off: Tough for a round

For two points, Mr. Rockbottom is making our Sea Dogs a bit terrifying...he's solved their melee issue, and can even make them a little more frightening at range, OR he can make them stick around longer.  Too bad you can only use one Incentive per unit per turn.

Now, if you've decided to make your Sea Dogs Tough, you can pay 2pts for Bosun Grogspar, and make them immune to knockdown.  Also, you can take Doc Killingsworth for 4+ tough on your pirates.  First Mate Hawk is a guided-missile Solo that can give Sea Dogs fearless in her CMD9 range.  I suppose you could also take Bloody Bradigan for a weaponmaster with Fearless, Tough, and Critical Knockdown.

So, what's the module cost?
Sea Dog Crew [8]
-Doc Killingsworth [2]
Lord Rockbottom [2]

Minimally, 12pts.  I would probably add Hawk and as a minimum (14 points) and debate whether you wanted to add Grogspar and/or the Doc.  Alternatively, you can take a Press Gang which goes down to 4/6 and gets Tough in exchange for losing the pistols (but keeping AD by having it naturally) and being able to replace their losses.

Alternatively, you could grab the full suite of Solos (10), a full-up unit of Sea Dog Crew with Mr. Walls (10) and a full unit of Press Ganger (6), which is a fun 26pt chunk (though if you're going that far, I'd just consider playing Talion Charter or something...).  I think you're more likely to run about 16pts with a Sea Dog Crew and supporting solos.

Overall on Sea Dogs
These guys can pull off some sick layering of buffs.  This is really one of those situations where you can't evaluate the piddly Sea Dog Crew in a vacuum.  On the flip side, the instant you start losing your solos, you start watching capabilities go goodbye.  Still, it's a characterful module with some sick shenanigans when it all comes together AND you can use it with pretty much everyone.

As an added benefit, you can run a lone unit and make use of the Ranking Officers on the cheap, getting even more buffs out of the deal, unlike the Steelheads.  On the downside, you're looking at a lot of abilities to track, but they're all pretty sick.

The Nyss Hunters
Will Work For: Cryx, Cygnar, Khador, Retribution
If you're going to take just one unit as a core, these are by far some of the most versatile ones you can take.  They're expensive at 10pts for a full-up unit, but look at what you get: Pathfinder, Hunter, Combined Ranged Attack, Weaponmaster melee weapons, DEF15...bottom line?  You pay for what you get, and it's pretty nasty.

They can also use a variety of support, if you've got it.  If you can shield them from blasts (IE: Rahn's Force Field, Murdoch's Dig In) then you can make the enemy deal with DEF15, which isn't easy.  If you can extend their range, you'll get more mileage out of their bows.  The other big thing that comes to mind is a melee accuracy buff; MAT6 can miss at times and is more suited to hunting lumbering heavy warjacks than anything else.

As they're likely to be your main/only unit, you can also readily hand out that Ranking Officer attachment.

Overall
Nyss Hunters can do just about anything you ask them to out of the box.  They only get nastier with support, but real support is saving them from blast damage/auto-hitting stuff.

Ogrun Assault Corps
Work For: Cygnar, Menoth
Based on the 6/9 cost, these guys are competing for your 'only unit' slot.  On the bright side, they're pretty versatile: POW12 AoEs with CRA (so you can actually get some stupidly-nasty blast damage), and POW12 melee hits with CMA.  Add that on top of a DEF12 (average) and ARM15 (not bad) 8 wounds, and you've got a pretty middle-of-the-road multi-role trample roadblock.

Of course, this 'middle of the road' thing they've got makes them prime candidates for support.  On the bright side, they'll take almost anything.  An ARM buff is nice (and both employers can provide it).  Menoth can hit them with Ignite to drive them up to effective PS14 in melee, so you can do fire support and then do damage in hand-to-hand.  Cygnar can improve their ranged capability via Deadeye or Snipe.

Based on the cost, you can again hand them a ranking officer, as they're probably your main/only unit.  They may or may not need it, but the support from an Attendent Priest is pretty swell, and Murdoch's Assault and Dig In can give you more ranged fun AND keep you from blocking LOS.

Overall
These guys are versatile.  They'll make use of just about any buff you can hand them, though they honestly kind of want those buffs because they are VERY middle-of-the-road.

Boomhowler & Co
Works For: Cryx, Cygnar, Khador
Want a troll tarpit?  That's what these guys are.  They're famous for having a 4+ Tough roll, even though Boomhowler techincally has two other Fell Calls that most people forget. (Well, ok, Rage Howler probably gets the least love, but it still has a place if you can buff Boomie's ARM).

On the one hand, you can run these guys sans support just to clog up the enemy's lanes.  That's kind of the default use.  Cygnar can buff ARM (and DEF with Murdoch's Go To Ground), and Khador can buff DEF.

On the flip side, Cryx can readily help their damage output, as these guys top out at a POW12 hit unless you do Combined Melee Attacks.  Come on, it's the faction of Debuffs. 

Overall
These guys are a fine tarpit for their employer, though they'll pull double-duty if you can help their damage output.

Croe's Cutthroats
Work For: Cryx, Khador, Menoth
Like Poison?  That's what these guys do.  Their primary defense is Stealth and hitting first.  As their primary defense is Stealth, Ranking Officers are much easier to pick off (...since the Cutthroats don't block LOS unless you could shoot said Cutthroat) and are thus probably not desirable.

You could try to help their durability, but unless you're buffing DEF with something like Iron Flesh, it's probably not going to help.  It's a shame Defender's Ward requires a ranking officer, because they'd love DEF15, and ARM13 would be nice against blast damage.

The other issue the Cutthroat's have is accuracy.  They're already expensive at 7/10.  I can think of two gys that can help their accuracy issues without a ranking officer:
1) Harkevich has Fortune; re-rolls on RAT5 can threaten most infantry/heavies reasonably well.
2) Scaverous has Telekinesis.

Honestly, Scaverous is the big winner with Croe's.  Why?  Telekinesis can get you the rear arc bonus, which translates to +2 to hit AND +1d6 damage.  It's frankly disgusting.  I'm not saying that Scaverous is the ONLY guy I'd play Croe's with, but he can make them sick.

Of course, pKreoss' feat means that you're missing on snakeyes, so he could use these guys as an assassination vector.  It feels distinctly un-Menoth, but what the hell.

Overall
DEF buffs, blast damage mitigation, and accuracy are what Croe's want.  Of note are Harkevich, Scaverous, and pKreoss, as all of them can help Croe's hit, and the last two can make them serious assassination threats against living casters.

Sam McHorne & the Devil Dogs
Work For: Cygnar & Menoth
Like Jack Marshals that can gank the crap out of knocked-down models?  Hire Sam & Friends for 5/7.  Pronto is good for melee jacks and ranged jacks alike.  You can go cheap with just a Buccaneer (bring your own knockdown!) or you can get a Mule to move up AND get the all-important aiming bonus.

Sam & Friends have average stats, short range, and are just kinda sick if you can knock the target down.  That Slug Gun may only have RNG4, but it's POW14.  CRA is kind of a joke with RNG4, but you can always get an Assault off with Murdoch.

Frankly, these guys benefit most from Knockdown effects.  pKreoss and pStryker can deliver the goods here, and once the Avenger comes out you'll be able to get Knockdown for any Cygnar caster on-demand.

Overall
pKreoss is their buddy in Menoth, and if you really want to enjoy the Knockdown effect, you're probably adding a Buccaneer (KD on demand!) a Freebooter (KILL THE KD THING!) and a Priest (Pathfinder and Defender's Ward eligibility!)  In Cygnar, pStryker for Earthquake, or anyone with Avengers.  Or, you can add a Buccaneer to make them a self-contained 10pt trashin'-things module.  Note that they are a bit niche just because they love to kill stuff on the ground, and you can't always get that lovely Knockdown.

Horgenhold Forge Guard
Work For: Cygnar, Menoth
Want Reach Weaponmasters with solid ARM?  These are the guys.  Defensive Line means they'll laugh off most blast damage.  They need it, because they're a whopping SPD4 and DEF10.  MAT7 is pretty reasonable, and they're POW11 weaponmasters with Critical Smite, so their main concern is actually getting there.

Cygnar has ready access to Arcane Shield, and with that up (and Ranked Attacks and Murdoch) you have a nice front line that can beat the tar out of the enemy when they DO get there.  Cygnar and Menoth both have access to Crusader's Call, good for +2 movement on a charge.  Note you'd need a ranking officer, and you're stuck with either Blaze or the Harbinger for it.  Still, it's a solution their SPD4, right?

Overall
Honestly, I'm most at home using these guys with Ashlynn as she has Quicken, which really solves their SPD4 issue.  Murdoch lets you used their Ranked Attacks in a Cygnar shooting army to just sit back and hit the enemy when they come in, as you can probably convince the other guy to come to you.  Otherwise, you'll need to use judicious spacing of your troops to make sure anyone going after them can only get the first few.

Wrap-Up on Merc Units
The Steelheads and Sea Dogs are the most in-depth choices you've got for merc cores.  The Steelheads are relatively self-sufficient while being able to mesh well (largely with Stannis Brocker, but also the Halberdiers+Cav).  The Sea Dogs excel at layering a truly riduclous amount of buffs on the table.  Either way, these 'cores' are almost plug 'n' play into most faction armies.  I would say the tradeoff is the Sea Dogs require the most to remember, but since it focuses around making a unit into a sick receptable of buffs, it can readily benefit from Ranking Officers.

The Steelheads and Sea Dogs can also readily morph into a merc army, as they have access to all the contracts AND at least one specialist caster.  The Sea Dogs in particular have Phineas Shae's tier list, which is kinda sick.

Past that, there are a fair number of one-unit cores you could build around: the Nyss Hunters are expensive and have a bit of everything (outside of durability).  The Ogrun Assault Corps is sort of the inverse of the Nyss Hunters, as they've got durability in lieu of agility.  The rest of the merc choices get to be pretty niche.

Moonlight with Mercs: Cygnar

After a brief diversion, we're back to discussing merc builds with a side of faction.  Cygnar's one of the merc-friendlier factions, when you get down to it.  Note that there's some overlap between Cygnar and the Highborne Covenant, and it means you might own some Cygnarian units for an otherwise merc army.

Unit of Note: Arcane Tempest Gun Mages & UA
These guys get a special mention for two reasons: 1) They're available to the Highborne Covenant (albeit only one unit) and 2) they're nasty jack marshals for shooty jacks.  Frankly, someone like Ashlynn d'Elyse loves these guys, because they're good for hunting criticals with her feat, and they can run a Mule with Snipe and a pseudo-focus, which is really all the Mule seems to want/need.  RAT7 and a 16" range with Aim is pretty nasty.  As Cygnar has plenty of ranged jacks and some selfish casters, they'll pull fine double-duty in their parent faction.

Ranking Officer: Captain Jonas Murdoch
Drop two points, and one merc unit becomes a faction unit.  Honestly, being a Faction unit for Cygnar isn't always a huge buff; lots of casters aren't picky about who they buff.  On the flip side, you get a few fun things out of him: Assault and Go to Ground.  Assault is an orde that lets your guys take shots on the way in, and Go to Ground is a once-a-game "Look, Ma, a Trench!"  Your guys learn to hit the dirt, gain cover, and not block LOS.  Also, Murdoch's Tough, so if he's hanging with Boomhowler, you can get a lovely 4+ tough going.

The Casters
Major Markus 'Siege' Brisbane - This guy is 100% compatible with mercs.  His spells are either 'to whom it may concern' or battlegroup-only.  Explosivo lets anyone have some AoE fun, and magical weapon.  Force hammer...probably won't get a lot of use, since it's so bloody expensive.  Foxhole and Mage Sight are the real money-makers for most, along with his feat.  You really can't hide from this guy, since he can see stealth AND drop units out of LOS.  His feat, too, triggers when anyone damages something in his control area, so you're good.

Lietenant Allister Caine - Cain's army support and infantry removal.  His buffs aren't picky about faction, and favor a ranged game.  He has the standard-issue Snipe, and Deadeye is nasty on units.  Blur helps shelter you from direct fire, and Teleport is his 'get out of jail free' card.  Given a pair of upkeeps and his buffs (and guns), you can probably get away with one or two jacks in the battlegroup, provided they aren't too focus hungry.

Captain Allister Caine - Like his prime version, eCaine is fine with a minimal faction army.  The only thing that wants a faction model is his Magic Bullet spell, and frankly, bringing a long-ranged jack or two means you get all you want out of this spell: free POW12s on annoying solos sitting behind stuff.  He's also a one-man assassination run, so you really want self-sufficient stuff in his army.  The only buff he has for a faction unit is Elite Cadre[Gun mages] which is sick, since it lets them shoot in melee.

Captain E. Dominic Darius & Halfjacks - He's all about the battlegroup.  There's zero support for the army, and he wants heavy jacks to take advantage of his feat.  Honestly, this guy's not what you're looking for in the context of this post.

Captain Victoria Haley - While Haley's buffs suggest she's merc-friendly, the feat suggests otherwise.  She's a ranged game by and large, but the feat, Blitz, requires models to be Faction models in order to get the extra attack.  Basically, if you go merc-heavy you're losing out on her feat.

Major Victoria Haley - Apparently getting an arm hacked off makes you merc-friendly.  She is 100% merc compatible.  Her buffs are indiscriminate, and her feat is all about making the person across from you offer vocabulary lessons.

Captain Jeremiah Kraye - Remember Captain Darius?  The same more or less applies.  No support for infantry, lots for the battlegroup...the only difference is that Kraye plays a more mobile game.  Leave him at home for this exercise.

Commander Adept Nemo - This guy only has one Faction-specific spell, Deflection: sadly, that's a pretty nice spell, good for +2ARM versus ranged/magic attacks.  Also, Chain Lightning is best used at range, since electro leap + merc = smaller paychecks to hand out at the end.  On the bright side, this guy's fine with a smaller battlegroup.  Overall, a so-so choice for merc-heavy; maybe add Murdoch to Boomhowler's and call it a nice, nasty, ARM18/4+ Tough screen that doesn't get trampled through.

General Adept Nemo - This guy's also about warjacks, but he likes a couple or three heavies.  He wouldn't mind a merc unit as a screen, though, with Polarity Shield: nothing like denying the charge.  He can also help out with Force Field, and say 'screw you' to blasts.  Otherwise, its all about the jack-buffing upkeeps.  On the downside, he pretty much requires an investment in a battlegroup to be worth it.

Captain Kara Sloan - Everyone loves a RAT8, POW12 weaponmaster sniper rifle, right?  Sure.  She's a bit faction-picky, though.  Fire Group is nice, but battlegroup-only.  Refuge and Return Fire are nice for some ranged superiority, but again, they require Faction models.  The feat is sick, but AGAIN, it's faction-specific for shooters.  If you bring mercs, I'd consider Boomhowler's at best, and maybe Murdoch: you have a screen that's durable, and you can use Go To Ground to unblock your LOS for a nasty feat turn.  All in all, though, she's not that ideal for this exercise.

Commander Coleman Stryker - He's a buff-bot that doesn't care if you're a faction model for his spell list.  He's got armor, range, and DEF buffs.  However, the feat is good for +5ARM...IF you are a faction model.  If you're a merc, friggin' hide, because the feat turn is when someone else picks you out and tries to make you dead, because you're going to be the easy target.

Lord Commander Coleman Stryker - I want to run this guy, I really do.  I just don't want to own the army it requies.  eStryker loves him some melee infantry.  He's got widespread buffs for their ARM and accuracy/damage, and his feat lets them either get into melee half a board away, or hit, then hit again.  This is NOT the guy you're looking for if you want to run merc-heavy.

The Labor Pool
Steelheads - They're self-sufficient, and can cover all your bases.  They may not be optimal, but you can get a fair amount of bodies for cheap, and getting Tactician is always a bonus.

Alexia & the Risen - not bad if you're running infantry-heavy (IE: Steelheads).  "That which does not kill us, knocks us down.  That which kills us makes us work for Alexia."

Blythe & Bull - If you need RFP in melee, this is where you get it.  Cygnar doesn't really have access to much RFP, Kara Sloan's Dust To Dust notwithstanding.  Not worth adding Murdoch here, honestly.

Boomhowler & Co - Call of Defiance meshes nicely with Murdoch's tough.  Honestly, if you want a nasty screen that will hold off melee and tramples, but still let you shoot through it when you need to, look no further than these guys and Murdoch.  Hell, if you buff their accuracy, Assault, and add Deadeye in, things might even die on the run up and shoot part of their turn.

Sam MacHorne & the Devil Dogs - They love knockdown, but outside of the upcoming Avenger, you don't have a lot of knockdown.  They are a jack-marshall unit, and you can always add a Buccaneer to the mix.  Or, you can run them as your merc unit + Murdoch with pStryker, and have some fun with Earthquake, +5ARM, and the 'Trash' ability on your guys.

Cylena & the Nyss Hunters - There are only a couple of downsides to this unit: 1) Murdoch could slow them down without pathfinder, 2) they're allergic to blast damage, but Murdoch can fix that, and 3) they're expensive.  Otherwise, they're nasty and versatile, and Murdoch can up their price and fix their allergy to blast damage.  Snipe or Deadeye make them that much nastier at range, too.

Anastasia di Bray - She would probably be workable if you're trying to melee the other guy.  On the flip side, your battlegroup probably wants to shoot the enemy, so make sure you activate accordingly.  If nothing else, she might funnel the enemy warcaster a bit...though you have a 15" range with Espionage right off the bat.

Madelyn Corbeau - She would probably be more useful if you were going with more melee stuff.  As it is, most of the merc-friendly casters are ranged types, and you don't have as many 'OH GOD KEEP THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!' melee solos as others might.

Rhupert Carvolo - Ok, who doesn't love fearless/tough, pathfinder, or +1DEF/Terror?  Your opponent, that's who.  Rhupert is, of course, solid support for the army.

The Eyriss' - Since you probably won't have a huge battlegroup, their disadvantages aren't going to be as pronounced.  Also, hey.  they're solid support.  We all knew this already, and people can't afford to let her live.

Reinholdt - This guy gets honorable mention, because most of the merc-friendly casters have guns they wouldn't mind firing one more time for one more point.

Taryn di la Rovissi - Frankly, you have a unit of gun mages, and unless you brought merc shooters, she's not going to do much for you.  However, Steelhead Riflemen + Deadeye + Snipe + Shadow Fire could very well be a surprise assassination vector.

Rutger Shaw - Melee jack marshal.  If you really want a merc jack and you don't want to bring Sam and friends, maybe.  Maybe.  I'm still not fond of this guy as a marshal, and while he helps out Taryn a bit, I've not yet had the urge to acquire him.

Harlan Versh - He's a bit of upkeep hate in a faction that doesn't erally have much.  His form of 'hate' comes in a four-pack of fully boosted POW10s, though.

Gorman di Wulfe - Known quantity.  Solid support.

The Privateer Module - Potentially cheaper than the Steelhead one, it is a bit more focused on melee, whereas the steelheads can bring some ranged game (especially with Snipe).  If you have it, Cygnar can use it.

Ayana & Holt - It's pretty much the only damage buff Cygnar has access to.  Also, if you don't have gun mages, the 'magic weapon' spell could be useful in some situations.

Hammerfall High Shield Gun Corps - You'd lose Shield Wall with Murdoch, and that's kind of their standout quality.  Similarly, you'd lose double-time with the UA, so these guys really don't want Murdoch around.  They're also slow and short-ranged, but you can fix the range with Snipe.  Ranked attacks would be cooler if you had more shooting mercs behind them, but you probably don't.  Overall, they're so-so for anything other than a screen with Cygnar.

Horgenhold Forge Guard - Hey, you get a weaponmaster counter-charge!  You lose on ranked attacks, and Cygnar doesn't really have melee buffs.  On the other hand, Cygnar does have Arcane Shield, and ARM19 (21 in Defensive Line) shrugs off gunfire less than defender-sized.  The SPD4 might not be as much of an issue, given that you are hopefully bringing guns to this match.

Herne & Jonne - probably not worth buffing just two models.  However, Cygnar's a bit low on AoEs, so you might actually get some use out of these guys if you want to fill in that gap.

Ogrun Assault Corps - They certainly won't mind Snipe or an ARM buff.  I'd suggest a melee buff, but you probably won't get that if you can get Snipe from a caster.

Ogrun Bokur - No one likes getting shot.  However, he's got competition: the Sentinel is one more point for something that's got a lot more boxes, and it's not that focus-hungry.  At best, it'll eat one focus for trying to keep up with Caine as he flits around the field.

Thor Steinhammer - If you want to bring Rhulic jacks, this is the guy.  Honestly, between his relative frailty and your access to Gun Mages as marshals, I'm not sure about him.  However, he's still an option, and a Basher with Pronto is a wonderful slam-bot.

The Ragman - This is pretty much the only damage buff Cygnar gets in melee.  Honestly, I could see this guy alongside the Ogrun Assault Corps; add Snipe for ranged shenanigans, and when the enemy closes, you're MAT6, effective PS14.  The OAC can hide the Ragman and/or absorb bullets for him.  What's not to love about this guy?

Overall
Cygnar has several shoe-ins for merc-heavy armies: Siege, eHaley, and both of the Caines.  pNemo and pStryker could make it work with Murdoch.  Sloan is highly situational; maybe Murdoch + OAC or Boomhowler's, but that's about it.  The others either lose a lot by going merc-heavy, or are battlegroup buddies.

All things considered, I think you can make merc-heavy work with Cygnar, and you've got a wealth of options.  Also, Reinholdt, for when you need one more bullet.