Mercs

When I first got into Wamrahordes I said I would never use Mercs in my Khador army, just the idea of using non-Khadoran models didn't work in my head. However with time I've found that not only are Mercs worth taking in a Khadoran army, they can work their way into any army (as long as they can actually be hired by that faction). I'll start with a pretty well known example Eiryss, mage hunter of Ios, on her own she is capable of shutting down jacks, completely ignore LOS, cover and concealment or deal damage without rolling, essentially being enough of a threat to cause an entire army to have to manouver to avoid her or deal with her. The best part is that Eiryss is a solo and a relatively cheap one considering all the tricks she packs, on top of all that you will struggle to find a solo in any faction she can work for that does a better job of setting up assassinations (or carrying them out for that matter).



Mercs aren't just limited to solos either, there are units that are just as good as Eiryss, such as the dreaded Nyss hunters, a brilliant unit at range with the ability to turn and charge into melee and deal out some serious hurt, something Khador lacks given the only unit Khador have capable of filling a similar role to the Nyss are the Kossite Woodsmen (who inspite of the majority of forums slamming them I believe are very useful), skirmishers with the ability to mix it up in melee and either kill or tar pit a unit.

For those among you wanting light warjacks, but not wanting to switch faction Mercs again hold the answer. Granted most Merc jacks don't have the ARM that Khadoran jacks do, however they do have the utility and if you want a specific role filling in your army chances are there'll be a Merc jack that can do that. One such example is the Vanguard, a light jack armed with a reach weapon, shield and built in shield cannon as well as having Shield Guard (Allows the jack to become the target of a ranged attack instead of a model close by) all for less than a Beserker, ideal for keeping squisher casters safe from ranged assassination (looking at you there Zerkova...)

Similarly those of you who like using the Wardog will like using another solo Ogrun Bokur, whilst he doesn't do quite what the Wardog does he is still useful for keeping your caster safe, as well as providing damage and accuracy buffs for your caster (or who ever you attach him to, as he doesn't have to attach to a caster, it can be a solo or unit leader) as long as Ogrun stays relatively close by.

Ultimately how you build your list comes down to how you play and how you want your army to work. Some roles can be filled in very well by in faction models, e.g. Bullet Shield/First Wave troops MoW Shocktroopers, due to medium base size and damage boxes. However there are occasions where you may have a specific role in your army that in faction units can't fill, such as the aforementioned Kossites and Nyss example, Nyss are very good for the fact that they are very hard to hit, whilst the Kossites have Ambush (you can choose not to deploy them straight on to the board, but deploy them within a short distance from any board edge, except your opponent's back edge) meaning they can threaten camping units (i.e. Cygnar Long Gunners, Menoth Delivers) or be a distraction forcing a unit to deal with them rather than taking out another model or unit. More often than not you'll find your list is short of points and be looking through the vast list of Merc solos available and often if you face Hordes it'd be wise to field Alten Ashley and Saxon Orrick as for the cost of a minimum Winter guard Infantry unit you can buy two solos, one who can tie up and single handedly, kill warbeasts in melee (Orrick) and one who can rip beasts a new one from a far even more effectively than widowmakers (Ashley). The best part of having Mercs available is that if ever you feel like starting up a new army chances are you'll have the better part of one just with your Mercs you'll use to bolster your main army, as all Kayazy are available to The Four Star Syndicate this also works to any Khador players adavantage if you happen to choose to try out that army. However, if you choose to field Mercs in your main army to keep an eye out for any abilities targeting friendly faction models as Mercs don't count as friendly faction unless they have the Mercenary Attachment (Khador's is Greylord Koldun Valachev) meaning they won't be eligible for pButchers feat, or Battle Lust.