This is my starting roster for a Marienburg Mercenaries warband, the Silk & Steel Syndicate. The faction was chosen primarily for the models; I wanted slashed silk breeches and floppy hats. With this as the starting point I wanted a fop for captain and built the rest of the list from there. The idea was to maximise starting heroes for exploration rolls and then focus on getting as many bodies on the table.
For the kits and bits used to build this warband, see the build guide.
Roster at a Glance
| Faction | Marienburg Mercenaries |
| Models | 12 |
| Heroes | 5 |
| Henchmen | 7 |
| Ranged Models | 6 (50% cap) |
| Starting Gold | 600gc |
| Treasury | 0gc |
Heroes
| Role | Equipment | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Mercenary Captain | Brace of Duelling Pistols, Sword, Helmet | 130gc |
| Champion | Halberd | 45gc |
| Champion | Crossbow | 60gc |
| Youngblood | Spear, Shield | 30gc |
| Youngblood | Spear, Shield | 30gc |
Heroes Total: 295gc
Captain, Leopold van Seidenstahl — 130gc
The heart of the warband. I wanted something that would support a cautious playstyle, as Mordheim injury rolls can be brutal. The duelling pistols give him a 4+ shot at 14" threat range, with the brace meaning he's a credible counter-charge threat. The plan is to keep him somewhere central and look for shots when he can, only charging where required.
Halberd Champion, Daan “Old Ironstem” Koppelaars — 45gc
Added for variety and to give me more S4 weapons to help against T4 warbands (looking at you, Dwarves). This is the primary close combat hero.
Crossbow Champion, Joram “Thread-the-Needle” Vechtling — 60gc
The only hero with a proper ranged threat. Strength 4 at 30" means he can threaten from deployment or a good location after a first turn sprint. Range will keep him alive so he can hopefully pick up a quick skill.
Youngbloods, Tomas “The Ruin” Verlaen and Bright Emil — 30gc each
Spear and shield is a defensive loadout, with our house rule that spears strike first on the first round. The aim is to have these at the front baiting charges—if they survive, they gain experience and promote. After playing some games, WS2 is actually not as bad as I feared.
Henchmen
| Group | Count | Equipment | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marksman | 1 | Crossbow | 50gc |
| Marksmen | 3 | Bow | 105gc |
| Swordsmen | 3 | Sword, Buckler | 150gc |
Henchmen Total: 305gc
Crossbow Marksman — 50gc
A second crossbow to pair with the Champion. Two separate groups of marksmen gives more variety in progression rolls, and you can selective reinforce whichever one gets the increase in ballistic skill.
Bow Marksmen (3) — 105gc
Bows are cheap and cheerful. By giving up crossbow I was able to squeeze out another body. At BS3 they're not amazing, but with enough shots on target you will get some injury rolls.
Swordsmen (3) — 150gc
These are my anvil. Swords and bucklers have parry, and a house rule gives bucklers +1 armour in combat. With 'Expert Swordsman' and WS4, when attacking with swords they're rolling 3+ with a reroll on the charge—an 88.89% chance to hit. These are the focus of early campaign progression; I want to cap out at 5 swordsmen as soon as possible.
Tactical Notes
Why 12 models? Mordheim rewards having bodies. More models means more activations, more objective presence, and more insurance against bad injury rolls. Starting at 12 puts me at the upper end of what 600gc allows without sacrificing too much quality, and puts us one model away from the next rout test break point.
Why so much shooting? Our campaign uses a house rule limiting ranged models to 50% of the warband. With 12 models, that's 6 shooters—exactly what I've taken. Marienburg has excellent access to ranged weapons, and we have the starting money. With no access to anything faster than M4, shooting is the primary mechanism for concentrating threat asymmetrically.
What's the game plan? Castle up with the Captain in the middle and a youngblood leading a group on each wing, with the ranged models providing suppressing fire. Bait a charge with a youngblood and counter-charge with swordsmen. If they refuse to engage, you likely have the ranged advantage.
First purchases? A lucky charm for the Captain, then more Swordsmen. After that probably some helmets to improve survivability.
Appendix: Relevant House Rules
Our campaign uses some house rules that influenced the list. Here are the ones most relevant to list building:
Ranged Weapon Limit
Only 50% of models (rounded up) may carry missile weapons.
Bulwark
Shields grant +1 armour save in close combat (in addition to their normal bonus). Bucklers also grant +1 armour in combat.
Spears
Always strike first on the first round of combat, even when charged.
Dual Wielding Nerf
Off-hand weapons suffer -1 to hit and cannot crit. A new "Ambidextrous" skill removes this penalty.
