MERCS Recon Gameplay

On the MERC’s turn, player order is determined by Priority. Each MERC has a starting priority, but it increases or decreases each turn depending on how active they were. Priority is a dual function stat in that it also determines who the OpFor will target with actions if there is a choice. A high priority means you are hustling and stuck into the action, but also perceived as the biggest threat. Player’s also have Command Points that manage their actions and Blood (Health) that affects their Command Point refresh as they take damage, as well as determining when they are knocked out.

Success in actions is determined with a pool of 8-sided dice. Yellow and red dice have blanks and success bursts, with red dice having a double burst on two faces. Black dice are defence dice (shields, blanks, and bursts) for soaking damage if the mini or the tile has an armour value. Black dice are also collateral damage dice used by some of the more indiscriminate weapons that affect an entire area and everyone in it.

If your attack uses any collateral damage dice that score a hit, the area receives a collateral damage disk overlay. This usually lowers the capacity (3 down to 2 for the first level of damage), may add an armour point for those in it, and shows the amount of damage required to take it to the next level. Heavy use of non-precision weapons – HMGs, flamethrowers, shotguns – can damage an area to the point where there is a hole in the floor, possibly cutting you off from your objective or extraction and ending the game. The placing of collateral damage disks also triggers an automatic security level jump at the end of the round on the first disk placed, then the third, then the ninth. SecFor II’s have a shotgun (4 black dice), so you definitely want to be dropping them from range before they can close.

On the MERC’s turn, players act in priority order and spend their Command Points to complete Actions. Movement is 1 CP per area, with a run action that is more cost effective, but can’t be combined with other actions. Each player board shows the available attacks for each weapon – generally 1 CP for a sweeping attack, 2 CP for a focused attack (less collateral damage).

Players can capture employees to keep them from escaping (and off the casualty track), or can interrogate high-value employees to reveal information. Some MERCs have scanners or devices that can listen into objective rooms to find out what is inside instead of blindly kicking in the door. Other options let you reload, improve your CP refresh, or enable a reserve action that will let you attack if OpFor come into LOS.

Some combined actions are available that can see 2 (or more) MERCs contribute CP for a special action. Attack & Move lets a lower priority MERC move while the acting MERC does a sweeping attack. Duck & Cover manipulates Priority which may help a wounded MERC or to perform actions in a preferred order. Finally, Breach & Clear is the action required to enter a room with OpFor or to complete an objective. A minimum of 3 MERCS must spend a combined 7 CP to initiate the action. Adjacent MERCS and OpFor are drawn into the B&C and it is played out on a separate tile with conditions specified on the Mission Objective card (or in the rulebook if it is a non-objective Breach).