Sync's Wargaming Tools

A recent forum post inspired me to show everyone what I use for MERCS wargaming, so I thought I'd post it here too - in case other MERCS out there were looking for some wargaming solutions!

Sync Circle
I like to keep my bases clean and black if possible (purely as a modelling preference), so I came up with an alternative to Reaper Markings.
Most of time deciding quadrants, LOS, rear/flank etc can be eyeballed, so some kind of stencil that I could pull out every now and then (to clarify those situations that aren't so obvious) seemed easier than painting all my MERCS bases.
I came up with a circular stencil that I could drop around a mini during play. I've put a small mark on the base of my MERCS (I put the mark at the 'back' of the mini so it's not so noticeable), so that the stencil has something it can line up with consistently.


On a sheet of cardboard, I traced a circle around a 40mm miniature base. Within this circle, I then traced the 30mm MERCS miniature base.
I then cut out the resulting circle with scissors, and painted it up in a style suitable for my CCC, which showed all the required quadrants and markings.

I also cut through the circle, to allow it to slip over miniatures easier. If you leave it as a complete circle, then it won't be able to slip over trickier miniatures - like the CCC Sniper or USCR Behemoth.
(Click the pics for close-ups).

And this is how it's used in play (again, click the pics for close-ups):

Pretty straight forward, and all the quadrants are clearly visible. I was thinking to craft a more solid one of out of plasticard, but I think that would lead to minis getting scratched and chipped - cardboard is bendable and soft so it can worked around models without damage to them.


Movement Sleeve
The card system unique to MERCS is great - so great I keep my cards in plastic sleeves, for both protection and gameplay. I use one modified plastic sleeve for the movement card used throughout gameplay.
Keeping the cards in plastic sleeves during play means I can use a white board marker to write on the sleeves, and just wipe the sleeves clean when required. This helps me keep track of gameplay status' and ACMS.
Since each set of Faction Cards comes with 6 cards, and a maximum of 5 models can be used per side for a game, 1 card will always go unused. Whichever card is the 'spare' card for a game, I slip that card in my modified card sleeve. Now this spare card in my modified sleeve can be used specifically for all MERCS movement, without fear of wear and tear on the card itself.

I made my movement card sleeve just by taking the old hobby knife to a regular card sleeve, and cutting the sleeve to match the indents for MERCS movement.

This modified sleeve allows the card to slip around MERCS models on the table, as the card was originally intended, and protect the card at the same time.






I believe that the MERCS team are coming out with official merchanise for movement, but until then, this solution is cheap and effective - happy wargaming!

Sync out.