THRACKIron
Pact
A disciplined alliance of militias, survivalists and holdouts who rely on coordinated firepower, strict command and equipment they know they can trust.
Why the Pact exists
The Iron Pact believes order is the only thing keeping Nova Eden from sliding further into chaos. Their warbands descend from broken militias, survivalist enclaves and isolated outposts whose people learned that discipline and cooperation were often the difference between surviving a crisis and becoming another ruin.
Every member swears to the Pact’s code: obey the chain of command, trust your squad, hold your ground and leave as little to chance as possible. Those oaths are often carried into battle on etched plates, worn tags or markings added to weapons and armour.
The Pact is deeply suspicious of experimental technology, mutation and extensive bionics. To them, those things are reminders of the same unchecked ambition that helped tear Nova Eden apart. They favour equipment that can be repaired, maintained and passed on, and tactics that have already proved they work.
Their goal is simple: protect the settlements and people under their banner, hold what they have, and stop the world around them getting any worse.
"If we do not hold the line, there will be nothing left to hold."
How the Iron Pact plays
Pact warbands fight as a command web centred on their Leaders. Each round begins with a Field Order that reshapes how the whole warband fights, and even when a Leader falls, the chain of command holds.
Field Orders
Choose one at the start of each roundSelect an order to view its effect.Command Rules
If the last Leader in your warband is removed from play, another eligible model may assume command at the start of the next activation: an Oathman if possible, otherwise a Specialist. It gains the Leader keyword for issuing Field Orders. Greenbraces and Juggernauts cannot assume command. This can happen once per battle. The Pact does not stop giving orders just because someone shot the officer.
Spend 2 Momentum to issue a new Field Order, replacing the currently active Order with another from the list. The new Order takes effect immediately. Doctrine is rigid; its application is not.
Iron Pact warbands cannot equip or use weapons with the Plasma or Energy type. The Pact blames much of the Collapse on technologies people adopted faster than they understood them. Plasma and Energy weapons are exactly the sort of equipment they refuse to trust.
"Reliability is survival. If it glows, it goes." - Pact Maxim
Who Holds the Line
Pact rosters run from clipped-voiced commanders through unshakeable Oathmen to machines drilled as thoroughly as the soldiers. A few of the roster:
Line Marshal
Veterans of countless deployments, the iron spine of the Pact. Experienced officers who keep Pact fireteams working as a single unit. Line Marshals read the battlefield, decide where the pressure needs to go and trust their soldiers to carry out the order.
Coordinated Fire: once per round, after this model hits with a ranged attack, a friendly model within 5" gains +1 ACC on its next shooting attack this round.
Oathman
The backbone of every Pact fireteam. Oathmen are experienced soldiers trusted to hold ground, support the fighters around them and keep going when a plan starts coming apart.
Oath-Forged Reliability: on a 4+, ignore a Crude weapon break. Even the pipe guns are drilled.
Greenbrace
Newly inducted and still untested, thrown into the grinder to learn by survival. Those who endure become Oathmen. Those who fall become the lesson.
Untested: must pass a Nerve Test to act when alone. Keep them beside the Oathmen. That is what Oathmen are for.
Bulwark Gunner
A heavily armoured gunner built for controlling ground. Once a Bulwark gets into position, the enemy either has to deal with them or find another way through.
Braced Position: stand still and get harder to kill. Doctrine, distilled.
Reinforcements are on the way
More Iron Pact units will be added as the Open Alpha continues.
The Oathline
Deploy both Gunners with clean lanes and then leave them there. Braced Position is a free +1 DEF for standing still.
Open with Lock Formation or Suppressing Fire. Hold Iron Mark for the round the Killzone lands on a real target.
Field Orders only reach 5" from a Leader, so decide early: the Marshal anchors on the Gunners, or pushes up with the line. At M4 the Gunners cannot do both.
| Unit | Role | Thracks |
|---|---|---|
| Line Marshal | Combat Leader | 40 |
| Oathman | Core Fighter | 25 |
| Oathman | Core Fighter | 25 |
| Oathman | Core Fighter | 25 |
| Greenbrace | Core Scout | 15 |
| Bulwark Gunner | Specialist Heavy Gunner | 35 |
| Bulwark Gunner | Specialist Heavy Gunner | 35 |
| Total | 200 ₮ |
Mustered: 1 Leader, 4 Core, 2 Specialists. 200 of 200 Thracks spent, nothing left for gear.
Why these fighters
Your only source of Field Orders, and Designate Killzone turns one lane into rerolls for the whole warband.
The 5" bubble everything else runs on. Shield Brothers rerolls Nerve, Oath-Forged Reliability shrugs off jammed Crude weapons.
Fifteen Thracks of body to sit on a flank objective. Keep it inside the bubble or Untested starts costing you activations.
A 20" Heavy Slug Spitter with three attacks and Raking Fire. Support Frame cancels Unwieldy, so it fires for one action.
Opening three rounds
- Round 01
Gunners into position with clear lanes and then leave them. Order: Lock Formation. Everyone else advances inside the Marshal’s 5" bubble.
- Round 02
Designate Killzone over the lane the enemy must cross. Switch the Order to Iron Mark and focus the biggest threat down.
- Round 03
Suppressing Fire, then Snap Fire anything that closes. The Greenbrace slips onto the objective while the line holds its ground.
Greenbrace limit: you may not field more Greenbraces than Oathmen.
Watch out: Chain of Command keeps the Orders flowing if the Marshal dies, so plan who steps up.
The deliberate application of pressure
Pact warbands excel through disciplined positioning and coordinated firepower: hold ground, control fire lanes, and let the Field Orders answer each threat. Once established, they are extremely difficult to dislodge.
Reliable coordinated shooting, strong board control, a Field Order for every situation, and a line that holds steady under pressure.
No exotic technology or unpredictable tricks, orders anchored to Leaders within 5", and a doctrine that bans the flashiest weapons in the game.
Pick your ground early and make the enemy come to you. Layer fire lanes, keep fighters inside the Leader's 5" command bubble, and save New Orders for the round the plan changes.
Building an Iron Pact warband
Iron Pact warbands should look practical, worn and built to last. Their fighters come from militias, survivalist groups and isolated settlements, so there’s no need for every model to be wearing the same uniform or carrying identical equipment.
What matters more is that they look like they belong together. Shared colours, stencilled markings, battered but well-maintained weapons and equipment that has clearly been repaired more than once can do a lot of that work.
A good Iron Pact force should feel like it has been assembled over years rather than issued all at once. Different helmets, patched armour and mixed kit all fit, as long as the overall impression is of a squad that knows how to look after what it has.
What to hunt for
The bits box is probably the Pact’s best quartermaster.
Mixed helmets, old military kit, patched fatigues, spare webbing and weapons from different ranges can all work together here. You’re aiming for a warband that looks like it has served together for years, even if hardly any two fighters are wearing exactly the same kit.
Don’t be afraid to improvise. A shoulder plate can become a cut-down road sign, damaged armour can be patched with scrap, grips can be taped up and helmet styles can vary across the squad. Shared colours, stencilled markings and equipment that looks battered but cared for are enough to tie everything together.
"If we do not hold the line, there will be nothing left to hold."
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