Editing WARMACHINE (section)

====[[Crucible Guard]]====

The newest Warmachine faction, a group of alchemists emerging from Ord, where they fled after Khador conquered Llael, in part to capture the holdings and cutting-edge research of the resident premier Alchemists of the setting, the Order of the Golden Crucible. Those who weren't killed or captured escaped into Ord or Cygnar, and as the Order was a national organization centered in Llael rather than a nation, they were able to slowly reorganize in Ord. 
They've formed an alliance with both Cygnar and Llael's resistance movements, and are (secretly) acting as a proxy/mercenary army for the Ordic King, who sheltered them from Khador and funded the Order while they reorganized the Crucible Guard from glorified technicians/security/deliverymen to a military force more technologically advanced than Cygnar at this point. 

For example, Khador's Assault Kommandoes are the direct result of taking Crucible research and resources - chemically treated to be immune to Corrosion, Fire, seeing through Smoke, and wielding high-weight mustard gas-compound bombs to make Trenchers' signature advantage their largest weakness. 

Now that the Crucible Guard have resolved to retake their old forts and laboratories, (and test out their new and horrifying weapons so it doesn't happen again), and they're honestly showing the Assault Kommandoes/Khadorans how it's done. 
Most Crucible units are immune or resistant to Fire and Corrosion and have MUCH better guns, often capable of multiple chemical effects. What might take multiple greylords concentrating to freeze with magic, the CG freezes with some super liquid-nitrogen from a Dragon's Breath rocket, and boom - a whole area is just frozen. While Khador built a horse-driven troika "tank", the Crucible Guard built actual giant steam-tanks/offroad gun-trains and a train-Colossal that's basically a steampunk Lord of Skulls. 

While Cygnar got the Minuteman warjack chassis and a single warcaster a working (if finicky and limited) jump pack, Crucible Guard has platoons of daredevil "The Rocketeer"-style Rocketmen with sleek jetpacks, WWII bomber jackets, hand-dropped bombs, carbines, shotguns, and pneumatic-driven pilebunkers (carrying experimental chemicals Crucible scientists want to see the aftereffects of on human targets). And the CG Rocket(wo)man warcaster carries a set of flamethrowers that would make a Menite jack jealous. 
  

They rely heavily on range and special effects like Rust, Fire, or Corrosion, and a good bit of mobility. Imagine Gorman di Wulfe as an entire faction and you have it about right; heavily steam/dieselpunk in attire, gas masks everywhere. 

Unlike Gorman, the CG is also taking human experimentation to an uncomfortable level: their Character medic is basically Fabulous Bill, and they kidnap addicts and vagrants off the streets, and inject them with chemicals that kill them, mutate them into Killer Crocs, or give them incredibly unstable psychic/magic powers. They then grab some notebooks, throw the strait-jacketed guys at the enemy first just to see what happens, and start writing. One of their warcasters actually gave himself his warcaster powers: his intention is to patent it and eventually sell it if it doesn't kill him first.

Mechanically Crucible Guard is mostly a shooting army, with only one non-warjack combat centric unit, the assault troopers - budget Man'o-Wars essentially. Most jacks are utility/ranged, but the Toro stands out as a combat warjack. When they can get it, it's not uncommon for Cygnar or even Khador players to replace their own jacks with Toros. Why'd Cygnar ever retire it?