Mydas the Mean

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Mydas the Mean is the most avaricious, miserly, gold-clutching bastard of a mercenary paymaster to ever stalk the battlefields of the Old World. Reputed to be a disgraced shiek from Araby who was forced to flee for his life after embezzling a fortune from his sultan, Mydas first surfaced in Sartosa as the paymaster of the Dwarf Pirate Gridi Scumbeard. Here began the pattern of Mydas secretly stealing the paychests right out from under the noses of his own employees and underpaying his mercenaries, but always somehow managing to get away with the loot and hide it somewhere else. No matter how bad things go for his employer, Mydas always escapes - and the paychest always goes with him!

Wherever he goes, Mydas is accompanied by Sheik Yadosh, an immensely fat Arabyan money lender who lent Mydas a vast fortune many years ago and now follows him faithfully waiting to be repaid - and fattening his pockets by gouging any mercenaries in the army. Both men are defended by Mydas' personal bodyguards; a swarm of hand-picked musclebound hulks rescued from the torturous lives of being Sartosan galley slaves through Mydas' payment. These men are loyal to Mydas to the very death, having seen the alternative!

Perhaps the true secret of Mydas's success as a paymaster despite his willingness to steal from his own men and employees is his legendary treasure map. Whilst he has added to since he stole the original scroll from Gridi's treasure chests, using it to copy down notes leading to the hiding places of various treasure chests he's stolen, its true value is that, unbeknownst to the ignorant paymaster, it's a magical talisman crafted by Skink star-priests. Known as a "Warrant of Trust", the glyph-enscribied paper grants its bearer a supernatural aura of credibility, allowing them to win the trust of others and spin even the most blatant lies into sounding like truths. This is why so many mercenaries are willing to listen to Mydas in the first place, but he and his employers just chalk it up to Mydas' mythical "inspiring qualities of leadership".

On the Tabletop

Mydas the Mean debuted in the Dogs of War army book for 5th edition. He can be taken in place of the army's Paymaster, and it costs 210 points for Mydas, his ally Sheik Yadosh, and a retinue of 5 Bodyguards - plus a further 25 points for Mydas' Treasure Map, and the points for any extra Bodyguards.

Mydas himself has Movement 4, Weapon Skill 5, Ballistic Skill 5, Strength 4, Toughness 4, Wounds 2, Initiative 5, Attacks 3 and Leadership 8. He's armed with a Mace, Heavy Armor and Shield.

Sheik Yadosh has Movement 4, Weapon Skill 2, Ballistic Skill 2, Strength 3, Toughness 3, Wounds 1, Initiative 2, Attacks 1 and Leadership 6. He wears a gold coin-stuffed cummerbund that gives him a 5+ armor save and wields a curved dagger (hand weapon).

Mydas' Bodyguards have Movement 4, Weapon Skill 4, Ballistic Skill 2, Strength 4, Toughness 3, Wounds 1, Initiative 4, Attacks 1 and Leadership 8. They wield Halberds and wear Light Armor. The default unit consists of 5 Bodyguards, but Mydas may hire additional Bodyguards (maximum unit size 20) for +12 points per man, as well as a standard bearer and/or a musician for +24 points each.

Mydas' Treasure Map allows Mydas to spin supernatural lies, which will fill his men with different kinds of fervor. Roll a d3 to see which whopper the old miser has told before the fight:

• 1: "A bonus for all my loyal and trusty henchmen!" - Mydas' Bodyguard have a +1 to hit bonus.
• 2: "The pay chest is safe with me, lads!" - Mercenaries can re-roll Break Checks when within 18" of the pay chest.
• 3: "If we win the battle, all mercenaries will receive a bonus!" - All mercenary regiments add +1 to Combat Resolution.

Mydas was one of several Dogs of War special characters who returned in the pages of White Dwarf for 6th edition in the year 2003 (White Dwarf #266 by some accounts). Compared to characters from that same issue of Warhammer Chronicles like Borgio the Besieger or Lucrezzia Belladonna, Mydas has undergone the biggest changes.

In this edition, Mydas uses up a Hero and a Special choice, and becomes the army's Paymaster. He's broken into two subunits; Mydas and his Bodyguard on foot, and Sheik Yadosh guarding the Paychest on a light carriage. Combined, the subunits cost 320 points, plus extra points if Mydas takes further bodyguards.

Whilst still armed with a Mace (hand weapon), Shield and Heavy Armor, Mydas now has a statblock consisting of Movement 4, Weapon Skill 4, Ballistic Skill 4, Strength 4, Toughness 4, Wounds 2, Initiative 4, Attacks 2 and Leadership 8. His Treasure Map is almost identical, except that its 3rd result only applies to one friendly unit rather than the whole army and grants +1 to their melee attack rolls rather than +1 combat resolution, whilst its first result now grants Mydas' Bodyguards +1 to combat resolution - effectively swapping the two resultsl around. Also, he's now picked up a new magic item in the Crest of Mydas, an enchanted good luck charm crafted by a priest of Myrmidia that grants Mydas and his Bodyguards (and presumably also Sheik Yadosh and the Paychest) the Magical Attacks special rule.

The Bodyguards now consist of a squad of nine men, including a Standard Bearer and a Musician. They can take up to 15 more men for +11 points apiece. They now wear Heavy Armor and wield both Halberds and Hand Weapons, are Stubborn so long as Mydas is alive, and have a new statblock: Movement 4, Weapon Skill 4, Ballistic Skill 3, Strength 4, Toughness 5, Wounds 1, Initiative 4, Attacks 1 and Leadership 8.

Sheik Yadosh has gained a point of Leadership and is now LD7 instead of LD6, but is otherwise unchanged statwise. Instead, his biggest change is that he rides the Pay Chest, which functions as a chariot with Strength 4, Toughness 4 and Wounds 3, except for only doing d3 impact hits, having a 5+ armor save, and granting all friendly units within 6" the ability to re-roll failed Psychology tests. Sheik Yadosh doesn't have to stick with Mydas and his Bodyguards, but can act as a separate unit.