Have you ever recruited an all-mercenary army?

[QuintusSertorius]

I know some people use mercs for garrisons if they’re blitzing or otherwise trying to move fast. I’ve done that myself when I want to conclude a war, sign the peace and move my army back to the homeland rather than waiting around to develop the new holding(s).

But in this instance I’m talking about using mercs for the entirety of an army. Bonus points if even the general leading them is a merc. I did this once in one of my Roman games when I wanted to take a more active hand in changing the balance of power in Asia Minor. Indeed, it’s what led me to Pergamon and wanting to play them as a migrated faction. I also used one for a deep raid of the Seleukid Empire, trashing their armies and cities and hiring on local mercs to replace the losses as I went.

There’s some pretty good units on the mercenary roster, you could easily build an effective force from them (and I don’t mean all-slinger and horse archer armies). If you go to that spot on the southern tip of Greece, you have a massive range of choice. I noticed that I could build all of my standard army from mercs (with a quick trip to the blacksmith for upgraded weapons).

Has anyone else ever experimented with “disposable” armies for punitive expeditions and the like?