In theme, Cygnar armies can take one mercenary solo and one mercenary unit, except in heavy metal where they can only take the unit. Heavy metal instead allows partisan solos, which means Harlan Versh, Harrison Gibbs, Viktor Pendrake, or Savio Acosta. In most lists, the merc solo is always either Rhupert or Ragman. Acosta shows up in storm division lists because 6 free points is nice. Anastasia shows up because she's only 3 points, and that +1 on the starting role is significant. Gibbs shows up to heal Styker2 after he overcharges. And Reinholdt will show up for those casters who really want an extra shot, such as Caine. I've even seen Harlan Versh in a few lists. But there are a ton more that never show up.
The primary reason they don't appear is because when you can only choose one, you'll choose the best one. I could suggest that PP change theme rules to allow two solos, perhaps only in Sons of the Tempest, but then people would likely just take Rhupert and Ragman. As a game developer, it's seriously difficult to make rules for models which make them useful in different situations and against different lists.
And here's another way to look at solos: If your theme list gets free solos, you're going to take them. Taking solos that are not free then becomes way less attractive. And you generally can't get merc solos for free, so that's likely a big part of the reason Cygnar doesn't put them on the table. For example, mercenaries lists (as opposed to Cygnar lists) will probably include Eiryss a fair bit, because hey! Free 7 points! But since you can't get her free in Cygnar, she just doesn't show up there.
Let's take a closer look at a number of Cygnar mercenary options that are rarely if ever taken in Cygnar lists.
Alten Ashley
Bloody Bradigan
Bosun Grogspar
Colbie Sterling
This 3 point marshal is barely worth 3 points. She's way better than 2 points, because compare her to a Gobber Tinker - she repairs as well as him plus has the POW 14 slug gun and the marshal you'll never use despite it including Drive: Reposition 3. I'm at a loss for how to make her a better model, since reducing the point cost to 2 just isn't an option. This model needs some CID, methinks.
Dirty Meg
Another 3 point merc marshal, but a somewhat better one than Colbie. She makes jacks stationary on a hit, has a longer range gun, and many would argue that pathfinder is superior to reposition 3 on your jack. Still, I don't find myself wanting to marshal mercenary jacks often in a Cygnar list (Unless it's Rutger/Mangler or DevilDogs/Freebooter!) I can imagine they'd be pretty good in Irregulars though.
Eilish Garrity
I've got an Eilish model at home, and after initially snapping off the leg, I eventually repaired him with green stuff and started looking for a list where I could actually use my shiny new model.
I looked at all my casters who I play in a non-heavy metal theme, and found that he might work in a Caine2 list which I generally play with no theme whatsoever, given that I want rangers, GMCA, and Reinholdt. I asked the Lormahordes forum: Where does Eilish fit in? The general consensus: nowhere.
There are two Eiryss options, and it's tough to pay 6 or 7 points for Eiryss when you're potentially getting so many other high-value solos for free. It's made worse by the plethora of stealth-defeating tech out there at the moment. Whether it's Reinholdt, a siege crawler, true sight, or e-leaps that don't even care about her absurdly-high defense, you could easily find your high-value low-armor solo gone in a snap. That's why nobody plays Eiryss at the moment. It's really difficult to guess at what changes could get her back on the table. She's very powerful, so you can't lower her point value, but the serious threat that she is also makes her a high-priority target. She almost needs an ability other than stealth that makes a single shot auto-miss each round.
I love the gobber tinker. I love the look of the model, especially painted. I used to take him in a ton of lists before themes, if for no other reason than because two points is super-cheap.
Also, a cheap five box solo that always has cover is great for holding flags. Personally, I think he should be available in Heavy Metal.
Oh, Gorman. How the mighty have fallen. Everyone's once-favorite choice for disabling colossals is no longer in lists now that the oil is shakable, and so he's relegated to black oiling battle engines. His rust bomb is still a +2 damage that stacks. However since you can only take one solo, he always loses to ragman, whose death field affects more than just warjacks. I think they should increase the size of the AoE on his bombs. It would make the corrosion actually get used sometimes to deal with infantry, give a better chance of rust bombing two jacks in the same turn, and allow the black oil to affect more than a single model as well. He'll still be within six inches of his target next turn unless you brought Gibbs, and if you brought Gibbs then you're playing out of theme anyway. Who knows - maybe Crucible Guard CID will give Gorman something.
Gudrun is much-ignored, but he looks like a scenario monster. He's 5 points, but has eight boxes, feign death, and binge drinking. This means that you can run him up to a flag, have him fall down, and he's unshootable. But his best ability is "hangover", which states that when he's disabled, he heals all damage and becomes knocked down, again triggering feign death. Five points is a bit much though, even with his P+S 15 glaive. With no ranged attack, and a propensity for being knocked down, I'm not sure how much work he'd do. I'll bet if you dropped him to 4 points, people would look at him.
Lanyssa has been a favorite of mine for a while, although I nearly never take her. I wish she were still only 3 points. People tend to take her for Hunters Mark, as the two extra inches of threat are nice, but I've had great luck with Winter Storm, especially against Circle - warpwolves hate losing pathfinder.
Like Alten Ashley, I wish she'd drop back down a point. But the real issue is the fact that only a single merc/minion solo can be taken in themes.
Two models for five points would seem like a deal, but especially in Cygnar, it's hard to find a place for them. I recently thought of taking them with Nemo1, who generally wants three spellcasters. Usually, that's Arlan, Junior, and Jakes. But I'm always looking for more options. I sometimes take the Tactical Arcanists, but Lynus and Edrea are another option. I posted on the Lormahordes forums about this when I thought that Edrea's Wind Barrier could protect Nemo from shots. Turns out that it can't, but that you can still stand these two B2B in front of Nemo and make them unshootable to protect him. On top of that, I hadn't realized until it was pointed out to me that Lynus can use Applied Knowledge on Nemo1 duing feat turn to allow all those POW14 feat hits to target any column you like. I think I'm going to try this one.
In this case, Madelyn isn't just competing with other mercs solos for a slot. She's also competing with the squire, which is an auto-include in many Cygnar lists. Her biggest thing is her parlay ability, which prevents her from being targeted in melee by warrior models. At first this seems powerful, but assassinations usually come from shooting or beasts/jacks. Plus, her sucker ability means that ranged attacks that hit get redirected to a nearby warrior model. If she's the only one near your caster, they're going there. No choice. This (on many casters) means you've effectively lowered your caster's defense vs shooting. I want to like Madelyn, but she really does nearly nothing useful. I think that even were she lowered to 3 points, nobody would take her. She needs CID.
One of the very few heavy infantry available to Cygnar. But at ARM16 with no shield wall, no wall
of steel, and no other defensive tech, they really don't feel like they're worth the 3+ points you're paying for each, even with CRA, CMA, and the eponymous assault ability. They need higher ARM and lower point cost to be worth anything outside of a siege crawler list. Let's throw these guys into CID as well.
I've got to be one of the few people who has a list where I like Sylys. Why? I love him on Caine1. Caine1 has a range amplifier ability that gives him an extra 5" range on non-arced spells. Sylys gives him an extra two inches. While helpful for moving around his support spells, this is mostly good because of Caine's Thunderstrike spell, which goes from the range 8 printed on the card all the way out to range 15, and if Caine walks 7 inches first, the spell threats all the way out to 22 inches. In addition, the spell gets an additional-die-drop-the-lowest on both hit and damage, which is very nice. I once used this one weird trick to slam a desecrator over all three of The Withershadow Combine. All that, plus Sylys will upkeep blur or snipe for free. With that said, Sylys is in nearly every case inferior to The Squire, and so will just about never see the table in Cygnar lists.
Back in Mk2, these guys had boxes. Today, no boxes. It seems like they'd be good in a Rhulic list with a siege crawler, but in Cygnar there's only one place where I really like them: with Nemo1. The 7-point TAC gives Nemo all the power tokens he needs, plus clouds to hide behind. Seven points ain't nothing, and I know that most players prefer Jr/Jakes/Arlan likely because in many metas, the TAC die quickly to accurate shooting, but in the games I've used them, they've done okay. Still, I can't see any reason for not giving them their boxes back.
Two brutal POW10s or two shadowfire shots is nothing to scoff at. Taryn would be great in a Caine list if shadowfire from Ace and Gun Mage Captain Adepts weren't a thing. But Cygnar has other sources for shadowfire, so Taryn doesn't show up as often. Plus, it's not even possible to get the Rutger/Taryn combo in a Cygnar theme list since you only get one merc.
I really like Pendrake. Cygnar has disruption in spades, for dealing with jacks, but anti-hordes tech is tough to come by without going to mercenaries. Pendrake can be great into Circle or Legion, where the beasts have high defense. But he's so situational that you'd only put him into a list that was specifically teched against Circle or Legion.
Plus, as ever, if you're picking only one merc, there are better options. The ability of Heavy Metal to allow him along with Versh, Gibbs, and Acosta is a nice trend, and I hope that any future Cygnar theme does something similar.
Solution 1: Have a new Cygnar Mercnar theme. Obviously, you wouldn't call it that. But how about a theme which allows nearly everything, including mercs? Since that would obviously be overpowered, let's exclude the squire, stormlances, journeyman warcasters, and storm striders. Excluding these auto-include models should change the makeup significantly, and make the theme more situational. This theme would get free merc solos when you take merc models, and grant a few other modest benefits. Perhaps one merc unit and one merc solo are considered Cygnar models? Of course, you'd need to throw this into CID to make sure it's balanced.
Solution 2: A new format, or an alteration to Champions wherein in addition to playing (for example) Maddox Storm Division and Kraye Heavy Metal, the season dictates that you can also include Ogrun Assault Corps units, Gobber Tinker solos, and Rutger Shaw. Cryx lists could stipulate that in addition to their own caster/theme combinations, you can also include Steelhead Heavy Cavalry, Saxxon Orik, and Gudrun the Wanderer. These are all models that are legal in faction lists, but here we're allowing these specific ones in addition to anything allowed by theme. And it rotates each season.
In the end, all I really want is the chance to use some of those merc models I own that just never see the table. Heck, it's been years and I still haven't painted my Rutger, Sylys, or Harlan.
Eiryss
Gobber Tinker
I love the gobber tinker. I love the look of the model, especially painted. I used to take him in a ton of lists before themes, if for no other reason than because two points is super-cheap.Also, a cheap five box solo that always has cover is great for holding flags. Personally, I think he should be available in Heavy Metal.
Gorman Di Wulfe
Gudrun the Wanderer
Lanyssa Ryssyl
Like Alten Ashley, I wish she'd drop back down a point. But the real issue is the fact that only a single merc/minion solo can be taken in themes.
Lynus & Edrea
Two models for five points would seem like a deal, but especially in Cygnar, it's hard to find a place for them. I recently thought of taking them with Nemo1, who generally wants three spellcasters. Usually, that's Arlan, Junior, and Jakes. But I'm always looking for more options. I sometimes take the Tactical Arcanists, but Lynus and Edrea are another option. I posted on the Lormahordes forums about this when I thought that Edrea's Wind Barrier could protect Nemo from shots. Turns out that it can't, but that you can still stand these two B2B in front of Nemo and make them unshootable to protect him. On top of that, I hadn't realized until it was pointed out to me that Lynus can use Applied Knowledge on Nemo1 duing feat turn to allow all those POW14 feat hits to target any column you like. I think I'm going to try this one.
Madelyn Corbeau
In this case, Madelyn isn't just competing with other mercs solos for a slot. She's also competing with the squire, which is an auto-include in many Cygnar lists. Her biggest thing is her parlay ability, which prevents her from being targeted in melee by warrior models. At first this seems powerful, but assassinations usually come from shooting or beasts/jacks. Plus, her sucker ability means that ranged attacks that hit get redirected to a nearby warrior model. If she's the only one near your caster, they're going there. No choice. This (on many casters) means you've effectively lowered your caster's defense vs shooting. I want to like Madelyn, but she really does nearly nothing useful. I think that even were she lowered to 3 points, nobody would take her. She needs CID.
Ogrun Assault Corps
One of the very few heavy infantry available to Cygnar. But at ARM16 with no shield wall, no wall 
of steel, and no other defensive tech, they really don't feel like they're worth the 3+ points you're paying for each, even with CRA, CMA, and the eponymous assault ability. They need higher ARM and lower point cost to be worth anything outside of a siege crawler list. Let's throw these guys into CID as well.
Sylys, Nailer of Wishes
I've got to be one of the few people who has a list where I like Sylys. Why? I love him on Caine1. Caine1 has a range amplifier ability that gives him an extra 5" range on non-arced spells. Sylys gives him an extra two inches. While helpful for moving around his support spells, this is mostly good because of Caine's Thunderstrike spell, which goes from the range 8 printed on the card all the way out to range 15, and if Caine walks 7 inches first, the spell threats all the way out to 22 inches. In addition, the spell gets an additional-die-drop-the-lowest on both hit and damage, which is very nice. I once used this one weird trick to slam a desecrator over all three of The Withershadow Combine. All that, plus Sylys will upkeep blur or snipe for free. With that said, Sylys is in nearly every case inferior to The Squire, and so will just about never see the table in Cygnar lists.The Tactical Arcanist Corps
Taryn
Two brutal POW10s or two shadowfire shots is nothing to scoff at. Taryn would be great in a Caine list if shadowfire from Ace and Gun Mage Captain Adepts weren't a thing. But Cygnar has other sources for shadowfire, so Taryn doesn't show up as often. Plus, it's not even possible to get the Rutger/Taryn combo in a Cygnar theme list since you only get one merc.
Viktor Pendrake
Plus, as ever, if you're picking only one merc, there are better options. The ability of Heavy Metal to allow him along with Versh, Gibbs, and Acosta is a nice trend, and I hope that any future Cygnar theme does something similar.
Summing Things Up
Many of these models could really use CID. But for many others, this just isn't a good option, because improving the models for use in Cygnar lists would just make them far too overpowered in their own factions. But you know what? I've got a couple ideas at what might be a good solution.Solution 1: Have a new Cygnar Mercnar theme. Obviously, you wouldn't call it that. But how about a theme which allows nearly everything, including mercs? Since that would obviously be overpowered, let's exclude the squire, stormlances, journeyman warcasters, and storm striders. Excluding these auto-include models should change the makeup significantly, and make the theme more situational. This theme would get free merc solos when you take merc models, and grant a few other modest benefits. Perhaps one merc unit and one merc solo are considered Cygnar models? Of course, you'd need to throw this into CID to make sure it's balanced.
Solution 2: A new format, or an alteration to Champions wherein in addition to playing (for example) Maddox Storm Division and Kraye Heavy Metal, the season dictates that you can also include Ogrun Assault Corps units, Gobber Tinker solos, and Rutger Shaw. Cryx lists could stipulate that in addition to their own caster/theme combinations, you can also include Steelhead Heavy Cavalry, Saxxon Orik, and Gudrun the Wanderer. These are all models that are legal in faction lists, but here we're allowing these specific ones in addition to anything allowed by theme. And it rotates each season.
In the end, all I really want is the chance to use some of those merc models I own that just never see the table. Heck, it's been years and I still haven't painted my Rutger, Sylys, or Harlan.
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