BATTLETECH: A Game of Armored Combat (FULL REVIEW)
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- Опубликовано: 7 июл 2024
- How to get the most out of the Battletech A Game of Armored Combat starter box set!
TIME STAMPS
0:00 Introduction
0:27 Cost & Contents
1:06 Miniature Value
1:29 Cost Comparison to Warhammer 40,000
2:11 Universe Primer + Book
2:40 Maps + Punch Out Sheets
3:32 Box Weaknesses: Reference Sheets + Dice
4:21 Protecting the Rulebook
4:43 How to Re-Use Mech Sheets
5:04 Alpha Strike Cards
5:36 Advanced Tactics and Lore
5:49 Locust
6:19 Easily Fix Bent Parts
6:53 Commando
7:46 Wolverine
8:36 Shadow Hawk
9:12 Major reason why I like BattleTech
9:33 Catapult
10:25 Thunderbolt
11:22 Awesome
12:15 Battlemaster
AFFILIATE LINKS
BATTLETECH: A Game of Armored Combat Starter Set: amzn.to/3GNCTox
BATTLETECH: Alpha Strike Starter Set: amzn.to/3Uh9KoR
KMC Perfect Fit (Inner Layer): amzn.to/3XAp2b5
KMC Super Series (Outer Layer): amzn.to/3gEc2AB
IS Command Lance (Marauder, Archer, Valkyrie, Stinger): amzn.to/3gTbgjh
IS Battle Lance (Warhammer, Rifleman, Phoenix Hawk, and Wasp): amzn.to/3XYlakq
IS Direct Fire Lance (Atlas, Marauder II, Orion, and Crusader): amzn.to/3iucK3K
IS Heavy Lance (Banshee, Grasshopper, Centurion, Hatchetman): amzn.to/3XKdGRV
IS Striker Lance (Blackjack, Jenner, Panther, Wolfhound): amzn.to/3Unibic
IS Fire Lance (Longbow, Stalker, Zeus, Trebuchet): amzn.to/3AZHNLk
IS Heavy Battle Lance (Nightstar, Cataphract, Axeman, Bushwacker): amzn.to/3Fgvf4D
IS Urban Lance (Victor, Enforcer, Hunchback, and Raven): amzn.to/3VGQEcN
IS Support Lance (Cyclops, Thug, Dragon, Spider): amzn.to/3Vqgces
ComStar Command Level II (King Crab, Highlander, Black Knight, Exterminator, Sentinel, Mercury): amzn.to/3B1udap
ComStar Battle Level II (Crockett, Flashman, Guillotine, Lancelot, Crab, Mongoose): amzn.to/3UlSKO4
Thank you for considering purchasing from my store! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
FREE RECORD SHEETS
bg.battletech.com/downloads/
COMMANDER'S GUIDES (ADVANCED TACTICS + LORE)
Battlemaster: • The Mercenary Guide to...
Awesome: • The Mercenary Guide to...
Thunderbolt: • The Mercenary Guide to...
Catapult: • The Mercenary Guide to...
Wolverine: • The Mercenary Guide to...
Shadow Hawk: • A Mercenary Guide to B...
Locust: • The Mercenary Guide to...
Commando: • The Mercenary Guide to...
#battletech #battlemech #innersphere
The style of this video is similar to Auspex Tactics and Big Red 40k. Content creators like the Tex Talks series from BlackPantsLegion and Sven van der Plank have had a large influence on this video. 
Развлечения
I'm 'new' to BT and the intro price of ~$40 is unheard of coming from Warhammer, where a single miniature can be that much. That mixed with an evergreen ruleset, a similar lore/literature backlog, a strong community, extensive 3d printing support, AND affordable injection molded miniatures shows me what an actually supported hobby looks like.
Yeah, I played 40k off and on since like 4th edition and tried Battletech very lightly before switching pretty much all the way over (I still have orks and guard). Big difference for sure! Glad you're enjoying and welcome to the hobby!
@@nerdyOveranalyzed Imperial Guard unite!
There's a "beginner" box with only two minis, simplified rules that don't bother with heat, and lots of punchout units. It's about $20.
Indeed the beginner box has mechs you cannot find elsewhere.
The best is that any faction normally may have any mech. There are a few exceptions like the first months of the year 3050 where two factions that had no contact engaged in battle. After that mechs can be captured, salvaged, stolen, etc. So any faction may have any unit
And tech is restricted by era only.
This is why BattleTech won me over from Warhammer. Its cheap and technically you only need a lance to start playing and you can just balance the BV later. Managing 4 mechs instead of an entire army makes them more valuable and really requires more tactics.
Yeah 100%, same here
I also like that most groups are okay with 3D printing too.
I really appreciate the easy setup of either games, Classic and Alpha Strike. The skirmish nature if it too is something I personally enjoy
Me with like 2 regiments of mechs and vehicles , acts casual
@@mathewkelly9968 that isn't a bad start. What about your battlearmor and clan mechs?
How to build an army in 40k:
Buy hundreds of pounds worth of rulebooks, carefully construct a list of the most powerful units, spend hundreds more pounds purchasing them, discover the army is obsolete after two games because GW nerfed them in the last balance patch.
How to build an army in Battletech:
Pick a faction that looks cool, roll four times on a random table to discover what your army is, randomly roll your pilot stats, enjoy the mayhem.
and even without randomly picking stuff, you can find lore excuses for whatever you want in your force. Clan mechs alongside IS ones, Sure, thats a merc unit that managed to salvage/buy/steal clan mechs, done.
Simple.
@@thorveim1174 Due to battlefield salvage, any faction has access to any 'Mech... with a few exceptions, and depending on the time period.
... oh yes, there's *time periods* in this game. I recommend sticking to the "Intro Tech" frame of the Succession Wars, it's relatively balanced well and several games will get you understanding the basics before the "Clan Invasion" time period messes this all up :)
@@kereminde and even then clan tech is better, but not that different otherwise... go further down and you get things that actually complicate rules like C3 computers, stealth armor and whatnot :p
@@thorveim1174 C3 Computers aren't THAT bad.
Stealth Armor... maybe.
Honestly the availability of any given mech in this box regarding the factions isn't really an issue. Because after 3 (4 depending when you play) Succession Wars, they all salvaged stuff from one another (especially during the SW era any mech is valuable and to be salvaged and used). So it's not lore breaking to have a Kurita force with Commandos or something in it, because they probably nicked it from the Lyrans.
Yep very true! Use whatever you want! Slides have "Salvage chance not included" at the bottom.
@@nerdyOveranalyzed Ah, missed that.
In the 40K vs Battletech comparisons, it's also SUPER worth noting that there is no faction power creep.
Clan tech?
@@DzinkyDzink to be fair the clans make campaigns more fun once they get in and scare the poor inner sphere player whose never seen such efficient tech...I hate the clans and am inner sphere forever but I do like fighting against them and trying to overcome the tech advantage with numbers :-)
@@DzinkyDzink Unless you're playing Tonnage vs Tonnage (don't), Clan Tech is not much of a power creep, aside from very fringe cases. Most of the time, Clans are heavily - HEAVILY - outnumbered and trust me, action economy is the key. With their mech packing a lot of BV on their own, and Clans having 3/4 pilots in general, which bumps BV even more (before you put a commander into something expensive with 2/3), they often have a hard time killing IS mechs fast enough, before it gets into an all-out brawl. Especially if you're playing with Zellbrigen and IS abuses the living hell out of it, before breaking the rules in the most crucial moment.
@@nemamiah7832 Basically that.
@@DzinkyDzink Salvage!!!! HEHEHEHEHE
three details about Battletech and 40k.
first
Battletech began in 1984.
Warhammer 40k began in 1987.
second
Battletech is on its 5th release (3rd IP owner). a few minor rules adjustments. nothing nerfed, restricted, banned or removed. the same rules from the original game are nearly identical to the current 5th release.
40k is getting ready to release the 10th version of rules (original IP company). each version has the same game turn sequence, but significant changes to rules for various units. constantly re-thinking (nerfed), restricted, banned and removed game pieces.
third
Battletech is miniatures agnostic. game pieces from the original game are still usable in the most recent release. proxies are welcome and encouraged.
40k has evolved. the original version was miniatures agnostic, but that has changed with the more recent versions. current versions require actual miniature of selected units (wysiwyg). as new versions come out, older pieces can no longer be used and the most recent is expected to be represented. proxies are discouraged and forbidden.
***third item is directed at tournament play. for casual play, people can use what ever they want.
While mech rules haven't changed much (biggest I can think of off the top of my head are armor rounding rules and partial cover, maybe some of the city fighting stuff), aerospace rules have had some serious revisions. Which is fine, since not many people play with it.
As a veteran BT player, those reference sheets are one of the single most useful things in the boxes. Even still my group has at least 2 on table for every game.
Yeye, ref sheets are good! My group just found color ones with bigger print and better table placement (in our opinion) :)
@@nerdyOveranalyzed ...... do not use those particular reference sheets so no commont on there readability but as for colored versus black and white I personally always find black writing on a white background to be the easiest to read and it is not even close. other colors on the sheet like making borders can look nice but adds 0 to the readability
I'm an old hand with Battletech, I played a lot in high school with friends whose father owned easy 200+ mechs. This was in the 90's, flash forward to now, and over the last couple of years I've gotten back into Battletech, it was always my first love and my intro to the table top and RPG table-top.
Heh heh heh, welcome back to the hobby! I have yet to get into a good RPG game of it, but it looks cool
The rulebook that comes with AGoAC also is the full basic rules for 3025. You can play A LOT of games with that.
Oh 100%, I've been playing a bunch of games with a friend with just that book alone.
@@nerdyOveranalyzed Except it lacks skidding for some reason? there are roads on the maps provided. not a big deal but slightly weird
Wow, brilliant.... you were preparing all the other videos rating the boxed mechs so you could finally do this one... This is Christopher-Nolan-level planning and scripting! Amazing!!!
Lol, thanks. It wasn't thaaaaat crazy. xD I just wanted to hit the ones people probably had first.
My review for Nerdy Overanalyzed:
Phenomenal, wonderful, 10 out of 10 would add to my mercenary company's advisory staff.
Very excited to see your coverage thru the eras!
Thanks! Happy to come aboard Commander! o7
Love the detail you put into protecting and organizing the rules and cards. Top notch video!
Hey thanks for that! This video's been struggling a bit. Glad you got something out of it. :)
I love BattleTech. I started playing back around 1990 and the rules I learnt back then are pretty much the same as I would use now. Compare that to 40K where the 1st edition I started playing would be almost unrecognisable to a player of the current version. I loved the fact that you can design your own vehicles and mecha, my friend and I used loads of modern micro armour plus a few Epic 40K vehicles and Epic Imperial Guard were a super cheap source of BattleTech infantry! Balance was never an issue for us. Using battle values, we’d pit my Trinary Supernova (15 Clan Omnimechs plus 75 Elemantal infantry) against an Inner Sphere battalion (40 mechs) and get a really close fight every time. We even used a mix of rules. Starting with a Battlespace game using warships and dropships before transitioning to a Battletech game once the attackers made planetfall, and even having a few Mechwarrior characters piloting the odd mech.
Man that sounds epic. Really something I want to do one day. And agreed about being able to design your own things. It's one of the things I really like about the game. I sort of needed that itch scratched after a lot of the customization rules went away for 40k. Thanks for taking the time to write! :)
*uses standard black gloves during unboxing*
our slime is truly a vtuber now...
jokes aside this is a super useful breakdown and it really lays out the value of this boxed set and why it's a good buy. i've always just observed battletech (the board game) from the side and read novels/played video games instead. i think this would be a good starting point for me!
Hahahaha thanks lol.
Yeah hope you enjoy it! My friend and I are having a blast!
Great Review short but with great detail good work =D
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed!
It is nice too see those games being reviewed. Keep it up. I'll subscribe even even though I rarely do
Hey, thank you for your support!
Why is my lead tech trying to sell board games in the mech bays and not doing maintenance? Again?
My OCPD agrees with everything. Battletech is a neat game. Small in rules and yet you can do so much with it. Reminds me of chess with pew pews and nukes.
Good Vid. It is a good box all around. My favorite part of the box set is the cardboard cutouts, the peaces of terrain is good for changing the maps already included. The cardboard cut out mechs are awesome for tying out different Mechs without buying a whole new box and for introducing new players that don't have models. all in all a good box
Yep the price was right on! I bought the Clan Invasion first. Out of the box all those mechs were impressive. I bought the other two sets and dice within two weeks along with the BT Manual and Total Warfare books. Oh and thanks for bringing the METAL outro back!
Now the next books to buy, in this order...
Tech manual. To customize mechs and other units.
Tactical operations. Advanced rules. Super cool optional rules. Also it explains several types of terrain and weather.
Tactical operations. Advanced units and equipment. Very cool.
Campaign Operations. Play with budget, AccountantTech mode.
Strategic Operations. Star Wars in Battletech universe version.
Interstellas operations. Risk in the Inner Sphere
Looking forward to the narrative campaign! 😁
Haha, me too! My 3D printer is going Brrrrr
catapult is one of my all time favorite mechs across all mechwarrior games i love how birdlike the body is and how many missiles i can shoot out at once
Yeah! it wasn't before but it's quickly becoming one of mine too!
a note: while extra dice are nice, you can always take notes on the unit sheets to record the same information as the extra dice (especially if like me, you put the sheets in sleeves and only use erasable markers of different colors to write on them to avoid having to print a new sheet after every game), and only 2 dice are truely needed since all rolls are made with 2 dice tops.
Still I wish it was better than 2 small, no frills, regular everyday dice.
How good? It's hella good! Get your copy ASAP!
I'd also make a video about the new Alpha Strike box even tho its still not fully available. Its such a good deal and the As rules are perhaps easier and faster to get into to someone coming from other tabletop games.
KMC perfects do indeed fit the alpha strike cards, just in case anyone was wondering.
Thanks for confirming!
They fit, but I feel the a just a tiny bit too tight. There is an ever so slightly bend. I will therefore try some cheaper inner sleeves in the future to see if they are better.
Awesome video!
Thank you!
OTTO HAND AND WRIST REVEAL LET'S GOOOOOO
That's my Mech-Tech! D:
Appreciate the dive into tabletop here. Have been introduced to battletech all the way back when mech commander 1 came out and been a fan since. May consider getting a few myself eventually. Pricepoint seems a lot more fair compared to a lot of other collectible hobbies/franchises from warhammer to trying to get into tcg's.
You're welcome! Take your time with it! And having been both a former MTG and 40K player I can confirm the price point is much more affordable. :) I like your wolf/lynx/sabertooth guy!
@@nerdyOveranalyzed Thanks a bunch ^^
I was hoping to try streaming battletech content myself and using him as an avatar but sadly my rig's clocking nearly 10-12' years on most parts so that ain't possible.
Btech's got a lotta charm and its a pretty nice setting to delve into. Hope more people can spread the good word.
I just bought this and the beginner box. I'm impressed with how well put together everything is. Now I just need to find people to play with!
Ayyy! Hope you find a few!
I played 40k ages ago and recently found my (old and dilapidated) ork army. It was really fun to see all of them again, but man, I ain't going back.
Heheh, I have some orky bois too!
You call it the "Starter box", but then there is also a Beginner box out and noobs like me don't know where to actually start.
Yes, it's quite confusing. Lack of clarity of where to start is one of the weaknesses of Battletech at the moment. I would not start with the "Beginner Boxes" as weird as it sounds. You only get mechs which is not enough to play a proper game and you'll be left wanting more.
My recommendation would be to start with the "A Game of Armored Combat" box (the one covered in this video). It will let you play both the "Classic" and faster "Alpha Strike" version of the game with a full lance. It will provide you with a starter rulebook and the mechs inside will perform pretty well. Resell value on ebay is quite good at the time of writing and you should be able to recoup your cost if you end up not liking it.
I would play 4 vs 4 for a while to get comfortable and then follow up with the "Total Warfare" rulebook and Lance packs if you enjoy the game.
Hope that helps! :)
I totally agree that “A game of Armored Combat” box set is the best place to start with the amount of mechs, store voucher and more detailed rules it contains compared to the Beginner Box set.
There are actually 2 books that contain the full rules for the game.
Total Warfare 9th edition contains rules for literally everything! Mechs, Submarines, Ground Forces etc. and is really thick and comprehensive.
Battletech Battlemech Manual 9th edition contains everything you need to know about using Mechs and is the one I recommend if you have no interest using tanks, troops, or helicopters/planes.
@@nerdyOveranalyzed the begginer box also comes with the paper proxy models, that increases the available mechs to 10 total, ie 2 plastic and 8 paper ones,. The rules are much more simplified and combines structure and armor points, and also the record sheet is made with the paper that dry erase markers work on. its the easiest form of the classic rules to learn.
@@screenmonkey Mmh yeah! I did take a look at what the beginner box. I think at the end of the day the review is colored with my opinion but I didn't really care for the simplicity of the rules they provided. The paper cut outs also seemed kinda "meh" to me. I'd rather have the miniatures.
Amazing vid. I’m just starting to get into battle tech and this was a great run down
Hey thanks for the feedback! Welcome to the hobby! :)
Been playing both since 89 , BattleTech I feel is better . After spending 1000 dollaridoos on a Leagues of Votann army they are just sitting in their boxes where as I paint BattleTech stuff as soon as it arrives
I remember the starter box from the late '80s with cardbord displays...
With the cursed but iconical "unseens".
heh, I'm a spoiled warhammer player. I want the plastics!
There is enough dice to play. Sure, there are uses for more dice but nothing preventing you from playing with just 2 dice. And if you are a gamer you have a damn VAT of dice to play with.
Ye, for sure. Wasn't a factor for me and my friend coming from 40k and Chain of Command after we took it home. Was still annoying to open the box in the store and realize I was better off buying a few dice to keep track of things. Could have been better with either the dice or another punch out board imo.
The coolest thing Catalyst has done recently (IMO) is the Clan Invasion: Reinforcements box, it's a whole big box full of cardboard cutouts for pretty much every 'Mech in the 3050s. It's actually made me less reluctant to consider grabbing more minis because I feel like I can just grab whatever seems cool rather than worrying about force composition, now.
I do think they need to be more clear about what TROs are vs. record sheets, though, it's something that confuses people way too often.
Also, some time in the next few months we're getting the Mercenaries kickstarter which is going to be re-introducing units other than 'Mechs! Which is actually where Battletech starts to get much more interesting, I think.
Yeppp I'm really looking forward to the Kickstarter myself!
I'm gonna pick this up and then take 3 other assaults to make a more mixed Steiner Scout Lance (or SSL in short), specifically a Zeus, a Banshee and a King Crab. These combined with the awesome create an aggressively defensive lance, with the Zeus mainly serving as long range support and anti flanker, the banshee as a big damage sponge, the awesome doing a bit of everything and to finish it the king crab, because double AC20 go BOOM! BOOM!
Standard Steiner scout lance = four Atlases. 😅😅
@@willburnham it doesn't have to be atlas mechs specifically to count. It just has to be 4, assault mechs
Most people in clubs play pick up games at like 4500ish BV with objectives and forced withdraw rules (crippled mechs have to walk off the board) to ensure the game ends.
Your lance here is like double that value, lol.
If you guys try out Alpha strike, I recommend the 'optional' damage rules of instead of deal the damage all in one chunk with a single dice roll, instead make a roll for each point of damage (like with multiple sets of colored dice). Doing this helps make the game feel more like Classic Battletech, as well as simulating the feel of each mech having multiple weapon systems and not all of them always hitting.
They should have used more commonly available Mechs in the different weight classes but they didn't have clear legal access to the Robotech designs at the time. So we got a Commando and Catapult rather then a Wasp and Warhammer. Which is a bit of a shame.
Ahhh interesting little bit of history thanks! I do like my Catapult, I think it's a good add. Not sure about the Wasp honestly, but I do think a light with jump jets would have been good. I think Adding the Javelin in the light mech spot and maybe swapping the Shadow Hawk for a Centurion or something would have made this box almost perfect for me.
I haven't been keeping up with everything, did they lose the updated versions of the unseens again?
@@marka4891 as I understand it they finally got full access for good a little while after the "A Game of Armored Combat" box came out.
@@marka4891, no, *that* mess finally got cleared up shortly after HBS’s BattleTech computer game was released.
The worst part of it? It turns out that the company which had been causing all the trouble regarding the designs…
…didn’t even own the copyrights they were suing over.
Yep.
Mind you, there’s a lot of new art & sculpts coming along for an more consistent style, and because FASA, toward the end, wasn’t very good about actually remembering to *pay* their freelancers for the art they used, and was even *worse* at keeping records about what was paid and what wasn’t, so a *lot* of the late art is ‘questionable’ in a very real way, even if nobody ever complains about it decades later.
But, the new art direction is good, and the resulting minis are seriously nice.
@@Vessekx That's kinda funny.
Though, since I have a bunch of old school minis from before the Unseen became unseen, you'll forgive me for preferring the originals. ;D
In my experience, the reference sheets that come in the box are really useful for me and my buddies, all first-time BT players. I didn't have any issues with readability and it was useful to have some of the rolling tables and such always available without having to flip through the book. This is my experience though so your mileage may vary, I just wanted to get my experience written here as it runs counter to Nerdy's.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the video, you have gained a new sibscriber!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed!
Shadow Hawk custom variant being a LL swap for the AC/5 (The most garbage weapon in BT per math), use leftover 4 tons for two heat sinks and two jets. Brings you to 5/8/5 movement. Honestly, drop the SRM, put in another Medium Laser and a heat sink and you've basically got the Steiner Griffon variant. With I think more armor? Away from the Lab right now, Adjutant Nerdy, otherwise I'd give you a better answer.
CAT-K2 is probably the best Catapult variant. The base variant desperately needs more ammo. The Thunderbolt, affectionately the Thud, is probably the #2 L1 heavy, imo, after the Marauder. I have particular bias towards the Steiner and ELH variants. It is much tougher than the Whamy but does also lack it's overall firepower. The Awesome is Awesome and should only come in the direct fire variants, and the Battlemaster is okay. I much prefer the Zeus since it's a fast assault with decent ranged options, but up close the Battlemaster is very beastly.
That 1E Locust variant model used in the picture. Did use a modified arm replacement. But they forgot to remove the center torso Medium Laser.
Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure those are just stock models. I just wanted to show off the art people did on reddit. :)
Great vid! I have been playing BT since 1987. Glad that you mentioned sub-optimal Mechs in the game. The Shadow Hawk is one of my favorites as it is a Mech you can rely on. It is not amazing at all but they are easy to obtain and if you need a job done a SH can handle it.
Ayyy, thank you! Yeah, sub-optimal "make it work" mechs are pretty neat. Very different mentality than 40k
I normally put a new player on a Shadow Hawk so they get to see how both basic missile types and direct fire weapons work.
Yea sub optimal is a good way to put it the shadowhawk is not even close to being a bad mech it is far from great but not bad. And as much as the ac5 is maligned it is not horribly unusable if you just scraped that worthless srm2 for something else it would get a whole lot better
Thank you for this excellent review. I am an old time table top Battletech player, but haven't bought anything new in close to 20 years. Looking to get back into it, I had wondered if this box set was worth it.
Hey Dave thanks for taking the time to write. Thank you for the feedback and welcome back to the hobby :)
Great video, really fun breakdown of the box and what to expect!
I've been in on Battletech in the game side of things since I was about 5 or 6 but only got into the tabletop side in the last few years, personally preferring Alpha Strike over Battletech Classic since I'm also an on-and-off 40K player and love the free movement, more straightforward and larger action of AS.
I'd love to see you do another box breakdown for AS soon with the new AS box coming out! And if you do get into it then I'd love to see a game review of BT:C and AS in future!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the video. I'm recording a campaign for Battletech Classic very soon!
I've been playing battletech for a while, and universal concensus is that each mech in the Game of Armored Combat box are some of the best as far as balance go; not a single dud or filler Mech. For those who are competitive (which is a smaller Subsection of this tabletop game then you might think) almost all of these mechs are high tier for succession war play. Also, availability is per varient not Chassis. But we all know each faction has each Mech available in each varient because of the nature of the universe. It's just some have a veritable hoard of specific versions.
Nice breakdown video! as a 40K refugee and a now-solid BTech player, this was a pretty good rundown of the starter set-box.
A few notes here and there:
1) a comparable box set to the BT one wouldn't necessarily be the Start Building box sets, since that's only enough for just one player. A more comparable one might be the "starter set" boxes with two armies. At the time of this writing, the most current one is the Warhammer 40,000 Commander's Edition, and that costs $185(!) USD. This comes with two factions, but not enough to play a standard 1,500 - 2,000 point game. It does come with a mini-rulebook and rules for the minis included, and also some terrain (unassembled, unpainted). The Age of Sigmar Extremis box is priced the same, not nearly enough minis to constitute a more fuller army for each side, and some nice-looking terrain. But the true pay-pig route would be to get the Horus Heresy Starter box at a whooping $300(!!!) USD for one (1) Space marine army that might total to about 1,000 points... in a game that encourages 3,000 points UPwards. These DO NOT include the army books for each faction that comes with these boxes (except for the Horus heresy one), which must be purchased separately. Compare that to BT's $60 which really, only needs one more book (either the Battlemech Manual or Total Warfare), for a total of around $100-$110. AND with enough stuff for two players to play a complete game.
2) Much as I will knock on GW, I do have to give a point to their miniature quality. Gee Dubs minis have a nice 30 year head start on the Battletech plastics, and it shows. Their very high detail, their minimal mold-lines, and miniscule mistakes are hard to ignore. I'd normally say the price point per mini is the ONLY flaw, but the more recent sprues are made in a very awkward way that forces you to hunt down one particular jigsaw piece in a sea of other jigsaw pieces. I, and many others, suspect it's to prevent easy conversion with 3rd party parts, but it sure is quite awkward and a showing signs of being anti-consumer. BT models have softer plastic that makes it harder to work with the mold lines, unfortunately. They're definitely made a little cheaper, but I think it's the necessary sacrifice for better affordability (especially considering the first point I made of needing a few dozen different models to have a viable full-on army). This will improve given time, of course, and won't be as much of a hard comparison.
3) speaking of mold-lines, a great way to remove these is using a small brass brush alongside your hobby knife. After you remove the worst of the mold-lines off the mini, scrubbing the area with a brush will make the surface much more smoother to look at prior to painting. It's a bit more effort and you won't necessarily tell the difference when looking at the model from five feet away in most circumstances, but it's definitely worth doing when entering a painting competition (or you're just anal about model surfaces like myself).
4) This is more for the older BT players to speak of, but one of the greatest things about this game: you can easily proxy any Mech, vehicle, infantry, etc. None but the most grognard of weirdos will actually care that you're proxying a Plastic bottle cap and calling it an Atlas. I suspect that as time passes, CGL will have enough of a library to start passing judgement on these sorts of things, but that just might be my pessimism showing.
TL;DR comparing and contrasting Warhammer to BT there's some nuance between model quality, but for the sheer price entry point alone it's a hell of a lot easier to enter into Battletech, and much less stressful about building up your army to such-and-such standards. Anyways, enough jabbering from me. Time to get into the cockpit and blast some Capellans into orbit!
Hey there Empanada! Thanks for taking the time to write!
1) yep! Very true
2) yep, there are a few weird flaws with BT stuff compared to 40k. And yeah really annoying with the new sprues. I actually hadn't put two and two together until you mentioned it now.
3) not a bad tip! Although I leave all but the worst of my mold lines on because I'm lazy :^)
4) Yes, agreed. I haven't played against a bottlecap atlas yet but I'm looking forward to it. xD
Great video - I think this is an excellent primer for people making the plunge from other games who's name might begin with "40" and end with "k".
"Hippidy hoppidy, get off my property" - Taurian proverb
Haha, thank you! Yeah, I meant it more as a item review but I guess people quite like it as an intro primer. ^^;
I bought the Armored combat box set and the alpha strike box set.
Between the two, i have two sets of dice and markers for movement, cardboard terrain, and two small maps. Plus all the mechs the two boxes came with.
Already subscribed!
Played my first true game last night at Geek World with my cousin. Bought me this box at the end of the match, freaking awesome.
Ayyy welcome to the hobby!
Holy shit that's a pic of my Awesome you used for the new/old sculpt comparison! Small world
Ayy! It was a nicely done old model lol, it was the best one on my Google search. xD
@@nerdyOveranalyzed Well, I appreciate the compliment. Good video too by the way. In case you didn't know, there's a new Battletech Kickstarter on the horizon for March '23. Great time to be alive.
It's a good box to get into Alpha Strike, ironically enough. Hex maps work for Alpha Strike just as well, and you have 2 whole lances for each person to play with.
Nice review of the box content. Some remarks: If you want to paint one side of the hexbase paint the hexside that represents the rear facing. The rear armor is most times weaker, and clear marking avoids discussions like "it thought i was in your back". The additional D6s for marking the movmement modifier of the target should be small ones. But i suggest to use double sided cartoon markers with modifiers from 0 to +5 for new players to reduce confusion about units with +0 modifier. Additional D6s as color coded dice pairs are also a good way to speed up game play. If you fire for example the 3 medium lasers of the Thunderbolt with the same to hit roll you can roll 2D6 three times, or use 3 pairs of 2D6 with the same color (2 red, 2 white, 2 blue). If 2 lasers hit, you roll 2 dice pairs for the hit location. D6 don't cost much and most boardgame players have lot's of them anyway ;-)
Thanks good advice! I paint the front of my mechs!
As someone who has been passionately in the BattleTech community and lore I do want to say that EVERY mech is used in EVERY era by EVERY faction A LOT. Why then the confusion of who uses what? Its because in Battletech during the regression era a lot of factories were destroyed BUT most mechs were Salvaged after a battle to refit them with what they had. So all of these mechs were used by all factions. Those % of who has what was more determined by what House would use in their MAIN armies by accessible resources, however by a lot of their army divisions and unit factions within the houses they had all these mechs in vast numbers.
Also @Nerdy Overanalyzed, its good to know that Battletech does not have many restriction on what mech you use in any faction as long as it matches the time line. So all of these mechs (since they all fall under all timelines) can be used in each faction at any point, as long as what they have on them matches the timeline for tech (incase you make any future Battletech videos its very important info to give the players they have massive options in battletech to play almost anything they want since that's what we teach new players first and foremost) :)
Yarp! Pretty much play what you want. A few people have mentioned it as well. I think I might make a comment about it in future videos.
Good video, old school and have been collecting since the 80s. Warhammer never really compared to this game but for some reason took off. Prices for this game are amazing which is why I never started warhammer. Didn't really like hammer even when I saw it. My collection is huge and goes all the way back to 84.
Thanks! And yeah I'm amazed at the cost of this game compared to 40k. My own collection is small but slowly growing!
I recently picked up the new Alpha Strike box set, and am looking at classic battletech to expand my collection and add a more in-depth way to play. Two things I were wondering are A: the alpha strike cards included in this box seem to only be the mech warrior cards, not the mech cards themselves, and B: how would I go about getting the classic battletech rules for the mechs in the alpha strike box? Thanks.
Hmm, I don't have my hands on the Alpha Strike box set yet so I'm not sure. I don't play the Alpha Strike rules so the cards aren't super important to me other than to resell.
I would get the pdf version of the "Battletech: Total Warfare" book for $15 which has the core rules of the game. Then download the "Free Worldwide Event 2018" hex map. For the mech record sheets I would either download them from Catalysts online store, or use MegaMek Lab to print out the sheets (but I can't make any garantees about the software).
Battletech: Total Warfare - store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-total-warfare-pdf
Free Map
store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/mappack-wwe2018-terrain-set
Hope that helps!
narrative battle reports you say :)
Yep :)
@@nerdyOveranalyzed Looking forward to those. I remember watching Ouchies Batreps. I miss those.
A lot of those previous sculpts are iron Wind Metals miniatures. They still produce minis for Battletech and have new scults based on the recent CGL redesigns. As they are metal and in parts you can pose them how you want.
Ye, I do like the new plastics as options.
I got the 2 starter boxes a heavy support lance and a fire support lance and my 18 mechs gives me some good flexibility its so worth it
Everyone's taste is different. But for me, BattleTech is the most fun tabletop wargame created by man. So I have a slight bias.
The boxes are actually really good. Great value for the money. The beginner box is a great onramp and bare bones intro to the game. The main box is a great next step or more advanced starting point. Cool detail; redundancy is avoided between the two boxes, down to different terrain tiles.
The current quality of both books and miniatures simply blows what we had in the 80s and 90s out of the water.
It's a good game with good material at a good price.
I can't contrast to Warhammer... But BattleTech is why I can't. I found BattleTech in late 80s, got into it, loved it.... Because of it, no one successfully got me into Warhammer, though many tried. Every attempt ended with me wishing we played BattleTech instead. Does that make it a better game? Nah. But it does mean it is far more suited to my personal tastes in these sorts of games. If you give it a try, and both beginner and main box are great values, you might find it suits your tastes as well.
Man I left my stuff at home when i went off the college. I couldn't figure out how to get the white to look good for the lyrans :( but the kurita colors turned out great they were so easy.
bah, yeah white is pretty challenging! I have to do a star league mech soon and will be hitting up some tutorials
I started playing BTech back in the 80s when it was still a FASA product. 3025 old tech was hecka fun. If you’re lucky you can find some of the old lead figs
oh man, I really want to experience 80s Battletech. I've been holding off as much as possible to not spoil the Clan Invasion
i snagged it when it was finally available in amazon last year. even though i have no one to play it with haha
lol. I had to drag my friend into it a few months ago. It sat on my shelf for about 2 years after playing only a few test games.
The Alpha Stike box set just dropped on the CGL website
Awwwww heck yeah!
@@nerdyOveranalyzed also it should be coming to LGS in the US within a few weeks.
@@warlok363 Oooo~ I'll have to take a look!
BattleTech is frigging amazing! Been playing since the 90s
Thanks!
I literally bought every model in the current Catalyst lineup and I paid as much as a 40K army or even less
I didn’t even have to. I could have proxied easily. I just loved the models and felt I was getting so much out of each.
Yupppppp, it's friggin crazy bro. I'm in heaven xD
Question about accessibility: how far across the map do your units usually reach? I ask because I'm in a motorized wheel chair and whole it fits partly under a play table, I can still only reach about halfway across the table, maybe a bit less.
I'd felt an itch for sone table top gaming and bought a bunch of 40k Tau. I wasn't even thinking about a hex based game when I hastily made my purchases. This would be so much easier to manage. I could even use a grabber tool to help move the mechs; I imagine I could use it to nudge them neatly into the hexes, no need to worry about measurement.
I haven't even assembled my Tau yet and the codex and rulebook are still mint so I could recover most of my money.
Hey Robert!
A single map page like the one shown in the video measures 18" by 22". Typically with 4 mechs a side you will use 4 maps together for a total of 36" by 44".
Heavies and Assaults tend to stay in the middle or on your side of the map while faster flankers can move all around.
Hope that helps in your decision making!
Ive been on the fence about getting into tabletop miniature games. I was always under tbe inpression they were super expensive. But i was pleasantky surprised that battletech isnt over the top pricy and relatively easy to get into. I just got my box yesterday. Still need more practice to get into how the game flows. But its great.
I know its not a great mech but i have an affinity for the shadow hawk. (Probably because of battletech book i read years ago )
Can you do a review of the beginner box set as well? I already have both of these, but want to get your input on itm
Hmmm, maybe but I think somewhat unlikely. Just looking at the contents it just seems not worth.
I have been playing BattleTech and Warhammer since 1985. In that time I have seen one set of rules for BattleTech and gave up on Warhammer about 6 or 7 rule sets ago.
yarp, for sure. One of the reasons why I like the game so much!
with battletech, its not really that medels are cheaper, its that you need way fewer models for full games, and every individual model is playable on its own (where in 40k you need at least a certain number of models for the size of a squad to be valid in the rules, meaning while a lance box gives 4 units that can be played indepedently of eachotehr, most 40k boses that arent a single moder like a character or vehicle sill only give you a single squad, or not even that if you want more than minimum size for the squad)
Also battletech is VERY proxy-friendly: as long as its clear what it is, fits in an hex, and has something to know where its facing, it can be used just as well as an actual model since unlike 40k line of sight is never determined by being able to see the actual model or not.
New people, welcome to the hobby. Always remember in the Succession War Era to rip out the MG's on your machines and put in a Flamer if you need something for Infantry because ammo criticals go boom!
Heheheh
The amazon cost is $60? I got it for like $20-30 and also got the old AGOAC box for about the same
It is full retail yeah, suggested price in the back of the box is $60. I got mine on sale tho
I have a voucher, is it just for catalysts store? I’m in the uk and delivery is about $180
Holy moly lol. Yeah, just for the store. Maybe you could use the voucher on a digital book or something so you don't have to pay an arm and a leg?
@@nerdyOveranalyzed I got most of the books recently in a humble bundle deal, if I sent you the code could you give it to someone who may benefit from it?
Using binders and sheet protectors is a brilliant idea and i kick myself in the butt for printing so many sheets whdn i could have done that instead.
A small nitpick.
With cross-pollination via salvage, there’s no such thing as a ‘Mech design that is absent from, much less limited to any single faction.
Some are certainly more common in certain factions than others, but you can absolutely feel free to use whichever ‘Mechs (and variants) you like for any faction. (Excepting Clan/Inner sphere mixing before or early into the initial Clan Invasion era.)
yep very true. slides at the bottom comment that!
I have the original Battledroids box set with unbuild models and the second edition set.
Dannnngg nice!
Megamek is free. And it will Let you search for and print the mechs, and make new ones with the customization rules.
Just buy one of the mechwarrior compendiums from back in the day. They are pretty affordable and have all the rules.
:o I bought total war!
You called me Commander and so I subd.
:3 Thanks Commander! Glad to come aboard!
What's up with the gloves?
so you can play against your friend just with this one set right? each 4 mechs? and why more dices? cant you roll those two uhh many times? im thinking about getting it.
also how are factions important? asking how important is mech availability and color schemes. can i just slap whatever mechs together and paint them how i like or do i need to follow some shit rules about it?
Hi Kaptyn!
1. Yes, you can play against your friend with this one set!
2. You need dice or chits to keep track of the movement status of each mech. Moving gives defense to your mech but also reduces its accuracy in various amounts.
3. Factions are only semi important. Any faction can use a mech as long as it was manufactured before the era you're playing in (ex. Can't use a mech made in the year 3060 if you're playing in 3025).
If you want to be a bit more lore accurate. You can look at the Xtol RATS tables or the Master Unit List for availabilities of each faction to see what might be "realistic". But nothing says you can't just play what you want and say "I found it in a Star League cache"
4. If you're playing a like a historical unit of the Successor States you probably want to follow a color scheme. If you do your own mercenary force you can pain them up pretty much however you want!
@@nerdyOveranalyzed thank you so much for the answer! i think price won me over warhammer xd ive spent 130$ on my army and its just barely playable! thats absolutely insane!
i will be buying this box as soon as i can find one near me!
@@KaptynPierug Yupppp lol. For $130 you can buy a whole company plus a few extras here. xD Welcome to the hobby
I have a Amazon link in the description if you want to buy from there!
@@nerdyOveranalyzed you are the best man!
i swear im gonna be addicted haha xd
any other sets with new molds besides clan invasion that you also covered? (nothing against the old molds, im just not a fan and i could make those out of clay lol)
@@nerdyOveranalyzed so my box is coming next month aaaaaaaaand i would like to hear some thoughts on lances
because with 8 minis you obviously do two lances of 4
now, how do i spread the mechs to make combat as even as possible??
how does it compare to the OG tabletop game from the 70s?
Dunno! I never played the 70s version
I tried BT back in the Fasa days before I got into 40k, got sucked into both by the old DOS games. The ruleset back then stank, you really just stood there in the open shooting like stormstoopers until the dice took you out with a random critical, your mech barely mattered, your movements didn't matter at all, might as well have been shooting craps for all anything but the dice mattered. So unless things in this Catalyst reboot have improved a LOT...
There is still a fair bit of "one guy gets shot in the head and the plan goes to poo" but overall it's not bad. Semi-random which is nice.
Without even watching the video I can say, "pretty damned awesome, especially when you factor in the amazing setting"
Yeah, the setting is great! I really love the box. Thanks for taking the time to write me a comment!
I loved Battletech as a kid and the books. However nowadays I play CAV Strike Operations which is like Battletech minus all the paperwork.
Oo I think I've heard of that game ones
Just a shame the models come prebuilt. Building is my favourite part of the whole hobby xD
lol, you can always repose if you have a pin vice and green stuff!
Yes
A Lamborghini is much more than a ford focus.
Or random topics you can 3d print both for pennies. Which would equal the playing field on price.
You could also proxy both!
@@nerdyOveranalyzed thats what I'm saying taking cost out would you still pick battle tech.
it awakens something in me when the little blob calls me commander
No mention of the companion Beginner Box?
Not in this video~ maybe in another one.
COM-1B is a walking bomb usnless you throw the SRM ammo away. 1A would work better as a sniper and possibly last a bit more.
What? The joints rotate? I've been avoiding trying that in fear of breaking them
A few joins are glued in a sort of ball and socket thing from what I've seen. For a few reposing would involve disassembling and then pin them with a paperclip. Not sure about the others
VERY!!!
!!! :)
I know this is a year old, but damn the cost of a 500 intro version for 40k, i spent roughly 100 already and have a lot.
I am now buying mats and terrain.
Just need friends to invite over, lol.
A tip to rookie players: a more experienced player advised me when I started playing to start with a good, solid all-around mech and stick with it. Every mech is a little different; mastering it takes time and practice. If you can get the most out of your chosen mech, you'll win more than you lose. If you drive the mech-of-the-week, not so much. My choice was the Warhammer, and I never regretted it.
Nice advice! How do you actually play the Warhammer 6R? I've been trying to figure it out. The relatively low armor is a struggle for me.
I like the cute jelly thing. It amuses me
Lol thanks, glad I amuse you!
@@nerdyOveranalyzed Do you plan to do either of the Marauders anytime soon? Those are my favorite mechs
@@jameswright2623 Battlemaster is the next video, then maybe a few shorter vids. The mech review after that will be the Marauder!
@@nerdyOveranalyzed Awesome! I am looking forward to it!
In Warhammer you can very well play small scale games with a mere 500 and even less points, but then they are REALLY small scale.
Space Marines are expensive, pointswise. But you can.
And i'm certain you also can play smaller scale battle with BT, like challenging your friend to a 1-on-1, "my T-bolt versus you Cat, can you take me on, scrub?" or soemthing liek that XD
You can play 500 for sure! The army size is too small for it to really be tactical, probably get bored fairly quick. More of a learning game with an HQ, a troops and one other unit or so.
@@nerdyOveranalyzed Just like doing 1-on-1s with mechs would get boring after a while, yes.
Thing is, with Warhammer you have more factions that offer completely different units, while there are only so many mechs in BattleTech that can actually fight each other in a proper 1-on-1.
Yet i totally agree with you, on a money standpoint, BT is way more affordable than WH40k. Heck, you could just use the paper cutouts!
my thing with 500 pts is that it is super easy to break the format - its more fun if you go casual with friends and play balanced armies
Sadly, the opponent is not included. So, I hope that you can convince one of your friends.
To my knowledge, the fandom outside the US pretty much went extinct, and it is far more difficult to find players than for WH40K.
"Opponent not included" lol made me laugh. Yeah, it's for sure a smaller game than 40k, but honestly I think you can get people to try it because of the cheapness and richness of the setting. I think the way things are going more and more people are looking for something other than 40k.
US, Canada, UK, Australia, and Germany seem to be the biggest countries for it. But by far USA.
@@nerdyOveranalyzed True.
It is just that I still remember the glory days of FanPro. In Germany, BattleTech was even more prominent than GW!
It changed with the beginning of the Dark Age (which is quite fitting), and today Catalyst has its focus 100% on the Anglosphere.
But who knows? Maybe it will change again in the future.