The Starslayer was included because this is the Mercenaries Kickstarter, and they specifically chose designs that were originally rolled out in the early mercenary focused sourcebooks. For example, the McCarron's Armored Cavalry sourcebook (published in 1992) introduced the Starslayer, Devastator, and Spector, all designs that are included in this Merc Kickstarter. The Firefly, Flea, Hoplite and Shogun were introduced in the Wolf's Dragoons sourcebook (published in 1989). The Chameleon was first introduced in the Second Edition starterbox (1985) but it didn't have a standee and wasn't in the TRO until TRO 3058 (1995). I think including it in a box set release nearly 40 years later is classy. The Caesar was likely an homage to Loren Coleman's favorite merc unit, Avanti's Angels. Col. Marcus GioAvanti pilots a Caesar that is later upgraded with Clan-tech (the upgraded "Archangel" is featured in the Legends II forcepack). The Quickdraw and Ostsol were original TRO 3025 designs that I think are fan favorites that just got left out of the original Clan Invasion run of miniatures. Edit: Also just want to add - the Avanti's Angels were heavily featured in the rulebook artwork you showed off in the video. Also, I agree with Matthew Neeuendorf's post suggesting that the Chameleon has older association with the Crescent Hawks merc unit from the 1988 video game The Crescent Hawks Inception
Finally got my box today and have been digging through it. Loving all the pieces so far. Caesar and Starslayer are the ones I was most excited for the box set (Cataphract and Caesar are two of my favorite Mechs ever). I was most astonished by the 5" Timberwolf though. Timberwolf is hands down my favorite Mech of all time, and to have one to sit on my desk that's larger than many of my action figures is crazy. Other than being angled slightly upwards it is gorgeous and the detail is astonishingly sharp. It also weighs enough to be a paperweight.
I assume they included the Starslayer because it features in MC2, where the player is an ex-FedCom merc commander. A trainer like the Chameleon makes a certain amount of sense for cadre contracts, and it might be an homage to the old Crescent Hawks games.
Starslayer, Devastator and Spector were all introduced in the McCarron's Armored Cavalry mercenary sourcebook (1992). But i now realize that a lot of BT fans don't remember way back when.
I think the mechs like the chameleon are included because a low tier merc company will take most any mech they can get their hands on. These mechs are mediocre, maybe ok at best. Or maybe a company splurged on some big mechs like a devastator or Caesar, so they have to take some less optimal mechs as they are cheaper
Having the turret move, especially on things like the Shrek carrier it’s gonna help a lot with just painting them. Imagine trying to get to the upper body with the turret in the way.
Roughly half has been shipped according to the updates and emails that I've been getting through Kickstarter and people posting pics of what they got. I haven't received mine yet so far but the second big lot of shipments is supposed to be starting in the next couple weeks. I do know that you get an address confirmation email a few days or so before your items ship.
Boxes are good and all, but are you planning to do the review for the Battlefield Assets and Support rules? How does it play? How do tanks/turrets compare to mechs, not too toothless or fragile? What rules do the Elementals retain from the rules for battle armor in the Clan Invasion box? How does Inner Sphere Battle armor compare to Elementals? Are there any shenanigans possible with Foot infantry/Mechanized infantry? And finally, are these rules fun and easy to use? I'm looking forward to hearing about this, but the people getting their boxes have not posted any rules reviews, which kinda makes me question if the rules are any good and if the box overall is worth the price.
In my opinion they are garbage. Not the stuff that it's the BMM, like the Battlefield Support deck, those are great, but the new asset rules completely ruin vehicles, BA, and Infantry.
So ive played a game with them, as well as having used standard record sheets for some vehicles and infantry and heres my thoughts. Theyre good for quickly adding vehicles, turrets, infantry, etc to games of battletech, but severely lack depth. They're good for bigger games or to ease into combined arms, however if you've played Alpha Strike, they feel similar to that but with a hex map. I personally prefer the normal Total Warfare system to it. A greybeard in the geoup i play with likens them to being good for planetary militia that are more allied to your force than outright part of it. How they play: They have a TMM similar to Alpha Strike where if they move they get that modifier flatly applied, the threshold value is how much damage needs to be applied to them inorder to do a destroy check. For which you roll 2d6 trying to get the number or above, and each time you fail the number decreases by one. If you succeed the unit is destroyed outright. You roll to hit more or less like normal however the weapons are consolidated into one profile. Overall/tl;dr they are useful for pickup games and running combined arms in a bigger, and i mean a big classic game, but severly lack pretty much any depth. And i personally, unless my opponent wants to use the support system, will be sticking to classic record sheets.
@kudosbudo honestly I think it's the intent. Could also see it as a supplement for a campaign where you have a "gm" running the opposing forces for the players.
My Backerkit says Mercenaries Box Set Exclusive. I can't rember what I ordered! Did I fugg this up and notget the Kevlar box,...carbon fibre? Help? Haven't gotten any emails, for shipping, but They sure as Hell took My Cash.
I backed this kickstarter, and I’ll continue getting CGL stuff from my FLGS to support them, not CGL. They aren’t getting any more money from me directly though
Still no word on when I will get my Kickstarter delivered... which is also my last time supporting the dumpster fire that is CGL... any mechs I feel the need for going forward are either going to come from Fortress Minis (since they are only about an hour away, I get stuff pretty quick!) or with 3D printer going BRRRRRRRRRR.
Catalyst has really been pushing for Alpha Strike, especially for tournaments, because it generally requires you to play with more miniatures. More minis means people have to buy more stuff.
@DarthJester I love Alpha Strike too, but Classic is the ruleset that has stood the test of time. Alpha Strike is great for pick up games, tourneys, and big games. Classic is for the more crunchy and simulationist games.
Look at it this way, you can introduce newer players to the concept of vehicles without bringing out all the vehicle rules. Ease em into the Vees to garner interest.
@Kingofdragons117 Perfect practice makes perfect. The mech half sheets make sense since you will still use the exact rules later on when you add heat and criticals. These rules do not make sense. I have to tell them to forget like half the rules they learned to play Classic and/or Alpha Strike. They could have just made the core rules better. I don't blame devs anymore, honestly. I think it was a C-Suite decision to put more Alpha Strike in things. It's lazy design that does not integrate with previous rules and design mentality.
The Starslayer was included because this is the Mercenaries Kickstarter, and they specifically chose designs that were originally rolled out in the early mercenary focused sourcebooks. For example, the McCarron's Armored Cavalry sourcebook (published in 1992) introduced the Starslayer, Devastator, and Spector, all designs that are included in this Merc Kickstarter. The Firefly, Flea, Hoplite and Shogun were introduced in the Wolf's Dragoons sourcebook (published in 1989). The Chameleon was first introduced in the Second Edition starterbox (1985) but it didn't have a standee and wasn't in the TRO until TRO 3058 (1995). I think including it in a box set release nearly 40 years later is classy. The Caesar was likely an homage to Loren Coleman's favorite merc unit, Avanti's Angels. Col. Marcus GioAvanti pilots a Caesar that is later upgraded with Clan-tech (the upgraded "Archangel" is featured in the Legends II forcepack). The Quickdraw and Ostsol were original TRO 3025 designs that I think are fan favorites that just got left out of the original Clan Invasion run of miniatures.
Edit: Also just want to add - the Avanti's Angels were heavily featured in the rulebook artwork you showed off in the video. Also, I agree with Matthew Neeuendorf's post suggesting that the Chameleon has older association with the Crescent Hawks merc unit from the 1988 video game The Crescent Hawks Inception
Awesome, thanks for the info!
The Chameleon is a mech I have been waiting for since The Crescent Hawks Inception. Glad to find it
Finally got my box today and have been digging through it. Loving all the pieces so far. Caesar and Starslayer are the ones I was most excited for the box set (Cataphract and Caesar are two of my favorite Mechs ever). I was most astonished by the 5" Timberwolf though. Timberwolf is hands down my favorite Mech of all time, and to have one to sit on my desk that's larger than many of my action figures is crazy. Other than being angled slightly upwards it is gorgeous and the detail is astonishingly sharp. It also weighs enough to be a paperweight.
I assume they included the Starslayer because it features in MC2, where the player is an ex-FedCom merc commander.
A trainer like the Chameleon makes a certain amount of sense for cadre contracts, and it might be an homage to the old Crescent Hawks games.
Starslayer, Devastator and Spector were all introduced in the McCarron's Armored Cavalry mercenary sourcebook (1992). But i now realize that a lot of BT fans don't remember way back when.
I think the mechs like the chameleon are included because a low tier merc company will take most any mech they can get their hands on.
These mechs are mediocre, maybe ok at best. Or maybe a company splurged on some big mechs like a devastator or Caesar, so they have to take some less optimal mechs as they are cheaper
awesome, another Team Banzai player.
13:38 what if somebody just buys this? they m9ght not have dice. more dice is always welcome.
Im more excited for the vehicles then the mechs
Having the turret move, especially on things like the Shrek carrier it’s gonna help a lot with just painting them. Imagine trying to get to the upper body with the turret in the way.
I got the version with the art instead of this red chevron.
That Ost-whatever looks like the head is intended to resemble a dog. A Kell Hound, if you will.
The original Mercenary Handbook had no mechs, each of the books that covered merc units did.
When does the Kick Starter stuff ship? I’m STILL waiting for mine. It’s like they don’t give a crap about their backers. No communication whatsoever.
Roughly half has been shipped according to the updates and emails that I've been getting through Kickstarter and people posting pics of what they got. I haven't received mine yet so far but the second big lot of shipments is supposed to be starting in the next couple weeks. I do know that you get an address confirmation email a few days or so before your items ship.
Boxes are good and all, but are you planning to do the review for the Battlefield Assets and Support rules?
How does it play? How do tanks/turrets compare to mechs, not too toothless or fragile? What rules do the Elementals retain from the rules for battle armor in the Clan Invasion box? How does Inner Sphere Battle armor compare to Elementals? Are there any shenanigans possible with Foot infantry/Mechanized infantry? And finally, are these rules fun and easy to use?
I'm looking forward to hearing about this, but the people getting their boxes have not posted any rules reviews, which kinda makes me question if the rules are any good and if the box overall is worth the price.
That’s a good idea, I’ll set some time aside to familiarize myself with those rules and do an overview
In my opinion they are garbage. Not the stuff that it's the BMM, like the Battlefield Support deck, those are great, but the new asset rules completely ruin vehicles, BA, and Infantry.
So ive played a game with them, as well as having used standard record sheets for some vehicles and infantry and heres my thoughts.
Theyre good for quickly adding vehicles, turrets, infantry, etc to games of battletech, but severely lack depth. They're good for bigger games or to ease into combined arms, however if you've played Alpha Strike, they feel similar to that but with a hex map. I personally prefer the normal Total Warfare system to it. A greybeard in the geoup i play with likens them to being good for planetary militia that are more allied to your force than outright part of it.
How they play: They have a TMM similar to Alpha Strike where if they move they get that modifier flatly applied, the threshold value is how much damage needs to be applied to them inorder to do a destroy check. For which you roll 2d6 trying to get the number or above, and each time you fail the number decreases by one. If you succeed the unit is destroyed outright. You roll to hit more or less like normal however the weapons are consolidated into one profile.
Overall/tl;dr they are useful for pickup games and running combined arms in a bigger, and i mean a big classic game, but severly lack pretty much any depth. And i personally, unless my opponent wants to use the support system, will be sticking to classic record sheets.
@@kennetheisenbraun5217 oh that sounds great for new players
@kudosbudo honestly I think it's the intent. Could also see it as a supplement for a campaign where you have a "gm" running the opposing forces for the players.
The GOAT returns.
The BT Universe book i got with the KS is real nice
I see you got the Clan Direct Fire Star as well which mech in the set is your favorite mine is the Highlander IIC
@@brothersgt.grauwolff6716 I’m going to either review that next or cav star; I like doing the comparisons between the different mech variants
How many boxsets do they need to release before we have a reasonable amount of d6 to play with
The answer?
At least one more
They could have at least made them themed and color-coded between boxed or added like 8 in the first box
I'm glade I get to see what's in there I don't want to open mine
Did you buy a non special edition one to open?
No I just got the one you got .I have the clans one from last kickstarter still sealed
@@gyrfalcon-6 can I ask why don't you just open them and enjoy them?
My Backerkit says Mercenaries Box Set Exclusive. I can't rember what I ordered! Did I fugg this up and notget the Kevlar box,...carbon fibre? Help? Haven't gotten any emails, for shipping, but They sure as Hell took My Cash.
I believe if you got the exclusive version, that’s the version I reviewed
the starslayer was in the the old big mac merceneries book, that might be the reason i guess
Looks nice, to bad I can't stomach giving CGL a single dime anymore.
It’s hard for me to do the mental gymnastics anymore
I backed this kickstarter, and I’ll continue getting CGL stuff from my FLGS to support them, not CGL. They aren’t getting any more money from me directly though
What’s wrong with CGL? Sorry don’t keep up on things
What do I have to do to get the Quickdraw...? I still cant get my stuff.
Hold fast
You could always buy an IWM model from Aries games and miniatures
I gotta stop watching this stuff. It just makes me anxious that I haven't gotten mine yet.
Still no word on when I will get my Kickstarter delivered... which is also my last time supporting the dumpster fire that is CGL... any mechs I feel the need for going forward are either going to come from Fortress Minis (since they are only about an hour away, I get stuff pretty quick!) or with 3D printer going BRRRRRRRRRR.
What box has the quad mech?
There are 2; the security lance with that scorpion and the assault lance with the Goliath
I hate the new Asset rules. Who put Alpha Strike in my Classic Battletech? Just go play Alpha Strike or Destiny.
Catalyst has really been pushing for Alpha Strike, especially for tournaments, because it generally requires you to play with more miniatures. More minis means people have to buy more stuff.
@DarthJester I love Alpha Strike too, but Classic is the ruleset that has stood the test of time. Alpha Strike is great for pick up games, tourneys, and big games. Classic is for the more crunchy and simulationist games.
Look at it this way, you can introduce newer players to the concept of vehicles without bringing out all the vehicle rules. Ease em into the Vees to garner interest.
@@Kingofdragons117 Why would teach players rules that they won't use later?
@Kingofdragons117 Perfect practice makes perfect. The mech half sheets make sense since you will still use the exact rules later on when you add heat and criticals. These rules do not make sense. I have to tell them to forget like half the rules they learned to play Classic and/or Alpha Strike. They could have just made the core rules better. I don't blame devs anymore, honestly. I think it was a C-Suite decision to put more Alpha Strike in things. It's lazy design that does not integrate with previous rules and design mentality.
I really don't like the new Flea, it's just the MW4 desigh with worse proportions. Tiny torso, fat legs.
@@Stormeris it is very leggy
Proxy it as a raptor?
@@Kingofdragons117 would rather just use the Raptor mini then.