Catalyst Game Labs Battletech Alpha Strike Box Set

For the newbies to Alpha Strike, and BattleTech, give me a moment while I talk to those who are already fans. This set has been recently priced reduced by 20%. If you haven’t bought it already, there’s no excuse now. Miniatures — The miniatures alone are worth the price of admission. You get 13 mechs (2 IS Lances, 1 Clan Star), 1 of which is unique and a few new variants from the Battle Packs. But it never hurts to have a spare Timberwolf or Locust. Buildings — The buildings are a smidge less thick than the Dropzone Commander card stock buildings, but better scale (DZ buildings are a bit too large). Use them carefully and they should last fairly well. Trees — The trees are thick chipboard, and should have no durability issues. I’ll probably still use Woodland Scenics trees, but if you don’t have terrain these work well. Counters — The movement counters are also thick chipboard, and that means you’ll need fewer dice cluttering the table to mark your mechs. Rule Reference card — Also made of thicker cardstock than prior box sets. Very durable. Rules — 39 pages. If you don’t have the hardback, this has pretty much everything you need for a base game that doesn’t include non-mech units. Primer — Short reference on the current major factions for newbies. Nothing fans won’t already know. Short story — Fun little piece of fiction to get you in the BattleTech mood. For newbies: Alpha Strike is a trimmed down skirmish version of the BattleTech miniatures game that allows for fast play at the cost of some tactical options. The original BattleTech has hit locations, weapon heat management, and some other tactical considerations that can slow down play a lot. Alpha Strike streamlines that to make a 4v4 mech game lasts under 2 hours once you know the rules. A large skirmish will probably last less than 4 hours. BattleTech, on the other hand probably doubles the play time unless you have very knowledgeable players… so for folks coming from other complex skirmish games like 40K, the play time is refreshingly quick once you learn the basics. Also, Catalyst won’t nerf your units every few years to sell new rule books or minis. While Alpha Strike is relatively new, “Classic” BattleTech is largely the same game for the last 40 years. Rules updates have only been made to fix broken stuff, not to sell new books. BattleTech and Alpha Strike are really growing due to very successful recent Kickstarters and the community is really chill. This set is a fantastic introduction… and as I noted, the miniatures alone are worth the price. Welcome to the BattleTech universe. You’ll like it here.

Battletech Alpha Strike is a streamlined tabletop miniatures version of Classic Battletech a game of giant mecha combat. It captures all of the feel of mobile mecha combat set in the Battletech universe. The miniatures are high quality resin, highly detailed, durable, and come unpainted. The game system is straight forward, quick moving, move-counter move. The game provides cards for the mechs included in the game with all of their combat capabilities for tracking damage etc. But unlike the Classic game significantly scaled down and so making the game move much much faster. The game is very popular and played by many clubs and at almost all sci fi, historical, and fantasy gaming conventions and game stores. Finally Alpha Strike has a huge amount of online support both by Catalyst Labs the game maker and the Gaming community. There is an easy to use online database where you can find and print out the data cards with the stats for almost all of the Mechs known in the Battletech Universe. The box set comes with everything you need to get started and to play a huge variety of missions.

I'm very happy with all the mechs that came in this pack. They are really high quality and have excellent details. The alpha strike rules were simple enough to learn and I'm ready to dive in and start playing. I think this is a great purchase for someons interested in getting started with playing alpha strike games with a good variety of interesting mechs.

Love BattleTech and wanted to give this new version a try. Super fun, easy way to introduce new players. Highly recommended for former or new players.

Perfect for new players. Looking to get their foot in the door for BattleTech. Alpha strike is its own sort of version of the game that emphasizes quicker play. You get a nice array of mechs to start with as well as punch out terrain. It's a good value for your dollar. If you're trying to get into BattleTech, can't recommend highly enough as a veteran of the game

BattleTech has been around for over 30 years. It is a game off large walking tanks, called 'BattleMechs'. The base game (Referred to as CBT or Classic Battle Tech) is very detailed. This makes it hard to do larger battles, and can intimidate new players. Alpha Strike is an updated set of rules geared to be more player friendly. This is the 'Getting Started' box. It comes with 23 very nice models and a set of beginning rules. If you like the game, you can expand the rules by purchasing the Commander's Edition rule book. There are a ton of other 'mechs you can purchase, so be careful! This can be a fun and addicting hobby!

This is a very simplified version of Battletech, the game of armored warfare. The normal BT rules has hit locations, individual weapon systems, etc. This version is very cut down and streamlined. However, it still gets you into the universe of Battletech and is much easier to learn. Plus, you get a nice selection of plastic models and terrain. I would recommend this set as a first step, and then eventually grow into the Battletech starter and then the larger box set. All are great value for the money and work with each other. The models you get from each box set work with either the Alpha Strike rules or the Battletech rules.

Amazing great price for what you get