Battletech: Alpha Strike, Where Should You Start? 

I don’t think they have free copies of the rules for Alpha Strike up for free as far as I know and I definitely won’t promote or condone piracy. I don’t know about CBtech rules offerings. As an avid gamer, painter, and TO, while you ‘can’ play with standees the miniatures are far more immersive and more affordable than ever right now compared to other games.

@The Armed Painter I don't condone piracy either. I actually support local stores before buying online. you could find the rules from several sources, even watching the game-play vids will get you close. I've supported this game since it's initial release. while I have a collection of mini's for the game, I like to let new gamers know that the mini's aren't required.

Back in the high school days when the local game store didn't have any Battletech stuff and internet shopping didn't really exist yet, the only way was to download rulebooks and maps on IRC. Maps were printed black and white and watercolored over, and 'mechs were cardboard standees 😆

@@bruced648 ​ not required but definitely encouraged and they are required for most events. Also, saying you can find the rules from “several sources” implies digging to find them without paying, which is piracy. Watching a YT video to get the gist is fine but that’s not going to cover all of the rules. Yes you can purchase the rules from a variety of sources but that’s not the same as simply finding them online for free. Finally, while I appreciate the interaction on my video here if you continue to dive into the channel your going to see a heavy focus on the hobby, miniatures, and painting. Because of this focus I am going to be working to encourage the procurement of miniatures, painting said miniatures and playing with miniatures. It’s what I focus on and it’s also something shops sell that keep them in business. Just want to be clear about what my channel focuses on. You can print minis for various games and print cards for MTG, you don’t have to spend money on anything really if you don’t want to. But this video is about informing the audience about minis products, hobby activities and miniature war gaming that pulls them all together.

@The Armed Painter I appreciate your content. as a mini collector and Painter, I have a substantial collection of many genre's. I am always looking for advice, tips and pointers to improve my abilities. as for battletech, I prefer mini's to paper proxy. since I don't 3D print, I visit the game store regularly... keep adding to my mountain of shame.

I have a link to his shop in the description ;)

Almost worth buying a second box at that price

@@Matthew-jn1tg I think that’s going to be a common sentiment ;)

Fortress also spams pop-ups asking you to let them give you notifications which is a no-go for me personally, was very shit user experience.

do they ship?

Good to have, not required. I use tokens to remind me if I have jumped or was stationary (or sprinted) which means any color dice will do. Fortress has some dice bricks with the color break downs that are good but I don’t always use the method the book mentions. It’s more a set of guidelines really on that one, probably more common to have CBt players more concerned about the dice colors rather than AS players. Also worth mentioning the odds on AS of your whole force having jump jets or your whole force sprinting in the same turn is pretty low. So you’d probably get by with even less of the dice that correspond with those colors. If anything I run out of my standard move dice the most because I usually run 12 or more models and the dice cube from Fortress only has 9 of that color.

No problem! Happy to help and awesome to hear you’re coming back to BT! If you haven’t already you may be able to late pledge for their recent Kickstarter, loads of new plastic minis are coming.

I'll look into it. Thanks!

I’m into completion lol! I got two of the neoprene Circle of Equals ones…had to have the full map :p

I’m gonna try to keep stuff coming as I can. I’ve got some battle reports lined up to film here soon and some other ideas for intro to AS style stuff to help new players get into the game :)

Great wife!!!

The answer to the "what to buy is" "what looks cool to you?" No major rules on that front, you can buy and field pretty much anything :)

Most of which is stuff that will get unused and thus makes the new box an even better value. I’ve got unboxing videos up for all of them. For Classic players they are likely printing their own sheets anyway so outside of the maps the record sheets in the box aren’t a huge value. For a new player getting into classic sure, but in this case I place most of the value in the boxes on the minis. Raw content wise the AS box comes with as much extra stuff considering the card stock buildings and extra cards, ends up really being a wash when compared to the others in terms of assigning value for the “extra” stuff since the AS box comes with its own trove of goodies.

I mean, I do try lol! My channel is small though :P

No problem! I'd be happy to tackle answering this question for you. First and foremost, nothing wrong with CBT and I like various aspects of it but there are some critical difference between the two systems that often sway someone into which system they prefer or which one they make time to play. First off, CBT (imo) is more akin to DND or a combat simulation rather than a traditional wargame like Warhammer 40k. It's really crunchy and takes a lot of time investment to play, even if you know the rules, its not a fast game. If you enjoy getting down to the minute details its a great game. I enjoy some aspects of it when I get to play but what I don't enjoy is the inability to field vast amounts of units efficiently. When I play CBT I prefer to control a single mech that represents 'me' while my friends pilot lance/star mechs along side or against me, kind of like a narrative or an RPG. That is where it shines for me. Hex maps. Some people love the, some people hate them. I don't mind them but I prefer the 3D aspect of AS because it feels more immersive at face value. Sure, you can also try to convert CBT over to hexless but I feel like it really shines with that style of gameplay. There are some terrain options for the hex maps but in general even those lose some of the visual appeal for me and if you play on a purely flat map I find it very difficult to visualize elevations, density of woods etc etc. Those are things that in a physical 3D setup are much easier to discern. Large forces in a short period of time. I typically play 250-350pt games of AS and we use the modified dice roll mechanic (makes the game more fun imo and most people I know play this way). You can field 12-20 miniatures and still play a game in a couple of hours. If you dropped a reinforced company of North Wind Highlanders (16 mechs) in cbt, you'd be hard pressed to play a full game in 2 hours. Not that some CBT players couldn't do that, I'm sure many vets can, but the average person I feel can't and that is where AS shines. So, to reduce the above ramble down to a few easier to digest points. -If I want a game that focuses on low model count or the individual (me as a mechwarrior) I find CBT to be more rewarding, rich, and fun. It helps forge a more individual or team oriented narrative imo. -If I want to enjoy a large scale battle with a variety of units on a fully 3D table, AS all the way. The stories this helps bring to life for me are the larger battles, on bigger maps, with lots of material in play. There are many factors that go into both of those statements but it boils down to that really, what type of gameplay am I feeling in the moment. Generally that ends up being AS because I know the rules and the few friends I have who play also do, I can't say the same for CBT (I, nor most of them, know the rules) and we typically like to field a good number of figures. That said, I am open to learning and doing more CBT but you might not see much on the channel due to me not knowing the rules, not having anyone to film with who can walk me through, and ultimately the time investment to actually film a game would be pretty high. I am hoping to get a MegaMek campaign off the group with a buddy though which might be a good compromise for getting some CBT style content on the channel. Great question! I hope I answered it well :) Addon: As an artist I also like to paint groups of minis, for BT that typically ends up being a company or trinary at a time, this lends itself well to AS volumes and is also an additional motivating factor for painting/playing.

@@Thearmedpainter wow, thanks for the extensive response! I don’t mind the flat hexmaps, but yeah, the elevations can trip me up if I’m not paying close attention. I’ve never used more than two mechs to play CBT and the mode I’ve played the most of is a six-player free-for-all, one mech each. It’s chaotic but fun. I struggle to see playing CBT beyond 4 mechs in a 2-player game and even that seems like it might be too much for a noob like me. I’m currently painting up some Davion units… I’ll do four or eight and then do some mercs or Clan Wolf. Would you mix color schemes within a single faction? Like 4 blue mechs and 4 green? I know factions have parade colors and field colors. I’ve started out doing Davion parade mechs, but I prefer more “camo” paint schemes, so I wouldn’t mind switching after the first lance is done.

Also: I wanted to buy your buildings at Adepticon but I was worried about going over the weight limit with my suitcase on the plane. I’ll be sure to get them from the DRD webstore soon. 😁

Great feedback. Thanks for the question and answer

Welcome aboard! My job is complete! I've helped someone get into BT :)

@@Thearmedpainter yeah dude. Hoping for your channel's growth this year to coincide with Alpha Strike's increasing popularity! We have twice a week meetups already in our neighborhood store, and recently had our first AS tourney!

awesome. I played Battletech in the late 80's early 90's when the minis where metal. Had a long obsession with 40K after that and finally got so frustrated with GW that I have ordered the Alpha strike box and a Com star command 2 mini box. I think Im going to get the game of armored combat box after I get the first round painted up. Im imagining eventually playing an RPG mix with lance level battles using the classic system and switching to Alpha strike for bigger battles. Just having Alpha strike is such a game changer. I think I can actually get some people to play that one with me. So glad us 40k refugees have such a cool place to land. Now I need to either sell 3 armies or put them on a display shelf to reminisce on the time that game workshop grifted me and nerfed every army I ever built right after I spent all the money and time to get them built up and painted. the shame is real! have fun m8

I paid the $30 pledge for that and got a copy of the Beginner Box as well, heck of a deal!

I owned every book in there. As a new player, that deal is so worth every penny.

I can do that! There’s some really nice armor options out there too.

The extra munitions and such are all optional, you can use as many or as few of the rules as you like in your games. In general special ammunition, pilot abilities, and formations are skipped for a more balanced game. Those are great for a more narrative game experience. In my experience running games and playing in games restricting those elements has not been a big issue and this will be year 3 of my running the AS tournament at NOVA Open, almost sold out already! No issues raised with players in regards to restrictions. Southern Assault also has the same restrictions, no issues. It really comes down to what you and your opponent want to get out of the game. The big differences imo are speed and number of units. AS is faster relative to the number of units you can field where as CBT is more crunchy and slow but the granularity can be immersive in its own right. If you're going for larger battles at a faster pace, AS. If you want something a bit more simulation in style, CBT. This other major difference for me is the 3D aspect of AS, I prefer that to CBT. I do enjoy some aspects of CBT but the abstract flat maps/terrain is not for me. I prefer 3d elements with my 3d minis, fortunately, much like with AS and playing with the rules you want, there is a section in the CBT rules for how to play with 3d elements instead of a map. All comes down to what you and your opponent will find fun :)

Its a great box! :)

I think Randall had a an example for 2x swappable dorsal guns for a Marauder from a box set in one of the newer Catalyst Game Labs YT videos

110% yes :) both boxes come with Alpha Strike cards too.

@@Thearmedpainter I just bought my bro and I alpha strike lol, thanks for the info, I’m excited.

The Locust is in both the Alpha Strike box and the Armored Combat box. It is the only mini that is shared between the two boxes. Armored Combat has a Locust, Commando, Shadowhawk, Wolverine, Catapult, Thunderbolt, Awesome, and Battlemaster. Alpha Strike has, for Inner Sphere mechs, the Locust, Wasp, Blackjack, Phoenix Hawk, Warhammer, Archer, Wraith, and Atlas.

@@QwertyCaesar Oh I know. I am just trying to get about 10 of the new sculpt from the AS box. I have an AS list I am building for meme-worthyness

@@mattcarper9853 they should just release a Locust box like the Urbanmech box

😪

Not even close. Approaching Classic after having played Alpha Strike sets players up with a better foundation to approach the combat system before adding on all of the extra layers of depth. (Gunnery Skill, TMM, ranges etc. The watered down system from AS is a good intro to the concepts that Classic presents in more complexity). Classic almost requires you to have a friend who already knows how to play to walk you through all of the ins and outs, Alpha Strike by comparison is extremely easy to pick up and appeals to wargamers who are familiar with games other than classic. I'm no slouch to wargaming, if you watch any of my classic videos you'll see what I'm talking about. It's not the easiest game to approach as a new player. The best experiences I've had with Classic have been with people who already know how to play. There is nothing wrong with Classic, I like it, but I think a lot of veteran CBT players forget how complex the game is and how long they have been playing. At this point I've played quite a few games of Classic and still couldn't manage playing it with another person who doesn't know the rules (again, see some of my videos where we get the rules wrong constantly). Alpha Strike however, being the simpler of the two systems, was something I basically had down after one or two sessions.

Yeah it was a bit tongue in cheek. AS just doesn't scratch the itch I'm going for when playing BT. And to "um akshuly" you. A veteran player is not required. The first thing I picked up was the BMM in December and self taught. I'll admit it's beefy, but by no means insurmountable. (28, male, full time employed w/OT, about 14 years experience via Warhammer and Warmachine. I'm not unbelievably exceptional)

The buildings are better than nothing, not bad if someone doesn’t have other options. A place holder until they can pick up more sturdier options should they want to upgrade. As this is tailored for new AS players (imo) those of us who picked up Force Packs may not be the primary target. It may be easier to just snag the unique mech on the secondary market for those who don’t want the duplicates. As this video is meant to help new players who are looking to get into the game I don’t think the duplicates are a major issue as they may not have force packs already :)