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The wife and I were looking at the 2-player starter box for Dropzone. It seems incredibly value rich, with full rules and two "starter" armies for about $75 online. Awesome.

But what I am wondering is how well those initial armies would convey how the proper game feels. X-wing, for example, is an absolute joke if played solely as the contents of one starter, and imo does a poor job of even remotely conveying how the game actually feels at 100pts. On the other hand I think Warmachine/Hordes battle-boxes do a really good job of showing you how a full game will feel, simply with the understanding that more units and larger game size means more of that kind of experience.

We're happy to quickly expand forces, but are just really hoping that one purchase will be enough to give us an idea of whether it is a game for us, or not.

Are there any other "essential" purchases for DZC? I see card decks, etc?

Edit: Oh man! I totally missed one of my main questions! Is there any way to get a digital copy of the rule-book? As a disabled gamer, flipping through big books is always unwieldy for me, especially when learning a game. As such, digital editions usually make my life a ton easier.

The two player starter is a pretty good introduction to most of the mechanics. Commanders and command cards are more orientated for larger games. Otherwise, everything introduces itself rather neatly.

Sadly, at this time there is no ebook version of the main rules, although they are planning on releasing an app with all the rules some time in the future.

Essential purchases will be command cards(make sure you get the updated 1.1 deck) and a commander of your choice. Otherwise, exotic infantry is a good bet.

For a good 1500pt army you need to spend ~$150-200.
Cheaper if you go with the 2 player starter.

Check this link:
http://gamerati.com/building-a-dzc-army-on-a-budget/

It is very good for starting out.

NewTruthNeomaxim wrote:
The wife and I were looking at the 2-player starter box for Dropzone. It seems incredibly value rich, with full rules and two "starter" armies for about $75 online. Awesome.

But what I am wondering is how well those initial armies would convey how the proper game feels. X-wing, for example, is an absolute joke if played solely as the contents of one starter, and imo does a poor job of even remotely conveying how the game actually feels at 100pts. On the other hand I think Warmachine/Hordes battle-boxes do a really good job of showing you how a full game will feel, simply with the understanding that more units and larger game size means more of that kind of experience.

We're happy to quickly expand forces, but are just really hoping that one purchase will be enough to give us an idea of whether it is a game for us, or not.

Are there any other "essential" purchases for DZC? I see card decks, etc?

Edit: Oh man! I totally missed one of my main questions! Is there any way to get a digital copy of the rule-book? As a disabled gamer, flipping through big books is always unwieldy for me, especially when learning a game. As such, digital editions usually make my life a ton easier.

My friend and I have played several games with just the starter set. The objectives and terrain make each one different and interesting. The X-wing starter set is not a good comparison, the WHMhordes on the other hand is.

If you like the initial armies, two starter sets of DZC are very good way to start out.

We almost decided to jump in with two of the two-player starter as it is obviously an amazing value. The problem is, she wants Scourge (no issue there), but I really don't want UCM and was thinking of going Resistance of PHR.

DZC has the ultimate starter in that once you've got it, you don't need to leave the house to play the game (assuming you have plastic glue and clippers).

As others have said, it's very reflective of the game and will give you an excellent foundation for starting to play.

Not to pimp my own thread, but check out the following for an outline of the game.

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/654108.page

EDIT - Scratch that. you already did

NewTruthNeomaxim wrote:
We almost decided to jump in with two of the two-player starter as it is obviously an amazing value. The problem is, she wants Scourge (no issue there), but I really don't want UCM and was thinking of going Resistance of PHR.

The plastics seem to sell fine on ebay. Just get the starter box and put the UCM up for sale, and use the money for a PHR starter. Resistance starter is still resin and pretty pricey, but the PHR plastic set is very nice.

Well, I warmed to the UCM a lot after seeing the ridiculous Drone Carrier thing, so we have decided to go with the starter.

We're actually buying two as everyone we have spoken to said it is such a cheap way to get staple units that we should just go for it, and get double the terrain, etc.

I have more questions, but i'll move them to the other thread. Thanks guys!

 FeindusMaximus wrote:
For a good 1500pt army you need to spend ~$150-200.
Cheaper if you go with the 2 player starter.

Check this link:
http://gamerati.com/building-a-dzc-army-on-a-budget/

It is very good for starting out.

Thanks for sharing that.

One of the best starters out there.

Yeah, DZC is a perfect starter in my view. It gives you a grounding in all the areas of warfare the game plays in, you get the concept of how they all work together.

I'd be almost tempted to say that, in some ways, the starter game is harder than the main game because, you have all the core elements but none of, or very limited, redundancy. So, if you do something very risky with, say, your infantry dropship, in your starter game, you're kinda stuck. Bigger game, the payoff is there.


I'd also say, the game scales brilliantly. - Possibly the best scaling / learning experience I've had in a game. If you're starting new, you can quite happily build up a layer at a time - and, unlike other games like fantasy or 40k, no units end up becoming redundant.

You could quite easily go:

Starter Set
Starter Set + Commander + Command Cards (and some scouts possibly to even out points against your opponent)
999 point Skirmish armies
1250 point Clash Armies
1500 point Tournament Armies.
This:

I played both starters with a new player and he learned the game quickly. Coming form 40K, he loved the game.