New Battletech Intro Box (better plastic figs) and "Alpha Strike" book (Fast-play,Tabletop rules)

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**Eilif**

I was pretty happy to read about this.
http://bg.battletech.com/?p=4970

Many of you have noticed that the Introductory Box Set is hard to find and that’s because it’s currently out of stock.

While the previous printing of the box set was almost univerally lauded as one of the best introductions yet to BattleTech, it did have its issues. The main one, of course, was the quality of the 24 miniatures.

Even though we knew it would be several months without the game on store shelves again, we felt we simply couldn’t release a reprint using the same miniatures. As such, we’ve moved the entire reprint to a completely new company and we’ve generated all new sculpts based on the great, original Iron Wind Metals’ metal miniatures.

Attached are two of the first photos of pre-final miniatures. There will be some shrinkage (simply the case of working with plastics) from this look, but for those that own the current miniatures, you should notice a drastic increase in quality. As more photos become available down the line, I’ll provide some updates…specifically of comparison shots between the previous printings’ miniatures and these new ones.

While we were at it, we decided to trade out the Thor and the Loki for a little more iconic ‘Mechs. Again, these are photos direct from the factory of pre-final miniatures; once we’ve more photos, happy to pass them along.

Finally, since it’s not really the “25th anniversary” any more (can you believe we’re almost at 30?!), not to mention we feel the increase in the quality of the miniaturs is significant enough to warrant a differentiation from the previous printing, we felt it appropriate to throw on a cover and stock number…couldn’t resist getting another cover from the fantastic Alex Iglesias.

Price isn’t changing, we’re just tweaking up the quality…it’ll be available in the fall.

Randall

Pics of two masters of the basic-style plastic figs

The two special multipart plastic figs that will be included

Looks like good news for Mech fans. The plastic figs of the last boxed set were cheap but a real weak spot. Better sculpts and better casting could make this box really irresistable.

Also really good news since "Alpha Strike" (the quickstrike fast-play, tabletop battles rules in a standalone book) is being released soon, new players will have an easy way to pack the table with mechs for a game that allows many more units per side and plays at a fraction of the time of CBT.
http://bg.battletech.com/?p=4890

When we published Strategic Operations several years ago, a lot of people instantly fell in love with what is really a pretty small part of the book…the Quick-Strike Rules. And we immediately began getting questions of “when will you release a stand-alone rulebook of that?”

For those wondering what Quick-Strike is, the easiest answer is that it is the truest form yet published for being able to play BattleTech in a true “tabletop miniatures” style and speed, while still feeling like your playing BattleTech.

At the start of the year I had been thinking heavily about this, especially after years, at this point, of seeing plenty of people playing BattleTech in this manner at conventions. I then pitched the concept to Herb of a complete, stand-alone rulebook that would be the “table-top miniatures game” play of BattleTech. As it happened, great minds think alike and Herb had already been working an an epub release. I felt we shouldn’t only go half way on that and instead should embrace a full print book, full-color, hardback…the works (I know…shocking I wanted the kitchen sink in there…).

With that we got to work. The original outline, unfortunately, even for us, was way, way too much data as we wanted to cover every Era and even provide samples armies for all such Eras…the book might have been one of the biggest we’ve ever published…not to mention being crazy intimidating for other tabletop miniatures players that might want to give this a try.

So we immediately started trimming back, while still ensuring the book will provide a complete, full BattleTech experience that would have players coming back for more. This also allows for the creation of a series of great epubs to build upon the solid framework of Alpha Strike.

But wait…if they were called Quick-Srike why are we calling this Alpha Strike?! Well, to be honest, in hindsight the former is just too close to “Quick-Start” and we’ve gotten a fair bit of confusion along the way…hence a more unique name this time around.

We’re currently on track to have this at Gen Con with the book available to the public in September…or at least that’s the current plans…will see if it survives drop insertion….

In the meantime, this is the first of several blogs where I’ll discuss this great project…the drive flare of an incoming DropShip, announcing its coming…we’ll start getting into the bowels of what the ship carries in the coming weeks and months.

See ya there…

Randall

I've got a fair number of mechs from the 90's and I bought the last starter box on a whim. I love the BT universe (have every printed novel and most sourcebooks), but can't handle CBT rules, so these two are must-buy on my list. The ability to play Battletech on tabletop terrain with a larger force and a faster game is really appealing to me.

**judgedoug**

Quick-Strike / BattleForce are an incredibly amazing set of rules. I am so very glad that they are publishing them seperately. I would go a step further, however, and replace the main system with them. 12 on 12 mech battles in 2-3 hours is a fantastic selling point.

**Lansirill**

I had just missed out on picking up the last copy of the 25th Anniv box set that they had at The Warstore (I guess someone had bought the last one about 40 minutes before I submitted my order, go figure.) I am now very glad that it happened. I'm also glad I didn't pick up the Robotech stuff for proxies. Looking forward to this being released.

**judgedoug**

The "unseen" stats still exist in Battletech, just no figs, and the figs from 25 years ago are pretty crap compared to today's standards. Many of the Robotech mecha will fit perfectly when they are released.

**BrookM**

Can I swap out the gakky models from my 25th anniversary box for these new ones?

**warboss**

So is the intro box going to include the alpha strike rules?

**Ouze**

Huh. I had no idea the Introductory set was so hard to find - I just checked ebay and not a single copy on there, how is that even possible?

I bought one, opened it once, decided it was too complex to get my friends into and put it away. I should probably start a swap shop thread and see if some Dakkaroo wants it.

**warboss**

Ouze wrote:
Huh. I had no idea the Introductory set was so hard to find - I just checked ebay and not a single copy on there, how is that even possible?

HBMC bought them all.

**GBL**

Huh, that's a strangely atypical move from catalyst.

Last I checked they still had their heads buried in the sand, saying that the last box was perfect.

**Eilif**

warboss wrote:
So is the intro box going to include the alpha strike rules?

Nope.
If it's like the last one (and it probably will be since it's a reprint) the intro box will contain:
-24 unpainted, ready-to-play plastic BattleMech minis
-2 unpainted, premium-quality plastic BattleMech minis
-One 12-page full-color quick-start (not the same thing as QuickStrike/AlphStrike) rulebook
-36-page book of pre-generated BattleMech Record Sheets
-One 80-page full-color rulebook
-Inner Sphere at a Glance, a 56-page full-color book of universe background and BattleMech technical data
-One 16-page full-color Painting and Tactics Guide
-Two heavy-duty cards of compiled tables
-Two 18″ x 24″ game-board quality maps

It's basically the game with complete rules for the Succession wars era (pre 3050).

Alpha strike will be a separate rulebook with rules for Tabletop terrain and hexed play. I don't know what stat cards it will come with, but construction rules should be included, and there are several sites online -both official and unofficial- that have large, legal, libraries of stat cards.

If anyone is curious about how Alpha Strike plays, check the "Battleforce" Quick start rules and some Quick-strike (the old name for Alpha Srike) unit cards here:
http://bg.battletech.com/?page_id=27
The core rules (and stats for units) are the same, except Battleforce uses a hex and treats each unit as a squad, whereas Alpha Strike is primarily designed for tabletop play and treats each unit as one mech/vehicle/infantry unit.

**Manchu**

Ouze wrote:
I bought one, opened it once, decided it was too complex to get my friends into and put it away.

LOL same here. BT seems so cool but ... it also seems pretty inaccessible.

**warboss**

Eilif wrote:
warboss wrote:
So is the intro box going to include the alpha strike rules?

Nope. *snip*
Alpha strike will be a separate rulebook with rules for Tabletop terrain and hexed play. I don't know what stat cards it will come with, but construction rules should be included, and there are several sites online -both official and unofficial- that have large, legal, libraries of stat cards.

If anyone is curious about how Alpha Strike plays, check the "Battleforce" Quick start rules and some Quick-strike (the old name for Alpha Srike) unit cards here:
http://bg.battletech.com/?page_id=27
The core rules (and stats for units) are the same, except Battleforce uses a hex and treats each unit as a squad, whereas Alpha Strike is primarily designed for tabletop play and treats each unit as one mech/vehicle/infantry unit.

Thanks for the link. The cards do look like they are simplified significantly and combat the relatively steep learning curve and imposing sheet new players find when trying the game. Does quick start + quick strike just not "feel" battletechy enough that they're not including it in an upcoming intro? It would seem to me that you'd want the intro box to ease players into the game and then have them graduate up (if they want) to the complexity of the full game and stats.

**BrookM**

I've yet to play a game with it, it is quite daunting, or as the die-hard fans at my FLGS like to say, the perfect game to keep the idiots out.

**Ouze**

Manchu wrote:
Ouze wrote:
I bought one, opened it once, decided it was too complex to get my friends into and put it away.
LOL same here. BT seems so cool but ... it also seems pretty inaccessible.

If you want the same experience without all of the spreadsheets, I suggest you, and anyone else interested, try Megamek. It's akin to Vassal, and you can actually play it in single player (with bots) or in multiplayer over a lan or what have you.

I will say that, inaccessible rules aside, it can be a great time. One match, I attempted to run my Uziel on a frozen, icy map. I failed a series of checks (piloting, etc etc) and long story short my mech slipped on the ice, skidded into a lake, my cockpit cracked open, flooded, and my mechwarrior drowned. It was the most undignified death for a mechwarrior imaginable but my opponent/co-worker and I have been laughing about it for years.

if you want a Mechwarrior experience, you can try that too. Mechwarrior Online is free to play, fun, in open beta, and is the experience you remember from Mechwarrior 2/3/4 etc.

Sorry for the OT digression.

Better models for the new box should bake this very desirable - the 25th anniversary one has 2 nice multipart ones, and the others were made of that cheap PVC or vinyl that Last Night on Earth zombies are made of, very prone to distortion and cheap feeling.

**deleted20250424**

I've been playing BT for over 25 years. Have way too much stuff for it.

If you want to make it more accessible, remove heat and ammo.

Then you can run all day, fire all your guns, and games take half the time.

**judgedoug**

Manchu wrote:
Ouze wrote:
I bought one, opened it once, decided it was too complex to get my friends into and put it away.
LOL same here. BT seems so cool but ... it also seems pretty inaccessible.

We're playing Alphastrike when it comes out. Quickstrike/Battleforce is _awesome_. I got about a hundred mechs and plenty of 1/285 terrain (also useful for Robotech) ready to go!

Alternately we could also play sooner, since I own Strategic Operations.

**Platuan4th**

Ouze wrote:
Huh. I had no idea the Introductory set was so hard to find - I just checked ebay and not a single copy on there, how is that even possible?

I didn't either, I see them all the time.

Glad I decided to pass on buying this weekend if a new one's coming.

**Laughing Man**

While I'm very optimistic, the masters look like essentially the same sculpts from the old kit. I'll wait until we've seen what's coming out of the manufacturer rather than the original sculpt. The Timber Wolf is neat, although I kind of wish it looked more like the one on the cover of Alpha Strike...

**warboss**

IIRC I posted pretty much the same thing when the 25th anniversary boxed set came out as I had just tried getting into battletech unsuccessfully for the third time (and spaced out over a decade apart). I tried in the mid 90's, around 2003, and then when the anniversary boxed set came out (picked up the hardcover rules)... and I found them to be largely the same complicated set of rules that I tried in the 90's. I'm sure some things have changed but it wasn't noticeable to me personally despite being a wargaming veteran (read: old!). The alpha strike rules plus quick strike seem like the first real big change that they've done in a while (at least from the outside looking in) and I don't know why they wouldn't want new players playing the simple version first so as not to scare them off too soon.

**Andrew1975**

Who designs their miniatures. He needs to be taken out back and put down. They are just so bad. Seriously the minis I have from about 20 years ago look better than these.

**judgedoug**

Andrew1975 wrote:
Who designs their miniatures. He needs to be taken out back and put down. They are just so bad. Seriously the minis I have from about 20 years ago look better than these.

I agree. They should run a KS to hire a sculptor to resculpt the mechs and base them off the MechWarrior Online designs by Alex Iglesias. I'd pledge for that.

**His Master's Voice**

Andrew1975 wrote:
Who designs their miniatures. He needs to be taken out back and put down. They are just so bad. Seriously the minis I have from about 20 years ago look better than these.

Yeah, those are pretty bad. Just get the MWO designs and go from there.

**H.B.M.C.**

warboss wrote:
HBMC bought them all.

Lies and slander!!!

*removes glove and uses it to slap Warboss*

I demand satisfaction!

In all seriousness though, I only ever bought one Intro box. Friend of mine bought three (I think). I had always thought about getting another one, but with the plastic models in there (which are fine, but pretty tacky) I decided against it. With these updated minis though, and a plastic Mad Cat? Yeah, I can see myself getting it.

**Manchu**

judgedoug wrote:
Alternately we could also play sooner, since I own Strategic Operations.

Cheers. I believe I have it as well just never looked to deeply into it.

**Eilif**

warboss wrote:
Thanks for the link. The cards do look like they are simplified significantly and combat the relatively steep learning curve and imposing sheet new players find when trying the game. Does quick start + quick strike just not "feel" battletechy enough that they're not including it in an upcoming intro? It would seem to me that you'd want the intro box to ease players into the game and then have them graduate up (if they want) to the complexity of the full game and stats.

The game set comes with simplified version of the BT game designed to ease folks into the included ruleset which is itself a more streamlined version of the Main game that can be found in the "Total Warfare" book.

I think they do this to try and get folks to play CBT which has alot more potential for selling them books. Alpha strike doesn't require nearly as many books.

Manchu wrote:
judgedoug wrote:
Alternately we could also play sooner, since I own Strategic Operations.
Cheers. I believe I have it as well just never looked to deeply into it.

I bought the PDF of StratOps to do just this, but having to shuffle back and forth between BF and QS sections was too much hassle. Even as a much more streamlined rulset, there's no way I could sell that mess to my gaming club. On the other hand, I've mentioned the Alpha Strike bookto a few of them as a possible game to play with our rebased mechwarrior figures and even one of they guys who things the BT universe is silly is interested now!

**Vertrucio**

Ugh, would it kill them to modernize the look of some of these mechs? I don't want to buy it just because they look terrible. Nostalgia only carries you so far.

**warboss**

H.B.M.C. wrote:
warboss wrote:
HBMC bought them all.

Lies and slander!!!

*removes glove and uses it to slap Warboss*

I demand satisfaction!

In all seriousness though, I only ever bought one Intro box. Friend of mine bought three (I think). .

I thought I remembered you posting pics of an unboxing of the anniversary edition so figured you scooped up the worldwide supply as well.

You'll unfortunately have to wait until at least December for satisfaction as I should be getting my stash of unseen around that time. In case the robotech rules turn out to be a stinker, I wouldn't mind having an alternate use for those destroids hence my interest in alpha strike and it's decidedly not battletechy stat cards.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Eilif wrote:

The game set comes with simplified version of the BT game designed to ease folks into the included ruleset which is itself a more streamlined version of the Main game that can be found in the "Total Warfare" book.

I think they do this to try and get folks to play CBT which has alot more potential for selling them books. Alpha strike doesn't require nearly as many books.

True... but if the game's complexity turns a portion of the new players off to the game they're not buying any books at all. Maybe I'm extending my personal experience too much but I've always had an interest in the game since getting into the minis (and had the first couple of games on 3 1/2 floppy for my old dos pc) but the rules they do give you have always turned me off. From reading the thread, it doesn't appear that I'm the only one that was turned off by stat sheets with more circles than an old FORTRAN punchcard.

**Andrew1975**

The problem with the rules were that they were all over the place, you had to dig through the book to find them. Once you got the hang of it though its a great game with lots of strategy. That being said the rules are showing their age, could really do with a rewrite. But please don't make it for kiddies, that is what 40k has turned into, its so dumbed down now, it you can't add maybe you should be doing more homework and less gaming.

**H.B.M.C.**

Wasn’t the whole point of Total Warfare to remove that back and forth? I mean it’s everything you need for standard games in a single book. The rest is optional – even the ‘Mech construction rules – and thus they get separate books.

**Mad4Minis**

New mechs, better mechs, quick play rules...im in. Ive got the basic and anniversary sets already too.