Classic BattleTech - What to actually buy?!

[@kellynine7438]

Battletech was my gateway drug to miniature wargames and high-complexity board gaming, but finding people to play with in college was difficult, and until this month I ihadn't played the tabletop game in 30 years. So happy to see the resurgence the game is seeing right now. And after years of 40k prices, being able to buy a full force for $25 is refreshing. As a side note, looking at the Beginner Box on the Catalyst website, the cover art is different now, but the contents appear to be the same. They may have updated the box art as part of the Mercenaries release push.

[@weslaydragons749]

Yep, it's the 40th anniversary art that coincides with Mercs.

[@frankbailey]

I'm new to the game and really appreciated this video! I picked up the 40th anniversary Beginner Box and the Alpha Strike box to try both out so I have plenty of minis but I want the full classic rules. People have recommended Total Warfare but after hearing your review, I'll start with the PDF of A Game of Armored Combat. Thanks again!

[@weslaydragons749]

Happy to help!

[@WolfHreda]

In my opinion, you need the AGoAC box. The Essentials and Beginner Boxes are nice add-ons, since they have different 'mechs the AGoAC doesn't (Rifleman, Centurion, and the Vindicator from the new BB). After that, once you've learned the game's basics and want to go further, get the Total Warfare book and start looking at Force Packs that speak to you. I'll be getting the Alpha Strike box soon so I have a few Clan 'mechs on hand, and because I want to learn AS anyway. Also, in reference to your calling it a Timber Wolf instead of a Mad Cat, there are very few Clan units that I will call by their Inner Sphere name over their Clan name. But the main one is the Cauldron-Born. So much cooler than Ebon Jaguar.

[@weslaydragons749]

Cauldron-Born sounds metal af.

[@WolfHreda]

@@weslaydragons749 it _is_ metal af.

[@palma3235]

@@WolfHredaIn my case quite literally, putting one together now

[@cyanidecologne9018]

We started playing local a lot even alpha strike over magic on fridays. Your videos were great to help some friends and new players get the ball rolling / knowing where to start, thank you

[@weslaydragons749]

That's so awesome to hear, thank you for letting me know!

[@scotthughes7208]

Thanks for spreading the word. 😉 Have been a fan of the classic for a very long time. I can still remember the 12 that nobody talks about.

[@brothersgt.grauwolff6716]

as someone who recently returned to Battletech after a 10 year hiatus I started with the two mech starter box (Griffin & Wolverine) and 2 force boxes 2 years ago I've found a good local group to play with and it's been good since

[@pelmen1294]

The absoloute only reason to get the starter set is the map and the mechs. The best way to start is agoac as it has 8 mechs two maps and the actual rules for battletech.

[@Kingofdragons117]

Game of Armored Combat is the best to start with imo for the price. Though of the 3 Beginner/essentials box, the Vindicator one is the best imo. If you are starting out, start with 2 mechs per side. Lance on Lance or 4 v 4 is a daunting task for any newer player. My intro games usual involve 2 Medium mechs per side. Yea the BattleMech Manual is more streamlined compared to Total Warfare. Get both, but get the BMM first before total warfare. When you are ready for combined arms with vehicles and the like, go for the Total Warfare book.

[@weslaydragons749]

Getting the Vindicator is a solid deal, but the 20$ coupon plus the interesting maps in Essentials is also a steal, especially with it on clearance.

[@user-PyR064]

a Raven 3L, Bushwacker P2, Marauder 2R, Shadowhawk 2D2

[@MalakianM2S]

I still have my 4 fasa boxes (Battletech, Reinforcements, Citytech and Aerotech, and the 3025 readout), but now that I'm falling in love again with the game and the universe after decades of not touching it at all, I'm really tempted with the new miniatures and rulesets.

[@weslaydragons749]

Best part is that a good chunk of it has hardly changed :) Alpha Strike is worth checking out if you want to get a ton of minis on the table at once.

[@MalakianM2S]

@@weslaydragons749 I'll talk with my brothers and a couple of friends, we may be in for a ride. We really played the lights out of Battletech in the late 80s early 90s, good times, we got even Macross late in the evening in the tv, Robotech in my country. Thanks for all the info in the video, really nice content.

[@MalakianM2S]

@@weslaydragons749 My reply to your post got deleted somehow. I'll talk with my brother and some friends, we may be in for a revival. We played the lights out of the game back in the late 80s and early 90s, we had even Macross late in the evening in tv (Robotech in my country), good times. Thanks for all the info and the video, good content.

[@crossmr]

screw target exclusives. Somehow a store located in the US gets a global exclusive like that that can't be sold anywhere else.

[@lorcannagle]

Thankfully the exclusive period seems to be coming to an end.

[@ReelSpider]

Classic BattleTech was the most complex tabletop of it's time. So many things to keep track of, so many tables and charts, so many rules to read. I always wanted to build a smart table to display a map and do all the math, charts, heat scale, all of it, for you.

[@timunderbakke8756]

A Game of Armored Combat should be your first purchase. The essentials and beginner boxes are solid for the new mech options. Clan Invasion box is good for those who want to expand to clans but not essential. Honestly AGoAC and the Beginner Box gets you going until you know more of what you actually want.

[@squizzlor]

Absolutely not Start with the primary rulebook, minis and Megamek these are the essentials! Ironwind metals is great, Ral Partha over sea

[@TheRealGrimmshade]

Somehow wasn't aware of the Target exclusive Essentials box. Thanks for the heads up. I've been trying to get a Battlemech Manual for a while now, but they are sold out everywhere.

[@weslaydragons749]

Any time!

[@ObiwanNekody]

Rulebook and some mapsheets are all you need for CBT. Othello pieces with stickers make excellent unit markers.

[@NegTharayas16]

Beginner boxes are good almost as a demo. After several games with QS rules, players are normally ready for the AGoAC rules. So either just foot in door or for younger players, or maybe time crunch situations where you still want to do classic. The lack of heat definitely means it favors energy mechs. If you consider that AGoAC is around $45, and Clan Invasion is $40, together they would be $85. If you can get Alphastrike box for $65 (pretty common) you get the same number of mechs with the same Clan/IS distribution, excluding the 2 "awkward" elemental points. But IS battle lance and IS command lance (forcepacks) are probably where the best vale is at ($3-4 per minature).

[@billable1861]

You sold me on the manual I was wondering where to behin

[@bwiggs13]

Great info! Ok so I have picked up AGOAC, essentials box, couple inner sphere force packs and BMM pdf. I want to play classic battletech with introtech inner sphere mechs. What other pdfs would you recommend to pick up for learning about each of the mechs I probably already have? TROs and rec guides are extremely confusing. Do I want Rec guide vol 1 classics? or succession wars TRO? Would succession wars record sheet pdf be helpful? thanks for any help!

[@weslaydragons749]

The successions wars TRO is a great spot to learn about all the mechs you are likely to have but not necessarily needed for gameplay- it's a fluff piece. The succession wars PDF sheets are an option but many players use either flechs or megamek to get their sheets (I'm a fan of flechs because they include hit tables and melee attack modifier). sheets.flechs.net/ megamek.org/

[@bwiggs13]

Thank you! I used a coupon code for Succession wars TRO and the record sheets.

[@kellynine7438]

@@bwiggs13 There's a website called Master Unit List that has a database of all the mechs and variants that have been published over the decades, which era they belong to, whether they rely on Introductory (introtech), Standard, Advanced, or Expirimental rules, and even which factions had access to them. The TRO is solid, but it doesn't have everything that's potentially available.

[@GoastLincoln]

AGoAC, then battletech manual or total warfare if you intend to learn vehicles.

[@weslaydragons749]

Vehicles and Infantry are such great additions, I'm hoping to do some future videos to help players break into using them. Combined arms adds a really fun layer.

[@TheRealGrimmshade]

​@@weslaydragons749Looking forward to that video!

[@HauntedCorpseGaming]

Good video.

[@weslaydragons749]

Thanks!

[@eelzap]

Good video but inquiring minds want to know... what's in the candy cab

[@weslaydragons749]

4 slot Neo Geo MVS. I usually keep it loaded with Mark of the Wolves, KOF 98, Metal Slug, and Baseball Stars 2.

[@crlewis6360]

I have original BattleTech, (AND a copy of BattleDroids the original name and rules for the first year it was out). Also tons of books from the next 20 or so years. All the real classic stuff. Made by Ral Partha and its adjuncts. Why do I need to upgrade to a whole new game? (and spend hundreds of dollars for the same rules). And hundreds of mech, vehicles, troops, and elementals (Back in the day when they cost about $2.5 and not the godawful prices set today).

[@weslaydragons749]

You can just keep using the old stuff? Very little has changed, and it's all free errata.

[@Tasarran]

I found myself wanting to see what was in each box, rather than hear a rundown

[@weslaydragons749]

I've had these for a while so the boxes don't have original contents any more. Some of them have maps, some of them are record sheet storage. There are plenty of box openings online :)

[@ReelSpider]

googling the closest target store...

[@ReelSpider]

not available in stores, did you order online?

[@weslaydragons749]

I got mine a while back.

[@TheLawlessReaper]

it might be overkill but I buy 2 of each box.

[@mcbhomis]

The Clans ruined the table top game. Made for great lore, but the game balance was never as good after the Clan tech was introduced. Too much power creep.

[@weslaydragons749]

You can always just plays Succession Wars era. I just finished up a pre-Helm campaign with a group of 8 and it was a blast.

[@Guru_Swami]

100% agree! Clans just took in a tough direction. Classic is just raw and gritty and that’s what hooked me on this games back in ‘89.

[@kryptonianguest1903]

These days, it's the Clans who struggle because their mechs just cost so much Battle Value.