Learning Battletech TCG

[@franciscoguerra5439]

This is my favourite CCG of all time. It took the building blocks of Magic and added whole new layers of strategy to it. I still have a huge collection with thousands of cards, and play it regularly.

[@Utubesuxmycock]

yeah remember that time i rolled in with my dasher d fire moth overheated played satchel charges discarded 3 and rampaged rolling a 6 and then revealed my effective groundwork and decked you for like..36 remember ? that was a good day hahaha

[@nicolasbriozzo9861]

Hey @francisco, i'm currently playing in TTS (so i have access to all the cards) and i'm looking to tune several decks-precons on which i can teach the game to people (with each deck having some unique identity, cards and flavor). Do you have any deck lists or know where i can get suggestions for that?

[@ryanh7844]

I just got back into it and bought a ton of cards through various websites. There is also an active community on Facebook.

[@MrKikke2]

Any favorite decklist to play on TTS? This game looks awesome

[@jeremykwan8794]

it so good seeing battletech getting played.

[@deltazeta5506]

i wish it was easy to get into financially

[@CigarChompinSarge]

Here I am watching this 2 years later and blown away. I cannot believe how thematically deep and interesting this game is. Makes me so sad it's totally OOP now. This could be an amazing game to revive!

[@teamcovenant]

Yeah, this was a special one.

[@PhotriusPyrelus]

Someone put all the cards into Tabletop Simulator. It's kind of a pain in the butt, but it's at least somewhat playable.

[@brence1984]

I’d love to see this come back one day. Not just cause of the Battletech lore but also due to great mechanics. Loving the nostalgia on this. Also would love to see “Hexatomb” from wizards, game never took of but cool in ways.

[@DanielRedMoon]

Another super interesting game! I'm always surprised and sad to learn something so dead but so my "type"!! I wonder how much you can streamline it.. with starting resources? Separating resource-cards (and "buying them") from everything else (Mechs, traps and such)? And something to make attacking Resources and "Cards being built" in the back late-game.. Although, as we saw in game 2, a stalemate just *obligates* the player that has less cards in his deck to be aggressive. So it ramps-up towards that last confrontation! I'm even more impressed by the fact that they had a great base system.. yet they even went ahead and make stuff like "Mercenaries" or "Static". Even @ 1:30:00! An attacker that doesn't reach its destination, doesn't know what they are attacking if they are only throwing missiles from a distance? That's actually pretty clever!! Definitely worth reviving and. Might never play it myself (here in the middle of nowhere), but it's one of those games where you feel inclined to just own a bit of it because of how great it is. EDIT: @3:02:25 WAIT! Christopher Moeller did art for BattleTech!? He's my favorite MtG artist ..and now I HAVE to get some of these cards!

[@NinjaSushi2]

I bought a Battletech deck years and years ago; must have been in the late 90s. Never did find another person with one.

[@goiabo]

The laugh at 19:03 made my day. 😆 It brought back memories of playing with my brothers.

[@ws1982]

I’m a big battletech fan but I’d love to see this system come out as a command and conquer based card game. Start with a factory and build up the base then men and vehicles. It would be great, defend the base or attack the enemy etc. Could have static defences like towers that can’t go and attack the enemy base but are stronger in defence. So much potential.

[@thekittenfreakify]

That sounds freaking awesome.

[@Utubesuxmycock]

that would be the greatest game ever and not a ccg just a boxed game...fantasy flight style too bad this is a pipe dream

[@WayOfHaQodesh]

Would be so cool to see a card game attempt the build a base model.

[@desktopstu4145]

I went in the loft today and found an old box thats stacked full of battletech cards. Countless numbers of them, hundreds! I remember playing this in the 1990s and being a big fan, my favourite decks being Kurita and Davion. I wouldnt play clan (though i can see I have enough cards for multiple clan decks) but for the life of me I couldnt remember how to play now that I found them. Im in my 50s now and my son is interested in playing so thanks for this video, even if it is 4 years old, for reminding me how to play.

[@joesolo1836]

90s CCGs were so good, so much innovation!! they were just all over the place with mechanics. and it worked, sometimes. no one was afraid to do something crazy. nowadays, we see so many that are so close to Magic, it just gets boring. we need some of these games brought back, even if only the mechanics and a reskinned theme. so many of them would probably do great being released now. just add this TCG to my list of games I'll be purchasing. "Assign damage. resolve damage. there is no interrupt." aka Steven loves lack of burn!! 🤣 Now we have Rodney and Watch it Played or Steven, Zach, and Team Covenant to teach us how to play games!!

[@robertroy7818]

The Battletech CCG was a huge part of what gate me into the universe as a kid! The art was so rad and the quotes were fantastic. So glad to seeing it played.

[@phillosmaster393]

Agreed if they figure a way to push this into the Unique game format I would be all over it.

[@AndyVandercoy]

I still have a lot of these cards. My buddy and I played in the lunch room on those tables that were probably not the cleanest. We actively played this, Star Wars and MTG but in some ways really fell in love with this a lot. We spent many sleep overs playing BT, drawing roller coasters, mechs and comics (not to forget watching MTV Weird Al videos and playing pogs). Freaking great times. Reminds me to reach out to him one of these days. Thanks for the memories! Btw maybe we shall see some pogs action lol I'll send you my whole set and battle arena to play on that I snuck away from a family garage sale purge many years ago...sadly my TMNT mostly all went that summer

[@teamcovenant]

This is a terrifyingly similar childhood! A few of us here at Covenant have seen BT live.

[@AndyVandercoy]

@@teamcovenant wow that's really awesome. haha and probably similar childhoods. All that I feel was feed through the pop culture 80s and 90s infectious magazines and nerd culture and TV sending an IV with unregulated creativity. My older brother with his 1981 TSR dnd books, I loved that but board and card games just did it a bit more for me. Also those early bbs further fueling insider tips and tricks just nothing like these old games. However, F&B and L5R has me excited again which I kinda love and kinda hate for my pocketbook but at least I don't have to skip lunch for money to pay for boosters. Random side note As a therapist I reach so many kids with card games and VR it's unbelievable the progress we make with "these things will rot your brain" take that Dad lol

[@starbuster0121]

Thanks guys was nice to see this game again.

[@bobbobbinson1841]

Fell asleep after the 50th shuffle.......... woke up at the 100th shuffle. finally game time!

[@jordann4128]

I would love to see more content on this game! So cool! I just found a bunch of old cards I have for this game!

[@TheKarebarez]

Watching the throwback Thursday stuff, got me thinking of trying games I first missed out on. Looked on eBay for Doomtrooper, wow at those prices.

[@a.d.samano7873]

I miss playing this. Even have 8 decks already.

[@RenegadeHPG]

Thanks for this video guys! I just picked the Battletech CCG back up this year after a two plus decade break and am loving it. So much so that I produced a two part podcast talking in depth about the game, everything from history, design, legacy, gameplay, deckbuilding, to meta analysis. We also talked about the best ways to connect with the community to play online, no purchasing necessary. Check it out here if any of you are interested in diving into this awesome game again, kzbin.info/www/bejne/hWetlIKBbbKjq7s

[@cberg2731]

Legends of the 5 Rings was a great game and stayed around for a bit.

[@maximilianhernandez8507]

Battletech deserves so much love.

[@biggtoe90]

My older brother taught me this game in the late 90's-ish. He wrecked me every time but through trial and error, I actually developed a pretty good deck based around Clan Ghost Bear. I still have the cards somewhere. I'm glad my brother got me into it. I still like the books to this day

[@teamcovenant]

It’s a really cool universe.

[@pauljosephpadua2654]

LOVE THE CONTENT GUYS! Sending good vibes from The Philippines.

[@Bdakkon]

I am sad I missed this live. I LOVED Battletech growing up an collected the cards whenever I could but never got a chance to play vs anyone due to my location. I have recently rediscovered my old cards an have been messing around on TTS rediscovering the game. You guys should do another Battletech stream but with your own built themed decks for round 2 :) (I E Each of you build a deck without looking up any tournament winners) I'd love to see what you two come up with :) (and I just want an excuse for more Battletech CCG)

[@successfulgeek]

I thought this game had great mechanics. Probably my second favorite TCG. My favorite TCG that I know can never come back was the World of Warcraft TCG. Partly because I met my wife playing it, but also because I honestly believe that for me, WoW TCG had the most fun mechanics of any TCG.

[@teamcovenant]

Really loved that one as well, mechanically. So much gold literally being left on the ground in favor of new systems.

[@boryssobieski7096]

You guys doing a great job. This game is fantastic. For me numero uno in tcg games. I really hope it will come back some day maybe in lcg format.

[@kuanhengchoo567]

at 46:00, Spider cannot attack Hussar because they are of the same speed. The attacking Mech has to be faster than the target Mech, so the Spider can only attack Moderate or Slow Mechs.

[@a.d.samano7873]

And the Hussar is now part of Comstar.

[@MrKikke2]

I loved this game!!

[@teamcovenant]

It's a favorite around here too!

[@deckofsomethings5320]

These "Throwback Thursdays" are great, it is a lot of fun to see all of these other games! Zach I think your analysis of the industry is an accurate one. I can not count on 2 hands the number of card games I have played and have faded over the years. Some were from what you were saying, collateral damage of the times. One game comes to mind that must have been the designers fault, Full metal alchemist, played like Destiny but had an infinite action combo. First player to pull it off won, no way to stop it, designer respose...working as intended...??? Seriously.

[@teamcovenant]

Well that's just silly...

[@jamesknowles9236]

This game is in my all time top 3 ccgs, along with 7th sea and doomtown.

[@DanSchuhrke]

I still have a ton of both battletech and 7th sea! Both are better games than magic imo

[@ws1982]

Great video. I just ordered 2 battletech decks. I love the battletech board game so the card game should be my cup of tea. Thanks for the content.

[@rallllphy]

This game looks awesome. Id love to see Shadowrun CCG

[@joshshin6819]

this is one of the games i played that was a ton of fun but it just never grew in my area. it was a ton of fun though

[@r2bd2]

Have you guys ever played Vampire: The Eternal Struggle? (set in the Vampire: the Masquerade setting) It is designed to be multiplayer (more than 2 players) and was also designed by Richard Garfield.

[@jeremykwan8794]

it such a good game. I've just re-sleeved my VTES starter decks the other day.

[@teamcovenant]

Yeah! We're considering playing it on stream but it really needs more than two players.

[@brett55512]

I have probably over 1000 cards and never fully understood how to play this game, till now! Ki da, lol. Thank you! The rule about a defending mech can block any speed felt broken and was never fully sure about that rule, and it blocks every mech in a group....If I remember correctly. Lastly, there are Rare cards and uncommon etc. but I don't recall them having any distinction. There is a list out there on serna.net I believe is the url. Sorry it's been years sense I was in this scene. Still loved the game play and the content. Thank you guys.

[@teamcovenant]

Thanks Brett! Glad to have you along. We really loved this one.

[@cerealkiller195]

great series guys! i hope once things get back to normal that you keep some of these new series that you guys made. I am currently looking what i can purchase from the store to support you guys and the newer content (painting with/dead ccgs) to keep it going!

[@teamcovenant]

Thanks so much! We do have a content sub which is $20/mo. If you just want to inject $20 into Covenant, you can sign up and immediately cancel. Either way, we appreciate you being here. teamcovenant.com/product/covenant-content-membership

[@cerealkiller195]

@@teamcovenant Just put in an order for a mythos campaign set and t shirt! keep up the good work guys!

[@obsidianroost9197]

I would love if the would reboot this game with fresh art and card design! I would be all over that!

[@teamcovenant]

Us too!

[@a.d.samano7873]

Same here and fix some of the cards there so nothing goes to waste.

[@DanSchuhrke]

During that 2nd game zach should have been restocking all those extra resources in his hand.

[@volnatic1]

Not sure if you guys are/were fans of baseball, but MLB Showdown from 2000-2001 captured our post-Star Wars/Pokemon attention prior to finding LotR TCG. It was a Wizards-published game and was a lot of fun. We kept our teams’ stats, played in online leagues, etc. If you have any interest in baseball at all, that may be an option for a throw-back Thursday

[@teamcovenant]

That sounds fantastic!

[@c4story579]

Any idea what subterfuge cards do? I’m having trouble finding information on those cards. Thanks!

[@Phantom12w]

This is a blast from the past. Loved seeing this on stream. With it being out of print does anyone know where I could get/make proxy cards for this game? I would love to teach my wife and kids this game. Something new to play on our family isolation game nights.

[@teamcovenant]

No idea on that score; the real cards are pretty expensive.

[@aquarius5719]

You will love to play this with your family. kzbin.info/www/bejne/f4exp36DmcyibJI If rules seem overwhelming here is a visual guide. kzbin.info/door/CL43q2tON0Jm_5YITyWh9g

[@Zanji1234]

never heard of this game... found out that i downloaed a lacckey image collection several years ago where battletech ccg wars included.... looked at the rulebook and boy it sounded intresting :) great to finally see the game in action since i couldn't convice some friends to play it. Sadly you basically washed over the "protection" where you put mechs to protect your sites. But i think i have to print some random cards of the base set and throw them together for some decks xD the images are not high def but are sufficent

[@ookamiprime6646]

I have played or tried over 45 different card games. My favorites by a long distance have been Legend of the Five Rings (CCG version), Doomtown (both original and Reloaded), Netrunner (both original and Android), Magic and Battletech. Great mechanics with each of the games and a lot of fun still to be had, if you have to cards to make decks. (edit: Missed the important 4 in 45. That is now an accurate count)

[@ookamiprime6646]

You should also try Babylon 5, if you are able to get your hands on some cards. Probably want at least 4 players though.

[@pietrorasputin52]

Tomb Raider CCG is also a great one and that I play as well. Definitely recommend!

[@DanSchuhrke]

Wasn't that a solo game?

[@FuzzyNova]

Question Guys! So there has been a big Increase in popularity of the Battletech CCG. And Could you guys make another video on how to play this but more in depth on How the Turns work. Assuming we already know what the cards do and all mean which isn't hard. But the rulebook is giving me a headache. I bought a Counterstrike booster box sealed. And had a blast opening cards from WOC golden age. Then bought a lot of Base set Resource asset cards. Now I'm sitting here trying to get through the rulebook. I'm just a visual learner ya know

[@teamcovenant]

We may well have to revisit this one!

[@jeremywright4100]

Just had a thought about adding a new resource it allows both players to draw up to two cards per turn as opposed to the normal one. Because losing to top decking feels like getting not enough resources. And it's inherently since your deck is your life total.

[@jeremywright4100]

I so regret getting rid of my BattleTech. I only have vague memories of decking people and rolling missiles 😁

[@aquarius5719]

Try playing this... kzbin.info/www/bejne/f4exp36DmcyibJI Miniature sculping getting better and better. Here is a visual guide if the rules of the game look intimidating. kzbin.info/door/CL43q2tON0Jm_5YITyWh9g

[@ookamiprime6646]

I think it has a mix of Magic, Netrunner and Vampire: the Eternal Struggle in the mechanics

[@shoichi8474]

Battletech is such an amazing IP. Always wished they would turn it into a TV series. It's basically the GoT in space. Too bad the IP rights are so complicated that it's so difficult for anyone to do anything new with it.

[@TimCzar-p6l]

Oh my God, how many times does that guy shuffle his cards!? 😂

[@Redwud3381]

If you guys can track it down, you should trying playing Rage. The Werewolf TCG from White Wolf.

[@stanb6626]

more battletech please :)

[@KalashnikovPaouzzi]

I like the idea that the deck can be attacked

[@savingthrowstudios6114]

We love Battletech and its CCG so much, we developed a spiritual successor to it! Check out REDLINE: Tactical Card Combat on our Kickstarter now. It features simultaneous combat, mission based area control, designs by a Battletech artist and a lot more. www.kickstarter.com/projects/camx/redline-tactical-card-combat

[@fieldmarshall]

It would be awesome if you could find the developers or original play testers for these old games. Do we know why the support cards have red costs? FYI: wrong banshee popped up. at 1:01

[@sper1585]

Because some of my friends don't shuffle well and don't like getting stuck with all resources/no mechs or all mechs/no resources and I wanted to make the game larger and longer, we use 90 cards devided into three stockpiles organized as one wishes, usually mech pile, resource pile, and miscellaneous mission/command pile, draw and deploy 3 cards per turn. Longer game destroy all three piles, shorter game destroy one or two piles.

[@PaulGaither]

Aside from learning how to pile shuffle, a simple house rule could be to deploy any card in your hand as forever face down as a generic resource. Oh, and build decks with better ratios. Magic the gathering suggest 24 lands in a 60 card deck where you draw one card each turn. In this game, I can easily see the need for 24-26 Command Resource cards.

[@glen18342]

You guys need to play the game wars tcg also

[@chriswilson6486]

I'd love to see this come back, but instead of individual mechs, maybe use lances or stars instead, to reflect the small unit tactical combat.

[@Mantyszyger]

Well, how do you understand where gaming is, unless you play most of the 90s games? Btech is a good game. In the time of magic and L5R where damage didn't carry over to cards, Btech brought that to gaming. (VTES as well. Also, Garfield.) I can't think of many, if there were any CCGs that used tokens or counters before Btech. (Again, VTES.) Designers tried to keep new games with the cards and only the cards. It's a nice challenge to restrict yourself to a certain house or clan.

[@Syklos]

I thought you could only play mission cards in combat equal to your initiative rating? Or can you always play at least 1 even with 0 init?

[@teamcovenant]

You shouldn't be able to play any if your initiative is zero. We both get Tactics out pretty quick that gives a constant +1. May have been a misplay in there, though!

[@anthonypearson2509]

A few years back I thought I could teach my daughter the MLP:TCG...for the life of me I couldn’t wrap my head around that game. Decks remain unplayed and on the back of the game shelf.

[@sper1585]

Looking up the old rules which you must have had initiative is how you calculated but in 1998 the commander's edition (which is when I found the game) revised it so base initiatve is 0 unless you have tactics then it's 1, +1 for each mech, +other card modifiers, during the initiative phase you can use mech or pilot options and play mission cards that change the total initiative. It would be cool to watch a game if you traded cards back and fourth to make one dech clan and the other innersphere.

[@Ronimyles]

Check out the BATTLETECH CCG page on FB! BT LIVES!

[@aquarius5719]

Your experience is not complete if you havevnot played the tabletop game with miniatures. If you feel rules in text format are overwhelming, you may try the visual guide of "Battletech Fan" youtube channel.

[@teamcovenant]

Steven definitely has! Was obsessed with it early on. Gotta manage those heat sinks.

[@pelmen1294]

The Mechwarrior computer games are actually battletech. Mechwarrior is the personl combat game or rpg. there really miss named those computer games.

[@thekittenfreakify]

Try out chaotic tcg

[@pelmen1294]

you mixed innersphere with clan mechs. .

[@PaulGaither]

Pretty sure that is what the starter decks did. Also, if I recall, the inner sphere vs clan and houses rules was a side/optional rule.

[@alexscriabin]

2:30:53 haha

[@PhotriusPyrelus]

There's a few things that really bug me about this game. First, it uses dice. TCGs already have more than enough RNG in the shuffling of the deck, it doesn't need even more on top of that - this is also my primary complaint about Pokèmon TCG - it's obnoxious the number of games I've lost purely to coin flips. Second, the Timber Wolf Prime's card art (1:12:17) is *abominable*. It looks *NOTHING* like a Timber Wolf. This is one of the marquee 'Mechs of the franchise and its card - while powerful - looks like dogshit. Also, the drastic changes in card formatting between the sets is hugely off-putting. If you *really* want to change the formatting and card 'frame', do it at most once a year. I was poking through the card lists last night and one of the sets doesn't even look like it's from the same game! ...all that said, the meat of the game system is *fantastic*. Kicks the ever-loving shit out of MtG, IMHO. Proof positive that popularity and quality are two very different things. Nothing in the world of TCGs would please me more than to see this worked on a little, refined, unified, reprinted, and expanded.