Hey Folks, we’re back with another product review. Its been a minute, but we are back with another fine offering from Catalyst Game Labs. The new and improved Battletech Starter Set. In the same vein as in the introductory box and the Essentials boxes we’ve reviewed previously, this is the entry point for new players entering the battletech ecosystem. Boy, has a lot changed in the new box, Lets dig into it and see what we can see.
Contents
2 Plastic ‘Mechs! (Note, that like all of CGL’s boxed releases, these come fully assembled and ready to play right out of the box). In this box is a pair of brand new Ilclan era designs. The tough as nails Hammerhead and the murderous little Kontio. Both designs are native to the game’s modern era and are rendered in beautiful plastic.
2 Mechwarrior Pilot Cards that feature notable pilots of these machines. These also feature the new card layout for the new Core Rulebook era.
Quickstart Rules kit: Everything you need to play with the quickstart rules, for learning how to play the game efficiently and quickly out of the box. Truly an intro level product for the game
8 half page record Sheets (Laminated) Featuring both the quick start rules and the fully game play sheets for all the machines provided.
18” by 22” full color game map (Double sided for twice the fun)
Tokens! A variety of punch board mechs and objective tokens for your first few games.
4 pages of Lore: 4 pages seems a pittance for a universe as deep and complex, but the booklet does give a new player the first steps into the larger setting of the game.
Dice! (2 of them in fact!)
This is an exceptional starting point for the modern battletech universe. Featuring advanced technology and two very different playstyles, the Kontio and the Hammerhead will give a new player some wonderful opportunities to experiment with the mechanics of the game without investing an arm and a leg in the game. The production quality is high and Catalyst has done an excellent job of putting a quality product forward for new customers. Existing customers will probably pick this up for the robots, but it shines as an introduction to the game.
AS Point Cost (in the box) This box doesn’t have Alpha Strike Cards so, i will not be calculating these for you (You have the Master Unit list if you want to point them out yourselves)
Battle Value isn’t calculated for these boxes, and i would suggest you use the Master Unit List to identify what the BV of your force (and specific variations) is.
Thoughts: An Exceptional introduction to the new core rulebook era of battletech (more on that coming later). The Starter Set is a magnificent product. It gives new players enough of an introduction to the setting and mechanics of the game without overwhelming them with everything that battletech Can be. For that, this product knocks it out of the park.
Overall Rating:
5 stars.
While it hasn’t been released yet on the Catalyst Game Labs web store yet, it’s coming sooner than you think. It can be Ordered on Amazon using this link here. (Note, that is an affiliate link for me, and i will make a small commission off of it if you end up purchasing it through Amazon). MSRP is $29.99, and though its a bit higher than that on Amazon right now, price should come down a bit once it hits full retail release.
So, that’s the Battletech Starter Set. Let us know if you’re interested in picking this one up.
