Product Review: Battletech Force Pack 1st Somerset Strikers

 Hey Folks, we’re back with another product review. Today, my friends, we have the 1st Somerset Strikers, one of the Force Packs Catalyst Game Labs has added to our marketplace as part of the Mercenaries Kickstarter. Originally Exclusive to the Kickstarter, it’s exclusivity window has ended and you should be able to find it on the CGL web store or maybe your FLGS. Let’s Break It Down.

Contents

5 Plastic Mechs! (Note, that like all of CGL’s boxed releases, these come fully assembled and ready to play right out of the box). You get an Axman, a Bushwhacker, a Mauler (Doboku), a Hatamato-Chi and a crouching Wolfhound. The Wolfhound is a new pose while the Bushwhacker and the Axman are variants. The Hatamoto-Chi and Mauler are new sculpts for this box. I’ve taken a bunch of pictures of these. Our camera setup remains questionable. 

5 Alpha Strike Cards (Dual sided) that feature 5 special characters for this boxed set. Each has special abilities and mechanics.

5 Mechwarrior Pilot Cards that feature notable pilots of these machines. 

Breakdown:  

Now, this is a treat for Battletech fans of a certain age. It's the protagonists of the BattleTech animated series from the 90s and features Adam Steiner and his multinational crew of brave heroes fighting the clans during the height of the invasion. (You can find episodes on YouTube

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All around a solid group of mechs. The Wolfhound gives some scouting capabilities while the Bushwhacker skirmishes while the two assaults are capable of brawling. The Axman throws range support down the board. Also keep in mind that these are all special characters with special pilot abilities outside the norm for most games of Alpha Strike.  

These designs are firmly in the clan invasion era. They can be utilized in later eras, but you will need to grab Alpha strike cards off the Master Unit List for non character versions.       

AS Point Cost (in the box) 209 for all the special characters in the box. 

You can always check the Master Unit List for other versions of these four designs and that can dramatically affect the point values.  

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: Production on these mechs looks pretty good. There’s a little bit of flashing to clear out if you’re going to make these showcases, but it’s fairly easy to clear. None of the barrels seem bent, and you’re going to have an easy time getting these ready.  

   

Overall Rating:

4 stars.  

This is a lot of Nostalgia in a box. However, the lack of generic versions of the cards means that out of the box, you can only play it as the Strikers (who desperately need a modern scenario pack to fully utilize this box). That's the primary thing keeping this from getting a higher rating.  

Currently, it’s prices are all over the map, with some as low as $34.95, but going as high as $150 on ebay. It should have reached local stores as of the writing of this article. Remember to buy locally when you can.