Catalyst Game Labs had sold Thor and Loki miniatures in 2009, thus prior to the release of the 25th Anniversary Introductory Box Set. These miniatures were announced as being developed in partnership Ghost Studios. The plastic used was high detail HIPS (High Impact Poly Styrene). It is the 32nd century. For a millennia, mankind has waged wars across thousands of worlds in human-occupied space. The Great Houses. The Clans. The Periphery. A myriad of star empires claiming ascendance, as others wane or fall. They marshal MechWarrior who owe them fealty, each one the master of a towering avatar of destruction: the BattleMech. You are given command of these modern-day knights, dropped onto a battlefield: use your wits and acumen to bring victory or end up a casualty on a forgotten world.

BattleTech is the world’s greatest armoured combat game. Set in the dawn of the thirty-first century, the game central theme is the persistent conflict that ravages the galaxy. This conflict could take the shape of interstellar and civil wars, planetary battles, as well as institutionalized combat in the shape of arena contests and duelling.BattleTech is the world’s greatest armored combat game. In Alpha Strike, you take command of large-scale engagements, fueled by tabletop miniatures gameplay designed for the modern wargamer. Inside is everything you need to start tossing dice and moving miniatures on your game table. I’m looking forward to playing more games with this ruleset, as I can easily see that playing company-on-company or larger games are still something you’ll get done in an evening after work. It’s definitely a different feel than Total Warfare, in that it satisfies a desire for mass combat rather than simulationist crunch, but it’s a good feel, and one that has a much lower barrier of complexity. Final Thoughts

The fourth edition redesigned the rulebook again. Calling itself 'BT4', it states that the "current" year of the BattleTech universe is 3058, while BT4 is set in 3049. It also makes reference to the Rules Levels previously seen in CityTech, Second Edition, and states that the technology described in the BT4 game is Level 1, whereas Level 2 includes the technology available in 3058. Three of the previous edition's four scenarios ("Final Exam", "Trial by Fire", and "Divide and Conquer") were included in the rulebook, with small changes; most importantly, the original (now Unseen) 'Mechs in these scenarios were exchanged for different 'Mechs from BT4's new lineup. An in-universe look at the major factions, their histories and their status quo as of 3130. Republic of the SphereCertain reports suggest that the plastics used for basic 24 'Mechs in this set may differ from that used in the previous edition, that is the Classic BattleTech Introductory Box Set, but the sculpts appear unchanged. At present, there is not a way known to distinguish a miniature originating from the Classic BattleTech Introductory Box Set in 2007 and one originating from the 25th Anniversary Introductory Box Set in 2011 or 2012. If you enjoy playing the BattleForce game included in the Interstellar Operations: BattleForce book, you may find these counters useful in your games. Basic Counters Warhawk:The Warhawk is the biggest included Clan mech (though not the most expensive, the Timber Wolf T takes that trophy). This mech comes with the C and T variants, with the C doing consistent damage out to long range (think of it like two Pouncer Prime’s stapled together), and the T being a closer ranged brawler that can apply heat to the target like the Pouncer T. Inner Sphere Mechs Catalyst Game Labs Web Store: https://store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-alpha-strike-box-set The CityTech box contained a slew of cutout counters for various tanks, infantry units and buildings, and two (identical) mapsheets that were different from the previous BattleTech mapsheets.

Phoenix Hawk: The first of the three Inner Sphere medium mechs, both variants of the Phoenix Hawk are reasonably mobile harassers with real damage dealing ability. Your choice between the 4M and 3K is whether you’d rather have the ability to overheat for more damage at close range or have a bit more damage at long range. It is the 32nd century. For a millennia, mankind has waged wars across thousands of worlds in human-occupied space. The Great Houses. The Clans. The Periphery. A myriad of star empires claiming ascendance, as others wane or fall. They marshal MechWarrior who owe them fealty, each one the master of a towering avatar of destruction: the BattleMech. You are given command of these modern-day knights, dropped onto a battlefield: use your wits and acumen to bring victory or end up a casualty on a forgotten world. BattleTech is the world's greatest armored-combat game. And in Alpha Strike, you take command of large-scale engagements with tabletop-miniatures gameplay designed for the modern wargamer. Inside includes everything you need to start tossing dice and charging toward the enemy on your gaming table.The third edition of the boxed set, released by FASA in 1992, replaced the paper cutout playing pieces with plastic miniatures. One was provided for each of the fourteen standard 'Mechs from the second edition. The new edition also contained a booklet with prefilled record sheets for these fourteen 'Mechs. The Merlin and Chameleon made no appearance. Nova : A classic Clan mech, both the Nova Prime and T variants fill the same role of being a skirmisher. A little slower but more durable than the Pouncer, it does substantially more damage. The Prime can overheat for astounding damage (tied for the most of any mech in the box), and the T does a little more damage on base without the ability to overheat. In BattleTech Alpha Strike, you take command of large-scale engagements, fueled by tabletop miniatures gameplay designed for the modern wargamer. Inside is everything you need to start tossing dice and moving miniatures on your game table. Pouncer: New in plastic, the Pouncer is on the light side of medium mechs with decent movement and durability. The Prime variant is a sniper, able to do three damage out to long range, while the T variant has to get closer but can then apply heat to the target.

Representing the Inner Sphere on the eve of the Second Succession War, this map is the best way to start your path to becoming the First Lord as war once more consumes the Inner Sphere. BattleTech is the world's greatest armoured combat game. Set in the dawn of the thirty-first century, the game central theme is the persistent conflict that ravages the galaxy. This conflict could take the shape of interstellar and civil wars, planetary battles, as well as institutionalized combat in the shape of arena contests and duelling. Each included unit card has a different mech variant on each side of the card, and can be easily used with dry erase markers as you play the game. To get extra variety out of these mechs, they all have quite a few more variants, all of which are available on the Master Unit List. Clan Mechs The core of this game is the mechs, and while you probably could play Alpha Strike using tokens, we’re buying this box to play with the minis. Fortunately, they are pretty good. I love the sculpts, particularly the new Wraith, and the updated variant mechs look great (the posing on the Fire Moth in particular is a big glow-up). The only let-down is that they’re PVC rather than the HIPS you’d get with a GW model, and have softer details and bigger mold lines. It’s nothing you can’t work around, and the mechs do look good, but I’d love to see these same original sculpts cast in higher quality. This premium variantuses new modeling techniques beingemployed to updateall BattleMech designs. Itcomes unassembled and unpainted.After FanPro's license expired in 2007, the Classic BattleTech license went to Catalyst Game Labs who created yet another new edition of the boxed set. Most importantly, the cardboard counters were once again replaced by twenty-four plastic miniatures that required no cutting or assembly. The 'Mech lineup remained unchanged since the 4th edition, and the three game scenarios remained the same except for changes to the map layout.