BattleTech Alpha Strike — Easy & Quick Mech Combat!

When it comes to wargames, a lot of folks tend to not play them because the barrier to entry is high. Models, books, assembling miniatures, painting minis, buying terrain, making time for a game…it all stacks up, and then you find yourself with a pile of gray, no time, and no one to play with.

Battletech, proper Battletech, has some of these issues. The books can be pretty hefty, and to build a proper lance takes time and money to put together, though not as bad as other wargames. Then when it comes to a game, there’s a lot of extras. Are you going to introduce aerial combat? Space drops? Ground troops? The variables can drive even the most curious away. This is why I’m highly recommending Battletech: Alpha Strike to our readers who are curious about getting into wargaming, mech combat, and, obviously, Battletech. For $80, you get 13 miniatures, a 40 page rule book, a 24 page novella, a 16 page universe primer, along with cards to support the minis, their pilots, a series of support cards, 15 cardstock buildings, 2 punchboards of trees & game counters, a map, and 2 dice. It’s enough for two players to play endless games, and an excellent deal.

Everything in the box is high quality, and, maybe it’s just me, but these are some of the best Battletech mini’s I’ve seen. Also, can I mention all of the terrain!? While the terrain is a rule component of Alpha Strike, it’s really wonderful to see so many pieces included in a box. I was legitimately thrilled to put together the buildings, though once you do…you don’t really have space for them, but that’s a blemish on an otherwise great package. Alpha Strike itself is a completely new take on Battletech as well. In simple terms, it makes everything easier. Movement is now measurement based, combat and damage are simplified and tracked on a card, support units no longer rely on different rule sets and minis, and there’s such a bigger focus on big plays vs. small actions. On the flip side, you do miss out on some of the “crunchiness” that Battletech has. The individuality of a unit, determining what weapon to use, counting ammo…that is lost in Alpha Strike, but for some players it’s not missed.

When playing a game of Alpha Strike, setup is pretty simple. Two players choose one of five objectives on a 4’ x 6’ playing field, usually a control or battle objective, then they chose forces from 250 point values (this can change depending on force building and skill ratings), roll initiative (just like in Classic, higher goes second), determine the terrain, positions, and then they go forth and play! Sequence of play is familiar: initiative, movement, combat, end phases are all here. If you’re new to Battletech, that means players determine who goes first, who shoots first, and how damage and effects are sorted out. In the included books, there’s a lot more detail about the particulars and what bonuses/negatives are added to your mechs as you play, but it’s fairly simple. If you’re running, you’re harder to hit, and it’s harder to shoot.

These factor into the S.A.T.O.R. modifiers, which stand for Skill, Attacker, Target movement, Other, and Range modifiers. These stats affect your dice rolls, which in turn determine success or failure in combat. For example, if you attack a mech, first the base target skill (usually 4) is then modified by their movement, let’s say they’re jumping (+1), you are slightly obscured by terrain (+1), and the model is 10” away (+2), that means you’re going to have to beat an 8 on the dice roll.  If you roll a 12, congratulations, you just did a crit! Reference the appropriate table and move on..

Players mark off armor bubbles on your mech cards, and if there’s no bubbles left, then you do actual damage. If there’s no more damage bubbles, congrats, you’ve destroyed a mech!In the ending phase, Heat is distributed (afterall you are piloting giant mechs and those would get hot) when shooting a variety of weapons, of course there’s going to be repercussions. I love that this mechanic exists in Battletech, as it’s a crunchy number that adds a little bit of realism to the game. At its core, Alpha Strike really is that simple. As in all Battletech, there are more modifiers for various attack situations (physical, rear firing, stealth modes, different anti-missile systems), and the book goes into these details, although the same problem from previous books exist in that the rules are overexplained. But on the bright side, over-explaining means less questions.

The book is a great primer for Alpha Strike and the way it’s written walks you through the rules and scenarios at appropriate times. What I mean is that when you’re done reading the basic rules of movement/combat/heat, they give you a scenario to play. Once you’re done, the book then explains how buildings and battlefield support work (artillery and air support, via detailed cards), complete with their own tables, then you play the second scenario, which adds on what you’ve learned + the new rules. This simple design decision is an excellent way to teach the game, something I’ve noted in other wargames like Blood & Plunder. Once you’ve completed the scenarios, there’s some additional reading material for force & scenario building, but you’re well on your way to playing multiple games of Alpha Strike.

From a model perspective, there’s so much to work with. As I mentioned at the top, these models are pretty high quality; no assembly required, just paint and play. Each model looks super unique and, of course, there are plenty of  ForcePacks available, just like the few I’ve pictured below. Each pack can be used with Classic and Alpha Strike, once again, really bringing the value of this game to the table.

 

There’s not much left to say outside of the fact that I really like Alpha Strike. While I enjoyed classic, the chunkiness of the rules really complicated things for me, and while I understand some players love and want that, I prefer quicker games that can be easily taught to the curious. It’s with that, I highly recommend Alpha Strike.

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