BATTLETECH: Clan Invasion Box Set (FULL REVIEW)

How to get the most out of the Battletech Clan Invasion starter box set!

CORRECTIONS
There are two card types in the set. The first are the Alpha Strike cards and the second are the pilot cards which are written for Classic.

TIME STAMPS
0:00 Introduction
0:27 Cost & Contents
0:57 Miniature Value
1:12 Cost Comparison to Warhammer 40,000
1:40 Clans vs Inner Sphere
3:03 Clan Primer + Book + Universe Map
3:52 Maps + Punch Out Sheets
4:47 Box Weaknesses: Reference Sheets + Dice
5:33 Protecting the Rulebook
5:47 How to Re-Use Mech Sheets
6:09 Alpha Strike Cards
5:49 Timber Wolf / Mad Cat
7:32 Adder / Puma
8:35 Nova / Black Hawk
9:40 Mongrel / Grendel
10:17 Executioner / Gladiator
10:57 Elemental Battle Armor

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#battletech #battlemech #claninvasion

The style of this video is similar to Auspex Tactics and Big Red 40k. Content creators like the Tex Talks series from BlackPantsLegion and Sven van der Plank have had a large influence on this video.

[HesH_WT]

holy nasal voice have u ever kissed a girl my guy

[goingforgold_]

"This would be be the equivalent of GW releasing a 1000pt-1500pt box set for $50"

When I heard that, I blacked out, then had a dream I heard some crazy shit on this video, came back to rewatch it, had to be emitted to the ER due to extreme dehydration from crying tears of sadness knowing that would never happen.

Great vid, got a new sub here!

[stalelemonproduction]

I'm a long time warhammer player that wanted to get into something a bit more accessible for my friends to join me with and battletech being so generous with not only the plastic models but the cut outs as well was a huge win for it. I got all 3 starter boxes for the cost of a "start collecting" warhammer box and I'm very happy

[nemamiah]

If you about to face Elementals on the table and want your opponent to have fun with them, do not bring artillery of any kind. If you hate Elementals with passion and want your opponent to never use them again, bring Long Toms. The catch is the damage distribution. Normally, when you hit an Elemental point, damage is assigned to a random model. So you could theoretically hit them multiple times without killing anyone, just whittling down armour on different dudes. The artillery damage applies to every single one of them, meaning if a Long Tom shell falls in the midst of a full star of Elementals, you might just wipe out 25 dudes in one go.

[macabrederek]

Hope to hear more as you get experience in the Clan mechs. As a Clan main, I would offer some advice about this box set. The original invasion mechs were designed with Elementals in mind. Many traditional IS players often lamented how the mechs weapons were heavily geared into the arms, but this was a purposeful design choice by the Clans to have Elementals ride into the fray on their Omnimech counter parts. Mechs like the Nova are amazing delivery systems that allow you to deploy them in the enemy line swiftly, and really force your opponent to not take up certain positions. Often times I find the threat of the elementals are more impactful than the damage they actually do, with that 3 jump movement making them very difficult targets.

I will also note Elementals are a key unit in they help off-set the staggering cost difference in BV compared to their IS counterparts, especially in the initiative phase. When played against the AGOAC box set, they really showcase this as an initiative sink, allowing you to capitalize more effectively on the speed and firepower the typical Omnimech has over a typical IS mech. The sheets also come with some relevant IS mech upgrades to help balance out the slanted BV.

Lastly, there is some debate about how to implement Clan Honour rules, as playing to them strictly puts an additional challenge on the Clan player. What my own group has experimented with (to admittedly mixed results) is either free upgraded pilots (3/4 from a 4/5) if you follow the Honour Rules, or an Initiative Bonus so long as the rules are adhered to (Also giving incentive for to player to continue to play honourably).

I hope this offers some insight, and trust this knowledge will assist you in your assimilation into The Clans.

[lexington]

4:22 that is one thing very nice about battletech, really nothing becomes obsolete games rules wise (unlike GW stuff). I have maps from the early 90s I can still play on that fit with the current maps. My favorite map from the early sets is Scattered Woods, pretty much a flat map with little bits and pieces of light and heavy Woods scattered evenly and thinly throughout the map, I think there is one or two hills on it but they're like level one. I like that map because it really breaks up the line of sight without hindering movement too much, you really get in close in that map.

[gruberjens]

Alpha Strike rules on hex maps is the best way to play BT in my opinion. Fast to play, easy to learn and easy to set up.
I love this game 😎

[swordmonkey]

Omni technology within the BT universe is more about the speed and ease of switching weapons and equipment of a mech. The modular design allows the engineers and mechanics to "plug and play" different weapons and equipment in a fraction of the time an IS equivalent job. No major teardowns and retrofitting is required with omni technology. Weapons "pods" can be removed in a maintenance area allowing damaged weapons and equipment to be switched out in a matter of hours or days rather than IS weeks and months.

[Defsnot_Momskowerkor]

Fan since 93, Cauldron Born is the best clan mech. 65 ton, 86kmph, takes down Timberwolf (Mad Cat) 75 tonners all day sir. I swapped the gauss rifle for 2 ERPPC's downgraded from LB10X to LB5X and dual LRM10's. I like jump jets too. Glad to see Battletech still lives 🛐

[jasongarfitt]

7:48 can confirm that the old metal "ral partha" adder/puma does indeed collapse under its own weight if you give it the slightest knock

[deathwatch]

Im actually slowly starting to get into tabletop thanks to a humble bundle that's given me PDF's of practically all the rulebooks or so that I can tell along with tech readouts and the like. So it's kind of perfect timing to get some insight into boxes i could get!

[KillerOrca]

Your hope was ratified for the Alpha Strike box, I got mine about a week back and all the mechs are REALLY nice.
Admittedly we've seen many before, a lot of them are from the Lance and Star packs, but its still solid.

[ELPMCFlashFrame]

I'm loving the way you break down the value of these boxes. Keep up the great work Otto.

[melvinlemay]

You noted that the minis in this boxed set are improved compared to that of agoac. You also expressed the possibility that this indicates an increase in production value that will benefit future projects. I think something which really demonstrates this is comparing the old and new beginner box mechs. The griffins in particular since they offer an apples to apples comparison. Not that the old one was bad but there are some clear improvements. Almost all of the mold lines have been moved to corners or other hard to notice places. Everything is far crisper with the details being sharper. It's great and I'm glad to see things improving.

[jadegecko]

I'm reminded of the Mechwarrior 2 Prima strategy guide, where the Gargoyle is described as 'a strange toy robot grown large'

[xenofett]

The updated designs are a massive and much needed improvement from Battletech miniatures in the 80s & 90s.

[StigmaNYC]

So happy when I got this for my introductory box set just a few months ago. Just found the Alpha Strike box set last week I have them all including many lance/star packs, the Wolf Dragoons, some Clan salvage mystery boxes, and even the Elemental pack, I’ve played just under 20 classic games. Looking forward to Alpha Strike battles and vehicles soon. Fun time to be a tabletop gamer.

[metalblizzard]

Im new to BT (coming from 40k/AoS) and ypur channel has been extremely useful. Sub!

[derekburge]

Fantastic breakdown, good sir.
For new Clan players, please know that you will almost never get to play a whole star of mechs if your opponent plays IS. You will always be outnumbered; this is fine.
Learn zelbrigen! It's fun and will give you lots of opportunities to shake your fist and call your opponent an honorless surat when they learn to exploit zelbrigen.

[Prich]

Two little nitpicks:
First, the Executioner has MASC as a standard piece of equipment, so it's movement can be bumped up to 4/8/4 if you're willing to risk actuator damage. The second is that elementals only really need transport if you don't have an omnimech for each point you bring, since they double as transport for battle armor.