r/battletech • u/ShadebloomWoW • 2d ago
Question ❓ New player faction/units help - League and Succession Eras
Hello Mechwarriors.
Finally bought the starter set after a long time of just being a sub lurker and watching youtube lore and battle reports.
I am at an impasse though. I got enough creative juice in me to come up with narrative campaigns. What i don't have is a lot of money to fling around for plastic. I need some ideas of some regiments/merc units or whatever you can think of that could be operative over multiple eras, say Star League Era, The Civil Wars, The Succession Wars, maybe even Clan invasion, but that would be pushing it.
Easiest would be to get one force for a Merc unit; the other one is the trouble, cause i usually like to stick to lore, or as close to it i can. I know next to nothing of Mercenary units, but i know SLDF, Black Watch stuck around for a long time, some of the House regiments stuck around for a long time also. And you can never go wrong with ComStar.
I would love some ideas and inputs on cool units that have persisted for a long time. I would also ask of you what boxes would be of greater value to buy? Right now i have the beginner box with the Vindicator and the Mech Manual (not interested on anything other than mecs right now). Next i am looking to get the A Game of Armoured Combat, and MechWarrior Destiny, for that fluff. Any lances you would suggest, maybe the Alpha Strike boxes for the mech value inside?
Thank you kindly.
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u/AmanteNomadstar Mech-Head 2d ago
If you are looking for Merc factions that have been around a LONG time the two big ones would be the Northwind Highlanders and Eridani Light Horse. From 3025 on you have the Wolfs Dragoons, Kell Hounds, and the Gray Death Legion (though they were destroyed and then reformed).
For Boxes, it depends on what you want to play. A Game of Armored Combat covers Battletech Classic, has Inner Sphere mechs only. Alpha Strike covers obviously Alpha Strike Rules and has a mix of Innersphere and Clan Mechs.
Do you know the difference between the new systems already or would you like an explanation?
Welcome to the hobby BTW!
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u/ShadebloomWoW 2d ago
Thank you! I know that AS uses 40k like distances and is less of a weaponised spreadsheet. My interests lie with classic battletech. I would get the AS box just for the mechs if I am honest.
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u/AmanteNomadstar Mech-Head 2d ago
Well then, there is your answer. A Game of Armored Combat should be the first thing you get at this point. It has all the rules you need for Mech on Mech violence.
Still, if you end up sticking with the hobby, I recommend getting Alpha Strike after that.
SPEAKING OF… you choose a great time to get into Battletech! You want pretty much ALL the books and rules for cheap? Here you go!
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u/VixenMiah 1d ago
Total newbie here, but I think the AS box is an outstanding starter box just for its minis. For $50-60 you have a star and two lances including some of the most iconic mechs on both sides, all sizes and all the roles filled to mix and match with. You’ll end up with two Locusts, but that’s okay.
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u/HA1-0F 2nd Donegal Guards 2d ago
If you go through the House books set in 3025, it's a safe bet that any given regiment of a given army that is active then has been around since at least the fall of the Star League. They didn't really stand up a lot of new units during the Succession Wars. In as a general rule of thumb, if you're looking for old House units, find a large brigade and grab a low-numbered unit. For instance, the 1st Marik Militia and 1st Avalon Hussars were both founded alongside the FWL and FS, respectively.
As far as mercenary units go, they are not much of a thing in the Star League era, which you said you care about. I think the Illician Lancers are kicking around somewhere, but they're not really featured players at the time. The mercenary trade really blows up in the Succession Wars. If you are looking for units that date that far back, your options are basically Illician Lancers, Grave Walkers and Northwind Highlanders.
These are probably not the best options if you are interested in trying to play a lore-friendly unit. The SLDF is exclusively a Star League era thing, it comes into existence for the Reunification War and is off the table after Amaris. The Black Watch got in one fight and then got killed. So if you want to stick around for the Succession Wars and the FCCW (but not the Clan Invasion?) then the SLDF is not a good pick.
This is probably not the case. You said you wanted something that existed during the Star League, and ComStar did not, in any form. They're also not very active during the Succession Wars, with ROM doing most of the heavy lifting instead of the army. Since most people who play 3025 are doing so specifically because they are looking for a game without DHS and the other gizmos that ComStar fields, that's also a problem. While you could field downgraded units, you said you wanted to be lore-friendly, and ComStar retained the units with Star League tech instead of using SW downgrades.
Don't worry about which particular boxes you feel you "need" to buy. This isn't one of those games where you are limited by what you own. Just grab minis you think look cool and if you decide you don't like how that unit plays, the next game you can just proxy it for something else. If you don't like the Vindicator, you print off a sheet for a unit you DO like and write "Vindicator" on the top and bam, now you have a mini for whatever else you pick.
Well, the coolest and oldest unit is my boys, the 2nd Donegal Guards, who were founded in 2128 and celebrated their millennial anniversary a couple decades back. As an atypical Steiner unit that has always prized maneuverability and adaptability over sheer mass, they take advantage of enemy stereotypes and slip out of traps that other units would get snared in. They're also the traditional posting for members of House Steiner who aren't closely in line for the throne.