BattleTech: Alpha Strike - Commander's Edition

A great rule set for streamlined, faster BattleTech gameplay to introduce friends to, or to have ridiculously large battles. It's a great resource if you want to try larger scale campaigns where time is a priority.

Everything IN the book is excellent, but several odd editing choices leave it a bit of a hassle to use. For example, the index is not in the back, rather lookup tables are in the back along with other random bits. Illustrations are frequent and lush. Rules examples are clear and helpful. The massive massive number of optional rules are fun if daunting just to see.

The new edition of the Alpha Strike Rules updates and compiles all the previous rules into a more coherent edition that is very easy to use and fun to play.

Nice compact book for anyone who wants to get into Battletech but doesn't want the extra hassle of more complex record keeping. Good art and explanations of various rules mechanics makes it well worth the price. I would definitely recommend it.

This is product is the Fifth Printing of the Alpha Strike Commander's Edition and updates the print version with all errata through its 2022 publication date. I am an avid Battletech fan - owning hundreds of their miniatures, dozens of novels, and dozens of their printed narrative/fluff products. Alpha Strike is a more modern and streamlined Battletech. The old Battletech rules (called Classic) are very granular, requiring a full 8.5 x 11 piece of paper to manage a single Battlemech (or 'Mech). Typically, a normal game of 4 'Mechs v. 4 'Mechs will take 3-4 hours to play (very experienced players can get this time down to 2.5 hrs or so). In Alpha Strike, each 'Mech is reduced to a playing-card sized sheet. This allows you to either (a) play game very quickly, such as a 4 v. 4 in about an hour, or (b) using the same amount of time, fight larger engagements, such as 12 v. 12 or more. Alpha Strike is also a true miniatures game requiring lines of sight and measuring tapes to play; Classic Battletech uses a hex grid to regulate movement and uses flat maps (though you can buy hexed 3D terrain). Alpha Strike is meant to be played like a true miniatures game with 3D terrain and freedom of movement. This product is very well done, with clearly laid out rules. While they can sometimes be wordy, this is done for the sake of clarity. While I can't say the rules cover *every single* permutation and exception (what miniature combat ruleset does, really?), it is much clearer than other rulesets. What I like the most is that the rules have everything for every era of the Battletech universe - about 400 years of playable in-universe history, and you only need to buy this one book for all the rules. The book is divided into chapters, and within each chapter, optional rules are included for those that want a more granular game. The 'Mech sheets you need for the game can be obtained from the online website, the Battletech Master Unit List or (MUL). You can create a force and print out all the sheets - for FREE. Catalyst just recently released an ALPHA STRIKE BOXED SET, which includes punch-board terrain, 13 miniatures, a starter-copy of the Alpha Strike Rules, and a universe primer. If you have wanted to try Battletech, but find the rules too much of a grind and too much dice-rolling and chart referencing and too much of a brain burn, the Alpha Strike is likely the ruleset for you. The games play much faster. The drawbacks to Alpha Strike are related to its strengths: because it is streamlined, you have a less granular experience. Instead of literally rolling the dice to find out where you hit on a mech, marking off single bubbles of armor, and rolling on a chart to find out if you hit the ammo, then seeing if the damage destroys the mech or just blows off its shoulder - in Alpha Strike, it's just an Ammo Crit and the Mech is destroyed. It cuts out all the extra steps and in exchange for that, you can get a game done in a reasonable amount of time without referencing multiple charts. If you *like* that granularity, then Alpha Strike may not be for you. This is probably my favorite product for Battletech because it allows me to play bigger fights without having to take a weekend to accomplish it. I can teach Alpha Strike as we play the game and be done with the basics of the rules in 20-30 minutes. Thanks for reading!

We played through a demo of this game at PAX-Unplugged - the ruleset is very applicable to varying ages and experience in mini-based/tabletop wargames - and picked it up off MM along with the Succession Wars Cards and Clan Invasion Card packs - which save prep work and lookups during play. For those that want a BattleTech-lite game playable in an evening without having to worry about the 2130 charge, this is it. The AlphaStrike rules generate rotations in a 1v1 lance of about 10 min ... with a handy crib sheet from the rulebook ... and an entire battle can be played through in a short amount of time. This system comes with stat cards and boils away the analysis-paralysis-specifics of the original system. The system makes movement/combat quick and easy to manage - yet the game maintains the feeling of the original ... putting that grand sense of nostalgia into play along with all those minis that have been faithfully gathering dust since the late 1900's Highly recommend this version for those of us with limited gaming-time and busy schedules.

Alpha Strike is a streamlined version of Battletech, perfect for teaching youngsters that are interested in giant robots or for an afternoon game with friends. You can fit a Company sized game of AS in the same time (or less) than it takes to play with a Lance of regular BT. The Commander's Edition includes all the extra rules that you might want to add for expanded scenarios and rare mechs.

Great book and showed up in great condition.

Alpha Strike streamlines the mechanics of the entire game into a much more simple and easy-to-learn format. Thinking about running company/cluster-scale engagements? Alpha Strike will help you run them in a much shorter time.

BattleTech Alpha Strike is essentially a 'quick' version of Classic BattleTech. The rules themselves were designed to allow people with limited time the ability to enjoy the game series. Though Alpha Strike has a expedient version available for download by the writer, the published versions contain a wealth of additional material to be added at your leisure. The Commander's edition of this rule set contains additional simplified rules to expand upon combat between all forces to include Aerospace Fighters, Infantry, and more. As the latest edition of Alpha Strike published rules the Commander's edition also has grammatical updates and expanded upon articles where need be. I would consider the book to be a solid rule set and collective piece of tabletop game literature that improves upon the series. As a former Classic BattleTech player this simplified ruleset allows me to play enjoyable games with varying content at my discretion, and a means of reference when teaching others.