What makes a good starter set? Part 1: One Box to Rule Them All.

I mentioned I wanted to discuss what I think makes a good starter box, and so here we are. Why is this part one, you ask? Well, I was going to one big post, but realized that going over all the examples I could think up would make this roughly as long as War & Peace, so I decided to split it into two.

In this post we'll be talking about what makes a good single box experience. Either for two people to split, or to allow one person to have enough stuff to demo a game in an effective manner. So these are gonna be the big boxes, and we'll take a look at smaller, single player focused boxes at a later time (most likely next week).

Another quick note. I'm trying to limit this to one thing per company. I could probably go through every two player starter set Games Workshop makes all on their own, but I want to keep this focused and some companies just make way too many for me to cover them all.

All that stalling out of the way, what does make a good two player starter set? For starters it should have some sort of rulebook (although as discussed in my post about Legions Imperialis, it doesn't need to be a full sized massive book), required accessories (usually dice, reference cards and the likes) and obviously enough models to demo the game with. Now, depending on the type of game the number of models may vary, but one simple rule that applies to both big and small starters is that it should either get you enough stuff to play a "standard" sized game, or get you to within a single purchase of being able to do so.

So let's get rolling looking at some starter sets.

Battletech: A Game of Armored Combat - Excellent

I made it no secret when discussing Legions Imperialis that I think Battletech makes some damn good starter sets. I also know that there are roughly four of the things, with a fifth on the way. I'm going to talk about the A Game of Armored Combat set, though, as I feel it is both the most complete experience, and is also the one I have hands on experience with (that and the OG Beginner Box).

What makes this set so good? It's a stunning value for the money. You get eight battlemech miniatures, enough for two people to each have a Lance, maps, a rules book, a lore book, a novella, dice, record sheets, quick reference sheet and a shit ton of paper standees to easily expand you force beyond the miniatures to try new Lance compositions (or settle arguments if both of you want to use a mech that appears in the box) and more. It works as both a split experience because both players can walk away with four mechs (enough to play Classic Battletech, or get you started on a company for Alpha Strike), one in each weight class. 

And you get all of that for a retail price of $60. That's an insane value, and it's really easy to expand beyond this box whether you split it with a friend or keep it all to yourself. Grab a couple of Lance packs and you're pretty well set to go. If you want to expand beyond mechs, you'll need the Total Warfare book, but it's basically optional if you just want big stompy robots.

The one place this fails is that it's not a great place to teach someone completely new to the game. The Beginner Box is a better fit for that, with a simplified starter rules that cuts out stuff like heat management and ammo tracking. But, if you know you're gonna be serious about Battletech this is an insane deal.

Warcry: Hunter and Hunter - Good.

I chose to go with this for one simple reason: it's a great example of both the good and bad of GW's philosophy.

This is, by all accounts, a solid starter set. It gets you two full warbands, without repackaging Underworlds models like Crypt of Blood, plus all the stat cards you need. But it does drop the ball slightly in that the only terrain piece it contains in the mawpit. The older Warcry boxes used to come with two full warbands and an ass load of terrain, which is huge because terrain is pretty pivotal to the game. Now if you want the official terrain that the layout cards use, you need to buy a separate terrain box, which is another $100+. What this ultimately means is that to get the same amount of product and experience you got with the older sets you now need two boxes, and it'll cost you more money to do so.

That aside, this is still a solid starter, and the two player starter sets for Warcry, Crypt of Blood not withstanding, have been great deals. This is a little less great than the previous sets due to not only the lack of terrain, but also a lack of the core rules. Granted, the core rules are now free online so that's not a huge deal, but I know some people love their physical books. 

If you like both warbands here then this is a good way to get two warbands in a single purchase, or split it with a friend if you each like one of them. So while it is noticeably light on accessories, it's still a decent place to get started in Warcry. If you can find the older starters for a good price those are a better buy, but this will do you well. 

Star Wars Legion - Eh.

I know it probably seems like I'm slamming Legion a lot lately, and I swear that's not my goal. As I've said many times before, and will continue to say to absolve myself of a shit storm, Legion is a solid game.

The core sets, though, rub me the wrong way. 

You get a lot of stuff: two characters, four infantry squads, two speeder bikes and an AT-RT, you get the measurement and range tools, some dice, a couple terrain pieces and more cards and tokens than you'll know what to do with. Plus the rules (although they're probably out of date) and assembly guides.

It's the little things, though, that it lacks. These boxes are kind of a shit deal if you want to split them with someone. Who gets the single set of measurement tools, the single set of range tools, what upgrade cards, and the pile of dice too small to use? Which of you now needs to shell out more money to get the basic equipment needed to play? 

And what do you do if you don't want one for the armies in here? I know a lot of people say to just split two boxes between two people, double your army and each of you gets a set of tools, but that's bullshit. This isn't a god damn card game where you go around doing trades for shit you don't want in a box. I guess the new battleforce boxes are a good option to get around that, but even then you still need to buy dice and tools to use the stuff in those boxes.

On top of all that, the contents of these boxes don't get you anywhere near a standard sized army. A standard game of Legion, for those who don't know, is 800 points. The Rebels in the OG core set, sans upgrades, comes to 285 points. So well below the standard, and well below the "buy one box to get to standard" rule I mentioned above. On top of that, a standard game of Legion requires you to have three Corps choices, and these boxes only come with two per army. Yeah, you can play the Skirmish alternate rules, but you'll still be a good bit below the 500 point standard for that.

For $120 and such a well known name as Star Wars, I just think you should get more bang for your buck here. Especially since even if you don't split the box you'll still need to buy more than half of an army to get it to snuff, and another thing of dice to have enough to not need to reroll shit.

Heavy Gear Blitz: Battle in the Badlands - Great.

I won't apologize for my unapologetic love of Heavy Gear. It's a fantastic setting, and Blitz is a great game. I loved it before I ever wrote a single word in a rulebook, so my bias isn't professionally based at least.

There are actually two starter sets for this game, the other being War for Terra Nova which features the North and South factions. I'm going with this one because it's newer, has my favorite faction in it and is probably the better deal of the two.

You get 12 Peace River models, twelve NuCoal (boo, Gavin, boo I say!) models and a small version of the 3.1 rulebook. It would have been nice if it also came with dice, but gamers have dice like 16th century European nobility had syphilis, so I think we'll be okay here. For $125 it's a pretty solid deal.

This is also really easy to split between two players, each just takes their faction of choice. But what about the rulebook? Well, the rules are free online anyway, so it's not a big deal. It also works if you want to keep it all for yourself, as you can use all the models together in lists using allied units and the likes.

Where does this sit on the "standard sized or close enough" metric? Pretty damn close. The Peace River models, assuming you just run all stock models like some sort of sociopath, will run you 108 points. A standard game is 150, and variants are gonna tweak that value a fair bit plus you can buy upgrades to fill in some of those points if need be. So it's still possible to get this to a 150 point list with a single purchase, just grab a unit box or one of the big boys like a Red Bull Mk.2 or a Cataphract and you'll get damn close (I've made exactly one list that was right on the 150 point mark).

Solid value.

Bolt Action: Band of Brothers - Okay.

This isn't strictly the worst starter set I've ever seen, but it is a bit shit. This is marketed as a two player starter, and it does get you enough to give the game a whirl. Two small armies, some terrain, pin markers, the rules and all the dice you need.

Where it fails is that "standard level of play" thing I keep banging on about. When I played Bolt Action the normal game was something like 1500 points. I quite liked the 1000 point range, but people love their Tigers. This comes with a paltry amount of models. It's plenty to learn the game, I suppose, but getting these up to 1500 points, unless infantry sextupled in points cost in 2nd edition, is going to take a lot of extra purchases. As a "want to try without huge investment" type deal then it's not too bad at $133 retail, but it is going to take a lot of money to get this up to the norm.

If you want something closer to the norm you could always grab the Battle of Berlin box, if you don't mind dropped nearly $450 on a single box set.

If you played Americans or Germans in first edition and want a quick expansion plus the updated rules then I can see this being a decent investment. As a legit two player starter set it just feels a bit too light for my taste.

Bushido - Good.

Bushido is one of those games I've gushed about here a lot, and with good reason. It's a really solid game with cool ass models and scratches that Legend of the Five Rings itch I yearn for in miniatures gaming.

The two player starter box, though, I struggle with a little. On the surface it's damn good. It's 70 Pounds (or roughly $88.71 USD) for ten models, all the stat and upgrade cards (30 cards total), a token sheet and the rules. 

For a skirmish game that's not bad at all. It gets you two roughly 70 point warbands, so if you split it with someone you can both easily expand to the "standard" of 100 points with one more expensive character each. Or if you want to keep it all to yourself you can probably get it to 100 points with just the models in the box. I think.

And this brings me to my gripe with this box. The models are all Ronin, i.e. mercenaries that can work with a number of factions. The problem is that if you have a particular faction in mind to play, you may find this box kind of wanting. For example, I like the Ito Clan faction the most, and only one of the models in this box can work with them. So for me, this box would be sort of a waste. If you want a quick way to demo the game for under $100 it's solid, and if you play certain factions many of these models are viable (and even more so, obviously, if you play multiple factions).

As it stands, though, it's a good starting point if you don't know anything about the game or haven't settled on a faction yet. But it is a mixed bag if you like certain factions, and downright not worth it if you want to run Ito Clan.

Marvel Crisis Protocol: Earth's Mightiest - Solid.

"Hey wait a second," I hear you say "this and Legion are made by the same people!" Technically yes, now, but the two legion core boxes came out when that was still under the control of Fantasy Flight Games, before Asmodee (who owns a lot of gaming companies) moved it over to Atomic Mass. But Crisis Protocol has always been AMG.

I think this is a good deal, to put it simply. $150 retail gets you 13 models (in a game where most teams are around six), so much terrain, cards, rules, tokens, tools and what have you. This is a spectacular amount of stuff, and a good way to get started in the game.

It does make splitting it hard, though. Much like with Legion, who gets the tools? Who gets the crisis cards? Who gets the terrain? This is a solid set for a single person to buy, and a great way to get started and demoing the game. It's a solid all in one set, but it's not great for splitting.

A brief aside, though, is that the model selection in here is kind of jank. It comes with basically the same characters, albeit new versions, as the old starter set. This was a great opportunity to get in some new characters, or at the very least if you do insist on including the same characters do wildly new versions of them. Give us Iron Spider, Extremis Iron Man and so on. Just feels like a missed opportunity.

Relic Blade: Storms of Kural - 12/10.

Spencer is singing the praises of Relic Blade, what a fucking shocker.

But this is a damn good starter set. $85 for two complete, 100 point, warbands, all the cards in the world, tokens and a mini campaign. The only downside is the normal box doesn't come with the rulebook, but Metal King does sell it in a bundle with the rulebook for $99 (which is basically getting the rule book for 50% off).

This is just such a killer deal. Even if you do the rulebook bundle, $99 for a full out of the box experience without needing to buy extra shit is so good and, as you've seen, almost unheard of these days. Companies always seem to skim a little something off to make you need to buy more to actually play a legal game, but Relic Blade just gives it all to you up front. And the option to buy it without the rulebook is great for folks who want the models and cards that come in this set but already have the rules (people like me).

I suppose splitting this could be tricky, and as is the case with many two player sets it's entirely possible you end up with models you don't want. For me, six of the eight models in this set are things I would see me using in a game, and if I can offload the other two models (Pig and Squid) then I'm in really good shape for my investment. 

Once again Sean Sutter shows he knows what makes a good product, and that he really understands players and the community.

That's it for this dive into starters. Part two will be up soon, and we'll go over single player experiences and what makes a good starter set in that regard. Keep your eyes peeled for that, and have a Merry Christmas if that's your thing.