BattleTech Command Level II Review! | Wave 2 Kickstarter Deep Dive Series | Clan Invasion
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 ก.ย. 2021
- The first of two brand spankin' new ComStar packs... the Command Level II. This box comes with the King Crab, Highlander, Black Knight, Executioner, Sentinel and Mercury. Take a look at some close up shots as we unbox and examine these fantastic new 'mechs.
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The new designed sentinel. The black knight. The highlander. And the Kingcrab... You can't get more iconic.
This box is just a must have for every battletech player.
That Black Knight sculpt is gorgeous. It makes me want one in a larger scale for the sole purpose of painting and displaying it.
Indeed. A beautiful sculpt but I still prefer the lead/ralidium from the 1990s.
This box was one of the main reasons I waited to get all my stuff on wave 2. Love everything that comes in this one for sure.
The Sentinel is the MVP of the whole kickstarter. No other mech got such a massive upgrade.
Definitely one of the coolest redesigns!
The ComStar boxes were a steal as part of a pledge, standing in for a star but without removing a salvage box. Throw in how excellent the 'Mech selection is and they're probably my two favorite boxes in the KS. The King Crab, the Sentinel, the Mercury, the Black Knight, the Highlander, the Flashman, and most especially the Mongoose. So many good choices. I just wish there were a Shootist in there - I'd gladly sacrifice the Guillotine for it.
The Mercury was almost a proto-omnimech that Clan Wolverine designed a successor, which Clan Coyote (IIRC) stole and turned into the first true omnimech in the wake of the betrayal of the Wolverines. I've loved how it looks ever since the old CCG.
The Sentinel does what it says on the tin. It's a great militia 'Mech option in its downgrade form. The old art was kind of derpy, but Bishop Steiner did an excellent job with the redesign. The original looked like an egg with some sticks taped to it, but this one looks kind of brutal.
I'm really glad that the new Black Knight is closer to the original than to the MW4 and Dark Age version. My favorite feature is the great/crusader helm style head, which this model combines with a very plate harness look for a full knightly aesthetic.
I confess that I've never been a fan of the Exterminator. The OG variant with Null Sig and active camo is interesting, but it's just never really impressed me much. It kind of reminds me of a larger, more heavily armored Chameleon (an easily modified trainer 'Mech).
The Highlander has a great gun arm and a nice VCR head, which are the two most important things. I will say that I'm not a huge fan of the shell trap chest plates. The Black Knight's plating looks more practically designed for actual protection IMO.
My only quibble with the King Crab is that it doesn't look like the claws can move. Granted, for the variants that don't have hand actuators that makes sense, but I've always preferred my King Crab claws to be able to open and close around the big guns. The hull is reminiscent of the MWO King Crab, but smoother and more curved, which I prefer. Interestingly, I think that this and the Turkina look rather similar, making me wonder if there was any historical link between the two (perhaps the Turkina being the omni Clan upgrade of the King Crab, similar to the Loki/Warhammer, Thor/Thunderbolt, and Gladiator/Banshee).
Great review and comments!! Agree with you on possibly every point! Though I do like this new exterminator 🙂
yeah even before I got to redo the Goose, it was always a light mech of choice, just such a solid little bugger
@@bishopsteiner7134 I've always loved the Mongoose, starting with the encounter with one on an ice mission in MW2M and on to the CCG, and your redesign definitely works.
As someone who played back in the day when these models and lore on them were new, the art depicting them came with vast caveats for me. They were looks that I didn't like and took a long time to warm up too and tolerate. All of the upgrades that have been happening in the last few years have made them look so fantastic, in my grognard mind the look finally fits the feel for many of these Mechs. That being said this is a nearly 'must have' for unique and iconic Mechs in the IP.
As always good stuff and thanks for the review.
Thanks for watching!
I've developed an irrational fear, hatred, and begrudgingly respect for the Sentinel-3K when alternative ammo rules are in play. It happened after helping teach a buddy how to cope with rolling one in at random for our first Clan vs IS match.
(Buddy) "This thing looks like it sucks!"
(Me) "Well, it's got 2 tons of cannon ammo. Load one with armor-piercing and see if you get lucky, and keep the other clip loaded with standard rounds for low-odds pot-shots."
(Buddy) "But then I'll only get 10 shots with the good stuff!"
(Me) "Dude, you're in a Sentinel. You're either gonna die or you're gonna get your cannon arm blown off LONG before you gotta worry about running out of the good stuff. Don't worry about it."
About 4 turns into the match an AP round shot the gyro out of my favorite Vulture. I've hated Sentinels ever since.
Hahah love this story! Agree AP is good stuff.
That Exterminator reminds me, visually, of the Ost-series 'Mechs,
Yeah. The rounded cockpit/torso.
I think the ComStar sets are great. They cover Star League, rarer Inner Sphere, and even Clan Second Line/Cached mechs. Very nice!!
The King Crab was actually not widely available. Most of them went with Kerensky and the ones that were left were hoarded by ComStar. It was considered an extinct design during the Succession Wars and only really came back in small numbers after its performance against the Clans on Tukkayid.
ComStar Command Level 2: Because 1 isn't enough, and 3 is too much!
Some great mechs in this set. The King Crab and Highlander in particular are fantastic sculpts. I was never really that impressed with the Sentinel, both from a stat and aesthetic standpoint, but once again they really knocked the look out of the park! Cheers to the start of a good weekend guys!
Thanks!! You too!
Ah, the Highlander. "Because you wanna kill a guy and bury him 6 feet under at the same time."
Davis McCall would be proud!
My poor, poor wallet. Yet another pack that I won't be able to steer clear of. The Black Knight, Highlander and King Crab are worth it alone and then you get these other three cool Mechs on top. The Sentinel especially is a pretty nifty little rascal.
Agree on the Sentinel - pleasantly surprised. Great pack for sure.
Get a 3d Printer and make all of them. I'm to 30 right now because i've been focusing on clan omni mechs.
@@shanepatrick4534 I've got a couple files already and a friend of mine has got a pretty decent 3D printer. We'll also invest in a new printer that's hitting Kickstarter in the coming weeks. Those mechs are mostly stuff where the OG miniatures look weird (like the Mackie) or that became "unseen". Also a few nice display models.
I prefer to buy official miniatures to support the company that makes the game. After all, I like the game enough to spend my time with it, it's only fair when I also spend some of my money on it. And I want the company to continue to supporting the game.
@@h.a.9880 I agree, I bought 3 of the multi mech boxes but the quality far much worse on the moulded mechs compared to the printed ones.I have bought a ton of books too.
That is a juicy box of mechs. Finally got a message from the quartermaster wanting to confirm my shipping address, so hopefully my box will be on its way soon, although it's not like I'm wanting for Battletech minis to paint. Cheers fellas.
FINALLY!!! Awesome man! Enjoy when they come 🙂
While I am painting both Comstar Boxes as Comstar, another good option is to sprinkle them into DCMS formations since Comstar did provide them some toys to use against the nascent FedCom in 3039.
Bishop did some good work on those
I used the Comstar boxes to make Clan Wolverine!
The Sentinel is actually a House Steiner design. The DCMS did get some before the War of 3039, but House Steiner, post TRO 3025/Succession Wars retcon, is the sole producer and has built them nonstop since the Star League era. Check out the Ka and Kb variants for 3025 tough versions.
This was a must have. Highlander, Black Knight, King Crab? The others are just the icing.
$5/MECH??? How could *Anyone* complain? I and many like me remember shelling out up to $20/Mech! That's an *Awesome Deal!*
Think about what it costs you just for an *entry level* force, codex, rulebook, subscription to White Dwarf because you're going to want those fresh, Chapter Approved👍😁👌, rules printed there, etc.
The boxed set of Battletech costs you like $64-$70 and you get two, solid lances of *Awesome Miniatures* to play with and everything you need to play.
Love these models must buy for my units who recovered them from comstar
Not a big fan of that Black Knight sculpt, but I really like that Highlander. The cannon really sells it for me.
That King Crab though! She's beautiful. My old diecast one always looked like a pancake with twigs for arms and legs, but now she's got some meat to her.
Haha Im dying “a pancake with arms” lol
If you are building Kurita (especially the units who backed Theodore like the ryuken or genyosha) they are a good place to put the extra comstar level II mechs you don't want for your private Merc force or specific faction/hero mech.
Comstar gifted a bunch of star league mechs to Kurita to restore balance of power after the 4th succession war. Iirc they even accidentally gave them some Thugs which they didn't intend to, which the Kuritans reverse engineered onto Charger skeletons to make the Hatamoto-chi, so if they let some assault mechs slip through, they probably could have given them small numbers of just about any SLDF Era mech.
Indeed!
I just bought this specifically for the King Crab but all of them are amazing… though I’ve only used the King Crab so far for two battles.
Thanks gentleman, excellent production value
Thanks for watching!
I want to talk to Dana...
Hahah
Great video! Looking forward to more. I cant wait to see the painted wave 2 mechs in future Battlereps. I like the Black Knight scupt from this unboxing.
Sooooon soooooon
We are painting as fast as we can 🙂
I'm with you on the Highlander not being much of an upgrade. It's lost that retro robot aesthetic which defined it for me. Sure, it was a bit corny, but I liked the Johnny 5/Tomy Omnibot 2000/NES R.O.B./'50s/60's Tin Robot styling. I do like the new King Crab though, with the thinner carapace design. Takes some cues from the old metal sculpt, but still maintaining the mechanical style and adding some beef to the limbs. In fact if anything the arms and claws look almost too big. I hope these become available retail at some stage (here in Oz).
My friends and I always called the Highlaner Mr.VCR head. The IIC we called it the DVD head.
Haha some of the artwork make it looks like a giant projector screen.
Comstar Units are of 6... but a level I is one mech, aerospace fighter, or vehicle, or 6 (again) battle armor, or 36 infantry. Then a level II is 6 of these formations, a level III 6 x level IIs etc. A level II is sometimes called a Demi-Company (cuz only 6 vice 12). No such thing as a demi-lance. Back when I was playing all the time (in the 90s and early 00s, I could put a level 4 on the table if need be (and did a couple of times! 216 Units!, though about half of it was infantry and vehicles). We did play some big games back then that is for sure!
Good Lord.
The duration of one turn alone must have been a day. How long did one game last and how did it pan out?
LOL they might still be playing turn 1…. 😁 jkjk
@@h.a.9880 I once did a regiment-scale game in regular BT, took 2 days to get about 6 turns in. By comparison did a 2-batallion game in Alpha Strike that took like 5 hours
Love AS for those big games!
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming When you're looking at 216 units *per side*, I picture both players unpacking a factory new set of dice and by the time they are done with the second combat round, those dice are polished completely round by being so worn out.
Because of your channel and your banter I've started collecting and painting battletech, be it clans as they are the only models I can get my hands on. You should be getting commission from catalyst.
Haha thanks! We do it for the love. Appreciate you watching and joining the BattleTech community!
Welcome to BattleTech!
DFA love the Expanse? It's an amazing show!
One of my favs. Sad we are allegedly coming up on the last season! Really well done show.
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming the books are supposed to be even better and they'll be running three volumes longer than the show. And they will release the last book this or next year, so no Game of a Thrones situation!
Hahaha man there were definitely some weird things at the end of GOT I overlooked
Another great Unboxing!
Thanks for watching
i think you need an occasional blank knee plate or so just to have a good spot to place decals, some of the lighter mechs are a bit of a struggle for that!
I never used to like the Sentinel, most loadouts felt very meh and the design was ... not great - but like you said, that mini looks so damned cool I want a lance of them! Looks great, and is a cheap filler mech. Makes me think of a mech equivalent of a LAV or Bradley...sans carrying soldiers
The new Highlander design, I mostly like it. I think the chunky, flat geo approach robbed a few of the original design queues like the knees and shoulders (and for me, I like Star League designs feeling more polished and less chunky), but the things lacking are the chunky jump jets out the back and the antenna (guessing they were too fragile?)
I'm currently painting up one of the IWM minis, so I'm missing those huge jump jets sticking out the back. I do prefer the leg design on the plastic though, the IWM's are perfectly straight in stance - and while I like the look of external pistons I keep thinking its an exposed weak point, so don't miss that being removed too much. Though I'd prefer to just have some armour surrounding them instead
Totally agree on the sentinel!! I also like those external pistols - but agree they could use some shielding 😁
Its a pretty great set. I think the Highlander looked good in the renders but the pose lent itself to being a little derpy during casting/assembly. Also a lot of the beveled edges ended up not being crisp on cast which dulled down the detail. I still like the Freightliner Cab Over Tractor look of the MWO version but the new sculpt is growing on me after I reposed it and started adding antennas and other bits. As I've began my greebling process I found Catalyst did a pretty good job adding the mounting points for antennae in the Wave 2 sculpts.
Good tip! I will hack up one of mine and repose as well!
Regarding the Sentinel and Mercury redesigns... I was basically told.. "they suck, blow them up, no one cares" and so I did. I tried to keep true to the basics and aesthetic cues, but yeah, massive face lift.
Great job on both!
The new king crab looks so so good compared to the old iron wind model I have, and I am looking forward to using the STN-3Lb cause who does not want a Guass Rifle on a 40 ton mech lol. (I am building a themed SLDF/Rim Worlds Republic force)
They Royal variants are great.
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming they really are.
I always picture a naval "sea whiz" when I think of AMS
I'm a bit disappointed in the King Crab. It is extremely thin in the torso, it is concave underneath. The claws and AC barrels are a bit big as well. The Polygon crab is much better in my opinion, though yours looks bigger than the ones I've printed out.
I've got two of these bad boys. At least one of each mech will be joining my Comstar force (all that white 😢 ) ... some may join the 331st...
A level I is a single mech, vehicle, aerospace fighter, infantry platoon or battle armour squad (made of 4 or 6 battle armoured infantrymen (or women) depending on the year.)
A level III is 6 level IIs (36 level Is)
Nothing looks anything like the mercury? The Mercury 2 (and by extension the Coyotl) looks like the bustard offspring of a Mercury and a Champion (...and a toaster). And just so happens to weigh in exactly half way between them.
I love the new King crab. It's a bit difficult to squeeze into my storage foam but it is a lovely model.
Agree on the storage foam!! It sort of fits in the 12 slot Feldherr case 🙂
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming yeah, "sort of fits" seems like an apt description. Unlike the Atlas who stands head and shoulders too tall for those slots.
Edit: I think that I'm thinking of a different feldherr tray... 20 slots standing. I don't believe that I have a 12 slot one :p can't double check this week, regardless.
Haha well at least they are all scaled correctly 😁
The PMW king crab is the best they have made. Such a fantastic model. The new CGL model is very good though.
I concur. You’ll see the new CGL one likely in a batrep soon… but also keeping the PWM one in my collection!
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming the pirate Lance they made has an amazing king crab. I’ve printed and painted them all up. PMW has terrific options.
Really sad the record sheets don't include the record sheet with the clanbuster Black knight with the freaking sword.
Ah good call! That would have been useful!
I've recently started running a mechwarrior destiny campaign.
Awesome! It’s a fun system for sure.
It's still stuck trying to get session zero done and 1 started. More time for me to work out the Kentucky irregulars.
Did they already review the new Stalker? I am very interested in seeing that thing up close.
We haven’t done that lance yet - it will be one of the last we do… because its one of the fan favs. The good news is I will have some painted examples by then!
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming Sounds awesome!
We are committed to doing a deep dive on every single box!!
been trying to get this set but it's either out of stock or prohibitively high prices on online retailers some even asking $80-$100 + s&h when it's msrp is $35-$40
Have you reached out to Derek over at Aries? He is usually good w/ pricing. Unless you live on Mars, I cant imagine $100 for shipping!
if your going to compare to other minitures you need to get in close for us to see.
Who does number 2 work for? oh, Comstar!
Hahah best movie
highlander burial when it jumps on you.
King crab is too big? I dont think so, as the kids say these days he is a thick boy but with 2 Cs ticc
Hahaha you are on a roll with the comments my friend!
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming i have had a bunch of time to catch up on watching content. You guys kill me, love the content.
As always we appreciate you watching!
Does the guy on the right always talk over the other guy? I hope not, as this is first video Ive watched, and that behavior is off putting.
I would like to support people supporting the hobby, but "suffer not the heretic," or whatever.
Typical American young adults..knows gobs and gobs of fake information like weapons load out and "history/lore" on futuristic game pieces... can't spell "sentinel".
I challenge you to guess our educational backgrounds and current careers. 😁
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming Sorry, I'm not good at guessing and didn't mean any personal disrespect to both of you. That was a poor joke and my mistake and I apologize. It was my own knowledge of B-Tech that inspired me to go back to grad school. My environment had convinced me that I "couldn't make it" in grad school, but yet I could quote statistics and weights and classes and heat sinks and movements from 4+ tech readouts from memory. I realized that this young man who had been convinced was mediocre at math was actually pretty good...when I liked the subject matter. This, I found, was a pervasive problem in the US...consistently "poor" scoring peers who were limiting their careers because they were convinced they didn't have good math skills, reasoning skills, or memories but yet they could quote Warhammer lore, PPC ranges, football stats, and automotive statistics without effort. I went back for my grad degree and with God's blessings excelled, and event went on for further education/certifications. My comment, poor as it was, was aimed at the indoctrination of at least 2-3 generations that are now content with being poor in English, and general math skills (they drank the kool-aid), but can rattle off Star Wars "facts", LOTR "history" or Starfleet protocols... yet they're not convinced they can succeed in education or the workplace. Sad.
Nothing personal taken! I do agree about the general poor state of our education system… tough to know what the people running that ship are thinking sometimes. Has taken a nose dive in the last 18 months too.
@@DeathfromAboveWargaming 👍 Take it from an old Blackjack pilot, if you stand in front of a class of students and point out that they're really NOT bad at math, because they can call up sports, fantasy, or musical artist statistics on a whim, sometimes you see lives change. I wish every school had a day at the beginning of the semester where they work to convince their students that they ARE capable. It sounds corny but most people suck at the education game because they're convinced they can't win it.... not because of aptitude.
I wish we had more teachers that gave a sh1t like you! The future of America depends on it.