REVIEW
This starter box retails for $99, you can easily get it at fair market value around $70-$75 on Amazon. But even at the retail price of $99, this starter is definitely a steal!
This starter essentially comes with 2 BATTLEGROUPS, one for the Khador army and Protectorate of Menoth army, which both already retail for $50 each. PLUS, each army gets another 5-man unit, each retailing for $45 each. So you're already getting almost $200 worth of goodies at a steal, not to mention and whole load of extra goodies I'll also show you further below.
You can see that the minis are neatly packaged in separate bags so they can all easily be distinguished and organized. Note that they are not in plastic grids like with Games Workshop minis so you don't need to worry about snapping pieces off or deal with TOO many mold lines compared to GW minis, as far as I've seen in GW box sets my friends have. This is definitely a plus for new gamers to just get right into the game without needing too much prep and assemble time.
For whatever reason, Privateer Press is not planning to sell this digest sized rule book individually, so the only way to obtain this is through the battle box. I know this will most certainly come in handy as I'm learning the game more in depth on the fly and is really easy on the eyes with the full color pages, and the abundance of diagrams and pictures to visualize the game rules.
I honestly think that many table top games falter in their starter sets mainly due to the fact there is not a dedicated start guide for players to just jump right into the game. Players in most starter sets would have to look through an intimidating rulebook or manual to find what they need to just set the game up, bogged down with text and lack luster image guides. Privateer Press, my hat goes off to you for this one; you really made this starter set shine so far.
This guide also gives you an overview and lore of every other faction in the Warmachine universe, plus a few brief summaries of the factions in Hordes, the counterpart to Warmachine and can be played together.
What I really liked about this guide is the picture detail and step by step walk through of how to paint each faction's warjacks beginning from the basecoat, all the way to the highlighting steps to get you started on how to paint your minis pretty well. I know you can easily find painting tips online now, but this extra bit of info Privateer Press added in really impressed me.
And finally, there are also some templates for certain weapon attacks and terrain templates that can be photocopied right off the page to get you started from the get go. Why force anyone to pay extra for a template set for players who just want to see if they even like the game first? A nice addition and foresight, imo.
(Some extra images of the intro guide below)
Here are the stat cards that come with all the info for each miniature; health, attack power, defense, special abilities etc. The cards look pretty detailed and have a matte feel to them. They look to have a bit of a gloss to them so they seem to be pretty nice quality. They're your standard sized trading cards like Magic: The Gathering so they'll easily fit into any card sleeves you have lying around or 9-grid card sleeves. Longevity for these cards won't be an issue with a set of sleeves.
Not to mention that front cover art looks pretty damn sick too :)
This ruler lacking the 2" isn't really a big deal, but it's just that this starter box had so many good things going for it and I love so many things about it, but it just didn't sit right with me seeing as there is this one minor short-coming. I just wasn't feeling it, if there was a slim chance that either player didn't have a retractable ruler and used the Destroyer's attack range to the full 14" effect, that they wouldn't be able to really get the completeness of having everything needed to play the game properly; especially when this whole starter box had everything AND THEN SOME. But none the less, I still love this starter box and I thought it would be appropriate to point out this one really minor issue considering I've been absolutely raving about the pure awesomeness of this box set.
Conclusion
As I progress through Warmachine, I hope I'll be able to continually blog about this game! The game is really well-made and will definitely satiate my appetite for hours and hours of Saturday night geekery.
Sorry, Risk 2210 - you were indeed my first love.. and you still are! Buuut, I really think it's best for us to see other people right now. No hard feelings, right?