New to the game, I've got some questions.

[swk]

My friends and I have decided to start playing A&A miniatures and I want to know where to start? My friends have purchased a starter and a booster. I want to know how many boosters are needed to make a decent squad to play? I am not looking for a competitive squad rather just looking to have some variety and some depth to my minis. Which set should we invest in? Any particular pieces we should be searching for? What is the rarity distribution? If there have been a million of these threads before, sorry, I am also new to the boards.

Thanks

[Cruizin2000]

Welcome to the boards, swk!!

Start with the Base Set. All of the basic infantry units can be found there. If you want to play by the basic rules, where you can mix Germans with Japanese, a Starter and 2 boosters of what ever set will get you going. If you want to play historical, buy the starter and get 3-4 boosters of what ever set you think looks good and where your WWII interests are. If you can afford it, buy cases from online dealers - MUCH cheaper!!!

The distribution in cases are pretty good as well as the boosters. In the boosters you get 1 rare, 3 uncommons, and 5 commons. When it comes to buying cases you should be able to get 12 of the 15 rares, 2-3 of each uncommon, and 4 of each common.

If you're looking for aircraft, Sets III and IV are for you. Go and check out the pictures of each set in the main page. Plus, reading the posts here will guide you in finding out how the pieces work with eachother, which ones are good, and which ones suck. There's a wealth of info from the guys here - just ask.

Again, welcome!!

C2000

[Richter von Manthofen]

Welcome!

Yes this questions have been answered before, but they are easy to answer too.

If you only want casual play I suggest you either stick with Set I, which contains a good selection af German and US units. Also you get a few Japanese and Brit units. Russia is underrepresented, but get 4 really good units (no crap russians in there). Forget France and Italy which get only token representation.

If you want russia you should get Set II boosters. There Russia gets a few nice units, Japan gets a few tanks, Brits are underrepresented. As usual US and German units are plenty and many are good to excellent. China, Poland and Romania make an appearance, but they get only a few units.

If you can get the bew double booster packs (one Set I one Set II in each + maps + counters) you might get (usually) two boosters for less the price of 2 boosters.

Set III debuts planes (no Brit planes inside) though you get some really excellent Brit pieces. A few Russians are also in, but Japan gets almost only crap (though the SNLF Fanatic is very good). Australia makes its debut here. Need nothing to say about US + Germany)

Set IV: Here the Brits really shine (2 planes). US + Germany as usual. Russia and Japan get almost nothing. Canada get 3 good units.

I would rate the Sets:

Set IV (d-day) the best, then Base, then, Contested Skies then Set II.

I suggest you get at least a booster of each Set to get a feeling.

How many to play:

1 Starter for the basics. (the units except the rare are fixed, so you know what you get when you buy multiples)
With additional 4 Boosters you should get enough units to field a decent force (maybe for germany and US, UK even nation pure) for each side (standard 100 points and max 15 units).

What are the best (my opinion) units for each major nation: (one of infantry tank and plane)

Germany:
SS-Panzergrenadier (Set I) common
Veteran Tiger I (Set IV) rare
Stuka (Set III) rare

US
Screaming Eagle Paratrooper (Set II) common
Sherman (basic) uncommon
Mustang (Set III)

UK
Defiant Paratrooper Set IV common
Churchill Crocodile St I rare
Spitfire Set IV rare

Russia
82mm Mortar Set III common
KV-1 Set I rare
Sturmovik Set III rare

Japan thats though:
SNLF Fanatic Set III common
Ho-Ni Set II rare (its not a good unit, but the best tank Japan has)
Zero Set III rare (its also not a good plane, but the only one for Japan)

HAve fun with the game

[Grenzewolf]

Im basicly a historical scenario player so I build massive forces of all represented nations. Since you're looking to build a single force with your buds you should each buy a base set and concolidate the booty into armies. Next play a couple skermishes and choose what country apeals to your styles of gameing. Then coordinate your booster purchases to help each other economicly by tradeing out.

Each of the major nations tend to have their own strong points and character. That definition is getting a bit blurred as more releases and varity are added. There are several posts that address each countrie's flavor that you might find helpful.

Im sure you'll realy enjoy the game and welcome to the boards. ;)

[OtterSC]

all the above posts are excellent suggestions.

as you learn the rules and are really hooked, you will get to learn what the units do with there special abilities (SA's). not only that, but those SA's will infulence other game pieces. like the Cossack officer or Forward Observer on the KV-1 (Russia).

there are a few places online that show offers a list of all the units from different sets with there statistics. can use these lists to buy only those units that you want that may help you build your army. i have an excel spread sheet on my site. as well us other gamer inspired programs that offer this info.

ebay is one source. trading unwanted units for wanted units here on this board is fine to (done under your own risk). and online stores and local gaming shops can sell individual units.

i would say to look at the lists of units and find a set that you and your friends appeal to. then pool your money together and get a case. it is a lot cheaper than buying individual boosters from time to time. of course, get a base set or two to get you started with units, rule book and maps.

personal choice, i like the base set units. will get you into the game and flavor of the mechanics. then jump up to set 4. if your group is interested in the European campaigns, then i suggest sets 1, 3 and 4. you like Russian front, then sets 1, 2 and 3. i am suspecting that WotC will put out a Pacific Theatre after the Set 5 coming out in November. only logical since they have focused on all of the fronts thus far. and maybe link it with the naval game that is also to be released this year.

[Stojakovic]

Welcome!

Nice to see new people.

Yup! Set 1 is the #1 choice. Great overall tanks that are used more often than many other sets (Croc, Sherman, Stuart, J. Panther, SS panther... and kind of the Tiger I) Great all around infantry as well (M1 garand, SS PG, flamethrower, etc.)

After that If you are looking for any of the heavy tanks try set 2. (The Russian IS-2, King Tiger, and everyone loves the Brumbar :) )

If you are looking for planes I would look into set 3 over set 4. Set 4 is nice overall But you got to love the Stuka and the P-51 Mustang. Plus there are some nice American tanks in that set.

To start out 1 starter and 3 boosters is the way to go. I was able to make 1 german army and 1 american army when I first started.

[cannonfodder]

To commit or not to commit, that is the question...And I won't answer it for you, you're the only one who can decide how much you want to -can afford to- spend on this game. The one thing I will say is that as long as all players have about the same amount of units to choose from the game stays pretty well balanced.
I also like the idea of joining together everybody's minis (dots of coloured paint on he botton of the bases makes sure everyone gets their own minis back at the end of the game) to build maximized armies. Put all your Russian units, and all your buddies Russian units, in a pile and build a 100 point army out of that. Also with limited numbers of minis you can play games made up of 80 or even 75 point armies.
Welcome to the game by the way. Have fun. We do.

[swk]

All you suggestions and advice is much appreciated. Thanks a lot for taking time out of your day to give a the 'new guy' some pointers. :)

[Cruizin2000]

All you suggestions and advice is much appreciated. Thanks a lot for taking time out of your day to give a the 'new guy' some pointers. :)


That's what we're here for. Pretty soon you'll be a "grizzled vet" and giving advice to the future recruits. ;)

C2000

[Arontje]

All you suggestions and advice is much appreciated. Thanks a lot for taking time out of your day to give a the 'new guy' some pointers. :)


Check these sites too:

http://www.hill107.com/browse/

http://www.triton-tek.com/aam/

[Predator666]

If I were you I would get 2 starters. The original starter comes with maps, dice and all fixed pieces except for one rare that is random. The second starter comes with two booster packs. The packs are a mix of the first three sets. It comes with a revised rulebook, more maps, new maps, and counters. If you want to have more fun then Stay with Set I and II for a while, learn the basic rules and keep aircraft outta the mix. Don't get me wrong, aircraft can be fun but its better when its just tanks and soldiers going at it.

Its especially fun when you first start out if you don't have enough units to make a nation specific army. You can mix chinese and polish and British and have a great time against a japanese, italian, german force.

Overall, Get one of the two starters out and 2 boosters of set I and 2 boosters of set II.

[118th_MPCo_abn]

SWK ... that sounds familiar.
What is SWK?

[Autarch]

My friends and I have decided to start playing A&A miniatures and I want to know where to start?
Thanks

I'd start with the FAQ to see what rules and special abilities have been changed since the game's release. That way if you want to play other people or sanctioned competition you'll be up to speed.

Enjoy!

[Dr_Strangelove]

All you suggestions and advice is much appreciated. Thanks a lot for taking time out of your day to give a the 'new guy' some pointers. :)

We were all 'new guys' once. I think you'll find this a good place and a good game. Don't be afraid to ask questions or share your ideas. This is generally a very good community of gamers.

[Kaufschtick]

SWK ... that sounds familiar.
What is SWK?

I'm not really sure, but if he's thinking about getting into AAM, I believe it means Soon to be Without Kash. :D

[swk]

Thanks for the links they were very helpful.

As for what swk stands for it stands for 'star wars kid'. You may know swk from an internet video which has become pretty famous.

[The_SunDance_Kid]

You mean that kid from canada with a broom stick? That was funny.

[warspite]

I second the suggestion to get an original starter set, and then a new starter set, so that you have dice from the first one, and the complete rules from the second. Western Allies and Germans will be pretty easy to build from those, but Russians are annoyingly rare, esp. infantry. If you and several friends are getting in together, try to get a case of Set I online (much less expensive), and then pool them, until you decide on how you like to play, and collect those. Set II introduces Romanians, Chinese and Poles, but not in enough numbers to make a good army, so avoid that until you're sure you have enough others already. Save Set III and IV until you have played for a while, so that you know how the new units affect play.

Also, I started playing the scenarios posted here, because I didn't know what I should be trying to put in an army for the standard scenario. Playing the scenarios gives you some balanced forces, some interesting objectives, and you can just focus on learning the system, and pick up some tips/tricks as you go, without having to puzzle forces together first. Some of the scenarios are really good tactical challenges, and SC-1 is designed from just the units from the Base Starter set, which is always the same, except for the random rare.

Good luck, and have fun!

P.S. Try to avoid the threads about tournament play. They can get pretty sick and twisted at times ;)

[cannonfodder]

Look for ways to make Special Abilities that work together. Look for units that get bonusses for being next to officers. Look for units that cause other units to get bonusses on attack, defense, and cover rolls.
Avoid spending too many points on any 1 unit, most of the time.
Experiment, experiment, experiment.
Oh yeah, and have fun. :D

[polish_horsy]

I would suggest you do not buy any boosters but rather hunt ebay and these boards. You should be able to buy units for 50 to 75 cents on the dollar. I just picked up a 7 rares including a Stuka and 105 Sherman for $28 including shipping. Brand new in bags on ebay. I also just saw a case of 12 boosters from set I (sealed case) go for $74. There is no reason to pay more than 7 dollars a booster.