Staring SST, what do i need?

[Theysuckedhisbrainsout]

Hello i have decided to start Starship troopers.

I have decided to start the Mobile Infantry and i was wondering what do i need to play? I know i need the rulebook and MI Army book but what else?

Basic troops and a commander? (Yes i have come from 40k)

Thanks.

 

[emperorpenguin]

If you know you want to collect MI I'd say get the box set. 16 MI figures plus 20 arachnids to trade/sell, not too shabby!

 

[Poko]

well, i have started about three weeks ago, so i have firsthand knowledge :wink:
first-don't buy any minis yet(unless you have some minis that you just know you'll have to have in your army, then the whole process described below can be shortened to just reading the rules). sit down, read the rules, then read the MI army book, then read the rules again checking what you don't understand, then read the MI book again while looking at the minis in question (on a website for eg.) and decide which platoon you want to start.

the main difference between SST armies(at least MI ) and 40k is that the MI are not a single big armylist you pick and mix. you have separate platoons of powersuits(IG strom troopers meet SM), exosuits(sorta like termies) and marauders(tau crisis suits/dreadnoughts). there are also pathfinders book and Klendathu invasion(which has the army list for the Light Infantry-the type you'v seen in the movie).
then, depending on what platoon you'll choose, the troop type you'll field will be different.
one thing- while you are mostly confined to one unit type within a platoon, you can have up to one platoon per full 1k of the force. so, for 2k you'll be able to field two platoons, and these may be any from the list above-you can have one exosuit platoon from the MI book, and one pathfinders platoon from the pathfinders book.

 

[Sgt. Brassones]

I agree with Poko, start by reading the rules and army book. If you're doing CAP Troopers for sure you can't go wrong with the box set or two boxes of CAP Troopers if you wan't to start making and painting models right away.

 

[mthomason]

The only reason I can think an M.I. player may want to avoid the box set is if they wanted to do a movie- (LAMI) or book- (Exosuit) specific army, so bear that in mind when deciding

 

[Guy_LeDouche]

As a fairly new player myself, I can echo the above posts. Get the MI Army Book and check that out. With all the options available, it can be a little overwhelming.

The MI book is great for sifting through all the different types of forces.

Here's a Pro/Con list compiled from an earlier post (thanks to all who contributed!)

MI CON for all Forces: Chain of Command rules/vulnerability

Light Armor MI:
PROS:
Cheap!!
Easy access to Air Assets
Easy access to Nukes (PL1 and up!)
Extra Emplacement Assets (Light MI work great in a defensive position)
Great for demos as people recognise them from the film
CONS:
EASY to kill, touch them and they fall over.
Somewhat lacking in specialized weapons
Not too mobile
Currently only 1 set of metal minis so a lot of duplicate posing

Power Suit MI
PROS:
Tactically flexible
Highly mobile
Can have Air Assets, Marauders, nukes, specialized weapons, and Aux. Units
CONS:
Don't get touched in CC. With a 4+ save and a warrior's piercing 1 trait you can't rely on them to stay alive.
A lot of points for not that much cash

Marauder MI
PROS:
Ridicoulous amount of firepower
Hard to kill!
Fairly mobile
Great at both offense and defense
CONS:
Expensive (point-wise)
Less Models on the table
Can't use some talents/traits in Marauders
A lot of points for not that much cash

Exosuit MI
PROS:
Loads of firepower!
Highly mobile!
Have 2 hits
Can almost go toe-to-toe with a warrior - D10 in CC.
A lot of points for not that much cash
Almost all weaponry is AA
Great range (basic weapons have a 30” range)
CONS:
Expensive (points-wise)
Less Models on the table

Pathfinders
PROS:
Hard to sneak up on
Can smell a tunneling marker from a mile away
Got the awesome "Splinter Cell" look
Able to take the fight to the tunneling bugs
a lot of points for not that much cash
They get a re-roll bonus when in hard cover
They get exclusive weapons including the reaver missile and shredder
Better reaction range than CAPS/LAMI
CONS:
No “mechanized” units (Marauders, CHAS, Exosuits)
Fire-magnets. When your models look this cool they never go unoticed by plasma barrages.
Cost more points wise
Currently, small range of figures to choose

 

[DAWGIE]

i began my SST adventure with the basic boxed set of 20 warriors and 16 MI powersuits. i then added the powersuit women squad, to mix in with the obviously all male powersuit plastics.

this provided me with a small but fun force to play with while i got the WORD UP on the MONGOOSE SST UNIVERSE (basically SST: THE MOVIE and THE ROUGHNECK CHRONICLES).


then i bought the PATHFINDER SQUAD BOX, which due to real life, languished un-opened, un-assembled, and un-painted in the closet until very recently. now it has been opened, but the toys are still NOT assembled or painted, but they will be my next project . a friend is sending me an unwanted PATHFINDER ARMY book so i will actually know what they do and how to use them on the tabletop.


my next purchase was a platoon of the metal LAMI troopers, which i bought because i wanted them for fun as well as tabletop wondefulness. todate they have been very useful for static defense, and i use a non- MONGOOSE proxie paper landing boat for mobile ammo supply, some firepower support, and MEDEVAC missions (it has also been used in the fast horse out DODGE role upon occassion!)


also i have recently acquired an M8 and an M9 marauder; the M8 has been assembled, painted and already covered with BUG goo as of this weekend.


as far as BUGS go, i have my basic 20 plastic warriors, as well as 20-24 re-painted metal GALOOB warriors, 12 repainted GALOOB hoppers, 1 repainted BRAIN BUG, and 1 repainted TANKER BUG . this gives me a small core of BUGS to grow around.


i would like to get some SKINNIES some day for more variety to play with/fight against as well. i am one of the weird old farts that likes the sentient ETA look of the these guys.

the good thing about the basic boxed set is that you get basically everything you need to start playing with, and then can add on other stuff as time/money/desire permit.

also, the MONGOOSE folks are very good at allowing proxie minis to be used, unlike GW, so if you already have IG, you do not even need to mess with MGP LAMI!

and i know one guy who is using TAU as proxie SKINNIES while he builds his own SKINNIE army from scratch and no one gets in his face about it!


everyone here has offered up good suggestions to y'all!

play games and have fun!


DAWGIE