Starter sets & expansions
Gundam Assemble Starter Set: Complete Guide to ST01 & Getting Started
Everything in the Gundam Assemble Starter Set ST01—six mobile suits, gameplay rules, and how to start your tactical tabletop journey.
The Gundam Assemble Starter Set delivers everything two players need to fight a complete 3-on-3 mobile suit battle in one $35 box. Released in October 2026 by Bandai Spirits Hobby Division, Starter Set 01 (ST01) serves as the format’s complete on-ramp, combining unpainted miniatures with a tactical hex-grid wargame that pulls mobile suits from across the entire Gundam franchise timeline.
What Is the Gundam Assemble Starter Set
Starter Set 01 is built as the format’s mass market entry point, designed to teach the game, provide every baseline component, and give brand new players a clear first squad to learn from. Unlike expansion packs that require existing game components, the starter set is a standalone product containing everything needed for two people to learn Gundam Assemble in one sitting.
The set launched alongside four other products in October 2026 as part of Bandai’s commitment to a release cadence resembling a trading card game rather than a typical model line. Bandai showcased the starter set at Gen Con 2026 and released the official core rulebook version 1.0 as a free PDF on August 28, 2026, weeks ahead of retail availability.
At its $35 MSRP, the starter set undercuts most comparable miniature wargames on the market while delivering a complete play experience. The low buy-in price relative to the line’s $40 expansion packs and $100+ deluxe sets positions it as the product Bandai and nearly every beginner’s guide point to first.
Complete Contents of Starter Set 01
The Gundam Assemble Starter Set contains a full tactical wargame in a single box:
| Component | Quantity | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Miniatures | 6 unpainted mobile suits | Game pieces spanning multiple Gundam series |
| Unit Cards | 6 matching cards | Define each mobile suit’s abilities and stats |
| Tactics Cards | 18 cards | Strategic options during gameplay |
| Game Map | 1 hex-gridded board | Playing surface for battles |
| Dice | Set of 10-sided dice | Combat resolution |
| Game Tokens | 1 set | Track unit status and effects |
| Terrain Pieces | Cardboard objects | Create battlefield obstacles |
| Handbook | 1 rulebook | Complete game rules |
| Quick Reference Sheet | 1 sheet | Combat and action summary |
| Teaching Scenarios | 2 scenarios | Guided learning experiences |
The hex board and cardboard terrain pieces included at no extra cost distinguish the starter set from bigger tabletop wargames that require separate terrain investments. Early reviewers repeatedly praised how little additional purchase the game demands compared to established wargames, with one complete match playable straight from the starter box.
The Six Mobile Suits in ST01
The Gundam Assemble Starter Set deliberately spans eras rather than sticking to one series, staging crossover battles between suits that never shared a screen in the original anime:
RX-78-2 Gundam - The original Gundam from the Universal Century’s One Year War, piloted by Amuro Ray in the 1979 anime that launched the franchise.
Char’s Zaku (MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type) - The iconic red mobile suit piloted by Char Aznable, representing the Zeon forces from the same One Year War era.
Wing Gundam Zero EW - From Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz, representing the Alternate Century timeline and one of the franchise’s most recognizable designs outside Universal Century.
Gundam Mepphyon - Also from Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz, adding a second representative from that series to the starter lineup.
Gundam Vidar - From Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, representing the Post Disaster timeline and one of the franchise’s more recent series.
Barbatos Lupus Rex - The second Iron-Blooded Orphans representative, piloted by protagonist Mikazuki Augus in the series’ final battles.
This spread means a box aimed squarely at total beginners already features suits from three completely different Gundam timelines. The standalone ST01 box represents a considerably more ambitious lineup compared to the earliest card game pack-in miniatures from 2025, which featured a simpler trio of Gundam, Guncannon, and Guntank.
Miniature Scale and Assembly
Every unit in Gundam Assemble finishes at approximately 5 cm or roughly 2 inches tall—a jarring contrast for anyone used to Bandai’s Master Grade or Perfect Grade Gunpla kits, some of which loom over display shelves at much larger scales.
The kits ship unpainted and unassembled exactly like standard Gunpla. Players are expected to snap or glue the parts together and paint them before playing a match. There is no pre-built option anywhere in the line at any price tier. Bandai even sells a dedicated Nero 1 paint pack accessory bundle alongside the miniatures for players starting from zero hobby experience.
Early hands-on coverage found the plastic heavy-duty with chunky runners, noticeably cheaper than comparable Games Workshop miniatures though not quite as crisp in finer sculpted detail. Real mold lines on early releases like the Zaku II require cleanup work, with reviewers recommending sanding sticks over standard hobby knives. The consistent thread across coverage is that cleanup and painting here is genuinely rewarding hobby work, and Gunpla veterans in particular will feel instantly at home with the build process even once the drastically smaller scale takes adjusting to.
How Gundam Assemble Gameplay Works
Gundam Assemble runs on a hex-gridded board with two players or two teams, each fielding a squad of mobile suits and taking turns acting within a structure the rulebook calls the timeline.
The Timeline Activation System
Every unit card lists a starting position on the timeline track. As rounds progress and units get activated, whatever action they take pushes them further down the track before they’re eligible to act again. A simple move called advancing lets a unit shift up to three hexes, while a heavier action costs more timeline and delays that unit’s next turn accordingly.
The timeline itself is divided into 10 rounds. Once those 10 rounds finish, the game’s first phase ends and a second phase begins, giving every match a built-in two-act structure rather than an open-ended slog toward a single win condition.
When a player activates a single unit, that unit can perform a menu of actions labeled A through D, each usable once and in whatever order the player chooses. Every activation also requires exactly one primary action per round, drawn from a narrower sublist labeled B1 through B4.
Combat and Dice Resolution
Fights are resolved with 10-sided dice (D10s)—a pleasant surprise in a hobby scene still overwhelmingly dominated by six-sided dice. An attack starts entirely with the unit card itself, which lists a timeline cost, an effective range, and a strength value all in one place.
Many abilities are range restricted, meaning a card’s effect only triggers if the target sits within that specified distance measured across the hex grid. Any ability that cares about range also requires line of sight to the target. A player cannot snipe an enemy suit through a wall of terrain or another mobile suit standing directly in the way just because the numbers on the card would otherwise line up favorably.
Win Conditions and Scenarios
What actually ends a game varies scenario by scenario rather than being fixed across the whole system. Some scenarios are won outright by wiping out the opposing squad, while others hinge entirely on holding a specific objective marker on the board for a set number of rounds without losing control of it.
The starter set ships with two teaching scenarios to walk new players through the rules before they ever branch into building a custom squad of their own. Because every scenario objective card spells out its own win condition up front rather than relying on one universal victory point count, two players can sit down, read a single card, and know exactly what they’re playing toward before the first unit is even activated.
Reviewers who got early access to the rulebook describe the overall feel as closer to Warhammer Underworlds than a mainline Warhammer army game. Every miniature is a fixed character with a set loadout rather than a customizable one, so strategic depth comes almost entirely from sequencing activations correctly and reading the timeline rather than from deep piece-by-piece unit customization.
Getting Started and Building Squads
Starter Set 01 gets a new player onto the table with a ready-made squad. Only once the core rules click does building a squad that actually feels personal become the real, more replayable game. At that point, an expansion pack or two usually becomes the next purchase rather than a second starter box.
The Three-Job Framework
Beginner guides distill squad construction down to a simple framework once players move past the starter scenarios:
- Threat unit - Creates pressure and forces opponents to react
- Control unit - Maintains formation and positioning
- Flex unit - Provides options to cover mistakes or support other plays
Because the format’s baseline is a minimum of three units per side rather than the dozens common in bigger miniature games, every single model in a Gundam Assemble squad carries real tactical weight. Losing one unit is a far bigger swing than losing one model out of 30 ever would be in a larger scale wargame.
That smaller footprint is framed as the format’s core beginner hook: fewer models to learn, fewer models to paint before a game is even playable, and a squad that can realistically go from sealed box to finished tabletop army in a single weekend rather than becoming a season-long painting project.
Expanding Beyond the Starter
Once players move past the starter scenarios, the game opens into building custom squads pulled from across available Gundam series and factions. Each side is simply designated red or blue for the match rather than being locked into a single faction identity the way many wargames are.
Expansion packs are explicitly designed to plug straight into an existing pool. A player who already owns Starter Set 01 can drop three new, fully game-ready units from an expansion pack straight into an existing squad pool, immediately expanding both tactical options and the wider roster available for cross-series scenario play.
More than 30 total items are planned worldwide within the first year of release, including four $40 expansion packs, a $170 deluxe set, and the format’s first-ever $55 scenario pack arriving across January, February, and March 2027 alone.
Who Should Buy the Gundam Assemble Starter Set
The Gundam Assemble Starter Set is built for three distinct audiences:
Gundam fans curious about tabletop gaming - The $35 price point and complete-in-one-box structure removes the research barrier that stops many anime fans from trying miniature wargames. The cross-series roster lets players see favorite mobile suits from different eras fighting side by side.
Tabletop gamers new to Gundam - The minimal terrain investment, hex-based movement, and three-model squad size make Gundam Assemble noticeably more approachable than established wargames. The use of D10 dice and timeline activation system offers mechanical novelty for players already familiar with other miniature games.
Gunpla builders looking for gameplay - The miniatures maintain the unpainted, unassembled Gunpla identity while adding tactical function. Each model is a genuine game piece with a matching card defining exactly what it can do in a fight, fusing traditional hobby work with competitive tabletop play.
Early reception has landed as cautiously positive. Reviewers praised the D10 dice, minimal terrain demands, and $35 starter price. On the critical side, coverage flagged mold lines that demand real cleanup work and noted plastic quality sits a clear notch below premium Games Workshop miniatures, even if the price does too.
The sharpest disagreement is philosophical rather than mechanical. Some coverage argued the format misses the point of Gunpla, since the franchise’s plastic model identity has always been built on scale and physical presence, and shrinking flagship suits down to 2-inch skirmish pieces for tournament play sacrifices that spectacle for tactical uniformity.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Gundam Assemble Starter Set require any other purchases to play?
No. Starter Set 01 contains everything two players need for a complete game: miniatures, cards, dice, board, terrain, tokens, rulebook, and scenarios. The miniatures do require assembly and painting, but all gameplay components are included.
Can I play Gundam Assemble if I’ve never built Gunpla before?
Yes. The miniatures require assembly and painting like standard Gunpla, but Bandai sells a Nero 1 paint pack accessory bundle for players starting from zero hobby experience. The smaller 5 cm scale means less surface area to paint compared to larger Gunpla grades.
How long does a game of Gundam Assemble take with the starter set?
The teaching scenarios included in Starter Set 01 are designed for two players to learn the game in one sitting with a 3-on-3 format. The timeline system divides matches into 10 rounds per phase with a built-in two-phase structure, providing natural stopping points.
Can I mix mobile suits from different Gundam series in my squad?
Yes. The game explicitly supports cross-series squad building. Each side is designated red or blue for the match rather than being locked into a single faction, so a Universal Century suit can fight alongside an Alternate Century suit in the same squad.
Do I need to know Gundam lore to play?
No. While the mobile suits come from different anime series and timelines, the game functions as a standalone tactical experience. Each unit card defines exactly what that mobile suit can do in combat regardless of its source series.
What comes after mastering the starter set?
Expansion packs add three new mobile suits with matching unit and tactics cards for $40. Deluxe sets scale up to 5-on-5 battles with scenario-based play. Bandai has committed to monthly releases with more than 30 products planned worldwide within the first year.