Comic review- 80s-90s Batman (Year One, Long Halloween/Dark Victory, Knightfall, No Man's Land)

Starting yet another new format, today we have a comic overview! Thought the natural place to start here would be with Batman, but given the huge amount of comic media I've decided to break it up into 2 parts for him. These are some of my favourite pieces of Batman media from the late 80s and into the 90s, a time that I personally feel is the beginning of consistently great Batman media until a little bit into the New 52 relaunch. In these, we have what is widely regarded as the definitive Batman and Robin origin piece and some other comics that are hugely important to the wider Batman mythos. Each comic is listed below with the characters/crews that I think are covered quite well in the stories, and I would put as "must reads" for each character.

Year One- OC/Batman/Gordon

This story is in my opinion the best piece of writing Frank Miller ever did for DC Comics bar none, and in itself is a great look at the grittier side of Gotham through the early careers of Batman, Gordon and Catwoman. While some matter in it has long since been retconned (and then all of it in one of the worst decisions of the New 52) it still holds up to this day as an amazing chronological starting point for Batman readers (or just a starting point in general). I tend to not recommend this as much as the next 2 in terms of starting Batman, and the storytelling isn't as captivating as them, but the artstyle alone is enough to make it stand out as a classic piece. 

The story itself is Bruce Wayne returning to Gotham at the same time as James Gordon transfers from Chicago, and through their viewpoints we get differing perspectives on the corruption that has set into Gotham. Both parties make a dedicated effort to clean up the town through their own methods, and come into conflict with the Falcone mob and the Commissioner. If you're expecting Gordon to get along with Batman right from the start, you'd be dead wrong, but watching them both grow as characters is well worth the read. A lot of the general story beats inspire Christopher Nolan in Batman Begins, and it really shows the quality of both. 

Long Halloween/Dark Victory- OC/Two-Face/Batman/Robin/Catwoman/Calendar Man

These two are together because they should always be read together, it's that simple. While they're very much sequels to Year One, it isn't 100% essential to "get" the story of Long Halloween, while Dark Victory is a direct continuation of the Long Halloween story. The one huge issue with these comics is that the art was dated when it came out, and leaves a lot to be desired in its weirdly abstract style. The story, however, more than makes up for this, and I recommend these stories to anyone wanting to read Batman, new or old.

The Long Halloween details Batman still early in his career while he continues his crusade against Organised Crime in Gotham, this time framed amid the growing conflict between the Maroni and Falcone families. Right in the middle of the war, there is a bit of a murder mystery in the Holiday Killer, who is thinning the ranks of the Falcone family and fuelling gang conflict across Gotham, targeting Falcone members on holidays much to the anger of Calendar Man. Adding to this, we also see Gordon continuing to rise the ranks, Catwoman finding her thieving ways, and Gotham's costumed criminals beginning to take over the evolving criminal underworld. If you want to read more about the Falcones, Maronis, or Calendar Man, this is without question the place to start reading. 

Dark Victory is pretty much a direct continuation of Long Halloween, showing how the mobs are attempting to accustom themselves to the growing costumed crime in Gotham while they are being continually hit by the newly rising District Attorney, Harvey Dent. The way that Don Maroni attempts to deal with this will have repercussions for all of Gotham, and leads to the end of the story. Framed against the growing influence of Maroni, we also see the deaths of the Flying Graysons, and Dick Grayson turning into Robin. Again, this is a great piece for Maroni, but it is also a must read for fans of Robin or Two-Face because it is to this day the creation story for both of these characters.

Knightfall- Bane/Batman/Robin/Azrael

Knightfall. Everyone knows the basics, Bane comes in and smashes up Bruce, Azrael takes the reins and goes a bit nutty. The first arc, Knightfall proper, is without a doubt the best appearance of Bane to date, as its him at his most powerful and most manipulative, but its also a quick rattling off of a great amount of Batman villains, both major and minor. I'll admit I didn't enjoy the Azbat portion as much as other arcs I've read, but that is purely because I think it dragged on a bit too long. Azbat is a great example of 90s edge done well enough, seeing him slash up criminals is pretty cathartic actually, and its a perfect difference from the usual straight laced Batman. The one major complaint I have with this arc though, like No Man's Land after it, is Tim Drake and the drama with his father sucks. I have no love for it, if it went on for a quarter of the issues it did then maybe, but as it was it just bloats page counts for useless circular storytelling. To be fair, its something Robin simply couldn't have before Tim, and it is different, but its crap.
Knightfall starts with Bane blowing up Arkham Asylum, so the stakes are immediately set. Bruce is then at breaking point having to clean up the mess, and when he finally finishes Bane is waiting for him, leading to the famous "breaking". Cue Azbat and a long winded edgefest, and then Bruce is healed and comes back to take back the cowl. All in all I would recommend it up until the "breaking" but after that only if you're really looking to read a lot of Azbat. 

No Man's Land- Batman/Gordon/Penguin/Ivy/Harley/Joker
I'll be perfectly honest here, No Man's Land is one of my favourite Batman arcs of all time. Not only is it the first comic appearance of Harley Quinn and Cassandra Cain, it also has some of the best Penguin material ever published, and is where he truly comes into his own as a broker of all things, and it has a Batman stripped of all plot armour and in a bad way. The early stages of the arc (mainly Road to NML) are very Bruce Wayne heavy as well, with Bruce fighting in Congress to get government aid into Gotham instead of on its streets as Batman until a good way into the arc. All in all, its a refreshing pallet cleanser when compared to a lot of "traditional" Batman stories, and sets the tone for Gotham Central after it which is also awesome.
Set after the events of Cataclysm and Aftershock, Gotham is in a pretty bad way, and after the government declare it a no man's land almost all the residents leave. Those who are left behind have to deal with Gotham becoming a faction based playground for the various supervillains, and huge shifts in power are made among those at the top. Two-Face allying with police? It happens here, and its great. All throughout you watch eagerly as Batman and Gordon come to terms with what they've dealt with and crawl back into control of Gotham through both conflict and negotiation. The fact that Joker is largely missing for it is only an extra bonus, especially because when he does appear it's gnarly...

Battle Royale!- An alternate format for Batman Miniatures Game

Hi everyone, I've had this kicking around for a while now, decided I'd put it online so there's a place it can be found for everyone. It's intended for quick little character bash games, and I've also had some success in using it for demos as well. 

Crews

- Players have up to 250 reputation and $1000 funding to purchase a crew
- A maximum of 3 models can be chosen
- Normal restrictions on Free Agents and Sidekicks do not apply, and a Leader or Sidekick Boss is not necessary, although what is chosen must be able to normally be taken together e.g. Hawkman and Hawkgirl are available in Batman, Green Arrow or Birds of Prey crews so are a legal choice, while Batman and Deathstroke are not available in any way and as such are not legal
- Models with the Legend rank are not allowed

Scenario- 2 players

- Deployment is a 24”x24” square, with each player being able to deploy in base contact with a single board edge on opposite sides of the table. These zones can be extended through strategies following normal rules
- A single objective marker is to be placed in the centre of the board (Batsignal or safe marker is recommended) and no other objectives are placed by players. This central objective is worth 2VP to the player that is controlling it.
- Instead of the normal points awarded for making enemy models KO or casualty, all models will award 3VP for KO, 4 for casualty

Multiplayer Scenario- 3-4 players 

- The same rules apply as in the 2-player scenario, except for deployment- model bases must be partially within 2 inches from a single corner for each player
- The player who takes the lead each turn chooses the order in which activation will be done

List discussion- Batfleck/SS Katana "Outsiders" and Nightwing/Damian

Welcome back everyone, today we're up with 2 more Brave and the Bold lists to discuss! Both of these lists are somewhat similar in henchman makeup to the Knightfall lists I posted a few weeks ago (because that combination is pretty good) but as always its the characters that tweak how things play. Both these lists I created for purely thematic reasons, just to put specific versions of characters together and see how they work.

Arrests

The Arrest potential in these combinations is pretty obvious, but the models themselves are mostly just there as cheerleaders. Arkham Guard 3 at least has his Riot Gun, but the others will mostly just be babysitting objectives where needed and moving to arrest where possible. That said, it's 3 more activations, and that alone is great.

Guns

Lerida, QRT2 and 2 Riot Guns. What more could you ask for? Double whistles, and I've got those too. Cluster them near an ammo and watch the bullets (and bean bags) fly. The damage output on these guys is insanely high, but you have to play around them carefully (Ivy with her double mind control is a bad time for this). 

First up this list has yet another "movie inspired" feel, but more geared towards Batman's team the Outsiders from the comics. Now the classic Outsiders team don't really exist in BMG yet (I'm hoping for Black Lightning soon though!) so this is basically just a Batfleck cop list with SS Katana added.

The Brave And The Bold Crew
Models: 9
Reputation: 344/350
Funding: 1500$/1500$
[Boss][L] Batman (Ben Affleck) [125/0$]
-Upgraded Batsuit [0/100$]
[H] Arkham Guard 1 [21/0$]
[H] Arkham Guard 3 [22/100$]
[H] Gotham Policeman [16/0$]
[H] Gotham Policewoman [14/0$]
[H] Katana (Suicide Squad) [50/0$]
[H] Lerida [36/450$]
-Whistle [0/200$]
[H] Quick Response Team 2 [33/350$]
-Whistle [0/200$]
[H] Quick Response Team 1 [27/100$]

Good deal of blood damage, tons of stun and 5 models with Arrest. It has the potential to just jam up the board and touch anything that comes close, and with Batman at the centre as a tank piece there is a lot to take in when opposing it. 

Katana

SS Katana is in a bit of a weird spot in my opinion. As a henchman now (the main motivation behind writing this list) she benefits from Inspire and Let's Go, which is awesome, but her stats are still pretty low and she isn't all that hard to take out when needed. As a Bodyguard piece I think she is ok, protecting the already tanky Batman is a neat trick, but she really shines when put in the middle of a Let's Go chain after a Whistle. One of the guns softens up a target for her and she can really go to town with her namesake katana, it can do a ton of damage when needed. 

So now for the second list, I wanted to play a bit of a brotherly list from the comics. Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne has been an entertaining pairing from the get-go with no exceptions, and I wanted to pass that over to the table a bit. Then came new Damian, and I had to write a way to make it work well. Enter AK Nightwing with Heir to the Cowl, and I can have Grayson using Inspire on Damo to make him into an even more effective damage piece

The Brave And The Bold Crew

Models: 9

Reputation: 338/350

Funding: 1850$/1850$

[Boss][L] Nightwing (Arkham Knight) [95/0$]

[H] Arkham Guard 1 [21/0$]

-Runner [0/100$]

[H] Arkham Guard 3 [22/100$]

[H] Gotham Policewoman [14/0$]

[H] Lerida [36/450$]

-Whistle [0/200$]

-Swat Special Training [0/100$]

-Street Patrol [0/50$]

-Radio [0/100$]

[H] Robin [60/0$]

-Intensive Training [0/100$]

[H] Quick Response Team 2 [33/350$]

-Whistle [0/200$]

[H] Quick Response Team 1 [27/100$]

[H] Alfred Pennyworth [30/0$]

So looking at the list there's not all that much difference between this and the Batfleck list, save for the replacement of the "characters" and some equipment. Both have the same guns and arrests with double whistle, although the equipment is where it comes into play. Alfred is in there for another little bit of theme, but mainly because the last 40 or so rep was really awkward to squeeze out and Alfred is still pretty valuable.

Damian

So I've gone over both Damian and Nightwing before in my last post on the Robins, but in this list there is a bit of a different use for them than normal. Having Teamwork on them, and Inspire on Nightwing, lets me play around a lot with passing counters between them, and they can both combo up the table to KO models with ease. They're both decently survivable and very fast, so by the time they can get to combat they should be in top shape to start bashing heads. 

Runner

You may notice I took Runner, one of the pieces of equipment unlocked by Nightwing, on Arkham Guard 1 in this list. This is so I could have 2 endurance 5 henchmen with Arrest and Tireless, so my Arrests can move up quicker and have greater potential at quickly removing anything that gets KO (and with Nightwing and Damian that happens quick). For such a cheap piece of equipment (and cause Alfred gave me excess funding) I feel like it gets a ton of value in this case.

List Discussion- Brave and the Bold, Knightfall Batman (2 options)

Today we've got another list discussion, and it's another one I quite enjoy playing that has a bit of a theme to it (at least in terms of the big names). This one is based around Knightfall Batman and Sirens Catwoman, reflecting their brief meeting in the early stages of Jean-Paul's career.

The Brave And The Bold Crew

Models: 9

Reputation: 350/350

Funding: 1500$/1500$

[Boss][L] Batman (Knightfall) [115/0$]

[F] Catwoman [66/0$]

[H] Lerida [36/450$]

-Whistle [0/200$]

-Swat Special Training [0/100$]

[H] Gotham Policewoman [14/0$]

[H] Quick Response Team 2 [33/350$]

-Whistle [0/200$]

[H] Arkham Guard 1 [21/0$]

[H] Arkham Guard 3 [22/100$]

[H] Quick Response Team 1 [27/100$]

[H] Gotham Policeman [16/0$]

So this list at face value is high model count, high impact (or at least that's the goal). Basic idea is Catwoman taking on objectives quickly for VP, while the rest move up and get to fighting. There is a good deal of endurance to get through, 4 ranged weapons and a flamethrower to get out plenty of damage before things get closer, but it doesn't lose much when it does close up. 5 models with Arrest, most things doing either blood damage or double stun, it's pretty well rounded. 

Batman

Knightfall Batman is in my opinion one of the most unsubtle models in the game, because he has one role- get into combat range and use his claws and flamethrower on anything that moves. He can work as both horde clearer and single model killing, and his Medium Armour keeps him pretty safe from almost any henchmen most of the time. 

Catwoman

Catwoman goes in here as a VP battery, only reason I ever take her. She's quick, hard to land hits on, and can get bonus VP from Loot while being fairly mobile at the same time. Usually she gets backed up by Batman as protection, possibly also the guns, but I almost always make sure she's as safe as possible.

Lerida/QRT2

Same role as in any other list I take them, they're the ranged lynchpin. In this list though, Whistles take on a new highly lethal form in synergising with Batman's fire, stopping enemies from putting themselves out and maximising damage output. 

Arkham Guard 3/QRT1

These guys are here for both Arrest and for their Riot Guns. The guns let me reach out earlier than anything else in the list, and hopefully put some early stun onto models to soften them up for later. Both of these guys for less than 50 rep and only $200 funding is amazing, and if I play lighter on the heroes, I will always tag in these two after Lerida and QRT2.

Arkham Guard 1/Policewoman/Policeman

More bodies on the table, and more Arrest. They arrest things and sit on objectives, that's pretty much it.

Alternate List Option

The Brave And The Bold Crew

Models: 8

Reputation: 341/350

Funding: 1500$/1500$

[Boss][L] Batman (Knightfall) [115/0$]

[F] Commisioner Gordon [70/0$]

-Heliport [0/150$]

[H] Arkham Guard 1 [21/0$]

[H] Gotham Policewoman [14/0$]

[H] Lerida [36/450$]

-Whistle [0/200$]

-Street Patrol [0/$50]

[H] Quick Response Team 2 [33/350$]

-Whistle [0/200$]

[H] Arkham Guard 3 [22/100$]

[H] Sierra [30/0$]

This list is pretty much the same, with the biggest change being Catwoman removed for Commissioner Gordon. This is probably a more synergistic list, and still somewhat in theme, as it provides me more lasting ranged damage, an extra Inspire for the henchmen, and a means to easily set up the Riot Gun popping early shots off on models. The loss of QRT1 is felt, as is the drop in numbers, but compensated by taking Sierra for a reliable and tanky melee henchman.

List discussion- Brave and the Bold, Batfleck/Ezra Flash

Hi everyone, branching out a bit more with a discussion on a list I have had a good deal of success with, so people can get to know my playstyle and list preferences a bit more. This one is a bit of a low model count list at 6 models, but I've managed to get a lot of wins with this against a variety of crews, and placed 2nd in a 17 player tournament earlier this year with a variation on this.

The Brave And The Bold Crew

Models: 6

Reputation: 348/350

Funding: 1500$/1500$

[Boss][L] Batman (Ben Affleck) [125/0$]

[F] The Flash [118/100$]

[H] Gotham Policewoman [14/0$]

[H] Quick Response Team 2 [33/350$]

-Whistle [0/200$]

[H] Lerida [36/450$]

-SWAT Special Training [0/100$]

-Whistle [0/200$]

[H] Arkham Guard 3 [22/100$]

This was originally intended as a somewhat more themed list, with both heroes being from Justice League and the DCEU. Batfleck is somewhat of a default model for me, as I find him to be the Batman I most enjoy using the most, and I simply wanted to use Flash, who was brand new when I wrote this list. The basic idea is using Batman and the guns as both hammer and anvil, with Flash running interference and scoring early VP. An alternate version of this list (and the one I took to the tournament I discuss below) is replacing Arkham Guard 3 with Arkham Guard 1, and giving Batman the Upgraded Batsuit. It lets Batman survive better, but loses out on ranged damage a bit. I have found the Riot Gun not always useful, but it comes more in handy early game than Arkham Guard 1. 

Batman

Batman in here is the brawler, made to get stuck in with the enemy crew and punch up threats. Sustained Defence lets him block a hell of a lot, and in centre focused games he can just plod around with 4 attack and 4 defence to punch out what he needs to.

Flash

Flash's role in this list I've pretty much gone over in my Speedster article, but he is there to quickly grab and defend objectives turn 1/2, then when the cops catch up he runs around and knocks out henchmen. 

QRT2/Lerida

They shoot things, and they whistle things. Camped on an ammo, or hunting around one, they can put out a ton of damage. Also shutting things down for Batman and Flash to get to, these 2 make almost every list I play. Lerida is also here to do as much damage as possible to higher defence models with SWAT Training, and even defence 5 models will be hit on 2s. 

Policewoman/Arkham Guard 3

As I keep repeating, Moral Compass on Flash is something you need to play around as much as possible. My other henchmen do blood damage in spades, so no issue there, but I still needed to make up Arrests to remove KO models. That's what these 2 are for, with the Policewoman being an amazing budget option for 14 rep, both in objective defence and in arresting, and the Arkham Guard arresting but also can pop off some more stun with his Riot Gun. 

This list I took to Clash of the Titans 2018 in Sydney, Australia, and I ended up coming 2nd overall. This tournament had all 3 scenarios based around the centre of the table, so I knew that shorter/medium ranged guns and brawlers would be highly effective in this regard. All 3 games I took Change of Plans and Police Training as strategies, based around scoring as quickly and efficiently as possible and making my arrests as efficient as possible, using Medical Supplies, Ammo and the Batsignal. This let me easily sit on 9VP a turn and wait out the rest, giving the opportunity to just rely on them having to come to me to not be outscored.
Game 1 I was against Secret Six, and managed to have Flash fight off Catman on my flank every turn of the game (through beams and pushes) to sit quite comfortably on 6VP, while in the middle of the board the rest of my crew had a somewhat tougher fight against the rest of the crew. Here my VP gain was just too much, and I was able to in return contest objectives for long enough to get a convincing victory.
Game 2 I was against a Green Arrow crew that I had some experience against beforehand, so I knew how to best deal with what I faced. Again my cops sat back on objectives to score as many VP as possible early, but this time one of my objectives was in his deployment zone, so I had to send Flash up to deal with that. He managed to survive the onslaught for long enough, and my opponent sending almost all his threat to deal with Flash led to me being able to mop up around his own objectives. It came out to be another minor win by Batmatch, but only by a very small margin at this point
Game 3 I was at the top table, and I already expected a bloodbath. I was up against the reigning champion and his Black Mask crew. This scenario we had to split our crews in half for deployment, so I was already fighting a losing battle, but I was pretty much just picked apart. A lucky turn 1 Batsignal on a 12" high building saved me from humiliation, with Flash managing to hold out long enough to score some more VP, but it ended up in a minor loss to me. It did, however, still put me ahead of 3rd place in VP count, so I still managed to come in at 2nd place at the end of the day.

All in all, I very much enjoy using this crew, and I find that it has a lot of teeth in terms of competitiveness. It may struggle against some faster and higher damage hordes, but in general the basic strategy holds solid.

The Robins Part 3- Nightwing, Red Hood and new Damian!

Hi everyone, back with another model review here, including one of the latest wave of releases! I want to round off my set on the Robins with the "graduates", meaning Red Hood and Nightwing, but when I started reading this we got a new Damian model too, so what better place to put that than here! I'll be sticking to the usual format breakdown for these, except for adding a little bit at the end of Damian's piece to talk more "crew-specific" as in, how he benefits from the different crews.

Nightwing in all 3 incarnations is pretty similar, only with slight changes between them (although they do affect the playstyle significantly). All 3 have almost the same statline, with the exception of the original (now Eternal) model having 1 less willpower and movement. For these reasons alone, I feel like this Nightwing is pretty much obsolete, despite being the cheapest and still pretty capable. The others just do more on top, for little more in cost. All 3 are Sidekick rank, although AK Nightwing has Heir to the Cowl, allowing him to become a Leader when Batman isn't present, which can make for some nice list options in itself at the cost of higher VP gain.
Offensive
Offensively they're all pretty much the same, with Combo on their weapons regardless of name, and all being double stun, Mechanical and Handy. It makes Nightwing a very reliable hitter, and getting knockouts with him is pretty much a breeze. The newer resin Nightwing also has Electric for some potential stunning on a crit, and giving him rerolls to wound against Bot and Cybernetic which can come in handy against LexCorp or Riddler. He does lose Electric Storm for this compared to the others, but as a special attack Electric Storm is pretty bad in general, only being great against a group of nearly KO models. Teamed with a Rapid Firing Arsenal for a bit of a fluffy combo, it can get decent results however. The original one does have Sneak Attack as well, which can be great, but it costs him more counters that can also be spent protecting himself or moving.
Defensive
This is where the differences begin to show in the Nightwing gallery, as they have different little bonuses to keep themselves safe in slight ways. All are def 4 Acrobat, with OG Nightwing having a lower movement and thus harder dodges, but he is also cheaper. OG also has nothing else special in in this regard, being the budget option and the original. Resin Nightwing has Jump Up to protect from knockdown if he will face a group of chain activations (or has already activated), Combat Flip to move away from potential threats, and my favourite Street Guy to crouch for free. Guaranteed def 5 when he is behind an obstacle is great, and keeps him pretty much safe from guns for no effort at all. AK Nightwing is the king of dodging, and as such is absolutely terrified of models that can deny that, but in most cases he will have a ridiculously high chance of dodging, and when you pack it with Ping! he isn't getting shot easily. Rerolls to agility tests helps him dodge very well, but also lets him jump from tall buildings without damage thanks to Agile.
Overall
All versions of Nightwing have Charismatic, which lets you take more Free Agents to run fluffy team up lists with his Titans or Batfam allies and is situationally useful in list building. Resin Nightwing comes with Searcher to negate an enemy strategy point, which is a nice little bonus, AK has the ever present Teamwork that all Arkham Knight Batfam have, which is good if you have other models with it, and OG Nightwing has Explosive Gel, which can be great in the days of modern sewers but is often forgotten.
In Teams
Nightwing is a must have in any team that can take him, because he really is that good. Teen Titans he is their best option hands down (which likely won't change should they get a 2nd edition update) and in Bat-Family he is an excellent second hitter alongside Batman. My personal choice goes to the resin Nightwing, purely because he is slightly cheaper than AK while keeping some great tricks, although AK Nightwing is a very close second place.

Both Red Hood models are as you can expect, they shoot things and put them down. They operate in slightly different ways, despite their identical statline, but in general they're both aiming to shoot things as much as possible. The other key difference, other than affiliation, is the ranks of the 2. AK Red Hood is a free agent, while Disco Hood is a sidekick in rank. 

Offensively

Both versions have similar stats on their guns, with blood/stun firearms at short range, but they have slight differences. Disco Hood doesn't have Light, and 1 lower native RoF, but has 1 extra ammo. However, Disco Hood has both Gunman and Instinctive Shooting, so he can move and shoot with no penalty and with both weapons at a time, so he will go through his ammo quicker. AK Hood has Takedown instead, which lets him remove models he knocks out as casualties instead, for only 1 special. This is insanely efficient, and with his RoF4 he can clean up henchmen very quickly. Neither have bonuses or rerolls to hit with their weapons, but with their volume of fire they can go pretty well against lower defence models. I wouldn't attack high defence models (4/5) with them though unless they have no other option, just because it isn't all too reliable. 

Defensively

Movement 4 Acrobat is always great, and both have slightly different vests to help them in different ways. AK Hood has a Bulletproof Vest, making him harder to wound with the guns that do hit, while Disco Hood has Kevlar Vest, letting him drop damage off every hit he takes, ranged or melee. AK Hood also have Safe Hands, but Steal is borderline useless so it will rarely see play. 

Overall

Neither model has too much in the way of other traits, but both do different things related to the game flow. Disco Red Hood has Searcher, so he negates a strategy point right from the get go, and AK Red Hood has Scheming:1, which is situational but potentially useful.

Bat-Family

Both Red Hoods guns become double stun, but with easily bought Arrest this isn't that big a deal. Disco Hood is pretty similar to always, but AK Red Hood is great because he has Takedown for a bit more efficiency in removing models from play.

Thanks to Little Gotham for the new traits here, everyone should give their podcast a listen! 

The new version of Damian is quite an excellent model, in his new role he is one of the most points efficient options in the crews he can go into. A few big changes to him, first off he is a henchman as opposed to the old free agent, and 10 rep more, but he can also now go into League of Assassins and Court of Owls as well as Brave and the Bold. His statline is the same, as are most of his traits, with him losing True Love:Batman, Master Fighter and Technique and gaining Combo:Katana and Invaluable instead. Invaluable seems bad initially, but once you factor in that it's still less VP on death than the metal Damian gave up, isn't all that bad. 

Offensive

Damian's output massively increased in this version, because he not only gained a katana but he also got Combo with it. At attack 4 that means he can reliably do 6 attacks with rerolls on both hit and damage rolls, at strength 4+. In Court and League, he is doing 2 blood each attack, so he can kill very quickly (more efficiently than any other in their respective crews), while in BatB (and Batfam) his blood becomes stun because of Mentoring. What this means though is he is only a little bit weaker offensively than Nightwing in the same role, but a great deal cheaper. The two of them together (especially in Batfam)? Right on the money, KOs a plenty!

Defensive

He didn't gain anything extra from the old model in the way of defence, except for in Brave and the Bold. Mentoring here gives him Boy Wonder, so he ignores Handy, which can help him in many cases but ultimately can be dealt with. In League and Court, he's left to himself as a somewhat fragile model, but he is still decently survivable.

Overall

Damian is a very good model in general, and should be able to find space in most crews. Inspire and Let's Go! are both great additions to his skill set, and his damage output keeps him in the game a lot. Detective is always great, and the crews he works for helps their natively low model counts in a good way. On the occasion he dies in a BatB crew, he gives Bruce Wayne True Love to him upon being hired, so he can give Batman an extra attack and willpower, which is pretty crazy in most cases.

Brave and the Bold/Bat-Family

Not much to say that hasn't already been said, I don't find the equipment options in BatB all that great on Damian. Football Gear can be very nice in certain matchups, but I prefer my Whistles on guns where the counters are more efficient. 

Court of Owls

Court I think Damian is one of their best offensive pieces, on the same level as Strix or the 1880s Talon. Unfortunately Damian can only take 1 piece of equipment total, because of Mentoring, so no Stealth/Fast combo, but either one is very good in any case. 

League of Assassins

Damo with his maternal family tend to bring out the worse side in his character, same as Court, but the use of him is slightly different in League. Things like Goro can tune him up into even more of a monster, especially when combined with an Inspire for 9 attacks on his katana (the most damage on any single model in the game!). Equipment wise, Combat Bracers or Trained in Shadow stick out the most, just because they make him more efficient (Damian and HSH team-up? I sure would)