Tuesday 7 May 2019

Bat-Family and Batman review part 2- Most of the remaining standard options

Finishing off Bat-Family, this is the follow-up piece to my first Batfam discussion and simply covering most of the other Batmen that I didn't cover before. The only one missing from Standard will be Zur-en-Arrh Batman, purely because I don't have a copy of the card to upload.

One of the cheapest versions of Batman, Modern Age brings a great statline for his rep but feels very locked into taking Boy Wonder Robin to fully capitalise on his card. 
Offensive
Attack 5 with Reinforced Gloves, no other frills. He's got Batlings and Sneak Attack (which pairs excellently with Stealth) but nothing too major to help him out. It's good, especially considering his cost, but nothing great, so don't go expecting him to demolish everything he hits. 
Defensive
Despite being the second cheapest Batman, he is one of the best in terms of survivability. Defence 5 endurance 8 is already good, but he has Martial Artist, Stealth and Acrobat (the only Batman to have this) to combine and ensure he is not very likely to ever be shot and won't be outnumbered. Although he lacks Batarmour for a guaranteed extra save, he has some great tools to keep him in the game that one might not expect at first glance. 
Overall
The only things that beg mention now are his two unique traits, both relating to Boy Wonder Robin. Assistance gives him a bump to willpower 8 while Robin is alive and on the table, but the moment he dies Batman loses this willpower boost to go to strength 2+ instead, meaning he hits very hard. Dynamic Duo allows Bruce to activate immediately after Robin does, provided they are within 8" of each other, allowing him to utilise Robin's debuffs without a chance of reaction from the opponent. 

One of the most expensive Batmen at 150 rep, AK Batman has an extensive toolkit but he will rarely find himself in a position where everything together will be useful. It is for this reason above all else that I find he isn't really worth taking, especially compared to the other Batman options in his cost range.
Offensive
Attack 5, Reinforced Gloves is something I've mentioned a lot in terms of Batman, and AK Batman is pretty middle of the pack in terms of his output. Master Fighter gives him a much needed +1 to hit, and Sneak Attack can help prevent blocks (although at attack 5 it's not likely anyway) while he has Martial Expert to increase his crit chance from just over 12% to a huge 50%. This is a trait shared with the Hassassins in League, who while they have crit blood have a far lower chance to wound, and with Batman's strength 3+ he will pretty reliably crit models for a little extra damage and hopefully knock downs if he doesn't just straight up take them out. His Batarmour, unique to him, gives him a nice little bonus in giving him a sort of pseudo-Reach on his unarmed attacks if he moves, extending his threat range a bit (although at movement 2 he's still slow).
His Batarangs are the longer ranged version (that is, not Batlings) and for what they do are a nice opener before he gets stuck into combat. Night Vision helps him out here, letting him attack anything he can draw a line to, but not quite as hilarious as some other Batmen (mostly now eternal, but AA Batman has it) having the ability to shoot around walls with Total Vision.
Defensive
Def 5 and usual Batman endurance of 8, plus the Batsuit means he can be pretty tough, and his 5+ Batarmour helps a lot. However, he doesn't have Martial Artist to prevent outnumber, and for 150 rep doesn't have anything particularly fantastic to keep him alive (as opposed to Rebirth and Anniversary having almost total ranged shutdown)
Overall
Detective, Cape and Claw as can be expected, and Teamwork:2 lets him have a bit more counter reliability in both Brave and the Bold (where it is less useful from less availability of the trait) to Batfam (where everyone has it, Batman's is just more efficient). He also has 2 other traits that help him out very situationally in Disruptor and Explosive Gel, representing his kit from the games. Disruptor is the better of the two, and lets him shut down guns that would otherwise be very damaging to the crew, but it can be gotten pretty easily on any model just by taking a Waynetech objective, which in itself isn't all that bad to take (especially for Batfamily getting early VP). Explosive Gel is again very situational, allowing you to remove sewer markers off the table for a relatively low counter cost. If you're facing Croc, Ratcatcher or King Shark, who will all be making heavy use of sewers, it could be ok, but really isn't going to be super useful the majority of the time, and as such should really be seen as just driving his cost up more.
In almost every aspect, AK Batman doesn't quite pull his weight for his cost, and although many very expensive models have one or two gimmicks that they are amazing at, this Batman is just mediocre at everything, and when he takes up over a third of your list that isn't something to be a fan of. Despite being one of my favourite KM sculpts ever, I think AK Batman is destined to remain on the shelf.


A different kind of Batman to most of the others, Flashpoint Batman is a piece with great pre-game abilities, in-game support and some extreme offence.
Offensive
Attack 5 and Reinforced Gloves means he can punch pretty effectively when he needs to, and he will probably do this at some point, but he also carries dual handguns which greatly affect his offensive potential. With Instinctive Shooting he will always be moving and shooting at full rate of fire, and although they are short ranged the fact he has an easy 4 shots for at least half the game is great, even though Light is of very little use to him. He lacks any ways to improve his chances of hitting, but he will be doing a decent job regardless, and synergises very well with Brave and the Bold debuffs.
Defensive
Defence 4, no Martial Artist and only a 6+ Batarmour means he will be somewhat easy for an opponent to hit, although at endurance 10 he doesn't go down easily. He is unable to purchase the extra endurance, being Thomas Wayne and not Bruce, but he is still more than a formidable foe.
Overall
The only real pre-game model in Brave and the Bold, Flashpoint adds both Grand Strategist and Mastermind to the crew, which can be hugely useful. A crew that is usually only stuck with 3 strategy points having access to 5 is a vast difference, and opens up a lot of options in how they play. Mastermind gives him a little bit more potential to dominate activation order, Detective is pretty average for Batmen, and Medic is a great little way to keep the rest of your crew around. The last thing to note is his Batarmour MkII giving him an extra inch on his BMD, so he will be moving 5" minimum with the usual Batcape and Batclaw. All in all, Flashpoint Batman is a very valuable model and a blast to play.


The cheapest Batman in standard, which is value in itself, Gaslight has some great tricks to play that reflect his Elseworld character, and perfectly differentiate him from other Batman options.
Offensive
As a cheaper Batman, his attack 4 with Reinforced Gloves is understandable and when added to his other traits becomes pretty great for the cost. Master Fighter gives him the always great +1 to hit, while Bonebreaker gives him an activated CRT of double blood. Not really the greatest ability, but at the very least with Brutal you can hope to get it out more often (or usually try and at least get knockdowns). Instead of Batlings or Batarangs he has throwing knives to reflect his more brutal nature, and these single blood throwing weapons are pretty reliable at wounding with Sharp. Despite all this, it is only maximum 2 blood (with a possible extra stun on crit), and he still will more often than not just want to punch.
Defensive
Defence 4 and endurance 8, plus he has Stealth. Safer against guns, but otherwise able to be ganged up on and will suffer. Batsuit upgrade is well worth it on him, but he is still only 92 rep for the card he has, which is more than worth it.
Overall
Gaslight, like Flashpoint, has some pre-game and ways to manipulate gameplay outside of the regular combat and control flow, and with Strategist can aid the crew in great ways. Scheming is of debatable value, as if you have a definite plan it won't help too much, but his real boon is through his unique trait Truth Seeker. To represent his dogged hunt for Jack the Ripper, this trait triggers on KO and Casualtied models (friend or foe, anywhere on the board), and allows a single Truth marker to be placed in base contact with the victim every time this happens. These markers can then be spent to add 1VP of friendly models scoring within 4", or a Batman within 4" can use it to move himself 4" in his activation. They are great little boosts to the crew that will usually be taken through normal gameplay, and although they are all removed upon giving their bonus a good deal of them should be put around over a regular game.

The Batman likely to be seen most often by newer players, this is the one included in the Arkham Guards starter set. While he is solid in many ways, he is mostly a jack of all trades but a master of none, and as such I am of the opinion most players will move on from him to other Batmen to fit their favoured role. 
Offensive
Pretty regular Bat-stats, he has no bonuses to hit though so can be very prone to the Bat-whiff which will prove to be very annoying whenever it comes in. Sneak Attack is nice to have, but in his case isn't as hugely useful as on Rebirth or Bale Batman, while his Batarangs are again very standard in what they do. Where he comes into his own, however, is in his smoke pellets and Mixed Combat Style giving him a lot more versatility in what he does. He has the option to use either his Batarangs or smoke pellet when he does this, and it means he can keep himself or his crew a lot safer while keeping his normal offensive abilities and be able to still punch. 
Defensive
Defence 5 is always impressive, but as he lacks Martial Artist his only defensive ability is Bat-Armour Mk1, and because of this he is prone to being outnumbered and bogged down. He does have Counter-Attack to add some punch to his defensive abilities, but the fact it requires first someone to hit him, then for Batman to block means it isn't reliable in the slightest and he is probably better off using that special counter for almost anything else. 
Overall
He is a fairly standard Batman model as previously mentioned, but with the important addition of Detective Mode. This is made to combo with his smoke, and helps protect him, but it's only going to be used for a fraction of the game and as such shouldn't be relied upon for any specific strategy

The other version of Batgirl to top off this post, Rebirth is by far the more combat-based option and as such has a clear distinction and role when compared to New 52 Batgirl.
Offensive
She has the same offensive stats as New 52 Batgirl (Combo and attack 4) but with the important addition of Reinforced Gloves. This means she has a damage output that is very good to have in Batfam lists, but will also nicely slot into most Brave and the Bold lists.
Defensive
Defence 4 and endurance 6 means she isn't the most hardy character, and will be fairly easily killed if something can catch her. However, she has Stealth for a layer of protection against guns, and being a free agent has access to the Martial Artist equipment upgrade which goes a long way to keeping her alive.
Overall
Batcape and Batclaw combined with movement 3 means she is decently mobile (and as such a great handcuff caddy) but her real value comes in the form of some other traits. Informer adding a pass is of great value in Brave and the Bold, and situationally useful in Batfam, while Tracking gives her a little bit of extra mobility in between activations.

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