Bane Crew Review part 1- Batbox and Bird set

Up next for crew reviews, we've got the big guy himself- Bane. A fairly elite crew, Bane and his henchmen are a mix between very solid combat and great shooting, and are a truly versatile crew in terms of what they can do. I've already discussed his quite good models in the Dark Knight Rises starter set, and the rest of the crew are no slouches either.

The big boy of the Bane crew, Rebirth Bane is the Leader in the Batbox, and a large threat. He isn't hugely efficient for his points compared to other options, but he has some very useful utility and is a force to be feared.
Offensive
With Master Fighter and attack 6 his Reinforced Gloves are pretty reliably knocking out most things, but it only gets tuned up by his other traits. 3 Venom Doses lets him become strength 2+ with rerolls to wound, which basically means there is a very very slim chance he will fail to wound, and he can also gain Close Combat Master from I Will Break You for absolute consistency. Being Large, he also gets to make Charge attacks which are very handy and reliable with his strength.
Defensive
Defence 3 is pretty low for 161 rep, but he does have endurance 10, and with Desensitised and Venom Enrage he will still keep in the fight for longer. He is especially prone to shooting with Large giving him Ping penalties, but this is something the rest of the crew can shore up with their own abilities (and really has to happen). Bane will go down to a dedicated attack, but unless he is killed or arrested he will be reliably getting back up and having his full counter spread anyway.
Overall
Like his henchmen, Bane is a Veteran to move around counters a bit and play reactively in game. He has willpower 9 which is awesome, and Mastermind to add an extra counter to the bag, while Cool Under Fire adds an extra strategy point to the crew and gives him a nice buff for his henchmen. When a model with Veteran activates within 8" of Bane (see- all the Bane affiliate models) they can remove a single effect from themselves. This could be as simple as Knocked Down, but removing things like Freeze, Cooled, Fire or Poison will be a huge benefit for the crew and a great mark for his value. Elite Boss: Soldier of Fortune lets him legally run the Batbox, and adds more value to the crew overall in getting some very good Elite henchmen.
I Will Break You
A trait that deserves it's own separate section, his unique I Will Break You is a sort of nested trait that gives him an option of a few different things. All 3 have their uses, and it really just depends on playstyle for what you pick.
The first option is +2 Venom Doses and Military Tradition. This is an increase in his survivability and wound output, but also gives him the movement bonus that Bird has, a great thing with this Bane given his steep cost (as you don't need to hire Bird as well).
The second option of Exhaustive Planner and Boss's Orders doubles down on his support role, giving him excellent pre-game and an in-game hit buff for his henchmen. This is good for Bane as a front-line leader, and can boost up the henchmen (many of whom already have Handy) to great heights.
Lastly he can choose Close Combat Master and One of the Boys, letting him use Let's Go as if he was a henchman and rerolling his misses in melee. This option turns him into a combat monster and can put out huge amounts of damage (or just a KO followed up by immediate Arrest) and is a good choice in general

Bane's sidekick from Arkham Origins (and the comics, just in a different form), Bird is largely a support piece that buffs the henchmen in different ways.
Offensive
Attack 3 isn't that great, especially in such a combat-heavy crew, but he compensates in other matters. Blood/Stun at 4+ with rerolls to wound is nothing to overlook, and he also has +1 to hit with it so if he needs to, he will put out some damage.
Defensive
Defence 3 and Bulletproof Vest is pretty standard in Bane, but he adds endurance 7 to this to be decently tanky, and Self-Discipline makes him immune to the Hypnotise effect which is great. As mentioned above he also has a smoke grenade, which is amazing in how it can protect the crew as well as offensively.
Overall
Like Rebirth Bane, Bird has One of the Boys to utilise Let's Go!, and Veteran to move around 2 counters when he activates (which is great at willpower 6). Batcape helps him in moving around the table, and protects him from being pushed off buildings (although why he would be on a building is a question you should ask yourself).
Being a support piece above all else, he has Military Tradition to support his crew. For 2SC he can move friendly models with Veteran 2" immediately(not himself, but this even includes Rebirth Bane). The big thing about it is that things like Aim and losing RoF on guns only specify movement in their own activation, meaning Bird can move around Rocket Launchers, Sniper Rifles and Assault Rifles for no drop in their capabilities, and although it isn't huge movement it's still something which is nice.

Quick note on "Bane stats"
Something quite apparent in this crew is just how much of it shares an identical statline. Pretty much every model in this crew has 3s across the board, willpower and endurance 5 and strength 5+, and most of these have Bulletproof Vests. There are some exceptions, but in general Bane subscribes to this as a general policy.

Both from Bird's box, these 2 are fairly similar. The cheaper henchmen in a Bane crew, but both of them are great value for what they do
Offensive
Clover is a cheaper gun piece, having an Automatic Gun for short ranged shooting. He also has Rapid Fire to bump up the RoF on the gun, and allowing him to move and shoot for a bit more versatility. While he has ammo he is more efficient than Mercenary 2 with the pistol, but once the ammo is used Mercenary 2 is better with his Reinforced Gloves and higher strength, so they are fairly comparable overall.
Cuchillo doesn't have much in the way of damage, with only a Knife to offer. He has Sneak Attack to help stop blocks, but he won't be doing huge amounts of damage with his kit.
Defensive
Other than their standard Bane loadout, Cuchillo has Stealth to further protect him against guns.
Overall
Bane stats on both again, but Cuchillo has Tireless for a nice speed boost. That, combined with Stealth, makes him a great piece to put Bane's Handcuffs on for a finisher piece, as he can get where he needs to and Arrest in relative safety.

The 2 most expensive of Bane's Standard henchmen, Elite and Dreadnought Op are both beefy and can dish out a lot of damage. Sharing very similar statlines and traits, they change with their specifications.
Offensive
Dreadnought Op is the premiere melee henchman of the crew, and given his high cost probably should be. He carries blood/stun Tomahawks which reroll to hit and roll 2 crit die, and has strength 4+ so wounds a clean 50% of the time. Attack 4 is the highest of all Bane's henchmen, and he also has Devastating Blow to boost up his damage. This special attack costs 1SC to use, and gives him +1 strength and crit blood on his melee attacks (and he still rolls 2, so potential 2 extra blood). With this and Venom he will be a damage monster, and can easily get work done when he needs to.
Elite Op has the always great Assault Rifle for high damage shooting potential, but he also has Shooter to boost up his short range capabilities. When in 8" the target will not benefit from Ping! which means he is likely to do a ton of damage whenever he hits, which is needed at his cost.
Defensive
Neither of these 2 have Bulletproof Vests, which makes them the most vulnerable to guns in the crew. They do have Light Armour though to always be -1 to wound, and have a higher endurance than most with Elite having 6 and Dreadnought at 7, meaning they are still pretty tanky.
Overall
Elite (Soldier of Fortune) means that if you want to take more than one, you need Bird or Rebirth Bane first (which only really effects DKR Bane). Both have Veteran as can be expected, and they're both fairly standard in stats for Bane models.

2 of the more gun focused Soldiers of Fortune, Schoolboy and Sharp Shooter both deal a stack of damage in a single shot. They're high damage spiking models, although not guaranteed to always be consistent.
Offensive
Schoolboy has the same Rocket Launcher weapon as the Militia Soldier 3 only lacking Good Aim to make it truly amazing. Schoolboy is good damage, and can ruin clumped together enemies, but is at the whim of the dice as he needs to make sure he can hit, and must stay still to shoot. It's a valuable weapon, but it has to be played around to be truly effective (being moved by Rebirth Bane or Bird is a good option here)
Simply put, the Sniper Rifle is amazing. Unlimited range with a Scope and Anti-Tank, it is a great way to put damage onto enemy models with it's single shot. It also has Bleed:3 for potential 7 blood, but the fact it already one shots most henchmen (and severely wounds most others) is enough to justify this gun for $300 rep. It does have Reload, so will be able to be played around in the turns it isn't firing, but the sheer threat from it is huge, with cover and Ping! not meaning anything. Holds Breath is another great trait on him, shared with his fellow sniper Deadshot, that means he can spend the same 2AC he would fire with to instead get a +1 to hit and to collateral die next round. This not only means he has +1 to hit, but also gets his crit of 3 blood on a 5+, which is amazing.
Defensive
Regular Bane stats, but these 2 have neither Bulletproof Vest nor any armour. This makes them pretty fragile for Bane, but being shooting models that don't really want to be on the front line, it's acceptable.
Overall
Both have Veteran as can be expected, and both are Elite:Soldier of Fortune. Schoolboy has a Gas Mask for those times when it comes into play (having it base is ok, just buying it is crap) while Sharp Shooter has Undercover. This is huge, because it allows him to get into great sniper nests early on and potentially shoot from turn 1 nuking henchmen.

A sort of Bane/League hybrid, Stealth Op is very similar to the Ninjas of the League but with a Bane flair.
Offensive
He has standard stats for a League ninja in attack 3, strength 5+ with a Katana, but in Bane has great easy access to both Titan and Venom. Both of these jack up his power, and can make him great at killing, but in general he is just as effective as League models are in combat.
Defensive
As can be expected for Bane, Kabuto has a Bulletproof Vest for gun protection, but being a ninja also has defence 4 and Stealth. This lets him get up the table pretty easily, and makes him both a great objective runner and protects him on the way into combat.
Overall
Veteran and Elite (Soldier of Fortune) like most of the others, but he does have Undercover as well, meaning he deploys further up the table and gets to wait until after objectives are placed.

A really cool addition in the Batbox, Support Op is as his alias says- a support piece. He is best suited sitting behind the combat, and with his grenade launcher can dictate where he is putting damage pretty easily. 

Offensive

With 2 very good weapon profiles, his grenade launcher is a great weapon to have and is pretty damn cheap. 4 ammo total, he is Medium Range on both profiles (double that of other grenades) and only ever needs a 3+ to hit because of Grenade on both weapons. 

The regular grenade profile is blood/stun and Firearm with Explosive, letting him put out some great area damage at a long distance. 

His other profile is a 16" range smoke grenade. The versatility of being able to put it further out in the field is a great bonus, and as always it lets him protect the crew from being shot at by the opponent. 

Defensive

Bane stats and Bulletproof, but with Hardened added in. It's a nice bonus, but won't really protect him from too much given most blood weapons do double damage anyway (eg 3 hits from a sword or axe will still do 5 blood and kill him)

Overall

Elite: Soldier of Fortune and Veteran again, that's about it. 

Objective- Osito

Bane's Batbox objective is his teddy bear Osito, which works fairly similar to a Loot objective that can't be affected by Strategies. Bane himself doesn't need to spend MC to move with it though, and gains an additional VP from holding it, while he gets 2 free MC if an enemy is holding it, and +1 to hit vs that model so he can very easily take it off them. It ends up being a game of chicken with this objective, as the opponent can score from it, but runs the risk of Bane being super fast and very angry in the process, meaning he will absolutely be in combat. In the end, it's a nice way of having a very useful Bane buff, and if they don't take the bait it becomes a 2VP objective on Bane which is also useful.

Strategy- Titan Container Located!
This Strategy is 1 cost, so cheap to take, but requires you to take a Titan objective to use it. It moves this objective 4" ignoring usual objective rules, so can be useful to pull it into positions where it will work in your favour. It is an especially fun combo with Change of Plans to pull around multiple objectives and cluster them together where they normally would not be allowed. This strategy is also of note in that DKR Bane in a League list can take it, as it fulfils all the requirements of crew strategies (Bane is Boss, so Bane's strategy can be taken)

Equipment
Bane has a lot of equipment options, and many of them now differ from the rulebook as they were updated in the Batbox. They are geared towards his elite/combat focused crew, and there are some really great takes.
Titan Dose is fairly standard in terms of it's use (being good) and at $100 is a steal. Bane should take this fairly often in his crew, even at 0-1 it will make your biggest melee henchman a lot better for one turn.
Handcuffs are a huge way of mitigating Bane himself only doing stun damage, and for $100 is near autotake. Just the ability to remove models from play quicker is such a big boon, and the equipment is very cheap.
Backpack isn't that great, because you have to take Loot to make use of it (and why take that when you can take Osito) and it costs the same as Titan or Venom which are just more useful.
Venom Dose I've already discussed in what it does, but it's use as equipment is slightly debatable. When Venom Lab is taken and they cost $50 you should always take at least 2 (probably the maximum of 3) but at $100 it's much more of a thought as to what other equipment you're taking and how Venom fits in.
Gas Mask is the same as always- not worth it. Gas isn't overly common and paying $150 to ignore it on one model isn't a great way to spend funding.
Antidote like Gas Mask, it isn't worth it to pay $150 on the chance you might be against Poison.
Night Vision Goggles is such a good upgrade I can't find the words to express it. Putting it on an Assault Rifle bumps it's cost up to $800 (NVG is $200) but giving such a good gun Night Vision is invaluable, and will be amazingly useful all of the time.
Grapple-Gun as a 0-2 option is pretty rare, and at $300 is moderately cheap. You'll probably only ever take 1 though with the huge amount of great guns and equipment available to Bane, a single Grapple is enough.

Bane Options

Venom Applicator is a 0 funding upgrade that costs 2 rep, and allows the model to give Doses that they have to a model in base contact. It's not bad filler if you have rep spare, and it's 0-2 so can be spread out, but usually the model with it will want the Doses themselves so it isn't an always use. 

Venom Laboratory is an equipment option only for Leaders and Sidekicks, and it costs $100 but a big 5 rep. It lets models use more than one Titan Dose per game, which is a nice bonus to have and may come in handy (although more useful in Eternal games) and reduces the cost of Venom Doses to a dirt cheap $50, which is great to have. The best part is, the bonus remains even if the model is removed from play, so the crew will always benefit from the extra Titan use. It's a great equipment to take, especially if you're already taking Venom, and even more so if you take Titan as an objective. 

Bird Options

Military Progress is mostly for those few henchmen in the crew that don't have Veteran, because that's what this equipment gives. 0-2 $150 it's decent, and helps Bird synergise with more models, but is at the expense of other equipment so it's usually something that gets added in later.