Strategies
Brave and the Bold are lucky in that they have a few Strategies to choose from, doing a lot of different things to help the crew out. This is likely to compensate for the fact they can't take Vandalism, and one of their options is even a pretty good counter to that.
Rapid Response Training
1 point, it lets you choose 2 henchmen in the crew to get +2" on their BMD for their first activation. It can only be chosen once, but the value on those 2 models moving faster can be very significant for the later game. It's less value than giving a single model Patrol for the same Strategy cost, but spreading it out can be worthwhile in many cases.
Public Resource Upgrade
The gunline option, for 1 point this lets you choose 3 lamps on the table (after Vandalism, so it can't be countered that way) and increase their light from 4" to 6". This means a much greater part of the table is lit up, so you can shoot with your guns a lot easier right from the start. In a Gordon crew for example, it is a good way to spread out the potential shooting, and can force an opponent into dangerous bottlenecks where they will suffer.
I Am The Night
Batman's exclusive Strategy, this is yet another cost 1. It allows him to once per game, at the beginning of the Take the Lead phase, be placed up to 6" away from where he currently is. This is a bit unreliable because it is before counters are drawn for that turn, but can be used both offensively and defensively, putting Batman into positions where he is hard to deal with for an opponent and can threaten them.
Police Training
This one should almost always get taken. For 1 Strategy Point, halving the counters needed to Arrest is huge in a BatB crew. The fact it spends 1SC frees up movement for actually moving, and lets any given model move further to have a greater reach for arresting.
Equipment
Brave and the Bold have a very large equipment list, with many options being good, and many more being restricted to specific characters.
Magazine is the usual 0-2, $200 for an extra ammo. In such a gun-heavy crew, very useful
Flashlight is 0-2 (for some reason) and $100 to give a model Lantern. In Standard there are no models with Lantern, but in my opinion this trait is more than likely going to make the user a target of shooting themselves, while BatB have lots of easier ways of lighting up a table.
Handcuffs is a 0-2 Equipment piece for $200, giving Arrest. In a crew that does lots of stun, this is pretty nice to have, and I can't really fault taking it.
Whistle another 0-2 $200 piece of Equipment, this one is what BatB are known for. Giving a model the Stop! trait, it is a great debuff and control piece, and at least one should be in pretty much any Brave and the Bold crew. Excellent synergy with guns, it counters Acrobats and Magic, and can slow down big threats, what more do you want?
Street Patrol 0-1 but for $50, giving a model Street Guy is always worth it. Seriously, if you have $50 left why aren't you taking it?
Intensive Training is 0-1 and $100 funding, giving a model Teamwork:1 (All). Teamwork is useful, and very common in BatB, but at the same time isn't useful on every model that can take it, so you have to be careful who it goes on and have a reason for it otherwise it's a waste.
Radio 0-2 $100 to get rerolls to Let's Go rolls, it's ok (and pretty awesome with Harry Wells halving the cost) but with the amount of good Sidekicks in BatB to give out the rerolls themselves it's not as huge.
Antidote 0-1 to make a henchman immune to Poison, it's ok but very situational. Costing $100, it really only has a good frequent use against Cheshire (a subset of League who won't always be seen), Ivy (but not all the time as only one version has Poison) and Ratcatcher (the most likely to be seen, but still not all the time). Because of how infrequently it will be used, I would not recommend taking this in a list, just because it will more often than not be useless.
Grapple-Gun another 0-1 option, this is a $300 funding way to get henchmen with grapple guns. Great way to speed up the crew.
Helmet has no number listed (so assume 0-1) and gives a model Hardened for $300. Not really that great, because it's once per turn on henchman (who are usually easier to kill anyway) so I would give this a skip personally
Patrol Training is 0-1, $100 to give a model Undercover. A really good way to set up your Medium Range guns (hello Lerida) so they can shoot sooner.
Gas Mask a 0-1 piece of equipment to give a model Gas Mask for $100, like Antidote it has great use but against very limited things. Unlike in Militia where you will be gassing your own models semi-frequently, BatB have none of their own ways to get Gas in a crew, and will be relying on matchups where they will be facing it.
Riot Gear is a 0-2 $150 equipment option that gives Football Gear. With how common Heavy and Sharp weapons are in the game, this is actually a pretty good take if you want to keep a henchman alive longer on the front lines.
Medic is a great piece of equipment with 0-1 and costing $150. The possibility of 3 Medic models in a BatB crew (Alfred, Dove and whoever this goes on) means you can keep in the fight a lot more than they have any right to, but also costs a lot of counters to do it with henchmen which needs to be considered.
SWAT Special Training is an option for Elite:SWAT models only, and can do one of 2 things for $100. It's 0-2, so 2 models can take it, and it gives the model a choice of either Precise Aim (for the guns- mainly Lerida) or Tracking (anything else, giving a nice little extra bit of movement at the end of the turn). Precise Aim on a gun is very good for consistency, and I would recommend taking this whenever it fits.
Bruce Wayne Options
These options have a lot of overlap with Bat-Family that I will not discuss here, but there are a few others that deserve a mention.
Batman Inc is a very expensive piece of equipment at $400 and 3 rep, and although it is useful it isn't anything special to spring for over other equipment. Giving Bat-Armour MkII (so a 6+ save and +1" to their BMD) to a Sidekick or Free Agent is good, but when there are better uses for funding it isn't essential. This is best taken in super low model count "team-esque" lists where Batman will be accompanied by relatively little else costing funding.
Martial Arts Training, Upgraded Batsuit and Mentor are identical to their Bat-Family incarnations, and their usefulness is pretty much the same.
Batman Inc is a very expensive piece of equipment at $400 and 3 rep, and although it is useful it isn't anything special to spring for over other equipment. Giving Bat-Armour MkII (so a 6+ save and +1" to their BMD) to a Sidekick or Free Agent is good, but when there are better uses for funding it isn't essential. This is best taken in super low model count "team-esque" lists where Batman will be accompanied by relatively little else costing funding.
Martial Arts Training, Upgraded Batsuit and Mentor are identical to their Bat-Family incarnations, and their usefulness is pretty much the same.
Kevlar Cowl is a $250 upgrade to Batman that makes him immune to crits. Simple, but efficient. It's at the expense of other equipment though at its cost, so has to be carefully considered.
EMP is pretty simple, $100 to give a model the EMP rule. EMP isn't that useful, and as far as Equipment goes it's not something you're scrambling to take, with other options being miles better.
Hidden Magazine is the way for BatB to put extra ammunition on their Sidekicks and Leaders, and for $300 can have some good uses. However, Batman himself won't have much use of this, and most of the best ranged non-henchman BatB models are Free Agents so can't benefit from it. It's good on Rick Flag, but would be so much better on Red Hood or Booster Gold.
AK Batmobile Synchronizer is $0, but functionally useless. With the old 1st edition Vehicle rules being defunct, the Batmobile it works with doesn't have a use in the game.
Morality is $50 to give Batman Demotivate and Moral Compass. Ok, but Moral Compass is a big drawback and Demotivate is a big counter cost on a model that will be wanting to be in combat with all that entails.
Gordon Options
Heliport I have already discussed with Gordon himself, and is basically just a really good way of increasing his attack potential.
Sergeant Training lets a BatB crew be a bit more versatile, giving Order for $50. While it is ok, and very cheap, it's not a huge thing, and will really not come into play as Gordon wants to be accompanied by a few strong guns and giving them equipment, rather than buff models other ways.
Note- Every option after this is 0-1, so I will not list this below
Oliver Queen Options
Tactical Gloves is shared with Team Arrow, and it's just as good here as it is there. Giving Green Arrow Reinforced Gloves for $50, it's great value.
Command Centre Support is a $250 piece of Equipment to give a model Scheming:2. My thoughts on this trait have been well documented on this blog, and I think it's mostly not great, so I would naturally not support spending funding on buying it for a model with no other benefit. I would always skip this one
Dick Grayson Options
Circus Training is a $300 and 5 rep upgrade, so very pricey, but it gives the model Acrobat. It's a big bonus, and can be hilarious on certain models (Lerida or Diggle for example) but ultimately is locked into a 90 rep model minimum and is itself expensive, meaning most of the time you'll just choose other better options.
Runner is a nice cheap way to speed up a model (probably one with Arrest) as for $100 it gives them Tireless. Low cost and reliable, it's something that will see play on the cheaper Arrest pieces.
Roy Harper Options
With Roy currently being Eternal-only, his equipment will obviously only see play in that format. Hi-Tech Ammo is expensive for what it does at 2 rep and $150 funding, giving a model Bleed:2 on one of its ranged weapons. It's a less useful version of Ancient Weapon (with most models that goes on having crit bonuses) and although it goes on ranged weapons, this means it's seeing less potential use unless they can get to an ammo. Overall the regular equipment options are better (Magazine, Whistle, SWAT Training)
Kathy Kane Options
The Equipment for Batwoman, Officer Training is a really great option in supporting the crew. For $100 and 2 rep it's cheap enough, while it gives the model Follow Me! to boost up a crew's movement capabilities and speed them up. It's a great thing to have, so if you're taking Batwoman I would recommend buying a henchman this.
Tim Drake Options
Like Roy, Tim is Eternal. Tim has an upgrade for himself called Inspiring Presence that gives him the Leadership trait, which is not great given Tim himself isn't very good in his current forms, and BatB also have better models with Leadership in Rick Flag and Harry Wells
Barbara Gordon Options
Oracle is a great upgrade for Batgirl that gives her Exhaustive Planner for $200. It's very good pre-game control, and if Batgirl is in the crew it should be taken. Just a shame it can't go in Bat-Family or Teen Titans
Red Hood (Arkham Knight) Options
Deadly Weapons is basically just an upgrade to this version of Red Hood. It's nice because it is still Standard-legal, given AK Red Hood is still standard, and for $150 and 2 rep it gives him Silencer on his guns. It's very expensive as a package, but if you're already taking Red Hood you want it just for the extra reliability it gives him anyway in my opinion.
Selina Kyle Options
Feline Stalk gives a single model Tracking for $200. Not great though, because it is costing 2SC in a crew that not only likes to spend SC in a turn (Arrest or Whistle primarily) but also on henchmen which will likely only be willpower 4 or 5.
Loeb Options
Being the corrupt Commissioner, Loeb unlocks Bribe for $150. This gives a model Informer, which can be a great bonus in BatB and removes the need for Alfred. That said, Loeb is Eternal so will naturally see less play than others here, and as such this Equipment piece will be rarely seen
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