Tuesday 2 July 2019

Bane Crew Review part 2- Eternal

Welcome back to part 2 of my Bane crew review. This time I will be discussing the Eternal models in the crew, with a lot more models that can also be used in League of Assassins when DKR Bane is taken. Like their Standard counterparts, these models are beefy and offensive, focused around dealing damage to the opponent quickly.

The old "Big Bane" before Rebirth came along, Arkham City Bane is also the original Bane in BMG. Because of this, he has been largely overtaken in terms of newer options, and is really a thematic play above all else
Offensive
Same as Rebirth Bane, except he replaces Rebirth's Venom use with Titan. Increasing himself to attack 7 is not really that big of a deal considering he is no harder to block, but regardless he puts out a world of hurt when he hits his opponents, and with Master Fighter he gets +1 to hit. He is the equal worst Bane in terms of consistency in his attacks (and the other one is almost 60 rep less) and it has to be noted that he isn't that reliable of a hitter when compared to almost anything else in his price range.
Defensive
He's exactly the same as Rebirth Bane in this regard, except replaces Venom Enrage with Titan Berserk. This is better, because not only does Titan increase his defence and endurance it also gives him Invulnerability:3 instead of 2, meaning he has a swing of 2 extra damage for those turns. It's also more versatile because he can pick up extra mid-game and keep himself juiced up.
Overall
It is here that the comparison to Rebirth becomes unfavourable. Scheming:1 absolutely does not compare to Mastermind, I Will Break You and Cool Under Fire (nor should it for 11 rep less) but Primary Target:Titan is a nice bonus, especially with the Bane strategy. It's a good extra bit of VP that can help out sometimes, but isn't game breaking. Rebirth Bane also has one higher willpower baked in, which is very important to note for certain interactions and means he will usually have an extra counter to make use of.
Affinity:Batman is a funny little possibility, although with the quality stable of Free Agents natively in Brave and the Bold it's not huge, and he will almost always be replaced with another option

The cheapest version of Bane, Arkham Origins Bane still has a place in the game but is overshadowed by DKR Bane. While still a good option, he isn't necessarily great at this point in the game's evolution
Offensive
Attack 5 with Reinforced Gloves, Master Fighter and strength 3+ makes him a decent beater for his cost, and on Venom he will definitely punch above his weight. 
This Bane is also the only one to have a choice of special attacks he can do, with Large giving him access to the great Charge attack but also having Lethal Blow. With how easy it is for him to damage models, the ability to slap Stunned on something is very worthwhile, and can be useful in shutting down larger threats he can't KO outright and lock them out of the game for a time. 
Defensive
Same defence 3 as Rebirth and Arkham City Bane, but with a lower endurance of 8. He still has Venom Enrage to protect himself when on Venom, but with less doses and less endurance than Rebirth he is significantly more fragile (and so he should be for the huge price drop). No Desensitised like the other Banes, but he does have Sturdy so he will only ever be losing 2 counters in a game
Overall
Origins Bane has Scheming:2, which can be ok but isn't really all that useful, and that's about all that's worth mentioning here. He is pretty fast like all Banes are, but at willpower 7 he has the lowest willpower of them all, which given he is the cheapest makes sense. 

As far as Bane henchmen go, TNT has always been the worst. Even as an Assault Rifle henchman he is the worst option for Bane, and his expensive cost isn't really offset by having anything of huge use compared to the others. I would always go for Elite Op over him now.
Offensive
His Assault Rifle is great damage, as always, but it isn't enough to justify his use when there are 3 others in the Bane crew all offering more useful kit otherwise (Dallas, Barsad and Elite Op).
Defensive
TNT has 2 traits that help him out defensively, and he has 1 higher endurance than normal for Bane henchmen. Flak Armour protects him against almost all of Mr Freeze's crew which is great, and makes him immune to Expansive and Explosive in general, but it's not as commonly valuable as Bulletproof Vest or even the Light Armour on the newer models, and for being more expensive than most of the other Assault Rifles it isn't really that great. He also has Hardened to reduce a little bit of damage each turn, but it isn't hugely worthwhile given how much of a priority target he will be and not being any better than the other gun options
Overall
Like the rest, he's got Veteran. He does also have Order to change around his allies' counters, but in a crew where they're all Veteran anyway it isn't hugely valuable.

A "mini-Bane" for the crew, Venom Soldier is a secondary bruiser that is functionally just a punching model/bodyguard.
Offensive
Attack 3 on a combat model hurts, but he does have Reinforced Gloves and 2 Titan Doses to amp up his output. With attack 4 and strength 3+ all of a sudden he hits like a cheaper beater, and with Brutal can fish for collateral results he wants (usually knock down). All in all he's a nice piece but not massive for his cost, and there are better melee henchmen in Bane.
Defensive
Having the same defensive stats as usual, but with endurance 7 and Large (so Ping penalties, rerolls to recovery) to compensate for not having Bulletproof Vest. He also has Hardened to reduce a bit of damage he takes, which is ok but not huge on him given he doesn't have much else.
Overall
The only henchman in Bane to not have Veteran, but he does make up for this by having 1 higher willpower of 6 and Bodyguard to keep Bane or Bird safer while they're on the front lines. He's no faster than the rest, losing a movement but gaining the extra 2" to his BMD from Large, but he can easily keep up with the crew anyway.

Mercenary- all of the remaining henchmen have the Mercenary trait, and thus can go in League of Assassins lists if DKR Bane is present. They can also take the Tumbler because of this trait. 
A model that has pretty much been replaced by the newer Barsad, Dallas was once the terror of Gotham in 1st edition. Still a solid piece, but Barsad is a standard version of the same thing.
Offensive
He's an Assault Rifle. Long ranged triple blood and RoF3, he can nuke whatever he hits, but lacks the hit bonuses Barsad can get.
Defensive
With regular Bane stats and a Bulletproof Vest, Dallas is pretty ordinary in this regard
Overall
Like almost all Bane henchmen, he has Veteran to move his counters around a bit when he activates.

The 3 regular melee models in the Bane crew, they are all fairly similar. Identical statlines, they only differ in their weapons and traits.
Offensive
All 3 of them are attack 3 (so somewhat easy to block) and strength 5+ (so somewhat hard to wound). All 3 have Heavy though, bumping them up to wounding on 4s which is not bad in any regard.
McGregor has a single blood Machete as his weapon, which has Heavy and Sharp. Unlike the others, he rerolls wounds instead of hits, making him the most reliable at damaging (but also the least gain from Venom) while he has Weapon Master for a +1 to hit instead.
Mohawk has 2 single blood Ice Axes, which have crit blood, Handy and Heavy to make him a decently reliable model in combat. He also has Combo with these weapons, boosting his efficiency only slightly (or significantly under DKR Bane) but extra damage is always nice.
Smash is the only one with no traits to boost his offence, but he has the best weapon to make up for it. He has a standard Knife in case of steals (which are very rare) and his Maul is a very good weapon in a Bane crew, because it has Handy and Heavy. Like an axe but with blood/stun, he is boosted seriously by using Venom Doses because of this.
Defensive
All 3 have Bane stats and Bulletproof Vests, that's about it. Decently survivable, but also not too tanky.
Overall
Veteran helps them move counters around, but that's about it. Movement 3 means they're quick enough as well, they can get good work done for their 30 rep or less cost.

A sort of midfield model, Ted Hunter has both shooting and melee but isn't amazing at either. A decent objective piece, but there are a few options in Bane now that are just better for the cost.
Offensive
Ted has 2 weapons, a Shotgun and a Knife. For his cost the Knife isn't great (single blood Sharp at 5+ and attack 3) but it's there if he needs it, while the Shotgun is a weapon that is up for a lot of debate. Personally I don't rate it, as even though it can move and shoot with no penalty, that is because it's a single shot and without high damage to offset that, it's quite literally hit or miss for his usefulness. 2 blood and a stun at Medium Range isn't bad, especially with Firearm, but if you miss that's him wasted, and Sharpshooter or even Schoolboy do significantly more for only slightly more funding.
Defensive
He has Bane stats and Bulletproof Vest, that's about it.
Overall
Veteran, that's it. He's a run of the mill Bane henchman with all that entails.

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