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.

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. 

Dark Knight Rises 2 player set part 2- Bane and League of Shadows

Welcome back everyone to part 2 of my overview of the Dark Knight Rises 2 player set. As we've already covered Brave and the Bold in the last post, this will be finishing up the set with the Bane half, also usable in League of Shadows (or in Talia's case, only usable in League). I have some very mixed opinions about these models depending on which crew they're in, but without further ado let's get into it!

The Bane henchmen from the set, these guys are in general really good. They bring some slightly different options to Bane crews, some of which are very welcome, and have a lot to like. 

Offensive

Each Mercenary brings its own different kind of weapon, and each has great uses in how it operates. 

Barsad and his Assault Rifle should be somewhat self explanatory, it's a big gun with big damage, and with Precise Aim and possible Night Vision in Bane crews he can be an early threat to anything on the table. 

Mercenary 1 is the first Bane model to have an Axe, something mostly seen in Joker crews, but here it is a weapon to be greatly feared and respected. With Venom, something he can take in Bane or League, he gets rerolls to both hit and wound for a turn at 3+ strength, all but guaranteeing he will cut down most things he hits. He is only attack 3, and thus easy to block, but he is a very reliable melee killer that will easily slot into any Bane crew. 

Mercenary 2 is of debatable use, being the second model to come with an automatic pistol in Bane (and both being standard). For 2 rep over Clover (and $50 less- important with Venom Lab) he gains +1 strength and replaces Rapid Fire with Reinforced Gloves and Mercenary, so he occupies a similar but subtly different role in the crew. While Clover puts out more shots he is scrambling for ammo crates once he runs out, while Mercenary 2 can just start swinging his fists and having decent chances at KOing models. He's not a bad choice to put Venom on, but not that good either, although he does do wonders with Handcuffs instead of a piece like Cuchillo, and it facilitates a more aggressive Arrest piece . 

Defensive

They have Bane stats. Defence 3 endurance 5 with a Bulletproof Vest, just like almost every other henchmen in the crew, and that's about all to say. 

Overall

Like most Bane models, these guys are very straightforward. Veteran for a little bit of counter reallocation is great, but otherwise they don't have much in the way of special tricks to play around with. 

They work very well in Bane for reasons I have already discussed, but their biggest weakness in a League crew is how inflexible they are from being locked into a specific leader option in Bane. While they are great with him, they can't truly capitalise on some of the other tricks in League crews by sheer virtue of Bane being the leader now, and access to some of those other options comes at a hefty investment. Rebirth Talia and Cheshire for example, are both pushing the rep costs of the crew much higher, and Ra's is just not allowed at all (although it makes sense for theme reasons)

As an alternate option to taking the Batman Tumbler, the one in the box can also be used as an upgrade card for any of the models with the Mercenary trait inside (so all the henchmen). It has the same strength, movement and defence changes as the Batman one, but gains 2 extra endurance to compensate for not being able to swap it with the Batpod. Defensively this means it is immune to being one-shotted by a lucky Carbine unlike the Batman one, but is still very scared of any Sniper Rifles on the table as they can straight up delete it with lucky crits. In comparison to the BatB version it also loses the jump ability while being more expensive in both rep and funding, although it's guns get a huge bonus in doing blood damage instead of purely stun still with unlimited ammo. The machine guns become obscene when attacking henchmen (and at a higher RoF4, something I missed in my last post on the BatB Tumbler) and the rocket launchers can clear out chaff very easily, while it doesn't lose the ability to charge if it needs to get through a combat situation. 

Unfortunately though, the Tumbler isn't really a great pick competitively for a few reasons, the largest being it doesn't have a great model to pilot it and it's super expensive. Mercenary 2 is ok as a driver but he is still not using his pistol to do so, while the only standard Mercenary without a funding cost is far, far better off getting stuck into combat with his axe, something he can't do without tossing the upgrade. As a means of getting to combat and getting some early shots off it might be ok, but that is still very costly when they could be buying almost 3 extra models for that price (and higher endurance total, thus more likely to even make combat)

Someone who had a previous eternal card that still saw a lot of play in that format, DKR Bane pushes out that old card with being almost a complete upgrade in every way. Compared to the old version, he gains Close Combat Master, an extra point of willpower and Born in the Darkness while losing Brutal and only costing 1 point more, which is a huge benefit to Bane crews, but in League he is no longer a sidekick, instead being leader only. This isn't a bad thing, however, as it compensates his massive improvement with a higher VP gain for an opponent when he is KO or casualty. 

Offensive
What's not to be said, the guy is a combat monster. Rerolls to hit, attack 5 with combo, double stun at 3+ strength, he can quite easily punch out most threats himself. What he also does, however, is facilitate combat henchmen and turn them into their own massive threats, having the double-tap of Kill Them and Inspire to give models 2 free counters every turn until he dies, which is a great threat to make an opponent deal with on top of his already impressive melee.
Bane's True Love is important to note, as it can put him at attack 6 and willpower 9 which is a huge gain, but it only applies in a League crew and not Bane, while also requiring an expensive (or garbage as we'll see below) Talia to have already died. Currently as written it also doesn't actually work as there is no model in the game listed as just "Talia", rather there is only "Talia al Ghul". It's an easy house rule and should always be accepted, but it needs a fix from KM because it's their mistake, and a mistake that's carried over from the original DKR Bane.
Defensive
Defence 4 is decent, especially at endurance 8, and he has a few traits that help him out defensively. Desensitised means he is always at his maximum amount of counters, Runaway makes him immune to Arrest and his unique trait Born in the Darkness gives him a few nice bonuses. Immunity to Sneak Attack is situational but always nice, meaning he can block anything but Speedsters provided he has the counters, and also gains a +1 to block when he isn't illuminated which is a nice little 12% increase in his likelihood to block all but attack 2.
Just for the sake of completeness, these combined means he is the hardest piece of all to deal with in straight 2 player box games, as the BatB side has little to no blood damage, he is immune to Arrest and can't be Sneak Attacked by Batman, while blocking everything on the opponent's side on a 3+ or better. New players may possibly find him a little bit too powerful for regular starter games (as he is also very newb friendly in general) and this should be considered for demo game purposes as well as simply introducing new people to the box set.
Overall
He packs Strategist which is helpful for the obvious extra strategy point, but otherwise he again has no real special tricks. He's a key piece in combat, but that's his only place.

Quite easily the worst model in the box rules-wise, Talia is unfortunately just not that great in any role, and massively held back by being League of Assassins only.
Offensive
There really isn't much to speak of, attack 4 and strength 4+ is good, but she only ever does a single blood in a crew where double damage is on every single other model available in standard. Sneak Attack helps her out a little bit in not being able to block her attacks, but she will only ever do great work when teamed up with another model.
Defensive
For her rep she is actually pretty great defensively at defence 4 and endurance 6, and Charm makes her a real pain to deal with using henchmen. A couple of good guns will down her very quickly, as will a dedicated melee leader (and there's a good chance most regular beater FA/sidekicks will too), but she's too expensive to just be put down to objective duty. Archie proved that a pure annoyance sidekick can work, but in Talia's case she is too much jack of all trades, master of none to be worth much thought.
Overall
Willpower 7 is quite good for her cost and lets her do a decent amount (although none of it is especially great) and she has a couple of other ways of assisting her crew in Millionaire and Scheming. Scheming isn't very relevant if you have a good plan of what you're doing and can get a good idea of your opponent's moves, and Millionaire would be far more useful in a Bane crew than it is in League, simply because they don't have all that many equipment options that are great takes, often meaning you'll be spending leftover funding just for the sake of it. She enables a merc focused list in League better, but at the same time she would have far more of a place if she was League/Bane like the rest of the box, competing with Bird for the sidekick slot.

Battle Report- Brave and the Bold (Batfleck/Ezra Flash) vs new Bane

Hi everyone, after a bit of a break in posting I'm back with something else new! The newest set of releases has been done to death from all the BMG podcasts (give them a listen, they're worth it) and I don't really have anything to add there, but I do have a battle report of a game I played early last week against the new Bane. I took my Batfleck and Ezra Flash list identical to how it is in that list discussion, and the Bane list was as follows. My opponent is somewhat newer to Rebirth Bane, and in this game is trying a few different things to get a handle on how the crew runs in general.

Bane Crew

Reputation: 343/350

Funding: 1500$/1500$

[Boss][L] Bane (Rebirth) [161/0$]

[F] Captain Boomerang (Suicide Squad) [48/200$]

[F] Slipknot (Suicide Squad) [42/200$]

[H] Dreadnought Op [44/0$]

-Venom Dose [0/100$]

-Grapple-gun [0/300$]

[H] Clover [30/300$]

[H] Prisoner 04211 [18/400$]

The list is based around damage for the most part, and a combination of solid Free Agents with the staying power of Bane. Slipknot's use is obvious, Boomerang is there because he is value and can put out some good damage. The original intention was for Bane to move up through sewers with Boomerang and Slipknot as backup, while the henchmen sat back and protected my Batsignal. Dreadnought is in there to put out fires as they rise, with his potential mobility and damage.

Setup

Scenario was Patrol, and for I Will Break You Bane chose Close Combat Master and One of the Boys (consistency is the reason for this, the rerolls are great). As far as strategies went, I took Change of Plans on my Medical Supplies and Police Training for cheaper Arrest, while my opponent took Sewer Maps, Titan Container Located and Patrol on Bane. 

As in the photo, deployment was pretty much deploying as far forward as possible. Clover and carbine prisoner sat on the roof because it was an obvious Batsignal position, and Bane in range of a sewer. 

Turn 1

Mostly just movement, although on last activation of the turn Bane popped up out of the sewers in base contact with Lerida. No attacking happened this turn, but I knew that I was in a bad position next turn, where Bane could do any number of horrible things to my crew. 1-0 Bane's way because of the Batsignal.

Turn 2

Bane wins activation, Lerida gets knocked out and Bane retreats through the sewers. Flash has run up the board by this point, and in retaliation knocks out Boomerang, only to witness some amazing carbine rolling (and failed dodges) to take 3 blood and 2 stun. Otherwise nothing remarkable occurs, it's 3-4 Bane's way at this point.

This second photo is actually the board state after the turn 3 Speed Force phase, but is mostly unchanged from end of turn 2

Turn 3

Barry begins the turn by using Speed Force to heal some damage, and then zipping around to keep himself safe for a turn. Dreadnought gets shot at by every gun I have left on my henchmen, but being on Titan this turn saves him from most of the damage. Batman grapples up and does 4 stun to Clover, while carbine prisoner moves to protect my objectives and stripper cop uses the sewer to get near Boomerang for an arrest. Bane and Slipknot sewer next to Lerida, their objectives are completely unprotected. Points don't shift very much this turn, it stays at 3-5 to Bane.

Turn 4

Speed Force now puts me in a position to claim all my objectives this turn, but my opponent activates first. Because Lerida is guaranteed to be arrested, he decides to activate Gustaf first and put shots into stripper cop, which succeeds in knocking her out. After this Dreadnought gets KO and then arrested, Gustaf gets KO by Flash (and then Flash claims my objectives) and Clover gets KO by Batman before he turns the Batsignal on. Slipknot arrests Lerida and Bane moves to his objectives. Score is now heating up, and this turn ends on 16-12 my way. Boomerang wakes up at this stage but nothing else

Turn 5

This turn not much happens, other than Boomerang getting KO again and then arrested everyone just sits on objectives. Bane can't really move off his because I will score too much against him otherwise and so is now playing to score as close to me as possible. Gustaf and Clover both wake up this turn, and Flash has now pretty much healed all his damage off from earlier in the game. Score is 26-20 my way.

Turn 6

Again not much to be said about this turn, Gustaf gets KO and then arrested but that's all that happens. Clover runs away and I don't chase, Bane and Slipknot remain on their side of the board. Game ends with both of us scoring Diversion, so game ends on 41-31 my way.

My thoughts on Bane and the list

The list on paper is quite solid, with a lot of models that I personally like a lot and think are individually very good. However, the low model count of a Bane crew doesn't seem to mesh as well as a Brave and the Bold crew does, or a few others for that matter, and there are a few things that seem a bit off. My opponent learned a lot from our game, and I'm sure that he will play significantly tougher next game we play, but we agreed that the crew lacked staying power. Slipknot will remain, but I think Boomerang, as amazing as he is, is too much of an investment in the crew when points are already wrapped up in Bane and Slipknot. Once the new Batbox does actually arrive it will be a great help to Bane, mostly just because the 2 new henchmen fill some great roles for the crew. Bane himself is now really a force to reckoned with, but at his points cost the crew has to have very specific jobs in what everything does, and has to have a bit of overlap in terms of roles IMO. His new support capability is much needed, and his personal buffs are amazing but he, like Brave and the Bold, suffers in Standard Batmatch due to an abundance of expensive options and not so many cheap ones.

Follow-up 1 week later
This game was obviously a great learning experience for my opponent, because at a tournament over the weekend he won after 2 good wins (one against myself after I decided not to play my cheesiest list that game) and an almost unavoidable loss against AK Riddler (while demolishing the crew, he couldn't move quickly enough to counter all the VP). The list was built differently, but it covered all the bases and was an absolute monster to face, being both quick (movement 3 across the board!) and deadly (cause Bane, duh). After seeing this, I think Bane is in a great spot even in standard, and once the Batbox is out he's only better.