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.

Batman Family- Team discussion and Batman reviews

Hello everyone, for my last team discussion for a while. I've previously covered Team Arrow and Suicide Squad for standard options, and Society is a bit too meaty in terms of options to cover honestly so I've decided not to cover it at all (or at least only for specific lists). This team is pretty heavy on options but it's very top-heavy (read- almost half the options are Bruce Wayne) so this will double as a Brave and the Bold feature through covering some of my favourites out of the various Batmen.

Team Rules

There are 4 special rules that define the Bat-Family, and all are very much in theme with what they are as a team of heroes. 

The Bat Code- Quite simple to explain, they only ever do stun damage. All blood becomes stun, but with easy access to Arrest (or Red Hood with Takedown for some cheeky executions) they can get around it pretty well. 

Bat-Training gives every model Boy Wonder as a trait, meaning that Handy as a rule simply doesn't function against Batfam. This is huge defensively, especially when there is no model below defence 4 in the crew. 

Enhanced Gadgets is a one use mobility bonus, which allows a single model to use their Batclaw even if they used it in the previous turn, letting them make some serious relocation and helping with the lower model count Batfam are guaranteed to have. 

Synchronicity gives every model in the team Teamwork/1 to every other model in the team, allowing some nice counter stealing to enable the biggest hitters to work better, and also lets you choose who takes the lead once per game which can let you activate first when it's really necessary

Equipment

Batfam have a few different options when it comes to equipment, but they are of differing usefulness. The standard ones are all mostly useful:

Magazine is the outlier here, only being truly great on Nightmare Batman, Knightfall Batman or Red Hood, but at $300 it competes with the other options in the list. After those options are taken and there is spare rep? Sure, chuck it on someone who won't be up close fighting (Batgirl is 100% my choice for this) and it might see use, better to take it than not. 

Handcuffs is without a doubt the single best piece of equipment in the Bat-Family list and should always be maxed out. When you're only doing stun damage a way to remove models from play is essential, and taking 2 Arrests in what is normally a 4 model crew is massive at any funding cost. This team will basically always play at $900 because $600 is put into double Handcuffs. 

Reconnaissance gives a single model Undercover, and in that is a good way to speed up some of the slower Batmen (as most of the crew are movement 3+ Acrobats and don't need it). $300 seems hefty, but when you consider the upsides of holding back a model it is well worth it

Then there are a few only unlocked by Bruce Wayne which again, are of differing usefulness

Upgraded Batsuit- Just like in BatB, $100 to give Bruce +1 endurance. Easily worth it, take every time

Martial Arts Training- Less important here than in BatB because of a high amount of native Martial Artists, but if you're taking models that will be on the front lines and don't have Martial Artist, buy it for them. Very cheap and is a huge benefit, it's not something to just skip. 

Mentor- I'll be honest, Mentor is shit. Hidden Boss in Batfam is nothing but a VP liability that has no other benefit, for a cost of $200 and 3 rep. Never worth taking at all.

Strategies

There are 3 strategies to choose from, but Batfam will usually spend all 3 of their points on the same 2 as they are far and away better. Also note that these are on top of Batman getting access to I Am The Night which he gets by being the boss of this crew automatically. 

Secret Warehouse is a 1 point strategy that lets you place a 30mm marker anywhere on the table 6" away from a board edge that is basically a 0VP ammo that only friendly models can use. For 1 point it could be ok in lists that plan to maximise Nightmare Batman or Knightfall's flamethrower, but it just isn't that great when you'll likely already have funding spare to just buy a magazine

The Hour of the Bat is the 2 cost strategy for the team, and should almost always be taken because of how good it is. It's single use, but it allows you to choose a model you're currently activating and declare it is only able to be hit on rolls of a 6 for that entire turn. Combined with the guaranteed first activation from Synchronicity, this lets you all but ensure a character is going to survive a turn of damage and in turn maximise offensive output to hit as hard as is possible. 

Strike from the Shadows is a small offensive boost that also helps on defence in its own small way, allowing an extended reach of sorts for one a model once per game, and for only 1 strategy point. It's a great way to hit something you wouldn't normally have the range to hit, but also to sit in safer positions and reach models in the open while not putting yourself in the line of fire. Definitely recommend taking this in almost all circumstances. 

Batman Discussion

Standard Traits/Stats

Most variants of Batman have a series of traits that define the character, and these I'll discuss here instead of going over them ad nauseam below. All of them are strength 3+ with Reinforced Gloves, they all have a stat of 5 in attack or defence, commonly both, and they are all mostly willpower 8. They all come with Batcape and Batclaw (unless I mention it below- there's one exception) for increasing movement, especially around buildings, and helps prevent falling damage should they face it. Many have Bat-Armour MkI for a 5+ save against any hits on them, which is a great bonus that has to be mentioned, and all of them also have Detective to cancel a pass should the opponent have one (which they shouldn't against Bat-Family, but against Brave and the Bold is more likely).

Weapon-wise, they all either have Batarangs or Batlings to make ranged attacks with, although they're not overly great. Double stun, throwing and light in both cases and RoF2 ammo 2, Batarangs are medium ranged and remote control over Batlings just having short ranged. They're ok if you have the shot, but up close you're almost always better off just moving to punch, especially with Strike from the Shadows as a strategy. 

The most expensive option when it comes to Batman, the Anniversary model is a fully tooled up Batman that is truly terrifying to face. It does come across an issue in Batfam though as its point cost is awkward and high, making lists with him difficult (although they have a big impact)
Offensive
Attack 5 doing double stun with rerolls to hit is already amazing, but he also has some sneaky little ways to boost his offensive power should he need it. I'm Batman gives him a one use reroll to damage rolls, which comes in handy when there's something that absolutely has to be damaged, and he is very often only blocked on 6s care of Cloak of Bats (Scared effect after failing willpower). Making those models also not able to Dodge or Crouch is nice, but a bit niche in Batfam because of a general lack of shooting. He will usually get a few knock downs when he initially deploys as well as long as he can fit, forcing opponents to take an endurance check if they don't. This means if Batman can get first activation he can pummel someone without any ability for them to spend counters, being a potentially great way to get around Bodyguard or Protect Me.
Defensive
With defence 5, Batarmour MkI and Martial Artist he is a tough nut to crack, but Cloak of Bats makes him very very hard to take out. The Scared effect, on top of the block penalty above, puts things at -1 to hit, meaning he is only hit on 6s (and also boosts the rest of the Family) and Cloak of Bats by itself says that he can only be seen when in base contact with him, ignoring any other ways of boosting vision (Total Vision, Scopes, Night Vision) and even works when he's in light, which means he doesn't care about lampposts at all. The last thing to note is his base endurance of 9, and that it means he will easily be endurance 10 with the Upgraded Batsuit, which packed in with everything else means he is insanely survivable and takes a serious investment to kill.
Overall
There's not much else to say, he has nothing super special during the game, but I'm Batman gives him a great alternate deployment ability. Basically acting as a super-Hidden, he can deploy anywhere on the table after all other models and means he will immediately get stuck in where needed, deploying near enemies or on objectives where he will start the game strong. It basically just means he is an alpha striker, but he does it so well that he can do it.

These 2 are somewhat similar in their cards, and that reason being they're from the same version of Batman. Batfleck and Nightmare are both more offensively-geared Batmen, although in slightly different ways
Offensive
Both of these Batmen are incredibly good in close combat, having rerolls to hit and attack 5. Batfleck has his Batlings as well, but it's when you look at Nightmare Batman that you see the obscenity of his damage output. While Batfleck is just no frills, Nightmare packs 2 guns and Mixed Combat Style, meaning he will be shooting downfield while advancing and can even throw punches in the same turn as he does so. In Batfam he is always doing double stun with his weapons so up close the differences in the two guns aren't that significant, but in Brave and the Bold he is a very reliable killer from fairly early in the game. His Custom MG being medium ranged and Assault 2 means he can move and shoot by turn 2, and this gun is quite good in BatB simply because it is double blood, letting him pump damage downfield before his advance and keep going later on. His Automatic Gun isn't as great, but when he runs out of ammo or if he gets engaged, the gun is a godsend and lets him still shoot in b2b with enemies or simply just at short ranged later in the game. In Batfam he can quite reliably KO almost anything by himself (or multiple low endurance models) in a turn, but doesn't have the counter availability to Arrest by himself, needing someone else to do it for him, while Batfleck has the flexibility to carry the handcuffs himself.
Defensive
Both are defence 4 endurance 8 and Martial Artist with Batarmour MkI, so decently survivable just on that, but Batfleck gets a little bit extra in his role as a brawler. Sustained Defence lets him load 4 into attack and 4 into defence where he can sit comfortably in a position near the opponent and sit on 6 block dice and Batarmour, making him a stocky opponent face-to-face.
Overall
Neither of these have any frills in terms of special abilities outside combat, and are somewhat slow at movement 2. Despite this, the amounts of damage they do for their costs (and their reliability) offsets this, making them both valuable choices in both a Brave and the Bold or a Bat-Family crew.

The second of the "expensive" Batman I'll be discussing in this review, Rebirth Batman represents the cream of the crop in terms of activation manipulation and is a great stealthy threat. Again though, the higher cost is somewhat prohibitive for list building and must be considered even with all of his benefits.

Offensive

Attack 5 with usual Batman punches, he's just prone to a little bit of failing rolls. Sneak Attack is the name of the game with him thanks to Master of Stealth, meaning not only can he not be blocked but he also gets a +1 to hit which greatly helps him in hitting models. 

Defensive

Defence 5 with Martial Artist and Bat-Armour MkI means he is a pretty excellent combatant, but that isn't all that Rebirth has on the card. Master of Stealth was until recently unique to Rebirth, and gives him the previously mentioned +1 to hit, but more importantly gives him a boosted version of Stealth that means even short ranged guns will potentially have to move to get into line of sight of him. He also has Self Discipline, which I guess is ok helping him against Mind Control but seriously, he's willpower 9 with a reroll, failing willpower is a statistical anomaly.

Overall

The biggest thing to mention is his high willpower of 9 which is the highest of any Batman, giving him great variety in what he will do on any given turn. He has Sneaking for some extra movement at the end of every turn (useful to help play around with Master of Stealth, especially with Strike from the Shadows), but his biggest thing is how much he affects the activation phase. Detective and Informer can be a 2 way activation swing in some situations (removing an opponent's pass and adding your own, although not super useful in a team like Batfam) and he has the potential to use World's Greatest Detective to control the flow of the game even more. With this trait he can elect any model belonging to the opponent at the start of each turn and force it to take a willpower roll, which if failed means the opponent must activate that model before any other. This, combined with Synchronicity, allows a Batfam team to completely dominate the first activations of almost any turn in the game with relative ease, which is a huge bonus in flexibility that can't be ignored. 

The only non-Bruce Batman option in the game, Knightfall Batman isn't a leader option in Batfam but is still available on the list, or can be an alternate leader in Brave and the Bold. He works more as a very unsubtle version of Batman, relying purely on brutality and damage to get his job done.
Offensive
Knightfall Batman is primarily based around up-close combat, with most of his kit based around this. Claws mean he is normally one of the few Batmen to do blood damage, and although in Batfam this becomes stun he is still 2+ strength for the most reliably wounding close combat model in the crew. Attack 4 means he is somewhat easy to block, but Unstoppable changes that to a far smaller chance of being blocked (as each attack needs to be blocked twice, it caps out at 2 blocks on most things, and that's assuming they have 4 successful block dice), while OCD gives him a useful but restricted +1 to hit in combat. Although he has to focus his attacks on one target to get this bonus, factoring in all his other kit he is very often better off doing this anyway.
At ranged he has a hand flamethrower to put out some lighter damage (in Batfam, it won't matter if you fail to wound cause the damage is done) and a fire counter. Fire is currently the only way to get blood damage into a Batfam crew (as it isn't a model dealing the damage, it's the fire) but is far more lethal in a Brave and the Bold crew where they have access to whistles for guaranteed burning which has gotten me a lot of success.
Defensive
Defence 4 endurance 7 is not bad, but it's Sturdy and Medium Armour that really help him out. He's difficult to wound via henchmen outside of guns and only ever loses 2 counters maximum from accumulated damage, so when he is damaged he is still hitting pretty hard. He is very scared of Anti-Tank weapons though, especially snipers like Deadshot as they will just nuke him easily, and it's important to note that against any other guns he is still a 50/50 chance to wound.
Overall
There's not much else to say about Knightfall that hasn't already been said. He is definitely someone geared more towards Brave and the Bold rather than Bat-Family through not being a boss option, but he has his uses as a secondary hitter alongside a cheaper Batman. The one thing to consider is how Fast plays into his playability, as he is only movement 2 but with the higher BMD he can still reach targets much easier than most other models.

The only non-Batman model I'm covering in this post, the sidekick version of Batgirl has a whole lot of great reasons to be taken in a Batfam crew. She adds so much for so little cost that she is invaluable.
Offensive
With attack 4 and Combo combined with Sneak Attack, you'd think that she was a big combat model made to go in and put the punches on enemies, but because she only does single stun damage she's usually best off getting one of the 2 Arrests in the crew and being a supporting piece. With that it allows the others to be more counter efficient in attack/defence, leaving the model removal role to someone who is using their own counters less. That said, she does have 3 ammo on her Batlings so if she really needs to she can throw them around and put out little extra bits of damage where needed.
Defensive
Defence 5 with Stealth and Martial Artist means although she is only endurance 6, she takes some thinking to take out, and won't die easily. This makes her a good objective piece as well as her Arrest role, but at the same time she should try and stay out of combat where possible and let the others cover it.
Overall
Informer is really all that's really left to note outside of Batcape and Batclaw, and adding extra passes is always nice. Teamwork from the Batfam team rules means she has a use in simply funnelling extra counters to the big guys in the crew (Batman and Nightwing) but at willpower 6 she will also have uses for her own counters.

Other notable options
Like Team Arrow, I've already talked about much of this team through other posts.
I haven't personally covered Batwoman, but over on the Paradox Effect blog there is an excellent overview on how she works from my mate Solitaire, which I don't disagree with in any regard.
Huntress and Catwoman are both great options in Batfam because of their ability to quickly score VP and threaten objectives, but Catwoman's biggest use here is in her ability to be a reactive Handcuff piece. Fast moving Arrest to wherever she needs to be is always worthwhile, and at the points costs of either Catwoman you can slot them in easily. The choice is between Modern Age to help out in the fight or GCS to help score more VP, but both are worth taking for their tricks. Huntress brings debuffs and a little bit of ranged threat, and she is another great one to have with Handcuffs moving around and being a backup piece.
Nightwing, Red Hood and Damian are all excellent damage pieces for the team, being the ones who get into the fight apart from Batman.
Grayson Robin and eternal Damian are both decent options, but restricted in their uses by other factors. Damian is heavily overshadowed by his 60 point standard version, but is one of the few 50 rep options in the team which can help in filling awkward points gaps, while Boy Wonder Robin is still locked into Modern Age Batman who is good, but somewhat less valuable in Batfam, and Robin himself also locks out Nightwing as an option, which is a huge downside to the crew as a whole. He's also not the most thematic option, because the team is largely made up of his successors that came about after he became Nightwing, so it's odd to justify it (although possible to make a themed list with it, its not quite possible to do 350 rep with this theme)

Dark Knight Rises 2 player set part 1- my thoughts on Brave and the Bold

Hi all, this month we have a very exciting set of releases all based around the Nolan Dark Knight trilogy, and a lot of things to consider. To start I will be discussing the main release of the month, the Dark Knight Rises 2 player set featuring Batman vs a Bane focused League crew, splitting the box into its 2 halves for separate posts. The box has some really nice minis in it that have some great roles in their respective crews, but also a couple of duds unfortunately, and it is important because it's bringing into the game the return of proper vehicles in the form of the Tumbler and Batpod.

Brave and the Bold

The 3 cops in this pack are great in that they're generic police officers, but they are of vastly differing value to a Brave and the Bold player. Agent 1 and 2 are valuable for a variety of reasons, but Agent 3 is not very good when considering other options.
Offensive
Being cheap henchmen, they don't have too much in the way of offence, but for their costs they're not bad either. Automatic Pistol is an ok weapon for what it does at its price point, Extendable Batons are great, and Agent 2 has a new type of weapon that is really great in the form of Pepper Spray. A short ranged Beam weapon (so no picking up ammo, and only 6+ ping) with Reload, it does no damage but has the Blind effect. It means you're able to potentially shut down some big hitters, and for $0 funding the fact it has diminishing returns on higher defence characters isn't even a bad thing.
Defensive
There isn't much to be said for any of them defensively, and they're all fairly standard defence 3/endurance 5 cops. Agent 2 is a lower endurance 4, but at his cost that is more than tolerable, while Agent 3 has a Bulletproof Vest to protect against guns.
Overall
All 3 have Arrest, which is of great benefit to any Brave and the Bold crew, and they're relatively low cost
Agent 1 is pretty much a replacement for Agent Ron from 1st edition, albeit better with Street Guy replaced with Undercover to deploy further up the table and an extra endurance for only 1 rep more. She's not as useful as some other henchmen in Brave and the Bold, but she definitely has a place.
Agent 2 is the standard version of stripper cop, and damn he is a good replacement. Losing the jank with defensive on the baton, he instead has his pepper spray to support the rest of the crew in a couple of different ways. Very valuable model and arguably the best in this box period in terms of points/value comparison.
Agent 3 is slightly different to the already standard Arkham Guard 1, and for the points increase I'm not entirely sure he's a great take over AG1. Replacing Hockey Gear for Bulletproof Vest is largely match-up dependent (although Bulletproof Vest is more useful in general) and the extra willpower is always good, but if it comes at the expense of other better models in the crew it isn't worth taking. This is the one with the toughest competition in standard for that reason.

It's hard to do a box titled Dark Knight without the Dark Knight himself, so here he is! A new Standard version of Christian Bale Batman, he hasn't had too many major changes from the old version but what has changed is quite useful. 

Offensive

An Attack 4 Batman isn't something one would normally even consider at 120 rep, but in looking at his traits he is actually something of a great beater. Combo means he is counter efficient while having more attacks than the average Batman, and although it is a 50/50 chance to block he can easily make himself impossible to block through use of Sneak Attack, which itself gives him a +1 to hit and helps his hit and run style of attacking. He isn't the brawler you see in Anniversary Batman or Batfleck, but he can definitely run around and pick off models where he needs to which is very helpful. Also of great importance to him is Arrest, which makes him ridiculously self-sufficient when it comes to taking out the models he hits. This in Bat-Family is also something really great, as it means he enables a very easy triple Arrest list with his good cost and native Arrest so others can buy it. 

Defensive

At Defence 5 he is already hard to hit, but with Master of Stealth he is very hard to get into a position to shoot at until he is threatening you, while Bat-Armour MkII can potentially block hits and is still nice to have, even at a 6+. 

Overall

This is quite a good Batman model, although it misses out on some of the upper-tier abilities I find best in general (mainly being rerolls). With a 5" BMD and movement 4 he is already very fast, plus Batclaw and Batcape as standard he can get where he needs to be very easily when he needs to be. For the same rep as the old version he replaces regular Stealth with the superior Master of Stealth (bringing with it a +1 to hit on Sneak Attack), which is enough of a reason he should at least be considered as a competitive option, especially factoring in his upgrade cards. Both in Brave and the Bold and Bat-Family, he performs well in roles that aren't greatly filled in his points slot while facilitating other options in the crew. 

Another very important part of the box, there are 2 upgrade cards given for Batman to play with representing the Batpod and Tumbler he uses in the Dark Knight movies.
Batpod
Working in a very similar way to the old Batpod model (albeit for 5 rep and $100 more), this operates as mostly just a more streamlined version (and with an actual listed base size!). The strange thing about it is that it lacks the Batpod trait from the Compendium, but has the Mechanical Mount and Fast rules to make it work effectively the same way. It has the same movement abilities as the Joker Bikers, but also comes with a +1 movement to put Batman at a whopping movement 5 and adds 4 endurance to him. Coming with a disruptor is a nice addition, and between that, defence 5, Batarmour Mk2, Master of Stealth and ECM he is pretty safe against guns even without Acrobat.
Offensively it has a great 4 ammo (which is likely to not all get used with its endurance) across 2 guns, both of which are medium ranged and firearm doing double stun. The fact the machine guns have Anti-Tank and not the rocket launchers is odd, but the weapons basically operate as better riot guns when in range, and combined with Batman's Arrest and movement potential can be a death sentence.
Tumbler
The new vehicle in the box, the Tumbler operates pretty much as it looks- like a tank. Even though it lowers Batman's defence (to 4, still good) and only gets Ping on 6s, it compensates by having 5 extra endurance and Heavy Armour for a -3 to wound (all but guaranteeing 6s to wound on most things) and an extra +1 to movement like the Batpod. The Tumbler has the same guns as the Batpod with unlimited ammo, and when it's destroyed is immediately replaced by the Batpod which is a major factor in the cost of the Tumbler. As far as movement goes, it can charge (but no other attacks other than the guns thanks to Sealed Cabin) and gets a 7" BMD, with the downside of not being able to jump or climb. However, to get around this it ignores terrain 2" high or less when moving, and has a once per game use of Boosted Jump to make an 8" place for 1MC and 1SC (effectively a one use Super Jump). Transport is likely to not see too much use, but it lets a model on a 30mm base be carried around alongside the Tumbler without being able to use its own attacks while inside.

The first (and likely only) Catwoman from a live-action movie to make it into BMG, DKR Catwoman is a nice profile but not all that adventurous in terms of a Catwoman profile. The same statline as Modern Age Catwoman, she is a close-mid range character that is somewhat geared towards combat, but is probably still better off as an objective piece. 

Offensive

She has 2 weapon profiles, and her Heels are effectively just the Retractable Claws every other Catwoman has and as such aren't much to speak of. Attack 4 gives her decent chances of failed blocks, and a good amount of attacks to work with, but she will still only really KO henchmen somewhat reliably. She does have a automatic gun though, which she can use if something is close enough (if they move into base contact Light is awesome) and in most cases she's more reliably damaging by shooting things instead of hitting them up close. Pickpocket means she can take weapons from KO models, and as such can take some great weapons from other models, but I would only recommend doing it if she's not putting herself at risk in the process. 

Defensive

By pure virtue of being a defence 5 and movement 4 Acrobat she is very survivable, although she lacks Martial Artist to truly capitalise on it. Night Vision on her is mostly a defensive ability as well as she has no ranged abilities over 8", but it does make her less open to sneak attack if the occasion arises. 

Overall

Climbing Claws is pretty standard fare for Catwoman, and as always isn't that useful with her movement potential, while Undercover can come in handy often and helps protect her early game. She lacks any of the special movement or VP shenanigans the other Catwomen have, but she is also cheaper to make up for it and has somewhat of a different role. She could be interesting as a Batfam addition, but I'm unsure of just how useful she is to the team without testing her on the table. 

As is seen in The Dark Knight Rises, Catwoman also has an option to take her Batpod. For the same cost as Batman with a steep increase in funding ($400 extra) she gets almost the same statline with the loss of ECM and Disruptor. Her guns, however, don't just do double stun like Batman's do, with the machine guns being double blood for great potential damage, while the rocket launcher is blood/stun explosions. The damage output more than makes up for the lack of other special traits and explains her extra funding cost, but at the same time it is an $800 investment to do that, and is only really good in Brave and the Bold (the funding difference is way, way too expensive to take it in Bat-Family where it does only stun damage, especially at the expense of great equipment)

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. 

Comic review- 80s-90s Batman (Year One, Long Halloween/Dark Victory, Knightfall, No Man's Land)

Starting yet another new format, today we have a comic overview! Thought the natural place to start here would be with Batman, but given the huge amount of comic media I've decided to break it up into 2 parts for him. These are some of my favourite pieces of Batman media from the late 80s and into the 90s, a time that I personally feel is the beginning of consistently great Batman media until a little bit into the New 52 relaunch. In these, we have what is widely regarded as the definitive Batman and Robin origin piece and some other comics that are hugely important to the wider Batman mythos. Each comic is listed below with the characters/crews that I think are covered quite well in the stories, and I would put as "must reads" for each character.

Year One- OC/Batman/Gordon

This story is in my opinion the best piece of writing Frank Miller ever did for DC Comics bar none, and in itself is a great look at the grittier side of Gotham through the early careers of Batman, Gordon and Catwoman. While some matter in it has long since been retconned (and then all of it in one of the worst decisions of the New 52) it still holds up to this day as an amazing chronological starting point for Batman readers (or just a starting point in general). I tend to not recommend this as much as the next 2 in terms of starting Batman, and the storytelling isn't as captivating as them, but the artstyle alone is enough to make it stand out as a classic piece. 

The story itself is Bruce Wayne returning to Gotham at the same time as James Gordon transfers from Chicago, and through their viewpoints we get differing perspectives on the corruption that has set into Gotham. Both parties make a dedicated effort to clean up the town through their own methods, and come into conflict with the Falcone mob and the Commissioner. If you're expecting Gordon to get along with Batman right from the start, you'd be dead wrong, but watching them both grow as characters is well worth the read. A lot of the general story beats inspire Christopher Nolan in Batman Begins, and it really shows the quality of both. 

Long Halloween/Dark Victory- OC/Two-Face/Batman/Robin/Catwoman/Calendar Man

These two are together because they should always be read together, it's that simple. While they're very much sequels to Year One, it isn't 100% essential to "get" the story of Long Halloween, while Dark Victory is a direct continuation of the Long Halloween story. The one huge issue with these comics is that the art was dated when it came out, and leaves a lot to be desired in its weirdly abstract style. The story, however, more than makes up for this, and I recommend these stories to anyone wanting to read Batman, new or old.

The Long Halloween details Batman still early in his career while he continues his crusade against Organised Crime in Gotham, this time framed amid the growing conflict between the Maroni and Falcone families. Right in the middle of the war, there is a bit of a murder mystery in the Holiday Killer, who is thinning the ranks of the Falcone family and fuelling gang conflict across Gotham, targeting Falcone members on holidays much to the anger of Calendar Man. Adding to this, we also see Gordon continuing to rise the ranks, Catwoman finding her thieving ways, and Gotham's costumed criminals beginning to take over the evolving criminal underworld. If you want to read more about the Falcones, Maronis, or Calendar Man, this is without question the place to start reading. 

Dark Victory is pretty much a direct continuation of Long Halloween, showing how the mobs are attempting to accustom themselves to the growing costumed crime in Gotham while they are being continually hit by the newly rising District Attorney, Harvey Dent. The way that Don Maroni attempts to deal with this will have repercussions for all of Gotham, and leads to the end of the story. Framed against the growing influence of Maroni, we also see the deaths of the Flying Graysons, and Dick Grayson turning into Robin. Again, this is a great piece for Maroni, but it is also a must read for fans of Robin or Two-Face because it is to this day the creation story for both of these characters.

Knightfall- Bane/Batman/Robin/Azrael

Knightfall. Everyone knows the basics, Bane comes in and smashes up Bruce, Azrael takes the reins and goes a bit nutty. The first arc, Knightfall proper, is without a doubt the best appearance of Bane to date, as its him at his most powerful and most manipulative, but its also a quick rattling off of a great amount of Batman villains, both major and minor. I'll admit I didn't enjoy the Azbat portion as much as other arcs I've read, but that is purely because I think it dragged on a bit too long. Azbat is a great example of 90s edge done well enough, seeing him slash up criminals is pretty cathartic actually, and its a perfect difference from the usual straight laced Batman. The one major complaint I have with this arc though, like No Man's Land after it, is Tim Drake and the drama with his father sucks. I have no love for it, if it went on for a quarter of the issues it did then maybe, but as it was it just bloats page counts for useless circular storytelling. To be fair, its something Robin simply couldn't have before Tim, and it is different, but its crap.
Knightfall starts with Bane blowing up Arkham Asylum, so the stakes are immediately set. Bruce is then at breaking point having to clean up the mess, and when he finally finishes Bane is waiting for him, leading to the famous "breaking". Cue Azbat and a long winded edgefest, and then Bruce is healed and comes back to take back the cowl. All in all I would recommend it up until the "breaking" but after that only if you're really looking to read a lot of Azbat. 

No Man's Land- Batman/Gordon/Penguin/Ivy/Harley/Joker
I'll be perfectly honest here, No Man's Land is one of my favourite Batman arcs of all time. Not only is it the first comic appearance of Harley Quinn and Cassandra Cain, it also has some of the best Penguin material ever published, and is where he truly comes into his own as a broker of all things, and it has a Batman stripped of all plot armour and in a bad way. The early stages of the arc (mainly Road to NML) are very Bruce Wayne heavy as well, with Bruce fighting in Congress to get government aid into Gotham instead of on its streets as Batman until a good way into the arc. All in all, its a refreshing pallet cleanser when compared to a lot of "traditional" Batman stories, and sets the tone for Gotham Central after it which is also awesome.
Set after the events of Cataclysm and Aftershock, Gotham is in a pretty bad way, and after the government declare it a no man's land almost all the residents leave. Those who are left behind have to deal with Gotham becoming a faction based playground for the various supervillains, and huge shifts in power are made among those at the top. Two-Face allying with police? It happens here, and its great. All throughout you watch eagerly as Batman and Gordon come to terms with what they've dealt with and crawl back into control of Gotham through both conflict and negotiation. The fact that Joker is largely missing for it is only an extra bonus, especially because when he does appear it's gnarly...

List discussion- Batfleck/SS Katana "Outsiders" and Nightwing/Damian

Welcome back everyone, today we're up with 2 more Brave and the Bold lists to discuss! Both of these lists are somewhat similar in henchman makeup to the Knightfall lists I posted a few weeks ago (because that combination is pretty good) but as always its the characters that tweak how things play. Both these lists I created for purely thematic reasons, just to put specific versions of characters together and see how they work.

Arrests

The Arrest potential in these combinations is pretty obvious, but the models themselves are mostly just there as cheerleaders. Arkham Guard 3 at least has his Riot Gun, but the others will mostly just be babysitting objectives where needed and moving to arrest where possible. That said, it's 3 more activations, and that alone is great.

Guns

Lerida, QRT2 and 2 Riot Guns. What more could you ask for? Double whistles, and I've got those too. Cluster them near an ammo and watch the bullets (and bean bags) fly. The damage output on these guys is insanely high, but you have to play around them carefully (Ivy with her double mind control is a bad time for this). 

First up this list has yet another "movie inspired" feel, but more geared towards Batman's team the Outsiders from the comics. Now the classic Outsiders team don't really exist in BMG yet (I'm hoping for Black Lightning soon though!) so this is basically just a Batfleck cop list with SS Katana added.

The Brave And The Bold Crew
Models: 9
Reputation: 344/350
Funding: 1500$/1500$
[Boss][L] Batman (Ben Affleck) [125/0$]
-Upgraded Batsuit [0/100$]
[H] Arkham Guard 1 [21/0$]
[H] Arkham Guard 3 [22/100$]
[H] Gotham Policeman [16/0$]
[H] Gotham Policewoman [14/0$]
[H] Katana (Suicide Squad) [50/0$]
[H] Lerida [36/450$]
-Whistle [0/200$]
[H] Quick Response Team 2 [33/350$]
-Whistle [0/200$]
[H] Quick Response Team 1 [27/100$]

Good deal of blood damage, tons of stun and 5 models with Arrest. It has the potential to just jam up the board and touch anything that comes close, and with Batman at the centre as a tank piece there is a lot to take in when opposing it. 

Katana

SS Katana is in a bit of a weird spot in my opinion. As a henchman now (the main motivation behind writing this list) she benefits from Inspire and Let's Go, which is awesome, but her stats are still pretty low and she isn't all that hard to take out when needed. As a Bodyguard piece I think she is ok, protecting the already tanky Batman is a neat trick, but she really shines when put in the middle of a Let's Go chain after a Whistle. One of the guns softens up a target for her and she can really go to town with her namesake katana, it can do a ton of damage when needed. 

So now for the second list, I wanted to play a bit of a brotherly list from the comics. Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne has been an entertaining pairing from the get-go with no exceptions, and I wanted to pass that over to the table a bit. Then came new Damian, and I had to write a way to make it work well. Enter AK Nightwing with Heir to the Cowl, and I can have Grayson using Inspire on Damo to make him into an even more effective damage piece

The Brave And The Bold Crew

Models: 9

Reputation: 338/350

Funding: 1850$/1850$

[Boss][L] Nightwing (Arkham Knight) [95/0$]

[H] Arkham Guard 1 [21/0$]

-Runner [0/100$]

[H] Arkham Guard 3 [22/100$]

[H] Gotham Policewoman [14/0$]

[H] Lerida [36/450$]

-Whistle [0/200$]

-Swat Special Training [0/100$]

-Street Patrol [0/50$]

-Radio [0/100$]

[H] Robin [60/0$]

-Intensive Training [0/100$]

[H] Quick Response Team 2 [33/350$]

-Whistle [0/200$]

[H] Quick Response Team 1 [27/100$]

[H] Alfred Pennyworth [30/0$]

So looking at the list there's not all that much difference between this and the Batfleck list, save for the replacement of the "characters" and some equipment. Both have the same guns and arrests with double whistle, although the equipment is where it comes into play. Alfred is in there for another little bit of theme, but mainly because the last 40 or so rep was really awkward to squeeze out and Alfred is still pretty valuable.

Damian

So I've gone over both Damian and Nightwing before in my last post on the Robins, but in this list there is a bit of a different use for them than normal. Having Teamwork on them, and Inspire on Nightwing, lets me play around a lot with passing counters between them, and they can both combo up the table to KO models with ease. They're both decently survivable and very fast, so by the time they can get to combat they should be in top shape to start bashing heads. 

Runner

You may notice I took Runner, one of the pieces of equipment unlocked by Nightwing, on Arkham Guard 1 in this list. This is so I could have 2 endurance 5 henchmen with Arrest and Tireless, so my Arrests can move up quicker and have greater potential at quickly removing anything that gets KO (and with Nightwing and Damian that happens quick). For such a cheap piece of equipment (and cause Alfred gave me excess funding) I feel like it gets a ton of value in this case.

List Discussion- Brave and the Bold, Knightfall Batman (2 options)

Today we've got another list discussion, and it's another one I quite enjoy playing that has a bit of a theme to it (at least in terms of the big names). This one is based around Knightfall Batman and Sirens Catwoman, reflecting their brief meeting in the early stages of Jean-Paul's career.

The Brave And The Bold Crew

Models: 9

Reputation: 350/350

Funding: 1500$/1500$

[Boss][L] Batman (Knightfall) [115/0$]

[F] Catwoman [66/0$]

[H] Lerida [36/450$]

-Whistle [0/200$]

-Swat Special Training [0/100$]

[H] Gotham Policewoman [14/0$]

[H] Quick Response Team 2 [33/350$]

-Whistle [0/200$]

[H] Arkham Guard 1 [21/0$]

[H] Arkham Guard 3 [22/100$]

[H] Quick Response Team 1 [27/100$]

[H] Gotham Policeman [16/0$]

So this list at face value is high model count, high impact (or at least that's the goal). Basic idea is Catwoman taking on objectives quickly for VP, while the rest move up and get to fighting. There is a good deal of endurance to get through, 4 ranged weapons and a flamethrower to get out plenty of damage before things get closer, but it doesn't lose much when it does close up. 5 models with Arrest, most things doing either blood damage or double stun, it's pretty well rounded. 

Batman

Knightfall Batman is in my opinion one of the most unsubtle models in the game, because he has one role- get into combat range and use his claws and flamethrower on anything that moves. He can work as both horde clearer and single model killing, and his Medium Armour keeps him pretty safe from almost any henchmen most of the time. 

Catwoman

Catwoman goes in here as a VP battery, only reason I ever take her. She's quick, hard to land hits on, and can get bonus VP from Loot while being fairly mobile at the same time. Usually she gets backed up by Batman as protection, possibly also the guns, but I almost always make sure she's as safe as possible.

Lerida/QRT2

Same role as in any other list I take them, they're the ranged lynchpin. In this list though, Whistles take on a new highly lethal form in synergising with Batman's fire, stopping enemies from putting themselves out and maximising damage output. 

Arkham Guard 3/QRT1

These guys are here for both Arrest and for their Riot Guns. The guns let me reach out earlier than anything else in the list, and hopefully put some early stun onto models to soften them up for later. Both of these guys for less than 50 rep and only $200 funding is amazing, and if I play lighter on the heroes, I will always tag in these two after Lerida and QRT2.

Arkham Guard 1/Policewoman/Policeman

More bodies on the table, and more Arrest. They arrest things and sit on objectives, that's pretty much it.

Alternate List Option

The Brave And The Bold Crew

Models: 8

Reputation: 341/350

Funding: 1500$/1500$

[Boss][L] Batman (Knightfall) [115/0$]

[F] Commisioner Gordon [70/0$]

-Heliport [0/150$]

[H] Arkham Guard 1 [21/0$]

[H] Gotham Policewoman [14/0$]

[H] Lerida [36/450$]

-Whistle [0/200$]

-Street Patrol [0/$50]

[H] Quick Response Team 2 [33/350$]

-Whistle [0/200$]

[H] Arkham Guard 3 [22/100$]

[H] Sierra [30/0$]

This list is pretty much the same, with the biggest change being Catwoman removed for Commissioner Gordon. This is probably a more synergistic list, and still somewhat in theme, as it provides me more lasting ranged damage, an extra Inspire for the henchmen, and a means to easily set up the Riot Gun popping early shots off on models. The loss of QRT1 is felt, as is the drop in numbers, but compensated by taking Sierra for a reliable and tanky melee henchman.