Teen Titans- Team Discussion

Welcome everyone, for another Team Discussion! A couple months back we were gifted the Teen Titans again, with not only an update to the team rules but also a full Batbox. I'll be talking about those options here today, except for Donna Troy who I have already covered, and the team rules in general. A quite thematic list, Titans are hampered in what they do by having significant penalties, but they do have quite good options to make up for it

Team Rules

Cooperative Fight Plan and Everything to Prove both support their survivability, boosting the somewhat fragile crew, and also plays into their supportive nature. Cooperative Fight Plan gives them the Resilient rule while they're within 4" of two+ friendly models (and in a team, they're wanting to stay together so as to not get picked apart) although rerolls to Endurance rolls isn't huge when they're mostly endurance 5-6 and on average failing even with a reroll. Everything to Prove however gives them Survivor, which can potentially keep them on the table for longer than they have any right to, and with good rolls will mess up an opponent's plans a lot. A great thing on the more glass cannon pieces, although it's not reliable and will only come into play every so often.
Pack is a nice way to get extra models in the list, and quite simply lets them take an extra 30 rep per 2 models in the crew. The second model counts for their own reduction too (so second, fourth and sixth) and is a great way to get 6 model lists in a team where it wouldn't otherwise be possible.
Youngsters is their big drawback, although it can be played around. It gives the opponent 4 Inexperience Counters they spend at the end of the Raise the Plan phase, and lets them deny a single counter being allocated from a Titans model for each. A model can only be affected once, but at mostly willpower 6 it's still a big loss, and severely restricts what they can do. However, for each Leader or Sidekick present an Inexperience Counter is denied, so a regular Teen Titans list will have 2-3 of these at least in order to deny it, as well as higher willpower models where possible. It has to be considered though that your biggest threat will almost always have one less counter than you would like, and you have to play to this in game. 

Equipment

Moment of Glory is absolutely autotake for how amazing it is. $350 to give a single model the Living Legend trait for a turn, it massively boosts up the value of that model. 2 activations on something like Donna Troy or Nightwing will define the game, and for that reason it has to always be in consideration. The only downside is that it can be removed by Broken Equipment. 

Handcuffs are slightly more expensive here than in Batfam ($400 vs $300) but are still just as mandatory. The relatively little amount of blood damage in Titans means they need the ways to take models out of play, and Handcuffs is it. 

Magazine is pretty standard apart from being 0-1, it's $300 for an extra ammo. Not bad on the ranged models (particularly Starfire) but cuts into the other, vastly better, equipment

Strategies

Fast Response is a 2 cost Strategy, that moves 2 Titans d6+2 inches before the game starts. They both move the same distance (ie one roll is made for both) and it's a great way to sling models up the table early, letting them get into position quicker and score VP early. It's almost flat out better than taking Patrol twice, and unless you want the whole crew up further, is a better take than Fast Advance as well because of the average distance moved (d6+2 is on average 5-6", which is obviously better than 4)

Impulsive Team helps offset Inexperience a little bit for a nice 1 cost Strategy, in that it can give 2 models in the team a free attack counter once per game. However, it doesn't go above the normal AC limit, and this means they will really only be having their regular willpower on the biggest hitter, with another possibly having an extra counter to do something else. It's good in that it spreads out counters, and that it affects 2 models (especially good with how easily they can get to only 1 Inexperience Counter) so is probably worth the take more often than not. 

Objective- Trigon Portal

The Trigon Portal is a very strange objective, as it is not deployed by the player who selects it but rather their opponent (unlike any other objective in the game) and they place it up to 12" away from your deployment zone, 6" away from board edges. It can be controlled by Titans within 4" of it instead of the regular base contact, but can only be contested in base contact, and gives 2VP when controlled by the Titans. However, they get bonus VP when they have more than one model controlling to a total of 2 extra (so 2 extra models within 4" for 1 extra VP each). This means they can theoretically get large amounts of VP from this and other objectives, but with the opponent placing it you won't often have the opportunity to do this as they will just place it further away in a bad position. It also has an added downside in that if Titans aren't controlling it,  the opponent gets to give 2 models 1 additional action counter in the next Raise the Plan phase above their normal limit in any stat, which is a huge boost and means Titans need to get to it quickly and hold it. 

Beast Boy himself is a weird model in that he as a standalone card isn't great, and it's in his various Animal Forms that he truly shines.
Offensive
Attack 3 with nothing else to mention, even at 4+ strength isn't great. It does become significantly better with his upgrades though, so he can do well in a fight (just has to be an animal to do it). All his upgrades are Large as well, meaning they can charge (which is great at their mostly increased strength of 3+)
Defensive
Movement 3 Acrobat is always very useful, but at defence 3 endurance 4 if he loses his upgrades he's going to cop it. Not especially that tanky outside of Shapeshifting, but with it he can effectively just swap and change every Raise the Plan to keep himself healing, and with the amount of extra endurance on those cards (and defence bump on the Gorilla)
Overall
Beast Boy as a character is inherently locked into Shapeshifting as his one saving grace. As a free ability that happens every Raise the Plan he isn't KO, he should always be chopping and changing between forms to keep himself going, and making the most of the free effective healing that it offers. He makes for an ok tank in Titans, and works excellently as an objective grabber/harassment piece alongside a bigger hitter like Nightwing or Donna Troy.

Upgrades- Animal Forms

The Gorilla Form is kind of similar to a Grodd henchman in that it has Large, Acrobat and Reinforced Gloves at strength 3+. It does have 4 endurance to keep it alive, which is great for healing reasons, and becomes defence 4, so is the hardest of all to remove of his forms. Overall this is the best of the forms, and any turn he's swapping from something that isn't this, it should probably go into the gorilla.

The Hawk Form is pure movement based, and is mainly just a way to very quickly reach objectives. It does have Claws for damage, but the best part is Fly, Large and Movement 5 for huge movement potential, being able to cross large sections of the board easily. The downside to this speed is that it only has 2 endurance, and will probably be hit off without much effort.

Tiger Form is the middle ground between fighting and mobility, having good attack and movement stats (strength 3+ Claws, attack 4 and movement 4) while getting Large like the others, and Sneaking for more movement tricks. The upgrade is also 3 endurance, so in between the Gorilla and Hawk in terms of resilience. 

The "cheap beater" of the crew, Hawk is an option that enables a bit more front line combat in the crew while still keeping a higher model count (unlike Nightwing or Donna Troy, who are more awkward to fit in like this)

Offensive

Attack 4, Reinforced Gloves and strength 3+, he's a punching model. No bonuses to hit so is prone to whiffing, but he has Tension to bump himself up to attack 5 if he has damage on him, so it's not all that mediocre with Hawk, just a little unreliable. 

Defensive

For 72 rep and as the intended beater of the crew, I find Hawk somewhat lacking in this regard. Endurance 7 with Hardened and movement 3 Acrobat are both very nice, as is Tension once he takes damage, but at defence 3 he isn't all that hard to land a big chunk of damage on in one go before he gets the defence bump. Sturdy is another bonus that is nice, but at willpower 6 in Titans it really is necessary for someone who is supposed to take damage to become better, as otherwise he will just be flopping around uselessly with no counters mid-game. He also has Agile to help him from taking fall damage, and at movement 3 he will be successfully doing this 50% of the time which is a nice bonus (although again- not huge)

Overall

Hawk has 2 abilities that are pretty great, but highly dependent on exact positioning. Teamwork:1 (Dove) lets him take a counter off of her and use it for himself, which is nice in this example because Dove won't be needing as many of her counters at any given time and can mean Hawk does more in a turn. Agent of Chaos though gives an effective Trickster to all friendly models in 4", which is a hugely reliable way to make sure the team is able to react to opponents' actions and play to the game flow. 

The second half of the Hawk and Dove pair, Dove is a healing and support model to go with Hawk's damage dealer, and she is a very useful piece in Titans crews.
Offensive
At only attack 3 and with nothing to boost her close combat attacks she definitely shouldn't be punching, but she does have a useful ranged attack in her Light Projection. A Medium Range Beam weapon, it does 2 stun and a blood at RoF1 and has 3 ammo, meaning she can reliably move and shoot with it. Despite this it is still only a single shot and is prone to whiffing, which means it is best suited to being shot at lower defence enemies to guarantee the damage (and with Beam, Ping is unlikely)
Defensive
Defence 4 Endurance 6 is fairly average given her cost and can't be discounted, but she does have a few traits that make her a bit more defensive. Agile helps prevent her from taking fall damage, and with Fly even if she fails this roll she will be reducing fall damage by a step which is a nice thing if she happens to be on rooftops. Native Resilient is good, but only in BatB where she won't have it from the team rules, as she really wants to be as close as possible to friendly models for her various buffs to go off. She also has Safe Hands to make her immune to the Steal effect which is very situational but not bad, and Agent of Order prevents both her and every other friendly model in 4" from having their counters reallocated by opponents, completely denying that kind of crew control.
Overall
Her Teamwork:2 with Hawk is less useful than Hawk's Teamwork with her but it is there so it can be nice. Fly means she is very quick when combined with movement 3, and as such she is a great model to put Handcuffs on to use as a finisher piece.
Her main gimmick however is in her healing potential, and boy is it good. She has the standard Medic, but with her Light Radiance can pay an extra SC to affect every character within 2" when she uses Medic (which actually includes herself given how the trait works) which allows her to very quickly get the crew back into shape, something that is invaluable in a team with such low endurance as standard.

The magic model in the team, Raven is a pure debuff piece that will be an absolute terror to an enemy crew, and is invaluable in how she can shut down opposing henchmen.
Offensive
Not the greatest in direct damage, but Raven makes up for it in sheer control potential. She can very reliably shut down enemy models and stop them from doing a lot, which is very helpful in Titans as it means they're getting hit less.
Her only attack outside of doing single stun damage, her Dark Blasts are a decent Short Range attack, only doing 1 blood but having RoF2, 3 ammo, Throwing, Magic and Terror:2. It means when the fighting is most tense she will be spreading around her shots to maximise Terror, stripping willpower from models (henchmen are crippled by this). The Terror effect is a -2 to willpower until the next Raise the Plan, so those models hit are losing 2 counters next turn (possibly more given her other traits) and thus the Teen Titans crew can gain an advantage far easier. It also removes counters when they're hit, so again restricts what the opponent can do.
Raven has 2 abilities that require special counters that both play into her control/debuff role, and both are crippling to almost anything. Discourage is a pretty easy -2 to willpower, meaning 2 less counters for the opponent next turn, and Intimidation stops them from rerolling willpower rolls and from making close combat attacks altogether.
Her magic also allows her to play offensively, with the standard spell Magic Bolt for damage, but her spells are far more suited to denial and debuffing. Curse is a great way to shut down other Magic or any Hypnotise ability which can be nightmares for Teen Titans, but also a great debuff to set up attacks from the rest of the crew while they are easier to take out.
Defensive
Raven is deceptively tanky, boasting a bunch of healing potential but also just sheer defence. Natural Immunities protects her from Blind, Poison and Steal, while the Demon trait means she is at -1 to be wounded always (nothing cancels Demon like it does Tough Skin or Armour) and has a permanent Desensitised-esque ability to never lose counters (which is especially amazing in Titans given Inexperience). With Occultism as well she can choose to give herself a +1 defence for that turn when she activates, putting her at defence 5 (possibly 6 through Painful Empathy) and thus very hard to combat.
Black Shadows as a spell can be used to put her into awkward positions, but most importantly prevent enemies from attacking her at range. This combined with Intimidation means she can theoretically be all but impossible to target, which is great but all around unlikely (and if she does, just attack the rest of the crew)
Overall
Raven has the highest willpower of any model in the team list at a whopping 8, making her a great caddy for Handcuffs (as does special 4, so she can still do her control stuff at the same time). She also has a lot of ways to heal the crew and herself, through Elemental Magic, Painful Empathy (pull up to 2 blood damage off friendlies and onto herself, gaining +1 attack and defence if she does) and Regeneration. She can pretty reliably put 3-4 counters in special and have uses for them with what she does, and she is definitely a versatile piece in the crew.
Raven's Magic is strong, but she is still only Magic User:3 and will only be able to cast a single spell a turn other than her unique, meaning she isn't as much of a powerhouse as some others in this regard. Her unique spell is also quite excellent, costing only 1MP and needing a 5 or more to go off on 2d6 (quite easy). The penalty is -1 defence until the end of the round if she fails, but with 2 ways to easily increase it on top of the ease in casting the downside is virtually meaningless. It gives her 2 rerolls during her next activation, which is a very effective way to increase her reliability as it works on anything (except blocks, because that's not in her activation).

The main leader of the crew, this Robin is a more offensive and synergistic version of Dick Grayson as compared to Boy Wonder Robin, and he has a ton of very useful traits in this crew.
Offensive
Getting it out of the way early, he has Batlings as a ranged attack. They're ok, but not great, and he won't get too much out of it, but he does have a higher than normal 3 ammo for it which is nice.
His Bo is his primary weapon though, doing a single blood with Reach, Handy and Devastating. It's not bad by itself, but when you add in Cooperative Fighting he becomes blood/stun on it which is great. Cooperative Fighting says that when Robin is fighting an opponent already engaged by a friendly, he adds an extra stun to every dice that deals damage (which means he doesn't actually have to be touching them with his Reach). Rerolls to hit on Dick is pretty standard, while Devastating lets him fish for knockdowns and hope for extra damage, and with his attack 4 strength 4+ he's not bad at doing damage himself. He is definitely a lot worse than Nightwing in combat, but he's still no slouch.
One other nice trait Robin has in this regard is Always on the Move, which means he can interrupt his movement with attacks at any point. This allows him to very easily trigger Cooperative Fighting (especially with Stay in Formation which I will get into later) and can mean he can move to objectives while still threatening models on the way and not sacrificing his own movement.
Defensive
He's a Nightwing with 1 less endurance stat-wise, and defence 4 movement 4 Acrobat is decently tough even at endurance 6 considering his rep cost. He does lack Martial Artist (although in Batfam or BatB this can be purchased) and that should be carefully considered, but overall he is ok enough for his points. A bit of a fragile Boss, but that has to be played around in Titans.
Overall
His dual rank is irrelevant in Titans, because you'll always be choosing him as a Sidekick to cancel Inexperience. The rank is overall not that useful in Brave and the Bold or Bat-Family either, as it changes nothing in Batfam except order of when VP is awarded (which goes in favour of Sidekick still), while in BatB he only loses access to a piece of equipment he wouldn't buy anyway (Hidden Magazine) unless you take another model as a Sidekick (Harvey Dent or Batwoman for example). Most of the time, he will be seen as a Sidekick for these reasons and more, and he's better off as that anyway.
This version of Robin is intended to be highly synergistic with his crew, and this shows in his trait list. Leadership is a nice way to give the crew better chances at passing willpower rolls, Charismatic allows him to bring an extra Free Agent (meaningless in Titans and Batfam but good in BatB) and Detective helps cancel any passes an opponent may have (unlikely unless they also bring a team, but possible with Informer and the like). His big draw in every list though is Stay in Formation, which lets him pull a model with him once per game. It has an 8" range, and the model moves 6", the only downside being that the model moves directly towards him and this can be blocked by obstacles (although this can be played around too as he can trigger it mid-movement for a line of least resistance). Overall a very good ability, especially in Batfam where it will speed up the slower Batmen immensely, although in general it's a great way to trigger Cooperative Fighting.
True Love: Starfire is a nice thematic ability that will probably trigger in games, and bumps him up to a pretty great attack 5 and willpower 7. That's about all that can be said about it, I wouldn't hire Starfire with the sole intention of triggering it (or vice versa) but it is useful when it comes into play.

One of the heavier hitters in the crew, Starfire does a lot of damage but is pretty fragile. She's a great mobile threat though, and can do good work in the crew.
Offensive
Starfire has 2 ways of damaging opponents, both very good.
Her ranged attack is a RoF2 Beam, that does 2 blood at Medium Range which is quite good. The fact she has 2 ammo and a -2 to Ping with this damage is insane for $0, and Crit Fire is a nice effect when it happens (although that won't be often)
In melee she is attack 4 strength 2+ which already smacks of punching, but then you add Steel Hands. Triple stun damage and built in Push on her hits she will pretty easily stack damage on things, but with no bonuses to hit she isn't super reliable in what she does outside of nuking lower defence models.
Defensive
She is similar to Damian Wayne in her glass cannon statline, but she replaces Acrobat with Invulnerability:1. Being immune to Casualty effects is good, but the 1 damage each turn she prevents doesn't offset the loss of Dodge in terms of staying alive, and she takes 3 double blood hits and she will be dead straight through Invulnerability anyway.
Overall
Starfire is quick, at movement 3 with Fly she can get where she needs to be. True Love: Dick Grayson is something that is actually relevant with Dick being an excellent choice in the team, and if he does die (something not unlikely) Starfire becomes a willpower 7 attack 5 monster. Safe Hands is ok on her, but largely not that relevant because of the general lack of steal in the game. Willpower 6 is fairly standard in Titans, and she is a worthy target for Inexperience, but she has good enough uses for her counters that it's not a huge loss when she does get hit with it (and there are certainly stronger options you want to take counters off)
Starfire is also special 4 for whatever reason. She will never use more than 2 in any given turn (Fly and Arrest, because she has Push built in and Grab is useless on her) so having an extra one is really not useful, but it's there.

Other options
Titans have a lot of other things to play around with, namely the Robins (many of whom I have already covered specifically in Titans or just elsewhere) who are very good options. Boy Wonder Robin is largely overshadowed by the newer Grayson Robin, but is still much better control, while Nightwing is always excellent and Damian, despite severely suffering from Inexperience in this list, is still a good cheap damage dealer same as in Batfam. The 2 Batgirls in Standard (Rebirth and New 52) are both also good options in the team, but Rebirth suffers a lot by being a Free Agent and thus New 52 Batgirl is the better option being a Sidekick (and both cheap and survivable on top of that). Like in Batfam, Batgirl makes a great Arrest piece with her stats.

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)

Comic review- Damian Wayne

Here we have what will probably be the final part of my League of Assassins focus for the time being (excepting battle reports), as the title reads it is a comic review focusing on Damian Wayne. This relatively new character has had a big impact since his creation, and some of the stories surrounding him have been among the best DC Comics have produced in the last decade and a half. I will today be briefly going through all the "main comics" Damian has appeared in, and giving my opinions on each independently.

Batman and Son
Where else to start but the beginning? Obviously this is the best introduction to Damian, but it also has a lot of Bruce/Talia conflict in it and a lot of great League content. It's not only the first place Damian appears, but it also has the first appearance of the League Man-Bat Commandos, an amazingly well-written text story involving the Joker, and the leadup to the Zur-en-Arrh arc in Batman RIP. While the "Batman and Son" story only really lasts the first half of the TPB, it still crops up briefly throughout the rest of the story, and by the time of Batman and Robin we can see Damian as a well rounded character, albeit an absolute brat who is pretty damn unlikeable.

Batman and Robin by Grant Morrison
While not strictly a Damian Wayne focused story, its the beginning of the brotherly relationship between Dick Grayson and Damian, something which never really dies down, and the formation of Damian into a true hero. It is here that Morrison begins to shape Damian into someone other than the snotty brat he is traditionally seen as being, and Damian begins to learn more from the "Bat" side of the world as opposed to his League upbringing. The traditional Batman and Robin relationship is completely flipped on its head here as well, which is a large part of the pure charm this comic has, and anyone expecting the norm will get a major shock. In this, Robin is the straight and serious part of the duo, while Batman is the quick-witted one with the smart mouth, which as said is incredibly entertaining and great to read. This series is not only great for anyone wanting to read Damian, its also a great character piece on Dick Grayson, as it shows him trying to live up to Bruce and fill his shoes as Batman all while he wants to forge his own path, and him attempting to reconcile the 2. Batman and Robin is great, and I would recommend it to anyone.

Batman Incorporated
Like Batman and Robin, not exactly a Damian story, but this is the last step in Morrison's Damian story. The continuation of the war Talia declares on Bruce, it also brings in the Heretic, a bastard clone of Damian that is used purely as an enforcer by Talia, and comes into conflict with Damian as a result. The impetuousness of Damian is on full display in this shorter story (only 12 issues total) and it ends up having bad results. This arc defines Damian going forward into late New 52/Rebirth, and is a must read for fans of Damian and Talia alike.

Robin- Son of Batman
This limited series after Damian's own "rebirth" (but before Rebirth) is a short little story going into his efforts to shed his League past and come into his own outside of both the Al Ghul heritage and Batman. This is the first appearance of Goliath, and its here you come to enjoy him as the big pet of Damian, but it also has far more of a focus on Damian "righting his wrongs". The story is about him attempting to undo many of the things he did as a League agent wherever possible, and facing the consequences when he can't. Leads into Titans and Super Sons, and is an important part of his character development, but it often gets ignored so is of less importance to read.

Teen Titans Rebirth
Every Robin has to have a turn leading a team, and Damian is no exception. While there are some great interactions early on in this run, especially during it's formation, there is still much to be desired when it comes to Teen Titans. The plot often just seems bland, and it is in the crossover issues where the series really comes into its own, which is in itself usually due to the other characters involved (The Lazarus Contract has some great moments with Damian). All in all, I wouldn't recommend it unless you want to read absolutely everything about Damian, and even then its pretty mediocre.

Super Sons/Adventures of the Super Sons
Hands down, this is my favourite Damian comic. The dynamic between him and Jon is perfect, and Tomasi does an excellent job at playing the two off each other, often with hilarious results. It reflects the relationship between their parents on the surface level, but also has a level of childish imitation, as each are trying to live up to their larger-than-life fathers, and their upbringings clash many times. Super Sons is a far less serious story than any of the others Damian is in, and the content can almost seem silly at times, but that only adds to the child-like glee it brings when you read it. Super Sons is not only my favourite comic with Damian, it's among my favourite comics of all time, and I really seriously recommend it all the time. Seriously, it's a great read for pure dumb entertainment.

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.

The Robins Part 3- Nightwing, Red Hood and new Damian!

Hi everyone, back with another model review here, including one of the latest wave of releases! I want to round off my set on the Robins with the "graduates", meaning Red Hood and Nightwing, but when I started reading this we got a new Damian model too, so what better place to put that than here! I'll be sticking to the usual format breakdown for these, except for adding a little bit at the end of Damian's piece to talk more "crew-specific" as in, how he benefits from the different crews.

Nightwing in all 3 incarnations is pretty similar, only with slight changes between them (although they do affect the playstyle significantly). All 3 have almost the same statline, with the exception of the original (now Eternal) model having 1 less willpower and movement. For these reasons alone, I feel like this Nightwing is pretty much obsolete, despite being the cheapest and still pretty capable. The others just do more on top, for little more in cost. All 3 are Sidekick rank, although AK Nightwing has Heir to the Cowl, allowing him to become a Leader when Batman isn't present, which can make for some nice list options in itself at the cost of higher VP gain.
Offensive
Offensively they're all pretty much the same, with Combo on their weapons regardless of name, and all being double stun, Mechanical and Handy. It makes Nightwing a very reliable hitter, and getting knockouts with him is pretty much a breeze. The newer resin Nightwing also has Electric for some potential stunning on a crit, and giving him rerolls to wound against Bot and Cybernetic which can come in handy against LexCorp or Riddler. He does lose Electric Storm for this compared to the others, but as a special attack Electric Storm is pretty bad in general, only being great against a group of nearly KO models. Teamed with a Rapid Firing Arsenal for a bit of a fluffy combo, it can get decent results however. The original one does have Sneak Attack as well, which can be great, but it costs him more counters that can also be spent protecting himself or moving.
Defensive
This is where the differences begin to show in the Nightwing gallery, as they have different little bonuses to keep themselves safe in slight ways. All are def 4 Acrobat, with OG Nightwing having a lower movement and thus harder dodges, but he is also cheaper. OG also has nothing else special in in this regard, being the budget option and the original. Resin Nightwing has Jump Up to protect from knockdown if he will face a group of chain activations (or has already activated), Combat Flip to move away from potential threats, and my favourite Street Guy to crouch for free. Guaranteed def 5 when he is behind an obstacle is great, and keeps him pretty much safe from guns for no effort at all. AK Nightwing is the king of dodging, and as such is absolutely terrified of models that can deny that, but in most cases he will have a ridiculously high chance of dodging, and when you pack it with Ping! he isn't getting shot easily. Rerolls to agility tests helps him dodge very well, but also lets him jump from tall buildings without damage thanks to Agile.
Overall
All versions of Nightwing have Charismatic, which lets you take more Free Agents to run fluffy team up lists with his Titans or Batfam allies and is situationally useful in list building. Resin Nightwing comes with Searcher to negate an enemy strategy point, which is a nice little bonus, AK has the ever present Teamwork that all Arkham Knight Batfam have, which is good if you have other models with it, and OG Nightwing has Explosive Gel, which can be great in the days of modern sewers but is often forgotten.
In Teams
Nightwing is a must have in any team that can take him, because he really is that good. Teen Titans he is their best option hands down (which likely won't change should they get a 2nd edition update) and in Bat-Family he is an excellent second hitter alongside Batman. My personal choice goes to the resin Nightwing, purely because he is slightly cheaper than AK while keeping some great tricks, although AK Nightwing is a very close second place.

Both Red Hood models are as you can expect, they shoot things and put them down. They operate in slightly different ways, despite their identical statline, but in general they're both aiming to shoot things as much as possible. The other key difference, other than affiliation, is the ranks of the 2. AK Red Hood is a free agent, while Disco Hood is a sidekick in rank. 

Offensively

Both versions have similar stats on their guns, with blood/stun firearms at short range, but they have slight differences. Disco Hood doesn't have Light, and 1 lower native RoF, but has 1 extra ammo. However, Disco Hood has both Gunman and Instinctive Shooting, so he can move and shoot with no penalty and with both weapons at a time, so he will go through his ammo quicker. AK Hood has Takedown instead, which lets him remove models he knocks out as casualties instead, for only 1 special. This is insanely efficient, and with his RoF4 he can clean up henchmen very quickly. Neither have bonuses or rerolls to hit with their weapons, but with their volume of fire they can go pretty well against lower defence models. I wouldn't attack high defence models (4/5) with them though unless they have no other option, just because it isn't all too reliable. 

Defensively

Movement 4 Acrobat is always great, and both have slightly different vests to help them in different ways. AK Hood has a Bulletproof Vest, making him harder to wound with the guns that do hit, while Disco Hood has Kevlar Vest, letting him drop damage off every hit he takes, ranged or melee. AK Hood also have Safe Hands, but Steal is borderline useless so it will rarely see play. 

Overall

Neither model has too much in the way of other traits, but both do different things related to the game flow. Disco Red Hood has Searcher, so he negates a strategy point right from the get go, and AK Red Hood has Scheming:1, which is situational but potentially useful.

Bat-Family

Both Red Hoods guns become double stun, but with easily bought Arrest this isn't that big a deal. Disco Hood is pretty similar to always, but AK Red Hood is great because he has Takedown for a bit more efficiency in removing models from play.

Thanks to Little Gotham for the new traits here, everyone should give their podcast a listen! 

The new version of Damian is quite an excellent model, in his new role he is one of the most points efficient options in the crews he can go into. A few big changes to him, first off he is a henchman as opposed to the old free agent, and 10 rep more, but he can also now go into League of Assassins and Court of Owls as well as Brave and the Bold. His statline is the same, as are most of his traits, with him losing True Love:Batman, Master Fighter and Technique and gaining Combo:Katana and Invaluable instead. Invaluable seems bad initially, but once you factor in that it's still less VP on death than the metal Damian gave up, isn't all that bad. 

Offensive

Damian's output massively increased in this version, because he not only gained a katana but he also got Combo with it. At attack 4 that means he can reliably do 6 attacks with rerolls on both hit and damage rolls, at strength 4+. In Court and League, he is doing 2 blood each attack, so he can kill very quickly (more efficiently than any other in their respective crews), while in BatB (and Batfam) his blood becomes stun because of Mentoring. What this means though is he is only a little bit weaker offensively than Nightwing in the same role, but a great deal cheaper. The two of them together (especially in Batfam)? Right on the money, KOs a plenty!

Defensive

He didn't gain anything extra from the old model in the way of defence, except for in Brave and the Bold. Mentoring here gives him Boy Wonder, so he ignores Handy, which can help him in many cases but ultimately can be dealt with. In League and Court, he's left to himself as a somewhat fragile model, but he is still decently survivable.

Overall

Damian is a very good model in general, and should be able to find space in most crews. Inspire and Let's Go! are both great additions to his skill set, and his damage output keeps him in the game a lot. Detective is always great, and the crews he works for helps their natively low model counts in a good way. On the occasion he dies in a BatB crew, he gives Bruce Wayne True Love to him upon being hired, so he can give Batman an extra attack and willpower, which is pretty crazy in most cases.

Brave and the Bold/Bat-Family

Not much to say that hasn't already been said, I don't find the equipment options in BatB all that great on Damian. Football Gear can be very nice in certain matchups, but I prefer my Whistles on guns where the counters are more efficient. 

Court of Owls

Court I think Damian is one of their best offensive pieces, on the same level as Strix or the 1880s Talon. Unfortunately Damian can only take 1 piece of equipment total, because of Mentoring, so no Stealth/Fast combo, but either one is very good in any case. 

League of Assassins

Damo with his maternal family tend to bring out the worse side in his character, same as Court, but the use of him is slightly different in League. Things like Goro can tune him up into even more of a monster, especially when combined with an Inspire for 9 attacks on his katana (the most damage on any single model in the game!). Equipment wise, Combat Bracers or Trained in Shadow stick out the most, just because they make him more efficient (Damian and HSH team-up? I sure would)

The finer points of Robin Part 2- Teen Titans

Hi all! Here we have part 2 of my opinions on Robin, this time focusing on their role in Teen Titans. I will only be discussing their strengths and weaknesses in Teen Titans, for more in depth overviews check out part 1. Carrie Kelley does not feature on the Teen Titans roster, and as such she does not feature in this post.

Teen Titans must haves

To start, I should probably talk about what I look for in a model ideally in Teen Titans. Inexperience as a rule is a huge downside to the crew, and as such you want to minimise it as much as possible. To do this you want Leaders and Sidekicks, so automatically the Sidekick Robins come out on top, with the others needing big bonuses to be worthwhile (Raven for example brings Magic and Intimidation that aid the crew)

The Boy Wonder is allowed to operate in a Teen Titans crew due to his Teen Titans Founder trait. This lets him ignore The Sidekick, and gives him +1 to willpower and strength, and Reinforced Gloves. This makes him a versatile option in the crew, and he can potentially work very well. As a Sidekick he also removes one Inexperience Counter, which is of great use

AC Robin is again pretty awful, he can do ok as an offensive model when using Teamwork, but with no henchmen, there's no reason not to take AK Robin if you can. Follow Me! is useless in Titans, Detective is almost the same, and Searcher is just about his best trait. As a Free Agent he's opening up Inexperience, and as such isn't worth the trouble.

AK Robin is a better option to abuse Teamwork with (Nightwing is still better, but Tim is good). True Love is far more likely here, because Rebirth or Sidekick Batgirl are both good options to take, but he's still fairly unremarkable. At least as a Sidekick, he removes an Inexperience Counter, but for his cost I'd rather take someone else (Arsenal or Raven in the same bracket)

Damian is sadly not the best option in Teen Titans, but he can do well paired with a Nightwing as an offensive combo, same as in the Brave and the Bold. At the very least, he is a cheaper Free Agent, so you can still get 2-3 Sidekicks into a list (the least you want to play Titans effectively) and have enough rep spare for Damian. If there's a 30-40 point gap when you add him, however, I'd trade him up for someone more costly

First Post! The finer points of Robin Part 1- Brave and the Bold

Hi all, welcome to my blog! To start things off I'm going to be talking through my opinions on the Robins, specifically in the Brave and the Bold crew. Teen Titans will be up next, but there's some slightly different things to consider there so I'll be splitting them up. Also, in these posts I will be keeping it to those who are explicitly Robin as their alias for the sake of conciseness (so no Red Hood or Nightwing here).

First off, we're starting with the first of the boys, Dick Grayson. A great classic sculpt and an important part of the Batman mythos

Overview

This Robin is in a bit of an odd spot, because he's not a bad model per se, but he is inherently restricted in what crews you can play him in. He is unable to be taken unless you have Modern Age Batman as your leader (or in Teen Titans as their founder) but provides an interesting toolkit when he is taken. Modern Age Batman is in my opinion one of the more valuable Batman variants for his cost, and this only gets better when you factor in the Boy Wonder alongside him. 

Defensively

While Robin's stat line is not bad overall, his high movement and defence are the standouts when looking at the profile. These raw stats combined with Acrobat and Reflexes means he is not a model worth shooting in most cases, and when Small is factored in it makes most guns not worth the shot. He also brings the Boy Wonder trait, unique to him, which makes him immune to the Handy trait. It's situational, but comes in handy (or not-Handy?). He packs a few more defensive abilities in Combat Flip, letting him relocate on the fly, and Escape Artist, making him immune to grabs, but his biggest weakness in this case is his lack of Martial Artist. Even at high defence, many gangs pack ways to reduce it before outnumber, be it Stop!, Confusion or Distract, so they can quite readily get him down to defence 3, and that is a point he does not want to be in with his endurance of 4. 

Offensively

He's not much of an offensive model, his Batlings do decent damage but nothing amazing, but Disarray is where he comes into great use. He can use this trait to move around opponents counters, so in crews that lack Veteran or Trickster he can really hurt them by putting counters into useless places. It's a very versatile skill, but short ranged and risky to do with Robin. 

Other abilities

His Batman buffs, through The Sidekick, are also important to factor in when assessing the use of this model, and whether or not to use him in a crew. The Sidekick on Robin gives him +1 strength when Batman is in play, making his Batlings a more worthwhile choice, although he loses a willpower if Batman is killed. This again emphasises the Dynamic Duo as a risk/reward type of combination, although they are rewarding to play when used well. Batman himself has The Dynamic Duo, which allows him to immediately activate after Robin does, provided Robin is in 8", and Assistance, which increases his willpower to 8 if Robin is in play, but if he dies Batman gets +1 strength. Overall, their synergistic abilities make it so that they are a big package deal, and I personally would take them together more often than not

Upgrades

Being Dick Grayson, he unlocks 2 upgrades for the crew to purchase, on top of the ones opened by Modern Age Batman. Circus Training is quite expensive for what it does, and realistically isn't worth it at all, while Runner is cheap and decent funding filler, giving Tireless. If you have funding spare, I'd buy it, but otherwise give it a miss. In terms of upgrades to buy for Robin, there is one answer- Martial Arts Training. It's pretty cheap, and it fills a big weakness that he has.

Next up, I am going to cover the Arkham Robins together, as they are somewhat similar, and both are Tim Drake. 

Overview

To put it quite simply, Arkham City Tim is awful. AC is a cheaper Free Agent when compared to Arkham Knight being a Sidekick, but this means he has less utility in terms of crew wide buffs (although the cards themselves affect this). Arkham Knight Robin is faster, having not only an extra movement but also Undercover, both bring Detective and both have Batclaws, fitting with the character.

Defensively

Defensively they are quite similar, but Arkham Knight edges out on top for a few factors. He has 1 higher endurance, but as a Sidekick he benefits from Bodyguards, and his Shielded Bo has Protective, meaning he has an extra Ping! save in comparison to AC Robin. Otherwise, they are fairly average in terms of their cost. Unlike Dick or Carrie, they are very susceptible to ranged attacks outside the protective, with AC Robin having no defensive tech at all. If they get hit, they'll go down

Offensively

Again, both are fairly similar in terms of offence, both their melee weapons are effectively the same (single stun, reach and handy). Both have combo, AC Robin gaining it from the FAQ, although AK edges out here due to his higher attack. It may not seem like much from raw stat lines, but when Combo is factored in AK can potentially get 2 extra attacks because of it, meaning he has a higher damage output. Both are still somewhat mediocre, due to the Bo being a pretty terrible weapon overall outside of Reach, but they have their uses. In terms of ranged weapons though, there is a substantial difference. AK Robin brings the traditional Batlings (without light here as he doesn't have a resin model), not much to talk about there, but AC Robin brings the little seen Flash Grenade. It is a great way to shut down guns, and the -2 to hit and block rolls is a great debuff to melee models as well. Unfortunately, it's not enough to justify AC Robin in my eyes, especially now that we have the quite good Foxtrot bringing a Flash Grenade

Other

AC Robin does bring Searcher and Follow Me! to play, but there are now quite a few models in BatB with Searcher that are just better(the resin Nightwing and comic Red Hood both costing more but being much more worthwhile, Aaron Cash being cheaper and still better). Follow Me! is situational, but when it comes in handy it is very useful, so that is one bonus for him that I cannot deny. AK Robin has True Love: Barbara Gordon, reflecting the odd story decision of the Arkham Knight game, but in BMG terms it won't apply very often. The Batgirl models currently are far better overall than AK Robin, and with both in a crew Robin is largely dead weight (with the exception of Animated Batgirl, but then you're buying a model for it to die)

Upgrades

The Tims don't benefit all that much from the Batman unlocked upgrades, Martial Artist being the best option as is usually the case. They do have a unique upgrade, however, Inspiring Presence giving Tim the Leadership trait. It's ok, against things like Hatter and Ivy it's worth it's weight in gold, but otherwise it pretty much sucks. At $100 it'd be worth taking just in case, at $200 it's a tough choice, but at $250 it's not valuable at all

Carrie Kelley Robin, from the Dark Knight series by Frank Miller. In game terms she's only really useful to play a list themed around this series IMO, otherwise I think she's trash (even worse than the Tims, but at least she's cheaper?).

Overview

For her cost, she has an ok stat line. The movement and defence are good, but attack 3 and endurance 5 make me think of a 30-40 rep gun Henchman, not a Sidekick. She brings all the benefits of being a Sidekick, not that I'd ever even consider her as a Boss option. Willpower 6 is really good for her cost I guess? She just doesn't do anything exciting with it. After the recent update to Huntress, for 12 rep more she's an infinitely better option, unless you explicitly want a sidekick.

Offensively

Not much to write home about, she has a slingshot and Handyman. The slingshot can do 2 blood at short ranged, and rerolls to hit so she's not all that inaccurate. It's like a shitty, cheap carbine- if you hit you've succeeded, they're taking damage. Handyman means she can keep getting ammo for free as long as she's in contact, and that's probably her best use- concealment to hunker down and defend while she pings targets

Defensively

She's not hurting against guns, between movement 4 Acrobat and Concealment. However, nothing helps her from being chopped down with an axe, and if one can catch her, it will kill her. She's just as fragile as Dick, if not more, and needs to be just as close. If you do use her, be careful

Upgrades

Again, Martial Artist. With Handyman, Hidden Magazine is useless, and at ammo 3 she's not short of it either. 

Last but not most definitely not least, Damian Wayne. My personal favourite Robin, he is somewhat maligned by many, and I feel this is unwarranted

Overview

At a glance Damian appears to be a more combat oriented model, and this is certainly the case. Despite this, he is not a straight beater, and should never be used as such. Instead, he is a finesse piece, best used in tandem with another more effective model, as I will cover in more detail later. He has the traditional Batclaw, and in addition to his movement, he makes a decent Batsignal runner, and is probably the Robin best suited for it, if only because Carrie wants to sit on an ammo more.

Offensively

Putting it simply, this is where he's meant to be. Master Fighter means he can hit well, and attack 4 lets him throw out a respectable amount of attacks. Strength 4+ puts him at 50/50 to wound, but his best toy is Technique. Pair him with a Batman, have Damian paralyse a juicy model before Batman comes along and pummels it the rest of the way. Damo only needs one stun to go through to paralyse, and the odds on it are pretty good

Defensively

Damian's defensive abilities are mostly based around close combat, and as such guns are the way to take him. He still has Acrobat at movement 3, which is impressive, but higher rate of fire will grind him down (treat him like a LexCorp suit in a way, he can't dodge everything). Martial Artist helps him a lot in combat, and he's the only Robin to have it (and rightfully so, if anyone should have it it's Damian). Anything that reduces his defence hurts, but that's the same as any model with defence 4 or higher

Other

True Love is his only other major trait, and it is where he gets janky. True Love Talia requires you to take AC Talia through affinity, when it works it's funny (Batman/Damo/Talia is a list I quite enjoy and is very fun). True Love Batman, however, can get hilarious. Just notice, it isn't True Love Bruce Wayne like Talia's, it's True Love Batman. Jean Paul Valley? Sure, Damo loves him! Thomas Wayne? Love you too grandpa! Nothing to build a list around, but it's good for a laugh

Upgrades

Martial Artist is already covered, so nothing is really worth taking on him. Spend freely elsewhere!

Thank you for reading, and I will be writing more soon! Any feedback is welcome, and if you have differing opinions, feel free to let me know!