LexCorp- Crew Review

The first (and probably only for a long while) Organised Crime discussion on The Arkham Convicts, we're getting out of Gotham and talking about Superman's nemesis Lex Luthor. Somewhat different to the rest of Organised Crime, Lex brings a more elite kind of crew based around his technological mastery and heavy use of power armour. While he himself works somewhat similarly to the "mob boss" types, his crew as a whole are quite different thematically to the suited up mobsters in the rest of the faction. Indeed, Lex was one of the more odd choices of the rolling in Organised Crime had at the beginning of 2nd edition BMG, but his spot in the crew is now something quite solid.

The Leader of the crew, the owner of LexCorp and one of the smartest men in the DC Universe, Lex Luthor is an interesting model that is pretty decently balanced in his 2nd edition incarnation. Someone who was very underpowered in 1st edition due to being severely overcosted, he has been given a major point reduction as well as a buff and is now a choice to consider. 

Offensive

Lex isn't really a direct offence model, so he has nothing to help his attack (and at strength 5+ attack 3, he doesn't want to be attacking anyway). Kryptonite is a trait that would potentially greatly increase his chances, but as there are currently no Kryptonians in the game it is irrelevant. 

He does however pack a couple of debuff traits that can catch an opponent off guard, and even provide him with a great counter to Magic and Mind Control through Intimidate. This lets him completely shut down SC being spent (and thus Magic and Mind Control being used among other things) and at 8" range is fairly reliable to get off. He also had Goad, which he can use to pull models out of position and get them off objectives, all for 1SC and a failed willpower roll (and he can shut down rerolls to willpower through Intimidation). 

Defensive

Lex is pretty squishy for a leader of his cost, not having anything over Falcone or Maroni in his statline, and lacking Protect Me! as a defensive ability is noticeable. However he does have Energy Field which gives him an extra 5+ save against shooting and can work wonders in protecting him against sniper fire especially. He does still very much want Bodyguard models though to keep him safe, and as such The Tailor from the Ventriloquist set is a great take with him. 

Overall

Lex as a support piece is pretty much his primary role, and he has a suite of traits to play around with in supporting his own crew and denying his opponent's. The always great combo of Mastermind, Grand Strategist and Exhaustive Planner lets him pretty easily dominate the pre-game phase (and only gets worse in Society with things like Ra's or Captain Cold added), while Lord of Business adds $500 extra to the crew's funding pool, which is very helpful with the expensive Heavy Trooper, equipment or even taking ranged free agents like Deadshot. Leadership is a nice bonus against things like Hypnotise or Joker Gas Canisters, but can't be fully relied upon with lower willpower henchmen due to the natively low chance of success. His other major trait that affects his crew is Absolute Power, which lets him take henchmen with the Cop trait (those being in Brave and the Bold, which I have covered the standard, eternal and DKR box options previously) thus opening a lot of list options for him, but also doubles the range of his Inspire, giving him an 8" bubble instead of the normal 4" and lets his crew spread out a bit more and benefit from his buffs. 

Scientific is both a positive and negative on Lex, because he does have somewhat of a use for it with his various control abilities and Inspire. However, it means he gives up 7VP on casualty, which is a big thing (but not as big as the 8VP he used to give up with Invaluable)

Adaptable should be mentioned here instead of above, just because it boosts his various abilities a lot. A buff that he was given with his 2nd edition update, it primarily lets him become defence 4 and thus harder to kill (although the attack bump can be good in the Warsuit). 

Lex also has the "option" of taking his Warsuit as an upgrade card. This upgrade is amazing, and for what it does to Lex (that is, make him a flying tank and decent melee threat) it is almost always worth taking. It gives him the same trio of traits as his henchmen (namely Cybernetic, Medium Armour and Reinforced Gloves) but also Fly, which is a great speed boost to an otherwise slow leader (and can help him get out of bad situations) and Unstoppable, which combined with the 2+ strength of the Warsuit and Reinforced Gloves turns Lex into a decent henchman beater, pretty reliably being able to KO lower defence/endurance enemies. The 5 endurance the Warsuit has is pretty tough to crack as well between the Medium Armour and Lex's native Energy Field, giving an extra layer of defence against the traditional answer to most Armour (that being high RoF ranged attacks). 

The LexCorp Troopers are all effective, if expensive, henchmen that are great ways to add some tanky(ish) bodies to an Organised Crime crew. They all have the same statline and come down to smaller changes between them to affect cost, but they are all worthwhile for different reasons. 

Offensive

All 3 have attack 3, strength 4+ and Reinforced Gloves, which is pretty great for henchmen even at their cost. They all have different tools to put them into different roles, however, and only one will use the Reinforced Gloves often.

LexCorp Trooper 1 is the one who will be using his Gloves above all else, as he brings Close Combat Master for rerolls to hit and can punch above his weight pretty effectively. It gives him a degree of consistency to his offence that helps a lot in any crew

LexCorp Trooper 2 is the second melee model of the lot, and has an Electric Blade to play with instead of his fists. This blade is pretty much a straight upgrade for him, wounding on 3s from Mechanical, doing blood/stun damage and having built-in Unstoppable in the form of Crushing (so each attack needs 2 blocks to remove). Doing better damage, and more reliably, there is never any reason to use his Reinforced Gloves unless the incredibly unlikely happens and his blade is stolen. It also has the benefit of crit:Stun from Electric (and some bonuses vs Bot models)

LexCorp Trooper 3 is the only one that costs funding, but this is because of the gun he has. His Hand Cannon is a single shot short ranged Beam weapon, which may not seem that huge but it is triple blood damage and 3 ammo for $300, which is great value, and it has built in Push. This lets him force models out of position simply by hitting, and the ability to do it at range with penalties to Ping against it is fantastic. 

Defensive

Defence 3, endurance 4 is not good, that much is obvious. However, they all benefit from Cybernetic and Medium Armour, meaning they have +1 to block rolls, they are at a -2 penalty to be wounded, and can reroll their recovery rolls if KO. They have the tools to stay on the table if needed, but a dedicated effort will easily take them out of action. If you're looking to face these guys, chipping them down with ranged attacks will work very well (only need to hit to start stacking stun, and 4 or less on 2d6 is unlikely even with a reroll). Otherwise simply overwhelming them with weight of attacks can be successful, because with most "combat" models doing double damage you can fish for 6s fairly easily anyway. 

Overall

The only thing still worth noting is LexCorp Trooper 2 having Follow Me! which helps speed up the traditionally slow OC, and in Lex crews helps the movement 2 henchmen greatly. 

Their willpower of 5 is notable, but at their cost it is expected more than anything. 

The big hitter for LexCorp, the Heavy Trooper is a beefy, expensive model that definitely pulls his weight and most opponents will rightfully fear.
Offensive
Getting a bump in his attack and strength stats compared to the regular troopers (attack 3 to 4, strength 4+ to 3+) he is better at punching things than they are (excepting the rerolls to hit on LexCorp Trooper 1) but where he really shines is his shooting. The Laser Cannon weapon is a pretty amazing ranged attack, and can really mess up all manner of targets pretty reliably. Doing double blood at medium range, it also has RoF4 and 3 ammo to let it shoot consistently and often, while Beam sets it to 2+ to wound and -2 to Ping, meaning what he hits will most likely do damage. The other thing of note on it is Assault:2 which gives it a degree of mobility, and lets him get stuck in far quicker while still shooting.
Defensive
Same as the others, but with some slight differences to reflect the size change. Large gives him a penalty to Ping, his defence is a very low 2, but his endurance goes up to 6. Overall it means he is significantly harder to kill against melee models, but against guns he will still be very easily shot at (he's basically as good as a Bulletproof Vest before equipment)
Overall
Willpower 5 for his cost is on the lower end, but comparable to most other big hitters like Damian and big Borgon, and as a gun piece with fairly low stats he doesn't need to max out attack all the time. At movement 2 with Large he is about average in terms of movement, but with equipment (mentioned below) he becomes very quick and dangerous.
Having Invaluable as a trait offsets his huge role in the crew, and means he nets an opponent an extra VP when he dies. This means he will need to play smart and safe, but he can do a ton of work.

Equipment Options
As many Leaders do, Lex doesn't only add funding to his crew but he also adds new equipment options, adjusting how his crew may play. Jump-Pack as a piece of equipment is expensive at $400, but with Lex adding $500 this is offset a bit, and giving one or two of the LexCorp Troopers the Fly trait is a huge bonus in speed and can be a great help in general. It can only be taken on models that have the Cybernetic trait, so only the LexCorp models, but it is great on them anyway.
Most of your equipment in this crew is going on the Heavy Trooper, just because he is absolutely insane with a few things. Silencers are always really good to counter Acrobat, and Magazine keeps him shooting for 4 turns (but is also still good on Trooper 3). Jump-Pack helps his movement in huge ways, letting him pretty much reach anything with his guns at will, while Kevlar Vest or Bulletproof Vest keep him a lot safer when he is taking damage, stacking with his Medium Armour to make him a real pain to deal with.

Strategies
With Lex giving 2 extra Strategy Points, the crew has a lot to play around with. It largely just depends on playstyle, but I also want to mention the OC specific strategy Payday. At the cheap cost of 1 poitn, in effect it gives an extended Assassin:1 to henchmen in the crew, with an extra VP granted for making Leaders, Free Agents or Sidekicks casualties. In a crew like LexCorp where you not only have an abundance of Strategy Points but also henchmen that are big hitters like the Heavy Trooper, you can pretty well rely on it paying off. I would almost always take this unless the opponent only has a single Leader on the table and just henchmen, and against Teams especially this is guaranteed to be taken because it is a big gain for its low cost.

Dark Knights- Model Review

Welcome back everyone, to a little continuation of something I almost forgot I started! The Dark Knights, from the 2018 event Metal, are a series of excellent Free Agents that slot well into a lot of crews, and can do a lot of work. I've already discussed Red Death in my villain Speedster overview, so he won't be covered here, but the other 3 we have can be found below.

The leader of the Dark Knights, The Batman Who Laughs is a terrifying combination of Batman and the Joker, and he brings the best the 2 have to offer. A very strong yet expensive model, he should rightfully be feared for his points cost.
Offensive
Doing blood/stun with both of his weapons, BWL can put out some good reliable damage. His gun is a fairly mediocre ranged weapon at short range, RoF2 and 2 ammo, but it can be nice if he doesn't have the movement to get to models that turn and it's small amounts of damage that can help out in a pinch. His Teeth & Claws attack (or rather, the teeth and claws of his "Crows") is where he really comes into his own, as it has rerolls to hit, Reach for extra range and strength 3+. It's pretty reliable damage, and at attack 5 he can take on most threats with it while keeping himself safe.
Defensive
Defensively, BWL is pretty great. Defence 5 and endurance 9 is already pretty impressive, but he has a ton of things to stop him from getting shot until he is ready to pounce. Stealth stops most guns from even seeing him, but also having Protective on his melee attack means he will be getting free Pings any time he does get hit (albeit at a 5+ from Large) and benefits from +1 to block rolls. He also has Martial Artist, meaning he will never suffer from being outnumbered which is huge at defence 5. Psycho means he will never be affected from a loss of willpower, and Cannibal on his pretty great attack means he can heal when he needs to.
Overall
BWL has some really great traits that boost up his value as a versatile centrepiece model for your crew, and they all play very nicely together. Detective is great in smaller crews (which at his price point is likely to happen) to cancel passes where they pop up, while Strategist adds a bit of pre-game punch to your own crew that can help greatly. Trickster lets him reallocate on the fly as well, and means he will always be able to react to what is happening at any given time, although he will likely always have 3 in special. This is because of Luck, which lets him spend SC to gain rerolls, whichcan help him sneak out extra damage when he fails to wound, to reroll hits with his gun and guarantee more damage, or to . Persuasive is another trait that is of great use for him, being able to effectively have a double activation with models that matter while locking an opponent into something they may not want to activate yet, and messing with their plans massively.
He is also insanely fast, between his 3 movement, Sneaking and Large. With his possible movement of 14 inches a turn he will be a very hard threat to lock down in most games, being able to relocate where he wants very quickly if need be (or just getting 6" charges before smacking something down)

The combination of Aquaman/Mera and Batman, The Drowned is a close-ranged model like the rest of her Dark Knight companions, but she does it in a somewhat different way. Choosing to instead work as a combined spray/melee model she can punish grouped together opponents a lot.
Offensive
Drowned has 2 weapon profiles, that allow her to take on different roles. Her Trident benefits from Weapon Master for +1 to hit, and rolls 2 crit die from Devastating, while being a blood/stun Reach weapon at attack 5 and strength 3+, letting her hit things in melee pretty reliably. Her Dark Water ranged attack is an Expansive spray with Accurate and Cold to deal with Acrobats (stripping MC and giving them a Dodge penalty), while also doing blood/stun and having 3 ammo, meaning she can fire it off for half of the game at least.
Her last offensive ability comes from the Shockwave trait, and ties into her Dark Water being the bane of Acrobat, as she can create a pulse of stripping movement counters around her and thus preventing more dodges.
Defensive
She's tough for her rep, and can take a beating. Defence 5 endurance 7 with Martial Artist is pretty great, but Tough Skin makes her even harder to wound and she can use Regeneration to take counters off anyway if need be. Add this to Obstinate preventing an opponent from moving her counters around (sorry Disarray!) and she is fighting on her terms more often than not.
Overall
Amphibious is a thing and helps her with some movement, but really, there's only her statline left to talk about. Movement 3 is great to have on someone of her cost and Willpower 7 is about what can be expected.

The least subtle of the lot, Merciless is the Dark Knights answer to Wonder Woman, and as such is pure murder put on the table. 

Offensive

This is what he does best. A whopping attack 6 and strength 2+, he has great stats for attacking, and his traits and weapon only boost this. Weapon Master is a very welcome hit bonus to help him get higher defence targets (who he really wants to go after as they tend to be worth more VP) and with a sword that is double blood and sharp he will very reliably wound with whatever hits he makes. The sword also has a huge bonus in having Anti-Tank, meaning the high amounts of armour that are now in the game will be little more than a speedbump for him. Unstoppable at attack 6 is more security than anything, and should only really be used in those cases where he needs to guarantee the damage going through (Amazons and things with bonuses to block). 

Large gives him access to the Charge special attack, which is quite reliable extra damage from him to spread around for opponents, and as such is a great thing to note as it can help the rest of the crew. 

Defensive

The only Dark Knight with defence 4, and with a -1 to his Ping rolls from Large, you would think he would be significantly worse in this regard. However, wearing the armour of Ares he has the Medium Armour trait, meaning any wound roll against him is at -2 which greatly amplifies his defensive ability. It means he is prone to being scratched down by ranged weapons, but at endurance 8 and Large he will pretty reliably wake up to continue his killing spree. 

Overall

There's not much to note outside of his combat prowess, just Veteran and The Murderer. Veteran is a smaller way of reactively playing during the turn (as compared to Trickster) but it lets him play on the fly and move things around where needed, even though he will likely just be moving and attacking as much as he can. The Murderer is something of a needed negative to him, and dictates that he cannot score VP from any means other than casualties. This may seem important, but it's what he's doing anyway so it comes close to being functionally irrelevant. 

Amazons of Themyscira- Crew review, example lists

With this month's releases, we were given a great "new" team in the Teen Titans, but in this release came someone I am very happy to see in BMG. The Amazons are a part of the DC world that are often largely forgotten about, although they are one of my personal favourite groups, and in BMG they provide a very close experience to a team list.

In general they are Acrobats, with all that comes with that trait, and all benefit from the Amazon trait, giving them +1 to both hit and block, and a -1 to wound for opponents attacking them. This is a very good all-rounder trait that plays to their strengths as a combat based crew, and cannot be dismissed (or forgotten, that would ruin the crew). They are very elite, but their bonuses and killing ability compensates for this.

The 3 henchmen (henchwomen?) for the crew are the Amazon Warriors, all with very similar statlines.
Offensive
Amazon Warrior 1 has a sword to fight with, which is pretty impressive in her hands. With +1 to hit from Amazon, she also rerolls to wound at strength 3+ and doing double blood damage. This, combined with attack 4, means she is pretty reliable at killing most henchmen outright, and even many free agents and sidekicks which is where she really pulls her weight
Amazon Warrior 2 has the same statline as Warrior 1, but replaces her sword with a spear. Still with the +1 to hit, she instead does blood/stun without rerolls, but gets Bleed:2 and Reach to compensate, letting her pick her battles easier and attack from defensive positions.
Amazon Warrior 3 is the ranged option for the crew, and with her bow she plays somewhat like a much cheaper Green Arrow equivalent. Having both Good Aim and Rapid Fire she can move and shoot 2 shots very accurately (+2 to hit between Good Aim and Amazon) doing a potential 4 blood. She has 4 ammo meaning she'll be shooting most of the game (probably until she dies because she can easily reach ammo objectives) and her funding cost is irrelevant as Amazons have no equipment or other options that cost funding.
Defensive
For henchmen, they have impressive statlines in this regard. Endurance 6 can kind of be expected for their price point, but defence 4 on the 2 front line Amazons is really great and helps keep them in the fight for as long as possible.
Outside of Amazon and Acrobat, which are both very useful, there is little to note trait-wise. Amazon Warrior 1 is a Martial Artist, and at defence 4 this is a great thing to have on henchmen, while Amazon Warrior 2 has Combat Flip. This is interesting for a few reasons, as it gives her some sneaky movement opportunities, but is primarily useful in getting her into spots where she can fight with her spear and force opponents to move into her to attack.
Overall
Being the henchmen in an offensive crew, they really are geared to fighting. They've got nothing special outside of combat abilities, but they really don't need it.
The one thing they are somewhat hampered by is their willpower of 5, meaning they won't have enough counters in any turn to do everything they want. This must be played around very carefully as if they get caught out after putting everything into attack, they will probably cop a beating from what's left.

Sidekick/Leader Amazon Traits
Before we go into detail with the models themselves, there are some traits the Amazon Boss options share that can be covered separately.
Amazon Lineage prevents them from taking any non-Amazon model while they are the Boss. This is a simple little fix to stop them taking villain free agents, and to restrict list options if Wonder Woman or Wonder Girl lead a Brave and the Bold crew. This is in effect locking them into taking another leader while they are here, giving them huge native buy-ins before you can start building the rest of your crew
Regeneration is a nice little defensive bonus, helping them heal damage they've taken. 1SC a turn to heal 1 damage is nice, and if they have blood damage on them this is usually not a massively bad thing to do, although it is using counters they could use to keep fighting.
Weapon Master is a nice extra hit bonus on all 3 of the models below, giving them +2 to hit on any target. Hitting anything in the game on a 3+ at worst is huge, and it means they are very dangerous in combat.
Superjump is yet another movement trait for them (you would think being high movement Acrobat is enough) and is really just a nice extra bit of counter efficiency. For 2MC and 1SC it allows you to place 8" in any direction, and really using 3 counters to move 8" instead of 4 counters, that's another counter to spend elsewhere. It lets them get up and around buildings far easier as well, which is invaluable with how populated boards are likely to be.
Bracelets of Submission is a trait shared by Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl, giving them some extra ranged protection. In effect a single free Dodge roll every turn, it lets them take an agility roll against a ranged attack when they get hit the first time each turn. If passed (which is a 66% chance, so likely) the hit is cancelled (but only one hit) and then it goes to proper Dodge/Ping/Bodyguard etc. It's great for counter efficiency, and stacked with Shield for a free Ping! the Wonder pair are very bullet resistant.

The newest Amazon care of the Teen Titans box, Donna Troy brings a lot of interesting things to play and is easily one of the most exciting of the new releases. 

Offensive

Donna hits hard. It's that simple. +2 to hit on her sword, strength 3 with rerolls and attack 4 means she doesn't really hit much harder than Amazon Warrior 1, but the extra +1 is very helpful. Reinforced Gloves is ok but quite frankly useless unless both her weapons are stolen (the shield does the same but rolls 2 crit die) and her shield is alright but not as good as the sword. 

Her one big thing of note is the Lasso of Persuasion, a unique trait for her. For 2AC she can choose an enemy in 2" to suffer the Hypnotise effect, which can be a great way to not only remove a threat to your crew, but add a bit of extra power to yours. Mind control in either an Amazon or Teen Titans crew is very good, and in Titans can be paired with Raven to reduce the chance of them passing. 

Defensive

Like I mentioned above, Donna is hard to shoot. Layered defences of the Bracelets, Dodge and Ping means she isn't likely to be shot outside of expensive combos, while she is also a Martial Artist at defence 4. Wherever she is, she will take a bit of work to take down and at endurance 8 with Regeneration it's pretty reliable she can hang around. 

In Teen Titans she combos especially well with Raven and Dove, who can both heal her very quickly when she has taken damage, while also not being especially easy to wound themselves. 

Overall

There's nothing really left to mention now. Like the other Amazons, Donna is all about combat and doesn't have anything outside of that. 

Teen Titans

Consider everything I mentioned above, but with one less token. As long as Donna is alive she is preventing an Inexperience counter from being in play, but as long as any exist she is going to be the first one losing a counter. Her points cost also makes it all but impossible to do anything higher than a 5 model list, so locked into only getting 60 free rep from the team rules. 

It is important to note that she does have access to Living Legend in that team though. This should always go on her if she's in the list, because she is just amazing with it that one Moment of Glory. 

Brave and the Bold

Donna picks up the Legend rank in BatB, making her worth a whopping 10VP when killed (6 on KO is also huge). Combined with this is the fact she can't any other model if she leads Brave and the Bold crews, and you have a model that has a lot stacked against her as a balancing mechanism. She's still good, but at the same time substantially worse than in the other 2 lists she can be in. 

Queen Hippolyta is the only Leader option available to Amazons, and is an expensive powerhouse.
Offensive
About the same as Donna, except she has attack 5 and strength 2+. This means she's hard to block and wounds very easily. Reinforced Gloves is there, but like Donna isn't really relevant because the sword is flat out better.
Defensive
While she lacks the amazing ranged protection of Donna or Diana, Hippolyta has some interesting other tricks that keep her in the game. Sturdy means she only loses counters for every 3 damage she takes, and with endurance 11 she will be taking a beating before she goes down and can continue fighting easily. Martial Artist is pretty standard to the crew, but is also good to note.
Overall
The only Amazon to have crew buffs, Hippolyta is a great support piece for the rest of the crew. With Grand Strategist you can dictate your terms before the game starts, choosing strategies to benefit your crew, and Leadership helps against anything that forces willpower rolls, which is a godsend in a crew that is majority willpower 5.
Her willpower of 9 is also something that is very useful for her, as it means she is both versatile in game and all but immune to mind control effects. While she has a fairly standard spread of stats otherwise, her willpower is what makes them really shine in general.

The last piece I'll add, Wonder Woman is currently an Eternal model but is also the only one, so she's here for completeness' sake. A very, very strong model offset by her super high cost, Wonder Woman is really just a (significantly) stronger version of Donna Troy in her rules.
Offensive
Her sword is majority of the time almost exactly the same as Queen Hippolyta, changing when her opponents are specific kinds of models. When a model has an armour trait Diana always wounds 1 better because of strength 1+, and for things with Ghost or Invulnerable Diana straight up removes and ignores those with any of her attacks care of Godkiller.
The magic shield weapon is the same as Donna Troy's shield (read- better than using Reinforced Gloves) just with a different name.
Her Lasso of Hestia is very worthwhile in setting up a second activation attack with Living Legend, as although it has low damage at only 1 stun, Stun as an effect can set her up for a second round of complete carnage against her opponent. It forces the opponent to make block rolls against it, as if they don't they can't spend counters period, and at attack 5 she isn't easy to block either, meaning she is fairly often doing this. The only downside to it is that it is single use, meaning you have to guarantee the target is worth using it on (so basically, more expensive models that will return a lot of VP)
Defensive
Defensively she is almost exactly the same as Donna Troy, save for having endurance 10 instead of 8. It means most of the time she needs an extra dice to take out, and most things attack 4 and below can't get a lucky one shot on her (and neither can assault rifles, not that they'll reliably hit)
Sturdy is the same deal as Hippolyta, less counters lost with damage means she is better off in the long run and can keep on trucking.
Overall
Same deal as Hippolyta, she is willpower 9 with all that brings with it. The biggest thing to mention that's left though is Living Legend. A second activation each turn, with 2 free counters, helps her massively in her attacking ability, and can be a really great way to pinball her around the table being super hard to lock down. With clever sewer placement she can use her second activation of turn 1 (after using a sewer in her first) to barrel into the biggest threat in the opponent's list and at the very least severely wound it, and then continue to use sewers every turn to speed around the table and kill anything nearby. The 2 activations can also be useful to take out multiple models a turn, against horde crews where she can quickly mop up enemies and reduce activation count.
Warhorse
The Warhorse is an interesting piece, as it is an upgrade card that has no cost. Despite this, I wouldn't say it should be "bolted on" to her card, as there are alternate ways to play her in 2nd edition that the horse is not necessary. It adds +1 to her movement and is 4 endurance to give her Animal, Huge and Swift (making her insanely fast, 9 inch basic movement and potential 25 inch movement in an activation), at the expense of not being able to use her Lasso or any of her defensive traits. Amazon Princess lets her use Charge for only 1SC, meaning a 25 inch charge is possible, and she is only blocked on 6s during this Charge. It depends entirely on what you want to do with it, although as an assassin model she is better off on foot for a sewer alpha strike.

List Discussion
With their low model count and high cost models, Amazons have very few list options and don't often fit well into 350 rep.
The regular list (Amazon Starter)- The starter set is probably the most well-rounded of all the Amazon list options, and is the highest model count list that doesn't leave a chunk of rep leftover.
Donna+3 Amazons- This would be a super solid list if only another Amazon henchman existed. As is, it's the starter set with 55 rep left over, so would be a nice list in 300 rep games but in 350 rep there's way too much of a gap to justify taking it.
Wonder Woman+2 Amazons- This Eternal list is by far the hardest hitting of all the Amazon list options by sheer virtue of having Wonder Woman present, but at 3 models it can very easily be controlled and picked apart if the henchmen separate. Best to drop the spear Amazon from this list to keep shooting in it and maximum combat damage (virtually no stun)
Hippolyta+Donna- Super low model count but it hits very hard, and can potentially be a very fun list to play. High endurance and is moderately tanky, but it folds once even a single model gets affected by control or high damage.

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.

Goliath- model review and example lists

Welcome back everyone, to something I've alluded to for quite a while now. The only henchman I've not covered for Brave and the Bold and one of the very few I haven't discussed for Bat-Family and League, Goliath is a great sculpt that is a little bit underwhelming in rules terms. In this post I will be covering his rules in my normal fashion, but also introducing a new format for single models in discussing a few different list options with how I would run him in his different crews.

Offensive
With attack 4, Claws and strength 2+, Goliath is a decent combat threat in any list he goes into. He lacks bonuses to hit though, so is best suited bullying low defence models, or using a 9" Charge to put out stun damage onto anything and hope for knockdowns.
Defensive
Defence 2 and Huge means he is getting hit very often, and is super open to being shot, but at endurance 10 and Tough Skin he is at the very least requiring a dedicated effort to remove. Just have to be very careful of assault rifles and snipers, because they will run a train on him.
Overall
Huge and Animal combined mean his movement of 1 is largely offset with his 9" BMD, although 3 of his most flavourful traits cost movement counters and as such mean he is starving for them every single turn. Fly and Charge are both hugely useful to him, but it's one or the other unless he's inspired, and at willpower 5 either of them leave him lacking in other areas. Overall I would use him as a big block to sit around objectives, fighting what he needs to but using his huge base to block zones or score off multiple markers.
Carry is the first of his unique traits, and allows him to ferry models around the table with him as he moves. He may pick up models within 2" of him when he moves and drop them in base contact with himself at the end of the movement, but only move models on 30mm bases to restrict it slightly. If he does so to a model that isn't Damian, they must forfeit their entire next turn, while Damian reduces his BMD to 0 and can't use his Batclaw in that turn. For 3 of his 5 counters (1MC+2SC) it is really not worth it, and will very rarely see play just because of how big of a penalty it gives to most things.
Meet Goliath! is a simple trait that means he can only be hired when Damian is also present, and as such deserves a mention here.

List Discussions

Brave and the Bold

Reputation: 348/350

Funding: 1500$/1500$

[Boss][L] Batman (Ben Affleck) [125/0$]

-Upgraded Batsuit [0/100$]

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

[H] Agent 2 [15/0$]

-Whistle [0/200$]

[H] Lerida [36/450$]

-Whistle [0/200$]

-Swat Special Training [0/100$]

-Street Patrol [0/50$]

-Patrol Training [0/150$]

[H] Robin [60/0$]

[H] Goliath [70/0$]

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

-Medic [0/150$]

This list represents a lot of what I like about playing Brave and the Bold, having good amounts of stun damage backed up with Arrest and Lerida to sit behind and act as a great gun piece. Batman, Robin and Goliath are the 3 combat models here, so as long as they're being backed up by the 3 Arrests in the list they can quite easily take models out of action and keep the game moving in your favour. On top of this, every model other than Batman is a henchman, and as such will benefit from Inspire. 

Goliath's role in this list is primarily to be a third melee piece, helping Damian and Batman in combat by fishing for knockdowns and extra stun on Charge. With this he basically pinballs around the table hitting enemies as much as possible. 

League of Assassins

The biggest issue with Goliath is hands down his hunger for counters, and how badly he loses them when he takes damage, so naturally he would run best with Rebirth Talia. Not losing counters is a huge boon for him as it means he will stay in a fight far longer, and will be far more relevant when he does so.

Reputation: 346/350

Funding: 1750$/1850$

[Boss][L] Talia (Rebirth) [100/0$]

[H] Goro [50/0$]

-Loyalty Tattoo [0/200$]

-Combat Braces [0/150$]

-Grapple-gun [0/400$]

-Rare Nth Medallion [0/150$]

[H] Robin [60/0$]

-Venom Dose [0/100$]

[H] Goliath [70/0$]

[H] Hasssasin 1 [20/0$]

-Shadow Training [0/200$]

[H] Hasssasin 2 [24/0$]

[H] Hasssasin 4 [22/0$]

-Trained in the Shadows [0/300$]

-Combat Braces [0/150$]

-Climbing Claws [0/100$]

This list is mainly based around overlapping buffs to make the most out of the lower willpower henchmen, and to get them hitting up as much as possible to hurt the opponent. It is almost fully melee based, as most League is, but with Kill Them from Goro and Inspire from Talia, plus the fact they never lose counters from enemies or damage, means that the crew can barrel ahead and get stuck in before swinging, and even if they do take a little bit of damage they're dishing out as much as possible anyway. 

With Goliath being the only model in the crew to do stun damage, his value might seem lower, but in reality he is quite effective when buffed up in this way. Benefiting from every bonus there is to play with in the crew, with these he can pull off a quite impressive flying Charge before also putting 3 attacks into a model, or simply deliver Damian far further up the table than would normally happen. Goliath is a bit of a clutch piece in here, not being the super damage dealer Damian is or the lynchpin of Goro, but he has a place and is great at plugging gaps where needed in the crew's lines. 

Bonus- Batman Family

While there is some debate over whether Goliath is actually allowed in Batfam (mainly based around the ambiguities of Meet Goliath) I am still providing a list here to talk about, mainly because it is simply a fun option. While not doing anything huge for Batfam competitively, he is a nice thematic option should someone wish to do so, and this is the list I would play him in:

Models: 4
Reputation: 334/350
Funding: 1000$/1500$
[Boss][L] Batman (Ben Affleck) [125/0$]
-Upgraded Batsuit [0/100$]
-Reconnaissance [0/300$]
-Handcuffs [0/300$]
[S] Nightwing [90/0$]
-Handcuffs [0/300$]
[H] Robin [60/0$]
[H] Goliath [70/0$]

As can be seen in the list, and as mentioned in my Batfam discussion, this is a pretty standard roster for the team outside of Goliath. Batman, Damian and Nightwing all ready to hit hard and KO, with as much equipment as possible to benefit that. Someone can also take a Magazine, but it's practically irrelevant for the most part so I left it off when writing the list (although not taking it would be stupid, there's no reason not to).
Goliath in here is basically just a big guy that can utilise Charge to spread out extra stun damage, as well as his own melee damage, but also serves a great purpose in grabbing objectives. Batfam as a crew need to be careful about scoring objective VP as well as brawling, but with Goliath possibly scoring 2 (or even 3) objectives by himself the rest of the team is better off. Still not really a competitive option, but it's interesting to play in fun friendly games and as such has a definite place in the game. 

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)