Mr J - a happy man!

Today was the day that we have been waiting for and we finally got a couple of games in. Two huge victories for Mr J's Crew. Both games finished something like 20 VP's to 3 VP's but to be fair we were more interested in play testing the rules than really playing and the Crew composition really favoured Mr J. You just have to have henchmen in this game.

200 rep Crew's

Batman Crew - Batman AC (130), Robin (68)

Joker Crew - Joker (90), Sniggering (25), Triston (26), August (25), Clown (knife) (15), Clown (tube) (14)

We played the Skirmish Scenario for both games.

Game 1 - The Dud!

The Joker crew brought an Ammo Crate, Titian Dose & 2 Gas Canisters. Batman brought 2 Riddles, an Ammo Crate and a Titian Dose.

I decided to keep the Objectives as close to my starting position as I could. I placed them in a line on the edge of Batmans deployment area.

The idea was to Run my guys in turn one directly towards them. I put Clown (tube) in the Sewer and kept Sniggering back to defend Batman's Ammo Crate.

The game almost had a hugely dramatic start because Batman was deployed next to a Sewer (to use his Explosive Gel) but close to a Lamppost and more importantly in Line of Sight of Sniggering. I started to think about the possibility of 9 Blood damage.....

If I could just get the first turn ..... but No! Batman got to go first and used his Explosive Gel to take out the Sewer and the Lamppost. Back in darkness and safe.

My Crew piled forward getting ready for the clash that would surely come in Turn 2.

I got to go first in Turn 2 and was able to manoeuvre Mr J forward and into range for the famous One Shot Gun. Now I had gone to the trouble of putting the One Shot Gun in Mr J's hand. I just knew that it would make the difference. I announced the shot with glee. 'Automatic Hit' I said and '2+ to damage'. What did the Dark Templar retort? 'anything but a one then'. He should never had said that .....

Sure enough - thats what I rolled. Utter disappointment! The opening salvo - a dud!

In truth this became a theme for the day. We both rolled absolutely useless dice. We couldn't get beyond the 1's and 2's most of the time.

Batman took to the air after that. The Batclaw is pretty cool and very characterful.

I moved onto the Objectives and Batman jumped Triston using his Sneak Attack. Our poor dice rolling continued but even so, Triston was taken down.

The game finished up with a bit of hand to hand combat involving Robin, Mr J & August. We knocked lumps out of one another but no one went down. August did a couple of Blood damage so he has earned the Blood on his shirt ;-)

The Joker crew amassed loads of Victory Points by sitting on the Objectives. I thought it was funny to be suffering Gas damage when claiming VP's. We had tested the movement rules, the hand to hand rules and the shooting rules. We found them a bit alien but that is usually the case with any new rule set. Counter management was proving to be a real pain - just something else to get used to.

We were disappointed that that so little damage was done by the combat and equally recognised that our dice rolling had been poor. Maybe Game 2 would be an improvement.

Game 2 - Handbags

This opened up with a bit of fun as I placed the Gas Canisters next to Batman and Robin. When they activated they both failed Willpower tests and took some damage. A very funny moment.

Batman set-up his Ammo and Titan Container along the line of my deployment zone. This was going to be more interesting. I advanced as I did in the first game. This time Batman did not mess around and took straight to the air. He got in position and used his ranged attack to take down my Clown (knife) Ouch.

The Joker was not impressed and reached for the One Shot gun. Ha, ha - this time there was success and the Batman was splatted with Blood damage.

We had allowed the Riddles to be placed up high so Batman & Robin stepped up and solved both Riddles. 

Batman was now ahead in terms of VP's and I was a man down. Could he keep me from getting to the Objectives? I had high hopes of taking out Batman himself. He had taken half damage and all Blood. I had a few turns to make it tell. He would have to come down from his high place to capture the remaining Objectives and start to score. 

How would it play out? As an aside you got to hand it to the Dark Templar - his painting is just outstanding.

I fired Explosive Teeth and Shotgun rounds at Batman for a couple of rounds and nothing! Crap dice! I was getting frustrated. My Henchmen did their job and made it the Objectives.

And Yip - you guessed they started failing Willpower tests and taking Blood damage. At least I was getting VP's. The Joker and Triston stayed in my deployment zone to challenge Batman & Robin. A major hand to hand combat broke out on the Batmobile. Very funny.

Tristan went down. Mr J ran out of Ammo and stepped in with the knife - but, yet again, rubbish dice rolling. It was like 'handbags at dawn'. Funny though.

Yet again - huge victory for the Joker Crew but this was more about learning how to play the game and we learned a lot.

Summary

It was fun. We both would have liked there to be a bit more carnage and it feels like Batman is very under powered. A lot of thinking to do but good fun. I think that the games lacked drama - there were no belly laugh moments and no great tales to tell. That might come on another day and lets face it we both rolled rubbish dice. I even passed a Willpower test of 4. Yes - that is two dice less than or equal to 4. I rolled a 1 and 2!

We both felt that 200 rep was nice to learn but really it needed 350 rep to get a bit more power into the Crews. Maybe then the stories will unfold.

For today ..... suffice it to say ..... Mr J has a big smile on his face.

Joker Crew, 200 rep

Well we are in the final week of build up. The big game is on Sunday and so I figured that I should make some decisions and then apply some more detail, paint wise, to the chosen crew.

I have been attempting to max out on both the 200 rep and the $1000 dollars. As I began to pull the various rules together and compared this to their weaponry, proposed role for each character and overall Willpower, I had a rethink.

I am beginning to think that this game is going to be about controlling space or at the very least applying threat to space. Sure it will be important to have bodies on the ground but they will be 'easy meat' unless they can be supported, preferably from distance.

The Joker and Sniggering will be excellent at applying this threat. Mr J has Total Vision allowing him  to effectively ignore the dark and even see around corners. This compliments his Explosive Teeth as they are Remote Controlled. Once an opposing model is within 20cm - the One Shot Gun becomes a potential killer. Sniggering offers similar threat in that he has full range over the entire board. His devastating 3-9 Blood damage can also be an outright killer. This will allow him to support other models from distance provided there is light and Line of Sight. The preference will be for him to get a good vantage point and stand still, maybe even sitting on an objective.

The Clowns (tube & knife) are still worthwhile and will be able work with Mr J and / or fan out up the board. If they stay with Mr J they will benefit from Inspire and they have Demential Laughter to Distract. This is a nice combination. There is also the potential opportunity to Outnumber. Lets face it they are cheap and are present in the Crew to provide numbers.

August is also a strong choice. His 2 Blood damage from the Axe is strong. And his Run ability saves a Movement Counter so that it can be for Movement purposes. He is good value for his cost of 25 rep and can operate with a clear purpose in the game.

I have reviewed Contra-August and I have figured that his Obsessive trait could be a big problem. Basically once he gets into hand to hand combat he has to stay with his target. I could want him to be doing something else - like holding an Objective. This is a big potential downside. Also his Baseball Bat is only a 1 Stun weapon. In play testing he has not done much in a fight.

So I have thought it through and I think that Triston will be a better choice. His weapon is ranged and does 2 Blood. He can move and fire so is agile. He can offer real support / threat and can move around to take Objectives if needed. He costs $300 so I will lose the Drugs and Clown Paint that I had been planning on. I will also have to drop the Prisoner Tube who was costing 10 rep.

I am not spending every single rep point or even every single dollar but I think that the result is more stable and predictable.

The final list therefore is as follows: -

90 Joker
26 Triston ($300)
25 August
25 Sniggering ($600)
15 Clown (knife)
14 Clown (tube)

Total 195 rep, $900

Excitement levels increasing be the day - bring on that 'Batman'!

Joker Crew - 200 Rep & $1,000

Well the first game is only a week away. In the week I discovered that a 200 rep game has $1,000 of spend associated with it. This changes the possibilities for inclusion in the crew. I have been doing a tad more research and putting combinations together. The result is that I really am liking Sniggering.

I found this guy online and I thought he was impressive

(If anyone fancies a look at the rest of the beautifully painted crew then go for it)

He comes with a dollar cost of $600 so he wasn't available when I thought I could only spend $500. What an asset he is! His weapon has a Rate of Fire of 3, so that is 3 amounts of damage each turn. Each shot does 3 Blood of damage, that is potentially 9 in total. This is simply unbelievable and is far more than anyone else. He is a massive threat and I just have to include him.

The play testing is also teaching me that Objectives are probably the best way to accumulate Victory Points. There will be 6 - 8 Objectives as a base line, maybe more in certain Scenarios. To hold an Objective a character must be in base contact with it. So I will need lots of bodies in the crew who can fan out and hold the Objectives. 6-7 bodies would be great so that I can keep some of them together. Safety in numbers and all that good stuff.

With this in mind I have come up with the following 7 man, 200 rep, Joker Crew.

Leader
90 - Joker - you gotta love the One Shot Gun and Explosive Teeth.

Henchmen
25 - August - who can run and has a Handy, Heavy, 2 Blood Axe (add $150 for Clown paint to give him Distract)
25 - Sniggering - ($600) - with his awesome gun
21 - Contra-Auguste - who has a Handy, Heavy 1 Stun Baseball Bat
15 - Clown (knife) - who comes with Clown Paint (add $250 for Neurotoxic Drugs giving him Fast & Dodge)
14 - Clown (tube) - who comes with Clown Paint
10 - Prisioner (tube)

If I can pick up some Titan Dose during the progress of the game so much the better.

I reckon this Crew is both Hostile & Agile. Hostile because it has plenty of ranged firepower and also some good weaponry when up close and personal. Added Strength when combined with Clown Paint to Distract and also Outnumber the opponent. All great options and the benefits stack. Agile because there are characters that can Run and also the Neurotoxic Drugs give Fast. There is also the potential to use the Sewers to get around the board.

Yes - I think this has some nice flexibility. I will need to get the Prisoner model though.

200 Rep Joker Crew - more thoughts

I have been doing a bit of play testing and am beginning to realise that the Batman Miniature Game is going to be very different to what we are used to playing. Its got the mental juices flowing.

Victory Points are amassed on a round by round basis and there are many ways to acquire them. You can kill the opposition, hold Objectives, solve Riddles or meet the criteria associated with Scenarios. I am beginning to realise that the total number of VP's could, in fact, be quite high. This game will not be about just killing the opposition - having said that, if the opposition is dead they can't hold objectives ;-)

I have also been looking at the way the Objectives and Urban Furniture etc are placed. The order is interesting because it forces a 'spreading out' effect.

First off, each player is allocated D3 Sewer Markers. These can be placed anywhere on the board but must be 5cm's from an edge and at least 20cm's from each other. Using the Sewers will be a great way to get up the board fast. Place one marker in a deployment zone, enter the Sewer at the start of the game and exit at another marker in turn 2. Pick up a piece of Loot or solve and Riddle and move on. Only one character from each crew can be in the Sewers at any time but it will be interesting especially if there are a lot markers in use.

Next come the Lampposts and again each player has D3 to deploy. The game is fought in darkness so these are going to be important as they cast a 10cm disk of light. Anyone standing in the light can be seen and targeted.

Finally come the Objectives which are interestingly placed after are the Crews have deployed. This time each player chooses three Objectives (out of the 4 types available) - so there will be a minimum of six in play. Objectives markers cannot be placed within 10cm's of a players own deployment area, they must be 5cm's from the board edge and importantly a minimum of 5 cm's from any others marker i.e. Lampposts, Sewers and other Objectives. They can be placed within the disk of light cast by the Lampposts though. This is going to really spread out the Objectives.

Loot (if any are taken) must be placed on neutral ground unto 20cm's from the enemy deployment zone.

Riddles (if any are taken) are deployed in pairs (I only recently spotted this) and like Loot must be placed on neutral ground unto 20cm's from the enemy deployment zone.

So there is a lot of Objective counters to be in control of. VP's are awarded at the end of each round and to be in control of the Objective you must be the only character in base contact.

I believe that the impact of all this will be force each Crew to start at the edge of its Deployment Zone and then to move forward onto the Objectives as quickly as possible. It might be interesting to place an Objective or two at the back of the opponents deployment zone. Cause a little confusion by effectively taking someone out of the game although this could give away a lot VP's.

The thing is that you will need to have a lot of characters, quite spread out, to be in control of the counters and therefore gathering VP's.

With this in mind and taking account of some of the comments received from my first thoughts I have reviewed my options to improve the number of guys in the crew. This option brings the total to 7 but does dilute the Joker influence a bit.

The Crew

Joker - 90 rep
August - 25 rep - comes with a Handy, Heavy Axe doing 2 blood damage and he can Run
Turk - 25 rep - has two hand guns, firing twice a round
Contra-Auguste - 21 rep armed with a Handy, Heavy bat
Clown Knife - 15 rep
Clown Tube - 14 rep
Prisoner Tube - 10 rep

The cash could be spent Neurotoxic Drugs giving a couple of the crew both Fast and Dodge, probably Turk and Contra-Auguste. Alternatively a couple of Clown Paint guys to gain Distract and a spare Ammo Magazine for the Turk.

The thinking here is to fan out and own some of the Objectives while the Joker sets up to take pot shots at any advancing force.

I don't have all the models for this list and both the Turk and the Prisoner will not benefit from Trickster but an interesting option none the less.

200 rep Joker Crew

I have been working away, building my Joker crew, and so far it has really been enjoyable.

We are looking to get our first few games started in April and as such my thoughts have been straying back to crew lists. My first thoughts were largely based on the models in my possession at the time. Things have moved on.

We are intending to start with a couple of 200 rep games so therefore my first Joker crew will need to be constructed accordingly. This limit will also place a $500 maximum spend on crew assembly. So how do I build a Crew that can take down The Batman?

I have been contemplating lists that range from higher numbers of low cost models v's lower numbers of expensive characters.

First things first - I have to take a leader and for me, this will be The Joker. He costs 90 points. I feel it will be important to understand the implications of fielding him and then play complimentary models to maximise effectiveness. This lesson was forged when playing Warhammer 40k, my Dark Angels. I played Belial as my leader and it was an effort to really understand how to build an army around him. However once achieved .... well it was worthwhile.

So - what do I know about the Joker?

First off, he has Special Traits that benefit Henchmen, not Sidekicks and Free Agents.

He confers Trickster onto all Henchmen and as such they can reorder their Action Counters when they activate. This is a unique ability and should be great as I learn the game. It will bring a lot of flexibility and help me get out of early errors.

He also Inspires Henchmen within 10cm so that they get an extra Action Counter and can take the total Action Counters above the normal maximum.

The Joker also reduces the game length by one turn, so a six turn game becomes 5. It will be important to gather VP's early before the clock ticks away.

Decision 1 - Max out on Trickster and Inspire so leave the Sidekicks & Free Agents at home for the smaller games - Total 90 rep spent.

Overall the Joker appears to be fairly slow but comes with decent ranged attacks. He has an awesome 'one shot' gun that really does look like it can do damage and also has medium range exploding teeth (of all things). These are template weapons with a 10cm diameter. This ranged ability is complemented by Night Vision which allows the Joker to see in the dark and is not reliant on the 2xD3 Lampposts which give a 10cm disk of light. He will provide long range threat, provided he has Line of Sight. He will need a little help to spread the threat to other areas of the board.

The only real ranged help available to the Joker Crew in a 200 rep crew is Triston. He costs 26 rep and £300.  He comes with a medium range Shotgun that does 2 Blood damage. I think that this will compliment the Joker nicely and also put some real threat into the well lit areas of the board.

I have $200 left to spend and an extra ammo clip might just be the thing for that expenditure.

Decision 2 - take Triston and the extra ammo. - Total 116 rep and $500 spent (84 rep remaining)

The Joker's 'hand to hand' abilities are less impressive and so he will need some muscle to help him when things inevitably come together. Although he does come with Luck forcing the opponent to reroll all successful Hits. (I like it) Bunching up will also help to spread the Inspire effect to Henchmen within 10cm.

Alternatives

This is where the thinking cap has to come out. Do I go for cheap clowns with a view to scuttling around the board gathering objectives or do I go for more punch?

Option 1 - 84 rep

Ringmaster - 32 (Chain)
Contra Auguste - 21 (Bat)
Clown shield - 16
Clown knife - 15

This squeezes every last point out of those available and gets a six man crew on the table top. Maybe the thinking here could be that Contra-Auguste stays close to The Joker and the others scatter up the board. A potential issue with this tactic is that he has Mental Disorder - Obsessive meaning that once he strikes an opponent he goes after him until he is taken out! Not very flexible, if very scary :-)

The Ringmaster has a 360 degree weapon which would be good in a crowd, but will I really need that against a Batman crew? Also it can damage friendly models so I would not want him close to the Joker in a defensive capacity. Much better attacking on his own maybe with Triston in support.

Another option is that I could take another couple of Clowns in lieu of the Ringmaster?

The cheap prisoners are also looking pretty good with this mindset - but I don't have the models for them yet and I have just spotted Turk with 2 pistols as well. Nice.

Option 2 - 82 rep

Master of Ceremonies - 36 (Axe)
August - 25 (Axe)
Contra Auguste - 21 (Bat)

This is more compact and comes with a couple of Axes for punch. They are 2 Blood damage weapons and when combined with Handy (reroll failed to Hit dice) then they look impressive.

Replacing The Master of Ceremonies with Asker at 38 rep would max out the 200 rep limit and add a short range hand gun / meat knife with 1 blood. He has a rather nice Distract ability (reduces an enemy Defense by 1 within 10cm. He is Fast so could be used to grab objectives and then support others later in the fight. He is also Bloodthirsty so gains an action if damaged.

Yes indeed - a lot to think about and I would welcome any thoughts.

Happy hunting.

A Joker Crew, first thoughts

So the challenge has been thrown down to create a couple of Joker crews so that we can get a game or two under our belts. The first crew is to be 200 points of Reputation and the second 350 points.

Lets start with the models that I have purchased and see where that takes us.

I bought the basic Joker Crew. This gives me the Joker (90 rep), the Ringmaster (32 rep), Contra-Auguste (21 rep), and Clown (knife) (15 rep)

to which I added August (25 rep) and Triston (26 rep & $300)

and then Snickering (25 rep & $600) and Clown (shield) (16 rep)

and then the model that I really love Mr Hammer (71 rep)

And I already have Harley Quinn (61 rep)

I have started reading and all these models don't necessarily go together so I will have some thinking to do. Lets have a look at some options and how a crew comes together.

The gang limit is set by Reputation Points together with dollars. For every 150 points of reputation I gain $500 to spend and the option to take a Free Agent.

The basic dynamics are that I can have one Leader, a Sidekick, Free Agent's and lots of Henchmen.

200 rep Joker Crew

The main limitation here is that I can take a single Free Agent and I have $500 to spend. I don't have any Free Agents as yet so that is an easy decision. I think that the dollars should be spent, $300 on Triston and use the remaining $200 on extra ammo.

So, Leader will be my Joker at 90 rep and then Triston at 26 rep that is 116 points so far.

It seems reasonable that I take Harley Quinn as I have some paint on her so that will be another 61 rep. That is 177 total leaving me with 23 to spend. Contra-August costs 21 rep so I reckon that is the way to go to make sure I am getting value for the points available.

Now the only thing about this is that Harley Quinn has rules that influence other members of the crew and there are very few here. Emmmmmm. Also the Joker has a Chaos Agent rule that helps all members of the gang other than his Sidekick. Maybe when the crew is this small I should consider not taking a Sidekick?

I could take August 25, Contra-Auguste 21 and Clown (knife) 15 instead. This would probably have better balance.

350 rep Joker Crew

Plenty to think about here and probably best to play a game first however there will be three Free Agents available and $1500 to spend. On this basis both Snickering and Triston will be in play so that will be $900 plus $400 on extra ammo leaving me with £200 to spend.

Joker at 90 rep, Triston at 26 rep and then Snickering 25 rep. That is 141 rep so 209 rep still to spend. I think I will need more models to get to this total but ...

71 Mr Hammer
61 Harley Quinn
25 August
21 Contra-Auguste
32 Ringmaster
15 Clown (knife)
16 Clown (shield)

That is 241 in total however I can only take one Sidekick so I will need to get in another few crew members for when we step up to this level.

Looking forward to it.