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'!

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.

Joker crew assembling

Harley Quinn had been tasked with gathering the crew. Clearly something was up and getting ready was the order of the day.

First off she figured that a shotgun was always handy to have in a brawl and so she went in search of Triston.

and sure enough, she found him with his 'game face' on, pockets bulging with cartridges and spoiling for a fight.

Next up she wanted someone that could handle themselves when it got up close and personal. She was a fan of the baseball bat and she knew just the person to call on - Contra Auguste.

Ah yes - the crew is a gathering.

They are starting to come together quite nicely. The themed bases are doing their job and the white faces really do stand out. I am looking forward to getting them stuck into a game and seeing how the perform on the battlefield.

Joker crew development

Its been a weekend of cutting and carving and pinning and green stuff. I thought that I would keep with the sewer base theme and made some purchases. I bought some resin bases and some metal inserts. There should be plenty to go around and it should give the crew a common theme. It does mean even more pinning but hey, ho.

To get me properly started I wanted to add the Joker to Harley Quinn, then Triston, August and Contra-Auguste.

I have been building up the paint layers and have yet to do the faces but it is coming along nicely. I had some fun painting the sewer slime. I started with a base of green and then dotted in lots of very small colourful dots. It gives it a vibrancy. In the main though I want the faces to be the main thing to draw the eye and I intend to spend some time on them to try and get them right. I have learned from Harley Quinn that white is very unforgiving. I love the skeleton hand clinging to the ladder on Triston's base, sweet little detail.

Next in line is Mr Hammer (yet to get him a base), Borgon and some of the clowns.

I have had a nightmare with Clown (tube). When pinning his feet I broke the model at his ankle. Then the arms didn't fit into the shoulders and when I tried to prize them apart, a little, the model broke at his hands. Currently I have a pin in each foot, a pin in each arm and another at his hands. He will need lots of green stuff but he will be properly 'bionic'.

Anyway - it is all coming along slowly and I have a third batch on models following along behind.

Mr Hammer is awesome and I am really looking forward to getting some paint on him.