Bane Band Part 2

The pathetic ragtag bands of so-called "super-criminals" have held sway over the streets of Gotham for too long.  It is time for a resurgence.  Bane calls for his loyal soldiers.

That's right, it's time for another entry in the Bane band chronicle.  Since the last time I wrote on Bane, this leader has received a whole slew of new options.  In this article, I'm going to go through some organizational changes (additions and subtractions from Bane's band), the new equipment, and all kinds of new unit options.  Hold on, because this one is going to be massive.

Organization
Bane's band has a number of new options, and some of his existing options have been altered a little bit.  Here is a short list:

• McGregor gained Weapon Master (+1 to hit).
• Copperhead (Free Agent) gained Undercover.
• Killer Croc and Clayface will not work with Bane (Venom Soldier and Grundy are the only Large models that will work in this band).
• Access to new equipment: the Antidote.
• Access to new Blackgate Prisoners.
• Access to two new Mercenaries.
• Access to two new faction-exclusive troop options.

In the new rules, models can also purchase multiple pieces of equipment, so now you can combine Titan Doses with Batclaws, or Night Vision with Batclaws (if you have enough cash!), and get all sorts of craziness going.  Money is still an issue in the Bane band, though, so you might need to throw in a Free Agent or two instead of the Dallas/TNT + Night Vision combo in order to squeeze in that extra equipment.  And speaking of...

New Equipment
Bane's band, like all bands, received a new piece of equipment.  Objectively speaking and given the information we have right now, this gear is a bit of a letdown:

Antidote (0-1) $200 - this model is immune to Poison effects.

Ok, so for two hundred bucks (that's two hundred bucks you can't spend on Assault Rifles, or Night Vision, or Batclaws, or Ammo, or Titan Doses...), one of your models becomes immune to Poison effects.  For those of you who have come up against Poison, you know it's deadly - and very limited in how many models actually have it.  That makes Antidote a very corner-case pick, compared to options like Hidden (!) for League of Shadows.

Still, there's hope.  Models like Venom Soldier (which I'll talk about later) include weird rules interactions that haven't yet been explained, so it may just be that Antidote's full context can't be appreciated until we see some of the newer selections and bands.  Hell, maybe it'll be a huge deal against Scarecrow and others...you never know!

New Blackgates
On to new troop selections.  There are four new Blackgate choices, and they all work with Bane.  I'm not going to go too deeply into the numbers and stats (cards are available on the Knight Models site!), but I will spend some time on how these Blackgates work - and, more importantly - why they work well with Bane.

Little Spark

I think it's very safe to say that Little Spark brings a handful of awesome to the Band band.  He's got only a tiny bit more Endurance than your usual thugs (and otherwise comparable stats), but Catcher Gear, Sturdy, and Unpredictable make him a lot tougher than he looks.  Unpredictable also lets you spend more than your average number of Attack counters, and with a Mechanical/Handy weapon that does 2 Stun, you're going to have some crazy damage output with this guy.  That's 6 possible Handy attacks, which the rest of your Blood-dealing band can quickly clean up after.

Electric Storm and Handyman round out his usefulness to your band, but letting you a) deal with swarms (a weakness of the Bane band) and b) cheapening your interaction with objectives (also important, since you're usually playing with fewer units).  He's only got two real catches: he costs $100 (taking up your precious equipment/Assault Rifle money), and he's at least as expensive as the rest of your guys.  This is not a cheap selection, though it definitely adds versatility to the band.

What he adds for Bane: tough hitter who reliably puts out lots of Stun damage; ability to deal with swarms.

Prisoner 03

Prisoner 03 has a Handy + Heavy 2 Blood weapon, which means he strikes at Strength 4.  He's also a Street Guy, which means he crouches for free as he closes in...but since your band already has Bulletproof Vests and a fair assortment of Blood damage (or 2-damage hits), it may be worth passing over Prisoner 03.  He is cheap, though - 19 points for basically a mini-version of your average Bane goon.  He's just as fragile as the other Blackgates, though, so either toss him forward with backup to do massive damage (moving so that your opponent can't kill both), or leave him lingering back to clean up the mess.

What he adds for Bane: cheap Squire who can finish off models you've already dropped without wasting the time of more important pieces.

Prisoner 04

Prisoner 04 is a cheap (18 rep) source of Bodyguard for Bane, which alone makes him worth fielding.  On top of that, he contributes 2 Stun per hit, and is as tough Endurance-wise as your other Bane goons.  There's not much else to say about him other than he's a Criminal, which means he'll gain a Willpower on successful kill...but that's going to be hard, unless you're using him as a Squire.  Once your enemy's down, Prisoner 04 can just wail on them for 3 Blood a turn until they're dead - and he's cheap enough to stay back while the rest of your guys move forward without him.

What he adds for Bane: a cheap protector to make sure your leader stays on his feet; a cheap back-up who can finish off anyone that Bane has dropped.

Prisoner 05

This guy's a weird bird in a Bane band.  He takes up 300 of your dollars, and in exchange you gain an Automatic Gun (short range 1 Blood + 1 Stun), Smoke Grenades, another Criminal, and the Lantern skill.  He, like Prisoner 04, is as tough as your other Bane thugs.

This guy is sort of a budget version of Night Vision.  He's able to defend himself and put a finishing blow on enemies at range (taking advantage of Criminal), and can hide from retaliatory fire using Smoke.  When he triggers Lantern, he casts light that your other shooters (Dallas, TNT) can see by.  It involves a bit more finesse than just taking Night Vision, but if you're comfortable that you can pull it off, Prisoner 05 saves you $300 you can use on other things.

What he adds for Bane: cheap firearm; budget version of Night Vision.

New Mercenaries
Bane also got some thugs that are relatively unique to his band.  The League of Shadows can use these two as well, but they've got better choices available in-faction (for the most part).  Besides, this is a Bane article, not a ninja-fest!  Let's look at the mercs!

Ted Hunter

Like the older Bane thugs, Ted Hunter comes equipped with a Bulletproof Vest and the Veteran skill.  He's also got exactly the same stats, and costs just a smidgen more than Smash (31 rep, $250).  What he brings to the table, though, is the vaunted RoF 1 Shotgun - a weapon that allows you to run-and-gun without caring about knocking your rate of fire down by moving.

This is especially important because it's a way for Bane gangs to apply ranged pressure without relying on long-ranged Assault Rifles.  In a way, Hunter does a bit of what Deadshot does, but for less.  They're also great paired pieces, if you can afford them.

What he adds for Bane: replaces/compliments Deadshot; softens up enemies at medium range for your melee killers.

Mohawk

Mohawk is the second of the two new mercs, and like all his brothers-in-arms, he comes with a very specific stat-line and the Bulletproof Vest/Veteran combination.  He, however, gets an extra trait: Combo with Ice Axe.  This allows him to add extra dice to his flurry of attacks, and there's a fair bit to be said about this flurry.

First, the Ice Axe is Handy, so you're going to have a much easier time hitting your opponent.  Second, you can make good use of Inspire (from Bane) to shoot Mohawk's Attack up to 4, meaning you can allocate 4 action counters to it...for a total of six attacks with his Ice Axe(s).  Thanks for Handy and Heavy, each of these attacks has a much better chance of hitting and causes 1 Blood on a 4+.  And hey, as an added set of bonuses, it has CRT: Blood (1 Blood instead of 1 Stun) and there are two of them, in case your opponent gets canny and steals one with Catwoman.

This guy also makes a good Squire, but his price tag (30 rep) puts him on par with Smash.  You may want him putting the initial damage on your opponents, leaving other guys back to finish them off.  Still, the Ice Axe barrage is really handy against downed models, even though you won' t be benefiting from CRT Blood: 5-6 attacks that reroll misses (only ones, if the enemy is knocked out!), each of which causing 1 Blood, is definitely a good way to keep the enemy down!

What he adds for Bane: consistent way of putting 2-3 Blood on an enemy (great for initiating or finishing off enemies).

New Bane-Specific Troops
Last but definitely not least, Bane received two very unique troopers that both fit nicely into his band.  They are both tougher than anything you're used to, and both put out a hell of a lot of damage.  Just what I was looking for!

Venom Soldier

This guy is stronger and tougher than your average Band thug, suffering only from a bit of a hit to his Movement.  He weighs in at almost 60 reputation, so let's not pick at him piece by piece.  Let's look at the complete package instead.

Just like Prisoner 04, the Venom Soldier is a Bodyguard.  For his price tag, though, you probably only want to use the ability as a last-ditch effort.  On the plus side, he's also Hardened, which lets you convert some Blood damage to Stun - making it easier to heal him with Special at the end of your turn.  He's the only Bane henchman without Veteran thus far, so you won't be able to shift action counters around to make the best use of this healing.  Not without TNT's Order, anyway.

This guy is a very hard hitter, too.  With Brutal to reroll his collateral die (more knockdowns, more stun damage!), Reinforced Gloves and Strength 4+, he can really put out the hurt.  Sure, he's only Attack 3, but when he uses one of the two Titan Doses he carries, he becomes Attack 4 and Strength 3+ - just a step shy of Origins Bane!  And he's also Large, so he has two chances to stand back up when put down (and Endurance 7 gives him a pretty good shot!).

I consider this guy mini-Bane, just without the Lethal Blow.  Sure, he's less tough, but Origins Bane is remarkably fragile for a Large leader anyway.  When Venom Soldier is on Titan, he's got stats fairly close to non-Titaned-up Origins Bane, and his free access to the drug makes it a lot more likely that he'll have it when he needs to.  We're not yet sure what the 2 Titan Doses does, but CKP has been assured that there is some mechanic/rules interaction in the works that will make both doses relevant.

What he adds for Bane: a tough heavy-hitter; an "elite" selection for the band.

TNT

The first "Elite" addition to Bane's band!  The Elite (Soldier of Fortune) rule heralds the arrival of a new Sidekick, which is exciting in and of itself!

But let's not get too distracted by the future.  TNT brings a lot more than speculation to the table.  In many ways, he's an upgrade from Dallas:

• He costs 7 reputation more;
• He has Flak Armour instead of Bulletproof Vest, plus he gets Hardened;
• He has +1 Endurance;
• He gains Order on top of Veteran.

Now, neither of these models renders the other useless.  Dallas is cheaper and arguably more useful if you know your opponent is bringing firearms, because of his Bulletproof Vest.  TNT is more expensive, but between Hardened, Flak Armour (ignores damage caused by Explosive/Expansive), and his higher Endurance, he can be a lot tougher.

Also important to note is TNT's Order.  Most of your in-faction henchmen will already have Veteran, but not if you're using Venom Soldier or any Blackgates/Loonies.  For 1sc, TNT may reshuffle two action counters on any friendly model he can see - potentially useful for your Hardened profiles (Blood became Stun, and now extra Special can heal that up...) or for profiles that are no longer in a good position.  TNT's tendency to stand back (he's got an Assault Rifle, after all...) and be a threat piece means that you might get to use Order more often than you'd think.  It's a great way to keep your group working and moving together.

What he adds for Bane: an "elite" gunman who is mostly tougher than previous choices; a way to extend Veteran to your units that don't have it.