Batman Minis Game Printed Rulebook Preview

Just a quick one today.

 Over on the Knight Models Facebook Page they have just previewed some pages from the new Batman Minis Game printed rulebook.

Can't wait for this to come out!

- Hendybadger

Themed Crews for Batman

When I started to plan my crews for the Batman Minis Game by Knight Models, I decided to theme them a little bit. It would give a good starting point to work from for each.

In the past I hadn't really read many big DC comics. My Batman and DC experience had been the original 4 movies, a little bit of the Arkham games and more recently the Arrow series and some of the lesser known comics. So, that became the plan!

Instead of building each crew based on one of the movies or such, I have chosen to start with the inspiration and build 2 crews from each. Some models will be repeated and some will cross over, but they are going to turn in to some fantastic games.
For the characters with different versions, I have added which one I will use. The amount of Henchmen will be used to balance the sides.

First up is -

Batman the Movie / Arkham Games
As the Joker is the main villain in both of these, I decided to combine the two. Wanting to use Harley helped with that decision.

GOOD
Leader: Batman (Arkham)
Henchmen: GCPD Police

BAD
Leader: Joker (Arkham)
Sidekick: Harley Quinn (Arkham)
Henchmen: Basic Joker Thugs + Arkham / Blackgate Prisoners

BATMAN RETURNS

GOOD
Leader: Batman (Arkham)
Henchmen: GCPD Police

BAD
Leader: Penguin
Free Agent: Catwoman
Henchmen: Penguin thugs (Joker Clown models for the Circus look)

BATMAN FOREVER

GOOD
Leader: Batman (Arkham)
Free Agent: Robin (Arkham)
Henchmen: GCPD Police

BAD
Leader: Two Face
Free Agent: Riddler
Henchmen: Two Face thugs

BATMAN AND ROBIN
This one takes a few model swaps and tweaking to work.

GOOD
Leader: Batman (Arkham)
Sidekick: Batgirl
Free Agent: Robin (Arkham rules. Using the Nightwing model as the costume matches the movie)
Henchmen: GCPD Police

BAD
Leader: Bane (Arkham)
Free Agent: Mr. Freeze
Free Agent: Poison Ivy (Arkham rules with Bane Affinity, Comic model)
Henchmen: Generic Blackgate and Bane thugs (Using Penguin Thug models for the Freeze look)

ARROW

GOOD
Leader / Sidekick: Green Arrow
Sidekick: Speedy
Free Agent: Black Canary
Free Agent: Huntress
Henchmen: Starling City Police (GCPD models) Officer Ron as Detective Lance, Police with Baton or SWAT member as Diggle.

BAD
Leader: Ra's Al Ghul (Arkham)
Sidekick: Nyssa al Ghul
Free Agent: Deathstroke (Origins)
Free Agent: Deadshot
Henchmen: League of Shadows/Assasins Ninjas. Archer as Merlyn.

GOTHAM CITY SIRENS vs BIRDS OF PREY

GOTHAM SIRENS
Leader: Poison Ivy (Comic)
Free Agent: Harley Quinn (Comic with Affinity Ivy)
Free Agent: Catwoman
Henchmen: Ivy's Plants

BIRDS OF PREY
Sidekick: Batgirl
Free Agent: Black Canary
Free Agent: Huntress
Henchmen: GCPD

SUICIDE SQUAD vs RED HOOD and the OUTLAWS
Thers two lists are mainly wishlisting as most of the choices dont have models yet but I hope to see them fill out soon.

SUICIDE SQUAD (Old and new mix)
Sidekick: Harley Quinn (Arkham)
Free Agent: Deathstroke (Comic)
Free Agent: Deadshot
Free Agents: Killer Frost, King Shark, Capt Boomerang (no models yet)
Henchmen: Generic prisoners (Blackgates)

RED HOOD + OUTLAWS
Sidekick: Speedy / Arsenal
Free Agent: Red Hood (no model)
Free Agent: Starfire (no model)
Henchmen: GCPD


You can see all the models HERE and I will update the blog with my progress as I go. Also thinking bout looking at the rules closer on here theme by theme soon.

What do you think of these themes?
Would you change anything?
What other themes would you go for?

- Hendybadger

The Batman Miniatures Game. What is it?

Half of the time I post something online about the Batman game there is a comment along the lines of  "This is a thing? An actual game? Why did I not know about this?"

So, I thought I would put a little post together to explain what the game is and what it's all about.

The Batman Miniatures game is produced by Knight Models. While the company is based in Spain, they supply gaming stores all over the world and produce the rules in several different languages.
You can find the latest update of the English rules HERE.

The game is a small skirmish game based on the low/non super powered side of the DC Universe.
A medium sized game can be played on a 3 foot x 3 foot board with roughly 3-8 models a side. Depending on your model choices obviously.
Instead of the usual 'kill everything' of a lot of games, the Batman game works on scenarios, victory points and objectives. You could lose your main characters and still have a chance of winning which is a great thing as you can keep pushing until the very end.
I'm going to have a deeper look at these rules on here at a later date.

Each player gets a crew or gang. At the moment there are several main characters to choose from to start planning your crew around.
The good guys have Batman, Green Arrow, the GCPD and the Watchmen.
The villains get Joker, Penguin, Two Face, Bane, Black Mask, Poison Ivy, Mafia and the League of Shadows.
Once you have your starting point, there are lots of ways to build with a ton of different well known Heroes, Villains and henchmen.
Each crew has 4 types of models starting with ...........

LEADERS. These are the big hitters. From Batman to Bane, Leaders can be anything from skilled tacticians to walking tanks. Each has it's own style of play and helps the rest of their crews in different ways. Apart from the odd exception, you only ever get 1 Leader.
Need some help or want someone else to lead the crew? Try.....

SIDEKICKS. The Sidekick slot is filled with some great characters like the Green Arrow, Nightwing and Harley Quinn. If you take a Leader you can also take 1 Sidekick. OR, you can choose to not take a Leader and have 2 Sidekicks instead.
Not sure if a model is a Leader or Sidekick? You can download the rules card for every model direct from the Knight Models site.
If you want to take even more well known heroes and villains, check out .......

FREE AGENTS. These are the 'other' people roaming the streets of Gotham. Deathstroke, Catwoman, Killer Croc, Scarecrow, Huntress and more.
For a game you can usually take 1 Free Agent per gang size level (there are points values to determine these sizes). So 1 in a small game, 2 in a medium and 3 in a large.
On the rules for some Leaders and Sidekicks you may spot the words 'Affinity: NAME'. This means that characters can become a Free Agent if taken with the named character. For example, Harley Quinn can follow Poison Ivy or Ivy can follow Bane.
The rest of your crew is made up of ........

HENCHMEN. These often form the bulk of your force. Most only work for certain crews like Penguin or Two Face but there are a few that will work for anyone that pays.
Henchmen come in a couple of different types with each having several different skills and weapons. Named Henchmen can only be taken in your crew once each while un-named Henchmen can be taken in multiples. Some of the named ones can also be Elites.  You can only take 1 of an Elite type, like Elite Gangsters, unless you have a character that is an Elite Leader. Two Face is a good example as he is an Elite Leader Gangsters which lets him take several Gangsters at the same time.

While most of the models in the game are based on the Arkham series of computer game, the range also covers things like DC animation, Comics, Movies and Series. Like the Dark Knight above of Classic below.

I think that's enough info for one post.
If you have any questions feel free to post them in the comments below or check out the Arkham City Limits Facebook Group which is full of very helpful people.

I will leave you with a few more images of the stunning models in the game. Check out the rest HERE.
Until next time - Hendybadger

Time for a Blog Swap?

Hi all!

Now that ToaTS is back up any running, I think its time for a new Blog Swap!

How does it work?

1- Add ToaTS to your own Blogroll on your blog.
2- Leave a comment with a link to your blog.
3- Your blog will be added to the ToaTS Blogrolls on the right >

This lets us all get out there a bit more. The gaming blog community all joining together to worship little metal men!
And just because I don't think I have typed the word enough....... BLOG!

- Hendybadger

Review - Batman Game Lamp Posts, Sewers and Objectives

For this Knight Models review I'm going to take a look at something a little different. Lamp Posts, Sewers and Objectives. All of these are used in the game rules and these packs are physical representations so you don't have to just use counters or markers.

With the Batman Minis Game being set at night, Lamp Posts are very handy. Each player gets to place D3 on the gaming table. These light up the immediate area around them and make models in that area easier to see / shoot at.
Each player also gets D3 Sewers. These let one model at a time move around the board from one marker to another. Opponents can block the exits though so watch who you send down there.

For the Objectives, each player gets to pick 3 of the 4 types and place them in or near the opponents deployment zone.
Loot gives bonus Victory Points to the crew that hold it. Riddles might give extra VP depending on a dice roll and number guess. Ammo Crates give extra Ammo Magazines to models that start the game with a limited number. Titan Canisters are single use and up all of a character basic stats by 1 for the turn.
Some characters like Catwoman, Penguin, Riddler and Mr Freeze can effect these objectives in different ways with their own rules.

Both of these sets come in standard blister packs with the parts held in with a large block of foam. The display car on the other side shows nice painted versions of the contents.
Inside you will find.....

2 Gotham City sewer covers, 2 Lamp Posts with street bases, Riddler Trophy, Loot / Money bag, Ammo Crates and a Titan canister. You will notice that the Objectives come with 30mm round bases but the Lamps and Sewers do no. You will need to find some extras or take off the tabs on the bases.

For the Lamps and Sewers I decided to dig out some extra bases so they matched the Objectives. There were barely any mould lines on them so it was straight to building.
The Sewers are perfect fit inside the lip of a 30mm bases. The Lamps took a little more effort as they needed to be kept straight until they had dried. Next time I will probably pin them as that would have made it a lot easier.

A quick scale shot with Arkham City Batman.

The Objectives were very easy to do. Minimal mould lines around them and each are a single piece. I have removed the base tabs and mounted them on Fenris Games Post Apoc base toppers to match the rest of my collection.
While the Ammo Crates, Loot and Riddle look really nice, I wasn't too impressed with the Titan Canister. Its a very plain piece that needs any details painted on to it. I would have preferred it if the 'Titan' logo and side markings were part of the sculpt.
Below is Arkham Batsy for scale again. (Sorry for the slightly blurry pic but you get the idea)

Both of these sets can be picked up from several stores for around the £6.50 mark. You can't beat that for some official scenery and objectives.

These two packs can really add the right looks and feel to your Gotham game board while being useful pieces and removing the need to counters that look out of place. I would recommend picking these up from the start if you want to play the Batman Minis game.
The down sides I can see are that you will need bases from the Lamps and Sewers and to paint the details onto the Titan Canisters. Not too bad all in all.

Taking that all into consideration, my final score for both sets together is.......

8 out of 10 Badger Points

Bases and more detail would have made a full 10!

What's coming up next? No idea. Suggestions?

While you're thinking why not head over and check out the rest of the Knight Models Goodies!

- Hendybadger

Knight Models Batman / DC Review - Two Face / Black Mask Mobsters

Today is the first Knight Models review here which doesn't actually look at ANY Supers models. Instead we have some Elite goons for Two Face and Black Mask to use in the Batman Minis Game.

Elite Mobsters

The Mobsters come in the standard KM packaging. A clamsell blister with the pieces held in tightly with foam.
Instead of a separate display sheet, one side of each game card shows nicely painted examples of the models within.

Inside you will find two 35mm scale, highly detailed metal Mobsters ( Boris and Dirty Tom), two 30mm round edged bases and a game card for each figure.
As you can see above on the right, the cards are a new side opening style. An older Batman card is on the left for comparison.
I wont go in to the rules too deeply as I want to look at the crews bit by bit at a later date. But, these Mobsters work for Two Face, Black Mask and the upcoming Mafia crew. Both Boris and Dirty Tom are Elite Gangsters, this means you can only take one at a time unless you have an Elite Leader for Gangsters. So far, the only models with that rule are Two Face and Black Mask.
Boris is 33 Rep and Dirty Tom is 32 Rep with a combined Funding cost of $550. So to take both you need at least a medium sized 300 Rep game.

On to the models themselves.

Boris (left) is a single piece mini while Dirty Tom (right) comes in 3 pieces, Body, head and gun / arms. There are small mould lines around each part but they are easy to remove with a small file. Take care across the clothing though as the lines run straight across several folds.

Glue time.

Boris on the left was obviously easy to build being a single piece model but at the same time, Dirty Tom was almost as easy. The parts just dropped right in to place. There is a tiny gap behind his head but no more than most other metal models get.
The sculpts are very nice and clean and get the feel of old school Mobsters across really well. The faces on each do seem a little low on detail though compared to KMs usual standards. Not too bad as they are under hats although a little more detail would be nice. The gun are on Boris seems to be at a little bit of a funny angle as well. I think I may try and bend it up a little to have the gun pointing straighter.

As usual I have based these on the Fenris Game Post Apoc base toppers to match in with everything else.

As these don't have any certain markings on them, some people may want to use them in other games.
For scale, here they are next to a well known Outerspace Soldier. Remember though, the base toppers also add height.
I can see them fitting in with anything 30mm scale or larger, but at 28mm or smaller they will look too out of place.

The pack of two in most online shops sits around the £12 mark. £6 a piece for a larger scaled metal model isn't bad in my eyes.

Overall, I like the Mobsters. But, they probably wouldn't be my first choice of models for a Two Face or Black Mask crew. They are more like extra options.
If the poses and faces were a little better, I would have picked up a couple of sets though.
Score time.....

6.5 out of 10 Badger Points

(6 seemed too low but 7 too high)

Next time I will take a look at some of the objects you can pick up to use in game.

- Hendybadger