As the picture says, the tournament takes place in mid October. So why am I talking about it now? Well, back near the start of the year, Arkham City Limits ran a painting competition that ran from the end of January to the end of March to paint a full 350 Rep, 1500$ Crew, as that is the tournament standard value. It took me the entire 2 months to get my 6 man League of Shadows crew done, and in the months in between I haven't gotten any faster at painting. So if I want to get a new gang done, I need to get started pronto.
There aren't any rules that state models have to be painted, but the fact that there is a prize for best painted (that I won't win, as there are some cracking painters in the WCG group) is laying down the gauntlet.
While I have my League gang at the required standard, I could take it easy. Only problem is, despite getting two wins from two games with them (my only two games), I fancy something different.
Before equipment, my current crew looks like this:
Leader: Ra's al Ghul (Liam Neeson version)
Sidekick: Talia al Ghul
Free Agent: Deadshot
Henchmen: Lotus, Yang
346 Rep, 400$
Basically, I went for models with a high value (Ra's and the ninjas) then added Deadshot, who I fancied painting. If I kept the League (and I might do this anyway), I'll modify it to this:
Leader: Ra's al Ghul (Neeson)
Sidekick: Tournament Talia al Ghul
Free Agent: Deadshot
Henchmen: Lotus, Yang, Prisoner (tube)
347 Rep, 500$
The big difference is changing standard Talia for the rather rare Tournament Talia card, which generally you only get by taking part in tournaments. I managed to get one in my Talia blister as a result of a mispack though. This Talia is 9 points cheaper and loses her Katana for a knife, but also gains a crossbow. The 9 extra points mean I can get the lowest costing generic thug henchman in to help sit on objectives or act as a distraction.
Now, here's the bit I'm having trouble with. I have a rather excessive backlog of miniatures to choose from.
From that lot I can make multiple varieties of the following Gangs - Batman, Green Arrow, Law Forces, Organised Crime, Joker, League of Shadows and Court of Owls.
The Court are out, as they only come to 300 Rep max at the moment, which is 50 Rep short and if I'm going to start painting, I need to make sure they are tournament ready before I start on them.
League are already done, so creating a variation wouldn't be much fun. I don't have much in the way of Organised Crime, so while it could be done it would look rather messy and isn't a direction that interests me right now. Along similar lines, Law Forces aren't really doing much for me at the moment.
That leaves Batman, Arrow and Joker. I've come up with 4 lists that are based around models and characters that I like rather than effectiveness, with other models thrown into the gaps to try and bring some balance in.
Joker Gang
Leader: Harley Quinn (Arkham Knight)
Free Agent: Hush
Henchmen: Harley Thugs 1,2 and 3, High Security Prisoner, Turk, Prisoner 04, Prisoner 03 and Prisoner (Stick)
349 Rep, 1250$
The main downside to this gang is that I don't have any of the clowns that make Joker gangs so brutally effective. Harley has the Bluff rule, which allows you to reduce enemy miniatures attacks by 1, and can pass that ability on to other miniatures in your gang who have the same affiliation as her (Joker). Unfortunately, that is only Harley Thugs 1, 2 and 3, as the Prisoners are all unknown so do not gain it. It's a large force, probably towards the larger end that you might expect to see fielded at 10 models and probably isn't entirely my style. Lots of gun power from Harley, Hush, Turk and one of the Harley Thugs.
Green Arrow Gang
Leader: Arrow (TV version)
Sidekick: Speedy/Arsenal
Free Agent: Black Canary
Henchmen: Bravo, Agent Ron, Gotham Policeman, Gotham Policewoman
350 Rep, 800$
Very shooty, not particularly able in CC. As a big fan of the show "Arrow", I have a lot of love for the combo of Arrow, Arsenal and Canary.
Batman Gang #1
Leader: Batman (Arkham Knight)
Sidekick: Jason Todd (The Red Hood)
Henchmen: Alfred, Agent O'Connell, Bravo, Gotham Policeman, Gotham Policewoman
350 Rep, 700$
Batman sucks up a lot of the rep at 150 but he's Batman. Todd provides some much needed blood damage.
Batman Gang #2
Sidekicks: Jason Todd (The Red Hood), Nightwing
Free Agent: Black Canary
Henchmen: Alfred, Agent Ron, GCPD Detective, Gotham Policeman, Gotham Policewoman
348 Rep, 900$
This is the gang my heart says I should build, but my brain isn't decided yet. I'm currently reading through Red Hood and the Outlaws, so Jason Todd is at the forefront of my thinking as I love the character. If I could run Todd and Arsenal in the same side at the tournament, that's the team I would build and effectiveness be damned. As he's quite pricey, it's quite expensive to go for a Batman (unless it's Adam West, but I don't have him) as well. Instead, I went for Nightwing to add some physical presence, and Canary for her cry. A slight change up in the henchmen for no particular reason other than that it slipped together nicely that way.
So those are the four choices. Each has appeal to me with some of my favourite characters, which is why I need some help. I probably have until the end of the month (Friday, 31st July) to decide what to build and paint to give myself enough time to get finished. By then I need to be convinced which one is the best, which is where you lot come in - let me know which gang you like the look of!
I might not even make it to the tournament (start a new job next month so hours and free time are currently uncertain) but I want to give it my best shot at attending with a fully painted new force :)
