Bat-Family

## **Bat-Family Faction Strategy**

**Overview**

The Bat-Family is built around the Sidekicks (like Robin) bonding with various Vigilantes (like Batman). That bonding is your main source of turn efficiency, and most armies will want at least two Vigilantes and two bonding figures in order to keep a consistent level of offense.

Most members of the Bat-Family are inexpensive, with stats that are not that impressive compared to many other C3G figures. However their synergy and sheer number of figures can keep the faction competitive with other factions.

**Leaders**

Unlike most factions, the Bat-Family doesn’t really require a leader figure to function well, as their strongest synergy is the bonding offered to them by Sidekicks. That said, using either of these leaders will almost always make your Bat-Family army better.

* Oracle (110) - Oracle is a figure that makes just about any army better, but she uniquely helps with several of the Bat-Family's weaknesses. *Secret Attack Plan* allows your figures to take down figures with hefty defense they would normally struggle with. *Contingency Plan* allows for repositioning your OMs when one of your figures falls. Considering how the Bat-Family is made up of many cheap, relatively fragile heroes (compared to the wider C3G library), this is an invaluable synergy. Oracle also offers a helpful initiative boost, and she has a decent attack stat if it comes down to the endgame. She's a figure that you'll keep in the back of your start zone and only put the "X" OM on her until she's your last figure left.
* Batman (Bat-Family) (270) - This Batman was specifically designed to shore up the Bat-Family's weaknesses, but in a different way than Oracle. *Bat-Family Movement* keeps the Family together so your Sidekick bonding is always available, and so figures like Catgirl and Ragman can be in position to utilize their powers. *I Am The Night* increases the offensive might of your figures as long as Batman is near the enemy. And *Batarang Flurry* is one of the rare offensive autowound options for the faction. Keeping Batman safe is key to doing well with him because his passive benefits are quite strong yet encourage him to be close to the enemy. But he's also reasonably durable, so Batman can take a few hits.

**Important Sidekicks / Bonding Figures**

Most of the Sidekicks require them to be within 6 clear sight spaces of the Vigilante they're bonding with, so keeping everyone close to each other is a big part of the strategy behind the faction.

* Robin (Dick Grayson) (100) - Dick is hard for opponents to take out and draws fire off your other figures with *Daring Decoy*.
* Robin (Jason Todd) (70) - Jason is the cheapest Robin, and doesn't have a range limit on his bonding, but he can mess with your plans if the d20 doesn't go your way. It's a pretty minor drawback in my experience.
* Robin (Tim Drake) (120) - Tim is the easiest Robin to keep alive thanks to *Vigilante Protection* and his more durable stats than the other Robins.
* Robin (Damian Wayne) (80) - Damian boasts the best offense of the Robins thanks to *Deadly Strike*. But he's fragile and can get sent back to your start zone if he kills anyone. Damian also works well alongside Superboy (Jon Kent) in a Super Sons build.
* Catgirl (60) - The cheapest bonding figure, Catgirl isn't really great at bonding, but her *Batarang Cannon* is very useful as support. Move her into position then take turns with other figures.
* Nite Owl (130) - Nite Owl and Catwoman both fulfill the role of Vigilante and Vigilante-bonder, which is handy because a savvy opponent can shut off your bonding by destroying either all your Sidekicks or all your Vigilantes. This unique role of Nite Owl, along with his decent stats, makes him very useful in factional builds.
* Catwoman (II) (170) - Catwoman only bonds with Bruce Waynes, but she's got solid stats and good support with her utility glyphs. Like Nite Owl, Catwoman can also receive OMs and bond with Robins since she is considered a Vigilante.

**Important Vigilantes**

There are a ton of Vigilantes, and you generally can't go wrong with any of them. Including some of the Marvel vigilantes is also a powerful combination (the Symbiotes are higher cost with greater offense), but I limited this guide to more thematic synergies.

* Azrael (170) - Azrael offers great offense for his cost with a double attack of 5 plus potential autowounds from *Flaming Blades*. And when Vigilante synergy no longer matters, let him turn into an Assassin for a stat boost.
* Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) (130) - Babs gets a decent attack for her cost if you juggle your OMs appropriately. Use *Reckless Advance* against low-defense opponents.
* Batgirl (Stephanie Brown) (130) - Steph isn't particularly good at any one thing, but she is very flexible and she brings one of the few special attacks to the faction.
* Batman (Bruce Wayne) (I) (200) - Batman was one of the first C3G figures designed, and he remains solid. His only weakness is reliance on the d20.
* Batman (Bruce Wayne) (Utility Belt) (250) - This version of Batman is pretty much the same as the above, but with the added flexibility of Utility Glyphs and a slightly stronger defensive power.
* Batman (Dick Grayson) (170) - *Strategic Discipline* is a very useful counter to any enemy that moves your OMs around. Outside of that situation, Dick isn't that good.
* Batman (Jean-Paul Valley) (220) - Jean-Paul is pretty swingy with System Psychosis, but he has great stats and a nice special attack. Generally I think Azrael is a better draft for his better consistency.
* Batman (Terry McGinnis) (150) - Terry's not bad, but his offense is pretty weak for his cost, and avoiding attacks with *Stealth Mode* isn't as useful when you'll generally have larger threats for your opponent to go after anyway.
* Batwoman (180) - Durable defensively with *Bulletproof Suit* and strong offensively with *Surgical Strike*, Batwoman is a solid draft choice.
* Black Bat (200) - Black Bat essentially offers the offense of Black Canary (minus the special attack) combined with much stronger defense, assuming your d20 cooperates.
* Black Canary (190) - She offers strong normal and special attacks. Bring along Green Arrow with her to get a nice combo where you take a turn with Black Canary and Robin plus get an attack with Green Arrow all in one Order Marker.
* Harley Quinn (Batman Ally) (160) - While her place as a Bat-Family member can be disputed, Harley greatly benefits from the free movement that Batman (Bat-Family) provides. Use that movement to get her into position or trigger her *Acme Explosive*.
* Huntress (170) - Huntress has strong offense and her *Ruthless Counter Strike* is handy for defense.
* Nightwing (II) (200) - Nightwing brings a double attack and good mobility to the faction. He's a bit fragile for his cost, but a *Smoke Pellet Utility Glyph* can help with that.
* Ragman (140) - Ragman is one of the few fliers of the faction. He's usually nothing special, but if you're fighting swarms, he can get multi-attacks fairly easily and becomes pretty strong.

**Other Bat-Family Synergy**

* Alfred Pennyworth (60) - Alfred offers some very powerful healing to the Bat-Family, but it requires putting an OM on him at the right time to bring the wounded figure back next to Alfred. He’s tricky to use, but pretty strong when it works.
* Alfred Pennyworth (II) (100) - Useful as a start zone supporter or a Batmobile driver. The attack reroll round from *Batcave Resources* can massively help your offense. It's useful to pass Alfred's First Aid Kit off to an ally at the start of the game.
* Lucius Fox (50) - Lucius gives the Bat-Family extra Utility Glyphs for free. It’s a small bonus, but he’s cheap.
* Bruce Wayne (100) - Bruce offers some d20 support to his allies initially then you can switch to Batman in the endgame. I feel his impact is generally lower than his cost, but he's a fun addition to any build.
* Batgirl (Cassandra Cain) (130) - She can’t fully bond off of a Vigilante OM, but Cassandra can movement bond which is helpful for getting her into position and locking down other figures. Cassandra has decent stats for her cost so even lacking bonding, she’s not a bad choice.
* Spoiler (50) - Spoiler has movement bonding off of Sidekick OMs, which can be useful at times. It’s definitely a niche synergy in-faction though.
* The Batmobile (250) - While it's a nice mobility upgrade for the faction and can provide some autowounds (especially with the Batmobile Remote Utility Glyph), the Batmobile is generally considered a bit overpriced for what it offers.

**Utility Glyphs**

Many of the Bat-Family utilize Utility Glyphs. Most Utility Glyphs are very niche - the idea is you’ll look at the map and opposing army and choose those niche glyphs if they work well in that situation (such as bringing the Kryptonite Gauntlets when fighting Superman). But let’s take a look at the Utility Glyphs you should consider every time.

* Smoke Pellets - This is the strongest Utility Glyph by far. You avoid an attack for free and get some free movement too. Figures can use them to protect adjacent allies too.
* Bolas - The Bolas are handy offensively and defensively, because they can stop an enemy from moving and reduce their defense! It’s not reliable, but the benefits of the Bolas are quite strong.
* Bat-Grapple - Getting to grapple up height while ignoring leaving engagement attacks is generally always useful. It gains a ton of utility if the map has a lot of height, castle walls, or the warehouse ruin.
* Bat Shuriken - While only Bruce Wayne should consider using these, they’re pretty much an auto-draft for him. Getting the option to use 3 ranged attacks is really useful.
* Flash Bang Grenade - A guaranteed temporary stat debuff on opponents is always useful, but the others listed here are generally better. Batwoman is the exception as she uses the Flash Bangs very effectively.
* First Aid Kit - A free wound heal is always quite handy, especially when boosted to 2 wounds healed by Alfred (II). Though the Bat-family is fragile enough that you do run the risk of leaving it unused.

**Army Build Examples:**

600 Points

* Batman (I) (200), Robin (Tim) (120), Robin (Damian) (80), Nightwing (II) (200)
* Black Canary (190), Green Arrow (150), Robin (Dick) (100), Oracle (110), Lucius Fox (50)

700 Points

* Batman (Bat-Family) (270), Robin Jason (70), Batgirl Barbara (130), Huntress (170), Catgirl (60)
* Batman (Utility Belt) (250), Batmobile (250), Robin Dick (100), Alfred (II) (100)

800 Points

* Batman (Utility Belt) (250), Oracle (110), Nightwing (200), Robin Tim (120), Robin Jason (70), Lucius Fox (50)
* Batman (Bat-Family) (270), Catwoman (170), Catgirl (60), Batwoman (180), Robin Tim (120)
* Batman (Bat-Family) (270), Harley Quinn (160), Bud and Lou (70), Batwoman (180), Robin Tim (120)
* **Super Sons I:** Batman (I) (200), Robin Damian (80), Superman (I) (400), Superboy Jon (120)

900 Points

* Batman (I) (200), Nightwing (200), Robin (Tim) (120), Batgirl (Cassie) (130), Robin (Damian) (80), Oracle (110), Alfred (60)
* Batman (Bat-Family) (270), Azrael (170), Catwoman (170), Ragman (140), Lucius Fox (50), Robin Dick (100)
* Batman (Bat-Family) (270), Catwoman (170), Nite Owl (130), Azrael (170), Catgirl (60), Robin Dick (100)
* **Super Sons II:** Batman (Utility Belt) (250), Robin Damian (80), Superman (II) (450), Superboy Jon (120)

1000 Points

* Batman (Bat-Family) (270), Catwoman (170), Nite Owl (130), Azrael (170), Catgirl (60), Robin Tim (120), Robin Damian (80)
* Batman (Bat-Family) (270), Catwoman (170), Harley Quinn (160), Huntress (170), Robin Tim (120), Oracle (110)

1100 Points

* Batman (Bat-Family) (270), Nightwing (200), Oracle (110), Catwoman (170), Robin Damian (80), Robin Jason (70), Batman Terry (150), Lucius Fox (50)

1200 Points

* Batman (Bat-Family) (270), Black Bat (200), Oracle (110), Catwoman (170), Robin Damian (80), Robin Jason (70), Robin Dick (100), Ragman (140), Alfred (60)