I know I know, different comic book (The Watchmen), but it has the same author as Batman The Killing Joke (which is what this team was inspired by) so that counts for something, right? After recently rereading Batman The Killing Joke written by the prolific Alan Moore, I realized that I hadn't played #59 The Joker from The Joker's Wild set. Looking to rectify that I began assembling a team that would play around The Joker's strengths as he was going to be the central figure.
Arkham Assemble!
Looking to make it even more thematic I chose to use the Arkham Asylum keyword as the comic book itself begins with Batman traversing Arkham grounds wanting to have a chat with The Joker, and at the end of the comic you realize that both Batman and The Joker need to be locked up at Arkham. That's how I felt anyway. I wanted to capitalize on The Joker's special power The Killing Joke, so I beefed
that ability up by adding #37b Edward Nigma from the Superman & the Legion of Super-Heroes (SLoSH) set as he has a similar special power
in Hidden Clues. I thought about adding two #006 Hired Henchman from the Batman set, but I felt I needed a stronger backup plan should things go wrong. Instead I chose to go with #30 Two-Face from The Joker's Wild set as his 18 starting Defend with Perplex can make The Joker even deadlier. I had enough points to squeeze in The Joker's main squeeze Harley Quinn as his Mastermind fodder and another starting Perplex.
Build
140 JW059 The Joker 69 SLOSH037B Edward Nigma 65 JW030 Two-Face 25 JW002 Harley Quinn 299 points
Team Roles
Harley's role is easy as her meager 25 points will only serve to Perplex for as long as The Joker doesn't get mad and Mastermind damage to her. I would also consider transferring some of the Mastermind damage to Two-Face as his trait "A Change Will Do Me Good" will heal him 1 click as a free action. Meaning he can
potentially heal back to his starting line. By activating this trait you're also given the chance to go into attack mode with him to serve as the backup plan I talked about earlier. You can also choose not to activate this ability after he takes damage if he were to land on support and have him act as a healer to keep The Joker and Nigma healthy. Don't forget that his trait Flip a Two-Headed Coin can also give him Probability Control for attack rolls which doesn't need to be within his range and line of fire!
This Two-Face is a bargain at 65 points. Edward Nigma is no slouch either. His Indomitable will serve The Joker well as a secondary attacker. You will want to focus on primarily using his Hidden Clues special power to keep enemies busy, but he also has Barrier to keep dangerous foes away and Probability Control to help the dice out. His trait Photographic Memory can bust Stealth to keep those pesky Gotham City do-gooders away.
Finally, The Clown Prince of Crime himself will be your main attacker. With Indomitable he should be able to keep the pressure on your opponent's team. If they get too close don't forget his Poison can deal penetrating damage to characters that cost less points than him. Weighing in at 140 points in a 300 point game will usually mean that he'll be the highest costing character on the field. Try to keep your
distance, however, as you'll want to take advantage of his The Killing Joke special power to keep enemies pinned down and damaged, or better yet dead.
Team Combos
It's crucial that you use the Batman team ability to keep attack values high. Two-Face's 18 Defend can be shared to keep your defense value high. The Joker starts with Ranged Combat Expert and 2 Perplexers to deal a potential 6 damage with 12 attack should you urgently need to hit an imposing figure off his high horse. Nigma's starting Probability Control will help you get there, just don't forget to add the tokens to the hit character afterwards. Once they clear you can Mind Control them with Edward Nigma to keep them locked down for 1 more turn.
The Last Laugh
The lack of flyers may ultimately hurt this team if your opponent wins the dice roll and chooses and unfavorable map, but these characters are so good they should be able to hold their own regardless of map choice. Watch out for Pulse Wave and Energy Explosion as your team will need to be grouped up to work effectively. Last but not least, have a gag playing this team!
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