Grimdark Future/Tactics/Battle Brothers

Why play Battle Brothers?

Pros

• A majority of your army is very heavily armored.
• A high amount of customization when including the specialized Detachments.
• Your entire army is Fearless.

Cons

• Your forces are incredibly expensive.
• Your troops lack Tough, so heavy weapons can very easily wipe out a unit of Brothers.
• You only have one Psychic model.

Special Rules

• Relentless: When a unit with this rule shoots, any nat 6s they roll to hit generate an extra attack. This can't be triggered by the attacks generated.
• Shield Wall: Models with shields are harder to hit, with enemies shooting at them taking -1 to hit.
• Veteran Training: Models with this rule get a +1 to hit in both melee and shooting. This makes them very strong. This also tends to be an expensive upgrade for any unit that takes this.

Psychic Powers

• Blurred Sight (4+): One enemy unit within 12" takes -1 to hit with shooting. Vital for protecting your troops from heavy weaponry of any kind.
• Psychic Terror (4+): One enemy unit within 12" takes 2 AP 2 hits.
• Cursed Ground (5+): An enemy unit within 18" that attempts a charge loses 6" to their charge distance next time they charge. Note that this won't save anyone from a charge if they're too close, but it will prevent any long-range gambits.
• Cerebral Trauma (5+): One enemy model within 12" takes a single AP 3 hit. Pretty much all you can ask for when sniping a hero or heavy weapon.
• Time Passage (6+): One friendly unit within 12" can immediately move 6". This gives you a desperate escape button or possibly an easier charge.
• Lightning Fog (6+): Two enemy units within 6" take 8 hits each, making this hell for mobs of grunts.

Unit Analysis

Heroes

• Captain: Your gold standard when it comes to Heroes. He's heavily customizable to fit out any mix of shooting (which you can milk out with Relentless granting extra shots) or melee, or even give them extra toughness (with the Destroyer Armor granting Tough 6) or mobility with either the bike with Fast and Impact 1 or the jetpack with flight. They can also grab either Advanced Tactics to add +3" to their unit's shooting and charging ranges or War Chant to give Furious and make charging deadlier.

• Champion: Take your Captain, chop off 10 points and Relentless and you get your Champion. They can be useful in plugging up any options that your captain didn't take or dedicate them to be the choppier since they don't have Relentless to incentivize shooting.

• Engineer: Don't be fooled by the name; these guys are your medics for any tough units you drag along, including other Heroes and Destroyers. You should be wary of the limits of the Repair ability, as it only heals a single wound on a single Tough unit within 2" on a 4+.

• Psychic: Your most expensive heroes, but they also provide you with your lone psychic casting. Alongside the other upgrade lists, you can also upgrade it to Psychic 2 for extra power.

Infantry

• Pathfinders: A cheap unit, but also your flimsiest so you need Strider to get to cover quickly. Alongside all the basic weapon upgrades they can also buy either Camo Cloaks for stealth or Forward Sentries so they can ambush enemies. They also have possession of a sniper rifle so they can pick off units at their leisure.

• Battle Brothers: The baseline for your force, meaning a walking tank. Your brothers have the widest selection of weapons available, spreading almost any manner of weaponry. On top of this, you can also buy either a Banner for Fear or Medical Training for Regeneration.

• Assault Brothers: Same cost as Battle Brothers, but now with two CCW attacks and a pistol. These guys aren't as well-versed with their weaponry, but you can buy some extra melee weapons and some another plasma pistol. These brothers can also pick up jetpacks so they can get Ambush and fly as well, giving them good mobility to go with their punch.

• Support Brothers: These brothers lack the option for Veteran Training, but you do get Relentless (gaining an extra attack for every 6 you roll to hit while shooting) and the option to pick any heavy weapon you want.

• Brother Bikers: Cheaper than Battle Brothers, but also in a smaller unit size. Each comes with Fast and Impact 1, so melee is a viable option. If you're going for shooty, you can give an extra attack to your assault rifles or upgrade some of them with more interesting guns.

• Pathfinder Bikers: Take a bike, give it the Pathfinder's flimsy 4+ defense and add Scout. Though it lacks the sheer weight of options, you can still give each bike twin assault rifles or grenade launchers for some flexibility in firing.

• Support Bike: A bigger bike strapped with a a heavy flame thrower and a Tough and Impact value of 3. Honestly, you shouldn't be using this for close combat, because that means you can't be firing the big gun (and if flamethrowers aren't your deal, you can take a heavy machine gun for long range or the fusion rifle so you can have fun with Deadly).

• Destroyers: Incredibly expensive and equally tough. Each one comes with Tough 3 to tank blows and you can use Ambush to protect them from heavy damage. Their weapons are no joke with AP 3 energy fists and 2 attacks on their storm rifles. If that doesn't suit your fancy, then you can buy the team energy claws for Rending or hammers and shields for Deadly and Shield Wall. You can also pick up a set of Cyclone Missiles for very long range bombardment, but this does cost a good lot to an already expensive unit.

• Heavy Exo-Suits: Superheavy infantry, packed with Slow and twin flamethrowers for an insane 12 attacks. Its other weapon options are a mix of either massive attacks or deadly attacks and you can buy either an assault rifle array (for 6 extra shots) or a grenade launcher for extra punch. If you're dead-set on melee, you could also buy combat drills for AP 4.

Vehicles

• APC: A nimble yet tough tank with a 2+ defense and Tough 6 to protect its cargo of 11 models. For a mere 5 points you can add Strider to it so you can cover more ground. Though it has Impact 6 and a storm rifle, combat is not something you should be blowing this on.

• Attack APC: This APC sacrifices half its transport capacity (so 6 models instead of 11) to mount a twin flamethrower or any other big guns you feel are necessary. This will limit what you'd want to bring with you, but the guns are something you cannot deny.

• Drop Pod: While cheaper than the APC, the Drop Pod has some serious tradeoffs. It can now use up its entire transport capacity to house a walker and can swap the storm rifle for a death launcher to apply blasts, but this thing is now immobile once it deploys via ambush.

• Attack Speeder: Just as fast and tough as the APC with Strider and Ambush. It comes with two heavy flamethrowers you can swap out for more specialty weapons, though only one of them can turn into a missile system for picking off more annoying threats. If you wanted more transports, you could also give this a transport capacity of 6.

• Artillery Cannon: This cannon comes strapped to an Engineer, so you can grab Repair and Tough 6 so it's able to take a beating while it blasts things. With both Slow and Indirect, you're better incentivized by not moving this thing by a whole lot so that you aren't suffering the penalty for shooting and moving and the cannon fortunately has a good range.

• Battle Tank: Tough 12 and a 2+ Defense means that this thing won't be going anywhere, which it should for the price point. It comes with one autocannon, but you can give it one of a variety of heavy cannons to add to the punch. If you're looking for just extra guns, you only have heavy machine guns or laser cannons and both ramp up the cost considerably.

• Heavy Battle Tank: The Battle Tank now has a twin heavy machine gun and two assault rifle arrays as well as a transport capacity of 11, Tough 18 and an obscene price tag. That's where the similarities end however, as this tank can't carry a heavy cannon. Instead, it makes up by having the ability to add more guns, including more laser cannons and a heavy fusion rifle.

• Attack Walker: Big and tough, but it's not fast and lacks Impact. What it does have, though, is a legitimate melee weapon that can ruin anyone's day with a small gun underneath. While the assault rifle array can be swapped out to virtually any heavy weapon you'll need (or just another fist for more smashing), the fist can only become a missile array or a twin autocannon. The walker also has its own equivalent of Veteran Training so you can make it more effective.

• Talon Gunship: This is the closest thing you have to a light flyer. It still has a twin minigun and a twin heavy machine gun that can be traded off for missiles or bombs.

• Hawk Interceptor: Take the Talon and now strap on a laser talon for more killing potential. If that doesn't cut it for you, you can swap that out for the storm cannon for extra range and more attacks alongside the other upgrades given by the Talon.

• Raven Heavy Gunship: The Heavy Battle Tank in ship form. This comes with a massive number of shots from all the guns it carries while still being able to carry 11 models (and a walker if you pay for it!).

Detachments

Blood Brothers

The Blood Brothers are remarkably choppy and fast, with Furious being available for only 5 points for most of your troops (10 for exo suits and destroyers).

Rules

• Very Fast: Fast +1. Your units now move 12" and can run or charge 24", making them incredibly mobile. You can buy this on all of your tanks and speeders for a modest 10 points.

Psychic Powers

• Fear (4+): Enemy unit within 12" suffers a loss of 3" to its next movement. It's trading off Cursed Earth's range for a penalty that's always on.
• Lance (4+): Enemy model within 12" takes an AP 2 hit. Compare with Psychic Blast.
• Quickness (5+): Friendly model within 12" may immediately charge up to 6", making this a godsend when you get it off on that pack of very angry death brothers.
• Blood Curse (5+): Two enemy units within 6" take 6 hits each. Essentially Lightning Fog.
• Break Shields (6+): Enemy unit within 12" takes a -2 to their next defense roll, giving an extra AP 2 to any attacks you make. Especially useful if you want to guarantee death.
• Rage Burst (6+): Enemy unit within 12" takes 3 AP 3 hits. It's essentially a focus-fire Cerebral Trauma.

Unit Analysis

• Blood Priest: Your stand-in for the Champion with Furious applied. In exchange however, you can't buy Battle Rites or War Chant, instead being limited to the Holy Chalice. This is tailor-made for your build, as it's adding +1 to any unit's melee attack and regeneration rolls.

• Death Brothers: A serious price jump when compared to base brothers, but you get Regeneration and Furious, making them ideal company for the Blood Priest. Other than that, you can just consider them seriously angry assault brothers. If you have a captain guiding them instead, Battle Rites is a far more useful buy.
• Guardian Brothers: Even more expensive assault brothers with jetpacks nd furious built in. They come with plasma pistols available at no cost, but you're very limited otherwise. Your only weapon options are the fusion pistol, energy sword, or energy fist. You could also grab a banner if you want to throw Fear in as well.

• Blood Tank: A battle tank with a flamethrower cannon (or twin miniguns). Other than that it's pretty much identical to the base tank including the option for Very Fast with the exception that you have flamethrowers instead of laser cannons as add-ons.
• Blood Walker: See that walker? It now has two fists, fear and Furious. If you want Rending in place of high AP you can instead slap on Blood Fists for free. You can also buy a frag launcher for an extra weapon, but the standout here is Psychic. Yes, you can add another Psychic model and make it a towering walker of death.

Guardian Brothers

The Guardians are incredibly hardy, with a lot of units packing Regeneration on top of their saves. However, this drives up the costs of all your units considerably and making your generic units like them is going to seriously limit what you can field. However, you also get another perk: The Sisters, whom can all block psychic powers despite not casting at all. The sisters are only as tough as pathfinders

Rules

• Anti-Psychic: Your sisters can all buy the option to block psychic powers despite not casting. It's a very advisable buy if you want to take down a psychic-heavy army.

Units

• Custodian Captain: A very durable hero with a dual-purpose spear-rifle that's more effective than a mere CCW and pistol. If that's not your style you can instead grab a sword-rifle for shorter-range shooting but Rending melee, an axe-rifle for poisoned melee attacks or an energy lance for pure melee with Impact 1. You can also grab a shield for extra defense, a jetbike for mobility and another source of Impact or Destroyer armor for extra tanky. Be wary that this all comes at the cost of being able to actually synergize with your other forces, so you need to make sure they won't be relying on anything while in the thick of battle.
• Great Sister: A flimsier hero, but more than capable of synergizing where the Custodian Captain cannot. However, she also has to dedicate between melee with her energy sword (which makes Furious a desirable buy) or shooting with either flamethrower of prosecution rifle with a CCW (thus making Relentless a pick). In either case, you can instead grab Scout for advance movement instead of Relentless or Furious. On top of that, you can also buy for a unit bonus of +1 to either melee attacks or shooting attacks...or buy both at the appropriate price.

• Custodian Brothers: Incredibly expensive, but very durable. The unit also has the option of spear-rifles, sword-rifles or axe-rifles like the Captain, and can grab shields for protection and a battle standard for Fear on top of your really strong weapons. You'll be wanting that protection badly, since you cannot afford to lose any models.
• Custodian Destroyers: Custodians in destroyer armor make them obscenely expensive, but Tough 3 and Regeneration is a hard combination to deny. While you're limited to only spears and axes and lack shields, you can grab wrist-mounted grenade launchers to mitigate mobs and you can equip a standard of your own. You absolutely want to make use of Ambush so you can get right into the mix with your fabulous weapons.
• Custodian Jetbikers: These bikes have strider, and are therefore better. However, you're trapped with only energy lances unless you pony up for assault rifle arrays (which can become fusion missiles for even more points). You'll be wanting to make use of the combined impact values if you decide to spring for bone stock.
• Vigilant Sisters: All come armed with energy swords, and therefore are Furious. Don't let them get hit, toss them into an APC.
• Prosecution Sisters: Sisters with Prosecution rifles and Relentless. Don't keep on the front lines, especially without cover.
• Hunter Sisters: These sisters have flamethrowers and Scouts, so you want them to make sure their flamethrowers hit the enemy at the worst possible time.

• Custodian Walker: A super-buff Tough 12 walker with heavy minigun and fist. Sadly, the only thing you can do is make that minigun into a heavy fusion rifle, which limits its usefulness when the stock walker can grab so much more.

Dark Brothers

The Dark Brothers don't specialize in any particular form of combat, but instead focus on holding on no matter the odds. They will not break as easily.

Special Rules

• Dark Assault: This adds onto Ambush by making you able to deploy them on any round you wish, adding to your strategic game of dropping in troops. However, this is only available to Destroyers and Heroes, limiting its value.

• Grim: This unit isn't only Fearless, it's so fearless that if it fails a morale check you can roll another d6 to make it pass instead on a 4+. Unlike the prior rule, this is more widely available to your forces.

Units

• Interrogator: Make an Champion and replace their option for Battle Rites or War Chant with Grim. This is essentially what they're good for.

• Dark Destroyers: Insanely expensive compared to the stock, but you get both Grim and Dark Assault, allowing them to pop in wherever and whenever you want. They also have access to plasma cannons, giving them an answer to any Brother-tier squads out there.
• Destroyer Knights: These Destroyers have shields and wicked maces with rending, meaning that they need an avenue of delivery. If you feel keen on charging, you'll be wanting to take a heavy flail for Impact 3.
• Black Bikers: See those bikes? They're now Grim. They also have the option for twin plasma carbines or grenade launchers, both quite handy though you can't grab the other guns. In exchange, you also get to buy some stronger melee weapons.

• Shroud Speeder: Your speeder traded off a weapon for Grim and Stealth. You also can swap that heavy machine gun for a minigun if you so please. The lone upgrade here is the Dark Shroud, which gives two friendly units within 6" Stealth when they're shot next, and considering how your men are made for hanging on rather than killing, you want that protection.
• Vengeance Speeder: This speeder has a plasma cannon and Grim, making it better for artillery made for countering armor. Oh, and you still have either the heavy machine gun or minigun for more massed enemies.
• Dark Gunship: Superheavy weapons ship over here. Its two exclusive weapons are both blasts with AP1, ideal for chunking lower-tier mobs with disdain. If you feel like ruining someone's day even further, may I introduce you to the twin assault rifle array, dishing out 12 hits on top of everything else.
• Angel Jet: A dogfighter with some light weaponry. Without upgrades, it only has AP 1 for all its guns, though you could also buy a twin laser cannon so it can punch more heavily-armored foes.

Knight Brothers

• Aegis: Your entire army can block powers as if they were psychic. In the case of Psychics, they instead get a +1 to block. This is available to all your infantry choices.

Watch Brothers

• Tactical Master: Your Captains, Death Watchers and Champions can buy an upgrade for additional ammo for their pistols, assault rifles and storm rifles. Each turn, you can pick between +1 to hit, Rending, +6" to range or AP 1, giving you a wide choice of options for them.

Wolf Brothers

• Counter: When this unit is charged, you can give one melee weapon an extra attack. All of your infantry can pick it up so you can make your army quite defensive.

Army Building

Tactics

Grimdark Future Tactics Articles
General:	General Tactics
Alien Hives:	Alien Hives - Soul-Snatcher Cults
Aliens:	Dwarf Guilds - Eternal Dynasty - Jackals - Orc Marauders Robot Legions - Saurian Starhost - TAO Coalition
Battle Brothers:	Battle Brothers - Custodian Brothers - Prime Brothers
Elves:	Dark Elf Raiders - Elven Jesters - High Elf Fleets
Havoc:	Havoc Brothers - Machine Cult Defilers - Wormhole Daemons
Humans:	Battle Sisters - Feudal Guard - Gangs of Hive City Human Defense Force - Human Inquisition - Infected Colonies Machine Cult - Titan Lords - Rebel Guerillas
Ratmen:	Ratmen Clans - Vile Rattus Cult