Badzone Enforcers

Well you lousy maggot! Shorty had enough of you, has he? Sent you out here to the Badzones to kill or cure you of your shortcomings? Well you have come to the right place!

The only thing we do out here is spread Halmawrs justice, or die trying.

Why choose Badzone Enforcers?

Do you like high armoured, Boltgun wielding cowboys who are there for the long haul?

Do you have fantasies about bringing peace and order to the wild and dangerous frontier?

Then look no further, the Badzone Enforcers are a great gang,  easy to put together, with a number of tricks you can use to control the game board, but still dish out the hurt on those who think they can rebel against the Will of Lord Helmawr.

What makes them different?

Why not Palanites?

Unlike the Palanite Enforcers the Badzoners are a little easier to organise, rather than having to balance between Subjugators and Palenites you just get Captains, Sergeants and Patrolmen… Oh and Enlisted Hive Scum, this leads you to easier list building then the Palanites with some different options to pick from and makes them feel distinct enough to be a separate gang.

Gaining access to cheap chaff is also a game changer, the Enlisted Scum are a well needed addition to the generally expensive Enforcer rosta.

It is not all good however, in return for the bonuses above, the Badzoners lose some of the better points the Palentites get. For example you no longer gain free Juves when your Patrolmen die, but that's what the Enlisted are for I guess.

Next downside is your Enforcer Boltguns, Concussion Carbines and Enforcer Shotguns gain Scarce when held by your Patrolemen which is less than ideal but not the end of the world as I will get into in a moment.

Finally, unlike the Palanites, when the Badzoners play in a Dominion Campaign they don't have to give away territories, they can keep them for themselves and gain their boons. This is a huge improvement in my opinion as they then function the same as everyone else and don't suffer from a lack of economy like the Palanites do in my opinion.

Fighters

Badzone Enforcer Captain

Starting at 125 credits, the Badzone Captain has a fairly basic stat line for most things, Movement 5”, WS 3, BS4, S/T3, 2 wounds, 4+ initiative and 2 attacks. But it is the mental stats that are amazing, 4+ Leadership, 6+ cool, 5+ willpower and 6+ intelligence. If you fail your bottle check, don't worry, your leader can sort that with a 12" bubble where you are unlikely to run from the field.

Other than the Mental stats though, the Captain is not anything exciting, other than its WS3 it is fairly standard. However, the upside to that is it can do it all and you can tailor a Captain through advancements to fit any role you need him to.

Skills wise for primary you get Brawn, Shooting and Palanite Drill, and Ferocity and Leadership as secondary. It would have been nice to swap Brawn and Leadership around and use those mental stats with things like Mentor, but I won't knock it, this again allows you to build your leader in any way you like, do you want a fast shooting Boltgun Leader? A melee Leader wielding a Shield and a Greatsword (from the trading post, don't get too excited) well with Bulging Biceps you can.

Badzone Enforcer Sergeant

For 85 credits base the Sergeant is Movement 5”, WS 4, BS4, S/T3, 2 wounds, 4+ initiative and only 1 attack, which is a bit of a let down. For mental stats we get 5+ Leadership 6+ Cool 6+ Willpower and  7+ Intelligence. Again, decent mental stats to keep you in the game and an overall average stat line lets you adapt to the campaign as you go through.

For skills in the primary categories we have Cunning, Shooting and Palanite Drill, with Brawn, Ferocity and Leadership as secondary.

Patrolmen

Bog standard for 55 credits, Movement 5”, WS 4, BS4, S/T3, 1 wound, 4+ initiative and 1 attack is not bad, but not great either to be honest. For mental stats they get 7s across the board which again isn't bad by any means, just not good either. The slight negative to Patrolmen is if you give them Enforcer Shotguns, Enforcer Boltguns or Concussion Carbines, those weapons gain the scarce trait. This isn't too bad as they all also have a 4+ ammo roll but it's important to know.

Enlisted Scum

Hive Scum with a fancy name, for 30 credits you get the same stat line as a Patrolman but with 8s across the board for mental stats. The upshot to this is that your Badzoners don’t care if these guys get shot. Thanks to the Expendable Conscripts rule, they are not included with the Gang Hierarchy or Group activations rules, nor do they count towards the ratio of Hierarchy : Gangers. But if they are seriously injured, they don't cause your enforcers to take a nerve test; your other Enlisted Scum do however so maybe keep them separated.

Finally, if you manage to get these Scummers to 5 advancements you can promote them to Patrolmen and this might actually be worth doing if you manage it. Usually when you promote a model, there is a big discrepancy between the stats and the “off the shelf” version, but in this case it's just some mental stats that really the patrolmen aren't going to need as much so go for it if you can.

Ranged

Enforcer Bolters - A Bolter with a 4+ ammo save, what's not to love? This is a weapon that is well worth using, even with your gangers getting scarce on theirs, with the 4+ ammo you are still likely to keep the fire flowing down range more consistently than the standard version.

Enforcer Shotguns - Basically, combat shotguns but worse. I love shotguns, and I don't dislike this version. The only issue is you can't take the special ammo you can for the combat shotgun and it gains scarce. Personally I would hold out game 1 and buy a combat shotgun from the trading post if you are thinking of playing with shotguns.

Concussion Carbine - The Concussion Carbine initially doesn't seem overly powerful, with a Strength 3, 3” blast it isn't a guaranteed kill, the spice here is in the Concussion, Knockback and Seismic traits.

When you hit something with Concussion, you drop the initiative of the target by 2, which is amazing in combination with Flash and Magnacles (more on them later). You also get a consistent ammo roll of 4+ and a nice blip of AP-1 if you do manage to wound.

I have a lot of love for this weapon and like to bring one in most lists, the only real downside to me is its range, it has a 9” short and 18” long range (with the short giving +1 to hit) and although that isn’t the end of the world. I would like a little more range, but for 30 credits its not much of an issue to me.

Heavy Concussion Ram - Almost identical to the Concussion Carbine, however, it has strength 4, a short range of 15” and long of 30” with the same +1 to hit in short range. The downer for this is its 70 credits, more than doubling the Carbines cost. If you have the boards where range is going to be an issue and/or you want the concussion to do more than control your opponent's movements (stop them from coming close to ledges / in conjunction with Flash and Magnacles) then the S4 is a welcome upgrade.

Subjugator Pattern Grenade Launcher - Now the SPGL is a lovely piece of kit, starting at 50 credits (15 credit discount on the standard Grenade Launcher) with Frag and Stun rounds it adds to your control play style and you have access to 5 other ammo types, including Flash and Smoke. My only gripe with this is that your stun grenades lack the blast templates that you find on other ammo types, this decreases your chance of hitting quite a bit when you are natively only hitting on 4s, but it is still another tool in the belt for those control players and the ammo roll for stun is again 4+ making it easier to reload if needed. Now Raw this weapon doesn't get access to the extra weapon types the Palanite version does which is a real shame and for a very long time I didn't notice this “oversight” (I’m sure it's not but I want the flash ammo so bad)

Sniper Rifle - The Sniper Rifle is basically what the long rifle wants to be, they share the exact same profile right up until the weapon traits, the Sniper Rifle gains the Rending rule, this means that on a 6 you add +1 damage for only 5 credits extra. I often pair this with the overwatch skill and keep my opponent from lining up those big heavy weapons or scary melee threats, before looking into the shooting tree for those “procs on 6’s” for those thematic “if I roll a 6 your guys head will explode” moments.

Web Gun - The dreaded Web Gun, how was this not put on the Palenites house list? It's so incredibly thematic to have capture based enforcers running about arresting people using Web weapons. I'm not sure I can say anything about Web that hasn't already been said, it's a great weapon that will pay for itself, potentially, very quickly.

Heavy Stubber - Because sometimes you need some rapid fire heavy weapons in your life. The Heavy Stubber is a great weapon for taking out toughness 3 models and again, for controlling large areas of the board. If you play on boards that are quite open and have good line of sight, you can deny your opponent large areas of ground and (again) consistent 4+ ammo keeps you firing all game long.

SLHG Pattern Assault Ram - This is an odd weapon to me, on one side I do like it, being able to move forward blasting Frag Grenades (6+ ammo) against mooks and Gas (5+ ammo) against stronger, multi-wound targets, then being able to slap anyone who gets too close with S+2, ap-1 damage 2 Ram at 2” with Knockback and Pulverise is no small thing. The problem is, you are paying 90 credits for the privilege and it can’t do them all at once. If the SLHG had more ammo types (like stun and flash, anything with a better ammo check as well, see a theme?) then I would be all for it, but as it stands, its competing with the Web Gun for space and i'm not sure it wins that fight.

Autoguns - Nothing overly exciting about the Autogun, except it allows you to put a cheap weapon onto your Gangers at creation. The issue a lot of people find with Palenites is how expensive they are to run, the reduced cost on the models and access to cheap guns like this allows you to get more models on the table top and that's incredibly helpful.

Close Combat

Power Knife - Strength +1 with AP-2, Damage 1 with Backstab and Power? Yes please.

A lovely piece of equipment for 25 credits, this can mess a guy up without help but if you manage to get the drop on someone and hit them from the side or back, you are potentially getting 2 damage on this bad boy.

Power Maul - Strength +2, AP-1 and Damage 1 with Power for 30 credits, it's hard to get too excited about this when the power knife is cheaper and has more potential output. Really it depends on if you are expecting to be up against toughness 4 models like Goliath or Squats (or Ogryns), because there is not much added benefit to hitting at Strength 5 over Strength 4 most of the time and you lose the extra AP and backstab for it.

Shock Baton - A melee weapon for 30 credits, it's competing with the Power Maul so lets see how it does, it has Strength user, no AP, damage 1 but shock and parry. Shock is great and Parry can be super helpful at times, but it's over shadowed to me by the power maul (and by extension the Power Knife).

Shock Stave - 2” versatile, Strength +1 and Shock? Interesting… its a hard toss up for me between this and the Power Knife. Yes the Power Knife is stronger and has a larger potential for damage, but being able to whack a guy from 2” away and not have them fight back is a sure fire way of minimising your incoming losses.

Vigilance Assault Shield - Another odd weapon, on paper, 40 credits is a lot to pay for a strength user, no AP, damage 1 weapon with Knockback, but the draw for me is in the Shield rule. This weapon gives you a +1 to your save against incoming ranged attacks and a +2 to your save against all melee attacks and that stacks up. With the Armoured Undersuit, and any armour you happen to be equipped with, a 2+save is incredibly easy to achieve. Its worth noting that the Vigilance Shield can only be given to the Leader and Champions of a gang, it’s a shame but we have to give the Palenites something, right?

Equipment

Armoured Undersuits - Free with all your Enforcer models (not you enlisted Scum, you need to earn this) it provides a 6+ armour save or a +1 to any armour they have. Normally you would pay 25 credits for this in other gangs and Enforcers get it for free so that's nice.

Although I'm usually one for giving armour only to Champions and my Leader, it's a nice bonus to know nearly all your guys have something to help keep them alive and when stacked with other armours like Mesh or the ones listed below, its incredibly easy to get your entire gang on a 4+ save.

Magnacles - Magnacles are so much fun to play with, the basic premise for them is to charge an opponent and force them to do a Initiative check, if they fail then they are unable to make any shooting attacks and can only fight back in melee at -2 to hit and can't make any actions except Break Bonds (double); where the model needs to do a strength check, if they fail then they are stuck for another round. Against gangs with low initiative like Squats this can be punishing, but against gangs like Escher, it puts you in harm's way, because if they succeed their Initiative checks then they get to make their reaction attacks against you (and you have sacrificed your attacks to try and mag them) so be careful. Oh and yet again, these are free on all Enforcer models (still not looking at you Enlisted).

Hardened flak - Hardened Flak is one of the Enforcer unique armours, this one gives you a 6+ save with a 5+ save against template weapons, that's flame and blast templates, but also decreases any AP by 1 to a minimum of 1 (which i'm sure is a typo but whatever), that means that your AP-2 becomes AP-1 but AP-1 cannot be modified. It's important to note that because of the Armoured Undersuit your Enforcers come with as standard, that's a 5+ and 4+ against Templates. Now this is where things get a little strange, the White Dwarf article that released the Badzone Enforcers state some of the armours are more expensive than in the Book of Ruin/Judgement, so it's up to your Arbitrator whether this costs 30 credits (WD) or 20 credits (everything else)

Layered flak - Another Enforcer only armour type, this time rather than the reduction in AP you gain a 5+ save as standard and 4+ against Templates. Again, with the undersuit, that becomes 4+ and 3+ against templates also for 20 credits (across the board). Of the two I prefer this version, it's not often you come across AP-2 or higher and when you do it's already too late usually. I'd rather get the chance to save more regularly and consistently. 

Hardened layered flak - A combination of them both, Hardened layered flak armour is a 5+ and 4+ against templates but also decreases AP by one to a minimum of AP-1. For 50 (WD article, 35 everywhere else) credits I'm not sure it's worth it over Layered Flak still but that might just be me.

Stimm-Slug Stash - A once per battle boost, the Stimm-Slug Stash is a staple of melee gangs, giving +2 to Strength, Toughness and Movement. You can be hitting at s6 at toughness 5 and a 7” move for a turn when it matters. At 30 credits it's handy to have on your list and not have to worry about getting it off the trading post.

Bio-Booster - Just to add to the Enforcers already tanky aesthetic, why not bring a Bio-Booster. The Bio-Booster allows you to roll 1 less injury dice when you are reduced to 0 wounds, unless the damage was already damage 1, in which case roll 2 and take your favourite. This reduces the chances of you being outright killed and or seriously injured massively and although you are unlikely to take one in your starting list it's a good investment for the future. 

Hacked Cyber Mastiff - 100 credits for a Exotic Beast that might go insane and eat your own face off? I'm not keen, why couldn't we have had access to the Hardcase Cyber Mastiff instead for 130 credits.

Emperor I wish the Exotic Beasts were better priced for what they do (generally, the new Squat ones are amazingly cheap)

Starting Lists

Badzone Rodeo

The Badzone Rodeo is a control gang, the idea behind them is to hit your opponents key models with Concussion and Flash, then Magnacle them in place so they can't do anything, this is a risky build but one that can be a lot of fun to play with and against.

Captain with Hip Shooting, Enforcer Shotgun and Layered Flak Armour - 205 credits total.

I know I said just go get a Combat Shotgun off the trading post, you could also go “Got your 6” and the Bolter but this is fun to play with. The Captain is your lynch pin, its their job to stick close to your patrolmen and keep them in the fight using his stella cool and counter punch with either the shotgun or the bolter depending on what threat is coming in.

Sergeant with Fast Shot, Subjugator Grenade Launcher, Flash Grenades and Layered Flak Armour - 170 credits total.

Concuss your target, then Flash them so they lose their next activation and if you can get one of your Patrolmen to Magnacle them down before putting the boot in. This champion is often the MVP of my games, never underestimate the power of stun locking your opponents key fighters.

Sergeant with Overwatch, Sniper Rifle and Layered Flak Armour - 135 credits total.

Put them somewhere where they can see where you want you guys to go and keep them covered, activate them last if you have to and use that overwatch to keep your guys safe and sound and the enemy's heavy weapons pinned until your officers can get into their effective range.

Patrolman Specialist with Concussion Carbine - 85 credits total.

Use the Carbine to pin and win, and,  if you can use it in conjunction with the flash Grenades on your other Patrolmen for that sweet action economy.

Patrolman with Autogun and Stun Grenades - 85 credits total.

Use the Stun grenades if you need to, use the auto gun for covering fire, pinning and Magnacle when you can.

Patrolman with Autogun and Flash Grenades - 85 credits total.

Flash those who are Concussed and shoot them in the face.

2 Patrolmen with Shock Staves and Stub Guns - 85 credits each.

These 2 will mostly be doing your Magnacling and with Staves, you can hit the stuck fighters with versatile and there is nothing they can do about it.

Fixer - 50

Enforcers can get expensive. So invest in your future and get a fixer.

985 credits total (975 if you went with the Bolter on the leader)

Now there are some credits left over, you could buy more flash, or keep them for a rainy day, up to you. This list works best when you split them into fire teams, if you manage to hit them with Concussion and Flash then Magnacles you will quickly find yourself out activating your opponent.

Riot Control

A more overtly dangerous list than the control focused Badzone Rodeo,  Riot Control is there to punish the foolhardy who dare raise a fist towards the upper spire.

Captain with Threat Response, Plasma pistol, Vigilant Assault Shield and Layered Flak Armour  - 235 total.

Similar to the Captain in the last list, this Captain's job is to keep your guys standing and active, to do this we are leaning into the better WS 3+ and Threat Response to be a counter charging Tank.

With their Undersuit, Layered Flak and Vigilant Shield you have a 3+ save against ranged attacks from the front, 2+ against any blast or template weapons from the front (3+ everywhere else) and a 2+ in melee. This Leader can weather most storms and because Threat Response interrupts your opponents charge, the knockback on your shields can stop them from charging in at all. Even if you don't manage to take them out of action, it will allow your next guy to activate and open fire.

Sergeant with Hip Shooting, Web gun and Layered Flak Armour - 230 total.

Ah the classic Web Gun and Hip Shooting, what's not to love? Keep this champ safe with a Patrolman and once they Web a group, use that back up to charge in and Coup de Grace them so they stay down.

Sergeant 85 with Fast Shot, Subjugation Grenade Launcher, Flash ammo and Layered Flak armour - 170 total.

Exactly the same as before, fast shoot Stun, then Flash to remove activations and get your guys into better positions before opening fire and watching your opponent get crushed by the will of Lord Helmawr.

Specialist Patrolman with Concussion Carbine  - 85 total.

That blast template Pinning and Concussion combo.

Patrolman with Autogun  - 70 total

Pinning is winning and an Autogun is a reliable tool for the job.

2 Patrolmen Shock Staves, Stub Guns and Flash Grenades - 100 each.

If you go staves, use the fact you have a 2” reach to your advantage and you can use flash to get into a good position before charging in.

990 credits total - This list functions very similar as above but is focused more on beating your opponents fighters into the floor rather than Magnacling them first. Get close and put the pressure on them all while taking their activations off them so you can surround them and make quick work of it.

Campaign Progression 

Hangers-On

As you go through a campaign you will want to get some additional bonuses and the Hangers-on are a great way of doing this. Now I have already mentioned that the Fixer is a superb addition to the Enforcer list as they can get expensive quickly and an extra D3x10 credits each game is a welcome addition. 

There are also your usual picks like the Rogue Doc, a free doc trip can be clutch if one of your guys gets a Boltgun to the temple at some point but I like looking towards some of the more unused ones.

Ammo Jack - Ok so this one isn't too far out of left field, but I would be doing you a disservice if I didn't mention that re-rolling an ammo roll of 1 when your Bolters re-load on a 4+ is kinda good. Now if you have the rep for it you could get to the point where you are re-loading on a 4+ and re-rolling on a 1-3 as well and that's rather spicy. 

Whisper Merchant - What are we Delaque? Maybe… for 60 credits a Whisper Merchant may count the result of a single D6 roll as a 6 when taking the following actions: Determine Scenario, Choose Crews (when random crew size applies), Receive Rewards (including rewards from Territories), and Seek Rare or Illegal equipment. This could be huge, picking the scenario best suited to you could win you the game, getting 60 credits for one game pays for itself, making sure you have more models on the board then your opponent can also be a game changer. I really like this Hanger on and it feels super thematic, like an agent of the nobility working with the Enforcers.

Brutes

Now Rules As Written (RAW) the Badzone Enforcers don’t get access to the  'Sanctioner' Pattern Automata and that's a huge shame in my opinion, I may do an update at some point to include it into this section but for now i'm keeping it RAW.

Servitor Ogryn - You knew it was coming, get an Enforcer Ogryn to tank incoming fire and create a problem for your opponent, my preferred way of running this brute is an Augmetic Fist, Spud Jacker and Furnace Plates for 205 credits.

Outland Beastmaster - I love the idea of an Enforcer out in the Badzones for too long, missing their K9 unit and training up their own beasties. For 100 credits plus pets, it can be an expensive choice, but one I can see being valuable as you go through. Do you take Rats and charge them in so your Patrolmen can get into combat using their staves and rat shields? Or do you go for Milisaurs and have them infiltrate in and do some terror on the back lines? The choice is yours.

Upgrades

We have spoken a lot about what all the fighters can do, but as I like to ask, “Where do we go from here?”

Captain - Look at getting those secondary Leadership skills like Mentor or Inspirational and make use of their amazing Leadership stats.

I would also armour them up to the 9s so they can weather the storm.

Sergeant - Up armour, focus on boosting either their BS or WS depending on what roll you want them to take and then you are golden, maybe think about the cunning skills as there are some great ones in that list as well.

Patrolmen - More of the same, I've never been a huge fan of putting armour on gangers but with the enforcers you can get a decent armour save for 20 credits and at that point why not? Look at Bolters as you go through so everyone is potentially a deadly threat and your opponent won't know what to prioritise.

Final Thoughts

Badzone Enforcers are incredibly fun to play, easier than the Palanites to get into and make lists for. Their drawbacks are the inconsistency with GW not specifically mentioning them and so they lose out on things like the Law-tomita or Hard-case Cyber Mastiffs but that is an easy fix for an Arbitrator.

It's no secret I have developed a soft spot for the Badzone Enforcers and I recommend them to anyone that wants a reliable, easy to pick up gang.

Fin

Hopefully this has been helpful to any of you budding deputies wanting to explore the Badzones to spread Helmawrs Justice. As always if you want to support our efforts then please find us on Ko-Fi or Patreon, links are below, and if there is anything you think I have missed or disagree with then get in touch at secondbestguides@gmail.com