Going to the Doc can have its issues, but it's not all doom and gloom (otherwise why bother going!) because you just might get something shiny, new and killy. So here is a little feature on some of the serjery that my Freebooterz have endured.
My Furst Mate (now my Kaptin) received Multiple Injuries in the very first round of combat he was in, while he suffered various injuries, going to the Doc was not as easy as I thought. At first, I thought it wouldn't matter as he had an Old Battle Wound, a Headwound, a Legwound and got off lightly with some Impressive Scars, so receiving a serjery other than the one he went in for, would still put him in decent shape. Not much later, the Kaptin also came down with a mild case of shattered skull (Headwound) and Pink Eye (Blind in One Eye). And one of my main gunslingers now seemed to be suffering from some form of agonizing chest pains (Chestwound). While it may not be the worst conditions to cope with, I decided that I probably could do better than a bunch of seemingly arthritic greenskins and sent them off to their local Doc.
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| The Doc's patients ain't restin' no more! |
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BUILT FOR SPEED
The Furst Mate was the first to be seen to, as the mob waited patiently in the waiting room. He soon emerged with Traks for legs. To start with I thought that this wasn't really what I wanted and shoved him to one side to deal with him later. He was wounded in both legs, so it seemed a neccessary procedure, but I was still unsure about the outcome (at first!). Similarly, the Kaptin went through a similar operation and found himself with a gyro-stabilised mono-wheel. He didn't need it, but you know how things are in the Doc's office.
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| The new Kaptin with his steel skull races some muties on his traks for legs for that scrap |
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It was however, a blessing in disguise as they are, from then on, treated in similar ways to vehicles...including thrusting. The ability to zip round the board with free easy I only recently discovered to be brilliant for navigating small nooks and crannies that trukks cannot, or moving around terrain that vehicles would struggle to do. Not to mention that these warriors were (obviously), smaller than vehicles and while had speed to match vehicles, they could also hide easily. This became a nice little technique when fetching scrap, as I would often run round pieces of terrain once collected.
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| Depiff's warrior zips to cover using his trusty kustom thrusta boosta trying to dodge enemy fire |
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I also soon realised that it was also ideal for rushing straight into combat, occupying the enemy instantly that would normally take turns to reach, and that extra turn might be all you need to pull out the scrap from under them (that actually happened once!). This dynamic was enhanced when one of my main gunslingers, the one suffering a Chestwound received a Kustom Thrusta Boosta, while he would seldom leave his post from firing off his six-shootas wildly from the Trukk, it would be a great relief to have him thrust over into combat or to grab some scrap if the driver took a slight 'involuntary detour'. The Doc might as well have painted them all red!
WAAAAGH!!
The (former) Kaptin received his Steel Horns very early on, giving him a very distinct advantage as he was already equipped with a knife, a choppa and had earned a pet growler squig from the Freebooter skills. With this in mind, he became a rather worthy combatant as he could race into a charge on his mono-wheel, release his growler squig for one attack, then continue, receive his +1 dice for extra hand weapon, then plus his steel horns. I found it hard to believe that one Ork managed to down three enemy models in the same fight phase. I suppose thats why he is (err...was) The Kaptin.
The Furst Mate's Old Battle Wound quickly healed up once the Doc fitted him with some Fungus Bref Lungs. While not as obviously 'stabby' as the Kaptin's Steel Horns, I found it useful as it would reduce his opponent's WS. This was nothing to be sniffed at as he had already acquired a WS of 5, 2 attacks basic, was wielding a slugga and choppa (two combat weapons), and with his traks could thrust into combat with ease!
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| The former Kaptin using all his shiny bioniks to get the best of that Dust Rat |
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While the Doc was stapling in various odds and sods, my Furst Mate also received a Steel Skull, which was also enough to cause a slight rumbling over leadership. While the Kaptin was constantly defending his title, he did eventually lose a pitfight to the Furst Mate. It was the third in a row between just the two of them, so it only seemed fair (as gutted as I was). While a +1 to leadership may not seem like much, it can cause some issues later on, so be wary.
LOOK AFTER THEM...
My driver was wounded later on, but I found it unnecessary to attempt to heal him, because it was merely a Legwound and he shouldn't really be leaving the trukk anyway. It seemed pointless to even try. And even if the serjery was a success, there would be a chance that he could be armed...err.. legged with gyro-stabilised mono-wheel or wheels/traks, meaning he wouldn't be able to drive! Call me old fashioned, but I tend to like my drivers to drive.
He soon suffered an Old Battle Wound which I was rather cautious about. In one of my first games, I lost my Badmek which meant I had to scrape together enough teef to hire another one and buy his much needed equipment. I found this bothersome, and would not risk losing any of my key mobsters ever again (mainly drivers, gunners, and meks), even if just for a game. As a result, I sent my driver in to try to fix his Old Battle Wound...it would not be very useful if the driver was unable to enter the field because it was flaring up, so this was a priority. In end, he emerged from serjery with an Iron Lung. Like his Legwound, I was not bothered about the side effects of his slow moving and was content that he was still on the payroll, rather than only sometimes showing up. And as most of you will know, the driver can win you the game!
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| Depiff's Bad Mek in cybork armour with steel teef being mangled by Flamkebab's Klaw Arm |
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In a more recent game, my (latest) Badmek was horribly mangled and he too received an Old Battle Wound, amongst other things. This case was urgent and the Kaptin (formerly the Furst Mate) rushed him to the Doc...but it was a bit too much of a rush, and he returned with Steel Teef. In all fairness although it was not intended, it should prove useful as my mob seem rather prone to being Gobsmacked, so that ought to cut that down a bit. My Kaptin was Gobsmacked twice! I just don't know how it keeps happening!
As the Badmek came out of serjery with his Steel Teef, he was immediately turned around to go back in. This time when he emerged, the Kaptin's face lit up with skiny, killy joy as he saw the Badmek had been reborn in cybork form. While my Badmek was never one of the brawlers, or one of my gunslingers, or one of my distractions, or one of scrap grabbers, or one of....anything useful, he soon found a use as he took on three orks in combat at once as their weapons kept clanging off his shiny new armour. Eventually, it took a lucky swipe with a claw-arm before he fell. But it had been so long in combat that the rest of the mob had descended upon them and avenged his fall.
And there you have it, an insight into my experiences with Bioniks. From strategy, to preferences, I hope you all have as much fun using them I do.
