Strontium Dog Miniatures Game - Billy Joe

Billy Joe

An exceptional las-whip duellist, this mutant gangster is another formidable foe who has the potential to inflict serious harm to the heroic Strontium Dogs of the strip. Not only is the two-faced Billy Joe one of the most fear-inducing characters in the Strontium Dog Miniatures Game, he is also one of the trickiest to learn how to play. Fortunately, you can get the lowdown here by reading on...

Billy Joe by Carlos Ezquerra
Copyright 2000AD Limited

Stats

Billy Joe's stats are identical to Wulf Sternhammer's, meaning that he is incredible at landing blows in close combat. This is just as well since he doesn't come equipped with any pistols or the like.

Errata: Billy Joe's las-whips are not High Powered as stated on the stats; the modifier is -1, not 0 as indicated. It is crucial to remember that when they hit, they reduce the target's Resist by 1. This has been confirmed by Game Designer Andy Chambers himself.

Skills & Special Abilities

Brawler: This ability offers Billy Joe the opportunity to counter-attack close combat attacks before they occur or enter "bullet-time" with opponents such as Wulf and Middenface!

Duellist: With his dual las-whips, Billy Joe can land hits on opponents by rolling both Hit or Special results on the dice. Note that this does not apply when rolling damage. In addition, if he rolls a Special result at all, he can move 3" after resolving the effects of the attack.

Two-Faced: A nice thematic ability that allows Billy Joe to have 360 degree vision; this means that other seasoned Brawlers cannot sneak up on him to catch him unawares!

Notes on how Billy Joe plays - with special thanks to James Hart for helping me understand this correctly. 

There are several points to understand when playing Billy Joe:

1) When Billy Joe instigates a close combat attack with his las-whips, remember that they have 3" range; this means that if you keep him more than 1" away from an enemy, you can conduct a close combat attack with Billy Joe but not actually be engaged with your enemy and avoid your victim's Brawler counter-attacks. Therefore, once you resolve your attack, you do not count as still being in close combat, meaning that the Escaping Close Combat rule does not come into force if and when you move on.

2) Rolling to hit in close combat: Because Billy Joe wields the 2 las whips, he gains +1 on his rolls to hit, giving him a whopping 5 combat dice, each of which have a 67% chance to hit rather than the usual 50% chance (see Duellist above). If any of these come up with the Special result, you will be able to move 3" after the attack has been resolved. 

3) Calculating damage: Although he dual-wields close combat weapons, Billy Joe can only inflict damage with one weapon. This means he rolls his Fight -1 for his las-whip + any other modifiers (such as +1 for charging). Note that the Duellist Special Rule does not apply when calculating damage (in other words, Special results do not count as hits). 

4) Target Resisting Damage: The defending model usually gains +1 to Resist against two close combat weapons but this is cancelled out by the -1 to Resist special rule for his Las-Whips.

Tactics for playing Billy Joe

It's arguable that Billy Joe is one of the most powerful close combat character in the game; although he doesn't have the Berserker skill which Wulf has, he is as powerful as the Viking in most other respects. His Duellist ability in particular means he is better at landing hits than Wulf, and can move away after attacking without any chance of an enemy getting a free attack. Even better, if you are fortunate enough to roll a Special result when rolling to hit, you will be able to move another 3". If at all possible, stay close to cover, move out, attack from more than 1" away and then move back behind cover again. The lack of power in the las-whips is the main drawback with Billy Joe but this is thematically accurate as he took some time to lash Johnny Alpha to within an inch of his life! Plus, you will hardly ever miss, meaning the damage will take its toll! It is still very much possible to take weaker enemies down in one attack but you will have a harder time against the likes of Wulf and Middenface due to their high Resist stats. You could use Charge double actions to nullify the -1 you receive to your Fight when calculating damage from Billy Joe, but I think two Fight options are by far the best way to employ Billy Joe. 

Overall

A great close combat specialist who only slightly disappoints in the (appropriate) weakness of his weapons. Make those stinkin' Strontys "eat lash" Billy Joe!