Strontium Dog Miniatures Game - The Gronk Grab Job

The Gronk Grab

This is a new job for the Strontium Dog Miniatures Game, available from Warlord Games here. The Gronk is a character that isn't particularly desirable to field in your band and, as a result, there's a danger that he won't feature often in your skirmishes. This scenario sees him caught between two bands looking to recruit him as a healer!

Alien of interest: Capturing the Gronk
is the central aim of both gangs on this job  
When you heard that there was a Gronk tourist in town, you knew that you had to "recruit" him for your team. The alien creatures are legendary healers and would be an invaluable asset, particularly in the aftermath of a job gone wrong. Two problems: firstly, you need to be careful not to scare the frail-hearted timid creatures who can die at the slightest fright. Secondly, and of greater concern, is that it looks like another band in town has heard the news and has the same idea. You'll need to to run those sneckers out of town...

Forces  

Both sides have 100,000 Collateral.

Special

The Gronk by Carlos Ezquerra
Copyright Rebellion 2000 Ltd
The Gronk is positioned in the centre of the table. He is gripped by terror as the two bands close in to recruit/abduct him and as a result is completely passive for the duration of the entire scenario. Both bands are seeking to grab him and take him to safety. They do so using the Portable rules on page 51 of the rulebook; they must then take the Gronk off their edge of the board.

Neither band wishes their prize to die of a heart attack before they capture him. Anyone who picks up the Gronk cannot be targeted with lethal weaponry, including time weapons for fear that they kill the frail alien. In practical terms, this means that a model carrying the Gronk may only be targeted by weapons on stun mode or by Close Combat attacks, both of which must inflict stuns rather than injuries until the carrier drops the creature.

Game End

The game ends when one band manages to carry the Gronk off their own board edge.

Pay Off

All named characters taken down are worth their bounty value to the other side. The band who captures the Gronk gains the 30,000 bounty on him.

In the event this scenario is played as part of a campaign, the Gronk is added to the campaign roster of the band that captured him. It is recommended that this be played at the start of your campaign with follow-up jobs involving the Gronk played later (watch this blog for further Gronk jobs coming soon).

Encounters

1-3 Face Off
4-5 Raiders
6 Showdown

The Gronk features heavily in the Search/Destroy Agency Files 1 & 2 available from the 2000AD store.

Strontium Dog Miniatures Game - The Bubba Gang

The Bubba Gang


Max Bubba is no loner in the Strontium Dog comic series, always operating with his gang who provide him with extra firepower and cannon fodder to preserve his own life - and the same applies in the Strontium Dog Miniatures Game. Life is cheap for Bubba but so too are his gang when you buy them for your crew; you can get all four for 22 Notoriety, the same cost as it is to buy Johnny Alpha alone. The downside is that none of the four - Impetigo Jones, Lowdown O'Phee, Brute Mosely and Skull - bring star chips to proceedings. In addition, none of the four have any special rules or abilities that require much consideration (they mostly have mutations, the effects which have been built into their stats).

Impetigo Jones

Bubba's top lieutenant is tough due to his mutated skin but he doesn't have weapons that pack a punch. Play him as a foil for Bubba, using Bubba's What The Sneck? ability to take the heat for his boss for as long as possible.

Impetigo Jones by Carlos Ezquerra. Copyright Rebellion 2000AD Ltd

Brute Mosely by Carlos Ezquerra
Copyright Rebellion 2000AD Ltd

Brute Mosely

Brute is well-named and is the muscle of the gang. He is reasonable in close combat but he is no Wulf or Middenface; engage those particular Stronty Dogs at your peril! Instead, play Brute like a typical bully, use him to pick on weaker opponents. He gets a good chance of hitting opponents at short range, but his blaster lacks punch.

Skull

If you're familiar with the strip, you'll know that Skull doesn't feature much. Don't let this deceive you, he's a got a pretty effective stormer weapon. Get him into cover with a good view of the battlefield and he can give those Dogs hell!
Skull by Carlos Ezquerra. Copyright Rebellion 2000AD Ltd


Lowdown O'Phee

Lowdown can make use of his mutation which increases his toughness when in cover so keep Lowdown low down (any cover will do though)! Like Impetigo Jones, he is a member of the gang that you should consider keeping close by Bubba so he can take the flak for his boss.


Team Tactics 


Lowdown O'Phee by Carlos Ezquerra
Copyright Rebellion 2000AD Ltd
The first thing to appreciate is that there is a reason that these four combined are literally worth one Johnny Alpha. Bubba seems to have little regard for his gang as he orders them around, treating them as little more than cannon fodder. The great news is that this is the best way to play them! Make no mistake that when fielding them alongside Bubba, their job is to keep him alive as long as possible. You may find that you lose a few of them in quick succession, particularly if they are up against the likes of Johnny and Wulf, particularly if that duo are having a lot of luck with putting their Star Chips back in the bag. If this happens, don't get disheartened; if they manage to inflict a wound or two on the Strontium Dogs engaging them, they've done a good job. Bubba is perfectly equipped to finish off (if not single-handedly defeat) any weakened SD agents. The system is designed for powerful characters to be able to engage larger numbers of weaker opponents so a high attrition rate among the gang is to be expected. Just be mindful that your opponent may have a T-Weapon in their armoury so if you have them packed too closely together, your team could pay a heavy price!

Note: Skull and Lowdown's Stormers fire 24", not the 16" as printed.  Impetigo Jones and Brute Mosley's Stormers do fire 16" as shown as they have Splitters attached.  This has been confirmed by game designer Andy Chambers as per the errata post.

Overall

The Bubba gang aren't particularly impressive but you get strength in numbers. If luck doesn't go your opponent's way too often with the Star Chips, you will find your weaponry takes it's toll on the so-called "heroes"! Take those sneckers down even if it costs you the whole gang!




























The Bubba Gang by Carlos Ezquerra
Copyright Rebellion 2000AD Limited 


























Epic War - Midnight Campaign Part XVII: War Is Over

The final battles fought, all that remains is to confirm the victor!

Turn 17 (End Phase):
  
Squats: 390 CVPs
Orks: 426 CVPs

Target: 400

(Calculations further below.)

Dwalin has failed at the final hurdle and the broken Squat armies disband and flee the Land of Midnight!  Those who did not flee were slaughtered by the Orks...if they were lucky.  The less fortunate were enslaved and forced to endure a cruel existence of constant torment under the "care" of their new Ork masters.  


Grand Warlord Kraggle meanwhile took the applause and plaudits from his brave greenskin armies, before declaring himself as a God!  Victory to the Orks!  Midnight is theirs!




CVPs calculated thus:

Break Points each battle
Battle 1: Squats 0, Orks 8
Battle 2: Squats 21, Orks 17
Battle 3: Squats 32, Orks 27
Battle 4: Squats 42, Orks 15
Battle 5: Squats 26, Orks 38
Battle 6: Squats 28, Orks 25
Battle 7: Squats 20, Orks 31
Battle 8: Squats 42, Orks 34

Battle 9: Squats 12, Orks 4
Battle 10: Squats 35, Orks 38
Running Total: Squats 258, Orks 238

Plus:
8VP and 12VP bonuses for win/overwhelming victory. 4VPs each for a draw.
Results Bonuses:
Battle 1 Orks 12
Battle 2 Squats 12
Battle 3 Orks 12
Battle 4 Squats 8
Battle 5 Orks 12
Battle 6 Squats 8
Battle 7 Orks 12
Battle 8 Squats 12

Battle 9: Squats 12
Battle 10: Orks 8
Running Total: Squats 52, Orks 68

Plus Campaign Objectives:
Squats: 80 points (2x20VP objectives + Home Base Objective 40VPs)
Orks: 120 points (4x20VP objectives + Home Base Objective 40VPs)

Strontium Dog Miniatures Game - Max Bubba

Max Bubba


To make a living, Strontium Dogs need to earn bounties. Fortunately, the galaxy is full of outlaw scum! Unfortunately for Johnny Alpha, one of the worst is Max Bubba...and the two have history! A fellow mutie, Max and Johnny should be on the same side but it is Max's extremism which sends the two on a collision course in the Strontium Dog Miniatures Game!

Max Bubba by Carlos Ezquerra
Copyright Rebellion 2000AD Ltd

Stats

Other than Johnny Alpha, Max Bubba is the most powerful character in the game and his stats reflect this. Fast, great with guns, yet able to hold his own in close combat, this hulking villain can even soak up as much punishment as Wulf Sternhammer!  All that, and he brings a blazooka to a gunfight!

Skills & Special Abilities


Gunfighter: As quick on the draw as Johnny, there is the opportunity for a showdown between the two to activate in-game bullet time! Note that he can only use his pistol in gunfighting (as the blazooka can only be fired using a double action) though you can flip between weapons without penalty.

Schemer: A very welcome thematic ability which reflects Bubba's cunning and under-hand tactics by granting the player an additional Chicanery card during set up (only if Bubba is leader).

What the sneck?: The antithesis of the hero that Johnny is, Max is so cunning that, when attacked, he can swap places with another of his men, essentially sacrificing them for his own survival. 

Tactics for playing Bubba

I've always regarded Bubba, for all his menace, as a cowardly character, and this is nicely reflected in his Schemer and What the sneck? abilities. It's also fitting that the best way to play him is in a defensive and unsporting manner, staying out of blaster range and blowing apart everything in sight. The fact that he has that blazooka makes Bubba incredibly difficult to deal with out in the open. It has very long range and is even more accurate at short range (which is still longer than the range of most weapons in the game). My advice is to keep Bubba far back but with a good vantage point of the battlefield.  From there he can punish the "good guys" as they make their way towards him. If they try to hide in buildings, blow whole sections of walls apart so they cannot linger! Once his enemies begin to close in on him, you'll have a decision to make about which weaponry to employ; if they are attacking in a pack, stick with the blazooka, but if they are spread apart, it's time to draw out the custom blaster. If you take an Aimed Shot and put the bonus into the damage, you'll be rolling 6 Combat Dice for damage and able to dish out some real punishment to the dirty bounty hunting sneakers - while two Snap Shot which successfully hit will deliver you a whopping 8 Combat Dice to deal damage! Bubba is the only one in his gang who has a Star Chip. I would almost always use this on him unless a member of his gang was in a position to do some serious damage to the opposition. Getting multiple uses out of that blazooka each turn can massively alter how the scenario plays out. Also keep at least one member of the gang close by so that he can use the What the sneck? ability. Bubba is very much in the self-preservation business and that is exactly how you should play him. The longer he remains unwounded, the harder it is going to be for your opponent. Hats off to Andy Chambers and Gav Thorpe because Bubba as a character in the game marries up perfectly to Bubba, the foul outlaw we know from the strip!  

Overall

Max Bubba is an incredibly powerful villain and worthy nemesis to pit your S/D Agents against. Johnny Alpha won't need to use his eyes to see through cover when Bubba's around; any walls between the two will get swiftly be blown apart by blazooka fire!  

Epic War - Midnight Campaign Part XVI: Assault On Ushgarak!


The entire war all comes down to this…Commander Dwalin is launching an assault upon the Ork base on the outskirts of Ushgarak!  Ork Kommander Krugger must see off the short-legged stunties to ensure that greenskins - not beards - rule the land of Midnight!

Both forces have 6,000 point armies in action. 55VPs are required for victory. The ruleset is Net Epic Evolution.

Here we see an overview of the battlefield.  The Squats are at the top of the picture while the Orks are at the bottom.  The Orks start the game with three sets of defences which consist of three sets of entrenchments.  They also have Initiative in Turn 1 and can deploy a further 15cm forward of the standard deployment zone.



Another overview of the battlefield.




The satellite imaging shows the two armies facing up to each other.  In the centre of the Ork deployment zone is their base…




Supported by Squat Warriors, Commander Dwalin himself leads the battle!




In close attendance is a squadron of Iron Eagle Gyrocopters and, further along the line, a Land Train!




The Air Attack Corps and Grand Battery are positioned in the centre of the Squat army, looking on to the Ork base in the distance.





They are flanked by an awesome amount of firepower - more Gyrocopters, a Leviathan, a Colossus and two Cyclops Praetorians!





Having been disgraced twice in battle, Kili has also joined Dwalin’s ranks.  He has resigned as a Commander, now seeking revenge for his fallen brothers as Guildmaster in one of the two bike squadrons.  More Gyrocopters and two Goliath Mega-Cannon complete the Squat line up.



Krugger's Orks cannot match the sheer firepower that the Squats boast, but they do have defences, and more importantly, strength in numbers!  The beautiful green fungal lawns that Krugger commissioned here behind his entrenchments are among his most proud achievements... after murder and mayhem of course!  The green spores which rise from the fungi create a green snowy mist around the Ork base and seem to inspire an even more insane mania for destruction than is usual.  This is their home and no stunties are gonna take it from 'em!




Above the low green mist are entrenchments built into the hillside, behind which Lungbustas, Spleenrippas and Braincrushas have a clear view of the battlefield.




Also in attendance are Coptas which will be looking to pounce upon the Squat formations!







Hidden within the mound are Goff Boyz!  Their weapon range is too short to make a meaningful impact so they are held inside ready to pounce if the Squats breach their lines!




Finally, the Kult of Speed rev up their engines in excitement!  Behind them is the Slasha Gargant, ready to inflict hell upon the stunties!  The stage is set for an epic final showdown!




After a few early but largely inconsequential activations, the Bad Moons Clan launch an audacious assault upon a town deep in Squat territory…





…and they gun down a few Squat bikers!




But one of the two Cyclops Praetorians activates and uses the aptly named Hellfury Cannon to reduce one of the buildings to molten slag, killing a multitude of Bad Moon Boyz in the process!




Goliath Mega-Cannon roar on the far right of the Squat line and pick off two Braincrushas in the base!  Biker Nobz, two of whom can be seen on the far right of the picture, roar in and destroy the cannon as well as two Gyrocopters!





Spleenrippas, Lungbustas and the Braincrushas unleash a hail of fire upon the Cyclops, stripping it of its shields!






The Land Train rolls into the battle but does little to trouble the Orks!  Damn their entrenchment filth holes!





The Slasha activates and hits the Cyclops destroying its Hellfury Cannon!  The Colossus activates and retaliates!  The Slasha loses a few power fields but a few shots make it through the flickering defences - and destroy the boiler, starting a fire!





Commander Dwalin enters the fray and a building only to be burned alive by three Bowelburna scorchas!  His dying howls screeching loud in their ears, Dwalin's Warriors are pounced upon by a Warboss!  His battlewagons roar in and he thins their ranks with Lotsabigshootas!  Has the time of the Ork come?






Coptas jump Thudd Guns and in turn are engaged by Squat Bikers, led by Guildmaster Kili!





And predictably the Coptas are annihilated!




It’s not a traffic jam, it’s a full blown pile up!





Another success for the Squats!





The satellite view at the end of Turn 1.  The Orks have taken every objective on the board!





The Break Points are fairly even with the Orks picking up 7VPs and the Squats 6VPs.  The lack of shield regeneration on Praetorians, thanks to some awful rolls, causes concern for the Squats. 





End of Turn 1: 
Squats 6 
Orks 47




The Orks win initiative in Turn 2 and Nobz bikers cause havoc! They charge behind the stricken Cyclops and hit it with everything it has!  The reactor takes hit after hit before it suddenly explodes in a shower of molten plasma, taking a squadron of gyrocopters and breaking the entire Wing with it - and the Nobz bikers themselves!  As the plasma wave scorches the flesh from their bodies, the Orks roar in delight - their death woz legendary!





The sky lit up by the massive explosion of the Cyclops, the Squats in the Land Train target the Warboss and his entourage of Nobz bodyguards!





A rad bomb should do the trick!






And does! The green vermin are exterminated!  Boweburnas avenge the fallen by wiping out the remaining Warriors with a horrible death in liquid flame!  The high pitched wails of the burning beardies is sweet music to the Bowelburna crews!




On their next activation, the Squats activate the remaining Cyclops and the Hellfury Cannon, which targets the Slasha Gargant is unleashed! The awesome blast hammers the Slasha, (somewhat fortuitously) knocking down power field after power field until a final round punches through the ammo store!






A serious of explosions rock the Slasha and the Mekaniks are cooked inside the Gargant!  The fires get out of control and the whole Slasha explodes!  Nearby Evil Sunz Boyz do not see death approaching in the form of flame and shrapnel…








…which is small mercy because none survive the cataclysm!






The Air Attack Corps activate and inflict more punishment upon nearby Ork units…






…and a Skullhamma!





Spleenrippas and Lungbustas target the distant Land Train and destroy one of the battlercars!






Goff Nobz pour out from the defences late on in the turn but is there any need?





A mixture of units are engaged in close combat.  Twenty Berserkers make it their business to take down a Skullhamma and capture the objective at all costs!






Squad after squad of Berserkers die in the process but finally one squad emerges and captures the objective!






A similar battle ensues for a central objective but the Boarboy closest to the objective sees off his attackers!





A final combat ends the turn…






…and two Bowelburnas are destroyed!  The Berserkers in the nearby dome are close enough to another objective to steal it back!




At the end of the turn the Orks hold 6 objectives while the Squats only have 2.






The Orks have won 38VPs in death and destruction while the Squats took 35VPs.  






End of Turn 2: Squats 45 Orks 68 Victory to the Orks!





The remaining Squats are completely routed but what is the fate of the Land of Midnight?  See the final post next week!





All hail Kommander Krugger!  Thanks to him and the sheer battle lust he instilled in his Boyz, the victorious Orks have held on to Ushgarak base and the centre of Orkdom in Midnight!  Krugger should be proud of the determination of his Boyz to cause maximum carnage and destruction...but what leader wouldn't put those thoughts aside to simply savour the moment of adulation from an adoring army?










































Strontium Dog Miniatures Game - Mutant Army Generals

Mutant Army Generals Strontium Dog Mutant Generals Image (c) Warlord Games Along with the Kreelers, one of the last sets that was released f...