Gremlin dissection: Lenny

In this dissection we have the Green mean dumb fighting machine: Lenny. He’s an enforcer that has a great supporting role in most gremlin crews.

The stats

He has a DF of 4 and a WP of 1, which is very low. The WP can be a problem, but as we delve into the model this isn’t that big of a problem as you might think. His cost is 9, which is high and a Ht of 3 which can be a problem when you shoot at him in combat.

Overall he is pretty average in his stats. Where he really shines, is in his passive abilities. He gives  your crew some buffs and reduces the damage your models take.

The skills

He has the ability Big target. This aura reduces all damage by one to a minimum of 1. The range is a bit short, but if you keep him near your key models, then you can make the most use of this ability. What does this ability mean? For your basic bayou gremlins this means that your drunk and reckless ability only costs you 1 wound instead of 2.

Also it means that you ignore damage from every source. It isn’t armor so” ignore armor abilities” don’t  apply to this. Burning damage is reduced ect. This is quite a useful ability to have.

He has Hard to Wound +1.  A nice ability to have since this is the only real defense you have.

Dumber luck is the most important reason why you take Lenny. He gives all gremlins and pigs in the aura-range the ram suit in their total. So this means that all your bayou gremlins and masters like somer and Ophelia have the dumb luck trigger automatically if they want. There are only a few times when I don’t take the dumb luck trigger on my gremlins. The damage potential they can dish out is huge and your opponent will think twice when they want to get into range of your gunline.

The last ability is Numbskull. This ability makes him immune to conditions. So this means for all negative abilities (like poison, burning, paralyze and slow), but also your positive abilities (like focus, defensive stance, fast). This is a good ability against crews  like Rasputina who hands out slow and paralyze or Pandora which makes you tale horrorduels (you can fail the duel, but are immune to the paralyze).

The actions

He has 3 actions.

The first one is Whack’n Stick. It has a decent Ml of 6 and a good damagespread. The trigger is a nice one on a ram. If you succeed, the enemy may not declare walk action while engaged .

What this means is that you can’t move away from Lenny or another model in which you are engaged with. Even if Lenny is gone you still can’t move if there is an enemy model in Ml range. This can be handy if Lenny is pulled away by a movement-trick  (Ooo, a girl for example)and the target enemy model is still engaged.

Overall a nice attack to have.

Next one is the Toss ability. You can push a Ht 1 model 10’ away from you.You reposition your own models or deal with enemy models that are too close to Lenny or other key models. They can get Dmg if they come in base contact with models or impassable terrain, so that’s a bonus. They also become insignificant.

The last one is a healing flip which requires a 9 of any suit. The Pet the Piggy! ability is a bit too difficult to cast so I rarely use it. You have other abilities that can heal up gremlin models.

The tricks

I tend to go low on upgrades on this model.

The only 3 I would consider are:

I’ll love it and pet it … : this gives you a shooting attack which can summon a piglet on a trigger. It’s only one soulstone, so if you have one to spare you can give yourself some more summoning-abilities.

It doesn’t have a shootingsymbol, so cover doesn’t apply to this attack. Something to consider …

Show off: this one can be handy if you play in a bayou heavy list. Somer comes in mind for this upgrade. You can stick it on Lenny instead of somer to free up an upgrade for somer. Also he is Ht 3 so he can draw line of sight over Ht 2 terrain.

Dirty cheater: I wouldn’t use this one on him regularly. The more optimal choices are Francois and your master, but if you have kill protégé in you scheme pool, then this one can make Lenny  a little bit more durable.

The looks

I like the look of this model. He has thez allure of a dumb brute and the piglet is quite funny. I like the old model too though. I can’t wait to get my hands on a new plastic Lenny.

The playbook

Like I’ve discussed before he is a great buffer in your crew. He works great with the Wave 1 masters: Somer and even more so with Ophellia. I don’t have any experience yet with the wave 2 masters.

Keep him back away from danger. He has 10 Wd, but can go down fairly easy if left unprotected. A slophauler near him can do wonders to keep the wounds to a minimum.

I sometimes use the toss ability when needed. Normally I try to toss Pere Ravage up the field and then let him wreak havoc .

Overall an excellent piece on the board, but you need to watch out for his low Wp.