Powder Monkey

Since their initial release, the pirates haven't had their own dedicated healer in Moonstone. This has left them having to rely on models like Beaky Bobby and Fraya to fill that role.

Powder Monkey’s card.

Now with the Black Powder box, they have the 'Powder Monkey' who isn't exactly a dedicated healer, but a support model with some healing abilities. The healing ability in question is 'Swig o rum' which heals X+1 for 2 energy like 'Healing' normally would, but that's where the similarities end. It also has the effect of lowering arcane by -2, so this should definitely not be used on anyone who hasn't activated and is relying on an arcane ability. It also has a meager range of 2" and comes with the Powder Monkeys arcane of 4, so he will have to be very close to the action and won't succeed as often as traditional healers.

‘Pirate Mascot’

'Pirate Mascot' by comparison will have neither of these problems being a passive ability and having a range of 8". Although all pirates will enjoy these buffs to evade and melee, El Capitano might be particularly appreciative of them. With the evade -1 bonus he can potentially avoid an opponent's arcane action which would put him completely out of position. This could either save him from being slain or from being moved too far away from his fellow goblin pirates to give them energy. In general, this ability is best used when the opponent will have a low number of arcane cards. This is as denying your opponent one card is far more effective when they go from 3 to 2 cards than say 7 to 6 cards.

The other component of 'Pirate Mascot' is the ability to gain +2 melee when you make a melee attack. The main use for this bonus is for when you need a specific melee card, like a signature, or are going for one big hit and want to increase your chances of a crit. Once again, El Capitano is a perfect recipient for this being a fan of his signature and using 'hit' to go for one large hit as opposed to multiple small hits. Swash can also be an entertaining recipient of this. When initiating an attack, triggering 'pirate mascot' and utilising 'go for it' he can rocket up to 11 melee cards!

‘Agility’ and ‘Swig O’ Rum’

Picks up bomb and screams.

But what does the Powder Monkey do when he isn't supporting his allies? One great use for him is to use his 4 non-weakling energy and 'Agility'. With these, he has no problem getting anywhere super quick and when he does he can harvest stones to his heart's content! His mobility tricks don't end there though. With his signature, he can move 1" so if attacked by an enemy he can try to slide out of combat before too much damage is dealt. This is incredibly useful as harvesting stones and 'Swig o’ Rum' healing generally requires being quite close to the enemy and with only 7 wounds the Powder Monkey isn't exactly tough. 

‘Black Powder Bomb’

There is one final ability that requires being close, but not too close, to the enemy which his movement tricks will help with. 'Black Powder Bomb' gives the pirates a ranged option for dealing with faeries and other evasive folks with an evade ignoring arcane attack. It is also superb for dealing with troupes that have grouped up close together, dealing a respectable X Dmg to models within 2" and X+1 to the original target. A final ranged option for dealing with enemies is an ability we've already looked at. 'Swig o rum' doesn't have to target a friendly and can therefore target enemies. Whilst healing an enemy for X+1 Wds might seem counterintuitive, putting -2 arcane on them can be particularly punishing for certain ranged models like Flintlock!