There’s a new Doctor in, and some updates to older ones too!

New miniatures mean new rules, and the Master of Zoology has some killer new rules!

It’s also rules update time with another release, and we took the opportunity to make a few tweaks to the Doctors of the Beasts as well.

Let’s start with the new character!

Master of Zoology

The Master of Zoology is a new Leader choice for the Doctors, and one that a lot of people will be happy to see!

Rather than relying heavily on magic and Madmen like the Plague Doctor and Doctor of the Arsenal, the Master of Zoology is all about up close and personal combat! Oh and also she won’t crumble when faced with superior opponents, which is a nice change for the Doctors!

The Stats

First of all, we’ll look at her basic stats. 3 Action Points is standard for a Leader, but 14 Life Points makes her the toughest Doctor in town. On par in fact with some heavy hitters like the Exorcist, Prince of Thieves, and even Vlad himself!

4 Will Points is a breath of fresh air too for Doctors, since 2 is usually their limit. This means the Master of Zoology is free to take a bunch of beasts to battle rather than having to use Madmen for her magic.

Finally, 4 Command Points is a very healthy amount, putting her better than the Doctor of the Mind, but not quite as commanding as the Plague Doctors. 4 is plenty to be getting on with!

With Movement, Dexterity, and Attack of 4, she looks sort of average, but Protection of 6 is where it’s at! Literally double the Doctor of the Mind, and the equal of the Patricians’ Guard Commander! Although the Carnevale gods giveth and taketh away in equal measure, and only saw fit to give her a Mind value of 3. You don’t get to be the Master of Zoology without being a bit unhinged!

Rules & Weapons

The Master of Zoology’s special rules are where she really comes into her own.

Expert Protection (2) means that her massive Protection 6 is going to be very hard to beat! Those re-rolls really add up throughout a game.

She also has the Hunter special rule, although you should expect that by now if you’ve played with Doctors of the Beasts and Lab Assistants. It’s extremely helpful, giving her Electrified Mace some added pain against larger targets. A beast-heavy gang will rarely struggle against big creatures!

Speaking of the Electrified Mace, it has +1 Damage which makes her very powerful in a fight (or 1″ away from a fight thanks to its range). Although with Evasion +1 she may struggle against faster opponents. But that’s what Lions and Gorillas are for! It also comes with Stun, which slows those fast characters down a bit, off-setting the Evasion penalty nicely.

The Beast Master rule is back, allowing her to keep control of her beasts. Although she only has Mind 3 for them to use on their Primitive Rolls, but that’s a whole lot better than 1!

Are you ready for the big one though? The Protective Field Command Ability gives all friendly characters within 6″ Universal Shielding (3)! That’s everything in a 12″ bubble getting a minimum of 3 Protection dice against any attacks! That’s big for Doctors with low Protection, but also means she’s going to be really, really hard to hurt! Very handy.

Magic

The Master of Zoology may be a bit rough and ready compared to the more refined fields of study, but she is still a Mage! Mage (2) puts her equal to the Plague Doctor, although without his Mind value and re-rolls, her magic is relegated strictly to an added bonus rather than something to theme your gang around.

She has access to both Divinity and Runes of Sovereignty, which actually gives her a massive toolbox depending on the game.

Runes of Sovereignty is one of my personal favourite disciplines, as its spells are so mixed in use that there’s something for every opportunity. If you’re building a slower gang (easy to do with the Doctors) then Walk Between Worlds is a good shout, as is Ice Lock. Faced with aggressive opponents? Try Madness to force them to turn on their allies or jump off the nearest rooftop. And of course Cantrip of the Chariot is great, giving free move actions.

Divinity I think is my main choice for the Master of Zoology though, as the healing spells can’t be beat when you build a gang that’s already tough as nails. With a Rhino and Crocodile in tow, Aqua Curativa is very powerful, and Cantrip of the Sun will keep your Will Points up too. Eldritch Armour can make your toughest allies into almost unbeatable characters, and also covers nicely for the lower Protection on the more human Doctors characters. If you’re faced with any enemy Mages, don’t overlook Holy Light, which wrecks them and makes already squishy magic users even easier to gore by Stunning them.

Doctor of the Beasts

The Doctors of the Beasts have had some subtle changes, which we think make them wholly more useful! We’ll do some handy bullet points for these.

• Starting with a nerf: they’ve gone down to 2 Command Points from 3. It’s important for them not to overshadow the Master now that she’s taking to the field!
• However, they’ve gained a Will Point! This is a big one, since both the Master of Zoology and Doctors of the Beasts are a lot more self-reliant. That means more space for Lab Assistants and beasts, and less reliance on Madmen. You want a fighty Doctors list? You can do that now!
• The Beast Master rule has had a subtle buff, now giving Animals the Companion rule on the (Doctor) keyword, rather than specifically for Doctors of the Beasts. This is the same as on the Master of Zoology too, so if she’s in line of sight, they can use the superior Doctor of the Beasts Mind value (or if you really don’t want them to run away, use a Doctor of the Mind).
• Finally, Overcharged Discipline has got a big buff. To compensate for having 1 less Command Point, this Command Ability now affects its target until the end of the game. Berserk is a massive rule, giving any Animals with 5 or fewer Life Points +1 Attack and +1 Action Point. With this Command Ability you’re getting a lot more bang for your beast buck!

 

So that’s it for Doctors updates today! We have one other teeny tiny update, and that’s fixing the Avignon Guard. No, the guy with full plate armour wasn’t supposed to have Acrobatic (3). Definitely fish people getting in the circuitry there!

 

So there you have it! Are you going to pick up the Master of Zoology for your gang? How do you think you’re going to use her? Are you a Doctors player just super excited to have a Doctor who doesn’t fold over like paper that’s been fished out of a canal? Let us know! And if you have any cool Doctors or other Carnevale miniatures you’ve painted, don’t forget to send some pictures to us at info@ttcombat.com because we love featuring them on Monday Motivation!