Here’s a Rankings idea a little more off the path than the others. I will rank the various Pirates of the Caribbean game pieces that have more than one version. It was a cool set in my opinion, and many of the movie ships and crew made interesting appearances.

Black Pearl
1. Black Pearl 
The max speed of L+S+S with wicked good guns makes this ship one of the best gunships in the game.
2. Black Pearl (damaged) 
I actually think this one is closer to the undamaged version than most other people might, and it’s not far behind. This one is more of a short-range brawler, with all-S guns instead of L, and the very nice crew protect ability.
3. Black Pearl 
This one is inferior to the other two in pretty much every way. It’s still a pretty solid gunship, but not close to the other two versions.

For the purists out there, I would rank the Wicked Wench #3 and the SR version #4.

Flying Dutchman
1. Flying Dutchman 
I think I will get a LOT of flak for this lol. Keep in mind, I think all 3 of these are extremely close. However, you cannot ignore the ability of this FD to be the most flexible in terms of the build total and in terms of gold gathering ability.
2. Flying Dutchman 
This version is technically superior to the above, but the abilities add 9 points to the cost, which makes the ship tough to use in 40 point games and two of them (Ghost Ship and “crew massacre”) usually aren’t worth it. Definitely a Pirate flagship with the right (and expensive) crew setup, but better used in big games and not exactly a gold ship with the crew complement most people put aboard.
3. Flying Dutchman 
It’s not part of the PotC set, but the PotC FD’s should have been Cursed and this is the original version for our game as well as the most powerful on a pure firepower basis. It’s a solid gunship, and one of the most important ships the Cursed got. However, the speed, big cost, and borderline-useless BA keyword hold her back severely. In fact, here the BA keyword is not only difficult to use (getting all 5 in range when the ship is healthy), but it shortens the range of the cannons and usually isn’t worth it to put all your shots in one die roll.

-Like I said, I think all of these are quite close. A very good argument could be made to have them in the opposite order, especially if you emphasize mega-gunship setups and how important the DJC version is to the Cursed (while the PotC versions aren’t nearly as vital to the Pirate gunship options).

Empress
1. Empress 
2. Empress (undamaged) 

Again, very close here. This is just a tossup between a player’s preference: wicked cannons or slightly better speed. The undamaged version is probably better in smaller (build total) and more competitive games with the higher speed and lower cost, but I like the “dreadnought” type of ship better sometimes. XD

Captain Jack Sparrow
1. Captain Jack Sparrow 
No contest here, as this is arguably the best named crew in the entire game.
2. Cursed Captain Jack 
This version is ANNOYING! XD Really good though, especially in huge games.
3. Jack Sparrow 
Good but pales in comparison to the others.

Davy Jones
1. Davy Jones 
Really getting out of the PotC set here lol, but the theme is good enough. I’ve found this one to be more useful than the copier version, but I do need to use the copier more to really know. Either way both are far better as the game gets bigger and bigger.
2. Davy Jones 
3. Captain Davy Jones 
One of the most unique and confusing crew in the game, but not usually worth using when you can get better crew for less or equivalent points.

Barbossa
1. Captain Barbossa 
2. Cursed Captain Barbossa 

World hater vs. Fear is really no contest even when Fear is priced appropriately at 2 points.

Will Turner
1. Will Turner 
I’m not a huge user of either secondary ability, but I much prefer the option to S-board for the extra point compared to…
2. Will Turner 
… one of the most overrated abilities in the game, and one that almost never proves decisive in actual games. I can’t remember the last time this ability actually turned a boarding party, let alone influenced the end result of a game.

Ms. Swann
1. Captain Elizabeth Swann 
2. Elizabeth Swann 

This is a tossup and it depends completely on the build total. Rerolls are easy enough to come by in campaign games, but the AA (Admiral’s Action) ability is VERY good the longer the game goes and the higher the build total is. Of course, in most games people play (aka 60 points and below), reroll wins easily.

James Norrington
1. Admiral James Norrington 
2. Norrington 

THE KRAKEN!!
1. The Kraken 
2. Kray-kin 
3. Beastie 
4. A Fearsome Creature 

Kind of a tossup between the two pairs – can you afford the more expensive/better one, or do you need those points elsewhere to complete your fleet.

Post your disagreements, opinions, and your own rankings! 

Original thread at Miniature Trading