500 Point English Fleet

Posted on January 31, 2019January 31, 2019 by Ben

Originally published to Miniature Trading on August 22nd, 2012

500 Point English Fleet

I’ve played two regular (gold and guns) 500 point games, and one 500 point deathmatch game. This is the second of the two regular 500 point fleets that I created for the English.

I only used stuff from my collection, of course, so some ships are empty since I ran out of crew. Also, I allowed the use of duplicates so that there would be more ships capable of making a difference (rather than being devoid of crew). I also ignored the Limit keyword.

The site only allows for 8 separate ships (this fleet has 31), so I put the 7 ships with the most named crew on them in the first 7 spots, then stuffed everything else in the #8 spot. It rearranges all of the pieces, however, so the crew and ships aren’t together in the appropriate allocations. To sort that out, the ships in section #8 have the following crew (the rest are empty):

Aberdeen Baron-First Mate Ismail and helmsman
HMS Dover-MI Hermione Gold and explorer
Cygnet-Thomas Gunn the Younger and firepot specialist
HMS Hyena-ROTF Hermione Gold and explorer
HMS Ark Royal-captain and cannoneer
HMS Bolingbroke-captain and firepot specialist
HMS Nautilus-captain
HMS Auckland-captain
HMS Alexander-explorer
HMS Lady Provost-explorer and oarsman
HMS Europa-Commander Temple
HMS Caradoc-Sir Meyer Hampstead
HMS King Edward-explorer
HMS Victor-captain and cannoneer

With this fleet, I won a five player 500 point game. The following battle report details parts of the game and should give at least some idea of how the fleet would be used in a game. Also, you can infer (from crew/ship abilities and stats) what ships would be fighting and what ships would be running treasure.

quote:

Today (2/18/12) I set everything up for a 500 point game, the second I will have played. I created the fleets on paper earlier in the week.

Once again, there will be five 500 point fleets, with four of the five having +5 0 point Limit Ransom crew, for a grand total of 2520 points on the floor!

Things have changed in my Pirates CSG landscape, so the fleets will be composed of slightly different factions than last time. The English, Spanish, and Pirates will all be fighting individually. The French, however, are now allied with the Americans, as well as the Corsairs (this alliance will be referred to as the French Americans). The Cursed have teamed up with the Mercenaries (I will call them the Merccursed). The Merccursed are the only fleet not playing to win, as they will be trying to create chaos for the opposing fleets.

I am not using duplicate ships this time (other than two of the Death’s Anchor flotillas), but I am using some duplicate named crew. However, most of the duplicate crew used will be variations of crew with the same name (ex: the Pirates are using the SM Calico Cat, as well as the OE and ROTF versions, and the English will be using the MI Hermione Gold and the ROTF version, among others). The English are using 31 ships total, the Spanish 36, the French Americans 33, the Pirates 36, and the Merccursed 29 (including flotillas and sea monsters), for a grand total of 165 !

20 islands will be used, with four treasure coins per island, for 60 total coins (15 wild islands + 5 home islands), of which 16 are unique treasures. 14 pieces of terrain have been placed, with six more on standby for the Lost UT.

The nations have chosen their home islands, from east to west: Pirates, French Americans, Merccursed, Spanish, English. The order of turns will be: English, Spanish, French Americans, Pirates, Merccursed. Hopefully it will be as exciting and close-fought as the last 500 point game!

2/19: First seven turns: The game commenced, and the fleets were off! The HMS Lady Provost encountered the UT Natives, freezing her for two turns, while the HMS Alexander uncovered the UT Missionary, marking a bad start for the English.

The Spanish got into a fight with the Cursed which is just now ending. They managed to sink the Executioner by canceling ROTF Fantasma’s Eternal keyword, and now they have acquired the Eye of Insanity, which they transferred to El Acorazado, who is also decked out with crew. The Eye lets her substitute one of her crew for a Cursed crew in play, and they naturally picked OE Davy Jones’ guaranteed extra action. Their Toro and San Jose have been sunk, among others, but they have been doing okay.

The French have gotten some treasure with La Vengeance, the Griffin, and the Viper’s Bite (the latter are still on their way home, and in big trouble from the Pirates and English respectively). The Conquerant, Saber, Possession, and Soleil Royal have all been sunk in two separate actions against the Pirates, while the French were able to eliminate the loaded Harbinger, and the dangerous Raninoidea crab. Those same Pirates have had bad luck and bad timing, and almost half of their fleet was annihilated in one turn by the English.

The English used the “round earth” rules to go to the other side of the sea and try to get to two far-off islands, but things became much more complicated than that. The English ended up having to send some of their best gunships over to take care of the Pirates, heading for the same islands, and took out 24 masts in one turn of furious broadsides (mostly the work of the HMS Grand Temple, HMS Titan, Bretwalda, Ark Royal, and Apollo). Both islands were explored by the English, and they built Fort Brompton on the closer one, but the fort was quickly destroyed by the Revenant (soon thereafter sunk by the Lord Walpole), but then rebuilt. The Aberdeen Baron was captured after exploring the farther island by the Viper’s Bite, after having been dismasted by Le Gaule, who consequently was almost dismasted by a collection of English ships. As of now, the Baron is sitting derelict with one treasure coin, the dismasted Viper’s Bite is crawling home at S speed, and the Gaule is doomed (La Dijon was sunk in this action as well). The English appear to be in complete control in this northeast area of the sea. They have captured three Pirate ships, the Raven (now at her new HI repairing), Longshanks, and Darkhawk II (both of which are being towed home with treasure on board).

The Merccursed have been creating chaos in the middle of the sea, harassing the two nearest fleets, those of the Spanish and the French Americans. The Spanish have successfully beaten them back, but the French Americans didn’t fare so well. Their problem was the fact that most of the French gunships (the bulk of their fighting ships) were off fighting the Pirates to the east, while the Merccursed used teamwork to attack the three American five masters, the Enterprise, Blackwatch, and Constitution (OE). They weakened the Enterprise with a host of ships, notably the Forward equipped with a Firepot Specialist and Musketeer, then took out her Eternal crew, Ralph David, with the crew-killing boarding effect of the Jikininki. Then the Blackwatch appeared, but she was handled by the same combination of ships (less the Forward who the Blackwatch sunk). Christian Fiore’s cancelling ability was utilized to cancel Gus Schultz (Eternal) at just the right time, and then the sea monster Slarg Gubbit finished her off. Too bad the Merccursed won’t have any treasure, so they won’t win.

Dozens of other ships were damaged and sunk today; too many to remember. These were just the highlights. The last treasure coin is on an island to the west, protected by the Wolves UT. La Ebro heads there, but there is a large battle looming in that area, in the southwest corner, between the English and the Spanish. The English have more captain crew, but the Spanish have El Acorazado and possibly more ships that are fit for battle. These appear to be the strongest factions at this point, but the Pirates and French Americans are still in the running.

2/20: Another five or six turns have been completed, and the game will probably be finished up tomorrow. The English and the Spanish fought in the southwest corner, with the Spanish appearing to have somewhat won
. Too bad my English have way more treasure than them!

Some of the English ships have gone to the east using the round earth rule and are just now stealing treasure from the HI of the Pirates. HMS Bath and HMS Lady Provost are taking gold, although it may not even be necessary for the English to win, as I appear to have the most gold of any faction, with some on my HI and more in Fort Brompton. The Viper’s Bite, Longshanks, and Darkhawk II have all been captured by the English, who have been the dominant force of late, as they also recaptured the Aberdeen Baron and sunk Le Gaule. The Acorazado was sunk by a team of English ships, and La Ebro (with Olano’s Marine keyword) has eliminated Wolves, allowing the last treasure to be loaded.

The treasure still has to be counted, but the other four fleets have all but conceded that the English have the most treasure. The Merccursed have repaired and regrouped, but appear to be too late to make any real late-game noise, although they have just recently attacked the French Americans, who were also repairing (from skirmishes against the Pirates). Le Bonaparte and Le Lache de Calvados, both immune to enemies within S, have frustrated the English around the Pirates’ HI, forcing the English to try to ram them, which has not worked. Meanwhile, the Pirates have been officially eliminated, with some of their ships captured by the English, sunk by the French Americans and the English, and scuttled to escape capture. The Coral was the last Pirate ship floating, but now they have nothing, which is important because the English have a free shot at their HI, which has the most treasure other than the HI of the English.

The Spanish fought the English in the hopes of defeating them, but they suffered three serious blows in their efforts today: the Divine Dragon sunk El Villalobos, who was carrying 11 gold in the form of two coins, having been transferred to her by the derelict San Pedro. Also, the English captured the Joya del Sol, who had more valuable treasure on her (probably about nine gold), giving them even more treasure. As if this wasn’t enough, both cancelers (Nemesio Diaz) were eliminated, going down on board the Santa Teresa and the Asesino de la Nave.

With the Pirates unable to defend their dwindling supply of gold, the French Americans losing most of their useful ships and now fighting the Merccursed, and the Spanish without a large amount of gold, the English appear to have won, though hopefully I am not speaking too soon.

HMS King Edward is positioned to take the last pieces of treasure, and the game shall end soon!

2/21: The game was finished up today; it didn’t take as long as the other 500 point game. I believe it took only 13 or 14 turns. The King Edward was sunk by a combination of three Spanish ships, ending the game, with the Spanish with nine ships remaining, and the English with 14. The French Americans had some ships, and were in the process of a battle against the Merccursed. This was interrupted when ‘all available gold had been unloaded to home islands’. The final treasure count:
1. English: 81 gold
2. Pirates: 25
3. French Americans: 21
4. Spanish: 0
5. Merccursed: 0 (I put them behind the Spanish because they never had a single coin at any point during the game).

A blowout victory for the English! The game wasn’t as thrilling as the last 500 point game, but it was fun to see the English play a near-perfect game.

I don’t expect anybody to vote or comment on this , since it is so much larger than what most players are used to.

Section: Ship #1 (5 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Administrator Scott Bratley	PofCC	046B	Crew	C
1	x	HMS Titan	PofSMU	041	Ship	R
1	x	Helmsman	PofSM	EC-HM	Crew	C
1	x	Shipwright	PofSM	EC-SW	Crew	C
1	x	Thomas Gunn	F&S	026	Crew	R

Section: Ship #2 (4 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Admiral Morgan	PofSM	EC-001	Crew	R
1	x	Captain	PofSM	EC-CA	Crew	U
1	x	HMS Victoria	PatOE	045	Ship	R
1	x	Helmsman	PofSM	EC-HM	Crew	C

Section: Ship #3 (3 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Captain	PofSM	EC-CA	Crew	U
1	x	Grape Shot	F&S	107	Equipment	U
1	x	HMS Apollo	RotF	002	Ship	R

Section: Ship #4 (4 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Calico Cat	PatOE	038	Crew	R
1	x	Griffin	PatOE	041	Crew	C
1	x	HMS Grand Temple	PatOE	044	Ship	R
1	x	Helmsman	PofSM	EC-HM	Crew	C

Section: Ship #5 (5 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Fire Shot	F&S	057A	Equipment	U
1	x	HMS Leicester	PofSM	ES-005	Ship	U
1	x	Helmsman	PofSM	EC-HM	Crew	C
1	x	Hermione Gold	PofMI	056	Crew	R
1	x	Sir Christopher Myngs	PofSMU	058	Crew	R

Section: Ship #6 (4 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Admiral Robert Blake	PofBCU	055	Crew	R
1	x	HMS Bretwalda	PofDJC	050	Ship	U
1	x	Lord Thomas Gunn	PatOE	054	Crew	R
1	x	Shipwright	PofSM	EC-SW	Crew	C

Section: Ship #7 (3 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	HMS Granville	PofBCU	050	Ship	C
1	x	Lieutenant Henry Ducie Chads	PofMI	043B	Crew	C
1	x	The Gentleman	PofMI	042B	Crew	C

Section: Ship #8 (46 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Aberdeen Baron	RotF	003	Ship	R
2	x	Cannoneer	PofSM	EC-CO	Crew	U
5	x	Captain	PofSM	EC-CA	Crew	U
1	x	Commander Temple	PofSM	EC-012	Crew	C
1	x	Cygnet	F&S	035	Ship	U
5	x	Explorer	PofSM	EC-EX	Crew	C
2	x	Firepot Specialist	PofR	039	Crew	U
1	x	First Mate Ismail	PofBCU	059	Crew	C
1	x	HMS Alexander	PofCC	040	Ship	C
1	x	HMS Ark Royal	F&S	071	Ship	C
1	x	HMS Auckland	PofMI	052	Ship	C
1	x	HMS Bath	PofDJC	056	Ship	C
1	x	HMS Bolingbroke	PofSM	ES-010	Ship	U
1	x	HMS Caradoc	PofDJC	051	Ship	U
1	x	HMS Dover	PofSM	ES-009	Ship	U
1	x	HMS Empress of India	PofMI	049	Ship	U
1	x	HMS Europa	PofSM	ES-004	Ship	R
1	x	HMS Frolic	PofRU	UL032	Ship	C
1	x	HMS Goliath	PofCC	032	Ship	R
1	x	HMS Half Moon	PofDJC	057	Ship	C
1	x	HMS Hyena	DPotC	053	Ship	C
1	x	HMS King Edward	PofSM	ES-007	Ship	U
1	x	HMS Lady Provost	PofCC	041	Ship	C
1	x	HMS Lord Walpole	PofSM	ES-016	Ship	C
1	x	HMS Nautilus	PofRU	UL028	Ship	C
1	x	HMS Plantagenet	PofSMU	055	Ship	C
1	x	HMS Sea Phoenix	PatOE	052	Ship	C
1	x	HMS Starbuck	PofDJC	058	Ship	R
1	x	HMS Victor	DPotC	054	Ship	C
1	x	Helmsman	PofSM	EC-HM	Crew	C
1	x	Hermione Gold	RotF	059	Crew	C
1	x	Hermione Gold	PofMI	056	Crew	R
1	x	Oarsman	PofSM	EC-OA	Crew	C
1	x	Sea Tiger	PatOE	168	Ship	SE
1	x	Sir Meyer Hampstead	PatOE	055	Crew	C
1	x	Thomas Gunn the Younger	PofSMU	064	Crew	C

Section: Events (1 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	False Treasure	PofSCS	070B	Event	C

Section: Forts (1 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Fort Brompton	PofCC	047	Fort	C

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RtSS Fleet Challenge – Cursed

Posted on January 31, 2019January 31, 2019 by Ben

Originally published to Miniature Trading on July 25th, 2012

RtSS Fleet Challenge – Cursed

This is my second entry for woelf’s RtSS Fleet Challenge. This is a Cursed fleet that uses two exciting new Cursed ships, and an existing one for support. The strategy is a balance between running gold with the treasure runner and using the ability of Namazu as much as possible.

Leviathan represents Namazu (here is the link to the original post):
Namazu
RtSS-003, Rare
Cursed
Points: 15
Masts: 4 (Sea Serpent)
Cargo: 2
Move: S
Cannons: 3S-3S-3S-3S
Ability: Sea Monster. Give this sea monster a shoot action. A wave S wide and 2L long leaves the sea monster in one direction. Up to 2 masts of every ship in the path of the wave are eliminated. Eliminate one of this sea monster’s masts.

Flavor: Old sailors shiver at the mention of Namazu. Few who have survived its tidal attacks can return to the sea, so paralyzing are the nightmares of the memory.

She will get close to the enemy ships and blast them with her super-duper-wondrous-bizarro thing. Yeah, quite a funky ability. But that’s the Cursed for you!

The second ship, the Sskwa’aluk (what?!), is represented by the Sea Monkey (here is the original post):
Sskwa’aluk
RtSS-047
Cursed
Points: 13
Masts: 3 (Windcatcher)
Cargo: 5
Move: L+S
Cannons: 5L-5L-5L
Ability: Wind Catcher. On the turn this ship is pinned, eliminate one crew and one mast from the rammed ship.

Flavor: Crewed entirely by Trogs, this foul vessel actually carries a coral nest beneath her hull. What lives within the nest is known only to the Trogs—and the captives who are lowered into the hull as food.

This ship is your main treasure runner. With an unheard-of combination (at least for the Cursed) of speed (L+S), big cargo hold (5), and bad guns (fitting for a treasure runner), this new Windcatcher can run gold like no other Cursed ship. She has room for an island’s worth of gold, and she has that nasty ability that will make opponents think twice before attacking her.

The third and final ship is not from RtSS, but an LE from F&S, the Lizard’s Sting. With the Hag of Tortuga on board, she will tag along with Namazu to give a needed speed boost. I used the extra point to put an oarsman on, and he will either protect the Hag, or let the Sting keep moving if her one mast is eliminated. This is made a bit more difficult due to her supreme ability. With two cargo spaces left over, she can also help the Sskwa’aluk run treasure.

I added the UT Seastar, represented by Trees (the original post), to incorporate a UT from RtSS. Hopefully one of my ships can pick it up and use it effectively. If the Lizard’s Sting managed to grab it, her already-awesome ability would become even more annoying to the enemy.

Seastar
RtSS-032, Rare
Unique Treasure
Values: 6,5,4,3,3,2,2,1,1
Ability: Load this treasure face down. When revealed, once per turn as a free action roll a d6. On a result of 5 or 6, repair one mast on this ship.

I think this is a decent enough fleet, at least for the Cursed. It’s a bit weak in almost every area, but the Cursed don’t really excel at very much. It’s a bit strange for the Cursed, as well-a true treasure runner backed by a sea serpent that might not fire her guns at all. If only we could combine this fleet with my other fleet for this challenge. Then you could use the English Native Canoes and their repair ability to keep up a steady stream of tidal wave attacks!

Thanks for reading, comment and vote! I may add a UT or two, but I’m not sure just yet. Thanks for woelf for running the RtSS Fleet Challenge – this was a very fun fleet to create!

Section: Ship #1 (1 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Namazu			Ship	R

Section: Ship #2 (2 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Explorer	RotF	081	Crew	C
1	x	Sskwa’aluk

Section: Ship #3 (3 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Hag of Tortuga	RotF	018	Crew	R
1	x	Lizard’s Sting	F&S	213	Ship	LE
1	x	Oarsman	F&S	123	Crew	C

Section: Unique Treasures (1 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Trees	PofCC	096	Unique Treasure	R

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RtSS Fleet Challenge – English

Posted on January 30, 2019January 30, 2019 by Ben

Originally published to Miniature Trading on July 14th, 2012

RtSS Fleet Challenge – English

This is my entry for woelf’s Fleet Challenge of Return to Savage Shores (RtSS).

The fleet has 13 masts for just 45 points, and I tried to have all of the actual ship game pieces come from RtSS. The fleet has your standard gunship, a treasure runner/raider that will take advantage of opportunities when they arise, and the new English set of Native Canoes with their funky ability. I wanted to use HMS Goodfellow, but she needs a helmsman, while the canoes are just the right amount of points.

The Fleet

HMS Halcyon + Administrator Scott Bratley, captain, helmsman
HMS Halcyon
RtSS-015, Uncommon
English
Points: 11
Masts: 4
Cargo: 4
Move: S+S
Cannons: 2S-2L-2L-2S
Ability: When this ship sinks another ship, you can repair one of this ship’s masts.

HMS London, from CC, will be used in place of HMS Halcyon. Almost the same ship, the Halcyon simply has a more practical ability that suits her stats better. She is equipped with the customary captain and helmsman, as well as Bratley, to add 5 points to the build, which brings it to the perfect amount. She will either take out the enemies’ gunship(s) and/or treasure runners. The Halcyon is to be used as a standard gunship, and her repairing ability may be augmented by some native canoes that tag along for the ride.

Elthelfleda + Tribal Chieftain, explorer
Elthelfleda
RtSS-009, Rare
English
Points: 16
Masts: 4 (Galley)
Cargo: 4
Move: S+L
Cannons: 3S-4L-3S-4L
Ability: Galley. This ship can move and shoot using the same move action. This ship gets +1 to her boarding rolls. She gets +2 instead if her opponent is a sea monster.

This is the ship that HMS Gallows represents, being the only 4 masted English galley other than the Alexandria. With a built-in captain ability and nice S+L speed, she is ready to go right out of the pack. Her high point cost and combative abilities may make her seem like a pure combat ship, but since you don’t need a captain and helmsman to crew her, I have put an explorer on her to be the main treasure runner. She also will have the chieftain on board.

However, she will see much more use than that. She has room for two treasures, but you’d be crazy to ignore the abilities. She will be a very tough opponent for any treasure runners that sail to the same island as her, since she can blast them with her move-and-shoot, and possibly ram and board as well. The ram won’t do any additional damage, but it isn’t necessary, either, with the Galley keyword. Also, she could be used to chase down any enemy treasure runners and take their gold by shooting at them and boarding them.

Tribal Chieftain & Native Canoes
RtSS-017
England
Points: 12
Masts: X (Canoes)
Cargo: 1
Move: L+S
Cannons: 3S
Ability: Native Canoe. Give this ship a move action but do not move her. Instead, roll a d6. On a result of 5 or 6, you may repair one mast on ships within S of any native canoes.

Represented by the Aberdeen Baron since she has five masts and costs 12 points, this turns the fleet from somewhat interesting into something that hasn’t been done before. That potentially ‘game-breaking’ ability that is unique to this game piece can be used multiple times throughout the game, by each and every canoe.

Here is the discussion that details some of their pros and cons, and their rules questions. There you can see many of their potential uses, and in this fleet they could help out the two main ships quite a lot. They could follow them around and give them repairs when needed, and help run treasure. HMS Halcyon could be turned into a nightmare of a gunship for your opponents, with endless stamina. The Elthelfleda could keep up a steady stream of successful boarding actions against enemy ships with her eliminated masts sprouting back up every turn. I am not familiar with Native Canoes (especially not this set), so if I missed anything important, please point it out.

Unfortunately, I don’t own a single 4 masted galley or any canoes, so it would be quite difficult to try this fleet out in a game by using proxies. I would if I could. That said, however, I think this fleet would do reasonably well between its outstanding durability (13 masts and possibly a ton of repairs) and good speed.

Thanks for reading-comment and vote!

Edit-I have since acquired the Alexandria and the Spanish native canoes, so playtesting this fleet is not out of the question anymore… we’ll see how things go.

October 19, 2016

This fleet is participating in VASSAL Tournament #2!
After losing in the first round this fleet is now 0-2. Of course, there’s not much shame in losing to a UPS fleet.

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40 Point Spanish – Mathias01 Fleet Challenge

Posted on January 30, 2019January 30, 2019 by Ben

Originally published to Miniature Trading on May 6th, 2012

40 Point Spanish – Mathias01 Fleet Challenge

This fleet is designed for a regular 40 point game-a combination of fighting and gold-running. I almost made a simple 4-ship Corsair fleet built specially for gold-running, but I decided it was too simple. I have chosen Spanish Main as the set (it is my favourite) and the Spanish are the faction.

The Ships

The first ship is La Resolucion, and she is equipped with the necessary captain and helmsman, because she is the primary ‘gunship’, though that is not all she will do. The Spanish were lucky enough to be the first faction to receive a canceller, Nemesio Diaz, and he is aboard the Spanish ship. La Resolucion will go around harassing enemy treasure runners, and, if possible, steal the highest gold value with her ability by utilizing the UT Shipping Charts.

La Resolucion is set up so that she can move, shoot (weakening the enemy ship), ram, and then steal. If all goes well, she will leave the enemy gold runner derelict or sunk as she makes off with her best treasure coin. Additionally she could tow the ship home at only a small reduction in speed. When an enemy gunship gets too close or tries to attack La Resolucion, Diaz will cancel the opponents’ captain and therefore La Resolucion will be able to strike first.

The second ship is the main treasure runner, the Cazador del Pirata. She has four crew aboard, but still has five cargo spaces available, so she will take the best treasures from two different islands. The helmsman and explorer are predictable, but she also has Master Bianco aboard to help out in the gold department. The oarsman is along to protect her more valuable crew and possibly get her home in an emergency (although he could be placed on La Resolucion to protect her crew instead). Her decent durability (at least for a treasure runner), respectable guns, and pirate-hating ability may make opponents think twice about going after her. Indeed, if you are playing the pirates, she could be used as a hybrid, since she would effectively have nice 2L guns against them.

UT’s and Potential Problems

Shipping Charts has been explained; it fits nicely into the contest (since it’s from SM) and fleet as it will assist La Resolucion in her quest to find and acquire the decisive treasure coin. Homemade Flag is in there to spice things up, and make La Resolucion harder to hit by enemy gunships (the idea was that the UT would make enemy gunships have to come within S of her, therefore inducing the cancellation).

Problems with this fleet include a relatively weak core, since the canceller is the only thing that stands in the way of a big, fast gunship swooping in and severely damaging/sinking both ships. A fellow canceller would of course be problematic as well, but this fleet has some nice parts. A lack of speed would be exposed as well, however.
Once I get my ships out again I will be able to test this fleet against others, since I have all of the pieces except for Homemade Flag. Thanks for reading and voting!

Section: Ship #1 (4 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Captain	PofSM	SC-CA	Crew	U
1	x	Helmsman	PofSM	SC-HM	Crew	U
1	x	La Resolucion	PofSMU	077	Ship	U
1	x	Nemesio Diaz	PofSMU	094	Crew	C

Section: Ship #2 (5 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Cazador del Pirata	PofSMU	076	Ship	U
1	x	Explorer	PofSM	SC-EX	Crew	C
1	x	Helmsman	PofSM	SC-HM	Crew	U
1	x	Master Bianco	PofSMU	088	Crew	C
1	x	Oarsman	PofSM	SC-OA	Crew	C

Section: Unique Treasures (2 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Homemade Flag	PofSMU	100	Unique Treasure	R
1	x	Shipping Charts	PofSMU	097	Unique Treasure	R

40 Point Spanish - Mathias01 Fleet Challenge

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Challenge of Snails: Broadside Heaven

Posted on January 29, 2019January 29, 2019 by Ben

Originally published to Miniature Trading on September 9th, 2011

CoS: Broadside Heaven

This is for Nemo’s Challenge of Snails fleet contest.
My favourite ship of all time is the HMS Lord Algernon, and although not usually very practical, this is a good chance for me to include her. The defensive ability helps the Algernon early on, while the Galapagos’ ability is possibly even more important, giving her a distinct advantage in this particular contest (at least until she gets hit).

The Lord Algernon will be helped by the SAT, with a better chance of success due to Doone. She can be the escort, or sink any enemy ships that have a hold full of gold.

The Galapagos goes out at S+L and takes the best two treasure from two islands.

I originally had both as gunships, but saw a decent opportunity (with Ismail) to have a balance. The biggest vulnerability is when the Galapagos gets hit. Then my gold-running strategy dies quickly. As usual, crew-killers also pose a threat. The Algernon especially can’t afford to lose any crew.

Leave your comments and votes below on this Challenge of Snails entry!

Section: Ship #1 (4 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Captain	PofSM	EC-CA	Crew	U
1	x	Countess Diana Doone	PofBC	208	Crew	PR
1	x	HMS Lord Algernon	PofSMU	043	Ship	R
1	x	Sir Christopher Myngs	PofSMU	058	Crew	R

Section: Ship #2 (3 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Explorer	PofSM	EC-EX	Crew	C
1	x	First Mate Ismail	PofBC	059	Crew	C
1	x	HMS Galapagos	PofSCS	048	Ship	U

Fleet page at Miniature Trading

HMS Grand Temple – One of the All-Time Great Fleets

Posted on January 29, 2019January 29, 2019 by Ben

HMS Grand Temple Fleet

Originally published to Miniature Trading on August 21st, 2011

In my 500 point game and my recent cumulative game (treasure is spent along the way), my HMS Grand Temple (acquired in the summer of 2011) was atrocious in play, being easily sunk in both games without barely touching my opponent. I was very disappointed with the performances, but since she has great stats and people on here rave about her like she’s a saint, I decided to give her one more chance to prove her greatness. And has she proved me wrong so far!

The main reason I am posting this fleet is because it has been very successful. 29-13, as of 2/17/2017 (and 15-0 before that). This fleet was designed with just fighting in mind, so it is safe to call it a deathmatch fleet. The help she has consists of the HMS London with captain and helmsman, who are let onboard by Administrator Scott Bratley (the backup ship used to be HMS Meresman). The Temple is decked out with OE Calico Cat and OE Lord Thomas Gunn, as well as a helmsman.

The strategy is obvious and fun, but it has worked so far. I stay out of range of all enemy gunships and wait for an extra action from Cat. This is speeded up quite a lot by Gunn, who provides reroll (2/3 EA’s instead of 1/3), and the necessary captain ability. Cat also gives me world-hater, so that two of my guns (S-range) hit 4/6 times, and the L-range guns hit 5/6 times (twos hit ). The Temple waits till the enemies are close enough, then moves 6S suddenly and swoops in and is able to dismast almost any ship (Harbinger was sunk in one broadside) unlucky enough to be there.

The London is the backup (now that I have acquired her), with 4 guns that hit 2/3 of the time. Before I strike, I position her to somewhat block the lines of fire to the Temple.

The first fleet that was mauled was a fleet with Enterprise, Recreant, and Ladron (with captains, +5 crew). The second fleet, with the Longshanks, Recreant, and Silverback, fell even quicker. Then I destroyed a fleet with the SM Harbinger and SM Sea Nymph. The fourth fleet I don’t remember what ships I used. The last fleet, a swarm fleet with 10 ships, was blown out of the water (I could take out 3-4 ships per turn). All these fleets faced the HMS Grand Temple fleet in a series of three 40 point deathmatches, and all lost. I may not test this fleet again soon, so she goes on hiatus with an undefeated 15-0 record.

Edit: Just added a few nasty UT’s if I run this fleet in a regular game (not deathmatch).

Edit: Fleet’s record is now 18-6, read comment below.

Edit: Switched out Griffin for Lord Thomas Gunn, and made the helmsman English, so a canceler wouldn’t be able to cancel all three crew at once by cancelling the Temple’s ship ability.

Edit (1/6/13): Switched out HMS Meresman for the London, thanks to the suggestion by relvar99. This dramatically improves the potential of the backup ship to aid the Temple, as the firepower more than doubles with twice the quantity (4 guns vs. 2) and added quality (rank-2’s with 2 being L-range). I will test this improved version of the fleet, possibly next month.

Edit (2/2/13): Another series of three games had this fleet facing an all-treasure fleet consisting of the Tiger’s Eye, La Dijon, Le Bon Marin, Le Coeur du Lion, Coral, and Rover. It was no contest, with the GT fleet winning all three times in dominating fashion.

The final three games pitted the GT fleet against the Pirate fleet with the Darkhawk II, Raven, and Bonnie Liz. This fleet was harder for the Grand Temple and the London to defeat, but the English still won all three games. In addition, there was no English bias involved, as I even made the English HI extra-far-away from the rest of the islands for the last game, to give the Pirates a head start running gold.

This brings the record of this fleet to 24-6, and it appears that the GT fleet is only to be defeated by fleets utilizing defensive abilities or cancellers .

Edit (2/3/13): Today three games were played: 40 point deathmatches between the HMS Grand Temple fleet and the Acorazado fleet. It was the first time the GT fleet faced the Acorazado fleet with the London instead of the Meresman, so I expected the English to do better than before. They didn’t. El Acorazado won all three games, and never lost more than two masts in any one game. Now this fleet is 24-9.

Edit (2/20/13): This fleet beat Norvegia in all three games. The GT was able to crush the treasure runners before they got back home. The devastating UT’s helped a bunch, but the English still won the third game despite not using the UT’s. The fleet’s record is now 27-9.

Edit (1/20/17): After losing in the second round in VASSAL Tournament #2, this fleet’s record is now 29-13 for a .690 winning percentage. At 42 games it’s my most-tested fleet, and not many fleets out there have been put to the test like this one has.

Leave your comments and votes below!

Section: Ship #1 (4 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Calico Cat	PatOE	038	Crew	R
1	x	HMS Grand Temple	PatOE	044	Ship	R
1	x	Helmsman	PofSMU	110	Crew	C
1	x	Lord Thomas Gunn	PatOE	054	Crew	R

Section: Ship #2 (4 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Administrator Scott Bratley	PofCC	046B	Crew	C
1	x	Captain	PofSM	EC-CA	Crew	U
1	x	HMS London	PofCC	034	Ship	U
1	x	Helmsman	PofSM	EC-HM	Crew	C

Section: Unique Treasures (5 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Maps of Hades	PofDJC	103	Unique Treasure	R
1	x	Missionary	PofRU	UL109	Unique Treasure	R
1	x	Monkey’s Paw	PofDJC	101	Unique Treasure	R
1	x	Natives	PofRU	UL106	Unique Treasure	R
1	x	Wolves	PofBCU	103	Unique Treasure	R

Fleet page at Miniature Trading

Page 2 of the comments

Extra Action Gold Runners – One of My Classic Fleets

Posted on January 28, 2019January 28, 2019 by Ben

Extra Action Gold Runners

Originally published to Miniature Trading on August 21st, 2011

I wanted to create a 40-point standard fleet using at least two fast ships with good cargo holds that would utilize the same-action twice/extra action capability. Here it is.

12/19/14: I’ve edited this fleet to make it better. Now both crew are extra action crew rather than SAT crew because it’s harder to use SAT crew with gold runners.

The fastest ship is the Pirate ship Star of Siam (originally the Raven), and she has Gallows on board for the possibility of moving 6S (S+S+S+S+S+S) per turn, and still has three cargo hold left to take treasure from the island that is farthest away. The oarsman is insurance for the potentiality of becoming derelict or losing a boarding party.

The second ship is the Spanish ship (it is a mixed fleet) La Joya Del Sol, and she is equipped with a helmsman, Capitan Alarico Castro from BC, Vaccaro to help him with the EA, and an explorer.

These are the main ships, and the other is for support.

L’Intrepide was the original support ship for this fleet with a captain and Cissey, but when I decided to use Vaccaro instead of Cissey I needed to cut costs. I wanted to add the Algeciras with Luis Zuan, but since Zuan is hostile to Pirates I had to use a regular captain. In this way I switched out the Raven for the Star of Siam in order to save two points, which let me put a captain on the Algeciras and add Raft back in.

I added UT’s that hopefully I will discover first because my ships are so fast. I also included Raft to fill in the last point and try to provide my runners with any emergency assistance.

When I finished this, I was quite satisfied because I didn’t have to think too hard about how to configure it. Now for the problems that I quickly realized:

1. Counting on the 5-6 die roll at least once in the game isn’t good, I might not get any help from those two.

2. Not enough firepower/no true gunship. The Star of Siam could easily be sunk/dismasted, and if captured with gold on her, I could easily lose the game. The Joya Del Sol is more durable, with four masts, and since she will be carrying the most treasure, this could be very important. This is good, but she can’t really fight back, as she has no captain and all her cannons are rank-4.

3. Bad UT’s. Something like Wolves/Missionary would really throw me for a loop. That would wreck my gameplan while allowing my opponent enough time to sink my runners.

4. All but one ship only takes two hits to be dismasted. A couple of well-placed broadsides from any enemy gunship could destroy my strategy and I would lose. This is where I bank on the EA-bolstered speed of my two runners.

5. The important runners, the Star of Siam and Joya, don’t have escorts. They will be all alone and will have to rely on their speed/Extra Action capability to evade enemy gunships(not easy in enemy territory), mostly because the Algeciras is not designed to keep up with them.

It’s unlikely, but in a best case scenario I can take almost all the treasure in the game while using the L’Intrepide to occupy the gunships while my runners get 5’s and 6’s to zoom to the islands and get back to my HI, ending the game in the blink of an eye!

Edit (12/23/14): This fleet was involved in a game!

Check out the Battle Reports thread.

The final two games have been played: Battle Report

After this series the fleet is now 1-2.

Another series was played: Battle Report

After this series this fleet is now 1-5.

Edit (9/10/2016): This fleet is participating in VASSAL Tournament #1!

Edit (6/1/2017): After winning a 12 fleet game and participating in both T1 and T2, this fleet’s overall record (counting the 4-4 record before it was modified) is now 9-13 in 22 total games (5-9 as it appears in the fleet below against very tough competition).

Old description:

In terms of options, thought about using the Longshanks with a helmsman (8 points) instead of the Algeciras+captain (6) and du Lion (2). Then I wouldn’t have a single captain, though. I could use the the English ship Plantagenet with Bratley/captain/helmsman while doing away with the Crow and explorer, but I wanted more than three ships. I also could go back to having SM Calico Cat on the Raven, and have the Pirate ship Cutlass with better guns than the L’Intrepide, but I figured that the EA was better than SAT because of the explorer deficit. Options, but I like how it is now. I am testing the fleet very soon, so there may be quick changes made accordingly.

Edit: I tested this fleet against a 40-point fleet with the Asesino de la Nave and the Monte Cristo (both beefed up with crew), and this fleet beat that gunship fleet two out of three times. The fleet was the older version of this fleet, with the Coeur du Lion, Carrion Crow, and Algeciras instead of the L’Intrepide and Dominic Freda. The Joya Del Sol was a target, and not everything worked out. The Algeciras and Le Coeur du Lion were the surprises, the Algeciras doing good damage to the de la Nave, while the Lion’s treasure was the winning treasure once. I noticed that the Sol attracted the most attention, because she had the most gold-carrying capacity, and was captured once and sunk another time. Raven’s SAT wasn’t always relevant, I would roll a 6 but would not need all of the 8S to get to the island. Therefore I think it would be best to use a crew that gives an extra action instead of SAT/helmsman, but I don’t have any crew like this in my collection of pirate crew. The Crow did almost nothing, but the fleet performed admirably, hopefully will run it out again soon.

~~~~~

Like all my fleets, this is by no means a finished product, and I am open to suggestions. I’ve already edited this fleet multiple times and I’m willing to do so again.

Thanks for reading all this stuff…

Comment and vote!

Section: Ship #1 (2 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Sean “Cannonball” Gallows	RotF	020	Crew	R
1	x	Star of Siam	PofR	142	Ship	SR

Section: Ship #2 (5 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Admiral Alarico Castro	PofBC	071	Crew	C
1	x	Duque Marcus Vaccaro	PofBC	072	Crew	C
1	x	Explorer	PofSM	SC-EX	Crew	C
1	x	Helmsman	PofSMU	111	Crew	U
1	x	La Joya del Sol	PofSM	SS-005	Ship	U

Section: Ship #3 (2 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Captain	PofSMU	106	Crew	U
1	x	El Algeciras	PatOE	067	Ship	U

Section: Events (1 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Raft	PofR	037B	Event	C

Section: Unique Treasures (5 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Cross of Coronado	PofR	107	Unique Treasure	R
1	x	Homing Beacon	PatOE	103	Unique Treasure	R
1	x	Screw Engine	PofMI	107	Unique Treasure	R
1	x	Trees	PofCC	096	Unique Treasure	R
1	x	Turtles	F&S	094	Unique Treasure	R

Fleet page at Miniature Trading

Second page of comments

Common Fleet Challenge Entry – A7XfanBen

Posted on January 28, 2019January 28, 2019 by Ben

Published to Miniature Trading on August 8th, 2011

COMMON – A7XFANBEN

This is my first fleet I have submitted, this one for the Common Fleet Challenge. I used Administrator Scott Bratley to push the points to 50. I would say the HMS Victor and HMS Lord Walpole are almost co-flagships (Victor has shipwright already built in ). Strategy is quite obvious, just blast away with at least one gunship while the other helps out/guards the Provost. Somewhat simple, a good fighting fleet, although probably not as good in multiplayer games. Advice is welcome, still learning the complexities/combos of game after on-and-off obsession through the years (I like to do a fantasy scenario type thing where fleets are built as the war progresses, not modeled on the game, but history). Please vote, thank you!

Edit:

Took out the Meresman and FotG and switched some stuff around to add the common HMS Lady Provost. Now vulnerable to Mermaids, but hopefully people would realize this is overused and don’t want it. I put Ducie Chads on the Victor instead because I like the thought of possibly repairing two masts in one turn, and because Gunn’s ability can’t be doubled (although then the Walpole wouldn’t have a helmsman, if both 5 point crew were on her). Still lacking speed, but hopefully I am getting over my “fighting syndrome”, this is because of the books on the history of the Royal Navy I’ve read.

Edit (3/30/2013): My first fleet of the week! Thanks to all who commented and voted. I forgot to add this in at the time, but back in June 2012, this fleet went 1-2 against a Pirate fleet. I put HMS Lord Walpole outside her usual section so that she would appear on the homepage, since she’s my second favourite ship, after only HMS Lord Algernon.

Leave your comments and vote in the section at the bottom of this post!

Section: Ship #1 (4 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Administrator Scott Bratley	PofCC	046B	Crew	C
1	x	HMS Lord Walpole	PofSMU	056	Ship	C
1	x	Helmsman	PofSMU	110	Crew	C
1	x	Thomas Gunn the Younger	PofSMU	064	Crew	C

Section: Ship #2 (3 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Captain	PofCC	129	Crew	C
1	x	HMS Victor	DPotC	054	Ship	C
1	x	Lieutenant Henry Ducie Chads	PofMI	043B	Crew	C

Section: Ship #3 (3 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Explorer	PofCC	106	Crew	C
1	x	HMS Lady Provost	PofCC	041	Ship	C
1	x	Helmsman	PofSMU	110	Crew	C

Fleet page on Miniature Trading

Page 2 of the Comments

The Hourly Campaign Part 15 – The Americans finally get a home island!

Posted on January 28, 2019January 28, 2019 by Ben

English Fleet Review – How Good is the English Faction?

Posted on January 27, 2019January 27, 2019 by Ben

English Fleet Review

My English fleet at the 2014 Fleet Review.

Looking at a faction’s capabilities

In this post, I will examine the strengths and weaknesses of the English fleet. I will analyze the English faction in a concise but detailed manner. Hopefully you’ll learn enough to decide whether you’d like to play the English fleet in games!

Since the time I got into Pirates CSG, the English have been my favorite faction. This is partly due to the large amount of reading I’ve done in regards to the Age of Sail time period. Throughout the Age of Sail, the Royal Navy was a force to be reckoned with, and by the end of the era, Great Britain was easily the most powerful nation on Earth!

Theme – Time to FIGHT!

English cannons win the day against the Spanish!

The English are a brawler. By that I mean that they like to fight, and fight often. I’m glad that Wizkids made the English faction this way, because it’s very accurate to how the Royal Navy performed in real life. By concentrating on combat, an English player can dominate the waves.

The English are known for their gunnery excellence. They have a lot of ships with accurate cannons, both short and long range. Many of their best gunships are also some of the best gunships in the game! Therefore, when constructing an English fleet, you’ll want to include at LEAST one gunship, regardless of the build total. In games with at least 60 points, you’ll probably want 2 or more English warships to wreak havoc on the seas. The linked Rankings pages give you a good idea of the best ships to choose from.

Loaded at the top

Good luck beating a loaded HMS Endeavour!

As mentioned above, the English have an incredible group of gunships that can compete with the best from any other faction. Starting with HMS Titan all the way back in the original set of Spanish Main, the English have had incredibly powerful options from Day 1 in Pirates CSG. This continued from set to set – HMS London in Crimson Coast, HMS Swallow and HMS Oxford in Revolution, HMS Durham in Barbary Coast, not to mention MANY more. Throw in HMS Endeavour, one of the best gunships EVER, and you’ve got a fierce faction ready to go to war!

Augmenting the abundance of firepower are some of the best crew in the game. The English boast numerous extra action givers, from the regular EA (Extra Action) and SAT (Same Action Twice) abilities to both SAC (sacrifice) and AA (Admiral’s Action) crew. On top of that are some crew that give cannon bonuses, including world haters Hermione Gold (Mysterious Islands version) and Admiral Norrington from Pirates of the Caribbean. This is just the tip of the iceberg as they say, because the English have a LOT of good named crew.

Better at the gold game than you think!

HMS Lady Provost, one of the finest 2 masted schooners.

Although the English are one of the best fighting factions in the game, don’t sleep on their gold running prowess! Not nearly the powerhouse that the Pirates, French, or Spanish are in the gold game, the English can still hold their own when it comes to getting treasure. They have a variety of decent options. Some of those can also be used as hybrids (multipurpose ships) with a captain aboard.

Players often discount the English potential for winning games. This is due to their gold options being lacking compared to the other “Big 4” major factions. However, the English are still better at getting gold than most of the minor factions and the Cursed. The exception there being the Barbary Corsairs.

Conclusion – Do you like the English Fleet?

Of course I’m biased – I love the English! However, they truly are one of the most powerful factions in Pirates. Indeed, they’ve won 5 huge games, more than any other faction as of January 2019. I’d love to hear your favorite stories of the English fleet in Pirates CSG games.

Ready to get started playing the English? You can find them in any set, but you might even get lucky with a faction lot!

Happy Playing!

-Admiral A7XfanBen

Pirates with Ben

Monthly Archives: January 2019

500 Point English Fleet