Cat and Mouse

Originally published to Miniature Trading on October 7th, 2012

This is my second entry to lord_denton’s Overthrow of Davy Jones Fleet Challenge.

This is a fog-hopping fleet. Four of the six ships have that unique ability, and I’m also using the Urd for her usefulness in this challenge. The odd ship out is the Sea Monkey, a good ship on her own, but much more intriguing now that she is beefed up.

The overall strategy is one of striking the Flying Dutchman without having to deal with her support ships. The fog-hoppers will lie in wait in the fog, looking for the right opportunity to strike. They will try to attack her from behind, and separate her from her supporters. I was originally going to also include the Needle, but I needed to have some version of Fantasma. Equipment has been emphasized here, as there are no five+ masters or ships with capturing abilities. Instead, there will be a swarm of ships with many guns capable of inflicting different types of damage. Although the build total is listed as 118, it is really the maximum 120 due to the cost of Exploding Shot being 3 points, not 1.

The Sea Monkey is sort of the flagship, with both the captain and reverse captain abilities at her disposal. She is equipped with both Stinkpot and Grape Shot, to make her a mighty three master. Both shot types will ideally be used against Davy Jones, to kill him or prevent him from copying useful abilities and providing extra actions. She is also towing the Silver Coffin, which will provide some extra firepower at long range. That might be useful considering the reverse captain ability, where the Sea Monkey could shoot and move away, giving the Silver Coffin a chance to shoot as well while possibly blocking potential lines of fire for the enemy.

The second ship, the Sea Hag, is a simple four master that will dart in and out of the fog. She carries the vital Fantasma, who I picked based on his essential immortality and how he fits into this fleet, with the Ghost Ship keyword making a fog-hopper truly elusive. Between the Sea Hag’s ability and her ghostliness (plus the fact that the Sea Hag is the most durable ship in the fleet), Fantasma should be relatively safe.

The Mist Walker is one of the most unique sea monsters, between her ability, fast base move, and relative cost-effectiveness. She will zoom out of the fog and pin the Dutchman in place, letting her comrades swarm around the Dutchman before her support arrives. She even has good firepower, making her a potential game-changer.

The Urd can take out any icebergs that get in the way, and she has Stinkpot Shot aboard, to cancel enemy crew. She was also selected for her ability, which is one of the best in the game. If possible, other ships will take out the crew surrounding Davy Jones via equipment and/or boarding, and then the Urd can make a fatal ram and pin attempt to take out Jones. Either way, the Urd is a nice support piece that is surprisingly cheap.

The Hangman’s Joke is a pesky ship with nice guns that has her cargo hold maxed out. She may not look like much, but her combination of good guns and devastating equipment may prove to turn the tide against Davy Jones’ fleet. Just one hit from either one of her equipment pieces can lay waste to an enemy ship’s chance of having an impact on the game.

The final ship, Howl, is another fog-hopper used for support. She is unique only in that she is the only ship moving S+S+S in the fleet, and the only ship with all L-range guns.

Thanks for reading, commenting, and voting, and thanks to lord_denton for running the challenge!

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