CC Roanoke (13) {6+2} [46]
PotC Anamaria (3)
SS Captain Charles Richard (3)
DJC Davy Jones (11)
F&S Sir Rupert Hargreaves (8)
F&S Chain Shot (1)
SM Carbon Charlie (3)
SCS Chang Pao (4)
PotC Jolly Mon (1) {1} [1]
F&S Minuteman (7) {0+1} [13]
SS Cargo Master (5, American)
Rev Banshee’s Cry (3) {4} [17]
CC Jonah (0)
RoF Crimson Angel (3)
F&S Lord Mycron (6)
SS Cargo Master (5, American)
On HI/floating
F&S Stinkpot Shot (1)
F&S Grapple Shot (1)
F&S Chain Shot (1)
This fleet is all about area control. I’d use El Neptuno or USS Atlanta to get even longer range, but just couldn’t get what I needed for 80 points. Roanoke has several 3L cannons. I place Anamaria on here to allow a variety of crew. Captain Charles Richard does double duty with Captain for move and shoot and Ignore Ship Point limit. Now we have two heavy hitters on board.
Davy Jones allows us to copy any ability in play. We’ll primarily be copying Minuteman’s Extended Range. Now we shoot at 2L range.
Next, let’s look at that unassuming Chain Shot. I’m using equipment over specialists because Specialists specifically limit the range to S, and we’re trying to fire at ships 2L away or further (if you apply this strategy to other fleets). There are a couple “floating” Equipment in the fleet just to allow flexibility if you see you are fighting a crew-heavy or treasure-runner heavy fleet. Chain shot will allow you to pin down a ship and keep it from coming in range. Ideally, you’d knock out smaller ships and leave the largest threat for the Chain shot, or you can start on the big threat and if you fail to disable it, then fire the Chain shot.
Equipment have a large drawback of self-destructing on a roll of a 1. A reroller might be beneficial here, but a Cannoneer will not (seperate shoot action if you fail). Rolling a 1 would be catastrophic, so we’re going to take advantage of Sir Rupert Hargreaves, which allows one shoot action to roll 2 dice per cannon instead of 1. Assuming you get two shoot actions, be sure to use Sir Rupert and the Chain Shot (or other equipment) on the same action. Not only do we increase a 2LL cannon (not a typo) from a 67% (4 in 6) to a 89% (~9 in 10) chance of hitting, we also reduce the chance of a 1 on our Shot rolls from a 17% (1 in 6) chance to a 3% (1 in 36) chance. Here’s the key: you’ve prevent a ship from moving, and you are out of its firing range. You can continute to lock down the ship (imagine a 10 mast or El Acorazado, which take a lot to take down) as you chip away at its hull with long range shots.
We finish out with Chang Pao + Carbon Charlie, though LE RoF Griffin is also a great option. The extra bonus to the cannon rolls is great, and Carbon Charlie will be more beneficial in longer games, giving extra cannons that are 2SS cannons. Griffin is the runner up alternate since we have a Captain, and a guaranteed +1 on the off chance we end up with a “world hater mismatch” like Chang Pao vs Jade Rebellion, etc. The extra speed is only good if we drop Minuteman. DJC Devereaux is also a good option instead of Carbon Charlie for extra accuracy. Minuteman can shoot first, and regardless of success, now we can shoot more accurately with Roanoke.
Minuteman is the only American floatilla, and we need a floatilla to copy for extended range with Roanoke. We also take advantage of the hull as a place to stick a Cargo Master, which gives cargo to Roanoke for more crew/equipment. Since Cargo Master doesn’t take up cargo space, and is below the point limit, it can be applied here. You can also put one of the floating Equipment on here if you would like (we’ll find that cargo space in a moment). Beware that if you want to replace one on Roanoke, Roanoke will have to do the exploring to swap out since Floatillas can’t explore.
The final ship is the reliable Banshee’s Cry. It’s only 3 points and 4 cargo. I used Paradox initially (4 points for 5 cargo), but didn’t end up needing the extra cargo. Keep it as a plan B if you drop Jolly Mon or an equipment and need extra space. We overload Banshee’s Cry with Jonah, Crimson Angel for crew of any nationality, and Lord Mycron and an American Cargo Master. This gives an extra cargo to the Floatilla (for an equipment) as well as to Roanoke.
Jolly Mon is here to support Roanoke. It can shift around a piece of gold to feed Carbon Charlie, an equipment for Roanoke/Minuteman, or even just a dummy shot if you are using Devereaux.
Stinkpot Shot can wipe out a ship using Point Break Limit (Robinson, et al.) or cancellers. Grapple shot is fantastic to pick off crew if you manage to pick up Weapons/Gun (we end up with +11 to a boarding roll with one of these!). Claw Cannon (UT) is great for late game if there are problematic ships running around, you can “yoink” a ship from far away, and use your second shoot action Chain shot to lock it in place or just blast away at it. Again, Weapons/Gun really helps with Claw Cannon.
Eye of Insanity is great, though if someone else gets it they can use it too. Have someone like Carbon Charlie pick up Davy Jones’ power and copy something situationally useful (+1 to cannons, reroll, double but roll 6, etc.)
Power Cannons can make you shoot at 4L, but be careful because it also means an opponent can outrange you. One outrange and the Roanoke can fall apart.
Targeting Scope lets you assure a Chain or Stink hit, which can be clutch late game. It’s not as great for your opponent because your goal is to never get in range of their ship for them to hit anyways.
Ammunition lets you pick up a free extra shot, such as Exploding shot or replace a Chain shot.
Other UTs to mention:
Marksman’s Map
Forged Papers
Homemade Flag
Dry Powder
Abandoned Crew (Cannoneer)
Runes of Defense
Runes of Thor
Final Thoughts: If you want to play it safe, replace Jolly Mon and perhaps Carbon Charlie or some extra Equipment with an additional +1 to cannon rolls to hit your shots on a 97% chance. You’ll want to set up Minuteman and Roanoke to cover as wide of an area as possible, especially close to your opponent’s home island. Assuming Minuteman is the only Floatilla, and it dies, you lose your range advantage. Roanoke will also be severely outgunned if it is ever hit and you lose Davy Jones. Thankfully, you should be able to out range everything unless you are up against a similar fleet, such as Selkie, El Neptuno, or USS Atlanta. Fleets that are extremely fast, such as Hai Peng or San Cristobal should be able to dive right on top of you from outside your range, so watch for those. Banshee’s cry will never really leave the home island because of giving Roanoke its action every turn, though if Roanoke is sunk, abandon all the crew you can and start going for treasure. In reality, this fleet is best in a slightly higher point game, or if you take more risks (such as dropping Hargreaves) so you can use El Neptuno to fire off these abilities as 2LLLL cannons rather than just 2LL.