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Gimmicky Pirate pure Spanish Main fleet:
Harbinger: (29 pts)
– Captain Blackheart
– Calico Cat
– Helmsman
– Lucky The Parrot
– Oarsman
El Dorado (11 pts)
Optional: Add Hag of Tortuga and myself on El Dorado and another Oarsman on Harbinger.
Who needs to explore islands when you can just steal stuff? This fleet very simply heads to the opponent’s HI or a wild island they’re sending their runners to. Take out one of their runners, steal it and the gold for yourself, then repair it and send it to a wild island nearer to you.
Interesting to put all the crew on one ship. Tough scenario to win with – just SM and no extra points. I suppose Harbinger could dismast one runner early and leave it for the Dorado when she eventually gets there, then the Harbinger could go after another ship. I think I’d prefer swapping out Cat for a helmsman on the Dorado and another oarsman on the Harbinger. Better to have 3 guaranteed extra actions via Sac than finally get SAT when you need an EA (to move + explore enemy derelict).
Inspired by Ben saying he doesn’t really use Marines:
French Marine Fleet
Le Favori (26 pts)
– Michel de Bordeaux
– Benoit de Marseilles
Le Bon Marin (9 pts)
– Maurice Artiside
L’Intrepide (5 pts)
What I do with the marines varies depending on the situation. My brother tends to like building fleets of small ships, which allows Le Favori to use the marines aggressively. It’s a bit vulnerable to ramming, so I wouldn’t be super aggressive towards warships, unless they carry all L-range guns.
The marines can simply serve as protection in other situations, as Le Favori has four cargo left and can easily gold run. I rarely ever see reason to drop them off on an island, though.
@Jack: Looks like a pretty solid fleet actually with plenty of gold gathering capability. Looks to me like the Favori would have 3 cargo spaces open instead of 4, though that’s still good for the main “gunship” of course. 🙂 Actually I do want to see this fleet in action.
You could swap Bordeaux for Gendarmerie Rene Moreau to get 2 extra points. Lots of good options in that case – helmsman on the Intrepide or Favori, explorers on both of those ships, or maybe oarsmen on the Favori and Bon Marin.
Although the UPS idea from darrin has been made into many fleets, I can’t remember ever seeing versions of it where the “CJS ability” is based on a non-Pirate ship. The Sol and USS Morning Star have the ability, and since CJS is a crew he can relatively easily work with other nationality ships….
Calling this one now. “English UPS 1” perhaps. 🙂
(34) HMS Swallow + William Dampier, Captain Jack Sparrow, Mullroy, helmsman, explorer
(10) HMS Patagonia + helmsman, oarsmen x4 (2 start on HI)
(1) Jolly Mon + The Hag of TortugaThis is not close to an optimal UPS build, but the English are forced to spend extra points to even make it work in the first place. An alternative to the Swallow would be HMS Durham (BC version), with 0LR reroller CRGO/Doone instead of Mullroy. However, that downgrades the ship slightly while only freeing 1 point from not having the Jolly Mon around… probably for another oarsman on the Patagonia. Brother Virgil and Lady Kamaile don’t seem like better alternatives to Dampier to get CJS in the fleet, so it might just be tough to optimize here. Unless we go for cheese and default to HMS Grand Temple? XD
UPS Ground – 1 Day Overnight to England
(24) HMS Grand Temple + CJS, helmsman, explorer
(10) HMS Patagonia + Robinson, Lord Mycron, Administrator Scott Bratley (CC)
(6) Banshee’s Cry + 2 oarsmen (English)
(5) Le Coeur du Lion + 2 oarsmen (English)
Events: Hidden CoveThere are a lot of little options to play with for efficiency. Drop Hidden Cove for an extra oarsman on both unloader ships. Play around with having 1 unloader ship that has Maurice Aristide/Genny Gallows (using Princess Arii Auraa/Jonah as needed). Swap the GT’s helmsman for Don Pedro Gilbert, which allows for tossing a bad UT along with saccing the oarsmen in case Mycron has to redock an unloader or send the BC to an island by herself (don’t want Mycron to be useless though even for just one turn).
Probably not the best idea, but you could go high risk – dump the GT’s helmsman AND Hidden Cove, giving 4 points to optimize the unloaders with – probably a +2 gold bonus on one with an extra oarsman for the last point. But in that case you might be screwed if the first island doesn’t give enough gold to win, and GT is a bit compromised with no helmsman.
I think it’s a 5 star fleet for the name alone. XD 😛
Fleet name is fun indeed, and I’ve gone with something similar for the anniversary game, using UPS with non-pirates.
Just submitted my Bonus Zeus fleet that has the Zeus sending home 2 coins per turn that all get +3’d. XD
Now I just want to do a little exercise in making competitive Spanish and American UPS builds without using CJS. Though Roanoke with CJS needs to happen now too lol. Neither Spain nor America have Sac crew, so that nearly requires the inclusion of Mycron to make it as competitive as possible.
UPS Service to Spain
(15) Sol + helmsman, explorer
(10) HMS Patagonia + Robinson, Lord Mycron, Administrator Scott Bratley (CC)
(14) La Saragoza + Dominic Freda (RotF LE version), 2 oarsmen
(4) Le Coeur du Lion + 2 Spanish oarsmen
(2) Hidden Cove
-Fort priority would be Paradis de la Mer, then Fortaleza DoradaInstead of redocking to unload coins, the Saragoza must be given explore actions targeting the home island because she doesn’t have a multi-segment base move. For added flexibility but less Spanish flavor, swap out the Saragoza setup for Sea Crane + Genny Gallows, 2 Pirate oarsmen.
UPS Ground Domestic
(23) USS Morning Star + captain, helmsman, explorer
(10) HMS Patagonia + Robinson, Lord Mycron, Administrator Scott Bratley (CC)
(6) Banshee’s Cry + 3 American oarsmen
(4) Le Coeur du Lion + 2 American oarsmen
(2) Hidden Cove
-Tons of forts availableThis is a basic brainstorm version… the USS MS would seem underwhelming without a captain and helmsman, but those could be removed to upgrade the unloaders (to incorporate gold bonuses).
I can definitely imagine a terrifying 60-80+ point UPS fleet using both USS Morning Star and the Roanoke with CJS.All American UPS
(18) USS Morning Star + explorer
(15) USS Destiny + Ralph David, 7 oarsmen (some starting on HI)
(12) Annapolis + RtSS GWL (American Mycron), Commodore Matthew PerryJust for kicks if you had to go nature pure…. The unloader process is tougher to optimize for the Americans since they don’t have super cheap ships. The problem here is that the Destiny can’t unload 2 coins per turn I don’t think…. Maybe this next fleet would be better.
American UPS 2nd Shipment
(18) USS Morning Star + explorer
(7) USS Destiny + 2 oarsmen
(8) Rattlesnake + helmsman, Commodore Matthew Perry, oarsman
(12) Annapolis + RtSS GWL (American Mycron)This might work a little better. MS needs GWL to even have a chance at getting to an island (4S<3L in a standard setup) on the first turn, but eventually some progress can be made. The MS can flip 2 coins home per turn, eventually receiving all crew from the Destiny and Rattlesnake (including Perry) except the Rattlesnake's helmsman. At that point, both the Destiny and Rattlesnake can go out on gold runs of their own. Realistically though this fleet would get trashed in truly competitive play - the MS needs Hidden Cove or a helmsman to have a chance at either getting coins home before a Zeus or GT wrecks her day, or to keep up with a proper UPS ship (Hai Peng/etc) in the early part of the game.
Bizarre Idea: Davy Jones’ UPS Shipment
(18) Banshee’s Cry + Jonah, Anamaria, Davy Jones (DJC-copying CJS), explorer
(14) Coral + CJS, explorer
(4) Le Coeur du Lion + 2 Pirate oarsmen
(2) Jolly Mon + oarsman
(2) Hidden Cove
-This is extremely suboptimal and likely not very competitive… no gold bonuses or extra actions available, and only 3 oarsmen to send to 2 different UPS ships. Still, I had to see if making a UPS fleet with Davy Jones would work lol… at a higher build total optimizing it would be amusing.Cursed UPS
Loa’s Justice + CJS, helmsman, explorerCJS is easily workable on the Shui Xian and Celtic Fury too… which is interesting because the Mercenary keyword + 10 mast length factor could reduce the need for Hidden Cove….
The Spanish DO have SAC in RtSS, but it’s attached to Marine on Sebastian Rojo. Furthermore, the SS version of Tsai is a SAC-Captain with ex-patriot, so the Americans COULD use him. Using either of them almost requires a higher build point total though.
Yeah, I don’t think Rojo would work in any kind of competitive UPS fleet, especially since Spain doesn’t have a crew like Jonah.
Good point about Tsai though… then it’s just a matter of getting CJS aboard with him, which is still difficult for Spain and America I think.
Tsai could be used on the USS Morning Star, or the Sol no need to bring Jack on either of those. If you wanted to bring Jack along, then the Americans might be able to pull that off with the Roanoke. You’d double or triple up on the captain ability, since you’d need to bring the SS version of Charles Richard to make them fit point wise.
Tsai could be used on the USS Morning Star
Duh me… my brain must have turned off once I made the initial post lol. Trying to turn it back on now….
Here’s a Roanoke setup that would work: CJS, Jimmy Legs, helmsman, explorer, oarsman
Pirates Big and Small
Ghostly Galleon – 34 points
- Deliverance (CC) – 19 points
- Calico Cat (SM) – 3 points
- Lady Baptiste (BC) – 6 points
- Bruce Grey (SCS) – 4 points
- Helmsman – 2 points
Pirate Super runners – 11 points
- Bloody Jewel (RV) – 6 points
- Hag of Tortuga (CC) – 0 points
- Banshees Cry (RV) – 3 points
- Rover (CC) – 2 points
UTs
- Scurvy (CC)
- Missionary (RV)
- Natives (RV)
Use the Rover to get gold from islands close to opponents home island. Keep the Deliverance close yet covered behind islands/terrain features. This way you can bait the opponent into attacking Rover thus wasting the first shots on her. Deliverance can emerge from her “hiding” and attack vice versa.
Banshees Cry will first explore islands near your HI but not take up any treasure. Afterwards she should explore the islands further away from your own HI and take gold. Bloody Jewel should stay close to the HI and only explore nearer islands which have ben deemes not dangerous in regards to UT´s by the Cry`s crew.
Deliverance will be fast enough to be almost anywhere on the board within 1-2 turns and dash out a lot down damage.
HMS Swallow Speed Demon Attack
HMS Swallow + Hermione Gold (MI), Griffin (LE version), helmsman, oarsman
HMS Patagonia + Robinson, Administrator Scott Bratley, Lord Mycron, oarsmanThat works as a 40 (45) point fleet. Add a gold runner to make it a 45 or 50 point fleet. Bit more of a combo than a fleet right now, but S+L+S+S doubled with 2’s hitting is a solid start for a super gunship.
So this is a little 45 point fleet (or 40 with a build booster. I’m really interested in the idea of the Maui’s Fishhook as a ship stealer with Commander Temple aboard, so this is just a combo to get it on the board with decent support.
Maui’s Fishhook, with Commander Temple and a Helmsman 28pts
To make some derelicts, she’s got HMS Oxford with a Captain and Helmsman aboard for 17pts.
Basically let your opponent get the gold for you. Then HMS Oxford runs everything down, and the MF comes on and steals the ships with gold on them
I’d like to get extra actions on the MF, but it quickly gets too pricey to fit in a sub 50 point fleet
Thoughts? I know it’s pretty simple, but I told Ben I wanted more fleet discussions, so I figured I better get something out there.
Thoughts? I know it’s pretty simple, but I told Ben I wanted more fleet discussions, so I figured I better get something out there.
Not a bad start, but I’d seriously try to find a way to get Christopher Myngs on either ship. SAT is going to be absolutely essential to this working, since you’ll need the speed to catch the enemy runners. If you’re going against a guy with Banshee’s Cry and other such ships, you’ll be hard pressed imo to catch anything and make a meaningful difference.
Maybe consider switching the Oxford for the London. The London is a little slower (S+S), but does have a pair of L-range cannons, which the Oxford lacks. If you’re willing to sacrifice accuracy, the Dover might not be a bad choice either. She’s cheaper than both the London and the Oxford, but is still a 4 mast ship.
To be clear, I like this idea and it’s pretty cool. But I think you’re gonna need a point +5 crew and possibly a build total of 50-55 points to really make this shine.
I honestly didn’t even think of the Dover or the London, but I’m liking both of those better now. I agree that this idea probably needs more points to be effective. And it definitely needs extra actions for sure. Thanks for the input! I like your suggestions
If you have 10 spare points, you can throw in the cheese set up for Lord Mycron. HMS Patagonia (SCS)+ Robinson (RV)+ Lord Mycron(FS).
So this is a little 45 point fleet (or 40 with a build booster. I’m really interested in the idea of the Maui’s Fishhook as a ship stealer with Commander Temple aboard, so this is just a combo to get it on the board with decent support.
I like the concept a lot and think you’re off to a good start. This makes me want to get Temple on a faster hoist like the Frontier or Fetu. The French could get him aboard pretty easily so the Fetu (very fast max speed) from RtSS might be the best hoist to pull this off with. Love the idea and hope you keep working on it! 😀
I’ve used Temple on the fishhook before, but it’s always been in a campaign setting, not a regular game.
Hybrid Hell/2 in 2 out
Pride+Calico Cat, Griffin (25)
La Santa Isabel+Captain, Helmsman, Oarsman (19)
Le Coeur Du Lion+Explorer (3)
Le Courageux+Helmsman, Explorer (13)
For a 60 point build total that I used against Ben today! Every single ship has some amount of combat ability, and available space to ferry some gold. I purposely kept them together in pairs, until I didn’t and paid the price for it. The Pride for sure is a lead gunship, and a bit fragile, but with Isabel close behind they make for a devastating combo. Courageux is my (current) favorite ship in the game. Despite being without a captain she proved very combat worthy. Courageux can take hits (2 hits=1 mast damaged if she has all masts) and shoot back as well with a 2S and 3L variety guns. The Lion can also pile into the battle. After most the gold is retrieved, drop off the explorer, and presto! Your very own 2L support gunship.
After thinking for a bit, for a 40 point total I’d do the following: Remove Pride and her crew. Replace the Lion with the Carolina, keep the explorer. Or remove oarsman from Isabel, Executioner instead of Lion/Carolina. Boom. Snap. Crackle. Pop
I don’t think it’s possible for anyone to get that lucky. I set up this fleet to have an excuse to use Calico Cat and Griffin together after Lance (Soul X Crusader) hooked me up with them.
I don’t think it’s possible for anyone to get that lucky. I set up this fleet to have an excuse to use Calico Cat and Griffin together after Lance (Soul X Crusader) hooked me up with them.
Ahhh, I see. Is that the Ocean’s Edge Calico, or the Spanish Main version?
From a Question of the day on the Facebook Group. Spanish Main only fleet at 60 points.
Sea Nymph(11)+ Calico Cat, captain,helmsman(3+3+2)
Treachery(5)+ helmsman, explorer(2+1)
Longshanks(6)+ helmsman, explorer(2+1)
HMS Dover(10)+Thomas Gun the Younger, Sir Christopher Myngs(5+3+2)
Venture(4)
Sea Nymph plays role of main gunship. Her speed and size should allow her to get the drop on any smaller gold runners or undersized gunships. I’ll have to take my chances with potentially missing shots. Treachery, Longshanks and Venture are expected to do most of the gold running. All of them have decent cannons though and the Longshanks especially could take a hit or two and be able to put up some kind of fight in return. Initially I was going to go with the King Edward, since I liked the cargo, but realized I could do better with the Dover. Another decently sized ship with good speed and potential SAT. Either she’ll go hunting with the Nymph or will support the gold runners and grab a coin or two that they could not.
Same question, but Crimson Coast.
Ranger(14)+ Le Requin,HoT, capti, helms(3+3+2+0)
L’Intrepide(5)+ helmsman, explorer(2+1)
El San Francisco(8)+””(2+1)
Roanoke(13)+Jack Hawkins, capt, helms(6+3+2)
UT’s: Resurrection Codex
Forts: Dead Man’s Point, St. Pierre, El Castillo del Infanta
Second verse similar to the first verse. Ranger fills dedicated gunship role, with chance for SAT and good speed she should be able to catch up to smaller gold runners. Intrepide and Francisco do most of the gold running, and will likely build their respective forts if time allows thus creating multiple “safe” spots for my ships. Roanoke will either join the Ranger in hunting down enemy gold runners, or will escort my own. Additionally she’ll be able to grab a coin or two along the way. With luck the Resurrection Codex will be found by me and most likely put onto the Roanoke, as it will likely be the closest captained ship. However it’s mostly included for potential lol’s. 😃
Another question of the day fleets. 60 points for Revolution and Barbary Coast only.
Revolution only fleet:
Enterprise(18)+Jonathan Haraden, helmsman and oarsman (6+2+1)
Banshee’s Cry(3)+ helmsman, explorer(2+1)
La Monarca(8)+ helmsman, explorer (2+1)
Le Pique(5)+ helmsman, explorer (2+1)
Le Bon Marin(6)+ helmsman (2)
Forts: Fortaleza Dorada, Paradis de la Mer, Thompson’s Island
Could have very easily gone with a gold race fleet, and included no gunships. However, I like having that security so the Enterprise fill the main gunship role. Haraden will be handy for the built in extra and the Enterprise has enough speed and cargo to run escort duty with the gold runners, picking up coins that they can’t. It should be no surprise what the Banshee’s Cry and company will be doing. With luck one or all of the three forts can be built, however Paradis would likely have priority as it can be so difficult to deal with, especially if the Enterprise and other ships come to their defense. Depending on the opposing fleet, Fortaleza Dorada could be more problematic and thus would get built first.
Barbary Coast fleet:
Marrakesh(6)+ helmsman(2)
Agha’s Whip(6)+ helmsman, explorer(2+1)
Queen of Sheba(6)+ helmsman, explorer(2+1)
Griffin(6)+helmsman(2)
Whisper(6)
Tiger’s Eye(12)+ Jack Hawkins(5), captain(3)
UT’s: Knights of Malta Banner, Spices
The Corsairs have some of the cheapest ships in the game, and some of the overall fastest. Tiger’s Eye clocks in at S+S+S speed, potentially twice with the SAT from Jack Hawkins and has a decent defensive ability. I’m banking on the overall speed and number of ships to track down being advantageous. The runners will likely split into two groups, each led by a ship with an explorer. Tiger’s Eye can potentially zip across most of the ocean at 6S speed and either engage a smaller or similarly sized gunship/gold runner or get to an island before any opposing ships. On the other hand, the Eye will easily be able to keep up with the gold runners for escort duty and grabbing a coin or two that couldn’t be loaded by either group. With luck both UT’s will be found by my fleet, giving a nice gold bonus.
In answer to Xerecs’ 60 point Rev only fleet
Executioner(8)+Captain,Helmsman(3+2)
Panda(11)+Captain,Helmsman(3+2)
Bloody Jewel(6)+Helmsman,Explorer(2+1)
Cutlass(8)+Captain,Helmsman(3+2)
La Monarca(8)+Explorer(1)
Forts: Devil’s Maw,Fortaleza Dorado
Just a fun little pirate and Spanish swarm. Not really fast enough to beat Xerecs’ fleet above in a gold game, but I’d have fun trying to smash up the Enterprise bit by bit with the little Pirate gunships. Probably throw Explosives, Cross of Coronado, and Neptune’s Trident in too, and hope i get them. 😀
More fleets from the Question of Day on FB. South China Seas this time, 60 points. I made two fleets for this one. One with a few ships and the other totally focused on the Baochuan.
Fleet one:
El Alquimista(11)+helmsman, explorer(2+1)
Virtuous Wind(14)+ Shap-‘Ng-Tsai, Katsura-chan, helmsman(5+6+2)
Admiral Yi(6)+explorer(1)
Sea Duck(8)+ helmsman(2)
Hidden Cove(2)
UT’s: Pandora’s Box
More gold focused than combat focused. El Alquimista will likely do a majority of the heavy lifting, and will try to use her gold bonus as often as possible. Hidden can be used on her, but will likely be used on the Admiral Yi, which will tag-team with the Sea Duck to do some running. Virtuous Wind should be an absolute pest to deal with, what with her accurate cannons, excellent speed and cargo as well as home island raiding. She fills the main gunship role and can either go hunting, protect the runners, or go raiding once the opponent gets some gold home. Pandora’s Box should be fun and interesting, no matter who finds it.
Second Fleet:
Baochuan(30)+ Zheng He(6), Katsura-chan(6), Zheng Li Kwan(5), Helmsman(2), Li Quin(0), explorer(1), oarsmanx6(6), Chang pao(4)
Hidden Cove(2)
+Three oarsmen on Home Island.
One ship fleets rarely work, however a Treasure Ship is uniquely positioned to be an exception. None of the crew will take up cargo space, provided the combined cost does not exceed the point cost of the ship, in this case the Baochuan. Given how links work the Baochuan is sailing out of the gate with 11 open cargo spaces. Hidden Cove can be used to either slingshot the Baochuan to the nearest island or can be used mid-game to get her out of a sticky situation. Kwan is added to get rid of any nasty Unique Treasures that may be found, and he provides a guaranteed extra action whever I’d need it. Three extra oarsmen are included on the home island, to re-stock the SAC food. Despiter her slowness the Baochuan can move S after loading or unloading cargo (part of TS keyword), which will help her get to and from islands more quickly.
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