- This topic has 4 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 4 years ago by
.
-
Posts
-
I recently aquired my first sea dragon more for the aesthetic and for the sake of collrcting (trying to have one of each playable ship varient). I got my hands on Shal-Bala and Angelica and looking closer at the keywords I’m realizing that they are quite unique even amongst sea creatures. I have yet to use them in a game but it seems like you’d really need a sea creature hunter ship of crew to fend them off given their crazy move and attack abilities. I do like how they balance submarines and other sea creatures with the swoop attack (I recently played against a submarine for the first time and it played hell with my lineup, staying submerged most of the gamr, ramming my gunships just before they engaged.) I was wondering what you all think about sea dragons, have you used them yourself or had them used against you?
Sea Dragons are fun if a little difficult to use imo. To best take advantage of their unlimited movement and swoop attack (or their regular cannons and abilities) I find it advisable to have some kind of fleet action available, be that Lord Mycron, or one of the many ‘roll a 6 one ship in your fleet gets an extra action’ crew. Those will allow them to move and shoot in the same tun, which makes them quite powerful.
However given that, you still need to be careful with them, since there is no way for them to repair once they get hurt and have segments eliminated. For that reason, I’d only use them against smaller ships, like 3 masters and below, or I’d use them as a finishing strike on a ship that is already damaged.
Another option with Sea Dragons is ‘zone control’. Park your dragon at the farthest wild island and have it sit there, waiting for the enemy to come within Swooping range. Since most everyone knows the range of a swoop attack, they’ll likely avoid that island until they have to go there, while you could go there as soon as you’d like.
I was wondering what you all think about sea dragons, have you used them yourself or had them used against you?
They’re not as good as they look and sound. Xerecs made great points. They’re cooler than they are good, but not completely useless.
Looking at my own experience (you could also search the site for specific names), I’ve mostly used them in campaign games where they’re more disposable. I don’t really recommend using them in games under 60 points if you want to win.
Another option with Sea Dragons is ‘zone control’. Park your dragon at the farthest wild island and have it sit there, waiting for the enemy to come within Swooping range. Since most everyone knows the range of a swoop attack, they’ll likely avoid that island until they have to go there, while you could go there as soon as you’d like.
Area control and herding are by far the best uses for Sea Dragons. The threat of a swoop attack is more potent than the actual attack, and most players are going to wary of sending ships into the dragon’s range. Small treasure runners that will be sunk or crippled by a successful hit are the most at risk, but anything that can’t survive the hit and retaliate with enough firepower to kill the dragon is vulnerable. That allows the dragon to have a lot of control over where opposing ships go, particularly in the islands they visit and when. Forcing them to take longer routes or consolidate their fleet so everything has an escort buys that much more time for the rest of your own fleet to grab loot. If they take the risk of sending ships on their own, the dragon can pick them off as targets of opportunity. Moving around constantly to stay just out of reach of attackers and to force constant course changes is more powerful than just camping out on an island.
Unless it’s near the end of the game where keeping the dragon alive doesn’t matter anymore, or you’ve got a guaranteed extra action for it lined up (Mycron, etc.), sending a dragon in as a primary attacker is almost always a mistake. They’re just too expensive to throw into the fray and hope for the best. If they could be repaired it might be a different story, but as-is, their strengths lie elsewhere.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.