Ever since I ran the Gimmick Challenge I’ve wanted to play both of the entries that volt submitted. These fleets are both treasure-oriented and therefore not the best matchup. I also wish I had more time to play them against other fleets. Unfortunately time waits for no one.
At the far left the Bandido is a proxy for the Mermaid.
I didn’t have time to find the Saragoza so the Reconquistador is a proxy. I don’t have the Song – the Hai Peng is another 2 masted junk from POTC.
Chain of Fools rolled to go first. Because of the nature of the Oarsmen Inflation fleet, the Intrepid was willing to take a more aggressive stance than volt outlined in the fleet’s description. As the strategy goes the Banshee’s Cry was Hidden Cove’d to the middle island where the American Native Canoes loaded up on gold. One canoe found Smuggled Goods and so only 3 of the 5 canoes sailed with gold aboard. The Bonnie Liz sailed north while the Bloody Jewel and Mermaid raced southeast.
Since the middle island was already empty and the northeastern island was closer than the southern island, the Raven’s Neck was Hidden Cove’d immediately so she could start transferring gold home. After Gilbert sacced an oarsman the Oarsmen Inflation fleet had 13 gold on their home island at the end of turn 1! After swapping Davy Jones’ Key the Raven’s Neck island contained three 2’s and a 5.
The Blood Jewel and Mermaid emptied the southern island while the Bonnie Liz did the same up north, sailing home after an SAT from Calico Cat. The Canoes were also racing home with more gold. The Intrepid continued to sail east in an attempt to cripple the Raven’s Neck.
The Raven’s Neck and Captain Jack Sparrow only needed to transfer one 2 (+3=5 total gold) home in order to gain an 18-0 victory!
Although the Chain of Fools fleet had a lot of gold on its way, the speed of CJS and the +3 gold ships was not to be beaten. Using CJS in conjunction with Hidden Cove and a sac captain and +X abilities is truly a cheap way to win, but it is very effective. Oarsmen Inflation and the UPS fleets are quite impressive. I still like the chain-exploring gimmick of Chain of Fools a lot, and given time (and a different setup/opponent/# of players, etc.) I think Chain of Fools would prove to be a very effective fleet.
As always, thanks for reading!