Hearts of Treason – Second Entry for Cursed FC

Originally published to Miniature Trading on February 13th, 2013

This is my second entry for getempowder’s Cursed Challenge.  (first entry here)

The Cursed have always been the faction (along with the Americans) among the big 6 that is a bit lacking. They own the most expensive crew and ships in the game, but have slow base moves, gimmicky/impractical abilities, and a smaller selection of good crew. The Black Mark keyword allows them to use game pieces from other nations, greatly enhancing their potential.

The flagship of this fleet is naturally the Flying Dutchman. McWarren allows Calypso  to use her unique ability. McWarren also lets Baptiste come aboard, and she’ll provide a valuable reroll for Calypso. How about that! Three female crew on one ship!  When she’s not placing whirlpools, the Dutchman will be moving at L+S speed, with the necessary captain. Her extra abilities will come in handy if she needs them.

The second ship is the RtSS 3 master, the Faerie Fire. Baba Yaga is just proxying in, with the same point cost and mast count.

Faerie Fire
RtSS-024, Common
Cursed
Points: 15
Masts: 3 (B)
Cargo: 3
Move: L
Cannons: 2S-3L-2S
Ability: Ghost Ship

A solid gunship, albeit an expensive one. She needs some crew to beef her up, which is why I’ve put Papa Doc on board:

Papa Doc
RtSS-028b, Common
Cursed
Points: 8
Ability: This ship gets +1 to her boarding rolls. Once per turn, one crew or ship within S of this ship can’t use its ability that turn.

Notice that this is the RtSS version of Papa Doc, not the original that is listed in the fleet build.

The new and improved Doc would have been the first crew canceller that the Cursed had, but it was not to be  . He also provides a +1 to boarding rolls for the Fire, letting her compete with 4 and 5 masters. She’ll be going at L+S speed, and she’s got a captain to let her wreak havoc. Ghost Ship only makes this package more interesting.

Now, with the two main gunships out of the way, we get to the theme for this fleet, the traitor scum  .

First up is a crew that nobody should be surprised to see Black Mark on: Blackbeard. I thought he would go the way of El Fantasma after seeing this DJC release, but he stayed Pirate. In this fleet, he commands the Akua Lapu, one of the most unique and useful ships in the game. The Lapu will be an offensive gold runner, similar to my Sea Monkey in my other entry for this Challenge. With a helmsman and explorer, she’s flying around at S+S+S with room for 4 treasures, because of her neat ability. Blackbeard will give her the shoot-and-move when an enemy gets too close, with 4 solid guns primed for firing.

The second non-Cursed ship is a pure treasure runner: the Libellule. Between her S+L speed, twice as many cargo spaces as masts, and cheap point cost, she’s one of the better runners in the game. Her negative ability is offset somewhat by the fact that she’s a Windcatcher. After adding the duc de Valois and an explorer, she still has room for 4 treasures.

My favourite faction in the game is most definitely the English, so I couldn’t resist giving them some love here. Sir Meyer Hampstead is aboard the Aberdeen Baron, another great gold runner. He is not there just to let me use the Baron, but to use his ability to the fullest. With five masts, the Baron should be able to win most (if not all) boarding attempts she makes against enemy gold runners. She’ll be able to catch most of them, too, after the helmsman boosts her speed to S+S+S. When she’s not assailing enemy runners, the Baron can run gold on her own, with her built-in explorer.

The fourth and final non-Cursed ship is from Spain, the Tartessos. The Tartessos isn’t very flashy, but she can be effective. Definitely to be used as a gunship, she packs a punch with her world-hating cannons for just 14 points. After the Inquisitor, captain, and helmsman come aboard, her cargo hold is full. She’s a standard gunship that can attack the enemy, with the Inquisitor adding an element of extra nastiness. You may want to send her after your opponent’s most heavily crewed ship.

Protection from Davy Jones is to be discovered by one of the runners, and used in conjunction with Calypso to provide quick and safe transportation to your HI. With all of the whirlpools that will be in play, it will be nice to have two ships (along with the Flying Dutchman) immune to their potentially harmful effects.

Celestine’s Charts is a proxy for Native Lore:

Native Lore
RtSS-031, Rare
Unique Treasure
Values: 6,5,4,3,3,2,2,1,1
Ability: Place three trade currents, and then remove Native Lore from the game.

Native Lore will speed up my ships, and adds another layer to the game.

Divers add some flexibility and insurance.

One of the best things about this fleet is it’s durability. All of the ships have at least 3 masts, and two of the treasure runners have more than 3 masts. The fleet will function as most fleets would, trying to run gold while sinking everybody else. The whirlpools will add a dynamic that favours this fleet more than the opponent, since my ships are durable enough to go through whirlpools and come out okay. Plus, the Dutchman will be fine as long as Calypso stays safe. The whirlpools will allow me to run gold faster, and possibly get in some surprise attacks against the enemy.

The idea for the name of this fleet was inspired by the song ‘Heart of Oak’, the official march of the Royal Navy. Since the Black Mark crew have essentially betrayed their former nations, they have “hearts of treason”  .

Section: Ship #1 (7 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Calypso	DPotC	056	Crew	C
1	x	Captain	PofDJC	109	Crew	C
1	x	Flying Dutchman	DPotC	001	Ship	R
1	x	Helmsman	PofDJC	121	Crew	C
1	x	Lady Baptiste	PofR	018	Crew	C
1	x	Oarsman	PofDJC	129	Crew	C
1	x	Tabatha McWarren	PofDJC	028	Crew	C
Section: Ship #2 (4 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Baba Yaga	PofFN	209	Ship	LE
1	x	Captain	RotF	068	Crew	R
1	x	Helmsman	RotF	075	Crew	U
1	x	Papa Doc	PofDJC	024	Crew	R
Section: Ship #3 (4 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Akua Lapu	SS	010	Ship	R
1	x	Blackheart	PofDJC	045A	Crew	C
1	x	Explorer	RotF	081	Crew	C
1	x	Helmsman	RotF	075	Crew	U
Section: Ship #4 (3 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Explorer	RotF	081	Crew	C
1	x	Jacques, Duc de Valois	PofDJC	074B	Crew	C
1	x	Libellule	SS	047	Ship	SE
Section: Ship #5 (4 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Aberdeen Baron	RotF	003	Ship	R
1	x	Helmsman	RotF	075	Crew	U
1	x	Oarsman	PofDJC	129	Crew	C
1	x	Sir Meyer Hampstead	PatOE	055	Crew	C
Section: Ship #6 (4 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Captain	RotF	068	Crew	R
1	x	Helmsman	RotF	075	Crew	U
1	x	La Tartessos	PofFN	052	Ship	R
1	x	The Inquisitor	PofDJC	073	Crew	R
Section: Events (1 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Divers	PofR	020B	Event	C
Section: Unique Treasures (2 miniatures)
		Miniature	Set	Number	Type	Rarity
1	x	Celestine’s Charts	SS	031	Unique Treasure	R
1	x	Protection from Davy Jones	PatOE	105	Unique Treasure	R