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They are both part of this month’s Mega Pack, Rise of Atlantis Part 2!
Where can I buy this?
It is this month’s Mega Pack! (Rise of Atlantis Part 2)
Was catching up on some older The Shogunate YouTube videos and came across his naval one. Saw the promo and was immediately like, here take my money. Very cool. Excited to play with my kids. Who are also samurai super nerds like me. Please keep expanding the Sengoku period ships. Like maybe a samurai style castle island. Anyways, thanks for all your hard work.
Thanks matey! Will ship your stuff tomorrow. I’d love to do some kind of Japanese island or fort, but no plans for it currently (maybe someday).
It’s been amazing to make the game on a consistent basis! Thank you to all my subscribers for making this possible! 9 Mega Packs through the subscription box and counting!
Today is the last day to guarantee your copy of Revolutionary War Part 2 at its original price! Sign up by 11:59pm PST to receive a historical treat for the game!
Lambert Wickes
Set: Pirates of the Age of Sail
Release: Revolutionary War Part 2 (RW2) (July 2026 Mega Pack)
Collector’s Number: 095
Nationality: American
Point Cost: 5
Ability: Captain. This ship can tow a ship by touching a derelict in any location (not just the bow).
Link: USS ReprisalFlavor text: Hailing from Maryland, Captain Wickes commanded merchant ships before the Revolution broke out. He lost a brother and third lieutenant at the Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet. His deft handling of diplomatic maneuvers combined with his excellent seamanship make him one of the premier officers in the Continental Navy.
Very notable career and well-known by Benjamin Franklin. There was of course some competition for this slot, but I wanted a named captain for at least one of these two American crew, and Joshua Humphreys and the others I was considering didn’t quite fit that criteria or the release quite well enough. Plus, once I had Wickes or USS Reprisal in the release, including the other in the pair was an obvious choice.
Joshua Barney
Set: Pirates of the Age of Sail
Release: Revolutionary War Part 2 (RW2) (July 2026 Mega Pack)
Collector’s Number: 096
Nationality: American
Point Cost: 5
Ability: Hostile: England. Broadsides Attack. This ship gets +1 to her boarding rolls. This crew can use their abilities on French ships.
Link: Hornet, Wasp, HarmonieFlavor text: After multiple commands and prisoner exchanges during the Revolutionary War, he became a captain in the French Navy. He returned to United States service in 1812, but was wounded shortly before the burning of Washington. His greatest victory was perhaps the Battle of Delaware Bay in 1782.
Barney barely missed the cut on the first RevWar release, with Abraham Whipple getting the spot instead. So I was happy to include him for RevWar 2. I recommend reading his fascinating life story, which explains his unique ability and flavor text. In fact, his French connection made him perfect for this release, given that the French are in it too!
Comte De Grasse
Set: Pirates of the Age of Sail
Release: Revolutionary War Part 2 (RW2) (July 2026 Mega Pack)
Collector’s Number: 098
Nationality: French
Point Cost: 8
Ability: Limit. Once per turn, roll a d6. On a 5 or 6, this ship may be given an extra action. Each turn you may choose one friendly ship within L of this ship; that ship gets +1 to her cannon rolls.
Link: Ville de ParisFlavor text: Having served the Knights Hospitaller in the Maltese Navy as a young lad, he is no stranger to naval experience. After arriving in the West Indies during the American Revolution, De Grasse contributed to the captures of Grenada and Tobago. His victory at the Chesapeake was a major factor in securing the independence of the newly formed United States.
Probably the only appropriate counter to Rodney on the back of this card would be the French admiral at the Battle of the Chesapeake! My oh my how I’ve longed to see these two huge names in the game….
The way I like to use Limit with historical customs is as a “best of their era” device. For example, Lord Horatio Nelson has Limit and some of the other greatest English admirals or leaders of other eras would too, such as possibly Sir Francis Drake and definitely Admiral Robert Blake if I remade him. Essentially limiting a faction’s best so you can’t use all of their best admirals of all-time in the same fleet. I don’t like when Limit is used as a crutch just to lower a crew’s point cost. Here it’s more flavorful, preventing the use of multiple “gods of war” from different eras in the same fleet. Just something I’ve thought about since I started making game pieces in 2011. Neat for me to see it come to fruition on physically created game pieces!
He’s here: RODNEY
Admiral George Rodney
Set: Pirates of the Age of Sail
Release: Revolutionary War Part 2 (RW2) (July 2026 Mega Pack)
Collector’s Number: 097
Nationality: English
Point Cost: 10
Ability: Captain. Loyal: England. Hostile: France. English ships within S of this ship get +1 to their boarding rolls. Once per turn, roll a d6. On a result of 1-4, this ship gets +1 to her cannon rolls this turn. On a 5-6, this ship may be given the same action twice.
Link: All English ships, Henry MedleyFlavor text: One of the finest admirals of the age, with victories ranging from Cape Finisterre to Louisberg and Martinique. Rodney relieved Gibraltar during the Franco-Spanish siege, which became the largest battle of the American war and longest-ever siege involving the British. His triumphs at the Moonlight Battle and the Battle of the Saintes have cemented his legacy as a British naval icon. Those successes proved the effectiveness of copper sheathed hulls and the tactic of breaking the line.
One of the most iconic named crew I can make. Not much more needs to be said here that hasn’t already been covered by many history books and of course the flavor text that I tried to make as epic as possible.
Marseillois
Set: Pirates of the Age of Sail
Release: Revolutionary War Part 2 (RW2) (July 2026 Mega Pack)
Collector’s Number: 094
Nationality: French
Point Cost: 14
Masts: 4
Cargo: 4
Base Move: L
Cannons: 3S-2L-4L-3S
Ability: When this ship is given a shoot action, any of her cannons can shoot chain shots. Declare which cannon(s) will shoot the chain shot before rolling the d6. If the shot hits, do not eliminate a mast; instead the target cannot move on her next turn.
Link: Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, Jean François Renaudin, Comte de Rioms, Castellane-Majastre, Samson de Champmartin, Poype de VertrieuxFlavor text: One of the many 74 gun ships active in the French Navy. Former commanders noted that she is a passable sailer. She played a role in the American Revolution, serving at the Battles of the Chesapeake and the Saintes. Now she sails from Brest under Jean Renaudin on convoy duty.
The first French ship of my Pirates CSG Relaunch! She fought in many battles – Age of Sail (AoS) history buffs may know her as Vengeur du Peuple, famous for sinking at the Glorious First of June in 1794. I wanted a ship that fought in multiple Revolutionary War battles that also had some recognition beyond it. She was the perfect candidate, with a long and storied career.
She was directly involved at the Battle of the Chesapeake, one of the key battles of the Revolutionary War that helped the United States prevail. She was also at the the Battle of the Saintes, an important fleet action that I’ve been itching to include in a historical release.
The ship ability is a new one, based on the French tactic of aiming at an enemy ship’s masts and rigging to disable it. I believe her artwork took more time than the other ships in the release, because I wanted to do my first French ship justice. There are some great paintings and ship models I was able to use for color matching and references. The hull took a while but I’m happy with how the ship turned out. The armament is matched (as usual) to the historical record. For each Mega Pack, usually the ship artwork and files are the biggest chunk of time. Sometimes it gets tedious but in cases like this it can be really worth it.
My philosophy with historical ship types in terms of the rating system is based on in-game armament. As a very general guideline (that I can’t promise will hold up over time), I usually prefer to make 3 decked ships of the line 5 masters, 2 decked ships of the line 4 masters, and frigates/etc as 3 masters. Then of course brigs and similar as 2 masters, and sloops/etc as 1 masters. It’s not perfect but it’s a good enough approximation of the firepower differences between the classes of warships, especially given how historically inaccurate the game is. Technically a 3 decker and a frigate are both 3 masted ships, but having one at 5 masts and one at 3 helps immensely in differentiating their firepower and durability.
As a side note, generally I prefer not to remake ships or crew that already exist in the game. As a result, famous RevWar game pieces such as John Paul Jones and the Ville de Paris were not considered for these patriotic summer Mega Packs. Due to the huge abundance of historical game pieces that could be made (that haven’t seen the light of day yet), I’d rather focus on bringing those to life rather than remaking something we can already use in games.
HMS Barfleur
Set: Pirates of the Age of Sail
Release: Revolutionary War Part 2 (RW2) (July 2026 Mega Pack)
Collector’s Number: 093
Nationality: English
Point Cost: 18
Masts: 5
Cargo: 4
Base Move: L
Cannons: 2S-3L-3L-3L-2S
Ability: This ship cannot be sunk by a shot unless it is a 6. This ship gets +1 to her cannon rolls against French ships.
Link: Lord Samuel Hood, John Knight, Admiral Alexander Hood, Cuthbert Collingwood, George Bowyer, Joseph Sydney Yorke, Thomas HardyFlavor text: A dangerous weapon of the Royal Navy, especially when under the command of the powerful Hood family. From the Chesapeake to the Saintes and later the Glorious First of June, she has been a dependable three decker. Entering her fifth decade of service, she has undergone multiple repairs and refits.
This was such a treat to make! I love the English and their ships of the line, so it was great to return to those ideas without the pressure of doing an iconic ship like HMS Victory justice. Although not the most famous 3 decker, HMS Barfleur was a great candidate for the English representative for this release. Her main competition for the slot was HMS Formidable, another ship of her class and the ship that carried Rodney’s flag at the Saintes. However, when I make these releases I generally try to cover as much history as possible, especially with the “big” game pieces like this one. Barfleur fought in more battles than Formidable, notably including the Chesapeake, the Glorious First, Cape St. Vincent and Cape Finisterre. She also has massive link potential, so she was a slam dunk to include as just the second historical 3 decker I’ve made (first being HMS Victory of course). She saw success against the French and was never sunk in battle despite many actions, hence her new ability. I nearly gave her an original ability only seen on La Republique (This ship cannot sink, but she can be scuttled), but figured it a bit excessive and not focused enough on surviving combat specifically. With this new ability, it hopefully won’t be OP on a large ship like that other original ability might be, and only applies to shots so she can still be sunk by other means. None of her linked crew have been fully produced yet, but that could certainly change….
For her artwork, I took inspiration from multiple sources and wanted a unique look. Between the yellow/gold hull of a ship model, red gunport lids of another, and a historically accurate stern gallery, I like how the hull pieces turned out. I wanted some damage on the deck and sails given her extensive combat history. I don’t always re-color the tops of the historical ships, but for this one I did after revisiting this amazing painting that I’ve loved for years. I love how I can punch holes in the sails and mirror them so the other sides are symmetrical – really gives an immersive look to the shot holes when you can see the mast through the hole and see a perfect (realistic) mirror image on the other side of the sail.
USS Reprisal
Set: Pirates of the Age of Sail
Release: Revolutionary War Part 2 (RW2) (July 2026 Mega Pack)
Collector’s Number: 092
Nationality: American
Point Cost: 8
Masts: 2
Cargo: 3
Base Move: S+S
Cannons: 3L-3L
Ability: If this ship is within S of an enemy ship when this ship is given a move action, she gets +S to her base move. This ship may dock at a French home island or fort and be given repair actions while there.
Link: Lambert WickesFlavor text: While carrying Benjamin Franklin to France on a diplomatic mission, she became the first Continental Navy ship to visit Europe. Not only an escape artist, she has captured multiple British and Irish vessels under the command of Captain Wickes.
As her flavor text explains, she had a very interesting history. Loved giving her a brand new ability for the French connection. Even more fitting for this particular release because the French get a couple game pieces as well in RevWar 2 (their first game pieces I’ve created for my Pirates relaunch that went public in 2024). I think she’ll be a flexible American asset capable of playing a dual role, especially when her linked crew is aboard. Though between the linked crew and her stats/ability spread, probably more likely to snag gold by commerce raiding or taking prizes than by conventional island gold running. Wickes is 5 points, so there’s still point cap space to add a helmsman and oarsman/etc to accompany him.
Art: Between her combat history and escapes, I wanted her sails to be a bit damaged. Her deck is probably one of the more realistic I’ve made – each deck and sail I make is generally unique even though a lot of them inevitably end up looking similar due to being historical ships. Historical flag flying from the mizzenmast. Hull and sails color matched to some paintings I found of her. Those paintings also guided her cannon distribution, with specifically 16/18 cannons on the hull with the final pair on the weather deck aft. (I’m aware that some of these smaller ships of 2 masts or fewer usually had their cannons on a weather/spar deck, but although I did that in full for USS Niagara and USS Lawrence, I generally prefer to only show main deck cannons on the hull artwork, with anything above the uppermost main gun deck going on the weather deck(s). I think having the cannons “topside” and aligned to hull cannon art would work better on ships that have deck tabs rather than hull tabs, because those models have a deck that can actually be aligned with part of the hull (rather than models like this where the topmost deck is always higher than the hull art).)
USS Alliance
Set: Pirates of the Age of Sail
Release: Revolutionary War Part 2 (RW2) (July 2026 Mega Pack)
Collector’s Number: 091
Nationality: American
Point Cost: 13
Masts: 3
Cargo: 3
Base Move: S+L
Cannons: 3L-2L-3S
Ability: Once per turn, you can reroll any die roll you make for this ship; you must use the second die roll result. This ship gets +1 to her cannon rolls if there is a friendly ship within L of her.
Link: John Barry, John Paul Jones, Pierre LandaisFlavor text: From several mutinies, an unruly captain and damage from ice floes, the adventures of USS Alliance have faced numerous setbacks. Under the command of John Barry however, she has thrived during the American Revolution. Multiple journeys to France and captures of British ships have made her one of the most dependable ships in the Continental Navy.
It was a bit tough finding a good candidate for my 3 mast frigate design in terms of American ships that survived the entire Revolutionary War. This ship became the ideal choice, especially given her connections to existing crew John Barry and John Paul Jones. She’s got a nice “team-up” ability along with Reroll. She seemed to have a more notable career than USS Alfred, so I gave her better speed and slightly better firepower.
For her artwork I found a few good references. The aft sail lines on some of the RevWar (1) ships weren’t as noticeable on the final prints as I wanted them to be, so I increased the opacity of them so they’d show more on this ship. Her armament is based on the 1778 Three Decks listing – you can see the 14 cannons per side on her hull for the main gun deck, with 4 per side on the weather deck between quarterdeck and focsle areas.
To celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States, I’m doing a rare sale! 🎉🎆
$17.76 off various core products, while supplies last! Sale runs from today until the end of July 4th. The sale includes the Revolutionary War Mega Pack, as I’ve made that available early due to the holiday! (if you buy before July 1st there’s a decent chance it could get to you in time to use it for a Fourth of July game)
Fixed/added to ability of USS Mercury (RotF 093): “This ship ignores terrain when she is given a move action (islands are not terrain).”
It’s not part of the keyword I realized, but part of the ability text on some of the Limit/Ransom crew. The +5 crew specifically were what I was looking at.
That last line would prevent that crew from being transferred/unloaded in any way, correct?
Ah, yes in that case.
The 0LR Rerollers don’t have that line, so they could be transferred between friendly ships via exploring with no island involved. I forgot that even has its own specific Code entry:
A zero-point crewmember may be transferred directly to another ship of the same nationality by using an explore action. The “free crew transfer while docked at an island” action cannot be used, because that requires a crew to be unloaded to the island before it is transferred to another ship.
Transferring crew/cargo/etc. between ships counts as unloading from one and loading onto the other, so the Ransom crew has to stay where they are.
With no island involved in the transfer I think it would work. I don’t see anything in the Ransom keyword or its Code entry that prohibits transferring a Ransom crew between friendly ships.
George Collier
Set: Pirates of the Age of Sail
Release: Revolutionary War (RevWar) (June 2026 Mega Pack)
Collector’s Number: 089
Nationality: English
Point Cost: 4
Ability: This ship gets +1 to her d6 rolls against the Americans. Once per turn when this ship hits an enemy fort, also eliminate one cargo from that fort.
Link: HMS Boulogne, HMS Edgar, HMS Tweed, HMS Levant, HMS Flora, HMS Rainbow, HMS Raisonnable, HMS Canada, HMS St GeorgeFlavor text: He joined the Royal Navy in 1751. After a string of frigate commands, he led the fourth-rate HMS Rainbow to success against both USS Hancock and in various amphibious operations. His current assignment is commodore of the North American Station.
Collier absolutely crushed the Americans multiple times. It was hard not to make him expensive, but I decided to shy away from the “super named captain” route that is so tempting to take with a lot of these historical figures. This way he’s the cheapest crew in the release (and the only one under 5 points), and at 4 points can be brought in via a 0LR+5 crew if you see an American fleet opposing you. His abilities are a bit hard to price but I think his cost is fair given how situational they are. Many of his linked ships may never get made, but you just never know so I like to cover all or most of my bases.
James Wallace
Set: Pirates of the Age of Sail
Release: Revolutionary War (RevWar) (June 2026 Mega Pack)
Collector’s Number: 090
Nationality: English
Point Cost: 6
Ability: Captain. Once per turn if this ship is touching a friendly ship, you may remove all of that ship’s fire masts. When this ship unloads treasure at your home island, any coin printed with a silver number is worth +1 gold.
Link: HMS Rose, HMS Experiment, HMS WarriorFlavor text: Wallace saved a small British ship from being burnt by the American rebels and then captured USS Raleigh. After a lopsided engagement, he was captured by the French. He was returned to England, and later served under Rodney during their brilliant victory at the Saintes.
Yet another interesting life story. A unique combination of abilities, likely best suited for a hybrid ship. He is one of the few links in this release to some of the later events of the war, having participated in the legendary Battle of the Saintes….
