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Report 11 is now up!
Two fleets, one from Fire and Steel and one from Savage Shores!
Fleet one, 60 points, Fire and Steel only.
Another tough one. There are exactly two crew with the helmsman ability in the entire set, and only one with the explorer ability.
Trinity(15)+Victor De Alva, Luis Zuan, cannoneer, oarsman (8+2+2+1)
Morning Star(9)
HMS Ram(6)+Lord Mycron(6)
San Pedro(11)
UT: Turtles
As mentioned this one was tricky, there are not a lot of fast ships in FS and even fewer decent goldrunners. However, they are there and some of the best from the set are here. Spanish Morning Star is an absolute steal, 9 points for a 5 mast ship moving S+S. I was VERY tempted to put Luis Zuan on her to boost the speed, but felt he would be better suited to the Trinity. Assisting the MS is the San Pedro a clone of El Alquimista from SCS. Same point cost, same ability, same cargo, same cannons and so on. The Trinity fills the main gunship role with pretty much the only EA crew in the entire set in Victor De Alva. Her ability should allow her to catch fast runners, but she’ll be significantly slower once she takes a hit or two. Even though there are cheaper ways to do it, Lord Mycron enters play sitting on the Ram and providing an extra action to any of the other three ships when needed. With luck one of my runners will find the Turtles giving my fleet a nice gold bonus no matter how many of them get home.
Fleet two, Savage Shores, 60 points
Akua Lapu(15)+ Isandro Ramirez, Eileen Brigid O’Brien(7+5)
Frontier(17)
Celestine(11)+Master Scribe(3)
Even though this one was tricky I’ll likely make a second fleet for it. Akua lapu serves as a gunship and a pinch gold runner. She’ll have to rely on the Frontier to unload any of her gold however due to the Mercenary provided by O’Brien. The Frontier and Celestine will do the bulk of gold running, with the Celestine hopefully dropping more trade currents rather than eliminating them. Also, strictly speaking this is a 58 point fleet, not 60.
Two fleets from the QotD on FB! Rise of the Fiends, 60 points. This one was both exciting to do and frustrating.
Fleet one:
San Cristobal(15)+ Luis Zuan ,helmsman, explorer(2+2+1)
Bazana–Diablo(8–7)+captain, helmsman(3+2)
San Estaban(9)+ Dominic Freda, helmsman(4+2)
UT: Blood Money
Strictly speaking, this is a 55 point fleet. You could drop the explorer from the San Cristobal and add the Magdelana, but I wanted to keep the explorer for hybrid purposes. Initially this fleet looked much different with the Rare version of the Cristobal instead of the LE version and the Lady’s Scorn as the main gunship. However I then recalled the Zuan is a 2 point captain because he’s hostile to Pirates, meaning I couldn’t use him if I was going to include the Scorn. So I changed to the LE version of the SC which has SAT built in along with good speed and cargo. Even though she functions more as a hybrid the Cristobal serves as the main gunship. The San Estaban will be relied upon to do the brunt of gold running, equipped with the excellent Dominc Freda. Escorting the Estaban is the Bazana serving as a support gunship with her captain and lugging around the Diablo fotilla, effectivly giving the Bazana the fire-power of a 6 mast ship. Blood Money will be annoying for my opponent and will “guard” an island for me, forcing my foe to seek gold elsewhere or suffer the penalty.
Fleet two:
Grinder(12)+ helmsman, explorer(2+1)
Hades Realm(13)+ El Fantasma, captain, helmsman(7+3+2)
Grim Reaper(12)+ capt, helms, explorer(3+2+1)
UT: Cursed Natives
Again, strictly speaking this is a 55 point fleet. The Hades Realm serves as the main gunship, even though I was VERY tempted to make the Grinder the main gunship. However the Realm is more suited to gunning than running, at least in this fleet. the Grinder will do most of the running with help of a sorts from the Grim Reaper. The Reaper will target enemy gold runners and use her boarding bonus to try and steal a coin after blasting away with her cannons. Should that seem unlikely she is equipped with an explorer to grab a coin that the Grinder hasn’t gotten to yet. Cursed Natives included to slow down and annoy my opponent.
Another QotD fleet! Frozen North this time, 60 points.
La Dijon(8)+ Silver explorer(3)
Marie Antoinette(14)+ Amiral Louis Cartier, captain(7+3)
Jaguar’s Spirit(12)+Gunner, capt, cannoneer(3+3+2)
El Hambre(5)
UT: Runes of Death
Another tough one, as only the Vikings got a helmsman crew, and they’re far too expensive for my liking. Furthermore, they were the only faction to get a regular explorer crew. However every faction did get a Silver Explorer in this set as it was the first time those crew were introduced in the game. La Dijon will do most of the gold running and will hopefully find more silver coins than regular, and her ability will allow her to move Runes of Death to another island. Marie Antoinette serves as a raiding gunship, that will try and go after enemy gold runners, using her S-board and Cartier’s +1 to boarding rolls to hopefully steal a treasure and then let loose with the cannons. Jaguar’s Spirit acts as the true gunship of the fleet, and will either finish whatever ship the Antoinette attacked or will keep the Dijon and El Hambre safe.
All of these ships have the names of cities out here in the PNW.
Really? There’s a place called Black Diamond?
Why do you have Jonah on the Diamond? From the look of it Le Requin and crew will fit on her without going over the point limit of the ship.
QotD keeps on going and I keep on answering. 60 points, Disney Pirates of the Caribbean only. This one required some serious thinking as there are no generic crew in Disney Pirates, everyone is a named crew. 0.0 That said, here is the fleet I came up with:
Grand Barnacle(13)+Bootstrap Bill Turner, Ragetti(2+1)
Black Pearl(17)+Captain Barbossa, Sao Feng, Elizabeth Swann, Cotton (7+5+3+2)
Dragon+ Mistress Ching(4)
UT’s: Pirate Globe, Smuggled Goods, Kraken Gong
Given that there are only two crew with the helmsman ability and only one with the explorer, I’ve leaned heavily into my main gunship. Almost went with the Flying Dutchman, but speed wins games and so the Black Pearl was chosen. On her we have a full gamut of crew, with linked Barbossa, leaving a cargo spot open for a potential coin. The Pearl is likely going to be one of if not the fastest ships in the match and will go hunting, no two ways about it. Even though she’s bigger than the Pearl, the Grand Barnacle features as the main gold runner of the fleet. Good speed and cargo for a five mast she’ll get around to islands as quickly as possible and hopefully find the Pirate Globe, which will indicate where she’ll need to go and reveal the locations of the other two treasures I’ve included. Smuggled Goods will be handy for getting an edge in the gold game and the Kraken Gong will potentially add more fire-power to the fleet while also potentially annoying everyone if I bring in Kray-Kin or The Kraken. Rounding out the fleet is the Dragon with Mistress Ching. The Dragon will follow along with the GB and take whatever coins the GB didn’t take.
Two fleets from the QotD on FB. Today is time for Ocean’s Edge, 60 points.
First fleet:
Virtuous Wind(14)+ helmsman, silver explorer(2+3)
Sea Crane(9)+ silver explorer(3)
HMS Grand Temple(15)+Lord Thomas Gunn, Calico cat, helmsman(6+6+2)
UT’s: Lost
Should come as no surprise what the Grand Temple will be doing. Her speed and good cannons will allow her to either go hunting the other fleet or will allow her to keep escort with my own runners. Thomas Gunn is chosen over Griffin in case someone brings along the Guinee and cancels the Temple’s ability. Virtuous Wind and Sea Crane will do a bulk of the gold running. Both ships are equipped with silver explorers, and I would be adding almost 2 full cards worth of silver to the mix, so I should find quite a few silver coins. The VW has decent enough cannons it could return fire if something gets the jump on it and leaves at least a mast standing. Lost is included to add whirlpools if I find it. If my opponent finds it, the Temple is probably getting reefed.
Second fleet:
Zeus(23)+Emperor Blackheart, captain, helmsman, oarsman(12+3+2+1)
Angelica(19)
Pure silliness. EBH will hopefully land a 1-5 more than a 6, which will give extra actions to the Zeus and to the Sea Dragon. ? Angelica is the cheaper of the two dragons and has the much better ability. Zeus has enough cargo to essentially operate as a hybrid ship in this set-up. She’ll likely not be able to chase down the myriad small goldships, but Angelica should be able to by flying.
I’m assuming that’s the Ocean’s Edge version of L’Afrique and not her Barbary Coast version?
Interesting fleet, very combat focused. I’d try and find a way to get a captain onto the Ballista as well. Her cannons are NOT good, but with 4 chances to hit odds are semi-decent that you also succeed with at least one. You can do it by adding Jules de Cissey from Crimson Coast, the French +5 crew. He can hide on the Lyon or on L’Afrique’s one extra cargo space.
Report 10 is now up!
That leads me to another question then. Is there a reason why you don’t buy sealed packs?
Sealed packs are getting more and more expensive, and I’m less willing to pay that higher price. Also, I already have most of what you can get out of a pack. Most of my collection was bought second hand through large lots on eBay or large sales on Miniature Trading.
Another fleet from the QotD! Mysterious Islands, 60 points.
HMS Pacificum(15)+Lt. Henry Ducie Chads, captain, helmsman, firepot specialist(5+3+2+2)
Devil’s Pay(4)+ Cannonball Gallows(0)
Coleptra(12)+Captain Mission, helmsman(7+2)
Panama Sun(10)+helmsman, explorer(2+1)
Islands: MI#1 and #7
This was a tougher one. Not too many quick cheap gold ships, if any. There was however a +5 point crew, so I had to bring him in. Could I have done it better? Possibly. However, here we are. Anywho, the Pacificum fills the role of dedicated gunship. She isn’t the most combat capable 5 mast, but she’s the only 5 in the set that moves faster than L. Lieutenant Chads should hopefully give her a speed boost or a second shoot action. Unlike other fleets I’ve submitted she’ll likely stay close to the gold runners. Coleptra and Panama Sun will be doing the gold running, and will be targeting the Mysterious Islands I’ve included. With luck I’ll be able to gather most of the gold on the map in one or two locations and take the best for myself. With most of the gold hopefully near me my opponent will be forced to come to me for it, and even subs need to come up to dock and get gold, making them easy targets for the Pacificum. This fleet depends heavily on island placement and luck, making this one of the most gimmick fleets I’ve submitted yet.
Another one for QotD on Facebook. 60 points Davy Jones Curse only.
HMS Half-Moon(9)+ helmsman, explorer(2+1)
HMS Starbuck(7)
HMS Gargantuan(16)+Commander Spencer Portland, captain, helmsman(7+3+2)
L’Eroica+ Mdmsl Josephine Godiva(0), helms, explore(2+1)
I was veeeery tempted to make a 60 point fleet revolving around Guichuan, as well as a fleet focused on Bonny Peel, but decided otherwise in the end. HMS Gargantuan fills the role of primary gunship; she should have enough speed and luck to catch any small to mid-sized gold runner as well as get the drop on any gunship. HMS Half-Moon and co will take care of the gold, with L’Eroica making a surprise entry as the primary back-up to the half moon. In fact the Eroica could easily take the primary role is her built in SAT comes through a few times. Godiva links to the ship and provides a re-roll mostly for the SAT but could also be used for other purposes.
Me and Captain Vendari recently played a couple games with the VASSAL Module for the SW game. Pretty fun and a wee bit more strategic than I had thought.
Adding onto this now since it’s relevant, I’ve finally dipped my toes into DnD along with my brother.
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.
I’ve seen the Kyoshi books, but I haven’t got them. I followed the graphic novels that followed the show, but fell behind on some of them. After reading this I’m def. gonna have to get my hands on those books.
I myself recently read The Last Wish, which I think is the first of the Witcher series of books, and greatly enjoyed it. I’m also working my way through A Veil of Spears, book three in the Song of Shattered Sands. Additionally I’m very slowly getting through the Game of Thrones.
I have never encountered a resealed pack of pirates (mostly because I don’t buy sealed packs). People have raised concerns in the past, especially about funny looking packs that look like they’ve been resealed. the counter point is that these packs are 10-15 years old, whatever was used to seal them may be deteriorating.
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.
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. ?
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?
After a bit of a hiatus, we are back! Report 9 of Century of Economy is now up!
I’ve used Temple on the fishhook before, but it’s always been in a campaign setting, not a regular game.
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).
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.
The Nice Guy: Often points out different avenues an opponent can take, opening their mind up to great moves they otherwise wouldn’t see that could result in the nice guy losing the game. Great at teaching new players.
I do this a little bit now, but less so in the past, especially against my brothers. I haven’t had opportunity to teach many new players.
Combination of Penny-Pincher, Deal Hawk and Player. Always have been, most likely will be. Eventually I’ll probably morph into super-collector.
As mentioned elsewhere I believe I’m currently a mesh of power-gamer, sophisticated, predictable and unpredictable. I like to use a lot of the best things (like Mycron et.all) since that results in winning the game, which I do enjoy. That I use those pieces a lot trends me into predictable, especially if I’m playing against my brothers. They’ve gotten tired of seeing a decked out Acorazado, Constitution or HMS Grand Temple being thrown at them when we play large pointed games. This leads me to think of new ways to use ships and crew, leading to the sophisticated and unpredictable. I think the closest I got to a sophisticated was when I made the gold race 3 fleet on MT, which utilized CJS, silver and a silver explorer along with other gold bonus crew.
I’ve only been a tourney gamer for the VASSAL tournaments, and wouldn’t mind a return to one of those. Maybe.
There have been a few times I was trickster, but it doesn’t happen often. I think the most memorable was when I hid Gus Schultz on the Constitution in a game against my brothers.
It’d probably be fun to try as the weirdo for a few games, since the Cursed are my favorite flavor faction. 😀
As of 9/4/2021, live game-play has ended. I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll be able to get reports up and done before October.
Report 8 is now up!