Originally published to Miniature Trading on September 3rd, 2016
45 Points
Here is a fleet I’ve used with substantial success. Check out how it did in these battle reports (I plan to eventually redo those battle reports with the pictures). I created it around January 1st 2015, and it’s been used extensively since then.
This fleet managed to win an epic 8 fleet multiplayer game, which is really cool. It also came in second place in a 12 fleet game, making it one of the few fleets I’ve seen that is somewhat objectively good at games with lots of fleets involved.
It did quite well in VASSAL Tournament #2, where you can see even more battle reports!
After losing in VASSAL Tournament #2, this fleet’s record is now 14-12. It’s my third-most-tested fleet that I’ve used in games.
What I find amazing about this American Pirates fleet is that it’s not even optimized for competitive play, yet lost in the finals of one tournament and in the semifinals of another, more competitive tournament. You could easily swap out the Bandido for the Banshee’s Cry with a helmsman and explorer, and even swap out the Amity for the Bloody Jewel and another cheap Pirate gold runner (or two with Rover + Mermaid, etc).
Originally published to Miniature Trading on September 1st, 2016
45 Points
I stole the name from the excellent Universal Pirate Shipping fleets created by darrin. I can change the name if desired.
In the style of the original UPS fleets, this one is meant for a standard game of Pirates. With a ship as costly as the Zeus, a 50 or 60 point game would likely be more ideal. However, this combo is so amazing (and the Zeus so undercosted) that it works in a regular setup.
The Zeus has L+S speed, which will ideally be doubled on most turns. It’s annoying to put an oarsman on the Zeus (rather than the home island) to start the game, but the Zeus needs to reach an island. Don sacs him and then we explore. The process begins. The Coeur loses an oarsman (she can carry 2 at a time) for the best coin. On the next turn, the Zeus can either redock at the island (potentially twice) or move twice towards another island. Beautiful! It’s best not to sac the explorer, but that could be done in a pinch. Either way the Zeus will likely have an oarsman to sac on every turn, which allows for extremely potent offense not seen in the other UPS fleets. Her gold-hoarding ability could even come in handy if she explores dud islands. The oarsmen will eventually run out, at which point the Zeus could load up gold and sac any crew needed to get home, or simply attack the other fleet. The forts are there to protect any gold the Zeus doesn’t want to send home (or doesn’t have time/oarsmen to send home).
The Jolly Mon can try to prevent the Coeur from being harmed. Other options include swapping Don for Jimmy Legs. This allows you to add Hidden Cove or a backup runner like the Mermaid. In the end, I went with Don between my hatred of events and the fact that Don’s second ability could really help a lot if you encounter nasty stuff like Plague or Natives. Even with the trading ability, negative UT’s will still be one of the biggest problems for this fleet. If the Zeus loses just one or two crew, the fleet’s efficiency goes way down.
Originally published to Miniature Trading on September 1st, 2016
100 Points
I’ve mentioned this many times in the past, and have played this fleet before. I’m not sure why I never bothered uploading it as a fleet. It’s generally for deathmatches.
As far as I know this is all legal heh. The Delusion setup may be the most total points you can fit on one ship in the entire game (77, I suppose you can fit another oarsman to make it 78 lol). The crew total 42 points for 8 crew, and Eddie gives -1 to the other 7. 42-7=35, so it works out perfectly. The cargo is actually better than perfect – there’s still a spot left! DJ links to make it 8 cargo, minus 7 crew who take up space.
The Delusion just sails around doing whatever she wants. She’ll move L+S+L+S with 20 shots 5/6 of the time, and Nemo will pair with Ozat to nab enemy crew. These crew can either be used as backups for the main crew (since you already have most of the main abilities you’d want on a monster gunship), or as sac fodder for Fantasma. Ideally you’ll capture a reroller so DJ can get more 5’s and 6’s, and start using Fantasma’s sac ability to get extra actions so the All-Powerful/sac captain combo doesn’t “waste” many points.
The Fallen Angel originally had El Fantasma aboard, but that would violate the no-duplicates rule and the point limit. I originally had the Delusion setup at 76 points, allowing 24 points for other stuff. However, the new crew setup on the Fallen Angel might actually be better. Fantasma would let the Fallen Angel keep up with the Delusion (sort of), but now she’s more of a weapon. 4 shots at S+S range and a rank-2 cannon shooting firepots is decent support for the Delusion. The Fallen Angel is to survive as long as possible with her ability and oarsman so the flotilla can stay mobile to support the Delusion. You could also go with the Executioner + captain/helmsman/firepot specialist (or oarsman + equipment). Other than swapping Fantasma for the 6 points of crew, this setup is in its original form.
Tribal Chieftain & Native Canoes
RtSS-018
French
Points: 9
Masts: X (Canoes)
Cargo: 1
Move: S+S
Cannons: 3S
Native Canoe. When this ship carries no cargo, she gets +S to her base move.
quote from lord_denton:
The goal was to add as many different types of keyword ship types as possible, right? Nice swarm fleet.
Indeed. I simply used the search function to find the cheapest ship at each keyword, and then put them in the fleet. (Thus the Lightning not really being a creative choice, but thanks!) I did consider the Skipping Stone or HMS Hermes, but when I saw that the Grinder was not only the best Turbine, but also the cheapest, my decision was made easier. It was the cheapest I could have gone without adding a flotilla, which would have left room for more crew that I didn’t want to add. I felt like I was selling out a bit adding a gunship, but I would try to use the Grinder as a hybrid/escort.
This fleet started off as a complete joke, but once I realized that some of the cheapest ships of their type were actually among the best (Libellule and French canoes, etc), I realized that the fleet would turn out better than I had expected it to, hence adding the Grinder to optimize even more. And yes, Plague should be fun because I might even try to pass it off to my own ships on purpose since they don’t have any crew! (Not to mention the thought of a dismasted Grinder moving S+L with the plague as a perfect flavor touch)
I really like 3 masted ships, so choosing a faction was tough. I decided to make a quick decision and go with my gut, which actually said Pirates this time. South China Seas has been one of my favorite sets over the past year and a half, so that made my decision even easier. I happen to adore the Greed’s Hammer, like the Accused quite a lot, and I generally like the Madagascar.
All three of these ships are underrated, a somewhat unfortunate hallmark of SCS’s rarity. The Greed’s Hammer is simply fantastic, boasting great cannons, good cargo, and one of the absolute best abilities in the game for a very fair price tag. She’s got Hammersmith and Coconut to help her play a hybrid role.
It would be cool to have 3 hybrids, but I wanted to maximize the Accused’s ability and cannons. Therefore I packed her with crew, and the firepot specialist will not be firing at a reduced range since all of the ship’s cannons are S range. Her point limit and cargo hold is maxed out, and with luck she’ll move L+S+L+S and rip off 6 shots at rank-2 with a firepot in the volley.
The Madagascar is the main gold runner – I really wanted to go a lot of different ways with her in terms of crew. I initially wanted a helmsman and either a smokepot specialist or smokepot shot, which would give her fog immunity in times of trouble. However, this left only 2 cargo spaces, and I didn’t want to leave the helmsman at home either. I then considered Captain Mysion which would give each ship the captain ability, formidable indeed. The Parley would help protect the Madagascar, while the captain keyword would give her flexibility. However, her rank-4 cannons seem out of place compared to the other two ships. I also considered Captain Sao Feng. In the end, I went with the tried and true option: the good ‘ol canceller. Tia Dalma will protect the ship from most initial attacks, and could cancel an annoying ability if need be. She should give the Madagascar the opportunity for the first shot, after which the Madagascar can reverse captain away.
I personally think this fleet is a very strong entry for the challenge. Ships that cannot be shot at within S could prove to be hindrance, but I didn’t see any 3 masters with that ability. That was another reason for bringing Tia Dalma along – if there are any problematic defensive abilities, the Madagascar can sail over and cancel them. Having a canceller on a gold runner is a luxury – the two gunships are already loaded considering their point costs and 3 masted-ness. Each ship possesses one of the best abilities in the game in one form or another: +2 gold bonus, SAT, and cancelling.
Hopefully I’ll be able to test this Triple Pirate Barrage fleet on VASSAL sometime to see if it works well! Until then, comment and vote!
Originally published to Miniature Trading on June 30th, 2016
80 Points
After Woelf‘s comment I decided to make a theme fleet based on the Lady’s Scorn!
The fleet is all about the girls – no male crew in this fleet. The 5 masted Lady’s Scorn will try to capture crew and/or steal gold with boarding parties and grappling from L range. She’s also got 2 cargo spaces available if she wants to simply grab gold from an island.
The 4 masted version may not have a captain, but she’s ready for war. Tia Dalma will cancel any enemy captains that don’t have canceller support, which will allow the LS to get the first shot. She’s well-crew with none other than Calico Cat herself, who gives the ship better guns and provides an EA roll to perfectly complement the ship’s built-in reroll. Even without a captain, the LS can potentially move and shoot with an extra action, and between the Canceller and Eternal abilities, she won’t be going down easily.
The 3 masted version of the Lady’s Scorn may be the worst of the bunch, but she’s well-supported here. She can move and shoot with 6 shots if Crimson Angel gives her the SAT, and her guns are now 1S,2S,3S, impressive indeed. Even if one of them miss, Teresa can reroll it! Her boarding bonus could come in handy to steal a coin, which could be transferred to the 5 masted LS to get Gallows’ bonus. (Using Broadsides Attack is NOT recommended for either ship)
Overall, a fun fleet that has some of the best crew abilities in the game. The lack of helmsmen is a serious weakness, but it was necessary to keep the theme. (I experimented with Crimson Angel, Hermione Gold, and Vicomtesse Angelique de Richelieu on the 5 master, but I didn’t like how it turned out.) As a side note, these ladies don’t look too happy, so perhaps you should steer clear of them!
Originally published to Miniature Trading on June 22nd, 2016
30 Points
I was annoyed the other day to see that I haven’t submitted any fleets under 40 points. While I do love huge games, I’ve also played numerous games under 40 points and even got started soon after the game came out, with the 30 point build total of Spanish Main.
My favorite faction is the English, and I went with two of my favorite ships.
The Bolingbroke is the main gunship, and hunts for any enemies. The Dover is a great hybrid, but will look to grab gold before fighting. For an extra cargo space you could swap the Dover for HMS King Edward, but then you lose the extra crew flexibility.
I wanted to add Thomas Gunn the Younger to the Bolingbroke, but the helmsman and oarsman is more practical. I also considered having three ships, but decided that two ships with captains and helmsmen was a better option.
Thanks for checking out this Spanish Main English fleet!
Though 5 masters are my favorite ship type, I didn’t take long to figure out what kind of fleet I wanted to use. With only large ships available, I figured that most fleets would feature one or two large gunships with good crew. As a result, I decided to try making a swarm fleet, despite the Large Fry and 40 point restrictions.
With two of the cheapest 5 masters in the game, Spain was easily the best option. The Morning Star runs gold, with a helmsman giving her S+S+S speed with 5 open cargo spaces. The ability shouldn’t affect her since she won’t be shooting (an example of those irrelevant negative abilities).
The Neptuno is the second-cheapest ship in this fleet, and she’ll be a hybrid. Her speed is lacking, but the captain and L+L range of her cannons makes up for it somewhat. With 4 spaces available, she’ll try to get some gold as well.
The San Cristobal was the cheapest way to add fast firepower, as this fleet barely fits into the 45 point total. I didn’t like cutting corners with Zuan, but it allowed for the helmsman on the Morning Star, something that could really help this fleet. With two essential crew aboard the SC for just 2 extra points, the SC can move S+S+L and fire five cannons. Possibly even more important, she still has room for 3 coins, making her the best hybrid and a candidate to look for gold on the farther islands.
Roles:
San Cristobal: Take any major enemy threats head-on to prevent losing the main gold runners. Try to grab gold from distant islands while harassing enemy trade.
Neptuno: Gather gold from nearby islands while using the sniping ability for defense (and offense against enemy gold runners). As the main hybrid, support the San Cristobal in major battles and escort the Morning Star.
Morning Star: Get as much gold as possible. As the main gold runner, empty one island very quickly to get an advantage in the gold race, then move to farther islands.
The large cargo holds and relatively fast base moves (for large ships) make this fleet a decent attempt at a “Large Fry Swarm” fleet. Indeed, with 16 cargo spaces available before adding crew and no less than 15 masts, this fleet has great stats. The weaknesses lie in crew killers, extra actions, and the other inherent weaknesses of a “minimal crew” setup. Also, using these ships wasn’t creative at all, but that’s not my strong suit anyway (especially at 40 points).
Here’s the other fleet I briefly considered for the challenge. Terrox Mourning Star + captain, helmsman, oarsman, fire shot
Thanks to brettb45 for doing the challenge, and thanks to you for reading, commenting, and voting!
After volt has stated that hoists are mostly unplayable in 40 point games, I felt a desire to make a fleet like this. (He did say the Buscador could work but that he would never try that.)
I didn’t really know what to do for this challenge, so here’s what I came up with. There are numerous fleets using the ability of Captain Jack Sparrow, mostly by darrin with a variant by me. However, most of the fleets are simply quick grab-and-go fleets, without much offense and without a larger ship or two. Also, most the fleets make use of CJS, rather than one of the three ships with the ability.
And thus, a rather odd duo was born! This fleet has two ships, both of which cost not just more than 10 points, but a whopping 17 each!
The Frontier is the gold runner, of course. She’s a decent size ship for the role, but I wanted some additional support as well. Xerecs’ usage of American hoists in This is my fleet for Xerecs’ Greater than 10 Fleet Challenge.
After volt has stated that hoists are mostly unplayable in 40 point games, I felt a desire to make a fleet like this. (He did say the Buscador could work but that he would never try that.)
I didn’t really know what to do for this challenge, so here’s what I came up with. There are numerous fleets using the ability of Captain Jack Sparrow, mostly by darrin with a variant by me. However, most of the fleets are simply quick grab-and-go fleets, without much offense and without a larger ship or two. Also, most the fleets make use of CJS, rather than one of the three ships with the ability.
And thus, a rather odd duo was born! This fleet has two ships, both of which cost not just more than 10 points, but a whopping 17 each!
The Frontier is the gold runner, of course. She’s a decent size ship for the role, but I wanted some additional support as well. Xerecs’ use of American hoists in VASSAL Campaign Game 1 inspired the Eternal crew, which works well with an oarsman. The oarsman in turn works well with the treasure/crew swapping ability.
USS Morning Star might be the largest of the three ships with her ability, but she’s the perfect fit for this fleet. She combines good speed with average cannons (but 5 of them!) and a nice big cargo hold.
In my opinion this ability is the most confusing in the entire game. First off, the treasure isn’t actually loaded onto the first ship when it’s swapped. However, the Morning Star still has a cargo space open, which she might use to load up a coin she could bring home herself (possibly if the Frontier gets into trouble), or more likely keeping it open for Ralph David’s flight.
The strategy is considerably different than the other fleets that use this ability, which I think is cool. Neither ship will sit at the HI; they’ll both be out searching for gold. The Frontier will be looking the conventional way, using her hoist and speed to grab gold quickly. She has enough cargo (5 with her starting crew setup) to potentially hit two islands, though that decision will depend on how good the first island’s treasure is. The Morning Star will explore islands further out, since she has more durability and the captain. The Morning Star will have tough choices to make; she might load a coin and take up that final cargo space, but she might have to decide whether or not to send a coin to the Frontier. That’s where things get interesting. The Morning Star sends the high-value coin to the Frontier, who loads it. A crew from the Frontier is swapped to the island the Morning Star is docked at. The oarsman would be the first choice, and what’s really cool here is that when the first oarsman is swapped, that actually opens up a cargo space on the Frontier, so even if she already had 5 coins aboard, she could do the swap! One of the coolest things about this fleet for me though, is the possibility of stunning your opponent by swapping Ralph David. If the Morning Star is in trouble, she could explore an island and swap a coin to the Frontier for Ralph David, making the 5 master Eternal! This could work perfectly with a prior oarsman swap, where the MS would have both the Eternal and Oarsman keywords! I think that flexibility, combined with the speedy ships, makes this an intriguing fleet.
It’s annoying to have Perry on the MS, but I don’t want the Frontier to lose any more cargo and the MS has plenty of other crew. The Frontier’s Secret Hold keyword further improves this fleet, since any valuable gold the MS flips to the Frontier will be protected (and doubly protected with Oarsman/Eternal). Also, the Hoist keyword could come in handy if the MS wanted Ralph David or an oarsman and the Frontier was nearby.
The UT’s are designed to help the Frontier. I would place an abandoned shipwright, in the hopes that he could help the MS if swapped from the Frontier (or simply found by the MS). That and Homing Beacon add to the “teleportation” and flexibility themes of this fleet.
Perhaps someday I’ll use it again to have more gimmicky fun!
