Wizkids released a whopping 13 sets in just 5 years of production.  Here you can find some general information and my opinions on them, as well as links to purchase if they suit your fancy.

You can see my detailed set rankings here, which is where my ratings below come from.

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In 2004, Wizkids launched the Pirates of the Spanish Main product line.  The first set introduced three factions – Pirates, English, and Spanish.  Spanish Main (SM) was the first set I bought and it is still my favorite set.  If you like the basics of the game, a limited number of factions, and a more historical set than most of the others, this is the set for you.

My rating: 18/20

 

 

 

 

The second set came out in 2005 – Pirates of the Crimson Coast (CC).  This set introduced the French, the Schooner ship type and forts.  This is another classic set with a TON of great ships and crew.  It can also lay claim to the title of “most perfect set”, as it got the highest rating from me when ranking all the sets.  It also has the lowest number of votes for “least favorite set” in the Pirates CSG Survey.

My rating: 19/20

 

 

 

 

 

Pirates of the Revolution (RV) came out in 2005 as well, featuring the introduction of the American faction.  Revolution is sometimes considered the “best” set, with fast ships and some of the most usable ships in the game.  RV also marked the first time Events were used, as well as new tins with varying artwork.  One of the most historical sets, it’s also a favorite of American fans.

My rating: 17/20

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pirates of the Barbary Coast (BC) was the last set from 2005. The Barbary Corsairs and their Galleys gave players the best “minor faction” to use. This is another set with some historical tie-ins, and the only set without the Pirate faction. Overall the set is very balanced and playable, but not quite as exciting as the sets released just before and after it.

My rating: 16/20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pirates of the South China Seas (SCS) is the hardest set to acquire due to its rarity, and the first set released in 2006. The Jade Rebellion and their new ship type, Junks, highlighted the set.  This is another fantastic set on par with the first three sets, doing extremely well on gameplay, theme, and artwork.  Tough to beat, but tough to find.

My rating: 18/20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pirates of Davy Jones’ Curse (DJC, 2006) is easy to acquire and features the Cursed and their sea monsters.  This is when the game marked a dramatic turn from mostly historical content to some fantasy content.  In some ways one could argue it was the “beginning of the end” since it drove away some of the player base, but it did attract a younger audience for the sets to come as well.  In addition, this set is when the reverse power creep began – meaning that the general effectiveness of game pieces began to decline.  The Cursed faction and sea creatures were part of it in this set, but ships also began getting slower in this set.

My rating: 14/20

 

 

 

 

Pirates of the Mysterious Islands (MI, 2006) featured the new Mercenary faction and introduced Submarines.  It was not a great set, as the artwork seemed dull and the ships were worse than the ones from DJC.  In addition, the Mercenaries are the worst of the minor factions since they cannot dock at their own home island!  However, you’ll enjoy the set if you like subs and the tie-ins to Jules Verne’s20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

My rating: 10/20

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pirates of the Frozen North (FN, 2007) saw the Vikings sail into battle aboard their Longships.  The Vikings are another very poor minor faction, as they have small fragile ships and have trouble in the gold game.  Icebergs were featured as a new terrain option.  FN is another slow set, but there are a bunch of very solid game pieces among the mediocre stuff.

My rating: 11/20

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pirates At Ocean’s Edge (OE, 2007) was a large set that got produced in huge quantities, featuring a ton of different ship types as well as new types of sea monsters.  Due to the massive production, it’s both the cheapest set and the easiest to find.  It features the “Big 6” factions together again, marking the end of minor factions being introduced in their own sets.  OE is a great set for beginners due to the variety, quantity, and price.  Highly recommended if you’re on a budget and just getting into the game, though it can get boring once you’ve used the stuff from the set a lot.  It’s also not balanced at all, as some game pieces are terrible and some are among the best in the game. 

My rating: 12/20

 

 

 

Pirates of the Caribbean (POTC, 2007) saw Wizkids partner with Disney to produce a movie-themed set, with only the Pirates and English as playable factions.  It’s a very unique set, and it changed the design of the ships along with the rarity/numbering scheme.  For me it’s a fantastic collaboration that makes perfect sense given how similar DJC and OE already were to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, but there are some issues.  The lack of a Cursed faction and the collation issues (a whole booster box full of commons, for example) plagues the set.  Great idea, imperfect execution.

My rating: 12/20

 

 

 

Rise of the Fiends (ROTF, 2008) signaled the decline of the Pirates game. New “pokéships” alienated some of the player base and the set was smaller than most that came before it, with an abundance of slow ships.  Only a few of the widely despised Scorpion ships were even produced, and the red islands didn’t make things any better.  Interestingly enough a lot of the regular ships and crew were pretty decent, the saving grace for an otherwise poor set.

My rating: 11/20

 

 

 

 

Fire & Steel (F&S, 2008) continued the trend of the game delving more into the fantasy aspects, with new ships equipped with movable steel blades and huge flamethrowers.  It was a large set, but a slow and boring one.  There’s just not a lot in the set to get excited about.

My rating: 10/20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Savage Shores (SS, 2008) became the last set of Pirates CSG.  The set was only the size of half of a normal set (just over 50 game pieces), released in Scavenger Pack boxes instead of the normal game packs.  It featured a bunch of new game pieces and ship types despite the small size, and was notable for being the best set for gameplay since at least the Caribbean set.  A small blaze of glory before the game went out of print just days after release.

My rating: 16/20

 

 

Why was Savage Shores so small? Wizkids intended to release Return to Savage Shores soon afterwards, but they were shut down by Topps only a few days after Savage Shores was released in the heat of the financial crisis.