Unconventional Pirates

The Paradox, an underrated vessel.

Originally published to Miniature Trading on July 25th, 2017

45 Points

Here is a Pirate fleet that features a new ship for Barstow, a very unique crew, as well as an unexpected hybrid of sorts and a slow gold runner.

Barstow is best aboard a larger ship so he can win boarding parties, but the Raven is a surprisingly good ship for him to serve on. The Raven is fast enough to ram and board enemy ships, though unfortunately Barstow will have to board before the flotilla’s cannons can soften the target. However, he has an oarsman for protection, and will not be pinned due to his ship’s ability. In addition, the Schooner keyword could allow Barstow to board without ramming in some cases, which might be desirable at some point. Finally, the explorer keyword and the Raven’s 3 remaining cargo spaces make the ship a fun and versatile option.

The Cutlass is a solid support gunship, but here she’s the main attack ship while also functioning as a hybrid. Hammersmith is just irresistible to us fleet makers, and for good reasons. The cargo space he saves makes the ship viable as a hybrid, with two spots for gold to be gotten from exploring or stealing. The Cutlass may shadow the Raven and protect her, potentially hitting a target with covering fire before Barstow attempts to capture crew (after which the ship is finish off with Doombox). She’s also the designated fort-wrecker if you need her for that!

I started running into point problems at the end, but luckily the Paradox is a still-underrated option at the dirt-cheap <5 point level. The Hag lets Hammersmith do his thing on the Cutlass, while the helmsman is necessary to make the Paradox fast enough to reach islands close to home. The hope is that Barstow and Hammersmith will create enough chaos and distraction with their vessels that the Paradox can make multiple trips and steadily accumulate gold.

In a unique UT strategy (lol), I am trying to give my opponent(s) crew or protect their existing crew. The abandoned crew would likely be a shipwright and cannoneer, since a captain or musketeer could be more invasive to my own plans. In addition, it could be nice for the Cutlass or Paradox to find one of them. Castaway is amazingly underrated and versatile, and might be used against me, but was too fun to pass up. Between the potential for 3 extra crew to enter the game, Barstow will be busy nabbing people left and right! I originally had the Executioner in for the Cutlass, but realized it made no sense with the capturing strategy. I’ve gone the complete opposite route, hoping my opponent finds Jack’s Piece of Eight to avoid them losing crew so I can capture them.  

The forts are standard, and would likely be financed by the Paradox and set up by either of the schooners.

Thanks for checking this out! It’s not nearly as practical as many other Pirate fleets, but it’s a fun new usage for Barstow with a bit of a weird strategy overall.

I used this fleet in a unique game featuring points in play PLUS gold in order to win.

Fleet page at Miniature Trading