UPS v. 5.0: Zeus Style (UPS 5)
UPS 5 during VASSAL Tournament #2
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.
Please comment and vote on UPS 5!
Edit (9/20/2016): This fleet has won VASSAL Tournament #1!
This fleet’s record is now 8-3.
Edit: After losing in the second round of VASSAL Tournament #2, this fleet’s record is now 11-5 for a .688 winning percentage.
| Section: Ship #1 (6 miniatures) | ||||||
| Miniature | Set | Number | Type | Rarity | ||
| 1 | x | “Don” Pedro Gilbert | PofR | 016 | Crew | R |
| 1 | x | Captain Jack Sparrow | DPotC | 058 | Crew | C |
| 1 | x | Explorer | PofSMU | 116 | Crew | C |
| 1 | x | Helmsman | PofSMU | 108 | Crew | U |
| 1 | x | Oarsman | PofSMU | 112 | Crew | C |
| 1 | x | Zeus | PatOE | 300A | Ship | LE |
| Section: Ship #2 (5 miniatures) | ||||||
| Miniature | Set | Number | Type | Rarity | ||
| 1 | x | Le Coeur du Lion | PatOE | 080 | Ship | R |
| 4 | x | Oarsman | PofSMU | 112 | Crew | C |
| Section: Ship #3 (2 miniatures) | ||||||
| Miniature | Set | Number | Type | Rarity | ||
| 1 | x | Jolly Mon | DPotC | 005 | Ship | R |
| 1 | x | The Hag of Tortuga | PofCC | 027 | Crew | C |
| Section: Forts (4 miniatures) | ||||||
| Miniature | Set | Number | Type | Rarity | ||
| 1 | x | Dead Man’s Point | PofCC | 031 | Fort | C |
| 1 | x | Paradis de la Mer | PofR | 065 | Fort | C |
| 1 | x | St. Pierre | PofCC | 091 | Fort | C |
| 1 | x | The Devil’s Maw | PofR | 022 | Fort | C |
Fleet page at Miniature Trading