Many years ago, in Autoduel Quarterly (a magazine dedicated to the Car Wars board game), there was an article titled “Lions, Vultures and Bunnies“. The article described several types of vehicles you could build in the game: the Lion (big guns, quick kills), the Vulture (faster, decent guns, killed weakened opponents), and Bunnies (speed, speed and more speed).

I was thinking recently that these persona could be applied to various Pirates of the Spanish Main ships. Plus, in PotSM, gold cargo is important, so I added an additional category for the Mules (slow, but able to carry lots of gold).

Lions and Vultures, Bunnies and Mules in PotSM: Part 1 – Pirate Lions
Lions and Vultures, Bunnies and Mules in PotSM: Part 2 – Pirate Vultures
Lions and Vultures, Bunnies and Mules in PotSM: Part 3 – Pirate Bunnies
Lions and Vultures, Bunnies and Mules in PotSM: Part 4 – Pirate Mules

So, here is the fifth installment of a recurring series of articles: Lions and Vultures, Bunnies and Mules in PotSM: Part 5 – British Lions.

Arguably the most powerful Lion in the British fleet is the HMS Titan. Costing 17pts, with 5 masts (2 short #2s and 3 long #2s), 5 cargo spaces and an L base move, this ship is a formidable foe. Plus, the HMS Titan’s ability “Once per turn, roll a d6. On a 5 or 6, this ship may be given an extra action,” means that one-third of the time the ship gets an extra action, which is really nice if you need an extra Shoot action to finish an opponent off.

Another good British Lion is the HMS Gallows. It only has 4 masts, but all of those masts are long #2 guns. Add in this ship’s ability of “This ship gets +1 to her cannon rolls against any ship,” and the HMS Gallows becomes a very nasty gunship.

Other good Lions include the HMS Duke of York (only 3 masts, but it’s “Broadsides” ability makes up for it), or the HMS London (4 #2 cannons and an S+S base move).

How to handle them: Lions are always looking for a fight, so getting your Lions into position to sink your opponents ships is essential. Using Helmsmen and double/extra-action crew is key to extending the range of your Lions. Plus, it’s always a nice surprise for your opponent (who thought they were out of range) when you reveal a hidden crew, sail up and sink their gold runner.

If your opponent has a Lion in their fleet, there is no better target for a Mermaids event to stop the ship in it’s tracks, especially for a larger ship with lots of crew. Just be careful that your opponent doesn’t have a Favor of the Gods event ready.

Next Time: British Vultures!