The Captain's Logbook

Arr!

The most recent Pirates set, Fire and Steel, has introduced a couple of new, more expensive Flotillas. Where all of the Flotillas in Rise of the Fiends cost 7pts, several of these new Flotillas cost 9pts. This is actually a good thing, because the new Flotillas have abilities beyond just double-range cannons, and because now you have room to put more expensive crew onto them. And, there is one new Flotilla that just costs 6pts, for you point-pinching Pirates. Continue Reading »

The next expansion for Pirates of the Cursed Seas, Fire & Steel, is due out on April 9^th. One of the new pieces in this expansion is the Bombardier, a ship with a fiery cannon on it’s bow. Here’s the keyword description:

Bombardier. This ship has a special bombardier cannon that is not associated with a mast and can’t be eliminated or targeted by effects. Before the game begins, announce whether the bombardier cannon will be an artillery cannon (using the artillery cannon piece) or a flamestrike cannon (add the flame piece onto the artillery cannon piece); this choice can’t change once the game begins. Use the range/rank die printed on the artillery cannon piece for both the artillery cannon and the flamestrike cannon. Equipment (see my next post – Ed) abilities can’t affect shots made by a bombardier cannon.

The artillery cannon has the Double Shot keyword.

The flame portion of the flamestrike cannon physically measures S, so you can use it to measure range to enemy ships. When a flamestrike cannon hits, replace one of the target’s masts with a fire mast. If the cannon roll for either version of the bombardier cannon is a 1, the cannon jams and can’t be used again until the ship is given a repair action specifically to fix it.

The new set will have 4 Bombardier ships: one for the Pirates, one for the British, and 2 for the French. So far, WizKids has revealed 2 of the Bombardier ships, the Draconum for the Pirates, and the Bombardier for the British.

The Draconum, being a prototype stolen by the Pirates, isn’t that great. With only 3 cargo, a base speed of L, , and a #3 bombardier cannon, she is hardly fearsome. Plus, you have to eliminate one of her masts when she rolls a 1 on any cannon roll. At least this ship is cheap at only 13pts.

The British have a nice ship in the Bombardier, though. A base move of S+S, 3 cargo,   , , a #3 bombardier, and the ability to choose which mast is eliminated on a successful hit makes this a scary ship. This ship costs 18pts.

So far, WizKids has not revealed what the 2 French Bombardier ships are, but my guess, from looking at the Fire & Steel checklist, is that they are the Conquerant and the Grand Vainqueur, both at 21pts. Hopefully, they have decent stats and abilities to support those prices.

I’m a bit hesitant to say that Bombardier ships are going to be useful. I really want to see the definition of the “Double Shot” keyword before I pass judgement. But, with the right crew, if might be fun to run around in the Bombardier and set other ships on fire.

The new Pirates of the Cursed Seas set Rise of the Fiends came out today, and WizKids has updated their card gallery with all sorts of new goodness. Here’s a first look at some of the ships in the new set. Continue Reading »

Last night’s Pirates of the Spanish Main game went pretty well. The scenario was Five 5′s and Forty Lashes, where we built fleets consisting of five 5-masted ships (of any cost), with 40pts of crew. No limit crew were allowed. Also, there were no islands or gold; it was pure gun battle.

Including the Privateer, we had 6 players, so there were 30 ships on the board…and plenty of opportunities for fighting. My fleet did pretty well double-teaming a lone ship or two. I also got my Behemoth into position to un-submerge and attack a couple of ships, but that left him vulnerable, and he was shot and killed.

Late in the game, I realized that one of my derelict ships could still act! One of my ships, the Le Soleil Royal, had been derelicted by another ship, but not sunk. On board, I had a Sacrifice Captain, a couple Oarsmen and a Helmsman, which meant the ship could still move S+S. And, if I sac’ed another Oarsman, I would be able to move S+S+S+S! Ramming speed!

Unfortunately, my ramming roll came to nothing, and he won the boarding roll, killing the last Oarsman. And, the ship was sunk shortly there after. But it was a glorious attempt!