Pirates of the Revolution – Constitution #068

Name: Constitution

Set: POR

Card #s: 068

Type: Ship

Cost: 22 Points

Masts: 5

Cannons: 3L, 3L, 3L, 3L, 3L

Cargo: 4

Movement: 1L

Faction: American

Ability: Two hits from the same shoot action are required to eliminate one of this ship's masts.

Flavor Text: “Sailors nicknamed her "Old Ironsides" because she could take a full broadside attack without a chip to her hull—and her crew are the best-trained navy men in America.”

The most popular ship (by far) on the poll was the Constitution (though it’s misnamed, it should be the USS Constitution, but what are you going to do).  She’s a hardy old girl, and while the flavor text has it somewhat correct, the real answer is that during the war of 1812 in a battle with the HMS Guerrierre a witness saw a cannonball actually bounce off the hull, and according to the official website for the ship (yes, she’s still floating!) the witness shouted: ‘Huzzah! Her sides are made of iron!’-and so is born the nickname "OLD IRONSIDES."  (The winner of the contest will be announced on the message board, since I’m actually writing this review the day before I said I’d choose the winner.) 

I love this ship, and I really want to pull one.  For 22 points, she’s the most expensive American ship, and is one of the most expensive in the entire game, but you get what you pay for, that’s for sure.  Her ability is one of the best in the game, and it accurately depicts reality for a change (though if you really want to get technical, it should take THREE shots to take down a mast). 

There are a couple drawbacks to this baby though.  Only four cargo spots, which means, for all intents and purposes you can only put four crew on board.  You definitely want a captain for the move and shoot, and a helmsman, but when have I ever said you shouldn’t grab either one.  Instead of a generic captain, you might try Commodore David Porter with his broadsides attack (and the move/shoot), though he’s pricey at 7 points.  John Paul Jones is also a worthy consideration.  When the American Marine comes out, I would think about adding him as well.  Additionally, you only get level 3 cannons, and there aren’t many ways to increase that probability, Jonathan Harradan can assist with that, because you get to reroll one die roll if you need to.

Constitution  (068) Completed Auction Review – 7-28-05

# of completed Auctions: 7

High Amount: $15.00

Low Amount:  $  5.31

Average Amount $9.58

WOW, almost a ten dollar average for a rare ship, must be the name right?  Wrong, this ship is a staple for any American fleet.  Most buy-it-nows are also in the $9-10 range, so you know you’re going to pay for this one. 

My Ratings

Playability 5 of 5

The official USS Constitution website:  http://www.ussconstitution.navy.mil/