Name:   La Victoire (Pirates)

Card:    CC #002 (Rare)

Points:  14

Masts: 5

Cargo: 6

Moves: L

Guns : 2S, 3L, 3L, 3L, 2S

Hit %: 283 (S), 150 (L)

Ability: French crew may use their abilities on this ship.

La Victoire has the "classic Pirate look" -- almost entirely black.

Between that and her size, she makes a very imposing figure on the game table. But is she as deadly as she looks?

Her cannons are a bit better than "just average," and she has five of them. Her cargo is huge, with plenty of room for all kinds of fighting crew. But unless most of them are generic crew, you'll find yourself spending more on crew than the ship's cost, and you can't do that. So that 6 cargo isn't quite the killer it appears to be. Neither is her ability, because the Pirates have so many good crew that they don't need any French help.

As for crew, she obviously needs a Captain and a Helmsman. If you want to max her out, I'd suggest the following all-star team:  Jack Hawkins (SM), Crimson Angel (OE), Helmsman, Cannoneer, and Fire Shot.

La Victoire is one of the lower-priced five-masted Pirates, and she's above average compared to most of them. Pirate fleets don't always require a five-masted thug, but if your battle plan requires some muscle behind the Skull and Crossbones, this ship ought to serve you well.

Goldship rating: 3.3 / 5

Gun Ship rating: 4.5 / 5

Boarding rating: 3.6 / 5

Value for points: 3.1 / 5

La Victorie, 14 points, Pirate

Masts: 5

Cargo: 6

Speed: L

Cannons: 2S 3L 3L 3L 2S

Abilities: French crew may use their abilities on this ship.

Flavor Text: Le Requin's language skills and treacherous use of flags conspire to lure other ships into La Victoire's net, though he is almost chivalric toward those who serve France—after all, they are countrymen!

Now this is a crazy looking ship. It's pretty much pure black. But, isn't it funny to compare a CC 5 mast ship, to, say, a RotF 5 mast ship? They still compete. For example, HMS Apollo vs. this ship, this ship would probably win. Oh, and this ship has 6 cargo. Crazy, isn't it? Haven't seen that for a while.

Now, being a Pirate ship, La Victorie has access to pretty much every crew in the game. Then, why would you even bother using French crew?

First of all, there's some pretty sweet French crew, like Jean DeSailly from PoDJC, who allows you, on a 5 or 6, to move an enemy ship L. That's pretty good. Or, Leander Arnaud, which allows you to take all treasure from another ship when you win a boarding party.

With 5 masts, and 6 cargo, this is a very effective combo.

Or, perhaps you want a doctor crew. Father Rene Bordeaux could serve well onboard this ship. Don't have Tia Dalma? Add in Lenoir from Crimson Coast to have a canceler.

There are a lot of good options for this ship. Unfortunately, with the

Loyal: France keyword abounding on many of the cool new crew, La Victorie is kind of losing out. Still, it's a fine ship. Maybe not as good, as, say, the Black Swan, but this ship has better cargo and cannons.

La Victorie receives a 3.8/5.