Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst.
3 is average.
5 is the highest rating.
Date Reviewed - 06.15.09
Cadet-Captain Mike
Name: HMS Bretwalda (England)
Card: DJ #050 (Uncommon)
Points: 14
Masts: 4
Cargo: 3
Moves: L
Guns : 2S,2S,2S,2S
Hit %: 267 (S), 0 (L)
Link : Trevor Van Tyne
Ability: Broadsides Attack.
Broadsides Attack Week begins with HMS Bretwalda, an
English ship with a Welsh name. Her appearance is
odd for an English ship; I'd have thought she was
French. There's no confusion about her role, though.
Four 2-rank cannons... it could only be better if
some of them were L-range. What's more, this is one
of the very few Broadside ships with all 2-rank
cannons, giving you a 67% chance of landing that
Broadside and doing five masts' worth of damage,
even against damage-resistant ships like the
original USS Constitution and El Acorazado. That's
gotta hurt. Even if you don't use the Broadside, you
still have some very effective gunnery at your
disposal.
She needs a Captain and she needs a Helmsman. Her
linked crew, Trevor Van Tyne, gives an S-board and a
boarding bonus against the Cursed for 6 points. If I
had that kind of points to spend on crew, I'd rather
replace the Helmsman with the RF Griffin for the
helmsman and gunnery-bonus combo that brings her
accuracy to 333%, and save a point in the bargain.
HMS Bretwalda is a tough fighter with the guns to
really take advantage of her ability. Her 14-point
cost is fair, and puts her in good company (like HMS
Apollo, HMS Victoria, and HMS Ark Royal, to name a
few). She could easily be the flagship of any
English battle fleet.
If I said this was a better fighter than a cargo
hauler, would you really be surprised? It's an
English four-mast ship, that's all you need to know.
Cargo Space: 3 spaces is all you need for some good
crew. If you do have an empty space, go board an
enemy ship instead of going to a wild island.
Masts: Four masts, all equipped with a 2S cannon.
The HMS Bretwalda has a Broadsides keyword though,
so the S-range cannons aren't a big weakness; it
just means you should Broadsides as much as possible
rather than shoot normally.
Base Move: An "L" move is pretty typical for
fighters. A helmsman would fortify this pretty well.
Point Value: 14 points isn't a bad cost for this
fighter due to its good fighting skills.
Combine the HMS Bretwalda with her linked crew,
Trevor Van Tyne (reviewed 08.02.06) and you have a
mean ship that can break her enemy's teeth before
killing her crew.
