Pojo's WizKids Pirates of the Spanish Main Constructable Strategy Game

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Pirate Piece of the Day

Ruth Lee
Common
American - Revolution

Ability: Place this crew face up during setup. Reduce the cost of all other crew placed on this ship by 1.

Type - Crew
Card Number - 99A

Card Rating: 3

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale 1 being the worst.
3 ... average. 5 is the highest rating.

Date Reviewed - 09.13.06

Chief P.O. Charles Richard
Common
American - Davey Jones'

Ability: This ship gets +1 to her cannon rolls against any non-American ship or fort.

Type - Crew
Card Number - 46B

Card Rating: 3

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale 1 being the worst.
3 ... average. 5 is the highest rating.

Date Reviewed - 09.13.06

WildWill

Pirates of the Revolution - Ruth Lee #99A

Name: Ruth Lee

Set: POR

Card #: 099A

Rarity: Common

Type: Crew

Cost: 2 Points

Faction: American

Link: Kikowa

Ability: Place this crew face up during setup. Reduce the cost of all other crew placed on this ship by 1.

Flavor Text: Born and raised at sea and respected by everyone, even pirates, she has forgotten more about ships, sailors and the sea than most of the so-called professionals have ever known.

I wanted to review this piece mostly because I think there's a lot of players who don't really know how to play this and similar pieces. When you place this crew on a ship during set-up she becomes active. Every subsequent crew on this ship costs 1 point less, but only as it pertains to the TOTAL points allowed on that ship. It does not permanently reduce those crew costs by one, and if she is removed from the game, you lose her ability. She's a powerful piece when needed on ships who have low point totals but plenty of cargo. Use the link to Kikowa (terrain master) if needed.

My Ratings

Playability 3 of 5

Collectability 2 of 5

Pirates of Davy Jone’s Curse - #46B - Chief P.O. Charles Richard

Name:Chief P.O. Charles Richard

Set: PODJC

Card #: 046b

Rarity: Common

Type: Crew

Cost: 4 Points

Faction: American

Link: Paul Revere

Ability: This ship gets +1 to her cannon rolls against any non-American ship or fort.

Flavor Text: Assigned to the Spanish Main to assess the reports of strange creatures and madmen, CPO Richard has his crew trained to expect anything and everything. Of course, he knows the reports are ridiculous, but he will follow his orders to the letter.

This piece is what you call a "World Hater" - +1 against ANY non American ship or fort (proving that WK still considers forts a part of the game) is a nasty little abilty for 4 points. Seems like it's almost under-costed tell you the truth - especially with a link. If you are playing an American fleet, this piece is a must.

My Ratings

Playability 4 of 5

Collectability 2 of 5

Next time:

We'll close the week out with a final American ship - and no, it's not a 1 master either.

Cadet-Captain Mike

Name: Ruth Lee
Card: PoR #099A (Common)
Points: 2
Faction: USA

Link : Kikowa
Ability: Place this crew face up during setup. Reduce the cost of all other crew placed on this ship by 1.

Other navies have a crew with this ability; now the Americans can get discount prices on crew as well. By simple math, the more crew you put on a ship with Miss Lee, the more points you save. By some more simple math, you gain nothing (or even lose points) if you don't put at least three other crew on a ship with her. So Ruth's battle station has to be on a ship with four or more cargo spaces. And since only big ships are worth filling with crew, that will usually put her on a five-masted warrior, or perhaps one of the USA's many fine four-masted schooners.

Any time you fill a ship with crew, you run the risk of being paralyzed by Mermaids. In a low-point game, this isn't such a risk, and Ruth makes it possible to afford a ship full of crew in a low-point game. Chances are, you can use her once against a given enemy; after that, he/she will be ready for you. So use her to make your best ship a killer, then set her aside for a few games. When the enemy becomes complacent, try her again with another full crew. Keep the enemy guessing - should he/she spend the three points on Mermaids or on something else?

Her link with Kikowa is a mystery to me. If I were stuffing a big fighting ship with crew, the ability to ignore terrain would not be high on my list. Maybe it was just an attempt to get the overpriced Kikowa into the game.

Total rating: 3 / 5

Name: Chief PO Charles Richard
Card: PoDJC #046B (Common)
Points: 4
Faction: USA

Link : Paul Revere
Ability: This ship gets +1 to her cannon rolls against any non-American ship or fort.

CPO Richard is what they call a world-hater - a crew who gives a bonus against anything that flies an unfriendly flag. This is a powerful ability, and the more guns he can affect, the better a value he is. So don't waste him on a two-masted ship, where his cost works out to 2 points per cannon. Stick him on the Enterprise or the Constitution, where he costs 0.8 points per cannon. Or send him to sea on his linked ship, the Paul Revere, which makes her extra-dangerous without using up a cargo space. You can use him to turn a good fighter (like the Franklin) into a deadly one, or surprise the enemy by turning a poor fighter (like the Yankee) into a decent one. If you use big ships and do any kind of fighting, this crew should be on your roster.

Total rating: 4 / 5