Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst.
3 is average.
5 is the highest rating.
Date Reviewed -
July 30, 2009
Cadet-Captain Mike
Name: Halcon (Spain)
Card: RF #007 (Rare)
Points: 6
Masts: 1
Cargo: 3
Moves: L
Guns : 3S
Hit %: 50 (S), 0 (L)
Ability: Once per turn, this ship can look at one
face-down cargo on any ship.
The Halcon is typical of about 2/3 of the ships in
the Rise of the Fiends release: unexceptional,
unexciting, and unworthy of praise. She doesn't
stink to high heaven, but compared to the typical
ships from older releases, she barely rates a yawn.
Speed is average for RotF, which means "too slow."
Her one cannon is average. Her cargo is average. Her
ability is pretty average as well. The best thing I
can say about her is that her low cost won't ruin
you if she doesn't pay for herself. But how should
she go about doing that? For gold, she needs a
Helmsman, which runs her cost up to 8 points with 2
cargo free. For fighting, she needs 5-6 points'
worth of fighting crew, and is still vulnerable to
one hit or one ram. Neither option is anywhere close
to cost-effective -- La Monarca costs 8 points, is
faster, and has twice the cargo free, while El
Algeciras (OE) with a Captain has slightly more
firepower than the Halcon with Captain and
Musketeer, but costs only six points instead of 12.
So what do you do with the Halcon? Not much. What is
she good for? Not much. What else can I say? You
guessed it -- not much.
If up until this point you had thought that there
was, in fact, a "one-master with L+L speed" theme
going on, you'd be wrong. Today's ship has neither a
base move of L+L or a power that gives it L+L
movement.
Powers: One per turn, this ship can look at one
face-down cargo on any ship. Useful power to have if
you need to find targets for a dedicated boarding
ship.
Cargo Space: 3 spaces is really good and helps the
Halcon pay for itself in two trips at most.
Masts: Just one 3S gun, but it's nothing to sneeze
at unless you have an L-range gun.
Base Move: Just an L, so whether or not she needs a
Helmsman is up to you.
Point Value: 6 points is a decent value for this
ship.
If you like arming a bigger ship to steal gold from
an enemy's gold runners, the Halcon would be a good
ship to have on hand to help you pick your targets.
She also makes a decent gold runner.
