Pirates of the Spanish Main – Revenant

            It’s been a long time (almost nine months to be exact) since I wrote a COTD review.  The reasons are many-fold (mostly having to do with classes at UCLA, and a decided lack of interest in Heroclix), but I’m back now, and I’m ready to introduce the Pojo community to the newest gaming sensation, WizKids PIRATES line.  Thus far, WK has produced three quality sets of collectable / constructable miniature ships and crew that battle it out on the high seas.  For more details on the game and how to play it, check the main Pojo Pirates page and check out my introductory articles! 

What better way to start our COTD reviews, than with the titular faction, PIRATES!  Arrgh.

Name: Revenant

Set: POSM

Card #s: PS-001 (Rare), 001 (Rare), GS-001 (LE)

Type: Ship

Cost: 15 Points

Faction: Pirates

Masts: 5

Cargo: 4

Cannons 2L, 2S, 2S, 2S, 2L

Movement 1L

Ability: “Other ships do not block this ship''s line of fire.”

Flavor Text: “The Revenant ("one who returns after death") is an appropriate name for the mysterious flagship of Capitan El Fantasma and his ghostly crew.”

Is there a better Pirate gunship?  Well…actually, yes, there is.  The Harbinger from POSM is slightly better, since she has virtually the same stats, one higher cargo space, and a better special ability for only TWO points more.  But the Harbinger is a COTD for another time. 

In any event, for a reasonable 15 points you get the ability to whack the crud out of your opponent with level 2 guns (that means you only have to roll a 3 or higher to hit).  Four cargo slots is not a lot, then again, if you’re using the Revenant as a treasure hauler, you need to rethink your strategy.  The optimal crew would be a Helmsman (pretty much a must on any ship you sail, gives you +1S movement), a Generic Captain (for that move and shoot ability), and then some sort of named crew for special abilities.  Either Havana Black or Captain Blackheart can give you an extra crew slot, since they both have the Generic Captain ability built in, and if you’re going with one of them, you’ll need some crew to sacrifice, Oarsmen and Shipwrights work really well for that.  Finding a Pirate Crew that can give +1 to cannon rolls against a specific faction will give you that added edge in tournament play.

My personal strategy with the big R is to use a small, single mast ship, typically the Rover (see my review on Friday), to run interference for the larger ship; reason being, the Revenant’s special ability is to be able to shoot through the Rover thus I plunk the smaller ship in front and blast away without fear of reprisal from my target.  I LOVE the Revenant, and use it in almost every one of my Pirate Fleet Builds.

Now, let’s take a look at the collectability value of said massive gunship shall we?  First thing you need to know is that there are THREE separate versions of the Revenant.  There’s the original 1^st Edition version, numbered PS-001.  Then there’s the Unlimited version, numbered just 001, and finally, there’s the Limited Edition version, which was a tournament prize.  That one is a “ghost ship” and is numbered GS-001.  Prices for the three are similar, and I’ll detail the pricing on all three versions below.  Don’t be fooled, all three versions play EXACTLY the same.  The LE Ghost version does NOT have the “Ghost Ship” ability.

And it wouldn’t be a WildWill COTD review without WildWill’s Patented Pricing Reviews!

Revenant 1^st Ed Rare (PS-001) Completed Auction Review – 6-16-05

# of completed Auctions: 7

High Amount: $15.00

Low Amount:  $10.50

Average Amount $12.38

Revenant UNL Ed Rare (001) Completed Auction Review – 6-16-05

# of completed Auctions: 5

High Amount: $16.75

Low Amount:  $ 8.01

Average Amount $12.35

Virtually no difference between the 1^st ed and the Unlimited in pricing.  She’s a solid investment and an especially good one if you pull her from a pack.  She’s one of the BEST pack pulls you can make.

Revenant LE Ed Rare (GS-001) Completed Auction Review – 6-16-05

High Amount: $36.00

Low Amount:  $  8.00

Average Amount $15.51

The LE version was only available as a tournament prize in January and February of this year.  Though there may be a few prize kits out there, the supply is going to dry up very quickly, and as Spanish Main goes out of print, this piece will simply skyrocket in value.  Hopefully.  I traded for mine.

My Ratings:

Playability 4.5 (of 5)

Collectability Rare: 4 of 5, LE 5 of 5.