Masts: 3
Cargo: 3
Moves: L
Guns : 3L,3L,4S
Hit %: 133 (S), 100 (L)
Ability: Scorpion, Fear.
I haven't played with a scorpion ship yet, since I
don't own any. So my views on their value have to be
taken with a grain of sea salt. But I can say some
things for sure, such as:
This ship is slow and expensive. Fear is overrated
and costs too many points. Her guns are okay, but
not good at all for a ship that costs as much as the
Executioner (which is much faster, carries more
cargo, has infinitely better guns and more of them,
and also has Fear). The scorpion blade is dangerous,
but even though you don't get pinned when you use
it, you still have to close to point-blank range to
employ it.
That and the L speed makes a Helmsman mandatory,
even more so than a Captain (who also ought to be on
board).
There are only a few 17-point ships with just three
masts. Most of them, like this one, don't give full
value for their high cost. A ship like the
Pestilence might be fun to play for its novelty
value, but I can't see you winning many games with
it.
Our first boat this week is also our first Scorpion
boat reviewed. Let's see how it fares.
It obviously has the Scorpion keyword, which means
it can stab other boats with that wicked blade on
the front. The only problem is that the rules say
there's some kind of blade value that you have to
roll in order to remove an enemy's mast, but I
haven't seen one of those. Even if it works like a
normal ram roll, the Scorpion keyword says you'll
not be pinned while using the blade.
Ramming will be hard though since the Pestilence's
speed is only an L.
Her cannons are just below average at two 3L and one
4S.
She has three cargo spaces, so maybe you can use
them to pack in crew that can beef up her guns.
In addition to the Scorpion keyword, she also has
Fear, which I have never found too useful.
Finally, she costs a mighty 17 points! You won't get
a lot for those 17 points since she's trying to be a
slow rammer and an unimpressive gunner. If she's
your only Scorpion and you want to field one for the
sake of fielding one, then use her. Otherwise, leave
her on the sidelines and send out one of her
sisters.
I give the Pestilence a 2/5.
Vladsimpaler
Pestilence, 17 points, Cursed
Masts: 3
Cargo: 3
Speed: L
Cannons: 3L 3L 4S
Abilities: Scorpion, Fear.
Flavor Text: Rumors tell that this ship is crewed by
the worshippers of the four horsemen of the
apocalypse, and no one has lived to dispute them.
Pretty spooky flavor text, eh? The Pestilence looks
very intimidating, yet its stats just don't
reinforce its intimidation factor, unlike the
Guichuan, for example.
With Scorpion ships, what you want to do is to
pretty much send it on suicide missions, straight at
the enemy. The Scorpion Blade ensures that, if
you're within range, that you will eliminate a mast.
Which is pretty good. Plus, you pin the enemy ship.
Which is also really good.
The problems? First of all, because of the way the
ship is built, you can't bring all of your guns to
bear against the enemy target. 1, maybe 2 at best.
The other problem? Its guns are all rank 3 and 4. If
you're lucky, with Fear you can temporarily
incapacitate the enemy.
I don't know, for being a suicide ship, there are
just so much cheaper ships that can do the job.
Heck, the other day my El Leon took out this ship. A
9 point ship taking out a 17 point ship? That's kind
of pathetic.
Oh! Speaking of which, the Scorpion blades ignore
effects like "ramming doesn't eliminate masts" and
things of that sort. El Acorazado will also have to
remove a mast.
It's good and all, but this ship is just overpriced
and terrible. It gets a 2/5 from me
