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Draco
Starcloud |
Chum Maker
For their super-special giveaway for Fire and Steel,
WizKids slapped some shiny parts on a Scorpion boat
and remembered to put story pieces in every pack. So
the Chum Maker looks nice; how does it fare in
playability?
Well, it's been determined that if your blade
touches another boat, you're guaranteed a hit. The
beauty of the Chum Maker is that it is a beast meant
for boarding. The first thing she needs is a crew
that gives her a boarding bonus, for if the Chum
Maker succeeds at a boarding action, she gets to do
two of three things to an adversary: kill a crew,
steal a treasure, and eliminate a mast. Like all
Scorpion ships, however, she only has three masts
and will need a boarding bonus to stand a chance
against anything bigger than her.
The second crew the Chum Maker would want is a
captain. You'd think with such a great boarding
power she might be lacking in cannons, but the Chum
Maker has fairly good cannons: two 3S and one 3L. A
captain will let her soften a target up before the
boarding party even begins!
The third crew you'd want to put on depends on
whether or not you want to steal treasure as the
Chum Maker only has three spaces for cargo. The Chum
Maker has a base move of S+S, so she may not need a
Helmsman. If you're strictly out to destroy your
enemy's fighting ship though, give her a helmsman to
catch up to her foes.
The Chum Maker is a great boat for boarding, but she
costs a lot. She might work well on her own, but
having her escort a fighting ship to pick off
weakened boats would be even better. Her cost of 17
points may or may not be work it, depending on how
you like to fight.
I give the Chum Maker a 3.5/5. |
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Vladsimpaler |
Today we have a week of Cursed...
Chum Maker, 17 points, Cursed
Masts: 3
Cargo: 3
Speed: S+S
Cannons: 3S 3L 3S
Abilities: Scorpion. If this ship
succeeds at a boarding party, choose two of the
following: eliminate a crew, take a treasure, or
eliminate a mast.
Flavor Text: Sailors can always
tell where the Chum Maker has sailed by looking for
the telltale fins of sharks.
Now this is a darn fine looking
ship, isn't it? Very shiny. Watch out for birds if
you're playing outside, though. Or, if you are very
egotistical, bring the Chum Maker along to check
yourself out, occasionally. Like to burn ants? The
reflection will surely burn them to a crisp.
However, the name of this ship is just downright
lame.
Chum Maker? Really? Out of all the
things one could have chosen to name this thing, why
'Chum Maker'? Just weird. Okay, whatever. I digress,
onto the ship.
Let's see here...17 points for a 3
mast ship? This can only mean one of two things...a
bombardier, or a scorpion ship. And this is a
scorpion ship! And if that wasn't enough, it's
Cursed! Whodathunkit?
So, let's see here. With a
scorpion ship, you automatically eliminate a mast if
you're within range, and you can initiate a boarding
party.
And if that wasn't enough, the
Chum Maker has a boarding ability. Very nice, as
Borat would say. So, what to do with this ship? Get
some boarding crew, like PoDJC Sammy the Skull,
which gives you the ability to move and shoot, and
you also get +1 to your boarding rolls. He should be
standard aboard this ship. Also, a helmsman, and if
you really want, throw in the RotF El Fantasma,
which gives you Fear, Eternal, and the same action
twice on a 5 or 6. Very cool, and actually really
good, since you can't sink.
So, if everything goes as planned,
you can shoot the enemy ship, hit it with a scorpion
blade, win boarding, and be able to do some extra
damage because of the Chum Maker's ability.
Honestly, I don't like the Cursed
so I'd never use this ship, but it still gets a
3.5/5 from me.
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