Name: Foresight (Pirates)

Card: FS #001 (Rare)

Points: 14

Masts: 5

Cargo: 6

Moves: L

Guns : 4S, 3S, 3S, 3S, 4S

Hit %: 217 (S), 0 (L)

Link : Barstow

Ability: Once per turn, if this ship carries treasure and is within S of an enemy ship, you can randomly trade one treasure with that ship.

Our first set of reviews for the new Fire & Steel release focuses on some of the five-masted ships. Today's victim, the Foresight, is a Pirate with deep pockets (cargo=6), unexciting cannons, and an ability that is fun, but takes some skill to use.

You might be tempted to give her a Helmsman and just use her for gold.

That wouldn't be wrong, but other ships, like the RV Neptune's Hoard, could do a better job for fewer points. Using her as a fighter would be an even worse decision; there are plenty of Pirate five-masters with better cannons than this one. Her linked crew, Barstow, gives away her real role: opportunist. With Barstow and a Helmsman, she has 5 cargo free, S+L speed, an Explorer ability, and a capture-crew ability in addition to her trade-treasure ability. That means she should load some gold quickly, then chase down the nearest enemy ship. If it's a gold ship, she can do a coin swap; if it's a fighter, she can ram, board, and make off with a crew for fun and profit. The sail-away cost for this set-up is 25 points, so it would have to be the main feature of your fleet.

Some pirates I know would have a lot of fun with this ship, if they could also put Barstow on it; it could become a real nuisance. I think that's the idea behind this ship.

Goldship rating: 3.3 / 5

Gun Ship rating: 3.1 / 5

Boarding rating: 3.5 / 5

Value for points: 3.1 / 5