Name:    HMS Apollo (England)

Card:    RF #201 (Limited Edition)

Points:  14

Masts: 5

Cargo: 4

Moves: S+S

Guns : 2S,3L,3L,3L,2S

Hit %: 283 (S), 150 (L)

Link : Thomas Gunn

Ability: Once per turn, you can reroll any die roll you make for this ship; you must use the second die roll result.

We've looked at some pretty good ships this week, and some poor ones. It looks like we saved the best for last.

No fleet fights like the English, and HMS Apollo is a worthy addition to the Royal Navy. Fine cannons, decent speed, a useful ability, and a fair point cost all add up to a limited-edition ship that's worth a lot more on the game table than on miniaturetrading.com. She can fight well, board well if she has to, and even bring in a coin on the way home, depending on how many crew you give her. That crew should maximize her fighting value; who you use depends only on how much you want to spend, up to the limit of her point cost.

There have been four HMS Apollo's in this game. The first, in RV, was a 2-masted French-hater. The others were all 5-masters with speed and cannons identical to this one. Not only is this version the best of the four, she might be one of the five best English fivers in the game. Yes, the Titan and Endeavour are much better; yes, the Victoria, Swallow, and Dauntless are very close. But this gunship gets above-average marks in all categories, and she certainly deserves a place of honor in your collection.

Goldship rating: 3.3 / 5

Gun Ship rating: 4.2 / 5

Boarding rating: 3.8 / 5

Value for points: 3.4 / 5