It’s week 5 of the Summer of Plunder, and the objectives is ‘Doldrums’. Wind speed starts at -2 for the game. And Doldrums is right. I still have a “vacation hangover” from last week’s family trip. So, if it seems like I’m phoning this one in? I might be. Case in point:
I actually do own a corvette, and have for quite a while – but in typical fashion, decision paralysis strikes again and I haven’t gotten it out of the packaging. The good news is, they should be back in stock in the Firelock store (edit: no, they’re gone again)
Why all this talk about the Corvette? Well, because it works really well with Sweeps. It’s a very fast… you know what? I’m going to link you to a blog that might be trying a little too hard, with an entire article on how sweeps work. Creatively titled, ‘Using Sweeps on Ships in Blood & Plunder,’ – go there for the super detailed analysis of the finer minutiae of this game, and then come back here for the sarcastic, rum-sot humor. Also while you’re there, catch up on the Summer of Plunder HQ, because I can only pick on Pigment so much, without pointing out how much they actually do for this community.
So since I don’t have a corvette, and bark wars was last week so I’m not breaking out my Piraguas or my dozen+ canoes… here are some pictures of a test run for my tournament list.
Get On With It!
Not sharing my French list, as it’s probably showing up (in some variation) as my tournament list at Historicon. I built a Dutch list that I’d run at Historicon if not for the fact that I’m a French commander, and that’s what I’m handing my opponent to run. Why Dutch? Because playing against them at sea is like playing on “hard mode” – they have all the right stats and all the right special rules to be absolutely brutal in ship duels.
The scenario was Take & Hold. This is a mission from the Core Rules, and is a straightforward battle like I would expect to see in competitive play: ships start parallel to each other, sailing windward, and the game ends when someone’s flagship is captured, someone fails a Strike, or you hit 6 turns.
While my list doesn’t want to be forced to board, it is capable of it. There’s a fat unit of Ruthless Later Flibustier on the main deck, with a brace of pistols.
Opening broadsides were pretty uneventful, although the Dutch with 3 Medium cannon was a bit of a clencher. Those are the lists that worry me, to be honest – even with a Fort 5 Light Frigate, medium guns can smack me around at long range. Strict too, is an excellent rule; with the addition of the Master Gunner‘s bonus, this force was throwing out those Medium shots with a -2 bonus to accuracy.
Turn 2 kicked off with the French hitting an Even Card and rolling up Misfortune. Randomizing, the event smacked the Dutch gun crew and gave them back all the reloads they’d just cleared the turn before. It also cut the windspeed by -1, which is tough.
My decision to move a little closer and pepper the Dutchmen with more cannon shot in the opening cards of the turn (5 units to 3) cleared the way for them to attempt a daring maneuver:
Turning hard, the Dutch Privateers swung their bow into almost-raking position. But my cannons wouldn’t be firing this turn.
My swivels and Ruthless Later Flibustiers with their Marksman upgrade, definitely would be firing though. The Dutch ate a punishing volley of close range fire while I came across their bow. The Dutch plan was nearly undone when their Captain’s unit of Kapers was Shaken by the volley. The gun crew nearly suffered the same fate, going to 2 Fatigue.
The two ships came so close together, that the carnage was brutal. The Dutch captain rallied his mean and commanded the gun crew to fire. Board-on-board, 9lb cannonballs ripped through the hull of my Light Frigate, while swivel guns tore into the crew. Amidships, 2 of my gun-crew were slain and the entire unit failed its Resolve. I burned a Fortune and they rolled even worse: three 1’s.
Fatigue was piling up on both crews, but the Dutch were out of actions and I still had a card left. I maneuvered my ship a little closer, and the crew of my stern swivels abandoned their artillery and threw grapples. Their aim was true, and soon my crew was reeling in the foredeck of the Dutch sloop.
In a risky move, I Pushed my crew to charge down into the Dutchmen. Just 5 Sea Dogs, against 6 Kapers and 7 Zeelieden. The Kapers used their muskets for Defensive Fire and slew one of the Sea Dogs on the way in, and my unit went to 2 Fatigue. But my sailors held, and that was all that I needed. We drew our hands for the next turn, and help was on the way.
My Later Flibustiers leapt over the rail to join the fray. With his characteristic Cold Bloodedness, my Captain let the pistols talk – both Dutch units on the foredeck became Shaken. To save himself, the Captain and his Kapers retreated to the stern, leaving the shaken Zeeleiden behind. My captain ordered the SeaDogs to fight again, and the poor Zeeleiden were cut down to man (no melee saves for shaken units)
The Dutch had one final last gasp, however. Abandoning their swivels, the other unit of Zeeleiden in the stern charged in to clear me off the deck. Both of my units were rocked with fatigue and fell back off the deck, leaving the Dutch in control of their own ship, but still lashed to mine.
The Dutch Captain ativated and rallied his remaining crew, but it was too little, too late. I still had plenty of loaded artillery (with grapshot) and swivel guns bearing down on them. As the Captain’s action was the last of the Dutch turn, we decided to roll their Strike Test for the next turn, before bothering to roll the imminent hailstorm of lead. They rolled a 4, and without any Fortune left to reroll, the Dutchmen surrendered their ship to the Last Buccaneers.
I’m fairly confident in taking this list to the tournament. I would really prefer to take a different faction, but I won’t turn my back on France just for some fleeting glory in the competitive matchups. Don’t misunderstand – French lists can still be extremely competitive, and there’s no question of their effectiveness on Land. But when considering the likely meta, there are some “tricks” up my sleeve that I would really like to try. Oh well, there’s always Adepticon or Fall-In. See you on the tables…