Pirates of the North Pole – Sleigh #005a

Name:  Sleigh

Set: PNP

Card #: 005A

Rarity: Promo

Type: Ship

Cost: 25 Points

Masts: 4

Cannons 2L, 2L, 2L, 2L

Cargo: 10

Movement: 1L + 1L + 1L

Faction: Whitebeard’s Raiders

Link: Captain Whitebeard

Ability – “Joysides Attack. This ship cannot be shot at, and she cannot sink. She begins the game fully loaded with treasure from her controller's collection. Her base move becomes 6L when he has no available cargo capacity.”

Pirates of the North Pole – Captain Whitebeard #005b

Name:  Captain Whitebeard

Set: PNP

Card #: 005B

Rarity: Promo

Type: Crew

Cost: 12 Points

Faction: Whitebeard’s Raiders

Link: Sleigh

Ability – “This ship may move and shoot using the same move action. Once per turn this ship's controller may choose another ship and bellow "HO-HO-HO!". Any crew on the target ship falls asleep and so the target loses her next turn.”

”Joysides Attack - This ship's cannons have a range of 6L, and they can shoot only when she has treasure aboard. When the ship successfully hits a target ship, instead of losing a mast, the target's crew are identified as good boys and girls. Place one of this ship's treasure tokens aboard the target, if the target has available cargo capacity. Until the target unloads this treasure, she may be given only move actions to dock at the nearest island. When the target docks, roll one d6; the target must spend a number of turns there in joyous revely equal to the result.”

”Whitebeard's Raiders - This ship's controller must, at the beginning of each turn and if this ship has available cargo capacity, load one treasure from his or her collection onto this ship. In games played on December 24, this ship has an unlimited base move and cargo capacity.”

This ship and crew set is WizKids’ way of saying thank you to the Pirates Community at large.  Each year the company has come up with something very unique and different for it’s envoys, retailers and fans, and this year is no exception.  When I first found out about this ship a couple weeks ago, my jaw literally dropped, and I imagined what abilities and stats she might have.  Surprisingly enough my speculation turned out to be pretty accurate!  She’s such a sweet present, that one could only be overwhelmed.  Then I tried to figure out how to get one.  At first, the official WK contest was only giving away 20 copies!  But then they added a whole bunch more and ended up giving away over 200.  At the same time, retailers and envoys who don’t play Pirates discovered that they had some very valuable trade bait to offer.  So I made a trade, and while I’m still waiting for that to come in the mail, Pojo was kind enough to send me one for all my hard work on the message boards over the last year.  So…thank you to Bill, and thanks to Djshalifoe, who traded me his copy, I have TWO copies of this ship.  My intentions are to build one for display and keep one pristine.  But if somehow I manage to get another copy, you JUST might see it here for a contest.

In any event, is this ship playable?  Well, in a fun game, sure it is.  In fact, I’ve heard of people almost losing with it.  Because even though she’s unsinkable, she can still be rammed.  Though anyone ramming Santa would definitely be getting coal in their stocking. Would I play with it?  Yeah, I would…especially on Christmas Eve, I might have to try it with my family.  In a real game?  Nah, but in a festive one, sure.  She’s more a collectible in my eyes though.  Oh and she’s not tournament legal, so forget that nonsense right now.

WildWill’s Patented Ebay Auction Report 12-21-05

# Sold Items: 32 (total # of auctions 35)

High Sale Amount: $29.00

Low Sale Amount: $4.95
Average Sale Amount: $14.30

If there’s a single more expensive piece in the entire game right now, I don’t know what it is.  This piece will have collectible potential for years to come, so if you don’t get one now, expect to pay BIG bucks in the future.

My Ratings:

Playabilty 5 of 5

Collectability 5 of 5

WOW, I think that’s the FIRST five-star rating I’ve given to a Pirate Piece (where I used to give them all the time in Heroclix).  That gives me an idea for a contest…but not quite yet…I think this is also the single LONGEST review I’ve written.

Next Time: 2006 Starts off with a Bang.  Don’t know what we’ll review yet, but it’ll be fun and exciting.

Before I go though, I’d like to thank each and every reader out there for taking the time to read our daily reviews and being so kind with your feedback.  Let’s make 2006 the Year of the Pirate!  Aaaaaaargh and avast ye scurvy dogs – a storm’s a-coming and ye had better be prepared!  The High Seas ain’t for the weak of heart!