Name: El Acorzado

Set: POSM

Card #s: SS-01 (1^st), #069 (Unl) both Rare

Type: Ship

Cost: 21 Points

Faction: Spanish

Masts: 5

Cargo: 5

Cannons 2S, 3L, 3L, 3L, 2S

Movement 1S

Ability: “Two hits from the same shoot action are required to eliminate one of this ship's masts.”

Flavor Text: “The captain of "The Battleship," pride of the Spanish fleet and perhaps the strongest ship ever built, claims that not even the devil himself could sink her. The mysterious pirate El Fantasma, however, may soon test that boast.”

Tied with the El Garante from the same set for most expensive Spanish Ship in the game, the El Acorazado is definitely a hulking mass of a gunboat.  For the same 21 points, the Garante has worse guns, and a special ability that is probably equal to the Acorazado (+1 to all cannon rolls for every friendly vessel within S range), but she moves slightly faster.  “The Battleship” – El Acorazado, definitely needs a helmsman.  She also needs a captain, but that’s pretty much a given on a Gunboat.  For a 33% chance of getting an extra turn Capitan Alarico Castro is pretty useful, and at 3 points, he’s a steal.  The key crew member for this vessel though is Joaquin Vega who has the ability “This ship ignores the first hit she takes each turn as long as she has all of her masts.”  If that crewmember is on board, it would take THREE successful shots to eliminate the first mast.  Of course, that combo has been around since the beginning of the game, and many savvy players have already figured out how to get around it.  Still, it’s a nasty move.  However, you can also throw Nemesio Diaz on board which will assist because his special ability is “Once per turn, cancel the ability of one crew or ship within S of this ship.”  With a maximum of 21 points available for crew, you could conceivably load her up with crew and really go to town…well…until Mermaids shows up and then, well, you’re sunk.

El Acorazado 1^st Ed Rare (SS-01) Completed Auction Review – 6-23-05

# of completed Auctions: 2

High Amount: $9.99

Low Amount:  $5.50

Average Amount $7.75

The first edition Rare is quite tasty, probably 2^nd tier as far as rares from SM go.  Since the Spanish got short-changed in Revolutions, I’d think the better Spanish ships will go up in value, since they have so many adherents.

El Acorazado Unl Ed Rare (#069) Completed Auction Review – 6-23-05

# of completed Auctions: 4

High Amount: $9.99

Low Amount:  $3.88

Average Amount $6.34

OK so the Unlimited version isn’t quite as valuable as the first.  Does it really matter to you?  If you’re a player, you just want the ship. 

My Ratings

Playability 4 of 5

Collectability 4 of 5

Next Week – AMERICANS are on the review block next week. If you would like to become a COTD reviewer, or you have suggestions as to which pieces we should review, send them to wmnoe@yahoo.com, or post on the message board!

See you in Davey Jone’s Locker!

Points:
21 points. Ouch. Your typical game is 40 points. This takes up over HALF of that! Even though it has good stats and a good ability, this is just too many
points. Point rating: 5/10.

Masts:
5 Masts
Mast Rating: 5/5.

Cannons:
5 Cannons.
Mast 1 Cannon 2S Mast 2 Cannon 3L
Mast 3
Cannon 3L
Mast 4 Cannon 3L
Mast 5 Cannon 2S
Mast 1 and 5, while they may only be S cannons, you still only have to roll a 3 or higher. If you can get these in range, you have a good chance to hit.
For 2, 3, and 4, you can shoot from farther away. However, 4+ is slightly harder to roll (although you still
shouldn’t have trouble with it)
Cannon Rating: 8/10

Movement:
S. Sllllooooowwwwww. S just doesn’t cut it – it will take to long to get this thing where you need it to be quicky. This attribute of the ship basically makes it better late game.
Movement Rating: 2/5

Cargo:
5 Cargo. Another upside of the ship. While you probably will only be using this for shooting (it’s name does mean “The Battleship”, afterall.), just in case you get to an island it never hurts to explore it for some treasure.
Also, because of the high point values of this ship, it allows it to hold many crew.
This only helps with that.
Cargo Rating: 8/10

Ability:
This is where she shines. The captain of this sheep claims not even the devil himself could sink her, and I agree with this. It will take 11 hits at least to sink this, and she’ll probably have sunk her enemies by then.
Ability Rating: 10/10

This ship stands strong while she shoots the heck out of her opponents, Total Rating: 3.8/5 ~Yoyoboy67~ Hate my reviews? Love them? Email me at yoyoboy67@yahoo.com