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Pirate Piece of the Day

Pestilence
 

Piece Ratings: 2.40

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst.
3 is average.
5 is the highest rating.


Date Reviewed - 04.14.08

 
Cadet-Captain Mike Name: Pestilence (Cursed)
Card: RF #009 (Rare)
Points: 17

Masts: 3
Cargo: 3
Moves: L
Guns : 3L,3L,4S
Hit %: 133 (S), 100 (L)
Ability: Scorpion, Fear.

I haven't played with a scorpion ship yet, since I don't own any. So my views on their value have to be taken with a grain of sea salt. But I can say some things for sure, such as:

This ship is slow and expensive. Fear is overrated and costs too many points. Her guns are okay, but not good at all for a ship that costs as much as the Executioner (which is much faster, carries more cargo, has infinitely better guns and more of them, and also has Fear). The scorpion blade is dangerous, but even though you don't get pinned when you use it, you still have to close to point-blank range to employ it.
That and the L speed makes a Helmsman mandatory, even more so than a Captain (who also ought to be on board).

There are only a few 17-point ships with just three masts. Most of them, like this one, don't give full value for their high cost. A ship like the Pestilence might be fun to play for its novelty value, but I can't see you winning many games with it.

Goldship rating: 1.7 / 5
Gun Ship rating: 3.3 / 5
Boarding rating: 3.0 / 5
Value for points: 2.8 / 5
Draco Starcloud By Draco Starcloud

Pestilence

Our first boat this week is also our first Scorpion boat reviewed. Let's see how it fares.

It obviously has the Scorpion keyword, which means it can stab other boats with that wicked blade on the front. The only problem is that the rules say there's some kind of blade value that you have to roll in order to remove an enemy's mast, but I haven't seen one of those. Even if it works like a normal ram roll, the Scorpion keyword says you'll not be pinned while using the blade.

Ramming will be hard though since the Pestilence's speed is only an L.

Her cannons are just below average at two 3L and one 4S.

She has three cargo spaces, so maybe you can use them to pack in crew that can beef up her guns.

In addition to the Scorpion keyword, she also has Fear, which I have never found too useful.

Finally, she costs a mighty 17 points! You won't get a lot for those 17 points since she's trying to be a slow rammer and an unimpressive gunner. If she's your only Scorpion and you want to field one for the sake of fielding one, then use her. Otherwise, leave her on the sidelines and send out one of her sisters.

I give the Pestilence a 2/5.
Vladsimpaler Pestilence, 17 points, Cursed
Masts: 3
Cargo: 3
Speed: L
Cannons: 3L 3L 4S
Abilities: Scorpion, Fear.
Flavor Text: Rumors tell that this ship is crewed by the worshippers of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, and no one has lived to dispute them.

Pretty spooky flavor text, eh? The Pestilence looks very intimidating, yet its stats just don't reinforce its intimidation factor, unlike the Guichuan, for example.

With Scorpion ships, what you want to do is to pretty much send it on suicide missions, straight at the enemy. The Scorpion Blade ensures that, if you're within range, that you will eliminate a mast. Which is pretty good. Plus, you pin the enemy ship. Which is also really good.
The problems? First of all, because of the way the ship is built, you can't bring all of your guns to bear against the enemy target. 1, maybe 2 at best. The other problem? Its guns are all rank 3 and 4. If you're lucky, with Fear you can temporarily incapacitate the enemy.

I don't know, for being a suicide ship, there are just so much cheaper ships that can do the job. Heck, the other day my El Leon took out this ship. A 9 point ship taking out a 17 point ship? That's kind of pathetic.

Oh! Speaking of which, the Scorpion blades ignore effects like "ramming doesn't eliminate masts" and things of that sort. El Acorazado will also have to remove a mast.
It's good and all, but this ship is just overpriced and terrible. It gets a 2/5 from me
 

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