Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst.
3 is average.
5 is the highest rating.
Date Reviewed - 03.21.08
Cadet-Captain Mike
Name: El Fantasma (Cursed)
Card: RotF #017 (Rare)
Points: 7
Ability: Loyal:Cursed, Eternal, Fear. Once per turn
before you give this ship an action, roll a d6. On a
5 or 6, this ship can be given the same action
twice.
This crew looks nasty. You're getting full value for
your seven points, with three separate abilities.
Put this crew on a fighter, preferably a big one, so
you won't lose him easily to a boarding action. The
SAT is the ability you'll use the most; spread Fear
where you can, but don't make a big deal out of it;
and Eternal, of course, is life insurance for a ship
and its crew.
El Fantasma started life as a Pirate home-island
robber, but even then, he had a supernatural element
about him. Now that he's Cursed, his role is combat
support. Get his ship into the thick of the action
and keep her there.
Gold crew rating: 1.5 / 5
Gun crew rating: 3.5 / 5
Boarding rating: 3.6 / 5
Value for points: 3.2 / 5
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Name: Devereaux (Cursed)
Card: RotF #055 (Common)
Points: 5
Ability: Hostile:France, Loyal:Cursed. Once per
turn, if this ship is touching another ship, reveal
all treasure aboard the other ship. This ship can
take as much unique treasure from the other ship as
she can carry, even those that otherwise can’t be
removed.
This is Devereaux' third appearance in Pirates. He
started as an expensive, treasure-obsessed Pirate,
then became a so-so Cursed crew, and now he has one
of the most pointless abilities in the game. I don't
know about your battles, but I almost never see a
ship with more than one worthwhile unique on board.
And spending five points for this ability is not
what I'd call a good investment.
I'd use this crew on the Maman Brigitte. They have
the same ability, so one of them will wind up
useless. But since they're both useless anyway, it's
no big loss.
Poor Davy Jones...he made a deal with an entity even
more evil than he is, Disney! Now El Fantasma is in
command of the Cursed!
This incarnation of El Fantasma has Eternal, which
is great, Fear, which I consider to be one of the
most overrated abilities, and a possible
Same-Action-Twice. He's also required to have
another Cursed somewhere in your fleet, but I doubt
that will be much of an issue.
The Eternal keyword's useful for any big ship, but
the other abilities are too inconsistent to be worth
the seven points El Fantasma costs.
I give El Fantasma a 2.5/5.
Devereaux
Having a Hostile keyword usually means that a crew
costs a point less than it would otherwise, which is
pretty bad for Devereaux since he's not worth the
five points he costs to begin with.
He's got Hostile: France and Loyal: Cursed, so
there's some limitation to who he can serve with,
but not enough to be a burden. His ability is
slightly useful if you want to see what treasure a
boat is carrying, but it's not enough in my opinion
to carry his other ability: his ship can take as
much unique treasure as it can carry from a ship it
is touching. Unique treasure is rare enough as it
is, so how likely are you to get enough unique
treasure to fill your hold, let alone valuable
treasure.
