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Cadet-Captain Mike |
Name: Saber (France)
Card: FS #056 (Uncommon)
Points: 23
Masts: 4
Cargo: 4
Moves: L
Guns : 2S, 2S, 2S, 2S
Hit %: 267 (S), 0 (L)
Ability: Switchblade. This ship
gets +1 to her boarding rolls.
Okay, you want us to talk about
the new ship types in Fire & Steel, so here we go.
The Saber claims a new record before we even start:
she's the most expensive Uncommon ship ever made. So
she'd better be good!
Okay, she's good, both at shooting
and at boarding. An L cannon or two would be nice,
but since switchblade ships are meant for
infighting, it's not amazing that all her cannons
are S range. Her two abilities make her one of the
nastiest rammer/boarders ever. She can plow into a
concentration of enemy ships, try to hack a mast off
each of them up with her blades, and board each one
with the force of a 5-masted ship.
Her cannons almost seem optional
after that kind of havoc.
With a 23-point cost and 4 cargo,
you'd do well to load her up with crew, like either
Lenoir (canceller) or Capitaine Arazure (double
damage from boarding), Capitaine Gaston de St. Croix
(SAT and +1 vs the English), a Helmsman, and Jordan
Dumas (Captain and reroll, useful for the SAT). At a
minimum, she needs a Captain and Helmsman, and if
you're spending 23 points on one ship, you may have
to spend that minimum for crew. Regardless, you want
to get this ship into the thick of the action with
her blades extended, sweeping back and forth like
the deadly edged weapon that she is.
Goldship rating: 2.3 / 5
Gun Ship rating: 4.1 / 5
Boarding rating: 4.1 / 5
Value for points: 2.6 / 5
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Draco |
Saber
The French really cleaned up in the Fire and Steel
set; whereas they didn't even have a five-master in
Rise of the Fiends, now they have two of the new
Bombardiers and a new Switchblade.
But enough about the set in general, let's talk
about the Saber.
Switchblades are designed for boarding. The whole
point of the blades is to give you more range to
board with. Switchblades are also big, so they're
better suited to their specialty than Scorpions. The
Saber is good in particular, because it gets a +1 to
boarding rolls.
Unlike Scorpions though, Switchblades don't
automatically do damage with their blades; you have
to make a ram roll like normal. The main advantage
of the Switchblade though is that it doesn't get
pinned when using its blades.
The Saber was some good room for cargo, four spaces,
and has good guns for softening up a target before
you do your ram roll, four 2S cannons. Her primary
weakness is her speed; her base move is only L, so
she'll have trouble catching up with speedy gold
ships. If you want to pick on your enemy's fighters
though, she stands a good chance.
For this beast of a boarder, you must pay 23 points.
She's a good ship, but I don't think her cost
matches her worth.
I give the Saber a 3/5. |
