Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst.
3 is average.
5 is the highest rating.
Date Reviewed - 10.13.08
Cadet-Captain Mike
Name: Grampus (USA)
Card: MI #089 (Uncommon)
Points: 15
Masts: 4
Cargo: 3
Moves: S+L
Guns : 3S,3S,3L,3L
Hit %: 200 (S), 100 (L)
Ability: Schooner. This ship gets +1 to her boarding
rolls. She gets +2 instead if her opponent is a sea
monster.
Boarding Bonus Week kicks off with the Grampus, an
American four-masted schooner (one of my favorite
designs) with arrows on her sails, scary fluff text,
and some good potential.
Her cargo could be bigger, and her point cost could
be lower. That's the bad news. The good news is that
she's quite fast, her cannons are a good mix, and
very few ships are going to risk boarding her. This
means she could make a living as a gold ship (no
crew) or as a fighter (Captain only), although she's
overpriced for either role. This is one ship whose
best role is boarding. I'd crew her with the OE
Montana Mays, who gives a same-action-twice and
protects his ship's crew (including
himself) from elimination, which is very handy if
you do much boarding.
That leaves two cargo free for stolen treasures,
either by boarding or from a wild island if you
can't catch any gold ships. Sea monsters pose no
threat to you; you'll survive most of their ramming
attacks, win most boarding rolls against them, and
shoot them to bits after they ram you.
If the Grampus cost a point or two less, I'd really
be thrilled about her. As she is, she's not bad at
all.
Cargo Space: 3 is not that great for a ship you want
to use in any cargo-related role. It's already a bad
load and it only gets worse if you put any crew
aboard, even ones that enhance boarding.
Masts: Two 3S and two 3L are great since bigger
boats make better boarders. Good for defending
yourself or for softening up a target at least.
Base Move: S+L is great for boarding since you'll be
able to catch up to a lot of ships or get away from
a lot of fighters.
Point Value: 15 points is a lot to pay for a ship
that needs more cargo spaces.
There's one small issue I have with the Grampus'
boarding ability: it gets a +2 bonus if her opponent
is a sea monster, but she's from the Mysterious
Islands set. If you were to play with just one set,
then the extra bonus is near-worthless since there
are only two sea monsters. It's a little more
valuable considering the Davy Jones' Curse and
Ocean's Edge sets have a few more monsters though.
If the Grampus had more cargo or cost less, then it
would a much better value. 15 points is a little too
much for the Grampus as it is.
