Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst.
3 is average.
5 is the highest rating.
Date Reviewed - 09.03.08
Cadet-Captain Mike
Name:Philadelphia (USA)
Card:RV #082 (Uncommon)
Points:11
Masts: 2
Cargo: 3
Moves: S+L
Guns : 5S,5S
Hit %: 33 (S), 0 (L)
Ability: You own any derelict this
ship explores; both ships become docked at your home
island.
Aside from the three main
functions of a ship (gold, shooting, and boarding),
there is a fourth group, the support ships. Most of
these are either overpriced or limited in value. The
Philadelphia is a wonderful exception to that rule.
The ability to swipe other
people's derelict ships in one turn, along with
their crew and treasure, is beyond price. The USA
has two such ships (the New Orleans is the other);
most factions have none. Eleven points buys you a
ship with the speed to steal at least two ships in a
typical battle. If you can't get to an enemy
derelict, you can "explore" a mastless ship from
your own fleet and whisk it home for repairs. If no
derelicts can be found, you can use her for gold in
a pinch. She needs no crew, but she's a safe place
to stash Commodore Matthew Perry (the Americans'
+5-point hostage crew) and keep him from being
captured or slain.
When I play the USA, you'll
usually find a big gunship leading my fleet into
battle, with the Philly close behind, ready to
pounce on the spoils of war.
She's given me fully-crewed enemy
warships, gold ships full of treasure, and she's
rescued a few of her own fleetmates who ran into
misfortune. The Philadelphia should be a
regularly-used part of every American fleet.
Goldship rating: 3.4 / 5
Gun Ship rating: 1.3 / 5
Boarding rating: 2.2 / 5
Value for points: 3.8 / 5
Draco
Starcloud
Philadelphia
The Philadelphia comes from the good ol' days, when
sets were historically-accurate, the Cursed were
something you only saw in Pirates of the Carribean
movies, and the worst a cannon got was a 5S.
They also tended to be fast and cheap, which the
Philadelphia is...kind of.
The Philadelphia is a really bad fighter. It's got
just two 5S guns. Don't try fighting anything with
it ever.
The Philadelphia is best used to gold run until your
fighters can render an enemy immobile. Once an enemy
is made derelict, the Philadelphia can swoop in and,
after exploring it, make it one of yours. The best
part is that after Philadelphia explores a derelict,
yours or an enemy's, both of those ships are
automatically docked at your home island, even if
there were both across the playing field. This could
be very useful if you need to make a quick getaway
with a derelict.
Other than stealing derelicts, the Philadelphia's
just an average gold runner. It has three cargo
spaces, but it has an excellent S+L speed.
The Philadelphia fills an interesting, but not
necessary, role in the game. If you think you need
to recover a derelict quickly, by all means, use
this ship. It costs 11 points however, which is a
hefty fee for a boat that might not be in the right
place at the right time.
