The Claret is obviously named for her wine-colored
sails. Aside from that, she's pretty ordinary.
With only 2 cargo, she's no gold ship. Her role is a
medium-weight fighter, with three decent cannons.
Their 50/50 chance of hitting translates into a
50/50 chance of a Broadside, so whether you use her
ability or not will depend on whether you feel
lucky. Her only crew should be Captain and Helmsman;
she can't carry more, and she isn't good enough to
rate one of the expensive combo crew.
If you have 11 points to spend on a Pirate, there
are better ships than this one (Seref, Flying
Dutchman [PC], Sea Nymph [SM], or Greed's Hammer, to
name a few). The Claret isn't bad, but she isn't
that good, either.
Ship: Claret
Nationality: Pirates
Card Number: 076
Rarity: Common
Masts/Cannons: 3
Cannon Ranking: 3L, 3L, 3L
Point Value: 12
Cargo Space: 2
Speed: L (Long)
Abilities: Schooner, Broadsides Attack
Flavor Text: When he allows his crew shore leave,
the French-born capitaine of the Claret is rumored
to sail a sloop to his hidden home in Venezuela,
where he tends his family’s ancestral grapevines in
a small vineyard.
What’s significant of ships with the Broadsides
Attack ability is that they have a tendency to
have 1 less cargo space then they have masts. Claret
is one of them. This ship is two points less than
the HMS Bretwalda, and not as high performing. She
has a 50% chance of hitting another ship and forcing
it to lose 4 masts, but they are all L, which will
become a problem if you don’t want to do broadsides
attack against a ship that is invulnerable to L
ranged cannons. However, it is unlikely you will not
be that dull, nor you will probably use this
fighting ship as a treasure hauler. For sure you
will need a helmsman so that you can catch ships
faster, and adding a captain is necessary if you
don’t want to become a sitting duck to the opposing
ship. Alternative sources for this ship would be at
most the secondary fighter or an escort ship. You
will probably find better targets as a raider with
that nasty ability of yours then you will in battle,
for most of the time the ship’s rather large point
cost may reduce other possible additions.
It’s your call. You could use her as she was
intentionally as a fighter, or you could use her you
could keep her in your collection because for sure
this ship’s not a steal.
I had to stop in the middle of the review when I
first started writing, because I was under the
assumption it was an old-style schooner, with masts
that block the others' guns. Fortunately, I noticed
it was from the Fire and Steel set with the new
shape. That changes things quite a bit.
Cargo Space: Only two spaces is pretty bad, even for
a fighter.
Masts: The Clarest has three masts with three 3L
cannons. The L-range gives the Claret a little
versatility; you can either get in close for a
Broadsides or stay at long-range if they have only
S-range guns. Keep in mind, even with Broadsides,
you won't be able to hit ships with immunity to
L-range guns.
Base Move: L is pretty standard for fighters, but it
hurts the Claret since with only two space, you have
to decide between a Helmsman and another crew that
could contribute other advantages.
Point Value: 12 points is a little pricey, but not a
horrible price for a decent fighter.
If you like Schooners and Broadsides, this boat's
for you. The lack of cargo space hurts her a little,
I'd say.
