Name: Matuku (Mercenary)
Card: MI #013 (Common)
Points: 12
Masts: 3
Cargo: 4
Moves: S+L
Guns : 4L,4L,4L
Hit %: 100 (S), 100 (L)
Ability: Mercenary. Schooner. Once per turn, this ship may randomly take one treasure from any ship she touches.

This schooner is one of the few Merc ships with a good turn of speed.
It's too bad she's a Merc.

With a move of S+L, four cargo, and a price tag that won't break the bank, this could have been a decent gold ship. Her ability could have made her a fine rammer/boarder. I say "could have" because she suffers the same uselessness as all other Mercs - she can't dock at a home island to unload treasure. You have to provide another ship of a different faction, which does nothing but receive gold from Merc ships and unload it, and such a ship could probably be better used on her own treasure voyages. Her cannons aren't up to the task of fighting, either.

The only way I can think of to use this ship effectively is to bring some gold home in some other ship, use the Matuku to build a fort on some convenient wild island, and then she can unload her gold into the fort. Too bad forts went away after the RV release; many admirals don't have them. Or you can put one of the Merc canceller crew on board, and he can cancel the Matuku's own Merc keyword to let her dock. Either way, you can't just use her like you'd use a similar ship in any other faction. What a waste of a good set of ship stats.

Goldship rating: 1.7 / 5
Gun Ship rating: 2.7 / 5
Boarding rating: 3.4 / 5
Value for points: 3.0 / 5