Name: USS Denver (USA)
Card: OE #SOE07 (Special Edition Promo)
Points: 20
Masts: 4
Cargo: 4
Moves: L
Guns : 3S,3S,3S,3S
Hit %: 200 (S), 0 (L)
Ability: Friendly ships within S of this ship get +1 to their cannon rolls.

Here we go with another grossly-overpriced support ship. I have yet to find one that was even close to fairly priced. But some of these ships are more useful than others, and the Denver does have its uses.

Surprisingly, those uses don't involve gold running, the usual back-up role for support ships. Four cargo is nice, but it becomes three when you add the mandatory Helmsman, and now it's an even worse deal than before. But the Denver has something most support ships don't have, namely, four decent cannons. You can add a Captain to the Helmsman and use her in a fighting role, keeping her close to some other ship that can benefit from her ability. The USS Atlanta (FN) would be a fun choice; she isn't too costly, her cannons can definitely use a boost, and her double-range shots would now hit on a 5-6. Fun! But very expensive.

The bottom line on the USS Denver is that, while she can do useful things for you, she costs far too much to justify her existence. If you play a game where fleets are built on mast counts instead of points, this could be a fine ship. But 20 points is way too much.

Goldship rating: 3.0 / 5
Gun Ship rating: 2.9 / 5
Boarding rating: 2.8 / 5
Value for points: 1.8 / 5

Name: USS Denver
Masts: 4
Cargo: 4
Speed: L
Firepower: four 3L cannons
Cost: 20pts
Ability: Friendly ships with in S of this ship get +1 to their cannon rolls
Without doubt she’s expensive and practically impossible to play in a standard point game. Her ability will cost you 50% of that build total. However, she’s not useless but you need a large build.
First off crew, captain and maybe a helmsman. Eternal crew to help safeguard that cost and maybe a shipwright. The hard part is keeping her within S of the rest of your gunships. A flotilla would be a good addition, but will keep her speed to the standard base move. Big five mast gunships are good choices to have around her. With plenty of cannons to benefit from that pricy bonus and big ships tend to have L base move. So you wouldn’t forget and go galloping off outside bonus range of Denver because your ships are too fast. USS Atlanta would be an excellent choice with her sniper ability. Which would be hitting on five and six’s, instead of just six’s.
She’s a good ship, with a use. Just need to be able to take out a mortgage to afford her.
The breakdown of points.
Masts – 2pts
Cargo¬ – 2pts
Speed – 2pts
Cannons – 4pts
Ability – wait for it...10pts!

Gunship rating 4/5
Gold ship rating 1/5
Fleet support rating 4/5
Value rating 1/5