Name:    Teach (Pirates)

Card:    OE #034 (Uncommon)

Points:  13

Masts: 2

Cargo: 0

Moves: L

Guns : 2S,2S

Hit %: 133 (S), 0 (L)

Ability: Sea Monster. If this sea monster succeeds at a boarding party, it may eliminate all of the other ship's crew.

This giant shark was almost certainly named after Edward Teach, aka Blackbeard the Pirate. To me, she seems to have more in common with the Cursed than with the Pirate faction, but that's just my opinion.

My other opinion is that this shark has a somewhat limited role. When you talk about killing the enemy crew, you usually mean fighting crew, because gold ships rarely carry more than one crew anyway. But fighting ships usually have too many masts for a two-"masted" shark to board safely. The exception to this rule is raiders - small, fast ships with good cannons that go after your gold ships. These are Teach's natural prey; he can ram them (which usually costs them a mast), board them (he has nothing to lose and a lot to gain), and leave them derelict with his fine "cannons" on the next turn. His low speed isn't such a problem if his targets come to him. He has nothing to gain by boarding gold ships, because he has no cargo to steal their gold with.

The big deal here is the price tag; the Pirates can outfit an anti-raider for a lot less than thirteen points. I'd use the Longshanks (three cannons) with a Captain to fight off enemy raiders, and save four points (which I'd spend on another gold ship like the one we review tomorrow). But sea monsters are cool, and if you can't resist their appeal, Teach can help your gold game by protecting your gold ships. If you aren't planning to win on gold, though, your enemy may Teach you a lesson about relying on overpriced sea monsters.

Goldship rating: 1.0 / 5

Gun Ship rating: 1.8 / 5

Boarding rating: 2.0 / 5

Value for points: 2.3 / 5

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