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Mermaids, Divers and Foul Winds
Events in Pirates of the Revolution
By
Cap’n William ‘WildWill’ Noetling

“Cap’n, I spy something on the horizon.”
“Smee, what it be?”
“I don’t know Cap’n, looks like…Mermaids!”
“Mermaids? Smee, have you been doubling up on your Rum ration?”
“No sir. I see Mermaids.”
“Give me that spyglass. Aaaarrrgh, well shiver me timbers and blow me down…”

WizKids introduced a new game mechanic with the Pirates of the Revolution set, and it’s taking the Pirates Meta game by storm…heh. Events are tokens that you purchase at the beginning of your game, and their point cost is included with your total fleet build. Events are not necessarily assigned to a specific ship, and most have triggering effects, such as Raft, which you can only play immediately after one of your ships sinks. Events, as far as I know, are not unique, and you may play more than one at a time, unless they specifically say you can’t. Nice thing about Events are that they are all common, so you will most likely be able to get all of them in just a few packs. Each event is available on two cards currently.
I’ve listed each of the five current events below along with my commentary.
 

Event Name	Picture	Effect	Card #s	Cost	Commentary
Becalmed		Reveal this event at the beginning of one of your turns and place its token anywhere on the play area (except on an island or a ship). No ship within L of the token may be given a move action unless she can move when derelict. Remove Becalmed from the game at the beginning of your next turn.	098 100	4	For four points you get to make your opponent lose a turn. Nice, but expensive. Still, if you’re on your last legs and you’re about to get creamed, Becalmed sure comes in handy.
Divers		You may reveal this event immediately after one of your ships sinks an enemy ship, but you may not reveal it on the same turn an opponent reveals Raft. You receive all gold from the sunken ship. Remove Divers from the game.	20 21	1	Similar to Raft, only this one is an offensive event. For one point you basically can steal your opponent’s treasure, as long as he doesn’t play a Raft. Pretty nice. I know one’s going in each one of my fleet builds.
Foul Winds		Reveal this event at the beginning of one of your turns and place its token anywhere on the play area (except on an island or a ship). Any ship (except docked ships) within L of the token is moved L in one direction chosen by the player to the left of that ship's controller. If a ship touches an island, eliminate one of her masts. Remove Foul Winds from the game.	97 99	3	A nasty offensive event, you (or another player if you’re playing a multi-player game) get to move your opponent’s ships 1 L movement, and if they crash into an island as a result, they lose a mast. Very nasty, but also a tad expensive at 3 points. I would definitely consider using this event.
Mermaids		Reveal this event at the beginning of one of your turns and place its token on a non-docked enemy ship. That ship may not be given an action for a number of turns equal to the number of crew on her when Mermaids was revealed. After those turns have elapsed, remove Mermaids from the game.	63 96	3	The crew killer, Mermaids. This event was specifically designed to counter the sac-captain massive fleet builds. Got an opponent with a Jonah and 20 crew aboard their ship? Not anymore they don’t. Sure the crew doesn’t go anywhere, but then again, neither does the ship. For 3 points, this event is a must in any competitive game.
Raft		You may reveal Raft immediately after one of your ships sinks. Place all crew and gold on that ship onto the nearest wild island. Remove Raft from the game.	37 64	1	Your basic last ditch effort to keep your gold and crew. Very nice. For 1 point, it’s also a must in every competitive fleet build.

So there you have it. Mermaids and Raft are the real winners here, with the others offering more flavor for the game. The only thing I don’t like about Events is that you can play multiples of the same event. How long before we’ll see speedy treasure fleets with 3-4 mermaids?

Until next time, I’m your Cap’n WildWill. I’ll see YOU on the High Seas.