General description:
I love this ship. It has been the first (and only for too a long time) five masted that I’ve pulled. Such wonderful guns, good armour! Had to use it!
But the problem with Lord Algy is that she really needs the right crew to work it out. I tried some combos, stubbornly determined to make a good use of my precious ship!
Uses:
This is a bad, angry fighter. Possibly the core of your fleet in a standard game.
In a 100 points, last-surviving-ship game, I put her side to side with HMS Titan and HMS Leicester, ignore the speed problem and shoot everything I have!
Strategies and game play:
Lord Algernon is like a powerful, heavyweight boxer. Impressive, but too slow. I’d try to counter this with multi action characters to let her give the first hit.
Combos with other miniatures:
Here we come… What use for those puny 3 cargo spaces?
1 - You need a helmsman. Not negotiable.
2 - A captain and, since Lord Algy needs some help, a named one. I generally use Thomas Gunn the Younger for crew killing, at need in combo with the Elder for an edge against Spain (reaching a gun rate of 416%). Since the two are linked there’s no waste of precious cargo. Another good choice would be The Gentleman: his reroll ability could be very useful (see later). Another choice, if you want a real beast, is always Hermione Gold (this world hater grants 416% against any ship!).
3 - A shipwright could keep the Special ability working for a long time, but I doubt anyone would stop in the middle of a fight to settle a mast... Admiral Morgan or Christopher Myngs would be better options, with the reroll provided by The Gentleman we would have an extra action 2/3 the times.
First mate Ismail (+1 cargo) would be a good option, but there’s that 15 points limit. I would use it only with a SAC Captain, or if I wanted that shipwright badly...
Ways to counteract it:
Mermaids are always a classic against this kind of ship…
Otherwise you must block or kill the crew: negators (Nemesio Diaz or Christian Fiore), bad treasures (Missionary, Plague) can be very effective as well.
As last resort, fight! And be prepared to lose a big piece of you fleet…
Strengths/Pros:
Best cannons you could wish for;
Very good special ability;
Fair price.
Weaknesses/Cons:
Slow speed and too little cargo space to counter it.
Artwork and aesthetics:
Another plain, clean, tidy ship for Her Majesty’s Navy…
Overall rating:
7/10. I love this ship, but at 3 cargo can’t do better!
Historical Curiosity:
And who was Lord Algernon? There have been several, most of them politicians. In order to be sure we should ask Wizkids, but I think the Lord Algernon they had in mind was:
Lord Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland 1602-1668, who in 1637 was made lord high admiral of England, and have been loyal servant of Charles I, and Charles II later.
Another curiosity for friends from London: his second wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, brought his Northumberland House in The Strand, which was demolished in 1874 to make room for Northumberland Avenue.
Miniature Trading
