Miniature Trading

General description:
Well not quite a battleship but you get the idea. El Algeciras has to be the best support gunship in the entire game. It has good speed, and some pretty decent cannons. Top that with its very low point cost, it's best used in throwing a Captain on it and using it to support your larger gunships!

Uses:
This ship is strictly a support ship. It can take out smaller ships like other support gunships and treasure runners, as well as heavily Damaged Man O Wars. But do not take on the big guys with this little ship alone. Using this ship to attack say the Titan is akin to charging a large dragon with a rock in the hopes that the fear will cause it to have a heart attack!

DO NOT USE THIS SHIP TO RUN TREASURE! I can't stress this enough. IF you looked at this ship and thought "HMMM I could run treasure with this." Do your self a favor and get a room at your nearest HA HA Hilton where they have a nice white jacket for you.

Strategies and game play:
Use it to either support the flanks of your La Tartessos or your La Resolucion. Or have it blockade a Wild Island from pesky little treasure runners till you can get your own runners in. Basically use it wherever its needed. But don't send it to the front lines!

Combos with other miniatures:
With one cargo, 3 points and 3s for guns, this little guy screams captain. And honestly that's pretty much it. If you don't want those extra 5 points the Countessa brings you could put Duque Marcos Vacaro on it to give you a very valuable reroll. And since he links to any Spanish crew, you don't have to worry about cargo space.

You could put a helmsman on it and have it scout Wild Islands for the Joya Del Sol. But this seems a less useful option.

Ok, I know I said earlier don't use this ship to run treasure. *sigh* Well there is one way to make it an ok treasure runner. Put Master Bianco on it for 2 cargo spaces so at least if you play UT Heavy, this ship can bring a lot of the Island's Treasure home. But honestly, at that cost, you might as well use the Rosario. Its a faster ship.

Any other crew on this ship seems counter-productive, or else too expensive to use.

Ways to counteract it:
Basically with 2 masts, its easy to blow it out of the water. But try to use a smaller support ship to take it out, lest it distract it from the big guns!

Strengths/Pros:

3 points
S+L movement
3 for cannons

Weaknesses/Cons:

1 Cargo
Can't get the last gold

Artwork and aesthetics:
The art is ok. The gray on it makes it for a drab ship. The beauty of this boat is function, not form.

Overall rating:
Overall, 9.5 out of 10. I'd give it a 10 if it had 2s for cannons. It does have some disadvantages, but they don't interfere with its primary role as a support gunship!