Miniature Trading

General description:

I have always been a huge fan of the look of the 2 masted schooner. And the new design I really like because the sails do not get in each other's way.

The Black Arrow definitely got my attention, not only with its sleek black look, but its ability to not be shot at by ships within S! It is one of the few ships that has this ability and has more than 1 mast! That alone makes it useful because now enemy ships can't just ram it to get rid of it!

Uses:

If you play with a lot of 0 cargo space UTs, this ship has 2 functions. The First function is obviously a back up gunship. She's good at intercepting treasure runners and helping sink those Warships that withstood the blast from your main ship. She won't be that good as your main fighter. Because if your opponent only has to deal with her initially, he will move into L range and pound away her 2 masts with his L range cannons.

She can also work as a treasure runner/Fighter. She could be a flat out treasure runner, but she's a little expensive for that role. Best to hit 2 birds with one stone.

Strategies and game play:

She's chiefly a support gunship, so hide her in the shadow of your main battleship, then slip her out for the Coup de grais, staying close to the enemy ship. You can also use her to get the jump on enemy support ships as well.

With a helmsman she can catch most treasure runners, which is another ideal use for this little raider. While your bigger ships handle the war fleet, the Arrow takes on the gold runners and sinks them or tows them back.

Or you can run treasure with her. And if the enemy sends anything to take her out, they'd be in for a surprise!

Combos with other miniatures:

The Pirate faction has so many different crew that you can use! I could spend all day listing the different combos you could use. But instead I will identify some crew and combos I really like that helps offset her weaknesses.

First thing she needs is a helmsman. There is no negotiation about that!

Next, a captain is a must too. But there's more than just a standard 3 point captain. You can use a reroll captain like OE Griffin. Captain Barbossa is a great captain that also makes your cannons a lot better! I recommend any of these two captains to help!

Any of the cheap double action crew the Pirates have can really make the ship a potential speed demon! Parley is also a good keyword to keep this ship alive against warships.

Here are three nice crew combinations for this ship:

Cap. Barbossa, Helm.,-21 points. A standard backup ship combination.

Griffin, Helm., Le Requin-23 points. This gets you great speed and will help you catch those speedy treasure runners, and even 2 sets of shots on those warships!

Captain Jack Sparrow, Gentleman Jocard, helm. explorer-24 points. This is your run and gun ship. It gets you to the island, gets you enough cargo to take the gold, and it can switch a treasure with a crew! Not tomention Sparrow has the move and shoot ability in case you run into trouble.

Ways to counteract it:

Bombard it with L range cannons. It's the only way to be sure!

Strengths/Pros:
Can't be shot at within S
2 masts
3 cargo

Weaknesses/Cons:
S range cannons
3 rank cannons

Artwork and aesthetics:
It is a very nice ship. Sleek, sexy, and the black with red stripes looks really good!

Overall rating:
Overall 7.5. I'd give it a solid 8 if it had 2 rank cannons or a base move of S+L.