Miniature Trading

General description:
This is a very unusual piece, featuring a new ability that appeared once on the Black Pearl in the DPotC set but other than that nowhere else in the game, particularly not on a crew.

I'm a bit fuzzy on Griffin's backstory (but then, I suppose that's the point of the mask). He looks like "The Man in the Iron Mask" but started out as a Pirate crew... here, he's part of the English faction, and I think RotF was supposed to be a "prequel" set but he's still got the mask on. If this is supposed to be an illegitemate heir or "evil twin" of King Louis XIV, shouldn't he be French? Then again, there's another theory that he could have been the illegitemate son of Charles II of England.

One of the innovations of RotF was WK *finally* started adding basic crew abilities as keywords. In RotF, they only added Captain and Helmsman as keywords, but more abilities will most likely follow in future sets. With Woelf ruling that any crew that has the same description of a keyword ability is treated as having that keyword, this closes a loophole with the OE version of Neptune's Hoard: you used to be able to put Ghost Wind, Bootstrap Bill, or Cotton on the Neptune's Hoard and it didn't count as a Helmsman, so you could still roll 4-6 for the extra +L movement. Now that crew with the same text as the helmsman ability are treated as having the Helmsman keyword, this loophole no longer works. As we can see on this version of Griffin, if the designers had intended him to have the Helmsman ability, then he would have been given the keyword. According to Woelf, the wording on his ability is considered different enough to stack with a Helmsman.

Uses, strategies and game play:
At 7 points (the database currently has the two versions confused), Griffin is expensive, particularly since he depends on another crew that costs at least 3 points if not more. So Griffin's ability is more like a 10 point ability, for which you get something similar to a World-Hater and a Helmsman. However, Griffin is a bit better than a standard World-Hater, because first, why would you *NOT* put a Captain on board, and second, the +1 works on all ships regardless of nationality.

If that wasn't good enough, you get an extra +S movement, which is just like having a Helmsman on board. Only even better (and I confirmed this with Woelf), it *stacks* with a Helmsman. Adding a Helmsman is, again, more points, but consider this comparison: While Captain + Helmsman + Griffin is expensive (12 points), Captain + Helmsman + World-Hater = 9 points. So that additional +S movement is only about 3 points... not bad, considering you only paid 2 points for the first +S.

As an English crew with a fairly high cost, Griffin works best when placed on England's larger gunships. The crew and cargo costs associated with using his ability make him a poor fit on other types of ships.

Combos with other miniatures:
Of all England's gunships, the HMS Titan and HMS Endeavor stand out as popular favorites, but the best place to put Griffin is probably the HMS Grand Temple. Add a SAC Captain, Helmsman, and some Oarsmen, and you're moving S+S+S+S twice a turn with four of your six cannons only missing on a 1.

Paired up with Thomas Gunn or Hermione Gold, you cram a Captain, Helmsman, +1 to all cannons, and an additional +S movement into two cargo spaces for only 12 points. Add the new RotF Trevor Van Tyne with Hermione Gold, and you sqeeze a musketeer into that same 2 cargo spaces for only an additional 2 points. Take a look at this monster:

HMS Titan 17
- Hermione Gold 5 [Link1]
- Trevor Van Tyne 2 [Link1]
- Griffin 7 [Link2]
- Sir Christopher Myngs 3
- Countess Diana Doone 2
- Mercer 3
- Oarsman 1
- Commodore Rhys Gryffyn Owen 0 [Link2]

On the Endeavour, Trevor Van Tyne's musket would be even more effective, eliminating two masts instead of one. Here's another monster:

HMS Endeavour 21
- Hermione Gold 5 [Link1]
- Trevor Van Tyne 2 [Link1]
- Griffin 7
- Mercer 3
- Brother Virgil 3 [Link2]
- Countess Diana Doone 2 [Link2]
- Master Bianco 3 [Link3]
- Bianco's Haulers 3 [Link3]
- Ralph David 1
- Oarsman 1

If you combine Griffin with Anamaria or the new Crimson Angel, then you can put him back on a Pirate ship. For example, if you thought Deliverance (CC) was nasty with a captain + helmsman, add Crimson Angel (Captain + any nationality) with Griffin and a helmsman, and Deliverance moves a staggering L+S+S+S, almost as fast as the Hai Peng.

Ways to counteract it:
Griffin is particularly vulnerable to crew/cargo-killers, since his ability depends on both him and a Captain being on board. He is also vulnerable to Duel, although at 7 points your opponent would have to risk another high point crew to remove him.

Any UT that eliminates crew might get rid of Griffin. For example:

Blood Money
Curse of the Black Spot
Cursed Natives
Ghostly Encounter
Marines
Missionary
Plague
Runes of Death
Scurvy
Volcano

Strengths/Pros:
+1 to all cannons and +S on top of a Helmsman? That's crazy-good levels of coolness.

Weaknesses/Cons:
High cost, particularly when combined with other crew.

Artwork and aesthetics:
"Why do you wear a mask? Were you burned by acid or something?"
"Oh, no. I just find they are terribly comfortable. I think everyone will be wearing them in the future."

Then again, if your career sunk like Lionardo DiCaprio's after Titanic, you'd probably want to wear a mask, too.

It might be nice to see WK develop a Alexander Dumas-style storyline with maybe some illegitemate claimant to the French throne, but then again, in a game which features sea dragons, undead crew, Cthulhu-esque hentai tentacle monsters, voodoo possession, and magic spells, it's hard to be all that interested in a somewhat new but mysterious character with self-esteem issues.

Art-wise, a bit heavy on the grunge but I guess it could be worse... at least he's not the front-man for an 80's hair-metal band.

Overall rating:
8 out of 10. A little expensive, but on the right gunship, worth his weight in gold.