Miniature Trading

So This miniature may very well un-make the game for me and the 3 other people I play with. I always try to interpret the rules as literally as possible without actually destroying the game, however I know when I play Arii in my next fleet with the strategy I've come up with, I'll probably end up sailing the seas alone.

Uses:
Basically this crew, along with the right ship, additional crew, and an Event card or so, should pretty much upset everyone who didn't think of it first.
In other words you can sneak in the best of the best and the most costly crew for free making a 40 pt. game for everyone else, more like a 60-70 point game for you.

Strategies and game play:
I'm sure if I ever took this fleet to an actual organized game or if Woelf on the Wizkids forum had anything to say about it, my ship would be sunk. Furthermore let me start by saying that I'm collecting Cursed and I prefer using cursed as a majority of my build total. Having said that, utilize this one piece to stack the deck unfairly in your favor. This last game I played was a 50 pt build.

I put Arii on an Oceans Edge Le Musarde (13 pts)
Along with:
Davy Jones from DJC (11 pts)
El Fantasma from DJC (9 pts)
Sammy The Skull from F&S (6 pts)
and a cursed helmsman (2 pts)

All of which now cost a total of 13 pts.

I also added to my fleet, the Oceans Edge Divine Dragon (16 pts), carrying a shipwright (2 pts).
You'll want to stack your starting fleet out with a; Becalmed event (4 pts) and a Divers event (1 pt).

So far your build total is at 36 pts.

Now I also added to my fleet, Deaths Anchor from Rise of the Fiends (7 pts) and a Nightmare from DJC (4 pts). Add on a Foul Winds event (3 pts) or a Hidden Cove event (2 pts) and call it good.
That put me right up to 50 and now the strategy begins.

Depending on who goes first, start using your events. Hidden cove is a free ride to the nearest island since the game has just begun, but i'd save it until after you've done the gypsy switch. If you go first, use your becalmed and set it right by your opponents home island effectively giving you two turns in a row.
If your stuck going second, use your Foul Winds to inflict the most damage on your opponent.
As your first move action, move the Le musarde so that both of your cursed ships can touch her but still move away on their next turn, and then move your cursed ships to touch the Le Musarde. There will be no need to tow the Flotilla so just leave it guarding your home island.
Once your cursed ships are touching your french ship, transfer all crew except for Arii and your cursed helmsman, to the 6 mast behemoth. Then move your helmsman to the Nightmare.
What you have now is a 6 mast with the following abilities:
- Ability to shoot through your own masts.
- One ability of your choice from any active ship or crew.
- Fear - Roll a d6 at the beginning of each turn, on a 5 no crew abilities within S can be used, and on a 6 all enemies within S can only move S on their next turn.
- +1 to cannon rolls against any non-cursed ships.
- ability to repair at sea or any island.
- And by my interpretation, one of the sweetest deals you can get. Move + Shoot + Move in one action.
Now before everyone thinks I'm a cheater let me explain.
The rules say that a captain keyword allows a ship to move and shoot using the SAME action, and El Fantasma allows you to move after you RESOLVE a shoot action.
So your Sammy the Skull combo with El Fantasma just bought you a free trip around the board. However, the rulebook states that if you can not draw a line of fire to a target then a shoot action can not be made, so you can only Move/Shoot/Move if, at the end of your first move, your ship can effectively fire one cannon at a target.
I would use Davy Jones as a helmsman unless someone is using a Hai Peng and then I would use the +L to base move for any move actions. Remember to get to know everyones fleet and crew to utilize Davy Jones to the max.
Turn up the heat with the flotilla ability to double cannon ranges of your 6 mast and all you gotta hit are 4's on the d6 to score a hit. Even if you miss, you can move away to the clear.
Basically you can wreak havoc on the high seas with this combination and it should be legal because your crews point cost is not exceeding the ship value when all of your crew cost 0.

Combos with other miniatures:
I would just dig through your ships to see which ones have the best abilities to be copied by Davy Jones.

Ways to counteract it:
An Act of God.

lol, if you're playing more than one on one you should beware of being ganged up on. Just remember that you can also use ships abilities that are not in your fleet with Davy Jones. Some of the flying dragons or other sea monsters might put up a pretty good fight so just be on the lookout and maybe even try to take them out first if you get that chance.

Strengths/Pros:
Make sure you use your Hidden cove piece to move your french ship to the nearest island on your second turn and don't worry about someone taking out your Arii piece as long as all of your crew have been transferred. With the help of Divers, the Divine Dragon can help score some gold as well. I'm sure you can imagine the limitless possibilities with this fleet

Weaknesses/Cons:
One entire ship is dedicated to killing so you have to use your other two ships to make the most out of the treasure. You also have to roll a 4,5, or 6 to hit with your cannons.

Use your Divine Dragon to sidetrack and or psych out your opponent while the other ships in your fleet are rounding up the gold. I would try to take out their fastest ships first with the Dragon and maybe mention that the only way they would have a chance is to gang up on your Divine Dragon and Take him out. Hopefully they'll be so occupied with that challenge that you can smuggle the gold while they're heading to kill her.

Overall rating:
A Major 10. Like I said, this piece could turn a game of friends into a arguing stalemate in less than 5 mins. ARRRRR!!!!