As powerful as Pirate-pure fleets are, I’ve always felt somewhat guilty about playing them. Here then is a variant of an earlier fleet I submitted now translated over to the French faction.
The basic idea behind this fleet has not changed. A ship with a +2 gold bonus remains docked at your home island while a lone runner coves out to a wild island and a gunship backed up by events takes on the enemy. Hopefully the runner returns with four pieces totaling at least eight points so that, after the runner docks with the ‘bonus ship,’ four +2 bonuses on each coin will get you to the 16 points needed to win.
At first glance, it would appear that no French ship with a +2 gold bonus can equal the economical Ahura Mazda of the Pirates. However, a little innovation utilizing France’s excellent balance of named crew does the trick. OE Le Coeur du Lion combined with Maurice Aristide for the bonus and Princess Arii to allow for his placement costs five points, exactly the cost of Ahura Mazda.
As for the runner, a piece with at least four cargo holds and respectable speed is needed. La Dijon fits the bill and even comes equipped with the vital ‘trade treasure’ ability that allows her to avoid negative unique treasures and ensure that she brings back eight or more gold points.
Finally, this fleet needs the capability to hold off the enemy for the four turns needed to trade in the four coins. DJC Le Bonaparte backed up by a Becalmed event works very nicely. Having Claude Pierre on Le Bonaparte allows you to optimize this gunship combo for the task at hand. If you’re dealing with lots of small pesky treasure runners, flip him for a helmsman at the start of the game. If you’re dealing with larger gunships, a firepot specialist might be a better choice. In any case, after you use him to bring in a two point crew, you can sacrifice him with Arathiel for an extra action. Be sure to consider 'double pinning' with this ship since she can't be hit within S, but avoid being stuck to any one target if your enemy has multiple gunships or runners that have yet to be delt with.
Miniature Trading
