Guest Post by Christian Busch – Fire at Sea: Adepticon 2024 200 point Sea Tournament

One of the biggest factors driving me to attend my first Adepticon was all the Blood & Plunder events the Firelock and Blood & Pigment crew were hosting.  I’ve been playing Blood & Plunder regularly for a little over a year now and the opportunity to play it large with a host of enthusiastic fans was hard to pass up.

The highlight of the convention for me was the Blood & Plunder Sea Tournament. Billed as the height of competitive sea games for the flexible miniatures system, I was really excited to do several hours of sea battles played at the highest level. As a veteran of tournament play for various games, I knew that if I wanted to do well I’d need to develop a competitive list and practice it to absolute refinement.

Tournament Preparation

I’ve been playing sea games almost exclusively since getting the 2 player starter last year and so was familiar with the standard competitive build archetypes. However, I wanted to try something completely new and started looking for novel ways to win at sea.

After reviewing the rules, I was struck by the efficiency of the fire mechanics in destroying structures. Since ships are structures, I started digging deeper and a plan started to form. If Fire Tokens are applied to a ship deck already on fire, the fire spreads to another deck. If every deck of your ship is on fire and you take another Fire Token, the ship is instantly destroyed. There are several units in the game that can really ramp up the production of Fire Tokens through Firepots, spamming one for every four models. However, most of these units are 6+ points per model. Pirates at 3 points apiece are a steal.

Perfecting the “Fire at Sea” List

My beginning lists tried to balance out the list by adding swivels or cannons but I soon found these additions were distractions when compared to the ruthless efficiency of firepots and so I soon dropped them. My regular opponent really started to hate these list iterations and I knew I was on the right path.

The last element was a style consideration.  Adepticon is known for going all-out on presentation and requiring fully painted armies. While the Blood & Plunder events didn’t require it, I still wanted to adhere to that tradition. I’d been wanting to pimp out one of the resin ships and after seeing a “ghost pirate” scheme on Facebook, I decided to lean into that theme as well.

For flavor, I imagined Stede Bonnet, recently hanged for his (incompetent) piratical crimes. His anger propelled him to strike a dark pact and rise again with the ghosts of other crew lost at sea. Doing some destructive remodeling, I opened up the standard Brigantine model to accept a light kit and illuminate the inner holds and aft cabins with an eerie green light to go with my spectral crew.

The “Fire at Sea” List

• Name: Ghosts of the Golden Age
• Points: 200
• Faction: Golden Age Pirates
• Commander: Stede Bonnet
• Models: 45 (Strike points at 11/22/33)
• Crew: 
  • 12 Pirates with Blunderbusses and Firepots (Main deck)
    • Captain “Dead” Bonnet
    • Musician
    • Standard Bearer
  • 12 Pirates swapping Brace of Pistols for Buccaneer Guns and adding Firepots (Foredeck)
    • Grizzled Veteran
  • 8 Pirates with Blunderbusses and Firepots (Main deck)
  • 4 Pirates swapping Brace of Pistols for Buccaneer Guns and adding Firepots (Fighting Top on Foremast)
  • 4 Pirates with Blunderbuss (Foredeck)
  • 4 Pirates with Blunderbuss (Stern)
    • Sharp-eyed Lookout
• Ship:
  • Sloop of War
    • Fighting Top (on Foremast)
    • Freshly Careened Hull

Forcebuilder Link (recent point changes after Adepticon put the list over 200 points)

How It Plays

This list operates with one single-minded purpose: get within 5 inches of the enemy as fast as possible and bombard them with Firepots until the ship burns down. I didn’t care how much crew damage I did, I just wanted to light those decks on fire as quickly as possible.

Deployment Phase

With a Sloop of War (12 inch length) at full sail (5 inches) and Freshly Careened Hull you are already starting to threaten 22 inches from your back edge. Adding the 2-inch deployment zone many missions have and you are threatening the middle of the table and haven’t even activated yet. If the enemy starts against their board edge presenting a broadside to you, they will typically be 5-6 inches from their board edge depending on the ship, creating a 19-inch gap between our ships. Even if they just anchor at the beginning, I’ll get there in approximately 4 movements (so in turn 2). If their ship faces me and/or moves closer, I can get to them as soon as my 2nd move.

Combat Strategies for “Fire at Sea”

The main strategy is to close using the activations of the small four-model units and set up a first volley with my bow unit of 12 pirates. They will unload 9 buccaneer guns at the enemy within 5 inches and throw 3 firepots, netting 3 dice to light decks on fire (on an 8+ per die). If you care about crew damage, you’re typically hitting on 8+ with 9 buccaneer guns and 9 firepot dice. 

The next activation should bring the ships close enough for my main deck to get involved. “Dead” Bonnet has Motivated so he will have the bow unit throw Firepots at the enemy deck again (at no risk since they can use the two actions to throw). Once that is complete, the Commander Unit can fire 8 Brace of Pistol shots and 3 firepots (the Standard Bearer and Musician just sit back and watch the show). At this point, I’ve thrown 9 dice at the deck (at 8+) to light them on fire saving Fortune tokens to only reroll the results if the 3 dice fail to light a deck. If the ship survives this volley, I try to go first in the next round and repeat it all over again until the ship is destroyed.

Risks of the “Fire at Sea” build

For a long time, I debated on whether to go with Golden Age Pirates or Flying Gang. Ultimately, the safety of one big ship and Stede Bonnet’s Motivated ability pushed me to go with the Golden Age.  Both are risky options as the 2 deck ships in Flying Gang are vulnerable to Big Gun cannon lists or another firepot list and the ability to command another group to throw firepots means they risk dropping them on their own men due to not having the extra action Motivated supplies. 

Golden Age, however, comes with a particular risk of its own- Drunkenness. The Drunk scenario rule applies to this faction if they are the Defender at the start of the scenario. It is particularly troublesome for this list as it is technically a shooting list and the drunk penalty applies to all tests including the one to see if a deck catches fire. Also, it complicates the ability to play the game as it adds individual penalties and bonuses to units in a list that otherwise all share the same stats.  To help with this last eventuality, I created some custom Pirate cards that I could flip over per unit to make sure I could track who was drunk and what effects would apply.

Fighting Men Characters

Fighting Men are very important to this list as well, each seeing important uses in mitigating the risks the list creates.

• Sharp-eyed Lookout: Going into the tournament, I considered this the most important Fighting Man of the list as it gives you some control over that important Attacker/Defender roll. Not only will the list struggle when drunk but the Sloop of War does not like to be windward, a common eventuality when being the Defender.
• Standard Bearer: Giving me an extra Command Point to Rally is a blessing for low resolve Pirates.  The fear is that I may take a lot of incoming fire getting to my opponent and I don’t want fatigue to keep me from using Motivated or Pushing to do a safe 2-action Firepot throw.
• Musician: Giving my Captain Inspiring synergizes with the Standard Bearer and causes the opponent to roll for Fatigue at the beginning of the game if they don’t also have a Musician.
• Grizzled Veteran: More Fatigue mitigation with Battle Hardened, a Rally command point, and Tough.

Post Tournament Report

The AdeptiCon Sea Tournament takes place over 3 rounds using Tournament Points gained through winning (3 points) or drawing (1 point) a game and a Strike Point Differential to break tournament point ties.

Going into the tournament, I figured my biggest challenge would come from either 4-deck ships with lots of cannons or small quick sloops while I’m windward.  I figured I would struggle to catch a sloop if they ran and the extra decks on the big ships would give them enough time to put out the fires and delay my strategy enough to turn the game against me. 

Game 1

My first game was against Patrick and his fantastic Galleon based on the Sea of Thieves video game. I won the attacker roll without needing my Sharp-eyed Lookout, but I didn’t hold it against him. That beautiful Galleon didn’t need a sharp eye to spot.  Patrick’s men failed to notice my False Colors (making it so they couldn’t attack me at longer ranges) so I’d likely be safe until I closed within 12 inches of his ship.  

Patrick started at a slight angle inward and at just enough sail to not start drifting. I aimed my Sloop of War at his nose and sailed hard, getting to his ship at the end of my last activation.  With only the bow of the ship in range, I saved the big unit there for last and they fired their full buccaneer gun volley and firepots. Enough of Patrick’s front crew died to shake them but even worse, two decks caught fire.  Patrick sailed past my ship and opened up cannons at point-blank range with a Master Gunner and cut my ship down 5 damage, killing a few main deck crew in the process.

Round 2 opened with me winning the initiative and I started with my Commander launching a barrage of pistol fire (which did very little) and firepots killing a few more crew and, more importantly, setting a 3rd deck on fire.  Commanding my bow crew to go, they threw safely (due to Motivated) and wrecked a few more crew but whiffed their fire-starting roll. However, that is my only purpose for Fortune so I rerolled it and got two more fire successes.  Unfortunately for Patrick, this meant he had five tokens on four decks and his Galleon blew up. “Dead” Bonnet welcomed the new confused souls to his dread crew.

Game 2

My second opponent was running a balanced sloop build with 4 light cannons, 8 swivels, and crew that were competent boarders to boot. I won the Attacker roll again (without Sharp-eyed Lookout) and the opponent angled windward.  With full sails at my back, I plotted an intercept course knowing his sloop would have no issue running windward the whole game. If I let him slip past me, it would be hard to turn back into the wind and give chase. We closed quickly though with both of us going full sail and soon my bow group was right on him.

The buccaneer guns let loos,e but it was the firepots on a devastating 8, 8, 9 fire roll that ended the game with an instant ship explosion. While I knew this was a possibility and a fear of mine when taking 2 deck ships, it had never happened in any of my test games so it was shocking to see it in brutal action.  “Dead” Bonnet was pleased as more souls joined his ranks.

Game 3

Firepot ships were now getting a lot of attention as another opponent was running a firepots list and we were both at the finals top table.  Jason Klorz took the other firepot option, going with Flying Gang and two sloops.  His list supported more firepots but was riskier with sloops that could get wrecked in one die throw like I just saw.

We rolled and tied at the Attacker/Defender roll but now my Sharp-eyed Lookout could earn his points. I rerolled and got high enough to gain the Attacker. We both had Musicians canceling each other out. Jason set his ships at two angles away from the Wind. Again, fearing to go windward in my Sloop of War, I took the weather gauge and deployed upwind, angling to attack his non-flagship sloop.

The Combat Begins

Deploying heavily upwind meant that the two sloops had to swing around and get into me.  The distances meant that I would be on the secondary sloop before his flagship could get into the action. Ultimately, this game would win and die on the activation initiatives and firepot rolls. I pulled an event and got “Unruly,” losing me a command point.  The Standard Bearer soon became clutch in this game as Stede Bonnet only has one Command Point.  I could now ditch the Standard Bearer’s extra Command Point to offset the bad event result, maintaining my ability to pull a double firepot volley.

I closed on the closest sloop first and lit it up with a deck on fire.  Jason was able to put it out with one crew but I lit it on fire again, this time catching both decks now.  A quick Fire landed on my main deck and I tried to put it out but Fortune failed me and it remained.

My Fighting Top group had a last activation so they lobbed another firepot onto the burning sloop and watched as it promptly exploded. This ruined Jason’s activation order and his flagship could close but not fire anything. I tried putting out the Fire again only to fail, even spending another Fortune. The round ended and here is where the two sloops list became risky. The loss of crew and ship put Jason at 2 Strike Points to my zero. He would now have to roll Resolve or lose the game.  Luckily, his crew passed and round 2 could get underway.

The Big Finale!

This was the critical moment where an activation here would likely determine the game.  Jason didn’t like his hand so used his last Fortune to pull a new hand. I pulled another event and got “Unruly” again. Standard Bearer was definitely earning his points today.

We threw the cards down and he won the activation initiative, King of Spades to my Queen of Spades.  His Command unit threw firepots to catch two decks and then commanded another group to throw firepots.  He passed the risk roll and caught one more deck on fire.  With no more decks to light, “Dead” Bonnet’s Revenge exploded, ending his reign of terror.

Results

After the scores were tabulated, I ended up 3rd with Jason taking home the top prize and first place. That last game was really tight and fun to see how these two lists could face off. It was good to see that my list performed as I had intended and the only real counter showing up to the tournament was another firepot list.

Conclusion

The tournament capped off a 5-month exploration of the Firepot rules, going from “I wonder if this could work at a tournament” all the way to seeing the list archetype take 1st and 3rd in one of the biggest tournaments for the game. There is no doubt that the list is strong and performing way above its point cost. Firelock designers were present at the games and watching/taking notes so I’m confident we’ll see some changes coming in the future regarding the potency of firepots and ship destruction.

How to Counter the “Fire at Sea” Build

Until then, my practice games yielded some tactics that may help you fight against these types of lists.

• Grapple: Probably the easiest counter is grappling and boarding the opponent’s vessel. Even lacking specialized boarding units, grappling allows the fire to spread to the enemy ship’s decks, potentially making it their own liability. This buys you time to board and shift the momentum. With two ships, this tactic can be enhanced by sacrificing one to grapple the firepot ship while the other delivers punishment using swivels, cannons, or small arms.
• Kite: Fast medium cannon ships like the Sloop or Light Frigate can employ a “run and gun” tactic, firing cannons continuously. Firepot lists operate similarly to boarding lists until they reach a 5-inch distance. Maintain this distance, keeping cannons firing. Firepot lists usually lack swivels or small arms. Use chain shot on rigging to slow them and target strike points. Critical hits on their ship supply strike points, along with certain objectives and weak resolve of Pirate factions.
• Run: Flying Gang and Golden Age Pirates lack Attacker bonuses. Utilizing a Sharp-eyed Lookout and adding a +X to the attacker roll often secures the Attacker position and puts them windward, slowing their advance. If the scenario favors avoiding combat, take advantage of it. Firepots can’t ignite what they can’t catch. While this tactic may not suit casual play, given the rules heavily favoring the firepot strategy, it’s understandable for opponents in a tournament to opt for total evasion, resulting in a minimal loss or draw.
• Repair Often: Smaller units on larger ships allow for more repair actions to quickly extinguish fires. Adding a Carpenter, Captains with multiple command points or Motivated traits, and an Officer with Strict, grants multiple chances to prevent fires from escalating. Maintain at least 2 decks clear of fire at all times. While less effective on 2-deck ships, in testing, it’s uncommon to score more than one fire token per 3-die volley, showing variability in firepot list effectiveness.

Additional Recommended Reading

• Ultimate Guide to Explosives
• Review of the Golden Age Pirates Faction
• 150pt Maroon Tournament List from AdeptiCon 2024

Related Products

• Brigantine Ship Model, used for the Sloop of War Ship
• Pirates of Legend Box containing Stede Bonnet
• Raise the Black Expansion book, containing the Golden Age Pirates Faction