by Dan Carlson
With the release of Raise the Black, the Pirates not only became a full-fledged nation, but gained access to lots of juicy new characters. One of these new characters is Caesar, known to more people who consume pirate media as Black Caesar. His legend is vast, and his Blood and Plunder Force measure’s up to his legend! So join me as we dive deep into what makes Caesar’s Men unique amongst his peers.
The Faction
Caesar’s Men is an aggressive faction that is dead set on being the Attacker. With a +4 to the roll to determine the attacker, the ability to use False colors, and a free mulligan (discard your activation cards and draw the same number you discarded for free) without spending a Fortune Point, Caesar’s Men can contend with forces like the Spanish Armada or British Navy for aggressiveness. On top of all of that, this faction grants the Ruthless Special Rule to all units in this force. This makes for a fantastic boarding and musket list, as you are clearly meant to be applying pressure and to not be on the back foot.
There is only one “flaw” with this faction’s rules, and that is the inability to take size 3 ships or larger. This is a real shame because I think the Brigantine is an excellent ship for factions like this, but Caesar’s Men are barred from it. However, this opens up list building to things like Piraguas, Sloops, or even the Barco Luengo! While this rule is a minor gripe from me, if you picked up the Blood and Plunder 2-Player Starter Set, then you have two sloops at your disposal anyway. All you need from there is the Pirates of Legend Box and you’re all set!
Core Units
Pirates
Pirates are a solid unit if you’re looking to boost your model count. While they have mediocre stats, they come heavily armed and can be kitted out for just about any role at sea. War Cry will cause your opponent to have to roll an additional dice on any Fatigue Test that is made as the result of a charge. In practice, this can be a real pain for your foe to deal with. Being equipped with Brace of Pistols also makes them potent in melee. Thanks to the Ruthless faction rule, the Pirates will be hitting on 6s rather than 7s if the target unit has more Fatigue than the Pirates that are charging them. Adding blunderbusses will grant them another weapon to fire with if your opponent decides to charge you, and explosives are always solid due to the sheer volume the Pirates can bring.
For all these advantages, there are a few considerations to take into account when bringing Pirates in your Force. Their Resolve 6 is “swingy”. Sometimes they have very little issue managing Fatigue. Other times, the Fatigue will end up being a major thorn in your side. The second consideration is their statline. While straight 7’s across the board for Fight, Shoot, and Saves is on par for a 3pt model it can still feel bad to have your Pirates take lots of casualties and gain lots of Fatigue from a single attack. If you are unable to get Ruthless to activate, then hitting on 7’s, even with re-rolls for Brace of Pistols, can yield some less than ideal results.
The National Sailors: Sea Dogs, Marins, Marineros, and Zeelieden
We have covered the “National Sailors” (the sailor units from each of the major nations) many times on this blog, so I am going to just do a quick contrast and comparison for how they perform for Caesar’s Men. Right out of the gate, the Marineros lose any and all relevance as all of these units will have Ruthless per the faction rule. Sea Dogs and Zeelieden boast better Saves, but Zeelieden are also able to handle any Advanced Maneuvers or Sail Setting Changes better than the other 3. The French Marins are easily the best in a fight, with a 5 Fight and Hard Chargers (which also stacks with Ruthless) they will hit the hardest on a charge, but their 7 Fight Save makes them vulnerable if they are locked in an ongoing melee.
Personally, I tend to stick with Zeelieden and Marins. The Zeelieden’s sheer utility for manning cannons, swivels, and handing any Advanced Maneuvers can’t be topped. They are still great in a scrap, and have the Save to last longer in melee. If you are short on points and need a good “first one over the rails” unit, the Marins will make space for your other units to charge in!
Roundsmen
Roundsmen are the most expensive Core Unit in this faction, and serve as an elite option for your Force. Being Veterans, they serve as a great option for a command unit and are just as versatile as their 3pt Pirate counterparts, just without the awful statline. Ruthless will help with their 7 Shoot score against models with Fatigue on them, and being able to take free Blunderbusses means if they are charged by an enemy unit, they can lay down a world of hurt in defensive fire. Expert Sailors will always be useful at sea if things go wrong with the wind, and Artillery Crew can be ignored as putting these guys on any form of artillery is a bit of a waste of points. War Cry is excellent on a charge, and if you choose to keep their Brace of Pistols, their 6/6 (5/6 if Ruthless goes off!) makes them solid in melee as well.
There are is only 1 negative to the Roundsmen unit. and it is their cost. While they make for a good unit, a full squad can eat up points very quickly. Losing one or two Roundsmen will hurt more than losing a few Pirates. Choosing to equip them with Buccaneer Guns and Brace of Pistols seems awesome, but now you’re looking at 7pt models that do not compare to others in their price range very well. While the other elite sailor units like Able Seamen have the ability to drop down to Trained for -1 point per model, Roundsmen lack that, which hurts their value as well.
Support Units
Warriors
Warriors are a solid glass cannon if you’re needing a dedicated melee unit. Packing Heavy Melee Weapons and a 5 Fight value (4 with Ruthless!), they tend to make mincemeat of anything they come into contact with. Their 6 Shoot Save means on most ships they’ll be saving on 5’s, which can be mitigated further by being prone until you have grappled with your opponent. Keep in mind that Heavy Melee Weapons not only increase your target’s Save by 1, but also the Warriors’ Save as well, meaning they will not last as long in prolonged combat. Its best to have these guys be the first over the rails and tie up a deck so you can safely charge with other units. For extra insult to injury, have another unit throw Stink Pots before these guys charge, so they avoid being lit up be defensive fire.
If you are feeling like equipping them further, they can take Pistols for 1pt per model, or take Musket Sidearms for 4pts (not per model). There is a free option to change out Heavy Weapons for Thrown Weapons, but I find this to not be as “fun” as Heavy Weapons. Bows are also an option, but I find these to be ineffective at sea unless they are used in factions with Poison Arrows. The only drawback to the Warriors is their 6 Resolve. While this is a 50/50 chance on a d10 roll, it means that their ability to handle Fatigue is swingy, so keep that in mind if they start to look like they are going to become Shaken.
Warrior Musketeers
If you’re looking to focus mainly on Small Arms while fighting at sea, Warrior Musketeers are not a bad option. Their 6 Shoot (5 with Ruthless!) is solid, as is their 6 Shoot Save. While Hidden and Scouts essentially turn off at sea, the only rule to worry about is Slow Reload, which gives them 3 Reload markers instead of 2. This can be mitigated with Command Points, but is still a big downside. The other drawback is that swingy 6 Resolve. If you are able to keep these guys in the fight, however, they can prove invaluable for suppressing cannon crews or shooting at problem units on the enemy vessel.
When paired with the Sharpshooter character, their effectiveness increases as well! For a little extra protection, they can take Pistol Sidearms for 2pts, which gives them some defense if charged while their muskets are empty, or a 1-time use offensive weapon to aid in boarding.
African Warriors
With this faction, African Warriors are more thematic than substance. They certainly look appealing with their 6/6 Fight and Shoot and 5 Resolve, but their 6 point cost for a unit with bows is what hurts them. While they can be equipped with Pistols for 1 point per model or swap bows for muskets (with Slow Reload) for free, they are a valuable support slot that can eat up a ton of points. They can additionally remove bows for -1 pt per model, but this still leaves them at a 5pt model with decent stats, but nothing to really help them outside of Ruthless. If you’re wanting to run these guys in a casual game, play your heart out!
Jamaican Privateers
Jamaican Privateers are, in my opinion, one of the best Naval Units in Raise the Black for their points value. They come with Firelock Muskets, Sidearm Pistols, 5 Resolve, a 6/6 Fight, and Expert Sailors all for 4 Points! While that 7/7 Shoot may seem like a downside, its equivalent to most of the other standard sailors in the game (and is reduced to 6/7 with Ruthless!). Like the Pirates, they are versatile as all get-out. They can be upgraded or downgraded to Veteran or Inexperienced, swap their Firelock Muskets for Buccaneer Guns or Brace of Pistols, and can take a Blunderbuss (1 in every 4 models) for free!
Later Filibustiers
Later Filibusters are essentially slightly worse Roundsmen. They come stock with Brace of Pistols and Buccaneer Guns, have that awesome 6 Shoot, but suffer from poor Saves and that swingy 6 Resolve. As a support unit, the Later Filibustiers can fill a variety of different roles! They can be a cheap musket unit that also has melee capability if you drop them to Inexperienced. In the same vein, they can be a very cheap boarding party if you drop them to Inexperienced and take away their muskets. If you have some metal and/or resin Filibustier models laying around, they will work for the Later Filibustier as well!
Commander – Black Caesar
Since this is Caesar’s Men, the only commander available to this faction is Black Caesar. However, for 22 points he packs a punch! Having “stackable” rules like Hard Chargers and Ruthless makes him a close combat monster, and is best paired with Sea Dogs (this will give the unit 3 combat rules: Hard Chargers, Ruthless, and they already have Brawlers!”), Pirates, or Roundsmen. If you are planning on sticking him with Pirates, I’d add a musician to help offset their swingy Resolve! Tough is no longer as amazing as it was due to the new Errata, but it also doesn’t hurt. God’s Blessing or the Devil’s Luck is always a plus as well.
His equipment is a little weird, as he doesn’t have Brace of Pistols in his profile, but his model has them on his person! Still, a Blunderbuss is better than just a standard melee weapon, and makes for good defensive/offensive firing. While 8″ and only 2 Command Points seems a little “meh”, keep in mind he’s going to be on a Size 2 or lower ship, so this is plenty!
At 22 points, I believe all of this is fair for a Legendary Commander of this stature and doesn’t detract from him at all. If you’re looking to snag his model, he comes in the Pirates of Legend Plastic Box along with many other models!
Tactics
Caesar’s Men are really meant to be a boarding list, due to their inability to access size 3+ ships and a lack of the Broadside! Special Rule. However, having Zeelieden as core units on a ship that will usually have most of its guns on a single deck (Like the Balandra/Bermuda Sloop, resin Sloop, Tartana, Corvette, and Barco Luengo) means that Broadside! isn’t needed! The only downside to this tactic is that your Ruthless will not apply to said cannons, as you can’t be bloodthirsty enough to shoot cannons more accurately. However, this means that Black Caesar can essentially use all of the major Sea Tactics in Blood and Plunder! For more information, check out our series on said tactics here.
Boarding
This is the most obvious route to take with this faction, due to the access to solid melee units. There are two routes you can follow if you’re looking to take your opponent at blunderbuss-point: 1 Fully Loaded Ship or Multiple Vessels. Both tactics operate in the same way, but having multiple ships/boats can take some getting used to if you haven’t played that way before. The goal is to hopefully win the Attacker/Defender Roll (that +4 is great, but I always recommend a Sharp Eyed Lookout Fighting Man for some insurance) and then fly downwind at breakneck speed, hopefully only taking a single broadside from your opponent before grappling and hopping over the rail! Here are a few lists and a short breakdown of each to explain how to use them:
Bermuda Men (150pts): This is a smaller list, but encapsulates a combination of boarding and musketry. Caesar goes with the Sea Dogs on the rear deck, while the Pirates and Flibustiers (both armed with Buccaneer Guns and Ruthless!) are in charge of using their muskets to suppress the deck you wish to board. Caesar and his Sea Dogs (armed with Brace of Pistols) lay low and use Caesar’s Command Points to support the Later Flibustiers and Pirates with Reloads and Rallies. Once close enough, boarding is simple and combat should be swift! The Sharp Eyed Lookout can go with either the Pirates or the Later Filibusters. Freshly Careened Hull will give you a free 5″ move after deployment, and Reinforced Bulkheads will help keep your pirates alive while you close in for the kill!
Caesar’s Piragua Palace (150pts): Similar to the list above, just split between two Piraguas. Keep the Piraguas within 8″ of each other so Caesar can hand out Command Points to units that need them. Hopefully that +4 to be the attacker gets you upwind, but if it fails and you need to deploy downwind, Caesar’s unit and a unit of Pirates can row their respective boats upwind! Use the combination of Muskets and Ruthless to suppress and then board! Just make sure you don’t let any larger ships ram you!
Party Sloop (250pts): This Sloop is PACKED! Two units of 12 Pirates in the first deck armed with Buccaneer Guns, Blunderbusses (1 in 3 models) and Brace of Pistols. One group has a whopping 3 Grenadoes while the other has Stinkpots. The Grizzled Veteran and Son of Neptune are with the Pirate Blobs to help manage that Fatigue! On the rear deck are two smaller units of Sea Dogs with Brace of Pistols (Caesar’s unit) and Roundsmen also armed with Brace of Pistols and Buccaneer Guns. This is a ton of firepower to lay down while you Freshly Careened Sloop sails downwind! Use the Grenadoes to lay on casualties and Fatigue before boarding, and then throw the Stinkpots to prevent any pesky defensive fire!
Small Arms
Small Arms at Sea focuses more on medium range combat (within 16″) to deal casualties and Fatigue. While Boarding after a few musket vollies is still possible, these lists tend to focus on problem areas. If you are fighting a cannon list, a good rule of thumb is to focus most, if not all, of your fire on the deck with the most cannons. Laying Fatigue and casualties on that deck may mean the enemy only gets one or two shots off the entire game. For combating boarding lists, focusing on the closest target or the deck/boat with the nastiest boarding unit (like Enter Ploeg or Vizcainos) unit is also beneficial. In the hilarious case of a mirror match (fighting another small arms list) targeting crack units like Boucaniers, Freebooters, or Milice Canadienne in order to cut your opponents firepower is a solid play. For more information on this style of play consult our article here.
Mixed Tactics (150pts): For Small Arms Lists, the humble Balandra is a solid choice. Since you won’t need any cannon, saving a point with the Balandra and Reinforced Bulkheads (13pts vs the 14pt Resin Sloop) is a solid choice. The Freshly Careened Hull upgrade will also let you move closer to your target after deployment, hopefully getting you within 16″ faster. I’d stick Caesar with the musket-toting Zeelieden, because they have a better Resolve than the heavily armed Pirates. He can use his Command Points to keep the Pirates from gaining too much Fatigue and allowing the Zeelieden to keep up a steady rate of fire. The Grizzled Veteran is attached to the Warrior Musketeers. Their 6 Shoot and Ruthless is great, and in my opinion outweighs their Slow Reload Special Rule. The Grizzled veteran will allow the Warrior Musketeers to take a Rally action if they need it, as well as giving them both Tough and Battle Hardened, which will aid in Fatigue management.
Should the opportunity arise to board your opponent, your Ruthless Pirates have Brace of Pistols, the Zeelieden have Hard Chargers, and the Warrior Musketeers have Sidearm Pistols to take advantage of that 6 Shoot in a single charge.
Pulverizing Piraguas (250pts): Just like the Boarding Lists, Piraguas are a boon for Small Arms players. This makes your foe have to choose which target to shoot at. Like the 150 point list, every unit here is armed with some form of musket. The real game changer here is that the entire list also has Brace of Pistols, meaning if the opportunity presents itself, boarding is just as viable. I built this list with each Piragua having a unit of Pirates in it. Caesar should go with the unit of 10 Pirates, accompanied by the Later Flibustiers. This will allow both units to reliably take his Command Points regardless of the card, since his 8″ Command Range may not always have him within shouting distance to the other boat. In the second Piragua, put the 11-man unit of Pirates with the Roundsman. The Son of Neptune Character should be with that same unit of Pirates to help with Fatigue management on the second Piragua.
Conclusion
Caesar’s Men offers Blood and Plunder Players to play one of the most mythological characters to currently exist in the game, and really elevates the Pirate nationality to their highest form (in this writer’s opinion.). He represents an odd fusion of the older, 17th Century Buccaneering lists with some of the more modern toys the 18th Century Pirates have access to. If your local game store is dominated by Pirate players, dare to be different and bring Black Caesar to the table! Between the variety of units and great special rules, he is sure to make an impression on the gaming table!
Additional Recommended Reading
- Read more about how the Pirate factions work in our Pirate Nationality and Factions page
- Blackbeard’s Men Faction Review
- Golden Age Pirates Faction Review
- The Flying Gang Faction Review
Related Links
- Pirates of Legend set that includes the Black Caesar model
- Raise the Black expansion that contains Caesar’s Men Faction
- Blood & Plunder Two Player Starter Set
- Black Caesar Wikipedia Page
