The Legends of Blood & Plunder

By Mitch Reed

When we think of the past we often tie the notable personalities of that period. In Blood & Plunder, the notables are at the forefront of the game.

Years ago one of the first things I noticed about B&P was that the characters, whether famous or infamous are a major part of the game. Every force needs a leader, so why not gamify some of the names we associate with the early colonial Americas?

Every faction in the game has a good selection of personalities that are taken from the pages of history. What I like about how they are introduced in the books, is the brief history of the individuals. This not only informs those like me, who did not take Pirates 101 in college, about who these notable figures were, but also explains their special rules that actually play in the game.

Each of the legendary personalities gives your force some great options and since they are bound to specific lists, they are perfectly tailored to how that force fights by highlighting these special rules. The one character we have all heard of, Edward “Blackbeard” Teach can be taken with a pirate faction force and he gives that force some very deadly capabilities in melee combat as one would expect. He is also a great commander to take if you are crewing a ship in a naval battle.

While no story of piracy can be told without mentioning Blackbeard, the game has other commanders such as Chaloner Ogle. I will admit I never heard of him before, but his back story and what he brings to a list, especially one manning a ship, makes him a strong candidate for a future list.

I was attracted to Blood & Plunder because it was such a great set of rules with excellent models. However, I have played against many players who were drawn to the game because of these characters. So I will assume they did take Pirates 101 in college.

While many games shy away from including big historical names, the team at Firelock has embraced them despite some of their notoriety.

Many have asked if they are necessary when making a list and my bad answer is always “it depends”.

The notable figures are “pricey” in points. For example, Blackbeard will cost you 32 points if you want to include him in a list.

In lower-point games adding such a character is a major expenditure. Many players start considering how many units can they add to their lists by not taking him. That answer is “a lot”.

However, you can look at it another way, how much does a character like Blackbeard add to what my force?  You get the same answer “a lot”.

The best answer is probably based on two considerations, your desire to play with a specific legend, and does that character give me an edge that fits into how I approach the game?

Having played with and without these legends, I have found that combined with some specific well-built lists they can be almost unbeatable. However, this takes some skill and I suggest you play a few friendly games to see if they would help you in a tournament setting where winning leads to real plunder.

Some lists need some size and taking a pricey legend does not fit with how you play them. Taking a legend with a list that is not well-built can be disastrous and I have suffered many defeats because of this. The best advice here is to spend some time list-building and playing and see how they do against all types of lists against different playing styles.

Even if the advice above does not persuade you to take them in a list, one factor I can state with certainty, they are loads of fun to play and often give your opponent’s fits.

The new Pirates of Legend box that was released with the Raise the Black book gives you ten great commanders that I cannot wait to play. From characters like Stede Bonnet, who seems to be popular now to a less-heralded (one I never heard of before) personality like Le Buse, the designers seem to be embracing these leaders and now you have more options than ever before.

Even if I will never play a particular legendary leader in a game I will at least recognize the name and what they can do if I have to play against them.
I know many fellow Blood & Plunder players will enjoy playing with these new personalities I know that many of their fans will give the game a try just to play with them.