Firelock’s New Kickstarter “Raise the Black” Preview

by Tom “Chairborne” Mullane

As the Halloween season rapidly approaches, there is piracy in the air. Firelock’s opens up on October 6th. And from the looks of things, my wallet is going to have a problem. what Mike Tuñez spilled the beans on back in July during

As summer has turned to fall, we have some more leaked details. As sculpts have been adjusted, and points have been tweaked, we are getting a fuller picture of what we have in store when the clock strikes midnight this October 6th.

I will do my best to give a general overview of all this, and we here at No Dice No Glory will follow that up with some exercises in list building. Tyler Stone, Glenn Van Meter and myself will embark on this journey under the black flag together.

Firelock has tested the waters before with some smaller scale releases, using a model of to see if there is enough of a demand for an expansion of a specific set of sculpts. This began with European Pikemen (I bought two obviously). and began to expand with the arrival of some new blisters of North American Braves, Indian Fighters, Canadian Militia. All of these represent units we will be seeing in the upcoming Queen Anne’s War expansion for the game.

What Has been Announced (From Firelock Site)

The biggest announcement and change to the model range that Firelock offers is the addition of customizable hands, weapons, and heads for plastic sculpts. There have been occasional teasers of the new sculpts have been trickling onto the Blood and Buccaneering Across the Spanish Main Facebook page.

For those with existing collections hoping to gather new models to add variety to your sailors and military figures, your wish is granted. For new players hoping to start their own collection of devil may care pirates, you’ve got plenty to celebrate as well. No fewer than 10 unique pirate commanders are included in the Kickstarter. This represents a huge expanded set of brigands and leaders to alter the way your existing forces play. A brand new 2 player starter box built around the final battle between Blackbeard and the Royal Navy’s Robert Maynard.

The Sculpts look pretty great to me, and I’ve been saving my money for this all summer.

The Sailors and separate pieces give those of us who enjoy the modeling and kitbashing aspect of our hobby a chance to really play around.

What We’ve been given here at No Dice No Glory (New Captain and New Units)

Like the puzzle masters they are, Firelock has leaked different aspects of the new range and a selection of models and units that we will all soon have access to across several different gaming sites. But we do make a habit of talking to each other 🙂 They are still toying with different sizes of book or pdf. But from the looks of all we have seen here at No Dice No Glory, this looks to be a pretty impressive list of new units, new special rules, and a dramatic expansion of the game.

We got word of Samuel “Black Sam” Bellamy, a new legendary pirate commander, who Glenn will help show off in his new potential pirate list. New Units of pirates (for 3 points with some substantial upgrade options to boost their costs) make the Golden Age pirates a formidable potential new list to play.

From my looking through the weapons options in these previews close combat will be horrifyingly deadly. There has always been a potential for the more reputable factions to turn pirate. This expansion makes it even more tempting to pursue a life of crime and debauchery. The New lists available for construction (or whom the pirates can ally themselves with) include Maroons, Blackbeard’s Men, The Flying Gang, Black Bart’s Pirates, La Buse’s Crew. We haven’t seen all that these would come with, but its exciting to think of the possibilities.

Also coming are the British Regulars. (at least the regulars that would have participated in Britain’s’ North American and Caribbean wars in the early 1700s.)

Tyler will be talking about in his list building article. Some of the New Lists that can be built using these new British Regular units include British North American Militia, British Caribbean Militia, Iroquois, Later Iroquois, Northeastern Woodland Tribes, Southeastern Woodland Tribes, British Raiders, British Navy. 

With rules like expertly drilled, and unwavering, it looks like the British will play very much on the tabletop in the same manner their historical reputation suggests they would.  As someone planning on building and collecting an EXTENSIVE set of woodland tribes from the Queen Anne’s War supplement, I expect I will find a way to grab some British allies for my Indian forces.

How this fits in with Queen Anne’s War Supplements we’ve been teased already.

As more and more have been added to the forces on offer in this new extension of the war on the high seas into the later eras (the early 1700s), the new book seems to be getting bigger and bigger. While I know Firelock is reluctant to do another expansion quite as large as “No Peace Behind the Line“, that book was one of my favorite expansions of a tabletop game in the last ten years.

The history they included, the illustrations, and the newly added factions at the time (The Dutch and Natives being the standouts) really broadened the scope of the game.

Most of the new forces being shown to us here at NDNG are European Armies. These are the professionals. Spanish, French, Dutch, and English all make appearances with new units and new special rules. New units like Provincials allow European armies to bring more qualified and flexible militia. Jamaican Privateers allow you to grab cheap sailors that stick around in a fight. Granaderos and their French and British Equivalents clock in at 9-

points per model under the preview I’ve seen, and they are some of the nastiest units in the game. Elite troops and line infantry all make appearances, along with numerous named commanders. Those looking to simulate the increasingly large scale and broad scope of European colonial warfare in the western hemisphere have plenty of new toys to mess around with. It’s so much we can’t possibly cover it in one article.

The overall theme in most of the new European lists is discipline. The special rules and synergy between commanders mean that these units will fight to the death, and provide a lynchpin for any elite fighting force.

That said, these units are all mostly VERY expensive in terms of game points. The days when I would organize a tournament with a point level of 100 is likely behind me. 150 or 200 pts would not be unheard of. And because of the neat dividing line, it is easier for organizers to divide play into different eras. , It will take Tyler, Glenn, and I, awhile to playtest some of these new lists, but I plan on starting as soon as possible.

Up to this point, there is no force I’ve discussed that I don’t have long term plans to collect. but the one I plan on spending the most time and care on is the new Native American units. The lists from No Peace Beyond the Line are fascinating, and I have seen natives played very well. But the Northern battles are the ones I’m most interested in historically.

As a native New Yorker, I have visited the sites of a lot of Revolutionary War battles as well as French and Indian War sites. The history in the Hudson Valley is a fun wiki rabbit hole to drift down. And this book covers that pretty well. I expect a lot of Braves on my table in the near future.

They also give flavor with special rules depending on which tribe you want to portray.

Creek All units in this Force gain the Rain of Arrows special rule.

Yamassee All units in this Force gain the Ruthless special rule.

Iroquois All units in this Force gain the War Cry special rule.

Wabanaki All units in this Force gain the Fast Reload special rule.

I am excited to add this pile of models to my existing painting que. I’ve been getting a lot done in quarantine. As summer turns to fall, and the cold breeze coasts in, I’m excited to build northern woodlands terrain, forts cut from the wilderness, and ports worthy of a pirate raid. Check these new units out, it’ll be worth the look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are we here at NDNG planning on doing with all this? Lists, Lists, Lists

“Tales of the Sail” fellow podcasters Glenn Van Meter and Tyler Stone are busily doing the math and stretching their mooring lines trying out the new units.

As their Articles are completed or posted, I will link them here. Since I don’t have titles on these yet, I’ll make some up and replace them with the real ones when they get written.

“My Life as a Pirate Farmer: Stealing pies and taking names” – Glenn Van Meter’s NEW PIRATE LISTS

“Good Old Fashioned Law and Order: A Patriot’s guide to fighting revolutionaries” – Tyler Stone’s NEW BRITISH REGULAR LIST

 

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more soon.

Thomas “Chairborne” Mullane is a writer and podcaster for No Dice No Glory since its inception. He teaches High School history in NY and Lives in Danbury, CT. He is a player of Flames of War, Bolt Action, Dungeons and Dragons, and Blood and Plunder. Tune in to “Tales of the Sail” if you want to hear what he sounds like, and please say hi during the next HMGS convention.