Raise the Black Starter Kit Arrives in Port
By Mitch Reed
Gamers should be excited that Blood & Plunder: Raise the Black from Firelock Games is now out. For those who love the game, they now have new lists, characters, and models to augment their collections; however, my focus in this article is on the new starter kit that will bring in new players who have been waiting to get into Blood & Plunder.
Many game companies produce starter kits that allow a new player to collect a basic force to start enjoying the game right away. However the Blackbeard vs. Maynard two-player starter kit (above) and beyond what other games have done in the past and is an amazing deal for players, both new and old.
The first thing you will notice about this kit that is really is a two-player kit, you have everything you will need for you and a fellow gamer to start playing Blood & Plunder. The kit comes in a huge box, which I will keep to store and transport my Blood & Plunder kit. The artwork on the box is top-notch.
The box comes with 24-models, which are the new sailor plastic sculpts which are amazing and once again shows that they have some of the best models in the community.
The sailor sprues gives you a lot of options, such as different model heads and weapons, so you can build a themed force to one of the many factions in the game and your model can have the proper equipment to match its characteristics. The box also comes with two unique models of Blackbeard and Robert Maynard, so in total you get 26 good looking models in the kit.
Perhaps the biggest addition to the kit are the two ship models. The kit allows you to make the models either a Balandra or a Bermuda Sloop and like the figures are excellent models that are not very tough to build.
Often the hesitation for new players is playing with these big ships, the resin models sell quickly are at times hard to find and the cost often discourages gamers on a budget. The inclusion of these two models lowers the cost and availability bar for new players.
The box also has all of the activation unit and ship cards, dice, markers, and tokens you will need to play the game, it also even comes with a ruler and other measuring gauges. The folks from Firelock Games took this box to the next level by adding a 3’x3’ sea playing mat and cardboard terrain. The tokens, like the measurement tools and terrain are made of thick cardboard and work just as well as the dice the game used in the earlier edition.
Finally, the kit has a soft cover rulebook that compiles all of the rules from previous releases of Blood & Plunder. I like this rulebook; it is easier to take with me to an event and thumb through if I need to look up a rule while in the middle of combat.
While many starter kits really try to get you to buy add-ons to make your initial force, this one really gives you everything in one box without the need to make additional purchases for your first game.
Some may think this goes against the business model that many companies adopt to maximize sales, this starter kit gives all you need and the enjoyment of Blood & Plunder will drive you to collect more ships, books, and models as you delve deeper into the game.
For those like me who have huge Blood & Plunder collections the box is still a great deal. You get more models and more ships that will give you even more option in building some of the very diverse lists that are in the game already.
As an avid Blood & Plunder player, I hope this kit will get players who have been on the fence about getting into this game and join our ever-expanding community of players.
What I really hope for as well is that with the inclusion of the two ships that more players will try the sea battle component of the game. In previous articles I have raved that Firelock broke new ground with their ship battle mechanics and the rules are easy to pick up.
