Adv. Strat Guide: “How to Board Ships of the Line”

This article is an advanced collection of tips, tricks, and tactics for “How To Board Ships of the Line” in your Oak & Iron games. There are several photos with practical “How To” examples from real games to help you in defeating the massive naval warships.

This article is a sequel to our first Boarding Strategy Guide.  If you haven’t read that article, definitely check that out as much of the content on general boarding actions is also relevant against ships of the line as well.

Ships of Line Overview

The term “ships of the line,” has its origin in the predominant tactic of naval combat during the mid-17th thru mid-19th centuries.  Military fleets made up of large three and four-masted vessels would arrange themselves into columns or lines and then sail past the opposing enemies. These lines of ships would then trade broadside fire with each other attempting to smash each other into splinters.  Those fleets with the biggest guns, most efficient, most accurate crew and those with a little luck carried the day as both.

The British formalized a ranking system for their Royal Navy with a class system of 1st through 6th rate ships. The largest ships, 1st rates, through 4th rate classification were specifically designed as ships of the line.  These vessels were the largest ships of the fleet and were typically outfitted for sustained combat at sea.

How do I know if a ship is a “Ship of the Line”?

In Oak & Iron, a ship’s stat card has a designation for its classification just under the Ship Type for its Ship Class (see figure 1).  Additionally, if your ship is a class of “Ship of the Line”, there are certain other rules that apply to the game, but that is an article for another day.

Ships of the line are larger ships not in the basic Oak & Iron Core Set. They are currently available in the “Men of War” and “Ships of the Line” expansions on the Firelock Games website.

Why bother with a specific article to board a ship of the line?

• The raw firepower a ship of the line can put out can cripple or destroy most smaller ships in a single round.
• I’ve heard from multiple people that struggle to beat these ships, particularly with the Pirate faction which cannot take ships of the line.
• The Summer of Plunder 2022 campaign event – Week 10 objective requires that you take a ship of the line in your squadron to get the bonus points. That means your opponent, if they’re participating in the campaign, will have at least one in their force.

Boarding Ships of the Line is Faster than Shooting them

• High Freeboard and Very High Freeboard only apply to ranged attacks.  When you board, these larger ships have no built-in defense bonus to resist your attack.
• You get +3 dice to your attacks in Close Combat.  This bonus is per attack, per ship, which means that Boarding favors multiple ships over stronger ships. By comparison, 2 Corvettes for 14 points, each with 1 Crew + 3 Bonus, gives you 8 Close Combat dice vs. a 13-point Petite Fregate with 2 Crew + 3 dice for 5 dice.
• Because of their high Fortitude scores, these vessels are extremely good at shrugging off the effects of cannon fire from small ships.  You have to get 3 or 4 successful hits to inflict even a single point of damage.  Getting two hits in a single round from anything less than the 4th rate in a single round is a statistical anomaly.  That means you are going to have to hit one of these vessels multiple times from multiple vessels to take it down… unless you board.  The following is a breakdown of the number of hits you’d have to make to take against the ships to take them “Out of Action”.

Ship Classification	# of Ranged Hits to do Damage
4th Rate or 3rd Rate – Fortitude 3	7 * 3 = 21
2nd Rate or 1st Rate – Fortitude 4	7 * 4 = 28

General Tips for Fighting Ships of the Line

• Use a fire ship.  Fire ships are high-risk, high-reward options.  A well-executed fireship strike can cripple a ship of the line in a single attack.  Even if your fire ship isn’t successful, it can serve as a great distraction and source of panic for your enemy to steer shots away from your main ships. See our fire ship strategies for tips to maximize your success. 
• The strength of a ship of the line is its powerful broadside attack.  When approaching a ship, do what you can to avoid its Broadside path, even if that means turning slightly off course and taking a longer path to get to your enemy (Figure 1).  That extra round you take to close is worth it if you can avoid a barrage of cannon fire.  

• Know upfront you ARE going to lose ships.  Don’t panic.  Stay the course and keep going.   Don’t throw ships needlessly in front of the enemy’s guns, but know that losing 1 or more ships is normal.
• Take a swarm of small ships and ignore Broadsides since you will rarely land more than a hit or two. Use Crew Actions for Full Sail and Seamanship to accelerate or turn as needed, and if you do fire, skip Reloads and focus on Rally or Repair to stay alive.
• Do not worry about staying in Formation. Move however you need to restrict your opponent’s movement and funnel them into a boarding position.
• Put your cheapest ships in front. One or two bare‑bones corvettes with Additional Crew make perfect shields for the rest of your fleet as they close.

LOS Rules for reference:

Pg 19 “There is Line of Sight if a line can be drawn from the mid-point of any of the ship’s edges to the mid-point of any edge and at least one corner of the target ship’s base.“

Initiative Card Suggestions

There are a number of Initiative Cards that can help you in boarding. These are covered in detail in another article: “Boarding Tips: Ultimate Guide & Top Strategies for Oak & Iron“. However, there are two cards that I want to specifically mention again.

Pirates Initiative Cards

Deception – one of the strongest Pirate cards for protecting your boarding parties from taking hits or gaining Fatigue. Timing is everything. Many players use it in the first round, which is perfectly valid since that is often when it provides the most protection. However, consider holding it until round 2, 3, or even 4. If your fleet includes several ships with Small, you often have an advantage at cannon range early on. In most games, your entire fleet will not be in range during round 1, so playing Deception too early only protects your lead ships. Waiting one round can shield a much larger portion of your force. But if you wait too long, you will be too close for the effect to matter.

Additionally, this card has an interesting effect if you use it in a slightly delayed manner. It is perfectly legal to use the card after you or your opponent has already fired a shot. So, round 1 the enemy shoots at you or you shoot at them and then round 2 you play Deception and your false colors confuse the enemy and they pause. You continue shooting or closing while they figure out if they are firing on friendly targets.

Dutch Initiative Cards

Lured into the Shoals – This is easily my favorite card when fighting Ships of the Line. It is excellent for forcing an enemy to change course or risk running aground, and it becomes even more powerful when the board already has a lot of terrain. If I know I am facing a heavily armed English or Spanish fleet that wants to sail in a line‑ahead formation, this card is perfect for breaking up their approach or forcing them to turn away from their intended path.

Place the shoal as close as possible in front of their lead ship. They must either angle away or sail over it and risk running aground. A ship with Fortitude 3 has a 33 percent chance of grounding, and Fortitude 4 has a 41.4 percent chance. No matter the outcome, the shoal disrupts their movement, slows their advance, and helps you close the distance or avoid incoming fire. Check out our Terrain Strategy Guide for additional tips on shoals.

Deployment Tips

• ALWAYS try to deploy as the attacker, not the defender. This forces your opponent with Ships of the Line to place their ships first, giving you the advantage of reacting to their layout and positioning yourself exactly where you need to be.
• Choose a deployment zone with at least one edge close to the wind so you can sail large and move faster.
• Deploy as far forward as possible. Anything that shortens the distance helps, because the sooner you can board, the less time they have to hit you with broadsides.
• Use a two‑pronged attack. Ships of the Line are slow and not very maneuverable, so approaching from two angles forces them to split fire or commit to one side. Either choice lets one of your groups close safely and without Fatigue.
• During setup, take every shoal you can. Place them in high‑traffic areas where the enemy is likely to sail. With Fortitude 3 or 4, they have roughly a one‑third chance of running aground. Once stuck, they are easy targets and must spend multiple actions to free themselves and rebuild speed. While they struggle, angle around their broadsides and close in.
• Your primary goal is to get in front of or behind the enemy and attack from the Fore or Aft, not the side. Do not deploy directly across from them and hope to survive. Pick one side and approach at an angle.

Deployment Formations

There are a wide variety of tactics you can use in deployment. These are a few snapshots of deployments I’ve used in previous games. I’ve added commentary below each image to explain my thoughts behind them. Hopefully, you can use the examples in your games.

Advanced Boarding Deployment Example 1

In this scenario, my opponent deployed downwind and slightly to one side. I assume they were hoping to sail across the board and have room to flee if necessary. In response, I deployed my heavier-gunned Queen Anne’s Revenge and two Corvettes (1 Sloop proxy) at the opponent’s rear. I set the rest at an approach angle ahead of the enemy hoping to intercept them as they sailed forward.

This deployment forced my enemy to make a tough decision. Turning toward the heavy guns at their rear, meant they would have to sail toward my swarm of boarding pirates. If they turned left facing the larger cluster ships, then the Queen Anne and her escorts would sail windward to rake their stern.

They chose to run like the French cowards they are! I ran down the lead ship and discussed their terms of surrender.

Advanced Boarding Deployment Example 2

In this scenario, the Pirates were initially downwind of the French. This is a difficult situation to be in. With Corvettes, you have a Windward speed of 2 and are unable to use Fast since you can’t Sail Large. Again, I split my force in two. I was, hoping to get in front of the French slowing them down or boarding them. Because I was at a wind disadvantage, speed was going to be an issue. But as always, I used the first round’s Crew Actions to set my sail setting to Full Sail.

How to Fish Tail

Approaching the fleet upwind, I used what I call the Fish Tailing method to maximize the distance closed on the enemy. It is similar in concept to tacking.

• Step 1. use your bonus Yare turn or Seamanship action to face into the wind and straight toward your target.
• Step 2. move your max distance.
• Step 3. Use your final turn to move out of the Wind’s Eye and back into a Windward position. Rinse and repeat every round until you close on your opponent.

Advanced Boarding Deployment Example 3

In this game, the French made a bit of a mistake in moving the terrain during the pregame setup. Pushing the island at the top away from the middle, they were intending to open up a firing lane. Instead, they inadvertently limited their own sailing position. The center of their deployment zone blocked, they decided to deploy much further from the center towards the right side of the board. I tried to use that to my advantage thinking I would be able to close faster.

If you look at the right side of the photo above, you can see I made a costly mistake. I failed my Seamanship action to speed up with my lead sloop on the right but succeeded with Corvette… I wasn’t paying attention and the Corvette sailed past the lead sloop. This gave the French two valid targets instead of 1. Because of that mistake, BOTH ships were Crippled and nearly out of action in the 2nd round of in the game.

Again, I used the Fish Tailing approach mentioned above. My Pirates were able quickly close the gap, board and capture the French 4th Rate ship.

Advanced Boarding Deployment Example 4

This shot is from round 2 or 3 of a game. I again forced the French into a precarious situation of being caught between two forces. The pirates on the right had a Brigantine fire ship in their second line. The Pirate ships on the left had heavier guns. If the French went forward, they risked exposing their 2nd Rate to a devastating fire ship attack. It would also let the heavier gunned pirates pepper their flanks. They chose to drive for the middle and use the island for cover. Then end result for the French was brutal. The 2nd Rate was boarded, captured, and sunk. The 4th rate was eventually Shaken, raked by the Queen Anne’s Revenge and sent to Davy Jone’s Locker.

In my opinion, they should have sailed forward, risking the fire ship. It was the best option to try to get enough Strike Points to force the retreat. Crippling or taking the lead ships Out of Action would have forced the fireship to sail around the wreckage. Going for the island was a decent idea, but not at minimal sail and not using Seamanship Actions to speed up.

Advanced Boarding Deployment Example 5

Again a split force strategy was used. This is 1-2 rounds into the game. The goal is to cut off the lead ship and simultaneously squeeze the enemy from behind. The English but their two largest ships in the center of their line. In these situations, this is excellent for you when using a boarding-focused build. This means the two weakest ships are prime targets. If you capture or sink those two ships, you don’t have to tangle with the main ships because you will win by Strike Points. The Corvette at the rear of the line is a weak unit and was easily crushed. All other cannon fire was directed at the lead 6th rate as much as possible. Remember you don’t have to destroy 100% of the enemy, just enough to make them retreat.

Advanced Boarding Deployment Example 6

This scenario had a difficult Pirate deployment. The English drew the top half of the board and the Pirates had the left side. The English deployed in cannon range of the top left corner, denying the Pirates room to set up a flanking maneuver. I placed my ships as close to the rear of the English fleet as possible.

I knew the English Ships of the Line would want to avoid being boarded. That meant they would swing perpendicular to my zone to line up cannon shots. To counter this, I placed shoal terrain as an obstacle on the right side of the board, opposite my deployment zone, to limit the English options.

I pushed immediately to close the distance. Once the English showed they intended to sail around the shallows, I split my force again. The larger ships veered right to get in front of the enemy, while the Revenge and 6th Rate continued straight, staying tight behind the Corvette.

Boarding Initiative Card Suggestions

How you upgrade your ships is important, but selecting the right Initiative Cards can make just as much of a difference in your success as the right ships.

You can learn more about boarding-focused initiative cards and get an extensive breakdown of initiative card suggestions in our Strategy & Tactics – Boarding Actions article. 

Additional Content Suggestion

• If you enjoyed this article, we have a large collection of other Strategy & Tactics Guides for Oak & Iron.
• The Flying Dutchman for Oak & Iron is an excellent ship for boarding actions. Read our review and see if it will help you in your squadron builds.