This article is an analysis of the Oak & Iron French faction. Learn more about the faction initiative cards, admirals, and strengths & weaknesses. The French are one of the 5 Factions contained in the Oak & Iron Core Rules Boxed Set.
Historical Background
Long a seagoing people, the French as a naval power are coming of age. In the late 17th century the French navy begins to challenge those of the English and Dutch, and grows in strength and skill in the 18th century until it becomes the almost ancient nemesis of the English navy. As with the English, French commanders range from gentlemen to tarpaulins, and many famous French captains and admirals began as merchant seamen and privateers.
Even so, some criticize the practice of occasionally appointing French noblemen, some with little experience, as admirals. French naval theory and strategy are the equal of any, and the favorite French tactic, particular in single ship actions and small fleet actions, is to cut up the enemy’s rigging then close and board. No nation’s seafarers pride themselves more on their skill with the sword and other small arms at close quarters. French privateers and commerce raiding men-of war, of which there are many, are as famous and successful as their Caribbean counterparts, the flibustiers, often capturing entire merchant fleets and their naval convoys.
Why should you play the French Faction?
- You like the movement aspects of Oak & Iron and using them strategically.
- You want to play a ranged build. Taking advantage of the Heavily Armed faction bonus gives you more dice for a few points when upgrading ships.
- You like the big heavy Ships of the Line. The French have the ability to upgrade the speed and maneuverability of the larger ships for fewer points.
- You like to board. Next to the Dutch, the French are the best boarding faction in the game.
French Faction Abilities
FAST SHIPS: Reduce the cost of this Swift and Weatherly upgrade by 1 (to a minimum of o).
HEAVILY ARMED: Reduce the cost of Additional Guns upgrade by 1 (to a minimum of 1).
EXPERT BOARDERS: Roll 1 more dice during Close Combat Attacks.
- Fast Ships and Expert Boarders both pair nicely with a boarding or swarm build.
- It may just be me, but I love to take the Additional Guns upgrade on nearly every ship in my fleet, so Heavily Armed is great. If you are focusing on a boarding build, you may be better served to skip this advantage as your goal isn’t to trade shots at range.
- Expert Boarders is “free” so the more ships you take, the more benefit you get for the ability. Can you say swarm build?
Ships with the Swift upgrade:
Ships with the Weatherly upgrade:
French Initiative Cards
| Card | Initiative Value | Description |
| Elan | 2 | During the Movement Phase, ships in this Squadron may spend a Crew Action to make a Partial Fire or Close Combat, Roll 1 more dice during these Attacks.. |
| Superior Firepower | 3 | Increase the broadside value of each ship in this squadron by 2 for the rest of this turn. Discard this Initiative Card instead of returning it to your hand during the end phase. |
| Target Rigging | 4 | Every ship in this Squadron must roll 1 more dice during Attacks made against rigging. |
| Boarders Away | 5 | Ships in this Squadron automatically pass Sailing Tests when attempting Boarding Actions against ships at Minimal or Anchored Sail plans. |
| Swift Vessels | 5 | Each ship in this Squadron that is not In The Wind’s Eye, Entangled, or Aground may immediately make a Free Speed 1 move. |
Which French Admiral should you use in Oak & Iron?
For his low cost and high rank of 3, Jean II, Comte d’Estrées, is one of the best admiral choices in the game in my opinion. Because Jean II is a rank 3, he gives you 3 more cards in your initiative card hand. Additionally, since few people take an Admiral 3, you are almost guaranteed to win in cases of tied results for initiative and skill tests.
If you are playing a high point game or a boarding-focused build Jean Bart is excellent for making sure you control initiative and who goes first in a round. Paired with the right initiative card selection you can pull off some impressively finesse-focused attacks.
Among the named admirals, the French have only level 2 and 3 Admirals available. Not to say you can’t take an unnamed Admiral from the Oak & Iron Core Rules or the Admiral Card Set expansion deck. As the named admirals aren’t stellar game-changers, a generic unnamed admiral may be worth the point cost savings.
Admirals of the French Faction
Jean Bart
| Admiral Level: | 2 |
| Point Cost: | 8 |
| Abilities: | ROGUES This Squadron may not include Ships of the Line. CLEVER After revealing an initiative card, increase or decrease its printed value by 1. An event card is still drawn if the printed values are tied TACTICIAN After revealing an initiative card, you may spend a Fortune Point to replace it with another card in your hand with the same initiative value or 1 value lower INSPIRING Remove 2 points of Fatigue when taking a Rally action |
Admiral Ability Breakdown
Rogues is a limitation that essentially limits Bart to the ships allowed for the Pirate Faction. That said, it is of little concern if you are going with a swarm or boarding-focused build as they rely on a larger number of smaller ships.
Clever can give you a 6 initiative almost guaranteeing you are going to go first in that round. On the flip side playing a level 1 card can be changed to a “0” initiative, securing your opportunity to go second in a round. Beyond the extremes, you can shift your initiative on any other card allowing you greater tactical flexibility that can greatly change the outcome of a round.
Tactician is an ability that can take some time to wrap your head around using. The timing of its use and how you build your Initiative hand can greatly affect its success. All things considered, it can either be game-changing or completely useless in a game because a situation where it is useful never comes up. Many times in a game you need to go first. For example, you want to shoot or conduct a Close Combat attack before your opponent. Additionally, when you want to go second – situations where you need your opponent to move their ship(s) first so you can line up a shot or engage in a Boarding action. In both of these instances, the ability to ship initiative gives you that option.
Unlike Clever. which does ignore the effects of Event cards, this ability can be used to shift away or match Initiative values to avoid or trigger an Event card. Events have a split focus on good/bad outcomes so it comes with an element of risk.
Inspiring is a great ability to keep your ship in the fight and at full dice roll capacity. Doubling the effectiveness of your Rally actions can make a big difference in combat effectiveness. If you are playing a ranged build, when you do Rally it’s more effective so you can focus on Reloading to keep firing more often and with greater effectiveness.
Initiative Card Suggestions
Clever and Tactician are both Initiative focused. When building your hand taking two Rank 5 and two Rank 1 cards gives you the ability to pretty much guarantee going first or last in a round at will. Playing a 5 initially allows you to select any other card you want. Since the French have two rank 5 Initiative Cards you have multiple options. Favorable Wind is a non-Faction specific card that is also an EXCELLENT option to consider.
Jean II, Comte d’Estrées
| Admiral Level: | 3 |
| Point Cost: | 7 |
| Abilities: | PERSISTENT This ship may remove 1 point of Fatigue each time its Squadron earns 1 or more Strike Points |
Admiral Ability Breakdown
Persistent is particularly helpful in mid or late-game situations. At the start of the game, you may not have many Fatigue Points to recover and VERY rarely do you inflict a Strike Point in the first 1-3 rounds of the game. Later, however, this ability can result in a massive swing in morale. It is a passive ability, so it allows you to recover Fatigue without having to use a Rally action. This lets you use your Crew Actions to Repair or Reload.
Since Persistent only affects the flagship rather than the whole Squadron, placing Jean on a larger ship with higher Fortitude can have greater long-term benefits as the ship will have more durability. A ship with an Additional Crew upgrade also gives you a deeper Fatigue scale so you can recover more points over a number of rounds.
Jean is a Level 3 Admiral. This is a HUGE benefit as it gives you an Initiative hand of 8 cards giving you more choices for bonuses every round of the game. Additionally, this Admiral is the second cheapest Level 3 Admiral, only Andrés Ochoa de Zarate of the Spanish is cheaper (4 pts). If you are playing against the Pirates Faction you are guaranteed to win every tie in Initiative and Skill Tests because, at the time of this article, they don’t have an Admiral 3 in their force.
Rene Duguay-Trouin
| Admiral Level: | 2 |
| Point Cost: | 6 |
| Abilities: | CLEVER After revealing an initiative card, increase or decrease its printed value by 1. An event card is still drawn if the printed values are tied BOLD After making an Attack or Skill Test, you may re-roll up to 3 dice. If any of the re-rolled dice fail to score a hit during the Attack or if the Skill test is failed, this ship takes 1 Point of Fatigue |
Admiral Ability Breakdown
Clever is similar to Tactician in that it affects your Initiative order. This lets you affect the option to go first or second. Going first can help you in the Attack phase for a ranged shot or to conduct a Close Combat attack before your opponent can counter and inflict Fatigue. You can also force your opponent to move first so you can react to their movement and line up a Broadside or engage in a Boarding action. In both of these instances, the ability to ship initiative gives you that option.
Bold is a risk/reward ability. If you NEED to succeed on an Attack/Skill Test it is like a mini Fortune token allowing you to try again. The risk however is inflicting Fatigue on your own ship. Fatigue management is vital to victory so it should be used with care.
Other Factions in Oak & Iron
Select one of the factions below to see our breakdown of the playstyle and pros & cons of each Oak & Iron nation, their admirals, and initiative cards. Each guide comes with our recommendations for how to take advantage of the features in building your Oak & Iron Squadron. Select another faction to learn about it.
