This article is an analysis of the Oak & Iron Spanish faction. Learn more about the faction initiative cards, admirals, and strengths & weaknesses. The Spanish are one of the 5 Factions contained in the Oak & Iron Core Rules Boxed Set.
Historical Background
At one time holding in hand the potential to rule the world seas, the Spanish navy has been diminished by defeats at the hands of the English and Dutch, and by the Spanish crown’s squandering of its great wealth stolen from the Americas. Spanish fleets are now weak and fleet actions rare and conducted largely in combined allied fleets.
The Spanish navy’s most vital services are escorting treasure fleets and chasing pirates, typically via flotillas such as the Armada de Barlovento and the Armada de Galeones. Local defensive and pirate hunting fleets, such as the Armada de Vizcainos, come and go in the Americas, and guardas costas provide much of localized defenses as sea. Spain sends privateers to sea in time of war, but not nearly as many as do the English, French, and Dutch.
All too often, Spanish commanders of treasure ships or treasure fleets are hindered by their standing orders: to protect the treasure at all costs. In practice this means fleeing rather than fighting, even when fighting might be the best tactical course. Typically, and to their detriment, they often fight only when cornered, worried more about the dishonor of defeat than the glory of victory. Some commanders excuse their defeats by blaming the large number of foreigners among their crews.
Why should you play the Spanish Faction?
- You have some of the most aggressive initiative cards in the game.
- You like tank-y type forces that can take a beating and keep going. Getting Stout for half price plus the Repel Boarders and Resilient initiative cards make you the most defensive factions in the game.
- You like a blend of boarding and ranged combat.
- You are adventurous and like high-risk, high-reward tactics.
- You like to be the “villain” of the seas.
Spanish Faction Abilities
RUTHLESS: Ships in the Squadron treats their Skill values as 1 higher (to a maximum of 3) when making Attacks against ships with more Fatigue.
STOUT SHIPS: Reduce the cost of the Stout upgrade by half (round down).
Once you start to wound your enemy, Ruthless allows you two lay the smack down even more. Because it’s an innate ability it’s like giving your ships a Skill of 1 for free as long as you’re “winning”. However, if you start to “lose” the Fatigue war early in the game, it can be difficult to recover and regain this Faction bonus.
The Stout ship upgrade is expensive on larger ships (6-8 pts), so in larger games, this bonus gains its usefulness and can save you enough points to add a smaller ship to your squadron. In smaller battles, this upgrade can still change your fleet cost by 5-10%. However, in smaller games, the battle is more often won by Fatigue than Damage so it is of lesser value and I wouldn’t typically take Stout as an upgrade without good reason.
Spanish Initiative Cards
| Card | Initiative Value | Description |
| Repel Boarders | 1 | Close Combat Attacks made against any ship in this Squadron only count hits on (Skull) results. |
| Heavy Musket Volley | 2 | Each ship in this Squadron may spend a Crew Action to make a Partial Fire Attack during the Movement Phase. This attack cannot cause damage or critical hits to the target ship. |
| Aggression | 3 | When a ship in this Squadron makes an Attack of any kind within Musket Shot (must score at least 1 hit), the target takes 1 point of Fatigue. |
| Resilient | 4 | Ships in this Squadron reduce the amount of damage taken from each attack by 1 (to a minimum of 1). |
| Bravado | 5 | Ships in this Squadron that are not Shaken are treated as if they have no Fatigue. Discard this Initiative Card instead of returning it to your hand during the end phase. |
Spanish Faction Initiative Card Analysis
- Repel Boarders is a unique feature of the Spanish. They are one of the only factions that offer defensive initiative cards. This card is a must-have if facing a Dutch or Pirate faction opponent. It is extremely powerful and reduces the successfulness of a Close Combat dice roll to a 1 in 8 (12.5%) chance of success.
- Heavy Musket Fire is a must take care in my opinion. The option for a free Partial Attack during the movement phase is powerful. It can inflict Fatigue before the enemy gets their Move Seamanship, Crew Actions, and Attack. The downside of the card is that if you already have a Reload token, you won’t be able to Broadside and take advantage of this card.
- Aggression is one of the best cards in the game to use when fighting an opponent with Ships of the Line as it ignores the benefits of High Freeboard and Very High Freeboard. It inflicts 1 Fatigue as long as 1 Hit is rolled. When playing this card, having all ships concentrate fire on a single target can inflict multiple Fatigue in a single round.
- Resilient is essentially the same as Down but reduces the effects of Damage rather than Fatigue. It is a good card to play when attacking at long range as hits are sparse. If your ship has a high Fortitude, you will likely suffer no damage at all, especially from smaller ships.
- Bravado is an excellent card, especially late in the game when everyone’s ships are sucking wind. The ability to go first with a 5 and ignore Fatigue can quickly swing the battle in your favor.
Admirals of the Spanish Faction
Manuel Rivero de Pardal
| Admiral Level: | 1 |
| Point Cost: | 4 |
| Abilities: | ROGUE: This Squadron may not include Ships of the Line. BRAVE: This ship’s dice rolls are never reduced to less than half (round up) as a result of Fatigue INSPIRING: Remove 2 points of Fatigue when taking a Rally action. POMPOUS: When this ship takes a point of Fatigue as a result of a Critical Hit, it takes an additional point of Fatigue |
Admiral Ability Breakdown
Rogues is a limitation, but if you are playing a smaller game it may not even come into play.
Brave is a strong ability, though having it on a leader that also has Inspiring may reduce the number of times it comes into play as Rallys can keep your Fatigue above the level where it is needed.
Pompous doesn’t come into play often, but when it does it hurts a lot. Thankfully, Brave may save the penalty from hurting you too severely.
If you choose to go with a Boarding build as the Spanish, this would be the admiral of choice as he is good for Fatigue management.
Francisco Pereira Freire de La Cerda
| Admiral Level: | 2 |
| Point Cost: | 3 |
| Abilities: | 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 POMPOUS: When this ship takes a point of Fatigue as a result of a Critical Hit, it takes an additional point of Fatigue |
Admiral Ability Breakdown
Francisco is a completely useless Admiral and should NEVER be taken. The Experienced Bold Admiral in the upgrade card set is the same cost of 3 points, has the same Rank 2 skill and Bold without the negatives of Pompous.
Andrés Ochoa de Zarate
| Admiral Level: | 3 |
| Point Cost: | 4 |
| Abilities: | DEFENDER: This Squadron is always the defender in a scenario. If the opposing Squadron has the same rule, this rule is ignored for both Squadrons INDECISIVE: When tied for Initiative, ships in this Squadron do not benefit from the effects of their Initiative Card. |
Admiral Ability Breakdown
There are a few scenarios where being the Defender is beneficial, but in most instances, this ability is of little benefit. Paired with Indecisive, this admiral’s only saving grace is the fact that he is a level 3 for only 4 pts. However, the fact that 3 helps you win ties is not something you want to have to use because that means Indecisive will kick in and you will lose any initiative card bonus.
Because ties in initiative happen 1-3 times per game, in my opinion, you are better off using an Unnamed Seasoned Admiral with a Level 2 over the Level 3 and the risk of losing your initiative bonus.
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.
