Oak & Iron Ship Review: Brigantine

Historical Background

In the 17th century, the term Brigantine covered a wide variety of small, two-masted vessels ranging from 30 to 150 tons. Typically the name referred to a ship that had two large square sails for speed and fore and aft rigging for additional maneuverability. Popular among merchants they were easy to crew, stable and the two masts made them slightly more sea-worthy than smaller sloops.

Brigantines were often swifter than sloops, making them excellent for piracy, espionage, and reconnoitering. In larger fleets, they were often used in defensive lines and scouts. Because of their speed and size, they were also used for supply or landing purposes in a fleet.

Brigantine Ship Analysis

Brigantine Ship Overview & Tactics

For game stat purposes, a Brigantine is essentially a Corvette getting Additional Guns for 1 pt instead of 2. Upgraded with Swift it has solid speed and maneuverability making it good for a harassing role. It still has only a 1 Close Combat so if using it in a boarding build, taking Boarding Party, Buccaneers, Corsairs, Marines or Swashbucklers gives it a bonus to Close Combat. Taking Kapers is another good option to keep Fatigue low.

While it is a small ship and doesn’t rank high in terms of overall Firepower, it has the highest Broadside damage to point-cost ratio in the game at 2:1 (8 pts for 4 Broadside). The only other ship that matches it is the Revenge. A Brigantine may not have the durability to stand up to the larger ships, but if you focus on large numbers of them they can outgun larger ships. 2 Brigantines for 16 points have 8 Broadside dice vs. 5 of a Light Galleon at 17 pts. 4 Brigantines, 2 with Additional Guns, cost 36 points and give you 18 Broadside dice vs. 9 of the 3rd Rate at 37 pts.

If you are playing the French or English, these ships are great options to use in ranged attacks at Cannon Range. Circle your enemy and pepper them at range. As the French, you can purchase the Additional Guns upgrade for 1 pt, increasing the Broadside damage to point-cost ratio to 9:5, making it THE BEST in the game.

Because of their high Broadside value for low points, they are a great option for a Fire Ship. Crank your speed to Full Sail and use your Seamanship actions for all the speed you can muster.

Product Referral Links

Oak & Iron Core Box

The Core Box contains 1 of each of the following models: Sloop, Corvette, Brigantine, Fluyt, Petite Frégate, Light Galleon

Merchant Men Expansion Set

This Expansion Box contains 1 of each of these ship miniatures: a Brigantine, Fluyt, and Light Galleon