Th' Bloomin' Crew

Captains & First Mates

Captains (and their Ships) come in starter decks, while First Mate cards always comprise one of a faction's three rares. Like Captains, First Mates tend to be unusually well-rounded, and possess some thematic special ability complementary to their Captain's and faction's focus.

Note that in the table below, a Captain's Wealth (the total cost in Influence of his starting Crew) is shown, as Captains--always one of your starting cards--have no Influence cost. The parenthetical number in the Captains' Traits column indicates how many other members of the Captain's faction must be on board for the following special ability to take effect.

Gunners & Sailors

Most factions have a total of three "Topmen" and "Gunners." These traits are largely nominal, and the more poignant fact of these Crew is that they have substantial Cannon or Sailing skill. I have separated out the most clear-cut examples from each faction. The Montaignes were the only faction that moved me to make an exception (their low move cost means a good deal of the Montaignes are actually able to move their Ship), so they are represented by a fourth Crew member. The more substantial offerings in this arena (and in those following) by the unaligned Crew are also shown.

Boarders

Some Crew are such good man-to-man fighters that they cause their opponent to discard cards when they start an attack, tilting the odds in their favor by reducing the other's options. Others have bonuses when fighting against bad guys, wackier abilities, or just simply have tremendous Swashbuckling.

Nebbishes

It's almost true to say that every faction has some chump Crew that's Loyal and can take No Attachments. Upon this foundation I've collected the "nebbish" classification. Often these "LN"s are not such terribly bad Crew, particularly given that they're well suited toward doing whatever their faction does (the Brotherhood's Buccaneers have good Adventuring, for example), though they are never outstanding Crew. As usual, though, there are a couple of exceptions: The Sea Dogs have someone who's not terribly wonderful, and who's Loyal, but without the No Attachments trait. And the Explorers and Castillians have, in addition to a pretty well-rounded "LN" Crew, someone just begging to be described as a nebbish.

Other Brotherhood Crew

The Brotherhood of the Coast are the game's most adventurous faction, just edging out the Explorers for having the highest average Adventuring skill. Where the Explorers seem to focus more on Artifact adventures in particular, the Brotherhood are good at getting Adventures in general. Only two Crew have an Adventuring skill of less than 2: Thom (the Gunner) and Jillison (who's likely too busy producing Influence or cancelling your opponent's tricks to bother). With reduced adventure costs (thanks to the Captain), this means about every Brotherhood Crew is able to single-handedly complete most adventures. With this in mind, the Brotherhood should have little trouble scooping up adventures about as fast as they can put them down, quickly enhancing the Crew with the Adventures' generous rewards. The Brotherhood's main weakness is that, while very Adventurous, their Crew aren't very well-endowed with Influence. Therefore, the Brotherhood are prone to be hampered, either by slow Crew accrual, or by having to fill precious deck slots with cards providing additional Influence.

Cute stuff. Special abilities found among Brotherhood crew is varied: one guy prevents sinking of "No Attachments" crew, another forces nearby enemies to tack a crew, and another can cancel "Weather" action cards (of which there are roughly a half-dozen, many useful enough to be likely encountered). The Brotherhood is also the only faction containing the Fate trait, allowing use of "Fate Knack" attachments. (There is another Fate-using crew, who is unaligned.) Aside from the two Crew, there are three "Fate" attachments: one to rearrange and/or discard the top 5 cards of your deck, one that allows you to absorb additional hits, and another that simply improves one's Fate skill.

The Captain allows the player to ignore an adventure's preferred location (always granting the lower cost), while the first mate can move Sea Attachments nearer. Their Ship, The Hanged Man, can produce Adventuring.

Other Castillian Crew

The Armada of Castille is great with boarding, as their ships hold dang near the entire faction before needing any Hammocks. The higher move cost does make for some demands, though, and in order to truly exercise the advantage of a larger Crew, Castillian players must also lend some attention to Influence. Such matters resolved, if a laden Castillian ship manages to land a boarding, the opponent will soon learn what it's like to get into a fight where the only two people with a Swashbuckling as low as 2 are the Gunner and Topman!

Cute stuff. Castillians have an evil priest who causes someone's hit absorption to be ineffective, a guy who'll sink himself to retrieve sunk crew, and a guy who'll sink himself to absorb all Hits just to impress the first mate.

The Captain and mate's abilities are both boarding-centric. Their Ship, Corazon del Castille, produces a lot of Sailing, but only for initiating Boarding.

Other Crimson Roger Crew

The Crimson Rogers are all about cannon attacks: so much so that the Rogers are the sorriest bunch of sailors you ever saw, with only two Crew able to move the ship--and that includes the Captain! That just means the Rogers are likely to be slightly delayed in the quest to carry 4 friendly crew (for Reis's quintessential bonus) while recruiting non-Roger sailors or fetching Sailing adventures. The Rogers's Influence picture isn't the best, either, so some attention is needed in that area when building their deck for competitive speed. Nevertheless, the Crimson Rogers have a knack for quickly advancing on the firepower ladder (on which they start out topmost). After a couple of cannon-enhancing adventures, these rascals can, with one solid hit, tack an entire boat's Crew if them boys be unprepared, and then they be sittin' ducks!

Cute stuff. The Rogers have a guy who can cause cards others retrieve through some effect to be sunk instead, a gunner who carries his cannon with him when boarding, and a couple of rude individuals who murder friendly crew for temporary bonuses. And most everyone's a decent shot.

The Captain causes his entire crew to have +1 cannon skill, and the first mate increases his player's hand size--more room for cannon attack reacts. Their Ship, The Crimson Roger, can produce Cannon.

Other Explorer Crew

No one gets excited about Artifact adventures like the Explorers do. (The Artifact adventures are the 5 unique adventures--one being cheaper in each Sea.) The Explorers Society is just a hair short of the Brotherhood in Adventuring skill, point-for-point, and have a goodly number of adventure-related abilities besides. Sadly, the Explorers are lost cases when it comes to firing a cannon or pulling out a sword for a fight. Therefore, their knack for artifact acquisition becomes more a means of survival: they need to get all the toys they can to keep them alive, since eventually every game is going to come down to cannon or boarding. (The only two Artifacts of specific utility are the Sails of Wind, which can move you an extra Sea, and Bjornsson's Horn, which can untack your entire crew in a boarding. The other three either let you draw, increase your hand size, or improve your Captain's skills.) Naturally the Explorer's strong Adventuring skills enable rapid improvement in these shortcomings. And very few Explorers are without some Influence, a very handy thing indeed.

Cute stuff. The Explorers have a guy who tacks to let you discard and draw a new card, a guy who lets you complete an Artifact adventure without it costing as an action, and another guy who creeps your ship closer to an Artifact adventure you just played. Meanwhile, the first mate's passable skills are all increased while an Artifact remains in play uncompleted, and your Captain can fetch Item/Artifact adventures from his deck or discard. As you can see, the best way to get bummed out over an Explorer deck is by not owning a heap of Artifact adventures to plop into your deck. Did I mention that all but one of the Artifact adventures were rare? (The fifth is uncommon, and is also included as a fixed card in Explorer starter decks.)

The Explorers' Ship, The Discovery, can produce Sailing--so in addition to a free move that is a "react," the Explorers can choose to use a free move as a full-fledged action. (The Ship would only impart a single extra move per turn, however.)

Other Montaigne Crew

It's hard not to think, when looking at the Montaignes, that their Crew are a little pricier than other factions'. And, in fact, they do just beat out the Sea Dogs for highest average cost of Crew. But, like the Sea Dogs, the Montaignes' ship is agile (with a move cost of only two) and has a low Crew Maximum, which somewhat ameliorates this condition. (In theory, anyway--the Montaignes' crew limit quickly becomes 8 unless not utilizing the Captain's ability.) Luckily, the Montaignes appear to also be the richest faction!

The Montaignes are an effort towards the strategy of agility. Their ship moves easily, and so while the Montaignes might not necessarily keep the initiative (determining who goes first in a turn), they can pretty easily control when and whether they engage an opponent. Just as there are several among the Montaigne able to move the ship, several have at least some small cannon skill, or the ability to tack and damage an opponent without actually creating a cannon attack (a la Magic's "Tims"). And Montaignes are no slouches when it comes to Swashbuckling, so clearly once a few Hits have been inflicted, the intention is to wipe out any enemies remaining with a well-timed boarding. Pulling off such a strategy, dependent as it is on several of your own Crew tacking, might prove a challenge in a multi-player game, however.

Cute stuff. The Montaignes have someone who can squeeze in an extra cannon attack the instant someone enters their Sea, someone who tacks to untack another Crew (read, "Captain"), and are the only faction possessing the Porté trait (there is another Crew with Porté, who is unaligned). Porté is one of the three forms of magic introduced in No Quarter: there are the two Crew able to use it, a card for defense during boardings, a card to tack someone, and another card that just increases Porté ability.

The Captain increases the Crew Max above the suffocating 6, and the first mate improves the crew's ability to absorb Hits. Their Ship, Grenouille du Grâce, produces a little Influence.

Other Sea Dogs Crew

Quick as their ship is, the Sea Dogs make nimble sailors. And you don't have to read many of their Crew's abilities to realize the Sea Dogs badly want to combine cannon and boarding attacks to crush their opponent--not a bad idea, as a hit or two from cannon can serve to tack a good portion of an opponent's crew, leaving him wide open for decimation in a boarding. Such an interpretation is supported by the fact that, while most of the Sea Dogs' skills are middling, no faction carries more Sailing skill, and their Cannon skill is a close second to the Crimson Rogers, with no near third. The Sea Dogs, then, have earned their label from me as the most well-rounded faction.

Cute stuff. The Sea Dogs' Crew are filled with guys whose cannon attacks are enhanced if they've made a boarding this turn, and whose boarding attacks are enhanced if they've made a cannon attack this turn. The Sea Dogs are also the only faction with the Glamour trait (there is another crew who can use Glamour, who is unaligned), allowing the use of "Glamour Knack" attachments, one of the three types of magic yet in the game. Glamour has the two Crew able to use it, a card to enhance influence, a card to rescue Crew about to be sunk, and another card that simply improves Glamour skill.

The Captain draws an extra card unless you sunk a Crew that turn, and the first mate can follow any cannon attack with a boarding attempt. Their Ship, The Black Dawn, can absorb Hits.

Other Unaligned Crew

We can see there are only a few Unaligned Crew left. There are three Crew good for little more more than the fact that they have a magical ability, and the rest are simply... average Crew who might be used to fill needed holes in a deck.

Legend