Pirate Captain: An Analysis of his Roles in CL, Modern, Wild, and speculation on what could MAKE or BREAK him.

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Pirate Captain

Your Swashbucklin' Pirate Sniper


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Sorry, wrong Pirate Captain...


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Here's a more in-depth analysis on the Battle Challenge Cards, on Pirate Captain, what he brings to his Splinter, his cost, his CP ratios, and why I recommend him, vs why I DON'T recommend him.

First, some info on Pirate Captain:

THEMEPirate Captain
EditionALPHA/BETA
RarityCOMMON
SplinterWATER
Attack TypeRange
The Pirates of ΛZMΛRÉ are not to be trusted. Their Captains are among the most cunning (and dangerous) creatures in the Splinterlands. Armed with muskets of secret ΛZMΛRÉan make and prepared for any situation, the Pirate Captains sail the seas looking for treasure.

ℙ𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤

Pirate Captain is very similar to Fire Beetle, in the Fire Splinter, with a bit of health, 3 mana cost, and a 1 range snipe. He differs slightly in role as he levels, but they're a good initial comparison of low mana snipers. Pirate Captain, IMO has some great potential as a powerful card going forward, especially after it hits Level 2, where it gains 2 Range, and becomes a 2 Range Sniper for 3 measly Mana. Right now, the meta does not favor him AT ALL, but I believe the tides may be shifting for this sea rat.

I actually like him quite a bit, but I feel I under utilize him in the current meta, that could change with a +1 Range or +1 Melee Water summoner though!

𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕤 & 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕤

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Pirate Captain costs 3 Mana. This makes him viable in Little League, Odds, and, as a Ranged Sniper Attacker, he can destabilize the enemy's backline, including magic attackers, ranged attackers, and cards with no attacks, allowing him to bypass the opponent's tank. He has 2 Speed, 1 Range, 3 Health, 3 Mana, and Snipe. Many players will use him, to, seemingly disappointing results initially, but I swear to you this is because of the current meta completely shutting him out of being relevant, and not because he is weak by any means.

At Level 2, he gains +1 Range, becoming a much more threatening and devastating Ranged Attacker, and then, at Level 3, he gains +1 Speed, allowing him to strike faster and harder. Pirate Captain counters other Water teams who do NOT have Venari Wavesmith available, as his fast 2 range attack can take down an unsuspecting Ice Pixie, Enchanted Pixie, or almost kill a Medusa or Elven Mystic. Paired with Bortus, he is a ranged attacker who can favor, and counter Alric's +1 Magic comp, and, even against Venari Wavesmith, is at least a shield breaking attacker for your tank and other attackers to eat through Venari's Armor.

At Level 6, he really ramps up, with 2 Range, 4 Speed, 3 Health, Snipe, and Inspire he now empowers your melee attackers. Pairing this with Demented Shark, and Daria Dragonscale, you can easily hit +3 Melee and have an absolutely devastating Sabre Shark and Pelacor Bandit eat through your opponent's backline like a knife going through butter. THAT makes him fun.

At Level 10 though, he's at a rather frightening 3 Range, 6 Speed, and 3 Health. This makes him one of the few maxed monsters that has the same health as his Level 1 Counterpart but now he hits hard for a 3 mana card, and he hits FAST.

He costs about $4.75 per BCX in his Beta variant... His Alpha variant costs $11.95 making it one of the more affordable Alpha cards out there, and the cheapest of the Water Alphas.

**LEVEL COSTS**
Level 2 costs $14.25 for Beta, and $23.90 for Alpha, this is where he gains **+1 Range**
Level 6 costs $247 for Beta, and $621.40 for Alpha, this is where he gains **Inspire**
Max Level costs $2398.75 for a Beta, and $6034.75 for a maxed Alpha. As one of the cheaper Alpha commons, that's 6 GRAND to finish upgrading him. 6 Grand.

*Keep in mind that higher BCX Cards come with discounts, this is the math for purchasing 1 BCX Cards, which you should NOT do if you're planning to level.*

ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕗𝕖𝕣𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕊𝕦𝕞𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕣

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As a Ranged Sniper, Lir Deepswimmer gives him the survivability in armor, and anti-ranged capabilities he needs to vastly empower a Water Melee lineup in Lost Magic, where Lir's higher mana cost can be offset by slotting in a Pirate Captain instead of a more expensive sniper option, like Mantoid. If you're thinking you're going to run into a Delwyn, or an Alric, or potentially a +1 Magic Summoner from Chaos Legion, whichever Splinter that may be, you're going to want a Bortus to cut down that magic attack and give Pirate Captain the chance to safely snipe some of those squishy magic attackers while your tank, perhaps an Elven Defender, the famous Torhilo, an Oshannus, or a Void Gargoya Lion just eats all of that juicy magic attack for you. What if you're feeling spicy though, and want to bounce off of a Dragon Summoner with this guy? You have lots of options:


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Your Wild Format Dragon summoners that will work best with Pirate Captain decide whether he is a part of your Offensive presence, or whether he is a support. If you're running an offensive team, where you want Pirate Captain to be one of your heavy hitters, Selenia Sky is your option, pairing very nicely with cards like Axe Master, Azmare Harpoonist, and Poseidon, to name a few.

If you're feeling for more of a support role, and own a Level 6 or higher Pirate Captain, then look no further than a Daria Dragonscale who will amp up your damage with a 2nd Inspire, want a third? Add on Demented Shark and give +3 Melee to each of your melee attackers. What's that noise? Airhorns? That's the sound of an air strike of melee attackers about to punch, bash, and cut you into the ground. But Jakkal, these are both Wild format summoners, what if I wanna bust out a Modern summoner in Wild, for a different type of play?


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Then Byzantine Kitty is your answer, offering Pirate Captain +2 Speed, True Strike, and healing for the tank who is so dutifully trying to survive for Captain to snipe some opponents. Byzantine Kitty, with a maxed Pirate Captain, would bring Pirate Captain up to 8 Speed, not including any buffs/debuffs and Enrage ruleset. That is a positively delightful number to reach on a sniper, and an Enraged / Close Range ruleset would be a lot of fun to try him out on.

ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕗𝕖𝕣𝕣𝕖𝕕 ℙ𝕠𝕤𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟

Position 3, Position 4, Position 5

As a Ranged Sniper, with a poor amount of health, you want Pirate Captain to generally be placed safely somewhere in the middle, but both further back, and not all the way in the last position as well. This will protect your Captain from sneak attackers and snipers, but will leave him open to Opportunity attackers unless you have some squishier bait to place in front of him!

This positioning does not tend to change, and becomes more and more crucial as he gains Inspire and becomes more of a supporting role for your other cards.

The Close Range modifier allows him to be placed further up, or with a higher ranged attacker allocation, but allowing him to reach position 1 is usually a bad sign, as he will drop fast, and he's losing his ability to snipe.

ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕗𝕖𝕣𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕄𝕠𝕕𝕚𝕗𝕚𝕖𝕣𝕤


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Close Range allows Pirate Captain to be placed in braver positions, and ensures he will be able to attack even in position . Equalizer gives him the health he needs to really shine in long, drawn out battles, where his higher ranged attack to mana cost is very nice. Little League ensures he'll be fighting targets that, at Level 2, he'll be able to take out in just 1-3 hits. Unarmored leaves all of his targets squishy, and ripe for the picking. Finally, Blast paired with Snipe usually allows a Ranged attacker to proc Blast twice on two adjacent targets instead of 1.

ℕ𝕠𝕥 ℝ𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕕 𝕄𝕠𝕕𝕚𝕗𝕚𝕖𝕣𝕤

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Even Stevens prevents him from being used, as he costs 3 Mana. No Abilities makes him a fairly weak ranged attacker with better options, Target Practice gives everybody snipe, making his snipe ability effectively useless and opening him up to a lot of danger. Poison and Earthquake rounds, he lacks the health to handle either. Finally, No Ranged prevents him from being played, like Even Stevens.

Armored modifiers pretty much negate his sniping capabilities, although they do add some survivability to him as well, so it's not as much of a bad modifier as the others.

𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕖𝕥 𝕀𝕟𝕗𝕠

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Source: Splintercards

Looking at his market info, Pirate Captain has been in the $2-3 range for most of the last 3 months, and then suddenly spiked along with many other Betas on the release of the information that Betas would be removed from the Starter Set and that Betas would be gaining a DEC bonus.

That being said, I believe this spike is a little over-inflated, and is partially a heavy speculation buy on many people's parts. WHAT are they speculating exactly?

Well, Pirate Captain will benefit from TWO different metas that Water could bring, both equally powerful for the Modern AND Wild format. What are those 2 metas? a +1 Ranged Summoner, and a +1 Melee Summoner. Either of these two summoners, which many believe are highly likely to be the next Water summoner, will pump Pirate Captain, and that is definitely being factored into his current pump price, which has him doubling when Goblin Shaman for instance only increased in value by $1.

This bigger pump, followed by a downward motion could also suggest market manipulation as well, and ss such, I would be a little leery of this card initially, unless you're buying into a Level 2, or a Level 6 price point. The fact that his low cards have stayed consistent, even through the pump of the 1 BCX cards also reinforces that it may be market manipulation.

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Source: Splintercards

Gold Foils on the other hand have pretty much sat at $350 for the last 3 months, before suddenly spiking to 400 recently. This is likely new, bigger investors moving into the Alpha cards for maximum earnings, and securing highly collectible, low circulation cards in the event that Splinterlands continues to blow up and becomes a larger, household name type project.

I do not really recommend buying a GF Alpha Common, but I do think that the 20% DEC Bonus is worth considering a Rental, granting you access to a Level 4 of this card instantly, making your Pirate Captain relevant up into Silver!

𝕎𝕙𝕠 𝕕𝕠 𝕀 𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕕 𝕙𝕚𝕞 𝕥𝕠?

Okay, so, like the other Betas, you should only really be considering buying this card if you're planning to do two things in particular: Play in WILD Format when it releases, and more importantly, play Non Magic Water teams, utilizing a summoner like Bortus, Vera, or Lir.

I'd recommend him for Bronze/Silver Players looking for a card that's not super expensive, at about $15 to gain 1 ranged attack, he is a solid, 3 mana sniper for Water, and when your only other Water sniper currently is Narwhal and Mantoid, that extra mana saved on those can be a game changer, especially if it allows you to slot in something like Bortus Torhilo as your tank.

I also think that a Level 6+ and 1 BCX's will both experience the benefits of EITHER Summoner being released, a +1 Melee or a +1 Ranged, as Pirate Captain stands to bring something to the table of BOTH.

Furthermore, because of Chaos Legion fast approaching, I don't recommend him for anybody planning to play on a budget in Modern, since he will be leaving the Modern format, as well as the Starter Set of cards

Finally, his Cost/CP Ratio is about $0.32 per Collection Power point, which, along with many other Beta and Alpha cards, is an awful Collection Power ratio. It's a decent rating for a Beta card, and more-so if you actually use this card, but ff you're a player searching for Collection Power, and not something like versatility or a power up for your main, Pirate Captain is NOT for you.

If you're buying an Alpha, consider the fact that he essentially brings a 10% DEC Bonus with him wherever you go... As a Water main, that can add up fast. That being said, Alphas have a poor Cost/CP Ratio as well, at about $0.40 per Collection Power point, this though, gives it an a pretty decent value when compared to purchasing betas currently!

ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕗𝕖𝕣𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕋𝕖𝕒𝕞𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕤

Pirate Captain has a few different teammates that he pairs well with, mostly enjoying the benefits of bulky tanks and protectors.

Wild Format Starter Cards


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Out of the Wild Format Starter cards, Spineback Turtle and Water Elemental are the two, in my humble opinion, that allow Pirate Captain to shine best. With Spineback, you have a solid Little League, 6 Health an armored tank to hold up the front line, as a solid generalist tank. He won't go down fast to magic, or melee, and his Thorns ability later on makes him more punishing. In a different vein, Water Elemental is a great backline choice to protect your Pirate Captain from sneak, as he will shrug off most of the damage he receives with a heal.

Modern Format Starter Cards


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A Neutral card? Ewww. An Elven Defender? Even more Ewww right? Wrong. Elven Defender has quickly become one of my favorite Water focused tanks for Modern format, at least until Chaos Legion busts out a solid replacement in the Starter cards. He is high mana, but his 8 Health and 3 Armor make him a chunky opponent for melee OR magic to get through, giving your Pirate more precious time to attack. Later on, he gets Shield, becoming a much more intimidating generalist tank that can stop both magic and melee builds in its tracks if they are front-facing damage focused. He quickly loses effectiveness as you climb ranks, but for starter cards specifically, he is a top notch starting choice.

Likewise, Albatross is a weird choice, this is partially because the current Water Untamed Commons and Rares do not have a lot of synergy with Pirate Captain... That being said, Albatross offers a 1 Mana option that functions as Opportunity and/or Sniper bait for your Pirate Captain, protecting him from an untimely death before he can do some damage. Furthermore, after Gold level, Albatross gains tank heal, allowing him to ramp up Elven Defender and give Pirate Captain EVEN more time to do his work, assuming he is not slain by being opportunity or snipe bait.

Other Cards

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Sea Monster and Kraken are two beastly tanks, with one providing Taunt, a massive amount of health and armor, and damage, and the other providing Thorns, a large amount of health, and healing. They are both excellent high mana bulky tanks for you to utilize and allow Pirate Captain to safely pick off the backline of whatever you're facing. Sea Monster is a much more affordable option, but even at Level 1, Kraken allows Pirate Captain to go to town on your enemies for a few solid rounds with almost zero risk.


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So you want Modern cards instead? Looking to power up your deck for Modern, but for some reason, you have Water and you're hoping to play it in Wild as well? Torhilo the Frozen is going to protect your Pirate Captain, and boy is he a powerful card, completely shutting down magic compositions, and doing a wonderful job against melee as well. What's not to like? His speed is poor, but with Pirate Captain in the back, he'll be dealing damage regardless.

Finally, why not fight Venari with Venari? Venari Wavesmith has way more uses than people are giving her credit for, her Protect protects all units with +2 Armor, a benefit that suits Pirate Captain so, SO well. Protect your squishies like Albatross and Pirate Captain and watch them do their thing.

𝕊𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕦𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕟 ℝ𝕖𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕤

Okay, so with Chaos Legion fast approaching, it's time to speculate on what might Empower, or Replace Pirate Captain in the meta... We'll start with what might Empower him.

Empowering Pirate Captain

As we said earlier, Pirate Captain will benefit from EITHER a +1 Range OR a +1 Melee summoner, which, for Water, in my opinion, is highly likely to happen. This will see Pirate Captain much more powerful in Gold level if +1 Melee, and it will make him much more powerful across ALL levels in Ranged.

Imagine that this is the Expansion where we get a +1 Range equivalent of Inspire? Now THAT would also boost up Pirate Captain quite a bit, if it ends up being on a Water, Neutral, or Dragon card! I like those odds, seeing as Water has a lot of Pirates, they all tend to be weak ranged cards, and they could really use that +1 Range buff!

Alright, now imagine we get a proper, chunky modern Water tank, this will bring a powerful, bulky water tank to the hands of lower tier players, who are going to want to bypass that chunky death machine. Right now, Kraken is in the hands of much higher level players, and far out of the price range for it to be 'meta' in lower ranks. Imagine a new Taunt water monster though.

Finally, the removal of Alric from the Modern format is going to see a reduction in magic attackers, which will likely reduce Wavesmith's usage (though, imo, only slightly, as her protect is still great in almost any comp). This opens room for more Pirate Captain plays.

Replacing Pirate Captain

Technically, Pirate Captain already has two replacements in Mantoid and Sniping Narwhal, along with fierce competition from Centaur. Yet, he is still one of the more expensive snipers... What's another Water sniper? In my opinion, the only way a Water Sniper is taking Pirate Captain's slot in low mana is if we see a Low Mana Piercing or Shatter Sniper, which is unlikely, as 2 abilities on a 3 mana card with more than 1 Melee would either mean it's highly leveled, or it would mean it's a high rarity card. I'm not expecting too many low mana legendaries/epics, due to the 0 mana legendaries for each Splinter.

If Protect ends up becoming more commonplace, in Truthspeaker, Wavesmith, and a 3rd or even 4th Protect card, Pirate Captain and many other ranged attackers will start seeing a lot of struggle, and Piercing will become a much more valuable ability on ranged attackers.

There's a lot of speculation value right now in Pirate Captain as people are waiting on a +1 Melee or +1 Range summoner... but what happens if that doesn't happen? What if we get Phase, or +1 HP, or something else that does not benefit him much, if at all? That speculative value is dropping, that's what.

Pirate Captain still has some tricks up his sleeve, but depending on how this Chaos Legion release goes, this might not be his expansion to shine in...

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𝕊𝕚𝕘𝕟 𝕌𝕡 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕊𝕡𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕨!

Wanna play with a Pirate Captain too? Join me on Splinterlands! Pirate Captain is currently a starter card and you'll be able to use him to your heart's desire! But don't wait too long! He will be leaving the Modern format AND the Starter Cards when Chaos Legion arrives!

Join me on Splinterlands, if you use my link, here:
https://splinterlands.com?ref=jakkal
I'll send you 100 DEC when you sign up and get a spellbook, (as long as you show up as referred) which should help you get started via renting! Also, feel free to message me, I can answer any questions, give tips, etc.



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