Cutthroats & Currents: Tactical Tips for New Captains

So you’ve mustered your first crew, laid claim to a battered vessel, and etched your name in the Ledger. Welcome to the broken world of Tides of Ruin. Whether you’re raiding sunken ruins, duelling across rotting decks, or steering into a full-blown boarding clash, your success will hinge not on luck - but cunning, grit, and preparation. Here are some essential tips for new Captains just setting sail.

Lessons from the salt-slick decks and bloodied beaches of Tides of Ruin

1. Crew Balance is King

It’s tempting to fill your roster with your faction’s biggest bruisers or the flashiest named characters - but you’ll need a solid backbone of Deckhands and Privateers to hold objectives and control the battle.

Consider keeping your crew well rounded when - A typical crew often includes:

• Runners for fast mobility and to rapidly push objectives or grab key positions

• Some reliable Deckhands to anchor your lines - This will be the bulk of your crew, good health and movement as well as good bladecraft and marksmen stats.

• Privateers the specialists in your lines kitted out for specific roles - and to do them exceptionally well

• Maybe a Hullbreakers to absorb damage and push enemy formations

• Of course your Captain to lead the charge (or hold the line)

2. Know When to Fight - and When to Flee

Close combat is brutal and fast in Tides of Ruin. If you throw your best fighter into a crowd, expect them to be dragged under in short order. Focus on isolating targets and controlling terrain.

When outnumbered or wounded, don’t be afraid to use the Cut Loose action to disengage - but know the risks. Combat isn’t just about brute strength; it’s about picking your battles.

3. Shoot First, Ask Never

Ranged attacks offer control, area denial, and the ability to soften targets before the killing blow. Use line of sight, elevation, and Cover rules to your advantage.

Don’t forget specialist weapons (like Blunderbusses and Bomb Flasks) are perfect for dislodging entrenched enemies - especially in clustered terrain.

4. Leverage the Landscape

This is a drowned world - use it to your advantage. From crumbling docks to flooded crypts, terrain can be your ally or your grave. Take some time to understand the map, try to visualise where you can use the terrain to funnel enemy movement or escape routes. High ground can turn a runner with a pistol into a sniper in a perch.

Be wary of the map edges - panicked crew members can run right off the board, never to be seen again.

5. Play to Your Faction’s Strengths

Each faction in Tides of Ruin brings unique tools to the fight:

• Crimson Tide Brotherhood: Aggression, melee combat and ruthless tactics.

• Drowned Court: Immunity to bleeding and poison; relentless, unyielding units.

• Coralborn: Fluid, regenerative movement - watch for units returning from the sea.

• Gilt Corsairs: Precision, gadgets, and steam-fused tech; play smart, hit harder.

• Ironwake Exiles: Stubborn defence and momentum-based charges.

• Hollowdeep Covenant: Fearless zealots, immune to panic, and master manipulators of fear.

Choose models that lean into your strengths, and build your tactics around them.

Final Thought: Embrace the Chaos

No plan survives contact with the tide. Dice will betray you. An enemy will survive with a single wound. Someone will panic, drop the relic, and leap into the ocean.

And that is ok!.

That’s Tides of Ruin - cinematic, chaotic and full of stories. Adapt, improvise, and make your crew legendary. You’re not just playing a game. You’re carving a legacy into the salt-stained boards of a broken world.