You can almost hear the wood creak. Shipyard Skulker hits you with that tense silence just before a blade slides between ribs.
The light’s low, the tension’s high—and this is not a woman you want to cross in a dark corner of Bilgewater.
There’s no grand fight or flashy flourish here. Just a pirate, a plan, and a pause before she moves.
Illustration Breakdown
The composition stays tight. The frame presses in like the claustrophobic quarters of a ship’s hull.
Shipyard Skulker is braced against a post, half-hidden in shadow, knife tilted forward in one hand while the other holds a rope behind her back.
Her gaze is wary but confident, eyes tilted up and sideways as if she’s listening for footsteps or the clink of a coin purse.
There’s a smear of warm lamplight catching on her bandana and cheekbone, enough to outline her expression without breaking the illusion of stealth.
What makes the image work is how little motion there is. She’s all anticipation. Even the tangle of ropes and wood planks feels still—like the world around her is waiting too.
Gameplay Integration
Shipyard Skulker is a 3-cost 3|3 Unit with no active ability. And that’s exactly right. Her job isn’t to do something fancy—it’s to exist in the shadows and force questions.
She shows up early, fits any pirate or Bilgewater synergy, and holds the board with raw stats and tribal utility. No keywords, no flags.
She’s clean, and in decks that care about pirates sticking around or being buffed later, that makes her sneakily useful.
The simplicity lines up with the art—this is a character who doesn’t advertise herself. She fits the midgame and doesn’t demand attention until it’s too late.
Collector Details / Value Mention
Shipyard Skulker is #175 in the Riftbound base set. No confirmed rarity yet, but based on design trends, she reads like a common or low-foil uncommon.
There’s no sign of an alternate art or overnumbered version, but the illustration is stylish and grounded enough that a foil variant could easily turn her into a lowkey collector favorite.
If pirate tribal picks up steam in the meta, she might see a small spike—not for power, but for how well she rounds out a list.
Shipyard Skulker is quiet, clean, and cold-blooded. That’s not just how she plays—it’s how she looks.
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