Stromling Pirates are Pirates that have been corrupted by the Maelstrom. Stromling Pirates were formerly members of Captain Jack Knife's crew of Pirates in Gnarled Forest. When the greedy Pirates stockpiled Maelstrom Crystals under the mistaken belief that they were treasure, the Kraken attacked the Black Seas Barracuda and threw it into a tree. Jack Knife and his pirates quickly moved the Infected Treasure Chests inland, but not before the Maelstrom corrupted most of his crew into Stromling Pirates and Admirals.