Well, hello there Splinterlands players,
How are you all this weekend? I hope you're in a good mood and in good health and grinding enough for a good amount of focus chests.
As I fight with higher-level players every day, I try new strategies and team combos to defeat them.
Sometimes they fail, but, most times bring good wins.
This is why I explore new cards and blend them with different team combos and summoners to get the best of them.
Riftwing is the card that was on my watch radar for some time
until recently I used him in quite some battles.
In today's article, I'll discuss about this card and its use cases in different rulesets.
I'll also share the best battles I fought and won, using Riftwing in my team.
So, read on...
THE LORE
The sky over the battlefield was suddenly filled with an onslaught of arrows. Armored archers fired all at once, aiming for the creatures in the sky. The Riftwings of the Chaos Legion.
But as the arrows neared their targets, the Riftwings flapped their wings rapidly. A surge of wind kicked up, sending the arrows wide. Several of the weapons spun out of control, impaling the archers on the ground. Killed by their own attacks.
The screams began as the Riftwings dove down, following the path of the arrows. Descending on the corpses, it was a feast of blood and flesh.
BATTLE STATS AND ABILITIES OF THE RIFTWING
Before I share my strategy and the battle, let's talk about the stats and abilities of this card.
Riftwing is a common death unit card from the chaos legion edition.
This no-attack card costs 4 mana to use in the battle which makes this card a low-mana-cost card.
Talking about the abilities, this monster has the 'flying' and 'scavenger' ability starting from level 1, with these abilities, it has an increased chance of evading melee or ranged attacks from non-flying monsters and it gains 1 max health each time any monster dies.
At level 5, it gains the 'backfire' ability. With this ability, if an enemy monster misses this monster with an attack, the attacker takes 2 damages.
At level 8, the 'headwinds' ability is unlocked. Using this ability, the Riftwing reduces the ranged attacks of all enemy monsters.
Stats of this card also increases through levels, from 3 speeds, and, 5 health in level 1, to 4 speeds, and 6 health in level 5.
Then, 5 speeds and 6 health at level 3.
At the highest level 10, the stats of this card are 5 speeds, and, 8 health.
The Best Summoner And Ruleset To Use Riftwing Effectively
As the Riftwing is a death monster, and also a no-attack monster, therefore you should use this card with any death summoner, or alternatively you can use any dragon summoner too.
I prefer to use it with the Thaddius Brood to gain a little health advantage over the enemy team.
Usecase 01: In Noxious Fumes Ruleset
The best way to use Riftwing in the Noxious Fumes ruleset is with the summoner Thaddius Brood.
In each round, when the poison is applied to either team, one or two monsters on each team surely get dead and the Riftwing gain more and more health using its 'scavenger' ability when more monster dies.
In this way, Riftwing accumulates a big chunk of health until the final round and may survive till the end.
I prove this strategy in the first battle I shared below.
Usecase 02: In Earthquake Ruleset
The Riftwing has the 'flying' ability from level 1, so we can use this card in the 'earthquake' ruleset as a tank.
As it's a 'flying' monster, therefore no damage is dealt to it in the 'earthquake' ruleset.
And just like the 'noxious fumes' ruleset, when non-flying monsters of each team die, the Riftwing gains more health using its 'scavenger' ability, thus acting as a solid tank.
I prove this strategy in the first battle I shared below.
Usecase 03: As A Backrow Tank
We need a level 5 Riftwing to use this strategy effectively.
In certain rulesets (like super sneak, melee mayhem), we can expect big numbers of sneak monsters. We can use Riftwing's 'backfire' ability in this case.
Place this card in the last position and use it as a back-row tank.
Use cards with 'slow' or 'swiftness' additionally in your team and some enemy monsters will surely miss their attacks on this card and gain 2 damages back due to the 'backfire' ability.
you can see the backfire ability working in the 1st battle I shared
where, in round 01, the enemy's Dhampir Infiltrator missed his attack and get 2 damage in return due to the 'backfire' ability.
Usecase 04: In The 'Little League' Ruleset
In the 'little league' ruleset, health is a big factor because only a few low mana-cost monsters have a good amount of health.
The Riftwing can be the best card to use in this ruleset (if the death splinter remains active in the battle).
Use it either as a tank to protect your main attacking monsters from direct attacks or use it as a back-tank to protect your attacking monsters from the enemy's sneak attack monsters.
With each monster dying, it will become healthier, and act as an impermeable shield against all attacks.
Additionally, if any monster misses to attack it, they will get 2 damage back due to the 'backfire' ability. So, that will be an extra.
you can take an example of both the battles I have shared below because both have the 'little league' ruleset active.
Now, when we learned how to use the Riftwing effectively in various rulesets, it's time to apply those strategies in real-time.
I'm sharing two battles when I won using the Riftwing in my team.
BATTLE 01
RULESET
Mana Cap: 60
Ruleset:
Noxious Fumes: All monsters start the battle poisoned.
Little League: Only monsters and summoners that cost 4 mana or less may be used in battles.
Active Splinters: Water, Earth, Life, Death, Dragon.
My Strategy and Team Setup
As one of the rulesets was 'noxious fumes', I decided to try my strategy with the Riftwing. Choosing Daria Dragonscale as the summoner, I made the following team -
SUMMONER
Daria Dragonscale
TEAM SETUP
1st Position
Giant Scorpion
I used the Giant Scorpion as a tank because of its 2 armor, 5 health, and its 'thorns' ability to deal additional damage to the opponent's melee attack monsters.
2nd Position
Xenith Monk
I used the Xenith Monk as an additional tank so that when the Giant Scorpion dies, it can take his place.
Also, the 'heal' ability helps him to regenerate health after the poison effect applies each round until it reaches the first position and starts acting as a tank.
3rd Position
Shadow Snitch
I used the Shadow Snitch's 'reach' ability to attack from the backline position. Also, it has a moderate amount of health which is very crucial in the 'noxious fumes' ruleset.
4th Position
Venari Bonesmith
I used Venari Bonesmith because of its 'life leech' ability so that it can gather the same amount of health (that will decrease after the poison is applied each round) each time it hits an enemy monster.
Which will help it to survive till the end if no attack does to it.
5th Position
Twisted Jester
Another low mana card that has some good stats, the Twisted Jester. I use it to deal a certain amount of damage to the enemy's backline using its 'snipe' ability.
6th Position
Riftwing
And, in the last position, the Riftwing.
I used it as a back row tank and a survivor using its 'scavenger' ability, till the last round.
Let the battle begin...
Team Submission
Round 01
Round 02
Round 03
Round 04 / 05
Watch the full battle in realtime - https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_e9cc0613ddf00a0f392d056345ca89be&ref=furiousfighter
Key Points Of This Battle
Though I had the advantage of high-level summoner and monsters in this battle, my opponent has chosen a very efficient team.
The Giant Scorpion and the Xenith Monk did well as the tank monsters.
The Venari Bonesmith did some good attacks. But the Shadow Snitch and the Twisted Jester didn't perform well and missed one attack each. If those attacks were successful, I may win early.
But the spotlight stealer here is the Riftwing.
When the opponent's Dhampir Infiltrator missed an attack, the Riftwing backfired it and sustained against big attacks. If that's not happened, the result of this battle could be different.
The 'scavenger' ability of Riftwing did an amazing job and the Riftwing survived till the last round.
BATTLE 02
Now, it's time to share the second battle where I used the Riftwing effectively in the 'earthquake' ruleset.
I'm sharing the battle from my alt-account this time.
RULESET
Mana Cap: 52
Ruleset:
Earthquake: Non-flying monsters take 2 melee damage at the end of each round.
Little League: Only monsters and summoners that cost 4 mana or less may be used in battles.
Active Splinter: Fire, Earth, Death, Dragon.
My Strategy and Team Setup
As the rulesets were 'earthquake' and 'little league', I decided to use my strategy of using the Riftwing in this ruleset combo.
I used Zintar Mortalis as the summoner, the Riftwing as the tank, and the Crypt Beetle as the 2nd tank.
Then I used two sneak monsters, the Elven Cutthroat and the Uraeus.
I used a ranged snipe monster, the Twisted Jester, and the Giant Scorpion as the back-row tank.
So, this was my final team -
Let the battle begin...
Team Submission
Round 01
Round 02
Round 03
Round 04
Watch the full battle in realtime - https://splinterlands.com/?p=battle&id=sl_0e2440e5720b01a16384a86da36e1709
Key Points Of This Battle
Again, in this battle too, I had the advantage of high-level summoner and monsters. But the point here is to show you the efficiency of Riftwing in this ruleset combo.
The chances of winning would be less against the higher-level opponent, but the fact remains the same that the Riftwing is a very powerful tank.
With each monster on either team dying, Riftwing gains more and more health using its 'scavenger' ability thus becoming more powerful.
Plus, with its 'flying' ability, it's immune to the earthquake effect.
Additionally, if you have space of using higher-level Riftwing, chances are that a few of the enemy monsters may miss their attacks due to the increased speed and flying ability of the Riftwing, thus taking 'backfire' (as shown in the first battle).
Use Riftwing in your battles and share your experience with it in the comments...
My Takes On The Riftwing
With two unique abilities, the 'flying' and the 'scavenger', the Riftwing is a great tank in the earthquake, little league, and, noxious fumes ruleset.
You can use this monster as a back-row tank in certain rulesets like 'super sneak' to use its 'backfire' ability effectively.
This is also a very mana-cost-effective card that can be used in almost every battle.
The way I see this card is greatly undervalued and with some perfect strategy and team combo, this card can be a great changer.
I always keep a gold foil Riftwing ready in my arsenal to use in battles.
And that's all for today, guys.
I hope you enjoyed reading this article. So, don't forget to keep me encouraged with your upvotes and comments.
I'm happy to share with you the strategy, and team combination as well as the gameplay of the good battles every week.
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Until next time,
Peace.
Akash Kumar.