I think everyone knows dragons and they also know how fantastic creatures they are (that's when they're not chasing us to devour us) but apart from that "small" detail they really are fascinating and splinterlands is a place full of them but this post would be too far away if I If I talked about all of them then I will talk about just one and he is the Desert Dragon which is a newly arrived card from the chaos legion edition.
But what makes this dragon special to mention? well... all dragons in splinterlands are incredibly strong but this one in particular catches my attention as it has an extremely scary offensive power for a card and its skills help a lot with that, but let's go in parts so I can explain better.
Since I'm talking about a dragon so I don't think I need to mention which deck it belongs to, but it is a legendary card from the chaos legion edition and as I said before its extremely offensive power is what draws attention and you just have to look at it. image above that I'm not exaggerating when I say this.
Desert Dragon is a card with 7 mana cost which is not extremely high but it is still a little high and that has a reason, which is its usefulness in battle. Let's start talking about his attack which is already scary at level 1 since he has 4 attack and gets to 6 attack at maximum level and this is very high even more if you consider his mana cost which is not so much, the second thing to mention is his speed which unfortunately is low and doesn't increase at higher levels, so that's a negative point but it can be a positive thing if it's in a battle with the Reverse Speed rule, and also has his health that is not great but he has 3 shield at all levels so it's a very good thing as shield in most battles is quite useful.
As you can see his stats aren't bad but what really draws attention is his attack and now I'm going to talk about his abilities that make him even scarier.
His first skill is Trample and this skill makes Desert Dragon attack again in the same turn if he defeats a card with his attack, so if you already thought he had 6 attack a lot imagine him attacking 2x, scary don't you think?
Its second skill is Piercing and it causes the excess damage dealt to the shield to be dealt to the life card, so in a situation where Desert Dragon is level 1 and doesn't have this skill and has 4 attack then if he attacks a card with 1 shield this card will block all damage from Desert Dragon so even if he has 4 attack it would be the same as he has 1, but if he has Piercing skill then he would do 1 shield damage to break him and the other 3 damage would be dealt in the life of the card, so it's a very useful skill to not restrict his attacks.
His third skill is Retaliate and it gives Desert Dragon a chance to hit back at a melee card that hits him, so if a melee card attacks Desert Dragon he can attack it back dealing the equivalent amount of damage. to your attack as if it were his normal attack. You take that and the Trample skill so the amount of times Desert Dragon can attack in just 1 turn is scary and his attack is not weak at all so his enemies will suffer from it and to top it off not even shields are a problem for him.
And his last skill is a newcomer in splinterlands, it's the Giant Killer skill and it makes the Desert Dragon do double damage on cards that have 10 or more mana cost, now I ask you, will these cards go suffer? imagine taking 12 damage (which would be double the attack of Desert Dragon at maximum level) and in addition if the card is melee, it still has a chance to suffer another attack and to complete it still has the Trample ability to cause more damage on the next card in case you defeat it. I don't think I've ever seen a card that can do as much damage in a battle as this one, so it's worth every mana spent.
So as you can see, Desert Dragon is a card focused mainly on causing damage but it is very vulnerable against magic attacks since it doesn't have much health and depends on the shield, in addition the Reataliate ability would not have an effect, but when dealing damage he would be a real asset.
I consider it a very interesting card to have since its usefulness is very large in various types of battles, after all damage is never much and Desert Dragon has plenty of it. But what about you, have you had experience with this card? Leave it in the comments if you want to share our experiences and show that it is indeed a card that is worth using.
And finally, let's talk about values because it's something important to mention and Desert Dragon, amazing as it may seem, doesn't cost expensive so it's a great opportunity if you want to have an extremely strong card in your collection and of course as an investment too because you always make money you are welcome in splinterlands.
As you can see it costs only $6.06 at the current price which I consider cheap for so much offensive power and even spending only $60 to have it at max level where it is an extremely strong card, so it's a nice investment and also a great card for your battles, better than that just knowing your story too and I'll leave it below in case you want to read it.
When the Venari dug their tunnels and burrows, creating the Realm of Silence, little did they know of the ancient creatures they disturbed hidden beneath the ground. Forgotten, from almost a millennia ago, these dragons were awakened and gripped by an everlasting hunger. Unfortunately for the Venari, they were the first poor souls to run into these feral beasts and were sent fleeing through their tunnels in horror at what they’d uncovered.”
The Desert Dragon is most commonly found east of the Jade Thickett, on the sandy plains of the Ixzoc. Its long neck is banded red and black, with savage horns that sprout from its head and vicious fangs more wicked than scimitars that line its jaws. Quite often assumed as a lumbering, flightless giant with wings that are tattered and torn, many make the mistake that it cannot move quickly and will sometimes stray too close. But any that have seen it hunt the plain grazers will know, not only can the beast move with considerable speed, the terrifying charge will often leave its target rooted to the spot with terror, unable to flee its impending doom. The Desert Dragon is so big that on rare occasions its attack has been mistaken for seismic activity and minor earthquakes.
Lord Ezel adjusted the clasp of his cloak as the wind continued to tug at it. His army of death waited patiently on the plain whilst the chaos legions continued to muster in the distance. He’d given up trying to count their number but he knew it was vast, at least tenfold his own strength. His nightmare steed shifted as a spineback wolf ran through the honour guard, the beast panting heavily.
“My Lord,” it slathered. “Their army continues to gather; my scouts report another full battalion of infantry will soon join their western flank.”
Ezel nodded and waved the messenger away. His legion was death incarnate but he would be a fool to think that any of them would leave the field this day. They would charge though, and they would fight, because that is what they did in the name of his master, Lafael, the Lord of Darkness. Retreat was never an option.
Clouds on the horizon caught his attention, great swirls of dust kicked up to the east and his optimism took another blow as he wondered at how many more there could possibly be. Then the enemy began to shift its position, not towards their lines but desperately trying to wheel around. The sound of screeching and throaty barks rolled across the plain and even with the distance between them, Ezel saw the dragons as they broke from the churning sand. He counted ten of them and they were gargantuan. The enemies flank buckled as the monsters struck it, rolling over their ranks as a storm flattens a corn field. Long horns piercing armour and flinging soldiers into the air as they came, trampling any unfortunate enough to be in their path.
Ezel licked his dried lips. He hadn’t expected any aid, especially from dragons. It almost gave him hope. Spitting the revulsion of the word from his mouth, he felt annoyed that it had even touched his lips.
“Prepare to move!” he called. “Lafael demands their pitiful, chaos souls.”