While playing Splinterlands in Modern over the last couple of months I have learned a lot of fun, new tricks. I've run into some really nice monsters that are way outside my budget. But there are some monsters that I run into consistently and give me problems by beating me. One of those problematic ones for me has been Arcane Skinwalker, as it has Shapeshift which is the ability to be treated as all bloodlines when a Bloodline Tribute monster is defeated.
I tend to use that strategy frequently with my water teams and the bloodline tribute increases their attack and speed. So I decided to try this card out, not by purchasing it, but by renting it first to see how it fits into my playing style First off here are the stats it has to offer, it really is a pretty nice card!
It is a rare neutral card making it playable in any splinter which is a huge plus. At level 2 is picks up Shapeshift which is really what most interested me. So that's the level I rented since it was very affordable. However, at level 3 it also picks up Inspire to increase your teams monster's melee attacks. This is a great ability, but the rental was too expensive... At level 6 he picks up Camouflage so he can't be targeted unless in the first position, and at level 7 gets one more attack! Then at level 8 he picks up Silence which reduced the enemy team's magic attacks by one. That is a really nice ability, but will only likely be used in Diamond or Champion level matches. Since I play in silver, a level 3 or 4 will be my goal.
How was it in battle? At first I struggled to make it fit with my teams, but then I began to figure out placement and even found it useful in the right situations. So I decided to share a match that it made a big difference here below.
Without further ado here was the battle:
You can see the entire battle here at this link.
This is a battle in Modern with a very healthy mana cap of 93, so you can use just about any cards you want in one of these matches! If also has the standard ruleset so no extra challenges to consider which is kind of nice. The screenshot above is after all buffs have been applied but before the action starts. As my archon I went with Marlai Singariel as she grants one additional magic attack to each member of my team. I then first place the Wailsworn Specter due to it's bloodline tribute ability to other undead or shapeshift team members (which make up the majority of my team.) As a tank I placed Doomshield Warden followed by Blue Wrym Travesty as the it gains reach from my tank. I then placed the Arcane Skinwalker which is a shapeshift bloodline followed by one of my favorite cards Mindless Thrall who is an undead bloodline. To finish up I took a bit of a risk placing Portia Nyr in last position, she is a shapeshift bloodline as well but not the fastest or strongest card out there.
My opponent chose Aurora as archon granting an extra health unit to each of the team members. As a tank they used Dire Bear followed by Dread Tafarian, both Foundations cards. This was followed by Endless Ape and then another Foundations card Kicking Roc. For the last two they chose Swell Sporebeast and the Fenmoor Wood Troll. There are some tough cards in this mix, we'll see how it all plays out!
Dire Bear makes quick work of my Wailsworn Specter, I should say thank you for that!
That activates the bloodline tribute to essentially my whole backline, I only show Arcane Skinwalker getting his additional attack and speed but the other three all got it as well.
By round two the Dire Bear is down.
Shortly after the Dread Tafarian bites the dust and here you can see the Arcane Skinwalker's massive four magic attack on the ape.
By round three here is how things are looking.
But midway into the round Arcane Skinwalker finishes off the ape with a strong magic attack!
By round four my opponent's team is showing some wear and tear.
By round five things are pretty much over...
And the final deathblow is delivered by Portia Nyr who I had worried about placing in last position. I guess the worry was unwarranted in this case!
Great game to my opponent! The bloodline tribute was just too strong for them to overcome. My opponent used several Foundations cards which weakened the their team, in some cases they are great cards, just not in this scenario. Shapeshift cards can really help to make a bloodline tribute team very tough and a challenge to defeat as they can be activated by any bloodline tribute card that is defeated.
So, will I be putting this card on the buy list. Absolutely yes! I'll need a level 3 minimum to have the Inspire ability to strengthen my melee tanks. This will be going on the list of things to buy when I earn enough money from card sales and flipping. It takes time sometimes, and I'm still saving for Portia Nyr, so we will see how soon I can actually buy a copy of my very own!
Fifteen Foundations Pack Opening
As always, I like to open some packs for these posts. Foundations packs can be won by finishing up daily rewards playing at the gold level in Frontier Mode. I usually let them pile up to open in one big bunch, the downfall about opening so many packs is that it uses a lot of alchemy potions. So you may have to use glint to purchase more potions occasionally, I find that I have to!
The first bunch gives me a nice pull of an epic Saltwater Mage, they are always in demand and easy to sell. I also got two archon cards and a gold foil. Not too bad so far!
Next up was a nice surprise, a gold foil Barthalamas fire archon. These cards always sell well and are in demand, as a matter of fact it has already sold before I could finish up the post! lol I also got a regular foil death archon, not too bad.
Here I got a Marlai Singariel and two more fire archons...
And the last bunch I got a couple nice epics, the nicest being Asel Alagosdil that is commonly used in water matches in Frontier Mode. Overall not too bad of a opening, although a gold legendary would have been nice... That's the risk of opening up packs, sometimes it's all great cards and others it's pure garbage. Such is lady luck...
If you don't yet play Splinterlands, it is a fun game and free to play in Frontier Mode. So give a try, if you haven't joined in on the fun of playing Splinterlands you can join here: https://splinterlands.com?ref=thebighigg
That will wrap up my Splinterlands post for today, I do hope you enjoyed it. Please feel free to leave any comments or questions below. And as always, thanks you for all of your support, it really is deeply appreciated. Have a great weekend everyone!
Disclaimer
I am not a financial planner and this isn't financial advice. Please always do your own research before investing your money. You worked hard enough to earn it!
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