Welcome guys to the Water Splinter beginner guide. In this guide, I will go through cards that will help you to climb out of the Bronze league into the Silver league and possibly beyond. It is easy to find the best cards but they are already super expensive to buy and to rent so I will try to cover some cheaper ones.
Early Magic Build
For me, this is one of the best decks you can play when starting with Splinterlands. When playing magic early it feels like an exploit. You will get some easy DEC and learn about the game while wining. When you start losing you will probably be above 1000 in rating and then is the perfect time to read this post once more 😉
With magic strategy, our goal is to focus on dealing as much magic damage as possible. This is a good strategy as you don't typically see a lot of monsters with magic defense abilities such as "Magic Reflect", "Void", or "Void shield" in the early game. As a player that is just starting with Splinterlands, you may not be able to afford some of these cards, but there is always an option to rent. And renting is easier and cheaper when you know exactly what to rent.
Why magic is so good and expansive?
Unlike other forms of attack(melee and ranged) magic attacks cannot miss no matter what is the difference in speed between defending a monster and an attacking monster. This makes magic cards very effective. Some abilities give those monsters a chance to dodge a magic attack by using the Phase ability. There are only a few of these monsters in the game so there is nothing to worry about when playing a magic setup. This may change with the new expansion, "Chaos Legion".
Strategy with magic build
Strategy with magic is really simple. We want to use one of ours magic summoners to give all our magic monsters +1 magic damage and then make a team that will do as much damage as possible. We are focusing on dealing damage to the first monster in the enemy team. That way damage is not spread around and we have the biggest chance to knock out the enemy monster. Focus is on the first target in the enemy team because magic damage monsters rarely have Sneak or Snipe abilities.
These are cards that I like to use in my magic teams:
Valnamor - This summoner is a bit expensive at the time of writing this post and I am sure that he won't get any cheaper anytime soon. +1 in magic damage, speed, and health is amazing, especially in the early game. The only downside is 5 mana cost so he could be a bit too expansive to play when there is a low mana cap.
Alric Stormbringer - This summoner is the one you will probably use as he is free to play but still if you want higher-level Alric you will have to invest some serious money. We may hope for another +1 Water summoner with Chaos Legion expansion.
Mischievous Mermaid & Magi Sphinx - I absolutely LOVE this duo. When buffed by summoner they have three magic damage each. Good speed means that they will mostly attack first so you can count on six damage to enemy tank in the first round. Most of the time this means that the enemy will lose his tank at the start of the battle. After that, the rest of the enemy team should go down easily.
Ruler of the Seas - Yes this card is amazing and very expensive, even for renting. With +1 damage from summoner Ruler of the Seas deals two damage to monsters around the target and three damage to the target. If there is a low health card on the second spot it will be knocked out in one or two turns. Yes, he's that powerful, a real beast. I like to pair him with Pirate Archer, as he also has Blast ability. On higher levels, Ruler of the Seas is even stronger.
Phantom of the Abyss - He is an absolute beast in the Bronze league. I play him when I know that my opponent will play melee or ranged team. With amazing speed and two abilities, Flying and Dodge he will dodge almost all melee and ranged attacks. For example, Sand Worm can't hit this card, so sometimes you can play him even as a tank.
Ice Pixie & Enchanted Pixie - Pixies are very useful in building a magic team. I often use both of them as they are cheap so it is easy to fit them into any team. Ice Pixie is slightly better because of higher speed which gives her priority when attacking and some extra dodge chance. For two mana, you won't get a better magic card.
Dwarven Wizard - This is an interesting card that I don't use that often. If this is your only card with snipe he will not be able to knock out the enemy monster easily. He will often need 2 or three turns to do that. He could be good in the "Back to Basics" ruleset instead of Enchanted Pixie.
Coral Wraith - Another interesting card because of the Sneak ability. When buffed three damage can often one-shot monsters in the last spot. It is performing really well in the Bronze league where people don't have much defense in the backline. Same as Dwarven Wizard, Coral Wraith is amazing in the "Back to Basics" ruleset.
Lobstradamus - This is my first choice tank when I am playing Water magic build. When he is buffed with +1 magic damage from the summoner, his attack is no joke. Nine health is pretty nice so he can take some damage. The best thing about Lobstradamus is his Shield ability that reduces melee and ranged attacks by 50%.
Kelp Initiate - When there is a smaller mana cap I often use this tank. He can survive 2-3 attacks due to his five health. Playing in bronze you can level him up to level two which will give you one extra health. Sometimes I put him in the second position to act as an off-tank to soak that Blast or Snipe damage.
Spineback Turtle - Cheap starter tank that I often used when started with Splinterlands. It has all that you want from the tank, armor, and health. While using him your backline should have enough time to do some serious damage. In the Silver league, he even gets Thorns ability and one more health. Not bad for only 4 mana.
Prismatic Energy - I often use this card when it seems like my opponent will play some magic cards. Magic Reflect ability is amazing, especially in cases when the opponent has one health monster that attacks my Prismatic Energy. Nine health is more than enough to throw back some damage at the opponent.
Crustacean King - Amazing card with Tank Heal ability. As a bonus, on higher levels, he even gets ranged attack to provide you with even more value. I love that one armor as well, as it will often mean that Crustacean King will live one more longer, same as your tank. I often use it when playing low mana matches in combination with Frost Giant and Sea Monster.
Albatros - A cheaper version of Crustacean King. The only downside is that Albatross will get his heal at level six so it can't be played in lower leagues. Sometimes I will play him just as a body that will soak some damage(if neutrals are disabled due to ruleset).
Furious Chicken - People are saying that this is the most played card in the game. Chicken is really useful to serve as a tank that will soak attack on your first line, a body that will soak Sneak or Opportunity attacks. A lot of times you can lose a game because of one attack. It is a good practice to include Furious Chicken in your empty spot.
Creeping Ooze - Speed can often make a difference between victory and defeat. That is why I use Creeping Ooze whenever I can. If you are attacking first, there is a big chance that you will knock out some enemy monsters from the game even before they have a chance to attack. Slow ability is great, but sometimes I use this card as one of my tanks that will soak that few first attacks from the opponent. When you add few tanks (Albatross, Chicken, Ooze) in the first places of your team it takes few attacks until the enemy reaches your more important monsters.
Early Magic summary
Magic damage is strong, especially in the early game(Bronze league), but also expensive. You probably won't use legendary cards like Ruler of the Seas and Phantom of the Abyss due to the huge prices of those cards, even for renting. Still, a good team could be assembled from cheaper cards which can still perform very well.
Lately, I noticed that I don't see expansive legendary cards that often due to their scarcity. It looks like they are now reserved for high Silver leagues and beyond. That means that even cheaper teams can perform well in the Bronze and Silver leagues.
Bortus build
The magic attack is not the only option when playing Water splinter. Lately, I like to play something that I call the Anti-magic strategy where I use Bortus summoner to protect my tank from magic attacks. If I know that my opponent will play magic I can play even more anti-magic cards to further reduce damage taken. This strategy is cheaper to play than the magic strategy but it has some downsides like missing and melee and ranged attacks need to hit armor first.
Strategy with Anti-magic
Strategy with Bortus goes in two separate directions.
- The first direction is to counter enemy magic. I do that by playing Bortus and Torhilo the Frozen. In that case, even monsters with two magic damage unbuffed cant do any serious damage to my tank. On top of that, you can even play Crustacean King for healing.
- Second direction is to play Bortus as a defense for your tank that does not have a big health pool(Serpent of Eld). That way, your tank can dodge melee and ranged attacks while magic attacks will do reduced damage.
These are cards that I like to use in my magic teams:
Bortus - This summoner does not buff your time but it cripples the enemy team. To be honest, I think that summoners who provide buffs are better than those with debuffs. The reason is simple, you can't be sure will your opponent play a magic team. If he doesn't, well, then your summoner does nothing. I often use Bortus to protect tank that is vulnerable to magic attack because of low health.
Feasting Seaweed - One of my favorite Water cards. When you level up this card a bit it gets one more extra attack and then it really shines. It should be well protected due to low health. On higher levels, it even gets Scavenger which gives Feasting Seaweed one health for every monster that dies in the game.
Azmare Harpoonist - A monster with really good raw stats even on level one. Three attacks are awesome and it can do some really good damage. I am not amused too much with Snare ability, but hey, maybe sometimes in the future Snare could see more use.
Axemaster - Double Strike ability makes this card special, and deadly. His high speed is very useful as it enables him to attack among the first. I have never played him with +1 ranged attack Dragon summoner and maybe it is time to do that. Could be fun.
Giant Squid - Nice and cheap card (at least at the moment). Two damage is great for the starter card on the first level. Armor is also great as it ensures that it can take at least one Sneak attack so it can survive in the last spot. Giant Squid really shines on level four and beyond, when she gets Blind ability. Too bad we can't use this in the Bronze league.
Poseidon - I had to include him in this list but I am aware that he is too expensive to own for most of us. On other hand, renting is fine for now (10-20 DEC per day at the time of writing this post). You want to use him in high mana matches on the last spot. He will soak those Sneak attacks like nothing due to his Shield ability. Four damage is no joke so he can really dominate the game.
Wave Runner - This is the first card I got. I remember selling him for 0.04 USD. It seems that people do not like him very much as I rarely see him in the game but when you take a closer look this card is not bad at all for the second position. When leveled up to a level three or four he can do some good damage and soak some damage. It would be way better if there is one armor...but well it is a common card after all.
Torhilo the Frozen - Tank that I often use in combination with Bortus due to his ability Void Shield to block incoming magic damage. Hight health, armor, and attack are a big plus. Due to his speed, he really shines in the Reverse speed ruleset. An amazing card when playing against magic.
Frozen Soldier - Great tank against melee and ranged attacks. His only downside is bad health, especially on level one. On higher levels, Frozen Soldier is a more viable tank as Magic Reflect is added to his Shield ability.
Sea Monster - This is a card that I love to play It is a high-cost card but damage, health, and Heal ability are amazing. I often play Sea Monster in combination with Crustacean King for extra heal. This combo can tank a lot of damage. You should try it out.
Serpent of Eld - Very interesting tank and I am sad that I don't see this monster more often on the battlefield. I use him in combination with Bortus where my summoner protects Serpent of Eld with magic debuff due to low health. Speed and attack are very good and what makes this a viable tank is Dodge ability. Often melee and ranged attacks will miss Serpent leaving her vulnerable mostly to magic. This tank can really shine when you add Swiftness buff and Slow debuff.
Frost Giant - One of those iconic cards. Cheaper version of the Sea Monster, only without heal, but that's why there is Shield ability. On higher levels, there are also Trample and Slow abilities. Amazing card, but very expensive.
These are cards from Water Splinter that look good to me. They can be played in various positions and various ways. Every card is good in some situations and some teams. Below I will show some teams that I play and which I see often in high-level games. I will try to focus on lower-budget teams as I assume that is what most of you would like to see.
Other strategies
Recently I discovered some other strategies. No, I am not a revolutionary player, I just didn't see a lot of people playing those so I assumed that they are not that good. To explain those as well this post would be too long so if you are interested leave me a comment and I will write another post regarding Dragon & Water splinters.
Some team setups that might be useful to you
Summary
The water splinter is really powerful with some amazing cards. Until a few days ago I mostly played magic but these days I focus more on melee and ranged damage. The key thing, like with any other splinter, is to have the strategy based on the ruleset and previous teams your opponent played.
When you are not playing remember to check out other people's battles in higher leagues, you can learn a lot from that.
Thank you for reading and your support. If you like this content please leave me a comment. I am planning to cover other splinters to so it is good to know if this content is of use to you.
I hope that you are enjoying #splinterlands and that you are excited to be part of this amazing community. Splinterlands is for me an amazing TCG where I am having a lot of fun while earning money for my time in this amazing #play2earn model.
Have fun and see you on the battlefield.