Hi guys. As you may know, this week's challenge for battle mages is focused on the CLOSE RANGE ruleset. For this particular challenge, I'll be using my alt account 
CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK
RULESETS OF THE GAME
Target Practice
All Ranged and Magic attack Monsters have the Snipe ability.
Close Range
Ranged attacks may be used in the first position in battles.
Noxious Fumes
All Monsters start the battle Poisoned.
To fully capitalize on the NOXIOUS FUMES ruleset, I made sure to select high HP and high damage monsters for my lineup. Rather than choosing supports with the HEAL & CLEANSE ability, which can be advantageous in this ruleset, I decided to take a more daring approach by focusing on offense and buffing my monsters with extra speed and damage. I have fully ignored the CLOSE RANGE ruleset because the NOXIOUS is one of the most dangerous ruleset in the game, if ignored your monsters will be destroyed by the poison damage in time.
SUMMONER
KELYA FRENDUL is the perfect fit in this ruleset because of his ability to increase both of my monster defensive and offensive capabilities.
TANKS
DIEMONSHARK, is the main tank and damage dealer in my lineup, his absurdly high stats will make him an unstoppable force that can both defend its allies and destroys the enemy.
I placed FLYING SQUID in the second position because of its REACH ability, which will enable it to deal damage effectively. With its 3 speed, 3 attack, and 9 HP, it's undoubtedly an outstanding choice for this ruleset and pairs perfectly with both DIEMONSHARK and KELYA FRENDUL.
DJINN OSHANNUS is the secondary tank against RANGE & MAGIC damage monster along with my WAVE BROOD, his ability VOID & PHASE will allow him to counter any magic damage dealer, and with his 5 speed, it can make the enemy range monsters miss.
WAVE BROOD, is the main tank of my lineup. His ability TAUNT will make sure that my damage dealers will not take any damage and this monster alone will take the brunt of the damage that the enemy gives buying more time for my damage dealers to win me the game.
MAIN DAMAGE DEALER
DEEPLURKER is the main damage dealer in my lineup, with its 4 speed and 4 damage he will be able to destroy the weaker enemy monsters before they can even take their turn.
UTILITY/SUPPORT MONSTER
Including RIVER HELLONDALE in my lineup is an excellent decision since his ability INSPIRE will empower my melee monsters to deal even more damage. Additionally, his RESURRECT ability will provide valuable time for my damage dealers to finish off the enemy.
Although we both selected the same summoner, the enemy had the advantage of possessing a higher-level summoner, which put me at a disadvantage. Our lineups had a similar strategy, but the key difference was that my lineup was considerably more aggressive than his.
During the initial exchange of blows, the opponent had the upper hand in terms of damage output and managed to eliminate my WAVE BROOD. However, with the help of RIVER HELLONDALE, I was able to revive the fallen monster, resulting in both sides trading an equal amount of damage in the first round.
Unfortunately, I lost WAVE BROOD once again in the second round without it dealing any damage. However, I was able to successfully eliminate two of his monsters, including the primary tank and support, which resulted in me gaining a numerical advantage over the enemy.
During the third round, I lost a couple of my monsters, but fortunately, two of his monsters missed their attacks, which allowed my remaining monsters to survive longer.
At the beginning of the fourth round, the enemy lost two of their monsters due to the POISON damage. As a result, the game became 2v1, and with this significant advantage and his DEEPLURKER at 1 HP, my monsters were able to eliminate it without suffering any further losses.
AFTERTHOUGHTS
Just like my previous battle challenges, I tend to avoid using range monsters due to their vulnerability and inability to deal damage when placed in the first position. However, with the current CLOSE RANGE ruleset, this negative aspect was removed, but they remained prone to quick deaths and missed shots. Hence, instead of solely relying on the CLOSE RANGE ruleset, I chose to include melee and magic damage dealers in my lineup. In my opinion, these types of monsters are more dependable and likely to survive longer, which ultimately led to my victory in the game.
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All of the images are owned by splinterlands.
The cover photo was made in canva.
The GIF was made in Lunapic
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Credits to HivePH for the divider.
Giphy.com for the GIF on my Cover.