Hello everyone,
The theme for this week is Carrion Shade. A card that is extremely cheap on the market at around 0.03 USD for a level 1, and 0.4 for a level 3. Let us explore if this card has any use case that would bring more value to it. For the giveaway, scroll down below!
The 9 HP was what actually transpired in my battle, but note that in normal circumstances, it has only 2 HP for a lvl 3 card.
THEME: CARRION SHADE
Rarity: COMMON
Element: DEATH
Attack: MELEE
Abilities: Flying at Level 3
This a an often overlooked card due to it's low attack, health and speed, but if we consider the fact that this is card only costs 1 Mana, we can see that it is extremely useful for low mana cap battles
Abilities
Flying
Has an increased chance of evading Melee or Ranged attacks from Monsters who do not have the Flying ability. Added 25% chance of evading attacks but this also depends on speed. Usually the higher the speed coupled with flying we can really see good chances of dodges. Though Carrion Shade has low speed, this can be useful for "Reverse Speed" ruleset.
Ruleset & Mana Cap
For the ruleset in this match we have:
Equalizer:
Health of all monsters is equal to health of highest monster on both sides.
Heavy Hitters:
All monsters have knockout (this is the ability to double damages inflicted on stunned monsters)
The mana cap is very low at only 13. My strategy would be to use loads of low mana cards in the hopes that they will have high HP from the opponents card.
Positioning and Choice of Monsters
Summoner: Zintar Mortalis
This summoner reduces all melee attacks by 1. Hopefully this will allow my cards to survive longer if the opponent has a heavy hitting tank.
1st Position: Carrion Shade
Our spotlight monster. At 1-mana, this is among the cheapest tank that can be found in the death deck. This card will be useful as tank for equalizer ruleset or for rulesets with earthquake thanks to flying. Might also be useful for low mana super sneak if opponent does not have too much thorns.
2nd Position: Corpse Fiend
Only a level 1 here but at 0-mana this is a must have lineup for a low mana battle.
3rd Position: Fallen Specter
This is a card which has great speed 6. With the equalizer ruleset and with it only costing 2 mana this is another must have card for a low mana battle. Though it would be nice to have a lvl 2 specter which comes with demoralize to further lower the impact of melee attacks.
4th Position: Battering Ram
Hidden in the midst of my lineup will be Battering Ram with opportunity. This allows it to target weak monster along the enemy backline
5th Position: Haunted Spider
With poison and at only 3-mana this is a good cheap card for use. The poison will help to shave down on the enemy tank HP if the enemy choose cards with heal.
6th Position: Halfling Alchemist
The line up is closed with another low mana. Halfling Alchemist costs 2 mana but it has the rare ability to reduce the attacking monster attack by half!
BATTLE Commentary
Round 1:
The opponent is using a level 6 Zintar which is the maximum level allowed for Gold League. On the other hand, being poorer, I am using a level 4 Zintar. Most of my cards are also lvl 1's unfortunately except for haunted spider at level 4.
In the first round, all my cards gained 9-HP and that is why my Carrion started out with 9 HP. All thanks to the opposing Haunted Spirit which has 9 health and a whopping +4 melee attack.
In the first round, Zintar's debuff reduces Haunted Spirit to +3 melee, and Fallen Specter was the first to attack. Fortunately, the ruleset is Equalizer so even though the magic attack was reflected to my Fallen Specter, the card survives (unlike it's usual 1 HP status).
The opponent screaming banshee attacked and the blast was painful. With the attacks from the opponents, Carrion Shade was quickly shaved down from 9 HP to 2 HP at the end of the round.
In this round, my Halfling and Haunted Spider are both lucky as Halving is inflicted on the scary Haunted Spirit and Poison status is applied thereby reducing the effect of the haunted spirit self healing.
Round 2:
Although Carrion Shade survived the first round, with only 2 HP left, it was killed by the dangerous Screaming Banshee. However Haunted Spirit was almost killed by a combination of poison and the attack from Fallen Specter. However, the Haunted Spirit managed to heal up right before it was able to be killed. A combination of attacks from all my monsters once again damages haunted spirit to the point of having 1 HP at the end of the round.
Round 3:
In the 3rd round, thankfully the poison effect kicks in immediately and removes Haunted Spirit from play before it can heal anymore. With furious chicken up next, we are looking at another 9-HP monster to grind down before we can reach the dangerous Screaming Banshee.
Heavy attacks from the opponent killed of my Corpse Fiend in this round. Unfortunately no poison status is applied. Although Halving is applied, there is no change as the chicken only has 1 attack.
Round 4:
In this round, a combined attack from all monsters managed to kill of the chicken. However the Halfling alchemist missed its attack on the Banshee (ouch!)
The round ended with Fallen Specter standing though at only 2 HP left.
Round 5:
In this round, Screaming Banshee killed of Fallen Specter in a single hit. Battering Ram, Spider, and Alchemist continuously lay their attacks on the Banshee. Thankfully the Banshee attack is successfully halved in this round.
Round 6:
Thanks to Banshee having reduced attack, this round Battering Ram takes only 2 damage and survived. My monsters combined was able to take down the Screaming Banshee. Without the Blast, this will ensure the survivability of my backline.
Round 7:
As the opponent only has the undead priest left, I am able to execute 4 damage each round. Poison was not applied this round but we should persevere.
Round 8:
This round the priest takes a total of 4 damage, while my battering ram survived.
Round 9:
In this final round, the killing blow was dealt by the battering ram. Without the efforts of Carrion Shade and Corpse Fiend to tank the hits, I would have lost the match if my ranged attackers are disabled by being in first position.
Victory after a long match. This match would have been an easier win if I have cards with higher attack power. I would have lost if the dangerous Banshee was actually placed at the back most position.
🆅🅸🅲🆃🅾🆁🆈
FINAL THOUGHTS
Is it cheap?
Yes it is. At the stated price earlier of only 40 cents for a level 3 card, it can't get any cheaper than that. Gold might be more worth purchasing in terms of the CP cost ratio
Strategies
As demonstrated this card is great for the Equalizer ruleset and for low mana battles. Flying would be useful for Earthquake scenarios.
What do I like about Carrion Shade most:
Flying + 1 Mana + the fact that the card is cheap!
What I do not like?
I guess I will surely curse a little if I pull this card when opening Chaos Legion packs unless if it's a gold version.
Giveaway #1
Hello, I will also be doing a small giveaway here, feel free to comment on which of the following Chaos Legion Rare Reward Cards that you would like to get. Upvotes are not necessary but always appreciated. Winners will be selected at the end of the post payout.
GIVEAWAY + WEEKLY BATTLE CHALLENGE - 1-Mana Carrion Shade, Tanking Hits
The winner is: 
venari wavesmith hiveblocks transaction:
https://hiveblocks.com/tx/ee2c9bbc7698e4efcef16a668db525104673b610
Other participants: 
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