So, my favorite time in any TCG is coming up: new set release! And with it, getting to look at the new cards!
What I want to do with this set is two-fold, and I'll be breaking it up into two parts. In this, the first part, I'm going to review my favorite cards that I think are the strongest. In the second part, I'll zoom out a bit and talk about the broader card and game design and where I think the devs are doing great and where they're doing not so great.
The top 5 cards in Rebellion
#1: ALL the summoners
I'm combining 11 cards into 1, otherwise the whole list would just be summoners.
There are two sets of summoners in the initial release: the first is a set of 5 dual splinter summoners for 3 mana, and the second is a set of 6 single splinter summoners which give you a choice in abilities. Both are hugely powerful for different reasons.
For the first set, for 3 mana, you get a summoner with no abilities, but the ability to bring in cards from both splinters the summoner represents. These cards are huge for 2 reasons. 1) They are the new cheapest summoner and will be great in the ruleset that removes abilities from summoners. 2) They each almost double the card pool you have access to, allowing for some really bonkers combos. Honestly, at 3 mana I think these are too cheap and will be too good. Snap these up.
For the second set, they are powerful in an entirely different way: information asymmetry. A lot of the skill in splinterlands comes from guessing what your opponent will do. These cards break the symmetry of information and give you extra information before you choose their abilities. And by only working on a few cards, it means you don't have to go all in on a strategy (e.g., with Obsidian, every non-magic card I use is a bit of its power left on the table). I think these will be very strong. The best ones will be those with 2 viable skill choices that will change depending on what your opponent brings. Those with only one real option won't be much better than a regular summoner (personally I rank underboss as the worst of these because poison on 1 card just feels weak. it's worse and costs more than the rapper promo summoner which gave poison to everything).
#2: Chaos Jailer
This card has it all, and for only 5 mana.
It's got slow.
It's got poison.
It's got opportunity.
And it's got the ability I'm most excited about: ambush.
Combining all these makes for a really potent card. For just 5 mana, you can knock off at least 2 health from the weakest card the opponent's got before turn 1. Combine it with weirding warrior for rust to avoid shields, and maybe it's poison procs, and you've got a decent chance of killing something squishy and important before the battle starts.
#3: Anasth Soothsayer
This has all the abilities. And on a reasonably tanky body for 6 mana.
And importantly, it's got the counter to ambush: lookout, which reduces ambush, sneak, and opportunity damage and can really put a damper on the strategy above I mentioned.
And on top of this its got cleanse and tank heal to make some really sturdy tanks. Oh and dispel because why not. I think this will be a really good card in a lot of different rulesets and for a lot of different teams.
#4: Bera Dallin
This is such a good tank. Shield and void shield is a great combo. This is a great card for the new ability armored strike where this card has enough bulk to actually use it's second attack before all its shields get broken. I will finally have a life tank worth the mana.
#5: Wailing Wraith
Another card with armored strike that can actually use it consistently since it's got reach. For just 4 mana, you get 5 total damage along with rust and two chances for affliction to proc.
I see this card being really good, especially if you combine it with some fortify cards.
Conclusions
So those are my top 5 cards at the moment. I'm sure I'm missing some. Everything I've included here has at least one new skill from this set, so I'm probably not as focused on the old cards. That said, I didn't see many combinations of skills that really broke new ground, but I'm sure I missed some things.
Stay tuned in a few days to see what I think about the set as a whole, where the design space is going, and some other ramblings.
Referral
Want to get in on this game at a prime time, with the release of a new set? Use my referral code in-game when you create your account, and I'll send some cards your way!