The battle mage secrets topic this week is the going the distance ruleset which requires only ranged characters to be used. Uniquely challenging ruleset as ranged monsters cannot fire in the first position making for important choices to be made. As usual we will have a few strategies I like to use in this ruleset and then breakdown a battle round by round. Please use the following link to see the full battle: https://splinterlands.com/?p=battle&id=sl_3ffc6893cb85d90e10a0b40b743667b9
Strategies
1. Fernheart: The obvious choice for this ruleset is using Fernheart. That allows all monsters to have the close range ability. Several heavy damage dealers can benefit from this ability such as the ancient redwood as well as mitica headhunter.
2. Boosted damage: Eliminating your opponent's monsters before they have a chance to fire or hitting them too hard to survive is always a sure way to win. It is important to choose a splinter that has some close range monsters in order to hit your opponent from all angles such as life and fire.
3. Naga Assassin and Speed: One of my favorite strategies is using naga assassin with backfire in the first position and heavy speed and damage monsters in the backline such as sinash and supply runner. Not only can your assassin stay alive with dodges but also the backfire damage can really be a pain to out survive.
We will be using the second strategy in the following battle as selenia is able to boost up all my damage and I need it all with my opponent playing lorna and the divine shield ability.
Round 1
Earthquake adds an extra layer of challenge in this match and another reason why Lorna was a smart choice for my opponent. In round 1, both of our tanks go down and it is a pretty even match up given my snipe damage keeps hitting a divine shield.
Round 2
Round 2 continues to go neck and neck as two more monsters go down and my devil is unable to avoid his slow archer. He has two flyers and I have three and neither of us have any close range monsters making it anyone's game at this point.
Round 3
His pegasus goes down and I am liking my chances better now. Seven damage to his four along with flyers and high speed is what I think will win me the match.
Round 4
The match is all but over now as I am able to take away his divine shield and only will take one more hit to take out his pelacor that cannot fire. Everything ends in round 6 with my lightning dragon dealing the finishing blow.
As you can see, high damage can do wonders especially if not having to deal with divine shield. Speed is important as obviously dodges are not conducive to winning. Please upvote or comment if you enjoyed this breakdown and if you have any other strategies to use in this ruleset.