This week's Battle Mage Secrets challenge features the Aimless ruleset! This ruleset is a funny one, because it swings the pendulum a bit towards the RNG or luck side of the spectrum, and a smidge away from the skill or investment side. Aimless gives every monster Scattershot, which means that any ranged or magic attackers that aren't in the first position will be attacking a random monster instead of their normal target.
Battles with the Aimless ruleset can be infuriating at times since monster targets are unpredictable and the outcome of a battle can hinge on the luck of a die roll. However, as we will see in our battle today, there are certainly ways in which you can move the odds ever so slightly in your favor. Careful monster selection and positioning still help, and it is important to keep monster health in mind because on average, weaker monsters will be the first ones to die.
If you wanted to jump right to the action, the Battle Link is right here. Want to hear some more about the lineup? Read on further!
First up: the ruleset. Obviously, we have the Aimless rule in effect, which will give every monster on the battlefield Scattershot. To go along with it we have Ferocity and Holy Protection. This makes it a questionable idea to bring any monsters with Taunt, and also gives every monster the Divine Shield ability. Divine Shield has an interesting interaction with Scattershot, as it means that "lighting" will have to strike twice, as the first hit on each monster will get negated.
My answer to the question posed by Aimless and Scattershot was Yodin. Yodin is excellent in Aimless battles because of his Blast ability. With Blast, every one of monsters will also hit monsters adjacent to their target, doubling and possibly even tripling their area of effect. They say that "close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades". Well, Yodin gives every one of my monsters a hand grenade!
I started my team with my tank and secondary tank. We have a relatively high mana cap of 55 to work with in this battle, so I splurged a bit. Grum Flameblade and Chimney Wallstop are both extra expensive and extra hard hitting melee monsters. While they won't be affected by Scattershot, they do benefit from Yodin's Blast, which gives them double the chance to benefit from their Bloodlust abilities.
The midline of my team is where my Aimless strategy comes into play. For the most part I want to go with bulky monsters, as they are less likely to die to a stray Scattershot attack. Molten Ash Golem certainly fits that bill, with a whooping 10 health. The exception is Firecaller. With just 4 health, Firecaller is relatively fragile...which is exactly what I want it to be. With Martyr, I don't mind at all if Firecaller makes an early exit, since that will allow me to potentially get a buff onto monsters on both sides.
I finished off my lineup with some Yodin mainstays - Lava Launcher is super tanky, and hard hitting to boot. And Ash Mirage is an excellent ranged attacker that will also debuff any ranged attackers on the opposing team - perfect in the event of a mirror match.
With the lineup set, it's off into battle! When I see the selected teams feel okay about my chances. My opponent has selected a team heavy on magic damage, which unfortunately means that Ash Mirage's debuff missed the mark. On the other hand, there is only a single monster on the opposing team with Blast, which should give me quite a bit of an advantage as the battle goes on.
Thanks to Divine Shield, the first round is a relatively quiet one. My Firecaller is taking a bit of damage - all according to plan! - and my team's assortment of Blast attacks have done a great job of knocking down the enemy shields.
In the second round the battle escalates quickly. My Firecaller goes down giving my adjacent monsters the double buff, and a hail of Blast damage tears through the enemy lineup, managing to take out 3 monsters in a single round of attacks.
One more round and the fight is nearly over. All that remains on the other side of the battlefield is Runemancer Kye. A solid card to be sure, but no match for my remaining monsters, which consist of my entire starting lineup with the exception of the sacrificial Firecaller. A couple more attacks and my win is secured! And again, if you wanted to see the whole battle for yourself, you can see it right here.
My strategy for this battle worked out perfectly - Yodin's Blast ability pairs perfectly with the Aimless ruleset, and my lineup of tanky monsters were able to stand up to my opponent's attacks long enough to take out the enemy monsters with a hail of ranged attacks.
It is entirely too easy to throw your hands up and think that Aimless battles are completely random. And while there IS a large amount of luck involved, it is still possible to maximize your chances of success with careful selection and placement of monsters.
Thank you so much for reading all the way to the end. Interested in seeing some more of my writing in the future? Be sure to give me a follow! In the meantime, if you'd like to see some of my recent posts:
Gearing Up - Battling With Armored Up! - A battle analysis, featuring Armored Up!
Splinterlands Economics: Causation - A look at causation, and how we can apply it to Splinterlands!
Splinterlands Economics: Ceteris Paribus - An introduction to the concept of Ceteris Paribus, and how we can apply it to Splinterlands!
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All images used in this article are open source and obtained from Pixabay or Unsplash. Thumbnails borrowed with permission from the Splinterlands team or made in Canva.