This week's Battle Challenge character is the Crystal Jaguar!
"During the historic Obliteration of Light, a family of wild cats was napping deep in one of the caves of the Crystal Forest. They were spared by the wave of destruction, and over time, with no competition for food, the cats grew incredibly large." - Splinterlands lore
The Stats
The Strategy
The Crystal Jaguar, which I acquired via renting, is not a card I use frequently, but it does have some strong niche uses. At level 9 and above it has 2 very strong anti-melee abilities in thorns and retaliate. This makes it very valuable in battles where I'm anticipating a lot of melee attacks, particularly in low mana battles. At only 4 mana, it can even be used in the little league ruleset.
Battle 1
In both battles below I anticipated a lot of sneak, so I played the crystal jaguar in the back to protect against those sneak attacks. The first battle was melee only. Most melee monsters cannot attack from the back lines, so it's common to go with lots of sneak attacks. My opponent did exactly this, and while I didn't get many retaliates, the crystal jaguar held his own and dished out enough return damage to allow my opportunity monsters to create havoc and help me win the battle.
Battle 2
In battle number two, all melee monsters had sneak due to the ruleset, so it was important to have ample protection in the final slot. The crystal jaguar provided this, and even though he missed his killing retaliate blow on the flaming monkey, he did his job and gave my archers the time they needed.
