If you want to master gameplay in Splinterlands, you need to learn four of the most confusing rules in the entire game (Part 1)

Greetings Splinterlovers 💚

We've all been there: sitting in front of our screens, heading into battle, spending minutes designing the perfect team, an impeccable synergy of tank, damage, and support, then pressing the "Battle" button with complete confidence, only to see our strategy crumble because of a rule we didn't fully understand. Suddenly, your speedy assassin is the last to attack, and your impenetrable tank is ignored while your rear units are wiped out.

This is the genius and frustration of Splinterlands' "Rules and/or Modifiers," which, for those who don't know, are the battle conditions that apply to each game, ensuring that no two battles are the same. Furthermore, these modifiers reward adaptability and in-depth knowledge of the game over having a single powerful strategy, which is most common among novice players. But the reality is that a deck that is invincible under one set of rules can be completely useless under the next.

To help you navigate this ever-changing battlefield, I want to explain four of the rules that every player, from Bronze to Champion, must understand in order to achieve victory. These aren't the most advanced rules, but they are the ones that can cause the most confusion for new users. This is also the first in a series of posts I want to write about "Rules/Modifiers."

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Slow is the New Fast: The Upside-Down World of "Reverse Speed"

The "Reverse Speed" rule, now also called "Modifier," is perhaps the most counterintuitive and confusing rule in the entire game: units with the lowest speed attack first and have the highest chance of evading attacks, which really turns the common strategies that all players tend to apply upside down. Basically, in this context, the cards with the highest speed are the ones that attack last, so by lining up your monsters on the field in the right way, you could wipe the field clean by taking out the slowest ones first. In fact, with this type of rule, I have faced players who are used to playing very fast units and suffer a crushing defeat because they don't understand the rule.

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Reverse Speed's strategic shift?

• The change with this modifier is total. Even abilities such as "Slow," which you normally use to harm the enemy by slowing them down, now help them by giving them the chance to attack first. On the other hand, a unit with "Bloodlust," which becomes faster with each enemy defeated, actually worsens its position in the attack order as the battle progresses. For this reason, it is so important not to underestimate slower units because in these types of battles, they shine without a doubt.

Your favorite deck can't play: The Exclusion Rules

When you click to find a new enemy in the ranked system, there is nothing more frustrating than entering a battle and discovering that your key card or even your favorite deck is banned. This is what certain rules and/or modifiers do, imposing severe restrictions on which units you can summon, forcing you to improvise with what you have available, which often goes wrong, as being prepared for this type of event requires prior experience.

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These are the three most common rules that invalidate entire strategies:

• Broken Arrows: It's that rule where you can't summon cards with "Range" attacks. If your strategy is based on a good tank plus constant attacks from the rear, you'll have to switch completely to melee or magic units, which can often take any player by surprise, preventing you from putting together a good combination.

• Lost Magic: You cannot summon units with magical attacks. Decks that rely on magical attacks to evade their opponents' "Shield" and deal more direct damage become useless, causing battles to focus on physical or ranged combat. In fact, this is one of the things that frustrates me the most, as I love magical units.

• Little League: Only units and/or "Archons" that cost 4 mana or less can be used. This rule neutralizes the most powerful and legendary cards in the game, so the only option we have is to play with very low mana cards, which makes strategy much more complicated. In fact, this is one of the most difficult things to master in the entire game. I am referring to playing with cards that have a very low mana cost.

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A crucial detail that not many players mention is that units with two types of attack are also prohibited if one of their attacks is restricted. For example, a monster with melee and ranged attacks cannot be used in a battle with "Broken Arrows," so even if your card has that "Melee" attack allowed, you will not be able to use it, highlighting the fact that diversification when building a well-balanced deck is essential for success in Splinterlands.

Conclusion: Adapting is key

Mastering Splinterlands is about much more than collecting the strongest or most expensive cards. It's about understanding the rules of the battlefield and having the flexibility to adapt your strategy on the fly. Rules or modifiers ensure that every battle is vastly different from the last, rewarding players who think creatively and know their deck inside and out.

The idea behind this is that you make mistakes, learn from them, and learn that the rules, now called "Modifiers," are fundamental to mastering gameplay in Splinterlands. With that in mind, stay tuned for the next part, because I plan to thoroughly explain each battle modifier that exists in the game to date.