Weaknesses and Debilitating Effects of Cards in Splinterlands 🃏

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Happy start to the week to all Splinterlands enthusiasts! ❤️.

Normally, when we talk about abilities, we think of buffs that strengthen or debuffs that weaken the enemy, but the "Rebellion" edition introduced a new dimension of strategy. To be honest, I don't like monsters that work against me in battle; it makes me uncomfortable, so I prefer to use monsters that work against my opponents.

In the world of Splinterlands, we tend to focus on abilities that strengthen our monsters and decimate our opponents. But, as I mentioned earlier, Rebellion has reminded us that not all abilities are beneficial; some, in fact, are detrimental, affecting our own allies. These are the infamous "Debilitations" or (Weaknesses or Debilitating Effects).

If you're like me, you'd rather use monsters that work against your opponents, not monsters that work against you in battle. However, understanding these weaknesses is crucial to mastering the current meta in the game, because even though you may suffer thanks to your own units, the reality is that you can take advantage of them if you know how to use them.

Next, I will explore why they exist, what Rebellion's "Weaknesses" are, and how we can counteract and/or take advantage of them.

Why Were the Weakening Effects Created?

Debilitation abilities are a type of ability that damages or inflicts negative status effects on allies instead of enemies. The reason for their existence lies in the balance of power: cards that possess "Debilitation" abilities generally have higher stats for their mana cost. This forces players to make a strategic decision: is it worth damaging themselves for the extra power these abilities offer?

This brings us to the "Rebellion" SET, specifically the "Rebellion Soulbound Rewards" edition, as well as some of the Rebellion promo cards that also introduced these debilitating effects.

Specific Weaknesses of the Rebellion Set

The Rebellion reward card set introduced several "Weaknesses" that I will mention below:

The main weaknesses introduced with Rebellion are:

1. Electrified: Inflicts 1 damage to all allied units at the start of Round 2 and every subsequent round. One of the most dangerous cards, as you take constant damage thanks to this card, so if you build a combination with it, you need powerful and resilient cards.

2. Incendiary: At the start of Round 2 and each subsequent round, apply (Burn), burn has a 33% chance of spreading to any adjacent units at the start of each round, then all units with burn lose 2 health. I would say it is also dangerous, although I think less so than the previous one, since there is a percentage chance that it will spread, but taking -2 damage is quite significant.

3. Weary: At the start of Round 1, units with Weary have a 10% chance of becoming Exhausted. This chance increases by 10% each round, up to a maximum of 80%. Exhausted units skip their turn and cannot Retaliate. This is an interesting weakness, but it gives you time to put together a combination to take advantage of the card's stats.

4. Force Reduction:Reduce the maximum size of the team by 1. It may not seem very dangerous, but reducing the team can often mean defeat, so don't underestimate it.

5. Untrainable: It cannot be affected by Weapons Trained. This is very clear; these types of cards cannot obtain different types of attacks, so it is very easy to understand. I don't think it is such a strong "weakness," but I prefer not to underestimate anything.

How to counteract weaknesses?

These weaknesses can determine the outcome of a battle, even destroying allies. In fact, the debilitating effects of monsters such as Blazebeard Merc and Halfshell Seer can cause you to lose the battle. Although the latter is from "Conclave Arcana," it is just as dangerous as the former.

Now, if the only way to achieve high stats is to accept a Weakness, we need a plan B: "cleaning" skills or positioning strategies. Let me explain it in a very simple way:

1. Splinter Strategy: A simple way to prevent your opponent from beating you with cards like Blazebeard Merc and Halfshell Seer is to use "Archons" that support your cards, such as healing your health or shield, or healing the most damage from a card each round, which will help you have more resistance and not defeat yourself.

2. The Cleanse Abilities: The good news is that the "Burn" effect applied by "Incendiary" can be "Cleansed," which is our best direct defense against this damage over time.

3. Cleanse Rearguard: If the damage is a negative magical effect, this ability cleanses the last allied unit in the rear guard, which can also work strategically to heal one of your most important units, especially if it can win the battle. You just have to decide carefully which card to place in the rear guard.

4. Corrupted Healing: Restores 70% of allies' maximum health each round, which could mitigate damage from Electrified or Incendiary, BUT, you should know that each time a unit is healed, its maximum health is reduced by 1. It's a healing with a long-term cost, but very effective against these types of "Debuffs." In fact, I think it's the one that could work best.

5. Soul Siphon: This ability is a double-edged sword. When the monster that possesses it resurrects itself, it removes all magic debuffs and reapplies magic buffs. However, to do so, it inflicts Weary on an allied unit that is not exhausted and reduces its health by 50%. It is basically a sacrifice, but it can be useful if we know how to apply it, although it takes practice.

Imagine that "Weakening" is like a legendary cursed sword: it gives you immense attack power (high stats for low mana), but every time you use it, it drains a little bit of your team's health or luck (Electrified, Weary). The true strategist is not the one who avoids the sword, but the one who finds the perfect spell or the necessary healer to mitigate the cost of power. As I said, they are not my favorites, but it is interesting to try out various combinations until you find that balance and probability that gives you more victories than defeats.

Conclusion

Rebellion's Debilities add a fascinating layer of complexity, as you not only have to worry about how the enemy attacks you, but also how your own cards slowly betray you, haha. Choosing a card with Electrified or Incendiary is signing a very negative long-term contract. You gain power, but if you don't have a cleaner or constant healing, you'll burn alive.

As a player, I know that the road to success in Splinterlands requires effort. Discouragement and failure are the two surest steps toward success, as Dale says. So don't give up and keep looking for the perfect combinations to mitigate the risk of these setbacks.